The Ritchie Blackmore guitar solo Brian May calls his favourite: “It’s uncompromising”
Only one person in this world can say that they were responsible for the greatest guitar riff of all time, and that person is Ritchie Blackmore. Everybody who has ever picked up a guitar has at some point looked up how to play the ‘Smoke On The Water’ riff, recited it and looked at themselves in the mirror as a newly formed rock God the first time that they got it right. That’s Blackmore’s doing.
Of course, he did a lot more than just create one riff. While playing for Deep Purple and Rainbow, Blackmore was responsible for some of the most exciting guitar work since people learned what distortion was. He has an innovative mind when it comes to crafting music, not being afraid to blend elements of hard rock with classical music and making exciting riffs, licks and solos as a result.
When you think about those two styles merging, it suddenly becomes less of a surprise that Brian May of Queen is a big fan. When putting together some of their first albums, Queen also dabbled in adding elements of classical music into their sound, which was undeniably rock-centric. It’s most prevalent on Night at the Opera and on one of their biggest hits, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, which is a symphony in how it sounds and is put together.
May has never been shy about praising Ritchie Blackmore because of his impeccable talent for the guitar. While Blackmore has a far-reaching discography that can be siphoned through and picked at for favourites, there is one particular track that stands out for May, and it’s ‘Since You’ve Been Gone’.
Released in 1979 as part of Rainbow’s album Down To Earth, ‘Since You’ve Been Gone’ is undeniably one of the band’s biggest hits. With an exciting arrangement making up a large chunk of the song and a catchy chorus that has dominated the air space of venues worldwide, it’s hard to deny it’s anything less than a classic.
“It’s uncompromising and it has the perfect element of pop, which is you can sing it and it’s in your head all day,” said May, praising the track. “It’s passionate, it has a real tug on your emotions. But Ritchie’s in it, and Ritchie is powering the whole thing. The under solo is just brilliant. They did the immortal version of it.”
It’s hardly a surprise that May is such a big fan of Blackmore because the playing techniques he championed for Deep Purple and Rainbow are present in some of Queen’s best work. That being said, the song he likes the most is ‘Since You’ve Been Gone’, and the pop elements of the track really stand out to the Queen guitarist. That, and the fact Blackmore’s guitar is still recognisable despite being played in the face of this overriding element.
