Death of the Guitar Solo

expomick · Post by **expomick** » Tue Aug 15, 2006 4:39 pm

Thankfully shorter.

winston · Post by **winston** » Tue Aug 15, 2006 5:14 pm

So Mick if you don't like guitar solos what kind of music do you like? Anything come immediately to mind that you care to share with us? Just curious

expomick · Post by **expomick** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 5:16 am

Actually, I like Steely Dan. Just couldn't resist the comment.

Beatles, Clash, Velvet Underground, Golden Smog, Dylan, Fairport Convention, Neil Young, Kate Bush, Brian Eno, Byrds, Barracudas, Beach Boys, Pixies, Everly Brothers, Nick Drake, Rolling Stones, Teenage Head, Flamin' Groovies, Pink Floyd, Ramones, D.O.A., Tom Petty, Nick Lowe, Jayhawks, Neko Case, Flaming Lips, Kinks, Elvis Costello, Sex Pistols, Sloan, Badfinger, Zombies, P.F. Sloan, Blue Shadows, Fountains of Wayne, New Pornographers, Elliott Brood, Nirvana, Wings, ELO, Rockpile, Ultravox, Stranglers, Posies, Go-Go's, Chuck Berry, Replacements, Matthew Sweet, Kraftwerk, Big Star, Gerry & The Pacemakers, Iggy Pop, Jam, Guided By Voices, Cars, Diodes, 16 Horsepower, Bangles, Dream Syndicate, Tom Waits, R.E.M., Jason & The Scorchers, The Band, Japan, Boomtown Rats, Johnny Cash, Gordon Lightfoot, X, Dave Edmunds, Wackers, Dub Rifles, Germs, Blondie, Rachel Sweet, Sweet (for that matter), Teenage Fanclub, Velvet Crush, Buffalo Springfield, Half Japanese, Residents, Buzzcocks...

Okay, granted, some feature solos, particularily someone such as Neil Young, but it's not a "part" of the musical presentation that I most look forward to.

shamustwin · Post by **shamustwin** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 5:44 am

I love a good guitar solo. Doesn't have to be "good". Neil Young's in "Like A Hurricane" almost made me crash my car the first time I heard it.

But then those pointless fast technically perfect overly processed ego fests bore me.

It's gotta be real.

tony_carey · Post by **tony_carey** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 6:45 am

I have always said that a solo, regardless of instrument, should be like a complete novel. It should have a start, a middle, a climax & an end, all in 12 bars or so.

Those that 'can't', 'don't', but those that can seem to be appreciated very much by audiences & record buyers alike!

captsandwich · Post by **captsandwich** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 12:06 pm

Mick - Hurray! Nice list. Although I am officially the lead guitarist in my band, I never felt the need to play a lot of solos. As a matter of fact, when my band released our first cd, a local weekly (Eye Magazine for those in the GTA) pointed out the lack of extended guitar solos. Never mind the fact that we were an 8 piece and our songs were built around horn riffs for the most part.
Riffs: essential. Solos: whatever!

aceonbass · Post by **aceonbass** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 1:21 pm

Ted...you're definitely right, the number of musicians on the radio has declined. There's so much sampling and rhythm machine oriented stuff going on...not to mention those overly repetetive songs where you just know they played the riff once(after several takes) and just punched it in whenever it was needed again(usually every four bars). There's still good things going on in music, you just have to go off off the beaten path(radio) to find it. Solos have always been a part of music, it's just that Chuck Berry defined the guitar as the quintessential rock&roll instrument, which led to that instrument being the one that gets the solos. I still stand by my opinion that if you don't like guitar solos, you probably couldn't play one and are more likely to criticize someone who can. That goes for drum solos and bass solos too. Steely Dan's Reelin' In the Years is probably my faveorite solo of all time. It is truly like a story with a beginning, a middle and ending/resolution.

rickfan60 · Post by **rickfan60** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 2:17 pm

Check out this site. They do it right IMHO. Try it and let me know what you think.

http://www.radioparadise.com/

johnallg · Post by **johnallg** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 5:56 pm

For me, players like David Gilmour or Andy Latimer (Camel) know how to make a guitar solo statement with more taste than many gourmet dinners.

expomick · Post by **expomick** » Thu Aug 17, 2006 5:20 am

I'm with Greg; well, not at this moment, mind you. I'm actually at work, though not actually working. Gotta go...

squid · Post by **squid** » Thu Aug 17, 2006 5:59 am

I really like improvisation in music, but I don't really disagree with either approach. I like bands who refuse to solo, and I like artists who seem to do nothing but. What I'm attracted to is spontaneity in music. I don't really care if it's emotional or technical, because that has always struck me as a bit of a falacy. What sometimes seems very musical is actually very technical. The reason we practice (even if it's just bedroom stuff) is to get better technically, to learn the language, to express ourselves better. But the whole thing falls down if it's not the product of your brain trying to figure out what sound comes next. That's why those power ballad things just sound so hokey. I think it's also why Freebird makes so many people mad. It's an idiom in and of itself, and people are tired of hearing it "explored" because there's really nothing left to find.

winston · Post by **winston** » Thu Aug 17, 2006 10:22 am

What it all boils down to is that some people like Mick and Greg like structure using chords and arpeggios etc moving through a piece. Others like me prefer to hear all of those things plus a dynamic layer that consists of the voice of a guitar being expressed by the artist playing it.

To simply say that those who do not play either way are wrong, or that they lack the expertise, or they have no sense of what fits the idiom is not good enough.

I respect Mick's approach to music, however I don't have to subscribe to it and vice versa.

captsandwich · Post by **captsandwich** » Thu Aug 17, 2006 10:35 am

It's not that I'm anti-solo. In the early 80's I listened to a lot of punk & power pop stuff. A lot of the kids I went to school with listened to bad hair metal & 70's rock. My favourite solos are things that annoyed those people, like the 2 note solo in Boredom by the Buzzcocks. As I age, I can appreciate the playing of people like David Gilmour, but I still don't get the attraction of shredding or the typical wankfest blues rock solo. Or a lot of Jazz.

"Eighties! I've got to push, I've got to struggle!"

winston · Post by **winston** » Thu Aug 17, 2006 10:54 am

Personally I find music that is lacking in feeling and to some degree complex structure boring.

That's exactly why I like jazz and blues. Done right, songs in those genres ooze feeling and strike a chord deep within that more superficial music cannot begin to resonate for me.

But again look at my last post. I am not saying that you are wrong Greg to feel the way you do. You like what you like and vice versa.

randyz · Post by **randyz** » Thu Aug 17, 2006 10:57 am

Greg: I thought I was the only one who loved that Buzzcocks guitar solo (or should I say, anti-solo)!