| Author | Message | ||
     Rob Robinson Member Username: Rsub8 Post Number: 33 Registered: 05-2005 |
“Guitar solos” aren’t something that’s part of the core repertoire of the Go-Betweens. But, given the threads on gig reminiscing; top ten; last five albums purchased... Here’s another. To start the ball rolling, here’s my top SIX (two of those being a tie). Just judging the guitar solos, not the band or the song. And further qualifying: indicate merit for emotion (E) and technical (T)! To keep this fun and interesting, only name the song and guitarist - not the album or band. Others might not recognize them; that’s what internet search engines are for! 1. (a dead-even tie): Permafrost (ET), John McGeoch (R.I.P); Staring In Her Eyes, Robert Quine (R.I.P.) (ET) 3. Betrayal Takes Two, Robert Quine (again) (TE) 4. Firth of Fifth, Steve Hackett (ET) 5. Bring On The Night, Andy Summers (E) 6. Dominance and Submission, Donald Roeser (T) Let’s hear about yours! | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 170 Registered: 04-2005 |
1) Pablo and Andrea, Ira Kaplan (E) 2) Shoot Out the Lights, Richard Thompson (ET) 3) Girlfriend, Robert Quine (ET) 4) Marquee Moon, Tom Verlaine (E) tie: 5) Whirlwind, Phil Manzanera (I dunno...E?) 5) The Wind Cries Mary, Jimi Hendrix (ET) | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 171 Registered: 05-2005 |
Guitar solos are pants! | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 205 Registered: 10-2004 |
twin layers of lightning streets of your town (acoustic solo, courtesy of john wilsteed) aztec camera - set the killing free (roddy's ridiculously crazy shredding) aztec camera - nice acoustic solo on oblivious television - days brian eno - robert fripp's solo on golden hours felt - lawrence deebank's little solo on spanish house and countless others | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 235 Registered: 05-2005 |
John Mohan/Richard Left - New Day Dawning (E) Roddy Frame - We Could Send Letter (Live)/Walk out to Winter (E/T) Neil Young - Cortex the Killer (Live) (E) Malcolm Ross - Its Kinda Funny (E) Nels Cline - Ashes of American Flags (live) (New Entry for me!) E/T) Colin Newman - 12XU (V.E) Its been emotional! | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 172 Registered: 04-2005 |
I know it's just a typo, but "'Cortex' the Killer" is a song I want to hear! Great idea for a Neil Young parody... | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 236 Registered: 05-2005 |
well at least 'X' is right of zee and to the left of cee!!!!!!!!!! | ||
| Geoff Holmes Member Username: Geoff Post Number: 75 Registered: 05-2005 |
McCartney's "Taxman" solo...short but oh so sweet! Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl"...I can even play that!The audacity..the verve! McGuinn's solos on "Everybody's been burned" and "My Back Pages" are wistful and elegant. Will Sergent's solo on "My Kingdom"...classic. Yes..and Eric's solo on While my Guitar! | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 239 Registered: 05-2005 |
I forgot, you may hate me for the first one: Slash - Sweet Child O Mine Pete Shelley - Boredom Geoff has just reminded me; Will Seargent - The Cutter (e) | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 226 Registered: 03-2005 |
Vince Melouney, on "In My Own Time" | ||
| Erhard Grundl Member Username: Erhardgrundl Post Number: 9 Registered: 09-2005 |
Keith Richards "Sympathy for the devil" | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 44 Registered: 01-2005 |
Duane Allman "Mountain Jam" right after the drums/bass solo he joins in on slide guitar with one of my favorites ever. Eric Clapton "Crossroad" Vicky Peterson "Dover Beach" Kimberly Rew "I Wanna Destroy You" Robert Fripp "Baby's On Fire" | ||
| Cichli Suite Member Username: Cichli_suite Post Number: 90 Registered: 08-2004 |
Elvis Costello on "I Want You" from Blood & Chocolate | ||
| Hardin Smith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 48 Registered: 03-2006 |
Erhard, I'm sending you a digital high-five! I completely agree bout the Keef Richards solo, and and was going to post it, but you beat me to it... Both the live (from "Get Yer Ya-ya's Out") and the studio versions are both completely bad ass...but the studio one trumps, I think...Keef sounds intent on "tearin' sh-t up" and wants to get up in yo' face.... Other favorite solos: 1) Television - anything off of Marquee Moon 2) Steely Dan - Kid Charlemagne - I don't know what studio hot shot actually plays this solo (not Fagen or Becker) but no matter, it's still smokin' hot.... 3) Neil Young - Danger Bird 4) Pixies - Monkey Gone to Heaven (one of many tasty Joey Santiago bits of guitar genius) 5) GBs - Streets of Your Town...I was bummed when I realized neither GM or RF played this gorgeous and eloquent solo....John Wilsteed did...RF is, sadly, unable to duplicate it live judging by the "Sunlight" video, instead opting for a much more rudimentary take on it.... | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 176 Registered: 04-2005 |
