Today, GuitarWorld.com presents "Rude Awakenings," a new song by Kalinich and Tiven that features a somewhat unorthodox guitar solo by Queen's Brian May.
The track is from Kalinich and Tiven's new album, Each Soul Has a Voice, which will be released July 3 by MsMusic.
Stephen Kalinich and Jon Tiven have racked up some impressive credits since the Sixties and Seventies. Kalinich collaborated with the Beach Boys, co-writing “Little Bird” with Dennis Wilson, and Tiven has worked with everyone from the Rolling Stones and Alex Chilton to Alabama Shakes.
“Brian [May] and I have been good friends for over 40 years, and [the] last time he came through New York he came over and we had a few jam sessions, which we recorded in case something good could come from them," Tiven told Glide Magazine.
"I added a few instruments and sent it to Brian, who was shocked at the shape it had taken, quite delighted actually, and insisted on fixing a few things on his original guitar track. But the essence of the original inspiration is intact and very much the soul of the song.
"Brian plays all over the track, not just the solo. He's the dominant guitar [on the song]. I play slide on it, plus horns, bass and drums, but I let him take the front seat!"
Each Soul Has a Voice is the result of songwriting sessions that yielded a hard-to-imagine 700 compositions. Only the 14 best were selected for the new album.
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“We write a song a day, generally speaking,” Tiven said. “Stevie sends me a lyric and I either write something fresh or use a music track that I’ve managed to compose on a day off. During this process we achieved a closeness as a team that you cannot get unless you write that many songs as a team.
"You put two semi-geniuses together and over time they can become one great mind."
Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
