The Epic Beatles Guitar Solo That George Harrison Didn’t Play

If you were asked to name an epic Beatles guitar solo that George Harrison didn’t play, your first response would likely be “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”. The “White Album” track features Harrison’s friend, Eric Clapton, who masked the solo behind swirling effects to avoid the sound of his signature blues. But that’s not the one I’m writing about here.

“Taxman”

The opening track on Revolver finds Harrison raging against Britain’s tax system. He plays a stabbing riff echoing the stinging reality of high levies following The Beatles’ success.

Should five percent appear too small,
Be thankful I don’t take it all.
’Cause I’m the taxman,
Yeah, I’m the taxman.

“In those days we paid 19 shillings and sixpence out of every pound, and with supertax and surtax and tax-tax it was ridiculous—a heavy penalty to pay for making money. That was a big turn-off for Britain. Anybody who ever made any money moved to America or somewhere else,” Harrison said in Anthology.

Now my advice for those who die (taxman),
Declare the pennies on your eyes (taxman).

Punk Guitar Solo

Though Harrison wrote the tune, Paul McCartney instead played the guitar solo. It feels like an intrusion, which also fits the vibe of Harrison’s grievance. As an homage to his bandmate, McCartney inserted an Eastern-inspired melody into the guitar break to reflect Harrison’s admiration for Indian classical music.

Continuing what they started on Rubber Soul, The Beatles’ studio experiments on Revolver broke recording norms and established what became industry standards in record-making. On “Taxman”, engineer Geoff Emerick pushed the instrumentation with distortion and compression, creating an aggressive and groundbreaking mix.

It foreshadows the underground musical movements that followed. And “Taxman”, along with McCartney’s brash guitar solo, stands as a blueprint for the sneering, anti-authority spirit of punk.

Meanwhile, The Beatles had become producers, working with George Martin as sonic architects. The studio was now as crucial to the composition as a guitar or piano, and the world’s biggest band finally freed itself from the constraints of rock and pop music.

Harrison crafted a protest anthem, and McCartney ripped the guitar solo in what sounded like the key of revolution.

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