Jordan (song)

"Jordan" is a song by guitarist Buckethead. A special version of this song was written specifically for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 video game "Guitar Hero II", in which it is an unlockable bonus track. It is considered one of the most difficult songs to play in the Guitar Hero games on Expert difficulty due to the complexity of its guitar solos, particularly the "Guitar Solo B" and "Guitar Solo C" sections. On the Xbox 360 version, an achievement worth 30 gamerscore is awarded for passing it on Expert difficulty.

Background

Prior to "Guitar Hero II", "Jordan" was played only at live shows and was only the intro and outro to the "Guitar Hero II" version, and Buckethead would play another song (usually "Post Office Buddy" from "Giant Robot") or a short series of songs or a jam in between. With the exception of the "Guitar Hero II" soundtrack, and appearing on one of the unofficial Buckethead MySpace pages, it has yet to be released on an album.

The "Guitar Hero II" version of "Jordan", in which Buckethead recorded especially for "Guitar Hero II", is considered one of hardest songs to beat in the "Guitar Hero" series.

The main riff of "Jordan" is played using left hand hammer-ons and pull-offs, while Buckethead's right hand uses a kill switch. The main riff also features extensive use of a Digitech Whammy pitch shifter.

On Guitar Hero, the fastest 32nd note tapping portions of the solo reach approximately 15.47 notes per second, while at a 116 BPM tempo. The picking portion of the solo also reaches this speed of 15.47 notes per second. [cite web
title = Jordan
publisher = Bradley Zoo
date = 2008-5-3
url = http://www.bradleyzoo.com/GuitarHero/gh2-ps2/expert/jordan.blank.png]

Marcus Henderson stated that Buckethead feels that Jordan is one of the best things he has ever recorded. [cite web
title = Guitar Hero's Marcus Henderson: The Guitar World Interview
publisher = Guitar World
date = 2007-06-20
url = http://www.guitarworld.com/article/guitar_heros_marcus_henderson_the_guitar_world_interview?page=0%2C3] It was also stated in an interview with Marcus Henderson that "Jordan" is named after Michael Jordan, of whom Buckethead is a huge fan.

References