Silly Guitar Solos (intermission)

Man, it's hard to find guitar solos as silly as "Say You'll be Mine". I'm struggling find a worthy follow-up. It's also kind of frustrating listening to music for hours to end with the sole purpose of discovering bad solos - I'm getting a headache. Most solos are just awfully indifferent, I find. But I'll continue my quest, I promise, it may just take a little while to come up with something good -er - silly, I mean.

Silly Guitar Solos

In the past all pop songs with respect for themselves had a guitar solo or two. I remember reading this songwriting column in Keyboard Magazine in the 80s, and the solo was for all practical reasons considered to be a songwriting rule. Thus, not all solos that emerged could possibly be as innovative and exciting as, say, Free Bird or Stairway to Heaven. Starting with this entry I'll try to dig up some of the stuff that really don't impress me much. So without any further ado, I present to you:

Say You'll Be Mine (1:16 -> 1:36)

Offender: Jay Graydon

Christopher Cross (Christopher Cross, 1979)

This one sounds like a very poor Steely Dan leftover track. Fagen and Becker probably laughed their asses off (to lend an expression I learned from mr. Jason Hare) when they "charitably" decided to hand this track over to the young mr. Cross. It starts off with some nonsensical scale exercises, fumbles around, hangin' on to notes, repeating figures, in constant search of a way to end the misery. Even though it does end with those trademark Graydon multilayered chords that I usually love, there's no denying it: This is an utterly useless, pointless and ultimately laughable guitar solo. In his defence, the rhythm section doesn't make it easy for mr. Graydon, guiros not excepted.

Technical ability: 10. Artistic value:1. Silliness: 10.

(a perfect score for an ideal silly guitar solo)