Lightning in the Bottle

Original Thin Lizzy guitarist Eric Bell explains the roots and finer points of his 'Whiskey in the Jar' guitar solo and phrasing

- BY ANDREW DALY

ALTHOUGH “WHISKEY IN the Jar” originated as a traditional Irish folk tune, once founding Thin Lizzy guitarist Eric Bell got ahold of it in 1973 - transforming it into a rocker with an iconic guitar solo - it took on a life of its own. Since then, the song has been covered by numerous artists, the most notable of whom is Metallica, who released their version of "Whiskey" on 1998's Garage Inc. And while Metallica's version is great, there's just something inescapably cool about Thin Lizzy's version and of course - its one-of-a-kind Eric Bell guitar solo.

"I think a solo should complement the song, rather than just jerking off," Bell says. "I still play that solo. I suppose people expect it. But it took a long time. It wasn't blues and it wasn't rock. I was used to playing blues and rock, but when 'Whiskey' came along, there was this huge question mark over my head, going, 'What the fuck am I going to play?'"

How did you come up with the solo? I remember humming it, you know? That's the way I made most of my solos. I'll play the chords, and I'll sing or hum it over and over again. It might take quite a long time to get the solo I want to hear, but it seems to work.

So it took a long time? I was trying to get the phrase, that little hook, for about two or three weeks. I was going everywhere — on the toilet, the bath, the taxi and walking down the street — going, "What do I hear coming in there after those chords?" It took forever, but it's stood the test of time.