Brian May Reveals the One Guitar Solo That Always Melts His Face

Queen guitarist Dr. Brian May knows a thing or two about crafting a memorable guitar solo, but there's one solo by a contemporary of his that makes him want to go all Wayne's World whenever he hears it.

It's Nuno Bettencourt's percussive, fiery fretwork on Extreme's 1990 hit "Get the Funk Out."

May praises how Bettencourt expertly blends air-tight rhythm guitar playing with melodic lead work that makes you want to sing along.

"If that doesn't bring tears to your eyes as a guitarist," May gushes while listening to the solo, "I don't know where things are. And there's more, you know."

He pauses the recording and continues, "That to me is the epitome of what a solo should be on record. Of course it's preconceived, it's built, it's constructed, but within that is this incredible kind of spontaneity that's there. It sounds like it's coming straight out of inside him, and it is, you know. Those things don't happen very often."

But has he ever tried to learn it?

"On pure technical ability alone, that's colossal. I could never do that. No way in a month of Sundays could I learn that solo. It's Nuno's own thing. It's a stupendous thing, it's a landmark. That's a landmark in rock history."

May has been an Extreme fan since at least the early '90s when Extreme played The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992. The Queen guitarist even collaborated with Extreme on their cover of Queen's "Love of My Life."


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