04/16/2007
Mix Disc Monday Home / Music Home / Bullz-Eye Home
It doesn't always take a great vocal to make a song.
In fact, some of the best songs over the years have
had an instrumental melody line, or just a bunch of
riffs that are thrown together and sound just as compelling
as something with vocals. Here is a list of some cool
instrumentals that span the last forty or so years.
"Pacifica," Los Straitjackets (!Viva!
Los Straitjackets)
They wear Mexican wrestling masks, but don't let
that fool you. Los Straitjackets effectively mix
surf music with just enough Nashville twang to
create something really cool and unique. This track
is something more akin to the breezy music of the
Ventures, and uses the whammy bar to precision.
"Cliffs of Dover," Eric Johnson (Ah
Via Musicom)
Four-plus minutes of rock/jazz fusion
bliss. Johnson could shred right along with guys
like Satriani and Malmsteen, but this track is
so melodic that it actually won him a Grammy
for best instrumental rock performance in 1991.
"Waterhole," The Outlaws (The Outlaws)
Yeeeeeeee-hawwwwwww. When you put three
lead guitarists in a Southern rock band, you're
bound to have an instrumental track – like this
one – that burns like the rubber on your tractor's
tires.
"Breezin'," George Benson (Breezin')
George remains one of the tastiest guitar
players of the last several decades, and the
title track to the landmark album that spawned
his first pop hit, "This Masquerade," often goes
unnoticed. But it's still one of his best.
"Europa," Carlos Santana (Amigos)
Unfortunately, many people associate Carlos Santana
with Rob Thomas or Michelle Branch, or any of the
number of pop artists he's been paired with on
recent albums. But any real fan of Carlos knows
that this man can make the guitar sing like no
one else, and "Europa" is a fine example of that.
"Aerodynamic," Daft Punk (Discovery)
When you hear those bells in the beginning,
you start thinking AC/DC's "Hell's Bells." But
then this French electronic duo launches into something
that more closely resembles Eddie Van Halen in
a deejay booth.
"The Light," The Album Leaf (Into
the Blue Again)
A one-man band in the vein of Dashboard
Confessional or Magnet, the Album Leaf's Jimmy
LaValle has put out some of the coolest ambient
music in recent memory. And some of his best
work happens when Mr. Leaf turns off the microphone.
"Reset," MuteMath (MuteMath)
It's almost not fair that MuteMath's frontman,
Paul Meany, is one of rock's brightest new vocalists,
but that the band sounds just as good on instrumental
tracks like this.
"The Air Between Us," Hammock (Kenotic)
If you were in this dream where your favorite
sports team just won a championship, and your supermodel
girlfriend was making you dinner and served you
cocktails while you floated in your giant pool
in which the water was just the right temperature,
this is the musical soundtrack that would be playing.
"Robinhood," .38 Special (Rockin'
Into the Night)
Harmonizing lead guitars takes a lot of
precision. But when it's done right and the guitars
carry the melody line as well, it's like biting into
a slice of pecan pie.
"El Nino," Red Elvises (I
Wanna See You Bellydance)
If this touring band from Los Angeles plays
where you live, go see them. They have about as much
fun as any band you'll ever see, combining California
surf music with Russian flair and a healthy dose
of comedy. But beyond that, these cats can PLAY.
"In Memory of Elizabeth Reed," The
Allman Brothers Band (Idlewild
South)
When I hear this song, I can still smell
the cloud of weed smoke in my older brothers' bedroom.
The Allmans are known as bluesy Southern rockers,
but this one was kind of jazzy and jam-bandy before
the term jam band ever existed.
"Moby Dick," Led Zeppelin (Led Zeppelin
II)
Robert Plant may forever be the face of
Led Zeppelin, but Jimmy Page, John Bonham and John
Paul Jones showed here that they could sometimes
make bombastic arena rock just as well without him.
"Eruption," Van Halen (Van Halen)
Eddie Van Halen ushered in a new generation
of guitar players with this one spectacular instrumental
track.
"Hawaii Five-O," The Ventures (Hawaii
Five-O)
The title track to this surf instrumental group's
album of the same name also was the theme song
for the TV show, and it's about as recognizable
as any instrumental track ever recorded.