As opposed to the current Greatest…. thread, please add your shockers.
This conjures up the verb Wonky.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJ0ofmCUQ8g
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Musings on the byways of popular culture
Eddie Van Halen’s solo in ‘Jump’.
Just wrong. Wrongity wrong.
@gogsmunro
That’s a good call actually. Listened to it the other day and it really doesn’t work. Should do but doesn’t. Unlike the one in Thriller.
Jump is perfection
Well, the Aztec Camera version is pretty good…
Alvin Lee in ‘Woodstock’?
Going Home?
If only he had!
What the #’)% is that for (2:20) – out of place, out of time, out of tune (?)
“out of place, out of time, out of tune”. Fits with everything the Beastie Boys ever released. An amazing amount of product was got out of nothing more than 3 blokes shouting. Atrocious beyond measure.
They were pretty talented actually which they demonstrated on later releases. Not for you though I guess.
The worst guitar solo of all time, as well as the worst guitar playing of all time appears in this live Genesis performance from 2007. I’ve posted about it before but it drives me mad. Steve Hackett’s soloing on Firth of Fifth is one of my favourite pieces of guitar work. But Daryl Stuermer has to try to improve on it. I saw this tour and I booed him when he’d finished. As time has passed, I’ve got angrier, rather than calmer about it.
There, it’s off my chest (again). Thank you for your time.
Whilst I would agree that it’s not as good at the original Steve Hackett solo, is your dislike for it due to it being poor or due to it being different from a well loved piece of music – a la the Sgt Pepper remix etc etc.
I personally don’t feel that it’s badly played and that Daryl Stuermer is a decent guitarist (I’ve seen Genesis live a few times although not that last tour) – it’s just different. Whether it is right to change a solo is a different question.
I’m with you. It’s certainly no worse than the original, and in fact it is far better from a technique perspective. I must admit I’d never heard it before, but the original sounds slavishly in awe of Court-era Fripp. This chap has an extra 50-odd years of rock guitar technique under his belt, which is probably what is infuriating you.
As a big fan of Gabriel-era Genesis, I’m well aware that I could be guilty of simply liking what I know. But I don’t think that’s the reason why I object to what Stuermer plays here. I’ve seen the post-Hackett band several times and this was the only performance that really bugged me – and only this track. The Hackett solo seems to me to be perfect for the song – restrained, lyrical, very English. Whereas Stuermer’s just sounds like an exercise in showing off and, to my ears, is horribly jarring.
I’m not denying that Stuermer is technically proficient. Arch-diplomat Tony Banks said in a documentary a few years ago that Stuermer is a better guitarist than Hackett and who am I to disagree? But, for me, Stuermer’s solo is painful to listen to whereas all the various Hackett versions that I own give me immense pleasure.
I’m not sure that Stuermer is better
Steve Hackett can do the technical stuff like two fingered tapping, he was doing it on the intro of The Musical Box, and certainly has the speed for flashy licks if and when required.
But what Hackett has in spades that Stuermer doesn’t is taste. Steve’s solo works brilliantly in the context of the song and embellishes it, rather than just as a ‘look at what I can do’ showcase.
Stuermer plays like he’s being paid by the note. I’m with @Steve Walsh on this – that solo is just horrible.
Yes. Nothing more to say.
“Arch-diplomat”…arf!
I thought the whole point of Genesis was that they were the polar opposite of godawful American ‘rawk’, so that any bits of tasteless flash and wibble were always going to be as unwanted as chilli sauce in a condom.
Indeed…hence the truth of Clem’s comment on taste a few comments above.
The logical conclusion of your comment suggests that the real Genesis stopped existing after about 1980, when they started embracing the flash and the wibble, to chase the American ‘rawk’ market…
Being deliberately rubbish makes thios solo superb:
Takes a lot of skill to consistently stay wrong for the entire solo.
This. Pentatonic widdle beloved of guitar shop heroes everywhere. Not a patch on every version Eric Clapton ever played.
OK @Twang
What is wrong with it?
Is it lacking melody?
Is it lacking fluency?
Is it lacking dexterity
Just coz he is a massive show-off and it has been fawned over doesn’t make it lousy. So what is the critique? Asking as a non musician.
Yes it does lack melody and is wildly inappropriate showboating.
After such an inventive start Prince became a sad parody.