Hardin, I'm putting my muso hat on for a second to comment on your choice of "Kid Charlemagne." While I hate what they became after "Aja," Steely Dan had some of the greatest guitar solos ever on the first five albums. I think the "Kid Charlemagne" solo might have been by Elliott Randall, who did the lead on "Reelin' In the Years," but my questionable memory seems to recall an interview with Larry Carlton where he claimed the "KC" solo. Other great Dan solos: "Chain Lightning" (Denny Dias?) and several by Skunk Baxter on the first three albums. I'm a little embarrassed to be revealing this knowledge of/love for old Steely Dan licks. And major kudos for including "Danger Bird," speaking of solos that aren't technically proficient. | ||
| Hardin Smith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 55 Registered: 03-2006 |
I also love Neil's soloing on "Hurricane" (and actually many others)...what is it about him? He is undoubtedly the greatest shitty guitar player there is... I hate wanky, noodling guitar stuff like, for instance, Phish...but if you just like to hear people play (relatively short and concise) guitar solos really well, it's hard not to give props to the Dan and some of the solos they "produced"... I meant to include Richard Thompson, too...he must be one of the greats anywhere, of all time, etc...live he produces many moments that seem almost unbelievable... | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 177 Registered: 04-2005 |
Thompson is amazing live. His albums have grown tedious over the past 20 years and he can be surprisingly stingy with the guitar playing on record, but when he cuts loose live, I think he's the best electric guitarist ever...an incredible combination of technical ability, musical taste, and fearlessness (he's not afraid to be atonal, unlike most players with comparable chops). If he had sold out and decided to play pedestrian hard rock/metal in the '70s/'80s, he could have ruled the world. Glad he resisted that route... | ||
| Rob Robinson Member Username: Rsub8 Post Number: 36 Registered: 05-2005 |
Agreed, seeing Thompson live opens a whole new world of appreciation for his ability as a musician. Caught him on the Hand of Kindness tour in a small pub over 20 years ago and once again some years later at the rather larger Bottom Line club in NYC (two sold-out shows). | ||
| David Matheson Member Username: David_matheson Post Number: 66 Registered: 12-2004 |
I love the "duelling guitars" on The End from Abbey Road. | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 247 Registered: 05-2005 |
Hugh Cornwell - Walk on by | ||
| Andrew Kerr Member Username: Andrew_k Post Number: 57 Registered: 04-2005 |
Richard Thompson 'Calvary Cross' live on the 'Guitar, Vocals' compilation. Was Tom Verlaine a fan? Have to agree with Kurt's comments on his studio releases... | ||
| Hardin Smith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 72 Registered: 03-2006 |
I know this is, in theory, a GBs board, so I don't want to go on too much about Thompson, but his new box set is supremely wonderful and features a whole disc of extended guitar workouts... I was finally able to feel at least partially sated...he IS way too stingy with his soloing on the studio records... | ||
| Cichli Suite Member Username: Cichli_suite Post Number: 94 Registered: 08-2004 |
Hardin, I was going to buy that Thompson box set. Apart from being put off by the price, I read that the sound quality on several of the tracks is like an audience-taped bootleg. Is that true? I have to agree with Andrew. Richard Thompson's solo on Calvary Cross is really something. Now that you mentions it, he does sound like Verlaine at times. | ||
| Hardin Smith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 74 Registered: 03-2006 |
Unfortunately Chichli, I have to admit - some of the sound quality is not that great...most of it's quite decent, though..none is really horrible to the point of being unlistenable... I understand caring about sound quality - it's important to me - I've never really understood the indie lo-fi aesthetic, for instance.... I guess on the RT set though, I'm able to get past it because I view it in an historical context...better to be able to hear the stuff, and they've cleaned it up as much as possible... And it IS pricey. I had to think long and hard about that one. Luckily, I was able to use a 25% off coupon I've been scamming my local Borders store with...sooner or later, I'm going to get caught out! | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 179 Registered: 04-2005 |
