The Best Pre-Guitar Solo Vocal Line: 7 Powerful Contenders

Like so many good ideas, this one was fleshed out during a semi-inebriated discussion with a friend. The topic, which I had been sitting on for several weeks, was a simple one: songs with epic vocal cues before a blistering guitar solo. It's not quite objective or quirky enough for the places I usually publish, but it's a fun topic for me as a guitarist and music fanatic, so I'm writing about it anyway. Let's go.

7. The Kinks - You Really Got Me (1964)

"Oh no!" shrieks Ray Davies just before his brother kicks in with this early example of a solo with real attitude. There's a rumor that it was really played by Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, a prominent studio musician at the time, although personally I don't think it sounds a bit like him. It does sound like the solo on The Kinks' later release, "All Day And All Of The Night," which no one disputes was younger brother Dave.

According to the man himself, Ray's cry was meant to cover up the sound of his brother swearing at him across the recording studio while trying to record the iconic instrumental. He claims that if you listen closely, you can still hear Dave telling him to foxtrot oscar, albeit in less polite terms.

6. Motörhead - Ace Of Spades (1980)

As an avid reader of guitar magazines in my youth, I've read many a "greatest solo" list. I don't remember "Ace Of Spades" featuring much, although it was always found in "greatest riff" lists. "Fast" Eddie Clarke's work here certainly isn't the flashiest, nor the most melodic, but it does the job and delivers a classic air-guitar-worthy moment. However, it does benefit enormously from the gruffest voice in rock kicking it off with "...and don't forget the joker."

I also think it benefits from entering the song in a different key, but perhaps that's a topic for a different list.

5. Metallica - Master of Puppets (1986)

Kirk Hammett's wickedly widdly solo around the three-quarter mark of this thrash metal classic is introduced by a cry of, well, something from James Hetfield. I'd always thought it was "raise some hell!" but when I was double-checking it for this list, it seems that what he actually says is "fix me." I'm not the only one to have misheard this Master of Puppets moment, either. But who cares? It sounds awesome either way.

During live performances, Hetfield has sometimes been known to shout "pancakes!" instead. This is a reference to the late, great Cliff Burton, the band's original bassist. When asked by Charlie Benante, drummer of fellow thrash titans Anthrax, what Hetfield actually yells before the solo, Burton told him it was "pancakes."

4. The Darkness - I Believe In a Thing Called Love (2003)

I'm so glad lead singer Justin Hawkins has a popular YouTube channel these days, so that people can see The Darkness for what they really are: serious musicians having fun. I feel like they were too often dismissed as a joke act in their heyday, but anyone with an ear for production and musicianship could see that they weren't messing around. It takes real talent to chart a song with three solos in 2003.

The central solo in "I Believe In a Thing Called Love" takes a straightforward, minimalist approach to the pre-solo vocal cue. In his classic falsetto, Hawkins introduces his brother with a glass-shattering screech of "Guitar!" Perfect.

3. Guns N' Roses - It's So Easy (1987)

Ray Davies had to shout over his brother's four-letter word in the 1960s, but by the late 1980s rock stars could effectively say and do as they pleased. And so we end up with these lines from Axl Rose, which embody the very core of rock n' roll. "I see you standin' there," he begins, "You think you're sooo cool. Why don't you just..." Yeah, that line probably ends exactly how you expect it to.

This cues in one of Slash's most concise solos, which starts off with a huge blues-y bend that sounds just like the kind of fake crying you'd do to mock someone, making it the perfect follow-up to Axl's aggressive put-down.

2. Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody (1975)

How could I not include this? A song with not one, but two of the most memorable lines in rock music right before guitar interludes. "I don't wanna die, I sometimes with I'd never been born at all" sings Freddie Mercury, preceding the main solo with pure poetry, and Brian May's uplifting solo provides an ideal contrast to the depressing tone of the first verse.

Then, of course, there's the Wayne's World moment later in the song; a guitar-led breakdown cued in by the line "Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me." Because why wouldn't you end a wonderfully wacky choral section with a quasi-religious reference? It just works.

1. Eagles - Hotel California (1977)

"You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave" - That line gives me goosebumps even as I'm typing it out. Do I really need to say more? Not many songs have lyrics so potent and evocative that film producers have offered to adapt them. But let's face it, without the dual guitar coda, all we'd have is a pleasant reggae-esque track about a spooky hotel. (Yes, I know that's not really what it's about...)

Luckily, what we get is that epic final line from Don Henley, followed by Joe Walsh and Don Felder soaring in with a masterclass in melodic soloing.

Your Favorite Guitar Solo Intro

Honestly, these were just the ones that came to mind for me. I'm sure there are dozens more I know but just can't think of right now, and hundreds that I've never even heard. And those are just the ones in English! Comment with your favorites pre-guitar solo moments, and watch my feed for a follow-up to this article.

These words are all mine: no AI, no algorithmic curation. If you enjoyed this, please consider leaving a tip to support my work and buy my good boys and girls some treats!