Extended guitar solo's

A7X

Hey guys, I was just wondering what is everyones opinion on extended guitar solo's in songs.

To me at the moment it seems like less and less bands are doing it and just leaving them to the metal bands or whatever.
I enjoy them and play them in my band and we aren't a metal band.

Just at one of our gigs before, during one of our songs late on in the set I got the feeling that I was doing too many solo's. I dunno why I got this feeling, no one said it to me but I just thought at that stage people were sick of hearing them if you get me?

Just wondering what people here think of them.

Are they dead from being done to much?

brendansmith

Depends on the solo I guess.

Slayer solos wear on the t1ts because they have been playing the same solo their whole career.

However solos by EVH, Dimebag, early zakk wylde, children of bodom etc are so exciting and interesting that i kinda look at the rest of the song as just padding for the solo.

-=al=-

i cant get enough of them, suprise eh?

keep it up

Rigsby

Extended solos have been done to death IMO, and there is nothing new in them. "Cream" were doing them back in the late 60's. My view on it is this, say what you have to say (on your guitar) and get it over with as soon as possible.

Demeyes

I've seen a few players really overstay their welcome. It can be fine if the player is good enough and the songs vary enough in keys and tempo, but otherwise I can get pretty bored of it. Especially if the player is just rehashing the same few blues scale licks over and over.

A7X

brendansmith wrote: »

Slayer solos wear on the t1ts because they have been playing the same solo their whole career.

I totally agree with you here. There is no melodic feel to them at all.

I try to keep my solos as melodic as possible and as interesting. I hope I achieve that to be honest.

At the end of the day it really is all about taste, but I have a feeling that its verging on the majority being against them.

Welease

If it adds to the song then do it.. if it doesn't then dump it. Don't have a solo just for the sake of it.,


Waaay to many solo's are boring, longwinded, exactly the same as the previous one, and show a real lack of imagination.

-=al=-

well nothing worse than a crap song with a great solo or a great solo in a crap song, theres a time and palce for it all

either way i took it to the max in this song - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUPiHvAEbq0 :pac:

Rigsby

-=al=- wrote: »

well nothing worse than a crap song with a great solo or a great solo in a crap song, theres a time and palce for it all

either way i took it to the max in this song - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUPiHvAEbq0 :pac:

I liked that. It was what the song required. I was talking in the other post about the 15 minute (+) extended solos by the likes of Cream, which were great at the time but are out dated now.

A Primal Nut

Insert usual bull**** such as "It's all about the song, man".

Nah, i love a good epic guitar solo, and i can't think of any songs by my favourite guitarists where I'm thinking "that solo went on too long." It doesn't suit every guitar player, but if he's good enough, then why not.

A7X

I love guitar solo's but I can't help but feel that the general audience don't like them anymore.

Rigsby

A Primal Nut wrote: »

but if he's good enough, then why not.

..... maybe because his paying audience or album buyers have moved on and dont want extended solos anymore ???

Red Sleeping Beauty

They're on the way out of mainstream guitar playing from what I can gather in place of choppy choppy indie ching chings. Can't see them going away but they'll probably move off into a niche.

Paolo_M

Whenever I'm at a show I'm really just waiting for the singer to shut the f*k up so I can hear the band play!!
By todays rock standards you're actually doing something quite different and unique.
Personally I'm sh*t sick of hearing all these Franz Ferdinand or (insert some other sh*t brittish band) who seem to pound out endless, crappy, downstroked, bang bang bang bang, telecaster pop riffs.

Keep it up, man.

Rigsby

Paolo_M wrote: »

Whenever I'm at a show I'm really just waiting for the singer to shut the f*k up so I can hear the band play!!
By todays rock standards you're actually doing something quite different and unique.
Personally I'm sh*t sick of hearing all these Franz Ferdinand or (insert some other sh*t brittish band) who seem to pound out endless, crappy, downstroked, bang bang bang bang, telecaster pop riffs.

Keep it up, man.

I'd say most people dont have a problem with solos per se, it's the extended solo where opinions differ.

