4 Classic Rock Songs With Great Bridges

For those who don’t write songs, a bridge is a musical connecting piece. Hence the name. It provides a release from the verses and choruses, while also keeping the arrangement intact. As with most things in rock and roll, there are no rules. For example, the Brits frequently call the bridge the “middle eight”. Suggesting eight bars of music. “What if the bridge is longer than eight bars?” you might ask. Doesn’t matter; it’s still called the middle eight.

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The most popular bridges in rock history include The Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations” and Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb”. Wait. Isn’t that part in “Comfortably Numb” just a guitar solo? Yes, but it also acts as the bridge. Think of a solo as a type of bridge (a suspension bridge). Also, bridges don’t even have to be in the middle of the song. But often, they are.

Some bridges (or middle eights) have vocals, but not always. Some feature guitar solos, but not every instrumental section with guitars is a solo. Again, no rules. On “A Day In The Life”, avant-garde orchestration connects John Lennon’s part with Paul McCartney’s. McCartney’s entire section bridges Lennon’s verses.

To confuse you further, not every bridge requires a chord progression that’s different from the verse or chorus patterns. You can still create a musical scene change using the same chords, depending on what’s happening atop them. But you’ll feel the change, which is the whole point, as you’ll hear in the classic tracks below.

Also, if you’re fussy about using these terms interchangeably, the producer’s going to send you home and get someone in here who’s ready to get down to the business of rock.

“Little By Little” by Oasis

Oasis didn’t stop after releasing Be Here Now. Britpop faded away, and the lineup changed. Gem Archer and Andy Bell replaced co-founding guitarist Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs and original bassist Paul “Guigsy” McGuigan, respectively. “Little By Little” arrived on Heathen Chemistry in 2002 and instantly became a new Oasis classic. Noel Gallagher sings this one, and it also contains one of his best bridges.

“Californication” by Red Hot Chili Peppers

Any track featuring John Frusciante is bound to have a great bridge. The guitarist returned from a near-death drug addiction and helped Red Hot Chili Peppers create a second masterpiece. (Blood Sugar Sex Magik being the first.) Frusciante’s playing is minimalist on Californication, and the title track helped define the most California-centric band in rock history since The Beach Boys. This bridge highlights the interweaving magik of Flea and Frusciante.

“Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana

Sometimes, the bridge is just the vocal melody played on guitar. Kurt Cobain plays a woozy version of his vocal during the bridge on “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, continuing the song’s anthem. And when you get it right, as Cobain did over and over, fans will sing the guitar part, too. This bridge has to follow one of the most culture-shifting choruses in history. Not any old middle eight would do. Perhaps its most powerful moment arrives when the band goes quiet after Cobain’s bridging guitar solo, returning to the Pixies-inspired quiet verse and loud chorus.

“Whole Lotta Love” by Led Zeppelin

There aren’t many rock riffs greater than Jimmy Page’s “Whole Lotta Love”. Once a band finds itself in a groove this deep, it’s hard to find another part without disrupting things. So, Led Zeppelin solved the problem by just stopping the band. Everything shuts down apart from John Bonham’s cymbals and percussion. Page enters with psychedelic effects as Robert Plant moans and ad-libs between speakers. Finally, Bonham brings it on home with an epic drum fill leading to John Paul Jones’s heavy bass and Page’s jaw-dropping guitar solo—eventually transporting you back to the verse.

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