While I was putting together the “For the Birds” playlist, I got sucked in by Free Bird yet again. Those damn guitars are just fantastic. So I started thinking about bands with three guitarists and The Outlaws, April Wine & the later Eagles came to mind. I wanted to get a playlist together that honoured the “guitar army” (although really The Outlaws get that nod).
We start off with the bands that have three guitarists as their normal configuration. The list is set as Song – Band: Guitarists.
- Free Bird – Lynyrd Skynyrd: Gary Rossington, Allen Collins, Ed King
- Green Grass and High Tides – The Outlaws: Hughie Thomasson, Billy Jones, Henry Paul
- Sign of the Gypsy Queen – April Wine: Myles Goodwin, Brian Greenway, Gary Moffet
- Mr. Soul – Buffalo Springfield: Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Richie Furay
- Back on Terra Firma – The Hellecasters: Will Ray, John Jorgenson, Jerry Donahue
- Hotel California – The Eagles: Glenn Frey, Don Felder, Joe Walsh
- Albatross – Fleetwood Mac: Peter Green, Danny Kirwan, Jeremy Spencer
Then we get into live versions where there are multiple guitarists as guests & they play off each other with great effect. In “guitar army” speak, think of these guys as mercenaries.
- Red House – G3 (touring band Joe Satriani put together): Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, John Petrucci
- Jam #1 – from The Last Waltz (The Band): Robbie Robertson, Ron Wood, Eric Clapton, Neil Young
- Crossroads – from Eric Clapton Live in San Diego: Eric Clapton, Robert Cray, Doyle Bramhall II, Derek Trucks
- Let Me Love You – from Jeff Beck Live at the Hollywood Bowl: Jeff Beck, Buddy Guy, Carmen Vandenberg
And I just have to end with a live version of Free Bird, the song that started it all. Of all the three (plus) guitar songs, this one wins out for me. It’s a narrow win over Green Grass and High Tides, though. These two are the best.
Just sticking to your list, “Free Bird” is the killer of them all, live or otherwise. I fulfilled a bucket list item last year by seeing Skynyrd live and playing air guitar to FB. It never fails to excite. Secondly for me would be “Hotel California.” The whole song is perfection and you could not improve on those solos at the end. I’ll have to listen to “Let Me Love You” live as I’ve only ever heard it on the Beck album. So good. I’ve never really been a big fan of “Green Grass and High Tides” for whatever reason.