“That’s gotta be a 12, hasn’t it?”: Breaking down Jimmy Page’s favourite solo
Jimmy Page has a pretty romantic attitude towards the guitar. Not in a loving sense, but in that he adores how every musician has their own personal take on the instrument.
“The thing is, I really love all guitar playing,” said Page, “Hearing guitarists when I was a kid, and just really appreciating even then. It’s six strings, and it’s an electric guitar, but everyone’s whole take on it and their character is totally different. And that’s what’s so cool about it.”
This is the mindset of the majority of guitar players, but especially those who were making music in the 1960s and ‘70s, as these guitarists were inspired by the blues and R&B musicians who came before them. This means they were raised on a generation of musicians whose aim was to be technically good, sure, but more than ever, to make the listener feel something.
As such, even as rock became more complicated, feeling was required at the heart of every single guitar solo in order to get listeners excited. This is where that individualism comes in, as people process things differently, so how they can effectively lay that feeling onto a track will vary, depending on who you’re listening to. Improvised solos are the best for allowing a guitarist to really leave everything breathing on wax, so it’s no surprise that one of Jimmy Page’s favourite solos of all time is that of Elliot Randall when he stepped in to help Steely Dan on ‘Reelin’ In The Years’.
The whole thing was done in one take. There was a formula in some parts, as it was originally based on a saxophone solo that Randall had heard; however, he is also given free rein to let loose and express himself throughout the song. “Oh, I know this, yeah, that’s cool. I really like that. Steely Dan,” said Jimmy Page when asked to rank the guitar solo out of ten, “Yeah, I really like that. That’s gotta be a 12, hasn’t it?”
So, what makes this solo so special? Well, it starts simple with isolated notes and little runs overlapping ever so slightly. Then, Randall repeats that line but has piano chords mimicking it to heighten the whole thing. That on its own would be enough for a lot of guitarists, but Randall then goes into a run of improvised bends and drawn-out melodies. He dances from a stretched-out note to a continuous spill of many, and then ends the solo by doubling up on strings and injecting aggression into his sound. In under a minute, he takes the listener on a journey, going from formulaic and planned to improvised and moved by feeling to aggressive.
The band clearly agreed it was exceptional as they had him tack a similar solo onto the end of the track, before asking Randall to join Steely Dan once they had finished recording. The solo helped the song climb the charts, and while it put Randall on the map as a guitarist, it was also a bit of a double-edged sword. Yes, there was a lot of work available to him, but all they wanted him to do was essentially remake the ‘Reelin’ In The Years’ solo.
“When ‘Reelin’ in the Years’ became a hit,” said Randall, “the phone wouldn’t stop ringing for years […] Sadly, a lot of people just wanted me to recreate that sound”.
Randall, apparently sharing a similar mindset to Jimmy Page, had no interest in doing such a thing. The solo was improvised and is a reflection of how he played in that moment; on another day, it might have come out differently. This goes back to that romanticism with the guitar, as everybody’s approach is different, even the approach taken by the same guitarist on different days, and that’s the beauty of the six-string.
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