It looks like more songs from Guitar Hero II have been announced, bringing the list of licensed songs up to 25 (from an expected total of 40). I’m not familiar with some of them (never really a big fan of Black Sabbath or Anthrax), but I was pleasantly surprised to see some favorites on the list. “Message in a Bottle” by The Police would be particularly good, since it has a good guitar part and a great bass line. (Remember that in co-op mode, one player will be on lead guitar, while the other will play bass or rhythm guitar.) I am also pleasantly surprised to see “Misirlou” by surf-guitar god Dick Dale, which is probably best known as the theme from Pulp Fiction. “Crazy on You” by Heart is a great choice, although I would have preferred “Barracuda.”
There were two song selections in particular that stood out, ranging from fantastic to ingenious. “Free Bird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd is a rock staple, with a nine-minute running time, and a gloriously long and involved solo at the end. But while “Free Bird” is an obvious choice, it must have taken a true genius to secure the rights to “Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You Tonight” by England’s loudest band, Spinal Tap.* With Nigel Tufnel at the lead, it goes without saying that the lead guitar line is stellar, beginning with the extended string of hammer-ons. The additional guitar part (I presume it will be rhythm guitar) is suitably driving, and I’m sure those of us with kids will enjoy having them sing along with lyrics such as, “You’re too young, and I’m too well-hung.” It is nice to see that the makers of Guitar Hero can pay tribute to such a great rock band as Spinal Tap. One can only hope that “Big Bottom” is somewhere on the sequel, with its rousing triple bass line.
Including the ones that have been previously announced, here is the set list so far, complete with links to iTunes:
“Arterial Black” — Drist (Original Track)
“Beast and the Harlot” — Avenged Sevenfold
“Can’t You Hear Me Knocking?” — The Rolling Stones
“Crazy on You” — Heart
“Free Bird” — Lynyrd Skynyrd
“Heart Shaped Box” — Nirvana
“Jessica” — The Allman Brothers Band
“John The Fisherman” — Primus (Original Track)
“Laid To Rest” — Lamb of God
“Madhouse” — Anthrax
“Message in a Bottle” — The Police
“Misirlou” — Dick Dale
“Psychobilly Freakout” — The Reverend Horton Heat
“Shout at the Devil” — Mötley Crüe
“Strutter” — KISS
“Surrender” — Cheap Trick
“Sweet Child O’ Mine” — Guns N’ Roses
“Tattooed Love Boys” — The Pretenders
“Them Bones” — Alice in Chains
“Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You Tonight” — Spinal Tap
“Trippin’ on a Hole in a Paper Heart” — Stone Temple Pilots
“War Pigs” — Black Sabbath
“Who Was in My Room Last Night?” — The Butthole Surfers
“You Really Got Me” — The Kinks, as performed by Van Halen
“YYZ” — Rush
* I apologize for the incorrect spelling of the band’s name, but the OS won’t let me type the dieresis over the “n.” That’s probably because no one ever uses that punctuation (“¨”) over a consonant. I guess Spinal Tap is also too revolutionary for the typesetting industry.
