who played the guitar solo on beat it
Beat It Eddie Van Halen, lead guitarist of hard rock band Van Halen, was asked to add a guitar solo.[6][10] When initially contacted by Jones, Van Halen thought he was receiving a prank call.[11] Having established that the call was genuine, Van Halen borrowed an amplifier from guitarist Allan Holdsworth[12] and recorded his guitar solo free of any charge. "I did it as a favor", the musician later said. "I was a complete fool, according to the rest of the band, our manager and everyone else. I was not used. I knew what I was doing – I don't do something unless I want to do it."[13] Van Halen recorded his contribution following Jones and Jackson arriving at the guitarist's house with a "skeleton version" of the song. Fellow guitarist Steve Lukather recalled, "Initially, we rocked it out as Eddie had played a good solo—but Quincy thought it was too tough. So I had to reduce the distorted guitar sound and that is what was released."[13] The song was among the last four completed for Thriller; the others were "Human Nature", "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" and "The Lady in My Life".[13]
Taxman McCartney's guitar solo uses what musicologist Alan W. Pollack describes as "fast triplets, exotic modal touches, and a melodic shape which traverses several octaves and ends with a breathtaking upward flourish".[12] Walter Everett considers that the solo is in the same Dorian mode that Harrison had adapted for his sitar part in "Love You To".[17] In 1987, Harrison stated: "I was pleased to have Paul play that bit on 'Taxman'. If you notice, he did like a little Indian bit on it for me."[18] Ian MacDonald writes that, while Harrison was "rightly praised" for his composition, the track benefits from the whole group's creativity. MacDonald highlights McCartney's contributions, saying his guitar solo is "outstanding" and his bass part is "remarkable".[4]