Classic Rock

I consider Classic Rock as one of the most popular subgenres of rock music today. Some unique features, aside from the common features of rock in general are the higher sounding male vocals from bands of this classic rock era and guitar solos throughout many of the songs. If you listen to any major classic rock artists such as the Eagles, the Beatles, AC/DC, or Boston, you find vocals sung by a male in a higher range than a man would sing today. Many of these famous bands have a lead guitarist who will get their time to shine for an interval, short or long. An aspect of music performance for this era was playing concerts on tour in very big venues. The Beatles, being from the UK, came over to the U.S. and sang in front of thousands at Shea Stadium, home of the baseball team, the New York Mets.

A great example song that shows all these features of classic rock is “Hitch A Ride” by Boston. Starting from the very beginning, we hear the prominent use of the electric guitar. At 8 seconds into the song, we get our first sounds of the high male vocals that are found in many popular songs in this era. The strong beats within a four-beat cycle begin at the 25-second mark. The 1 minute and 30 second mark starts the ever-popular guitar soloist. I’m not sure if it is true or not, but I believe most of the solos are improvised. We also hear the use of creative technology and the synthesizing of the electric guitar during the solo to make it stand out. At the 2 minute and 30 second mark, the start of a longer guitar solo begins with some harmony thrown in until the end of the song.