This week’s Friday Night Is Music Night thread is about those guitar players who make your heart sing. I’m not talking the million miles an hour merchants, the shredders, the let’s see your fingers bleed brigade. I’m after those melodic players who think about the song, who get in and get out, not outstaying their welcome.
No surprise that I’ll start with Tin Renwick I love Rennie’s playing – full of melody but spare, short solos with plenty of attack. I saw him with The Suths, in 1974, and he was Les Chiens.
So come on you lovely lot. Hit me with videos of your favourite pickers who fit the bill.
The best version of this song by a street, also has one of my favourite solos of all time. Sir Mick Ralphs? Set up and take a bow.
Err Velvet Underground? Lou Reed Rock’n’Roll Animal with the extended guitar intro solos by Hunter and Wagner?
Best version by a mile!
Dreamin
Sorry, Junior, I have an aversion to Lou Reed so Mott’s version will always be my number one.
Agree.
I prefer the Cowboy Junkies…….
Tim Renwick again.
I suspect there’ll be a few examples of this man’s work but this is my fave.
If you’ve not seen it, this documentary about Knopfler’s guitars is really nice. For example, an interesting bit is him talking about writing Romeo & Juliet on his National (12.43).
It’s lovely isn’t it?
Ah yes, in my sentimental moments I do enjoy that play out of Romeo and Juliet.
A note on that video; it and the similarly styled ones for Tunnel of Love and Skateaway were originally made for the cinema. All three ran as the supporting feature for ‘Coalminer’s Daughter’ starring Sissy Spacek in 1980.
They weren’t made with TV or any sort of small screen originally in mind at all. Their huge literal renderings were meant for a vast cinema screen format.
Knowledge, sir.
You wouldn’t expect me to miss out my man, Derek Trucks, would you? I love this….
You are playing Clapton’s song. He is sitting in the wings. You play the first note with your trademark slide and then think better of it, pocket the slide, and fly.
That is phenomenally great.
There are so many Knopfler guitarisms to love, but my favourite is his guitarism on Wild West End (also my favourite song about London). He seems to use the guitar to punctuate and emphasise his words. Like on the lines “greasy, greasy, greasy hair, easy smile” (2.11) and “all the money go down … duck inside the doorway” (2.36) and “a Go-Go dancing girl” (3.24).
And he looks so great in this video. Totally effortless, scruffy, don’t-give-a-toss cool. A very far cry from the stadium-friendly headband days to come.
Agreed. However, the ‘headband days’ are way behind him now and he’s still got ‘it.’
You may rightly throw this one out as it can’t really be sung but my favourite thing from Knopfler is the play out on ‘Lions’, the last track on the first album.
The drop into the slow chiming funk is I think quite sublime and knocked my 15 year old spotty head off at the time.
From 3:50
Christ, I’d forgotten this one, Beez. Top spot.
Nearly a hundred (?) years later I still can’t get over Knopler’s “I’ve been listening to Blonde On Blonde again” vocal mannerisms but, boy, he sure can play that guitar
If your coloratura is sufficiently defined you could sing the most widely-diddly Of Knopfler solos.
And Mr Glenn Frey. Just a beautiful solo.
Didn’t we just have this thread?
We did but,
(a) it was the height of the hols
(b) you can’t have too much of a good thing
c) agreed
The answer of course is Sparks,,,and Trevor White
Spot on. Great solo.
Can I offer Tony Peluso’s solo on the Carpenters Goodbye To Love
Is the correct answer. Oh, my God, this is one of the great solos. Great shout, Rigid.
Blessed are the cheesemakers.
I always love the solo on Primal Scream’s Damaged when it pops up on my iPod. Everything about it just seems exactly right for the song in that moment.
I liked that song instantly for the quotation from Close Encounters of the Third Kind in the opening bars. Tongue in cheek and weirdly appropriate.
I always thought this Mary Chapin Carpenter track has a perfectly constructed solo you could transpose and it would sound good on anything.
Great shout, @Twang. To give him credit, the liner notes say it is John Jennings, not a name I’m familiar with. Great tone, too.
He was her regular right hand man. Nashville is full of those guys who can just do it!
Try this bad boy with the always superb John Jorgensen.
I always refer back to prime Shakey and prime RT. It is true that sometimes, in their enthusiasm of age, they now get carried away with technique. But can there be more tuneful soloing than these two songs, and I don’t care how ubiquitous is the 2nd. I can sing along with bothe of these every step of the way.
Well, I knew RT would come up, and rightly so. Shakey, I hadn’t considered, but then I’m not a huge fan. This fits the bill, though.
My favourite RT solo is less than a minute long and happens to be on one of Sandy Denny’s finest songs (IMO). No messing around, he plays it and then steps back. Some lovely little fills during the verses too.
(Autopsy)
My favourite RT solo is on Shoot Out the Lights. Try singing that and you could do yourself a mischief.
You’ll have no problem singing along with this one….
*coughs quietly *
https://youtu.be/J8fFVOoqepc
But, but, but… “who get in and out, not outstaying their welcome” you said. I love Gilmour’s playing on some songs, but that second solo just goes on and on. You can go have a bite and you’ll still be hearing that one.
I may be stretching the boundaries but it is always melodic. So, box ticked.
This, of course.
Of course.
And this beauty from the album of the same name. Apart from the flawless guitar playing, the keys, bass and drums are perfect.
Wonderful player, Guildford’s own Andy Latimer.
….bit of Jerry Donahue…
https://youtube.com/watch?v=5bqIcgnhQRc
Should also be on my Stop thread. Now unable to play after massive stroke.
Indeed – apologies, I missed that thread.
I saw him in 2009 with the so-called “Legends of Folk-Rock” tour – I wouldn’t have said he was on top form, but certainly on a different level to anyone else on stage with him that evening….
I saw that tour, at The Stables. I saw him with the Fotheringhay reunion tour too. Both times he was excellent.
and a thoroughly nice chap too.
Yes he showed me a guitar lick once at a guitar show.
Denny Dias was rather an unsung hero in the original Dan. As a player who thought about the song, he was up there with the best of these, and he had a lovely fluid style, exemplarised here.
None more melodic than Skunk in Reelin’ in the Years
The solo on Reelin’ In The Years was Elliot Randell… He was an old friend of Skunk and was there when they were cutting it – Skunk was struggling and said “you have a go…”.
Dang, of course, I knew that, d’oh….
Early Carlos:Abraxas and III have loads you can sing along to.
It’s not only guitarists who played solos you can sing.
Miles Davis was a very singable player.
(All Blues)
Cannonball Adderley’s solo has some good singable bits too. Coltrane’s has moments as well but not quite so many.
Scratching as well. The opening of Fear of a Black Planet goes “Deedle-it dit deedle-it dit…”