Strongly agree Junior. It’s melodic, fluid, dextrous, showy-offy and, most of all, uniquely Prince. The egging-him-on reaction of the veterans on stage with him says everything. My only question is: where does his guitar disappear to at the end? The work of the devil, I tells ya
Agree, its joyous.
Just because its not difficult to play (I assume) doesnt make it bad. Give me style over fret-wankery any day of the week.
I’d agree Sid, which is why I’m mystified why something so generic sounding is so popular. It could be anyone.
fair enough, I guess it depends on the definition of “a guitar solo”.
If you’re an accomplished guitarist I guess you think about things like the technical proficiency, how interesting the structure is, how hard it is to play etc
For me, its all about how it makes me feel. I have no concept of the difficulty or complexity but if the noise it makes gives me pleasure, thats fine by me. The visual aspect is also relevant but not critical.
For example, I really like the solo in On The Beach which even I know is dead easy, but in the concept of the song I find really moving and, by that definition, good.
Lots of stuff that Neil plays could be played by any half decent player probably, but he is an absolute master at playing the right thing that the song needs.
Lou Reed on Neil Young : “It makes me cry, it is the best I have heard in my life. The guy is a spectacular guitarist, those melodies are so marvelous, so calculated, constructed note to note… he must have killed to get those notes. It puts my hairs on end!” (Danger Bird)
In fact Neil’s solos are all fantastic and it’s extraordinarily difficult to copy them. Even where you can play the notes it doesn’t sound at all like him. He’s a unique stylist and instantly recognisable. The polar opposite of that Prince solo, come to think of it.
Sid…I think probably it makes you a bit more conscious of where someone is not just doing what happens quite easily, either because they have a unique touch or have developed a distinctive style.
No interesting notes Junior. Totally predictable basic blues scales, phrasing is uninteresting. I’m being naughty because I know lots of people like it because of the hat and it’s Prince etc but that doesn’t make it interesting to my ears. Eric’s effort here is a mile more interesting and emotional.
Indeed. And it’s all about George here, not Eric. Look at his face as Dhanni thanks him at the close. Magnificent playing.
I’ve got your back on this one, Twang. I have no idea why this was latched onto by the public as some sort of proof of Prince’s innate guitar genius. This sounds like every guitar shop of my childhood on a Saturday morning. He’s a showman, and a great one, but that solo has no shape, form or melodic/harmonic surprise. It’s just pentatonic twiddling as practiced by a million bedroom guitarists every day.
I have to also admit that I’m not a huge fan of Clapton’s solo on the original. They could of at least turned off that fucking Leslie cabinet (which is a great effect when used tastefully).
Well if you lot think that solo sounds rubbish, I guess there are advantages in not playing guitar.
Sounds great to me.
Me too. Genius.
This gets right to the heart of it. Is it worse than every version Clapton ever played? Yes! Listen to the one below. No contest. Technically.
But the hat! The gurning! The way he gives up half way through! This is a man who got laid A LOT. This is why all of us took up guitar. It is unquestionably the best solo ever. And best of all, the way he doesn’t flinch when he throws it up in the air and just knows it isn’t going to come down and flatten him. You could spend every hour of every day practicing, and you’d never be as cool as that.
“All we did was bend the strings……”
Keith’s solo on Sympathy for the Devil – shrill, loud and lacking any fluency.
It sucks all the momentum out of the song for me.
Or frantic, spiky and unhinged, adding a rip of velcro right at the song’s climax…
Each to their own. One of my favourite guitar solos of all time, that! Sometimes you need spiky, uncultured playing. See also You Really Got Me by The Kinks.
Spiky uncultured playing is mostly all I want from a guitarist. Eddie Van Halen for starters.
It’s like the aural equivalent of bursts of flame shooting out, highly appropriate given the subject matter. Give me that kind of raw energy over correct and tidy solos any time.
Back when I was a sprog learning to play lead I transposed those licks as I thought “THIS is what I want to do”. Still sounds great to me.
Transposed those licks – hurrrr
Whilst concentrating on fingering fnar.
Ohhh, doesn’t your wrist get sore…
The thread wouldn’t be complete without Brian May. I know he’s a very gifted player but I hate his tone, like a wasp trapped in a bottle, and when it came head to head with 80s production in I Want to Break Free the result was horrible.
I’m no Queen aficionado, but isn’t the guitar solo on I want to Break Free not actually a guitar solo, nor is it played by Brian May? I’m well aware how much of a knob I’m being pointing this out, Gatz, so my apologies.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Mandel
No, you’re right. It’s synth with a bit of guitar doubling.
