Time for some classic Angus lead guitar!
Now, if this was an all out AC/DC tune, we would of course have some killer vocals by the late great Bon Scott on top, but in this case, I've just provided you with the bare guitar essentials. The tune starts out in classic AC/DC style with a single lead guitar over drums and sparse riffing from Malcolm (think tunes like Hells Bells, Thunderstruck, Have a Drink on Me, etc.). Then after a round or two (longer if this was an actual song), the whole band kicks in! Now the lead figure is classic AC/DC, with pretty aggressive, gnarly vibrato and in your face guitar tone. A very common trait in AC/DC tunes is that the rhythm parts supports part of the guitar melody, or vice verse, which is also true in this case.
Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) this is just a guitar tutorial, or I would have given you a lesson in the classic Angus Young "bob", stomping two beats on each foot while head banging away =) IG Santa however, had just a tad too much beard in his face to feel comfortable banging away too hard this year!
Then on to the solo! Angus solo style is far to diverse to cover in just one shot solo, but I've tried to incorporate small idiosyncrasies that you would find in many of his solos. Angus has a blues guitarist's roots, spiced up with everything from Chuck Berry to Freddie King to Keith Richards. Many people might dismiss Angus as an all out one-trick rock guitarist, but listen to the melodic content in solos like "Shook me all night long" and I beg to differ! His phrasing is almost always to the beat, and he is very in the pocket, as opposed from many of that days blues players. Trying to learn a Angus Young solo, NOT just where to put your fingers, but actually LISTENING to HOW he plays his leads, how he attacks the strings, his vibrato and tone is something ANY player can learn a lot from regardless of musical direction! He is truly a player that let's his personality shine through in his playing, and when you hear him play there is never any doubt as to who it is behind the strings!
With that over and done with, check out the tab, don the school uniform, and head on over to the backing track!