THE GUITAR SOLO Elliot Easton recorded for the Cars’ “Touch and Go” is considered one of his all-time greatest performances, but producer Roy Thomas Baker and Easton’s bandmates weren’t completely convinced when the guitarist first recorded it in the studio. “I wrote a solo that was a really crafted, jazz/bop, Steely Dan-style thing where I played through the chord changes,” Easton recalls, noting that he perfected it over a three-week period. “I was really excited to record that solo, and the first time I recorded it, I played it perfect. I was elated, but when I looked around at everyone else, it was crickets. They asked me to try a different approach and suggested that I play a slow solo on a six-string bass with tremolo. I’m a lefty and didn’t have a six-string bass, so I took one of Ben Orr’s Precision Basses, flipped it upside down and plugged it into a Fender Twin Reverb with tremolo and reverb.
ORIGINAL GEAR
Elliot Easton (with his Fender Lead I) performs with the Cars in Atlanta October 16, 1980
RICK DIAMOND/GETTY IMAGES