How many rock songs from the last five years can guitarists say are modern classics? It’s a tricky one – the passage of time creates that vintage. And yet, it became quickly apparent that the title track from Alter Bridge's second album was destined for that accolade.
Composition, atmosphere, emotion – Blackbird has got it all, with one of the greatest rock guitar solos of the last 10 years as the heart. Its significance is not lost on the band.
“That song is special in many ways,” its co-writer, Alter Bridge’s singer and guitarist Myles Kennedy, told this writer in 2011. “I’m sure in years from now it’s something I’ll look back on as being a crowning achievement as a writer. We all feel that way in the band.”
It will forever be etched in my memory as a special moment
Myles Kennedy
The song came late in the sessions for Alter Bridge’s 2007 second album, which it would give its name to. It was a record that saw Myles contribute guitar to the band for the first time and work more closely as a writer with guitarist Mark Tremonti than before.
“It was our most collaborative song at that point,” Myles noted, “and that’s one of the things that draws me to that song – we were able to capture these moments. The way we were feeding off each other was like we were capturing lightning in a bottle. As a musician and a writer, those are the moments that keep you going – it’s like a drug. It will forever be etched in my memory as a special moment.”
The positivity of this writing dynamic contrasts with the mood of the music. Blackbird’s mournful atmosphere is set from the beginning by the fingerpicked verse part – a thumb and two-finger technique that has Tremonti’s hallmark all over it. The former Creed guitarist reveals it was the starting point for the writing session: “I’d been throwing it around for a while and I really loved it – it had such a sad classical feel to it.”
We’ve always had trouble coming up with big choruses that are in a 6/8 feel
Mark Tremonti
From there, the creative ball was rolling – even through an initial stumbling block. “We were all at rehearsals, and me and Myles were trying to come up with a chorus. We’ve always had trouble coming up with big choruses that are in a 6/8 feel. So we went into separate rooms at the rehearsal pad, and Myles came running back in with the chorus. We all loved it, and ran with it.”
The collaborative spirit made the song’s brooding bridge effortless… “Myles had a musical part and I had a part,” Mark explained. “We just stacked them on top of each other and they sounded great!”
But the feeling of fate aligning in triumph at the time also had a tragic side that resonates sincerely and universally. It helps lift the song to classic status. Kennedy’s vocal and lyrics, and the subject matter they address, match the dark power of the music. “As we got to that point musically, I had a friend I’d known for a long time that was passing away,” Myles explained. “And I remember the lyrics came pretty quick because it was just capturing that moment. I wanted him to find his peace and he did. He passed away within days of completing that song.”
“It’s such a universal theme: loss and death,” he added, “so I think that’s part of the reason so many people gravitate towards that song; because we’ve all gone through it, and we’re all going to continue to go through it.”
I remember from the moment we realised what kind of a guitar player Myles was, we tried to really push that to the forefront and show his skill on the guitar
Mark Tremonti
When it came to recording the core of Blackbird, the duo lent on faithful tone tools – Tremonti’s signature PRS and Myles’ since-retired workhorse McCarty, dubbed ‘The Mule’. The singer would continue to use the Diezel Herbert live he utilised on the album with a Mesa/Boogie Mk IV, while Tremonti recalled his favoured Triple Rectifier for rhythm, adding a Bogner Ecstasy for the leads.
The emotive heart of Blackbird is lifted by its solo section – an alliance of the pair’s distinct lead approaches that finds them realising the potential of the two-man solo in a way few rock players do in the post-Hotel California era. Mark was the instigator of taking on the challenge as a duo…
“I remember from the moment we realised what kind of a guitar player Myles was, we tried to really push that to the forefront and show his skill on the guitar, because I felt that it was a secret weapon,” observed Mark.
“For a band not to have a player of his calibre even touch a guitar on the first record, to come out blazing on the next record would really shock people – and give it that ‘wow’ factor. We felt it was a great moment for our two styles because he took the part where he could really follow the chord changes and throw his knowledge of his feel and phrasing into that then my more aggressive lead style back to back with that. It was a good combination.”
A poll in 2011 by Guitarist magazine saw Blackbird voted the greatest solo of all time – a controversial decision that saw the band’s fanbase rally behind them. Nevertheless, it highlighted that this is a solo that resonates with many – and that will only grow with the passing of time.
“Once we had it all arranged, we all looked at each other and it was one of those hairs-standing-up-on-your-arms moments,” remembered Mark in 2011. “That was the point we were ready to record the album – we felt that it was complete at that moment. And I think that even after this last record we’ve made, we still think Blackbird’s our best song.”