Now that this has turned into a Richard Thompson thread: the box set's price will keep me from buying it, I'm afraid. Ten years ago, I would have run to the store to buy it on the release date, even if I'd had to sell blood to help pay for it. But now, I just don't care that much...I have more than enough RT discs for a lifetime already. As for the Verlaine/Thompson comparison--I think they share some influences, both rock (Byrds) and otherwise (Coltrane), and like Fender guitars with similar tones. Somewhere, I read that Verlaine claimed not to know Thompson's work in the early days of Television, which if true, meant he was coming up with a parallel sound at roughly the same time (or a couple of years later). I'm pretty sure that "Calvary Cross" recording was from '75 or earlier, which was around the time Television formed, so I'd say the odds that RT heard Verlaine and was influenced by him back then are slim. However, I have a videotape from the mid-'80s of the "Across a Crowded Room" where Thompson goes into a long, semi-modal solo on "For Shame of Doing Wrong" that reminds me of nothing so much as Verlaine's extended solo on "Marquee Moon." So who knows? | ||
| Hardin Smith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 75 Registered: 03-2006 |
Jim O'Rourke, who's this sort of cooler than cool indie hipster dude, and who's been involved with Wilco and was a member of Sonic Youth, was part of RT's backing band for the soundtrack to "Grizzly Man" (great film, btw)...in the DVD featurette on the making of the sndtrk, he seems to be in somewhat rapturous thrall to Thompson...his respect is pretty obvious... By the same token, I'm guessing that Verlaine was not unacquainted with Thompson, despite his denials...And there's cross-pollination, too, I'm sure...RT more than likely heard Verlaine...Thompson is friends with David Byrne - it doesn't seem unlikely that they discussed Television, who came out of the same scene as the Heads... Know what you mean, Kurt...I've been suffering from a bit of RT burnout. Didn't really like Old Kit Bag, was lukewarm on Front Parlour Songs. This set really has helped remind of what I love about Thompson, though... | ||
| Hugh Nimmo Member Username: Nemo Post Number: 8 Registered: 07-2005 |
Not a fan of the extended guitar solo. I have, however, always had a soft spot for the 12 second intro played, I assume, by Richard Thompson on the song 'Time Will Show The Wiser.' The album from which the song is taken was released in 1968 and he could only have been 18/19 years of age when he recorded it. He plays around with the intro and throws in another few short solos throughout the song and, to me, they sound as fresh today as they did when I first heard them. | ||
| Hardin Smith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 101 Registered: 03-2006 |
I'm not usually a fan of them either, Hugh, but I make an exception for Thompson...some of the stuff he does is so jaw-droppingly amazing that he seems like he dropped in from another universe...a brother from another planet... Long guitar solos in general remind me of a cartoon by, I think it was, R.Crumb, where a hippy guy is playing the guitar and emoting excessively...the thought ballon coming out of his head says, "I'm really expressing myself". | ||
| Hugh Nimmo Member Username: Nemo Post Number: 10 Registered: 07-2005 |
Hardin, I have had the pleasure of seeing him perform live many times both as a solo act and with full band. I agree he is an amazing guitarist but what does it for me more than anything else is the songwriting. I had to sit through more extended guitar solos than I care to remember in the 60's and 70's and the majority of them simply bored the pants off me. My favourite Thompson album is 'Henry The Human Fly' so perhaps that's not so surprising. I can remember seeing him on stage reciting, in his own inimitable droll manner, the story of how 'Henry' was the worst selling record in the history of the Reprise record label. :-) My one regret is that I did not see him perform as part of the early Fairport Convention lineup ( up to and including Full House.) | ||
| Hardin Smith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 105 Registered: 03-2006 |
Thompson, to the best of my knowledge, is the only combination of world-class instrumentalist and genius songwriter in one person... His stage patter is also incredibly hilarious...so we can add "stand-up" to his repertoire, too. | ||
| Hugh Nimmo Member Username: Nemo Post Number: 11 Registered: 07-2005 |
