I’m a sucker for fuzz guitar and other subtly shit-hot leads! There are plenty of underwritten songs and even entire albums (eg, The Pretty Things’ SF Sorrow) that I otherwise might not give the time of day if not for the soul-stirring fuzztone guitar parts. There are other songs, like The Blues Project‘s version of “Back Door Man,” that are loaded with subtly shit-hot leads that will forever be burned in my mind.

Over the weekend, on the way to a soccer game, Edwin Starr’s “War” came on the radio, and I cranked it up for my son and his friend. I LOVED this song since I was a little kid, but I hadn’t heard it for years. I was pleasantly surprised by the subtle, shit-hot fuzz guitar fills on the choruses, fills that seemed to be a precurssor to the fills The Isley Brothers would put in their early ’70s hits. I’d forgotten about them and how much they added.

Then I thought about the time many moons ago, when Townsman Andyr pointed out to me maybe the most unexpected use of fuzztone and subtle, shit-hot fills: those that appear in the distance midway through Simon and Garfunkle‘s thoughtful “Sounds of Silence.” The song was forever improved for me, and the consciousness of these fills made me aware of Paul Simon’s penchant for working subtle, shit-hot fuzztone leads into his seemingly placcid music. Think about the guitar fill that follows the doobie-smokin’ line in “Late in the Evening.”

I’m sure I’m not alone in my appreciation for fuzztone and shit-hot leads. I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in holding some subtly shit-hot examples of these qualities in mind. What are your favorite uses of unexpected fuzz guitar and other subtle, shit-hot fills?

In our recent thread on dances that Townspeople have done, Telewacker asked to see a clip demonstrating Philadelphia’s famed Mummers Strut. Before you see the strut in action, first watch this instructional clip.

Next, watch the Ferko String Band in action! Watch them strut!
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When I was college, I experienced the wonderful realization that — with a little effort — I could actually write songs. Not great ones, but songs that were occasionally not half bad. Catalyzed by my encounters with The Jam’s All Mod Cons, Townsmen kcills, Mod, and a few other personal and professional icons of the pop/punk ideal, I began doing this in my spare time, forming a band as so many around me were doing.

One of the groups that convinced me it was possible for mere mortals to write pleasing, interesting music was the dB’s. Their Repercussions album is still on my short list of “One Day the World Will Wake Up and Celebrate This LP and the Band That Made It” discs — and it’s one of the reasons why, when I met Chris Stamey a few years ago, the first thing I blurted out was, “you’re a National Cultural Treasure.”

Anyhow, as a hopeful collegiate songwriter, the one song that rose to the top for me — across all the Great Bands I was soaking up in those impressionable years — was “Neverland” by the dB’s. I thought then, and continue to think today, that it’s the Perfect Pop Song. And the spot (at 2:27 in this newly discovered video) when Gene Holder shoots up the neck to the tonic is one of those shudder-inducing “wait for it” moments that make musical life worth living.

I defy you to find anything wrong with this song. I even dare you to tell me this 26-year-old song sounds dated. You can’t. You just can’t.

HVB

p.s.: per Mod’s request, I add — do you agree, or ARE YOU AN ASSHOLE?

“Spot light on talent, baby!”

Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler never tires of reaffirmations of his band’s popularity.