The Greatest Guitar Riff Ever: 1970
What the fuck, this is bullshit, how did all of these come out in 12 months?
The Allman Brothers - In Memory of Elizabeth Reed
Much like last week’s Allman Bros. cut, “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” is really a collection of four different riffs. You got the main, slower-tempo part at around thirty seconds into the song. Then you got the more uptempo, swingy part a minute later (my favorite). You got the insane bass groove like four minutes in, and then about six and a half minutes in, you got Duane Allman and Dickey Betts harmonizing together. It’s insane. This kinda calls back to the first few weeks we did this with no vocals and the riffing/soloing carrying the whole song, but this is a great showcase for what made this band so good and so different that most of the stereotypes leveled against “southern rock.”
The Beatles - Dig a Pony
It’s been a few weeks without Beatles riffs and this is the last year they’ll qualify, with them breaking up and whatnot, and man do they go out on a high note. Maybe my favorite Beatles riff? The wonderful Get Back doc from a few years back captures this intro riff as well as anything else does. Absolutely love how John and George play off each other.
Black Sabbath - N.I.B.
Spoiler alert this isn’t my favorite Sabbath riff of 1970 but it came first. Maybe the birth of a whole ass genre? Geezer Butler with the throatiest bass tone of all time, lyrics about Satan, and a choice amount of distortion and, voila, metal was born. They got better almost immediately but props for being first.
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
You know I had to do it to ‘em. What else could it have been? Ramones-level catchiness with the sickest guitar tone ever. It could have been about five different songs with distinctive riffs off of Paranoid but be serious it was always the title track. Sabbath invented metal with the previous album, did they invent pop-punk with this one? I’ll take my answers offline, thanks.
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Ramble Tamble
If this was awarding the Most Cinematic Riffs of each year, “Ramble Tamble” would clean up this week. It isn’t, but damn, this still rules. The way the riff and song unravel over the course of seven minutes, beginning almost in a rockabilly upbeat way, before slowing down about a quarter of the way through the song into an arpeggiated line that sounds eerily similar to a Led Zeppelin riff that will come in ‘71 that everyone and their moms know. And that’s all without counting the slide part that’s a bit more of a solo than a riff but fucking incredible and ties the whole song together. Maybe the best song of the year but probably not the best riff.
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young - Ohio
Neil Young, folks. What a guy. Sure, there are very obviously three other dudes in this band. They’re in the name of the band, hard to miss them. But this is a Neil song through and through. It’s as simple as all of Neil’s riffs tend to be and that’s what makes them great. That and having perfect guitar tone.
David Bowie - The Man Who Sold the World
David Bowie is my favorite musician of all time. He hasn’t come up yet in the two months and change that I’ve been doing the newsletter because, frankly, his first few albums are some folky bullshit that he rightfully never went back to. The dude wasn’t rocking. Pair him with Mick Ronson though? Hoo, boy. Pretty much a perfect and simplistic riff. So good Kurt had to jack it.
Deep Purple - Speed King
I want to penalize these dorks for having such an insanely good riff and waiting until a minute and a half of their song burying it under some bullshit before revealing it. Did Jack White craft his whole vibe off of this single riff? Hard to say but it seems like that’s probably a yes. Wild riff.
Derek and the Dominos - Layla
Absolutely insane and unhinged to be so bent over backwards horned up over your best friend’s wife that you write the best song of your solo career and “write” one of the best codas ever. Go to therapy, get a grip.
Faces - Wicked Messenger
Something was in the water in London in 1970. Dudes were rocking cataclysmically. It’s a shame that Ronnie Wood has been relegated to “mommy and daddy are fighting again” status between Keith Richards and Mick Jagger. Guy was a top-tier riffer in his own right with Faces and maybe never as much so as he was on this debut album.
Funkadelic - I Got a Thing, You Got a Thing, Everybody Got a Thing
My dude Matt is a huge Funkadelic guy and I think I first heard this album during lockdown on his recommendation. Eddie Hazel could solo as well as Jimi and also riff on Jimmy’s level. It’s criminal that folks putting out guitar magazines for teenagers aren’t cranking their metaphorical (definitely only metaphorical) hogs over Eddie’s playing the same way they were over those other dudes. This song rules.
George Harrison - My Sweet Lord
The slide guitar, folks. My favorite slide player. No one ever sounded like this. People can shit on George all they want but John and Paul never played like this.
