The 10 best acoustic rock songs
Since the days of blues, the acoustic guitar has been a key component of rock music. The sister instrument to the popular electric one, it has often been used to open up songs to more emotive areas, wherein the natural sound offered by the reverberating hollow body is perfect for honest introspection.
Accordingly, over the years, the acoustic guitar in rock has provided many moments of profundity that could only have been so by being unplugged. It paired with a voice, whether it be gruff or angelic, is a match made in heaven, meaning that almost every rock band or act has tried their hand at it at least once.
The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Guns N’ Roses, Nirvana and Oasis are just five groups from across the timeline of rock ‘n’ roll who have provided acoustic numbers of note. Of course, some might be more lauded than others, with one of the most world-famous offerings by the latter, ‘Wonderwall’, being a sticking point of their career, a much-derided track for musos everywhere, but one of the most famous songs ever written.
However, most of the best examples are not as contentious. That’s why we’ve decided to list the ten finest acoustic rock songs of all time. Prepare to find some familiar classics and a couple of surprises that showcase the acoustic guitar’s importance to the genre. See the collection below.
The 10 best acoustic rock songs:
10. ‘Walking After You’ – Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters leader Dave Grohl is no stranger to an acoustic track, with most of the band’s albums featuring at least one. A stellar songwriter who has never made any bones about being deeply connected to his emotional side, some of his most accomplished moments with the Foos have come off the back of an acoustic. Undoubtedly, the greatest is ‘Walking After You’ from 1997’s The Colour and the Shape, the record many diehard fans deem their masterpiece.
Notably, there are two versions of the song, and both are excellent. The first features Grohl on all instruments apart from the bass, which was performed by the group’s bassist, Nate Mendel. Following this, the second iteration features the additions of drummer Taylor Hawkins and guitarist Franz Stahl, with guest backing vocals from Shudder to Think member Craig Wedren. As a result of conjuring as much emotion as possible during the vocal take for this one, Grohl broke down. However, it was so powerful that it was used in the final mix. The main riff is impossible to ignore, and it would have lacked its power if it was played on an electric guitar.
9. ‘Hurricane’ – Bob Dylan
While Bob Dylan proved he could be effective on the electric guitar on 1965’s Bringing It All Back Home, his pairing with the acoustic has always been the most powerful. This is because of his roots as a protest songwriter, with the earthly tones of the instrument augmenting his gravelly, blue-collar vocals and incisive lyricism.
One of the most effective reflections of this is 1975’s ‘Hurricane’, one of his grooviest pieces, despite the controversial lyrics about the imprisonment of the boxer Rubin ‘Hurricane’ Carter, which deals with racism and profiling. A commanding performance on the acoustic by Bob Dylan, there’s a force behind each strum. Despite the prominence of the fiddle and rolling percussion, each note resonates with the power of the song’s senitment.
8. ‘Jane Says’ – Jane’s Addiction
From a gloomy song to a more upbeat one, this Jane’s Addiction staple features only two chords on the acoustic guitar, bongos, and steel drums, and together they make a sonic treat. ‘Jane Says’ was first released on the LA band’s eponymous 1987 debut as a semi-live number. It was then re-recorded for the following year’s sophomore effort, Nothing’s Shocking.
The 1988 version is the one best known by the public and features steel drums that add a different edge and elevate the track from its first form. The composition that the quartet traditionally close their set with, the title is a reference to frontman Perry Farrell’s ex-housemate Jane Bainter, who was the band’s namesake and muse. When speaking to the Los Angeles Times in 2001, she confirmed whilst she did date an abuser called Sergio and she wore wigs, she never prostituted herself. As in the song, Jane did eventually end up in Spain.
7. ‘Ventura Highway’ – America
Most people would probably have gone for folk-rock legends, America‘s best-known hit ‘A Horse with No Name’ as their choice for this list. However, for all of the undoubted genius of that track, there’s something more transcendent about ‘Ventura Highway’, the hit lead single of their 1972 sophomore album, Homecoming. A masterpiece in acoustic-led rock music, together, the dream-like central riff, exotic chords, and surreal lyrics combine with America’s dovetailing vocal harmonies to create a song that is one of the most glorious of its era.
