Lick No.1: Peter Haycock, “Rollin’ Home”

If you have not listened to The Climax Blues Band before, then you are in for a treat. Whilst they had just one song that would classify as a 'hit', "Couldn't Get It Right", they crafted a string of excellent albums, and, in the late '70s and early '80s, seemed on the verge of breaking into the big time.

Peter Haycock, who very sadly died at a young age just a few years ago, was a gifted guitarist. Apart from his brilliant playing, he will probably also be remembered for his Veleno guitars, those all-aluminium creations of John Veleno. Several of Pete's were gold-plated, which presumably is what inspired the title of their excellent 1976 album...'Gold Plated'.

Apart from "Couldn't Get It Right", the album features some excellent tunes with terrific blues guitar work, such as "Mighty Fire" and "Rollin' Home", from which I chose my 'Tasty Blues Lick' No.1. The lick comes just into the second verse, straight after Pete sings that memorable line, "...sometimes I feel like a monkey". We could call it the 'monkey lick', I suppose, but whether we do or not, it's a beauty.

Check out the instructional video I've posted on YouTube HERE or by clicking the "Tasty Blues Lick" image below, where I break it down. And if you haven't already got 'Gold Plated', treat yourself to a copy on CD or vinyl. You'll be doing yourself a big favour, and, if you buy it via one of my links, you'll be helping to support the site and the free guitar lessons 🙂 because for each sale from a link, a small commission will be generated - at no extra cost to you.  You'll find both UK and USA links to buy the album, HERE.

Enjoy the Monkey Lick and the rest of Pete Haycock's wonderful guitar playing.

Playing the first 12 bars of ‘Hideaway’

Arguably the most difficult track to master from the Beano album, 'Hideaway' presents the player with some tricky techniques and timing challenges. The first one to be aware of is right at the start, the second time we play the main riff. If we listen very closely to the record, we can hear that Eric does not play the second note. Instead, it is 'implied', and our brain fills in the gap. This subtle point goes a long way to capturing the feel of the track as it was recorded.

Another thing to be very careful with is the string bending. It is important to make sure we end our bends on the correct notes. Listen carefully to where those notes should end and get them as close as you can. Also be aware that you need to kill them stone dead and cleanly. Do not leave them hanging on.

The hammer-ons in the opening riffs, played in the ninth position (i.e. with the first finger at the ninth fret) can be played with either the second or third finger. Experiment with both, and play it the way that works best for you. I tend to chop and change, sometimes using my second, sometimes my third. And be sure to get the repeated hammer-ons in the third phrase nicely in time. Listen very carefully to the underlying beat as you are playing.

For the closing part of this section, the riff moves down to the open strings, more in the style of the original Freddie King version. For the part where it comes out of the riff (after the slide-up on the E string which is followed by the three repeated hammer-ons) those three notes are usually seen played on the open B and G (2nd fret) strings, but I find I can control the tone and the damping much better if I play it all on the G string, at the 2nd and 4th frets. Give it a try and see what you think.

Trills play a big part in Hideaway, and next we come to the first of them. It's on the G string, and we trill on the first fret. You can use either your first or second finger. I usually use my second, because it has more strength and I do the trill much more effectively.

After a couple more notes, you then have the rapid slide on the G string, from the 3rd to the 2nd fret then the open G string. Listen to the record to check the sound you are aiming to achieve, then work on it.