Weekend Song – Men At Work

We’re going to stay with the 80’s with a bland song, a little fun. Great singer, but not a strong song. So why do I have it here? Why do I sit here are 11:17 on a Saturday night forsaking all others for one small priviledge? I’ll tell you why.

The incredible guitar solo. Because this could be the most perfect pop guitar solo of all time.

A good solo has a beginning, middle and end. Like a kiss, it’s a dance and a balance of structure and abandon. It gets you thinking that the context has possibilities you never realised. It’s an act in the physical and dramatic sense, with the play and the player. You’re a part of it as much as it is a part of you.

And that’s the relationship between a good guitar solo and the song. And you too, now that I think about it, and through that – although to a lesser extent, but still worth mentioning – me. It’s the way a perfect wine can make a meal better, or how the weather improves the company you’re with.

Think of the live version of No Woman No Cry. It’s all just enough. It’s perfect. There’s phrasing and talent and improvisation and vocabulary and you know what else? I’m just going to shut up, because to keep talking would be to delay the justice this does.

Listen – It’s A Mistake

Weekend Song archive