Dynamic and innovative, it’s not just the emotional impact of the guitars and voices that are a talking point, either. The lyric “alligator lizards in the air” is the most famous exhibit, but interestingly, it also contains the line “purple rain”, which would later be made famous by Prince. However, the connection between both parties is a point of contention.
6. ‘Angie’ – The Rolling Stones
Another group who are masters at the acoustic-driven ballad are the London dynasty, The Rolling Stones. Although they have a few that stand out, ‘Angie’, the lead single of 1973’s Goats Head Soup, is the one that takes the crown. Featuring the interplay of Keith Richards’ intricate and atmospheric guitar work with Nicky Hopkins’ adroit piano melody and one of the most impassioned performances by vocalist Mick Jagger, this one has brought a tear to the eye of many different generations.
After release in August 1973, ‘Angie’ shot to the top of the US Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at the fifth spot in the UK. It was a worldwide success and climbed to the top in Canada and Australia. In addition to the melancholy feel conjured by the artistic panache of Keith Richards’ acoustic work, there’s long been a debate about who ‘Angie’ actually is, with claims ranging from David Bowie’s first wife of the same name to Marianne Faithfull.
5. ‘Going to California’ – Led Zeppelin
English royalty Led Zeppelin could do it all, including ballads. The finest has to be ‘Going to California’ from their unchallenged chef d’oeuvre, 1971’s Led Zeppelin IV. A folk-leaning rock song, it features only Robert Plant on vocals, acoustic guitar work by Jimmy Page and the gorgeous ring of the mandolin by the group’s bassist and multi-instrumental whizz, John Paul Jones.
The track began life about Californian earthquakes, with Page, engineer Andy Johns and Zeppelin manager Peter Grant experiencing a small one whilst in Los Angeles. At this embryonic stage, it was called ‘Guide to California’. Folk heroin Joni Mitchell also had a defining impact on how the track panned out, inspiring the line: “She plays guitar and cries and sings”. When playing it live, Plant would sometimes sing ‘Joni’ after this portion of lyrics.
4. ‘Hurt’ – Johnny Cash
I know it’s a cover, but it is one of the finest reworks in the history of popular music. Although diehard fans of Nine Inch Nails might say that the original is better, given that this emotional churner came at the end of the career of outlaw country/rockabilly legend Johnny Cash‘s life, it has that extra bit of heartache coursing throughout it. It was recorded in 2002 for Cash’s 67th and final studio album from the following year, American IV: The Man Comes Around.
Carried by the thought-provoking acoustic line, there is no one better to describe the power of Johnny Cash’s ‘Hurt’ than the original songwriter, Trent Reznor. The Nine Inch Nails leader told Alternative Press in 2004: “A few weeks later, a CD shows up with the track. Again, I’m in the middle of something and put it on and give it a cursory listen. It sounded… weird to me. That song in particular was straight from my soul, and it felt very strange hearing the highly identifiable voice of Johnny Cash singing it. It was a good version, and I certainly wasn’t cringing or anything, but it felt like I was watching my girlfriend fuck somebody else. Or something like that. Anyway, a few weeks later, a videotape shows up with Mark Romanek’s video on it. It’s morning; I’m in the studio in New Orleans working on Zack De La Rocha’s record with him; I pop the video in, and… wow.”
Outlining the devastating impact Cash’s interpretation had on him, Reznor continued: “Tears welling, silence, goose-bumps… Wow. I just lost my girlfriend, because that song isn’t mine any more. Then it all made sense to me. It really made me think about how powerful music is as a medium and art form. I wrote some words and music in my bedroom as a way of staying sane, about a bleak and desperate place I was in, totally isolated and alone. Some-fucking-how that winds up reinterpreted by a music legend from a radically different era/genre and still retains sincerity and meaning – different, but every bit as pure. Things felt even stranger when he passed away. The song’s purpose shifted again. It’s incredibly flattering as a writer to have your song chosen by someone who’s a great writer and a great artist.”
