Items19The creator’s order
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Good TimesNile Rodgers’s short, bright chords leave room for Bernard Edwards’s bass line to move. Listen for the little muted scratches between the notes of the chord. They keep time as the bass takes longer strides, and the whole groove feels lighter for the space between the two guitars.0 - 2
Tattooed Love BoysFollow Chrissie Hynde’s chord accents under the verse and see how quickly they bring you back around. James Honeyman-Scott said he settled on a small line against her rhythm and kept playing it to stay in time. Once you hear both, the sharper little lick makes a handy guide to the part underneath.0 - 3
Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine, Pts. 1 & 2Catfish Collins’s clipped guitar scratches pass around the bass line played by his brother Bootsy. The bass makes the first beat easy to find, so try listening for the quick guitar answers that come afterward. The pattern is already in place before James Brown starts trading lines with Bobby Byrd.0 - 4
Back in BlackEngineer Tony Platt points to a detail you can test on headphones. Malcolm Young’s Gretsch sits on the left, with Angus Young’s lead on the right. Try following Malcolm when the familiar lick breaks off into shorter runs. The weight comes from his firm chord attack and the empty space he leaves…0 - 5
Love and HappinessTeenie Hodges lets the first guitar notes hang in the air. Once the band starts playing, listen for the little gaps in his repeating figure where the organ and bass can answer. As Green starts taking more liberties with the phrasing, the guitar is still quietly setting the terms.0 - 6
London CallingEngineer Bill Price remembered how Joe Strummer damped his chords with his strumming hand. His original rhythm take stayed in the final mix. Listen during the first verse for the chord hits that stop almost as soon as they start, then follow the longer guitar sounds around them as the track fills…0 - 7
CoyoteMitchell’s guitar keeps a low string ringing while the upper notes of the chord change. Listen for that anchor under the long vocal lines and for the bass curling away from it. The open tuning gives those chords room to spread without slowing the strum.0 - 8
Stir It UpThe rhythm guitar cuts the chords short on the offbeats, leaving the bass free to stretch out underneath. Stay with that dry chop when Wayne Perkins’s overdubbed guitar starts to make itself heard. The small strokes are what keep the track swaying as the higher guitar takes longer breaths.0 - 9
Take Me OutAlex Kapranos describes splitting a chord across the bass and the two guitars. After the big slowdown, listen to the second guitar and bass turn the big riff into a series of interlocking notes. The parts leave little holes for one another, so the new groove lands heavier than a single strummed…0 - 10
Bo DiddleyDiddley holds to one chord and changes where he hits it. Count the first group of three accents, then wait for the two that answer it. The guitar’s tremolo and rattling percussion give those same accents enough motion to carry the verses.0
