What happened to guitar solos?

wolfsblood

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I think we're in an era of digital crappy music. Real rock was in the sixties and seventies with guys like Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page and Ted Nugent cranking out killer guitar jams.
 

0000

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I think we're in an era of digital crappy music. Real rock was in the sixties and seventies with guys like Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page and Ted Nugent cranking out killer guitar jams.

there were some great popular bands in the early 80s as well, before hair metal hit, bands like squeeze and some of the new wavier guys could really come up with some great instrumental parts, then hair metal the guitar solo became a horrible attempt at mindless shredding, and for power ballads a minor scale with pinch harmonics and long sustained notes, but there was a resurgence of jam bands with the 90s coming in, like spin doctors and string cheese incident and then it died out again.... so maybe we will have a resurgance, but I have found barely any good stuff ffrom 2001, 2002ish on up, every other time period for rock has at least had something lurking in the background, but if there is something I have not found it yet:heheh:
 

taha

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Re: What happended to the guitr solos

As if that's a bad thing. Do you really think that songs from the 70's or 80's are inherently better, just because they were longer and had more guitar solos than songs from the 50's and 60's?

I have a good guess, that long solo ERUPTION made Eddie "the" guitarist that everybody had to hear. Eruption is Eddie and it is looooong.

:grinthumb
 
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Dave78

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In general im 2000's rock music the guitar solos are 4 seconds long or non existent in most songs. Why does everyone think this trend is occuring?
Pro Tools, baby! :D

Everyone wants to be a hip-hop/rap star now-a-days, and there are no need for guitar solos in that kind of... ahem... "music".

But for the ones who are still playing rock, I believe they just don't really have any interest in playing guitar solos, or perhaps they simply don't have the talent.

And even if someone today did happen to sneak a guitar solo it into a song, I don't think kids today would appreciate it the way we do. :(
 

Cosmic Harmony

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Re: What happended to the guitr solos

I have a good guess, that long solo ERUPTION made Eddie "the" guitarist that everybody had to hear. Eruption is Eddie and it is looooong.

:grinthumb

"Eruption" is only like a minute and a half long....I wouldn't classify that as "long", especially since so many other guitar instrumentalists and prog artists have such longer instrumentalists. Songs like "Free Bird" and "November Rain" have looooong solos if you ask me and they are songs and not just instrumentals.
 

Gabble Ratchet

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Since I don't think anyone listened to it before, so I'll post it in a video :D

The last four and a half minutes is entirely tasty guitar solo, circa 2009:

 

Soot and Stars

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My most memorable guitar solo is For Martha from Smashing Pumpkins. It was the only guitar piece on an album by a band known for their guitar work. the song itself builds up to it beautifully and by the time it comes it's such a release. This is when guitar solos work in my opinion. When they are built upon and end before their welcome is up. That's why certain music annoys me. I like to know that an artist thought about what they wanted from beginning to end like it's their piece of art. I don't like a piece that begins and ends because the drugs made it feel right or if I change my chords enough times and play fast it makes me look like a genius. Anyway, just my opinion/perspective. Here's the SP song!

Smashing Pumpkins-For Martha


p.s. SP jammed a lot at my concert so I'm not above it and can appreciate the freedom it gives bands to change up a song they've played a million times but it's not my ideal preference. I was the fan who was cheering them still regardless while other douche bags were booing them for it.
 

Foxhound

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Re: What happended to the guitr solos

As if that's a bad thing. Do you really think that songs from the 70's or 80's are inherently better, just because they were longer and had more guitar solos than songs from the 50's and 60's?

Well I for one certainly do not.

:wtf:
 

Aktivator

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Re: What happended to the guitr solos

Quote:
Originally Posted by troggy
As if that's a bad thing. Do you really think that songs from the 70's or 80's are inherently better, just because they were longer and had more guitar solos than songs from the 50's and 60's?



Well I for one certainly do not.

:wtf:
No but the opposite is true too. 50's and 60's songs weren't better because they didn't have long guitar solos. Every good song has an interesting reason for being good sometimes its a great solo sometimes its a great melody, a lyric etc.....


In regards to what killed the guitar solo?
Nothing did but PUNK did push guitar solos out of mainstream music(foxhounds favorite excess argument-no foxy punk wasn't a reaction to excess but it did cause the mainstream removal of excess). It pushed it to various genres in the 80's and then the 90's grunge movement pushed it once again. Today there are still bands still doing them its just only in certain circles as they would get booed off stage if certain other bands did it.


I enjoy a good guitar, or any other instrument, solo during the instrumental break of a song - but like you I can't abide instrumental noodling/prolonged jamming or guitar "theatrics" of any sort. Enough already! I paid to hear more than one of your songs. Play the next song or haven't you practiced any of the others for this concert?

:drums:
hm so you would prefer a band to play a 30 minute set then maybe a 60 minute set with jams and solos? What makes you think a band is going to play more songs if they don't jam/solo maybe they just play a shorter set? Solos and jams tend to give certain band members breaks so they can play more time and hence more songs. This is usually true of the singer who gets a break during the solo. Solo's aren't always about showing off sometimes it gives certain members of the band some time for fun. Next time you see a band with a soloist check their face out most of the time its the only time you see them smile.

4728887073_5d46009149.jpg

still plenty of bands play solos-saw quite a few at NEARfest and no they weren't all old bands. Finally, I'm not a musician and I enjoy the solo but it has to be an interesting one and these days I prefer it not to be too long unless its a whole band soloing together (see space rock-Ozric, Astra, Hidria Spacefolk).

I also miss the drum solo its a nice break to hear something different than just a band playing their songs. I love the songs more but its nice to go to a live show and see something else. What ****** me off is a band selling tickets for $100 and playing 50 minutes. If you don't have the songs do something to extend the show at least another 1/2 hour I paid $100. That being said they also can annoy me. I saw Eddie Jobson this weekend and he had two drummers that did about a 15 minute drum solo(each one did a solo then they did one together) it was just too much.
 
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