3. ‘All Apologies’ – Nirvana
Usually, a live version wouldn’t make a list such as this, but given the effect on popular culture that this version of Nirvana‘s ‘All Apologies’ had, as with the album it came from – MTV Unplugged in New York – it just had to be this high up. Although the electric version found on Nirvana’s final album, 1993’s In Utero, is exceptional, the acoustic version instils extra intensity into the raw materials, with the repetitive clanks of the instrument making lyrics such as “What else should I be? / All apologies”, even more prominent.
A performance that came towards the end of frontman and songwriter Kurt Cobain’s life, MTV Unplugged in New York was the first release following his suicide in 1994, making the recordings a little more critical. Given the state of drug withdrawal and nervousness, Cobain was reported to have been in at the time of recording, as well as the direction his life was going in, the lyrics and honesty of his vocal performance dance on top of the acoustic guitar to create one of the most affecting musical farewells of all time.
2. ‘Old Man’ – Neil Young
Many Neil Young songs were vying to make it onto the list, but there’s something particularly striking about ‘Old Man’. The lyrics and vocal performances are two of the most cutting in his extensive back catalogue. They are led by the atmosphere of the main guitar riff, with the rhythm mirroring the back-and-forth nature of intense ruminations. A masterwork in acoustic songwriting, the transition from verse to chorus is glorious and a reflection of the Canadian hero’s genius.
Explaining the conversation between the young Neil Young and the older owner of the ranch, Broken Arrow, that he was purchasing off him, in the 2006 documentary Heart of Gold, the songwriter recalled: “About that time when I wrote (‘Heart of Gold’), and I was touring, I had also—just, you know, being a rich hippie for the first time—I had purchased a ranch, and I still live there today. And there was a couple living on it that were the caretakers, an old gentleman named Louis Avila and his wife Clara. And there was this old blue Jeep there, and Louis took me for a ride in this blue Jeep.”
He continued: “He gets me up there on the top side of the place, and there’s this lake up there that fed all the pastures, and he says, ‘Well, tell me, how does a young man like yourself have enough money to buy a place like this?’ And I said, ‘Well, just lucky, Louis, just real lucky.’ And he said, ‘Well, that’s the darnedest thing I ever heard.’ And I wrote this song for him.”
1. ‘Wish You Were Here’ – Pink Floyd
It just had to be this. No acoustic-led song in the annals of rock music is as powerful as Pink Floyd‘s ‘Wish You Were Here’. The title track of the 1975 album hinges on the riff that David Gilmour plays on top of the twelve-string acoustic line at the start. The opening chordal melody was processed to sound like it was being played through AM radio before being overdubbed by a more impactful acoustic guitar lick, which is one of the greatest moments in Gilmour’s career. This instantly captivating section was also mixed to sound as if the guitarist was playing along to the radio, and when his performance becomes more complex, the broadcast subsides, and the rest of Pink Floyd joins in.
The track has long been considered to have been a tribute to the group’s original frontman and leader, Syd Barrett, in the 2012 documentary, The Story of Wish You Were Here, both songwriters, Gilmour and Roger Waters, separately explain how the concept diverges from this standard interpretation. Waters maintained that he wrote the majority of the lyrics to complement Gilmour’s original riff and their broader composition that ensued, and said the lyrics were directed at himself. They are still open to interpretation, he maintained, though. Regardless, Gilmour conceded that he never performs the song without remembering their late friend Syd Barrett.
Despite both men having one of the most notoriously fractured relationships in rock, they agree that ‘Wish You Were Here’ is one of Pink Floyd’s ultimate achievements. Waters said the song is “really good. All bits of it are really, really good. I’m very happy about it.” His counterpart asserted that “because of its resonance and the emotional weight it carries, it is one of our best songs.”
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