I bloody love Brian May. I’ve never really understood the hate that Queen attract from a certain quarter. I assume it has to do with selling tons and not being ashamed to make huge singles that you can sing along to in a stadium.
I think it comes from being really good, successful and obviously enjoying being famous in an era when you’re supposed to be a bit gauche and sightly crap in a “cool” way. Smug bastards, etc.
It’s a hard one this because guitar solos committed to record are generally well played. So if it’s “rubbish” it must be done on purpose. Like this one at about 2 minutes.
So Lonely – The Police
It’s punk, man ….
It’s a bit of a shock to revisit the Police’s early promos and see how daft and larky they are. Considering Sting’s hard-won rep for being po-faced, at this stage they seemed to want to be the Monkees.
….at around 2.40 Sting makes a bid to join Darts.
I’m going to add the lazy sub-Chuck solos that Dylan added to every single song when I saw him live in the late 90s. He would come in a semitone sharp or flat every time and the band leader would have to hastily signal to the band to get them to change key. It was beyond dire.
Runner up is anything played on an electric guitar by Jerry Garcia. We’ve argued this one before on these pages, and I won, so just let it slide, Ok? For extra giggles, search on YouTube for some of the isolated Bob Weir guitar tracks.
Finally is the entire genre of ultra-speed shred initiated by Yngwie and now mimicked by a thousand teenage Asian prodigies on YouTube. Those robotic, metronomic triplets just drill a hole through my soul. If you want to see shred done well, look at Eddie Van Halen and Satriani, where their playing is greasy, seat-of-the pants and done with a wink.
Dylan is great at a number of things, playing lead guitar is not one of them.
Yes. but I find it hard to believe that key change thing.
I was sitting right near the front and could both see and hear the notes/chords the band was playing and then what Dylan was doing. E.g The song would be in A and Dylan would dive in with his Chuck riffs on the 4th fret, in Ab. The band would frantically look around and signal to each other then drop a semitone. And yes, I think Dylan was doing it deliberately.
Chuck Berry used to love throwing in a key change. In Hail hail rock’n’’roll he tries it and Keef who was leading the. Band shouts no! Chuck was peeved. I wonder whether Dylan, the great imitator was trying on the same thing.
I’m with you on JG and the Yng. Utterly content free. I do have an Yng album, which I like, where he at least keeps it to short widdly solos rather than long, but compared to say Gary Moore who could also do all that stuff but chose not to other than the odd flourish it is just boring. It’s odd that all those”neo classical” players cite Ritchie Blackmore as a big influence where RB was a master at well structured solos with a bit of flash but never that tedious guitar school sweep picking rubbish.
Love him but a few (early) George Harrison solos come to mind.
I’d like to nominate Summer Breeze by The Isley Brothers. Nice song, but that guitar solo does my head in.
Love that one too, must be something wrong with me.
On this we do agree Dai. I love it. In fact there is a Twang song which used it as a model to a degree.
John Lennon’s solo on Yer Blues is a particular low point.
Pretty much the same lick repeated through the whole verse with a bit of aimless noodling at the end. Not only that but he found the same Leslie that they used for Clapton on While My Guitar Gently Weeps.
Not so much howl and sing, more warble and grunt
Not technically brilliant but, for me, it suits the song.
Isn’t it meant to be rather primitive and ugly? Almost a parody.
Another one I love! It really is “each to their own”, isn’t it?
It is. There are only two sorts of music, stuff you like and stuff you don’t.
I thought the two sorts were stuff you (as in ‘one’) like(s) and stuff that’s no good.
Also true
This is a bit ropey. I could actually do better than this! Fast forward to 2:04 if you’re brave enough.
Ladies and gentlemen, Mr Jimmy Page…
Drugs are a terrible thing children. Look what they can do to you. It sounds more of less how I remember him at Knebworth, seemingly playing a different song to the rest of the band throughout the entire set. Robert Plant looks as if he wishes the ground would open up and swallow him.
Surely nobody has ever created a solo worse than Mick Ronson’s on She Shook Me Cold? Except perhaps Mick Ronson’s Spinal Tap-esque effort on the live Ziggy concert film version of Moonage Daydream. That one is as if somebody who has never played a guitar before and whose fingers have just been smashed with a brick, has been thrown onto the stage and told to play after drinking ten pints.