It’s been one of the wildest weeks for guitar news in recent memory, and it’s all thanks to the most unlikely source: Barbie. First, it was reported that both Slash and Wolfgang Van Halen would feature on the film’s soundtrack. Then, it was revealed that a Gibson acoustic guitar – Jerry Cantrell’s signature guitar, to be precise – would be starring in the movie.
Now, Barbie: The Album – which we speculated could in fact be 2023’s must-hear guitar collaboration – has arrived, meaning we can hear Slash and Van Halen’s collaborative electric guitar action in all its glory.
Titled I’m Just Ken, the song sees the two six-string heroes support the vocals of Ryan Gosling, who plays the character of Ken, the title character’s longtime companion, in the movie.
If you’re scratching your head as to how two of today’s standout guitar titans ended up starring in the soundtrack of quite possibly the most hyped film of 2023, you most certainly wouldn’t be alone.
Having said that, the tale is as straightforward as it gets – composer/producer Mark Ronson sent the song to Slash, and he liked the song so much he agreed to lend a hand.
“I sent [Slash] the song and he was like, 'This is a good song… cool, I'll play on it,'” Ronson recalled to Variety. “He kills it, he plays the solo at the end and the rhythm parts. It's wonderful.”
It was a similar story for Van Halen. Writing on social media, the Mammoth WVH leader said he and his “mammoth guitar sound” were sounded out by Ronson, who offered him a spot alongside Slash – as well as the opportunity to let loose on some solos.
“[There's a lot of] textural stuff,” writes Van Halen, whose contributions span beyond I’m Just Ken. “[There are] two major spots where I do some soloing. One in particular is pretty cool because it's the big song that Ryan Gosling sings and Slash plays on it as well!”
Well, now the three-and-a-half-minute-plus effort has officially arrived. Both Wolfgang and Slash’s six-string contributions can be heard, and those wanting to write off I’m Just Ken just because it’s got the name “Barbie” slapped on the cover might just want to hold fire.
Get through the first 90 seconds of ballad-y piano and the electric guitars make their hair-raising entrance, providing pulsating powerchords, swanky pentatonic licks and – when the outro arrives – some tasteful soloing.
However, although the song has been released in its soundtrack form, it doesn’t feature all of Wolfgang’s contributions. As the EVH artist explained on social media, “There's a specific moment in this song that's only in the movie where l've got this fun solo with some tapping and stuff.”
Therefore, anyone wishing to hear the entirety of Wolfgang’s Barbie guitar action will have to head to theaters to catch the Greta Gerwig-directed film – which is in cinemas now.