A7X

Paolo_M wrote: »

Whenever I'm at a show I'm really just waiting for the singer to shut the f*k up so I can hear the band play!!
By todays rock standards you're actually doing something quite different and unique.
Personally I'm sh*t sick of hearing all these Franz Ferdinand or (insert some other sh*t brittish band) who seem to pound out endless, crappy, downstroked, bang bang bang bang, telecaster pop riffs.

Keep it up, man.

I really couldnt agree more. I used to enjoy some indie but at this stage the bands really are just taking the piss. There is hardly any originality with them.

I just really want to help re-introduce solo's cause I love them.

nyarlothothep

Paolo_M wrote: »

Whenever I'm at a show I'm really just waiting for the singer to shut the f*k up so I can hear the band play!!
By todays rock standards you're actually doing something quite different and unique.
Personally I'm sh*t sick of hearing all these Franz Ferdinand or (insert some other sh*t brittish band) who seem to pound out endless, crappy, downstroked, bang bang bang bang, telecaster pop riffs.

Keep it up, man.

Totally agree, guitar solos are a purified extension of the song, the good ones that it is, they take all the elements, the moods and emotions and encapsulate them in a pure musical flight of fancy. Therefore, for me they're fun to listen to and also interesting and meaningful, musical poetry as it were. Three chord tricks and mundane strumming bore the hell out of me.

For example I really like Stone Roses Second Coming because the solos really kick the songs into fifth gear. Guitar solos can really make a song kickass. I can't get enough of them really. The solos on Red Light Fever are orgasmic. Prog rock wig outs on stage are cool if done properly, ie not droning repetitive crap but innovative distilled musicality of which soloing is a huge part. Its a journey into complexity and bombast, some of the best parts in songs are the guitar solos and the only reason I listen to them, for example Disposable Heros by Metallica, apart from the intro I don't care much for the song, but the solo is incredible!

brendansmith

Rigsby wrote: »

I'd say most people dont have a problem with solos per se, it's the extended solo where opinions differ.

I have no problem with people digging holes in the ground, however i have when people dig half a hole in the ground. :D

A guitar solo (when done right) is like head. The longer it goes on for, the better and when its over you stand up, thank the provider and then leave the room.

Rigsby

brendansmith wrote: »

A guitar solo (when done right) is like head. The longer it goes on for, the better and when its over you stand up, thank the provider and then leave the room.

That's a matter of opinion. Hence this thread. IMO a guitar solo (or drum or bass solo for that matter), no matter how good, can out live it's welcome if it goes on for too long. As I said in an earlier post, " say what you have to say, then stop".

rcaz

No matter how good a solo is, it'll never beat three really good chords. For me, it's almost always ALL about harmony or texture. Solos are fine in small doses, but I really hate a lot of metal. Maybe the only metal guitarist I'll listen to is Dimebag Darrell, everyone else does my head in.

Nels Cline, now there's a guitarist. I really could listen to him play solos all day long. The man's a master of the guitar, completely original stuff all the time. Try saying that about Metallica or someone.

NoQuarter

Im a big fan of solos but extended ones really can get a bit tedious!

Pagey is the man and i love his solos so much but his extended ones such as white summer bore me to tears after the first 4 mins or so, and i love white summer but its just hard to keep listening after a bit!

Another song i love is maggot brain by the funkadelics...amazing song and the guitar is great but after a few mins it just loses its appeal!

so up with solos but down with solos over 4 mins or so!

rcaz

king-stew wrote: »

Another song i love is maggot brain by the funkadelics...amazing song and the guitar is great but after a few mins it just loses its appeal!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmddP2cJkJ8

Banyan (with Nels Cline on guitar) playing Maggot Brain :eek::eek::eek:

ROC1977

I like to hear Solo's in songs. I think that's why I prefer classic rock to modern rock. I'm not really a fan of many if any of the bands today. I love the older stuff.

I'm not saying all tracks should have extended Solo's. It depends on the song. A lot of oldf bands live extend the songs with not just guitar Solos, but bass, drums, and keys solos. The Who spring to mind, GnR are another.