God bless Pete Haycock’s guitar solo on the Climax Blues Band’s “Together and Free”

By Steve Newton

Just in case you haven’t been following along, I’ve previously posted blogs here in which I’ve asked God to bless outstanding solos by guitarists like Thin Lizzy’s Scott Gorham, Blue Öyster Cult’s Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser, the Outlaws’ Huey Thomasson, and Steely Dan’s Jeff Baxter.

Today I’m gonna head back to the Year of Our Lord, 1976, and request His Holiness bless the fretwork that Pete Haycock laid down on the opening track of the Climax Blues Band’s Gold Plated album.

That LP is better known for the single “Couldn’t Get It Right”, which made it to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, but I was always drawn more to “Together and Free”.

That upbeat tune just made me feel good–still does–and I love the slip-slidin’ guitar solo that Pete Haycock delivers at the 1:53 mark, following Colin “Thunderguts” Cooper’s equally sweet sax break.

I always imagined Haycock playing it on that gorgeous gold Veleno guitar pictured on the front and back covers of Gold Plated.