The Greatest Guitar Riff Ever: 1973
Lots of bass riffs the last few weeks and we finally have our first bass Riff of the Week winner
Alice Cooper - Billion Dollar Babies
I truly didn’t expect to feature three Alice Cooper riffs in as many weeks on this here newsletter. But Glen Buxton and Michael Bruce’s dual-riffing simply rules. There isn’t a single good record from this band from this point forward but their run of four records from Love It to Death to Billion Dollar Babies is fucking sick.
The Allman Brothers - Ramblin’ Man
Admittedly more of a song of licks than riffs but I love this song and wasn’t going to publish without it. Sue me.
Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
I know it goes without saying but where would metal music be without Tony Iommi. There are two riffs in this one that are out of this world, with the intro riff and then the second motif that closes out the track, starting around 3:20 in. Do riffs get darker or more sinister than this? While also having an immediate hook and being slightly poppy? He really is the GOAT. Perfect song, perfect riffs.
Blue Oyster Cult - Teen Archer
Just some of the best bass riffing ever. Groovy but also goes hard. I don’t know anything about Joe Bouchard but I know that he could fucking riff. Blue Oyster Cult rules, listen to Blue Oyster Cult.
Budgie - Breadfan
This is the only Budgie song I know but it kinda feels like proto-thrash. Stuff like this is what takes the ‘70s over the ‘60s for me. Everything just goes a little harder. This riff goes hard.
David Bowie - The Jean Genie
COME THE FUCK ON!!!! WHAT SOUNDS BETTER THAN THIS????
Free - Wishing Well
”All Right Now” kinda fucking sucks but “Wishing Well” does not. It fucking rules. Insane that it’s the same band. Love this riff, love the tone.
Funkadelic - Cosmic Slop
Another installment of me becoming a huge Funkadelic head as a 35-year-old man. I know it’s in the name but this bass is the funkiest shit of all-time. What a fucking groove! The most annoying thing about this band is their lineups are impossible to track album-to-album. It would seem Cordell Mosson played bass on this track. Shoutout Cordell, you fucking rule.
Joe Walsh - Rocky Mountain Way
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a trillion times: Joe Walsh is the coolest motherfucker to play guitar. And this might be his coolest riff. The slide guitar, folks.
Led Zeppelin - Dancing Days
Jimmy Page was so fucking done with the blues, dude. Nothing sounds like this. What genre is this even? Just an absolutely insane riff that sounds like it got beamed down from aliens. Extra-terrestrial rock. There were like 30 choices I could have made from this album so I chose my favorite, piss up a rope if you don’t like it.
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Simple Man
I can taste the Keystone Lite the second the arpeggio starts.
New York Dolls - Personality Crisis
Punk rock is so cool lol.
Pink Floyd - Money
Okay so I said last week that Can had my favorite bass riff ever but this is, like, thee iconic bass riff ever. Right? What tops this? Roger Waters seems like a real one for 50 years now and this bass riff is the realest thing he’s ever done.
Sly & the Family Stone - If You Want Me to Stay
What a fucking bet on yourself to kick Larry Graham out of your band, one of the best bassists ever, and decide to play bass yourself on your own record. It paid off! Sly fucking killed it! Not as all over the map as Larry’s playing but what an insane groove.
Iggy & the Stooges - Penetration
Real fucking rock, right here.
T. Rex - 20th Century Boy
The thing about glam rock is that it was dressed up in a lot of glitz and glamor, certainly, but it has the most grimy and distorted within an inch of its life riffs out of maybe any subgenre out there. And “20th Century Boy” might be the grimiest of the bunch. Marc Bolan fucking rules.
Thin Lizzy - Vagabond of the Western World
God I fucking LOVE Thin Lizzy. One of the most underrated bands? Part blues rock, kinda proto-metal, and insanely groovy all in one. On later records, the bass takes over, but this title track is dominated by a filthy guitar riff and I love it.
Waylon Jennings - Lonesome, On’ry and Mean
I love the old-school country tic-tac bass. My favorite country singer ever, my favorite song of his, and an out-of-this-world bass head-bobber. I would mention the player by name but, as was custom from country in this era, there are like a half-dozen bass players credited on this album so shout out to all of them.
Willie Nelson - Whiskey River
More unreal country bass riffing. This one is credited to one single man (shoutout Dan “Bee” Spears) and, while I prefer the riff and song above to this one, the playing here is admittedly doing more.
Wings - Let Me Roll It
Okay so there are probably five different riffs on Band on the Run’s title track alone that are more impressive than the little guitar riff that pops up repeatedly in the verses here. But here’s the thing: production and tone matter a lot with a riff. And none of the riffs on “Band on the Run” sound as insane and sick as this one.
ZZ Top - La Grange
I can taste the Lone Star the second the riff starts.
What is the Best Riff of 1973?
I think this one is fairly easy. The finalists here are “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath,” “Dancing Days,” “Simple Man,” “Money” and “La Grange.”I think there are nitpicks others could make about two of those not being the best riffs on their albums, even though I’ll argue to the death about them. And then with “Simple Man,” it’s the best riff on the album, but that’s because so much of the guitar on the album is dominated by solos. It’s between “Money” and “La Grange” and, who am I kidding, it’s “Money.”
Does it top the previous Best Riff?
I think it kind of has to. I love “Into the Void” so much and I like Sabbath more than Pink Floyd. But this is, like, thee bass riff of an era. If this one doesn’t take the belt for at least a week, what bass riff is ever going to? It goes fucking hard. Congrats, Roger.