Grateful Dead - Casey Jones
Jerry is at it again the guy cannot be stopped!!! (I’m running out of ways to say I think Jerry Garcia is sick, let’s hear it for Jerry Garcia everybody)
Grateful Dead - Box of Rain
My favorite Grateful Dead song and I’m including it this week because 1) it’s my favorite Grateful Dead song and, more importantly, 2) Phil Lesh is one of the best bass riffers ever. Dude was all over the map on this track, one of the few he sang and wrote himself for the band, and it gives the band a kind of minor-key sound that they didn’t really have on many of Jerry and Bobby’s songs. The rest of the band cleared out of the paint just so Phil could yam on us for five minutes straight.
James Gang - Funk #49
Is there a cooler guy than Joe Walsh? I don’t think there is. This is the coolest riff on the list.
John Lennon - I Found Out
I don’t love John’s solo stuff. Not even in an “I prefer George or Paul’s solo stuff” kind of way - it’s just something I almost never reach for. But this first record features some sick straight-into-the-console guitar tones and “I Found Out” recalls some of his riffier Beatles parts.
The Kinks - Lola
A proper continuation of the Kinks probably being my favorite British Invasion band, with this record and year being their apex. God I love the little riff going out of the chorus and leading into the verse. I feel like the Kinks aren’t known so much for their instrumentation and more for their general songwriting but Dave Davies could hold it down.
Led Zeppelin - Immigrant Song
Have you seen Thor: Ragnarok? Do you remember when the MCU didn’t suck shit? The scene in that movie where they make a live-action enactment of cheesy metal album artwork and set it to this song - that is Cinema to me. A riff worthy of the God of Thunder fucking shit up to pieces.
Mountain - Mississippi Queen
I too played Guitar Hero 3.
Parliament - Breakdown
To my understanding, Parliament and Funkadelic are basically the same band? And Funkadelic is slightly more rock-leaning, with Parliament being a bit more experimental? Seems a bit unnecessary to split the two up but who gives a flying fuck Eddie Hazel is going to town either way. Man, this owns.
Santana - Oye Como Va
I know Santana is Santana’s band and everything but the bass is what holds this song down. Shouts to David Brown, what a bass riff.
The Stooges - T.V. Eye
For starters, I like Funhouse more than The Stooges but I do think “I Wanna Be Your Dog” takes it over “T.V. Eye.” However, I saw J Mascis cover this song with John Brannon on vocals. That gives this riff a massive amount of cred. Great track.
T. Rex - Jewel
I saw Longlegs when it came out and that movie kinda sucked but the coolest part was when Oz Perkins made the smart decision to blare this riff over the opening credits. An acoustic guitar with distortion? Did this guy invent Neutral Milk Hotel?
The Velvet Underground - Sweet Jane
This is kind of just a dude strumming some chords but a) it’s kind of my last opportunity to highlight VU and b) what the fuck sounds better than this? It sounds so cool. Lou Reed has the juice, folks.
What is the Best Riff of 1970?
24 nominees lmao what the fuck man. I think we can eliminate The Allman Brothers because it’s a bit of a quantity vs. quality proposition. “Dig a Pony” rules and is probably my favorite Beatles riff but it doesn’t hold up to some of these. “Ramble Tamble” is maybe the most evocative riff but I don’t think that makes it the best. A bunch of the others are either awesome discoveries or cool kind of underrated riffs. But, in my opinion, it comes down to one of the Sabbath riffs, “Layla,” “Funk #49,” and “Immigrant Song.” You could maybe argue I should go with “War Pigs” or “Iron Man” over “Paranoid” but, for the sake of an easier argument, I’ll just go with “N.I.B.” I don’t want to give it to “Layla” sue me. “Funk #49” is cool as all hell but I would admittedly be stretching credulity a bit if I picked that. “N.I.B.” vs. “Immigrant Song.” Tony vs. Jimmy. Birmingham vs. London. Yeah, man, it’s Thor’s theme song.
Does it top the previous Best Riff?
I want to give it to Ron Asheton & Co. again but I cannot. Like, it’s just Jimmy? Obviously? I do truly believe “I Wanna Be Your Dog” takes “Whole Lotta Love” and that “Immigrant Song” takes “I Wanna Be Your Dog.” Is the riff from “Immigrant Song” better than “Whole Lotta Love?” Does it matter? If Auburn loses in football to Jacksonville State or some horseshit and then beats Bama, is Jacksonville State better than Bama? Tune in next week to find out (roll tide).