Hardin, his on stage patter has brought tears to my eyes on many an occasion. Listening to 'Who Knows Where The Times Goes' as I type and his guitar playing on that is sublime. I would much rather listen to that style of playing than long extended solos. It's a shame Fairport Convention never had commercial success early in their career as I believe they were potentially the best band the U.K. has ever produced. The lineup of Sandy Denny, Iain Matthews, Ashley Hutchings, Simon Nicol, Richard Thompson and Dave Mattacks was musically awesome and the songwriting from Denny, Matthews and Thompson was improving in leaps and bounds from album to album. I sometimes wonder what would have happened had they not lost Martin Lamble as a result of the road accident. Would they still have changed musical direction? I still buy almost anything Thompson releases ( box set excluded ) even although I think he settled into a 'recording rut' around the time of Mitchell Froom. I remember reading a story some years ago which claimed he was asked to join 'The Eagles.' Do you know if there was any truth in it? | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 196 Registered: 04-2005 |
There's some truth to the Eagles story, I believe. I have a bio on RT where it's mentioned, but I forget the details. I think it might have been around the time of "First Light," which used some LA studio musicians. And Linda Thompson was friends with Linda Ronstadt, which might have been part of the Eagles connection. Can you imagine how differently things would have played out if Thompson had joined the Eagles instead of Joe Walsh? But I guarantee it wouldn't have lasted long, what with Thompson being a Sufi Muslim and the Eagles being typical coke-and-groupie rock stars. At this point in his career, I'd almost rather hear RT as a sideman. He'd be great on either a Forster or McLennan solo album. | ||
| Hugh Nimmo Member Username: Nemo Post Number: 13 Registered: 07-2005 |
Kurt, 'Georgie On A Spree' by The Eagles? The mind boggles. | ||
| Hardin Smith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 111 Registered: 03-2006 |
An Eagles that didn't suck? That would rend a whole in the fabric of the universe, though Thompson would sure be a lot better off...he ended up in LA anyway, though. | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 199 Registered: 04-2005 |
The Eagles would have still sucked...just not so much during the guitar solos. Do you think Henley and Frey would have been willing to perform any RT songs? Or let him sing? No way. Joe Walsh was the light, nonthreatening comic relief they wanted. Not our grim, serious, morally (self-)righteous Richard! | ||
| Hardin Smith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 113 Registered: 03-2006 |
I'll have to research that further...my good friend, who's a consummate "Dickhead" as she calls it, has never heard that and thinks that's impossible...LOL...I hope it's true, anyway... It is a funny picture - Richard in his turban, Don and Glenn in their be-denimed, coke-addled glory, riding in limos together, scoring groupies, hanging out in Laurel Canyon... btw, I meant to type "hole", not "whole" in the previous post...what can I say? I went to a state college.... | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 242 Registered: 03-2005 |
in the south, no less. | ||
| Andrew Kerr Member Username: Andrew_k Post Number: 58 Registered: 04-2005 |
RT and stage patter: playing Edinburgh and after the first song, he asks the soundman to 'turn down the cathedral effect on the guitar please'. Hs is playing in St Mary's cathedral. OK, maybe you had to be there. Also once told the George Jones, Tammy and the grass cutting tractor anecdote in its full glory. You mean you don't know it? | ||
| Hardin Smith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 115 Registered: 03-2006 |
Nothing would keep the Possum from the sauce, not even driving a riding lawn mower down a busy freeway! Great story - I may be the only person on this thread to have read the George Jones biography... | ||
| Hugh Nimmo Member Username: Nemo Post Number: 14 Registered: 07-2005 |
Andrew, I can remember R.T. appearing in Glasgow with Shawn Colvin on the bill. She did a solo set and later joined him on stage. At one point during the show so she asked Richard to give her a 'G Major' or something so that she could tune her guitar. She then stuggled for the next minutes or so to do so until it eventually dawned on her that he was continually altering it slightly while she was trying to tune up. The smile he gave her when it finally dawned on her what had been doing was priceless. | ||
| Hugh Nimmo Member Username: Nemo Post Number: 15 Registered: 07-2005 |
Andrew, should have read 'what had been going on was priceless.' Hit the wrong button by accident. | ||
| Peter Senning Member Username: Peter_senning Post Number: 16 Registered: 05-2005 |
I believe it was Steve Jones, guitarist in the Sex Pistols, who once said "I hate guitar solos for two reasons: first, I can't play them, and second, I hate them anyway". I'm quoting from memory and have been unable to corroborate the quote. Perhaps someone on this message board can keep me honest? | ||
| Roger Griffin Member Username: Roger Post Number: 39 Registered: 11-2004 |
Mick Ronson (Once Bitten Twice Shy - Ian Hunter) Tom Scholtz (More Than A Feeling - Boston) Jimmy Page (Since I've Been Loving You - Led Zep) |