1. Green Onions
That guitar riff, man, it just *slithers*. Steve Cropper wasn't flashy, didn't need to be. He laid down that bedrock groove, cool as ice, letting the organ do its thing but always there, a lean, mean counterpoint. It's foundational. This ain't just soul, it's the very pulse of a thousand sweaty club nights, a masterclass in less-is-more precision. Still hits you right in the gut, every damn time.
2. (Sittin' On) the Dock of the Bay
Otis, man. This one's a gut punch, pure and simple. The electric guitar here, it's not screaming for attention; it's weaving in and out, a quiet lament backing that voice. It's the sound of reflection, of a master artist baring his soul, knowing his time was short. That mournful whistle at the end? Haunting. It’s a blues ballad, dressed up for a new era, proving the electric can whisper as powerfully as it can roar.
3. In the Midnight Hour
Pickett's raw power, undeniable. But again, it’s Cropper on that axe, laying down those choppy, insistent rhythms. That stuttering guitar figure, it’s the heartbeat of the whole damn thing, a masterclass in groove. It’s not about solos, it's about the collective punch, that tight-as-hell Stax sound. This track defines a particular strain of southern soul, sweaty and immediate, built on a foundation of electric guitar grit. You feel it in your bones.
4. Papa's Got A Brand New Bag
James Brown blew the doors off everything with this. The electric guitar here isn't just accompaniment; it's a percussive weapon, slicing through the air. Jimmy Nolen's chank-a-chank rhythm guitar work is pure funk architecture. Every note is about the pocket, about driving that relentless, syncopated pulse. This ain't rock, it ain't blues anymore; this is the sound of a new groove being forged, electric, sharp, and utterly revolutionary.
5. Walk on the Wild Side
Lou Reed, always the provocateur. That electric guitar here, it's not flashy, but it’s absolutely essential to the narrative. It hangs back, cool and detached, offering those sparse, almost conversational licks. It paints the backdrop for those vignettes of Warhol's factory denizens. More about atmosphere than aggression, it's a post-Velvet Underground sensibility, leaning into the spoken word but held together by that understated, street-smart electric texture.
6. Love Is Only a Feeling
Alright, so this one's a bit outside my usual stomping grounds, hailing from the early 2000s. But damn if The Darkness didn't nail that classic 70s hard rock swagger. That electric guitar riff is pure Thin Lizzy worship, all harmonized leads and arena-rock bombast. It’s a loving, almost archaeological reconstruction of what made those big-riff bands undeniable. A cheeky nod to the past, executed with genuine electric guitar fire.
7. Psycho Killer (The Cube Guys Remix)
Now, this is a curveball, a modern remix of a foundational post-punk anthem. While the original had that angular, twitchy electric guitar defining its paranoia, this remix transforms it into something for the dance floor. It strips down the punk edge, re-contextualizing those iconic licks for a house beat. It’s a weird, almost industrial re-imagining, showing how a classic electric riff can still propel a completely different sonic beast.
8. The Message
"The Message" was a stark, uncompromising social commentary. While the track’s brilliance is in its lyrical truth, listen closely to the instrumentation. That electric guitar riff, often sampled or synthesized, provides a crucial, almost industrial grittiness to the backdrop. It's not a solo, but a rhythmic, insistent presence, giving weight to the narrative. It shows how the electric guitar’s essence, even in fragmented form, could underpin the nascent sounds of hip-hop.
9. Iron Man 2
Black Sabbath’s "Iron Man." That riff is a monolithic slab of distorted electric guitar, slow and crushing. It’s not just a riff; it’s a tectonic plate shifting, forging the very structures of metal. That downtuned, sludgy sound, the sheer weight of it, redefined what an electric guitar could do. It’s primal, menacing, and still carries the force of a thousand thunderclaps. Absolutely foundational. This is the blueprint for heavy.
