Okay ‘Spillers! Let’s battle!
The weapon is the guitar, the attack is the solo….
I’ll swing my axe first, and if you think you can offer up a champion to dethrone my reigning king, please do so in the comments, and we will judge whether they have been a worthy adversary or not.
Whoever beats my contender will go through to the next round, and face the next six-string challenger!
Here’s Boris with Michio Kurihara guesting on guitar, the solo kicks in about halfway through and doesn’t really stop. The song is called “Starship Narrator”.
HAVE AT YE!!
***UPDATE*** ROUND ONE IS NOW OVER! ROUND TWO IS LIVE!! NO MORE SOLOS IN THIS POST PLEASE!!
Roy Buchanan – Roy’s Blues live from 1976:
I’m dim with the technicalities here; can someone remind me again how to post link properly?
Soloing begins at about 3:15, showboating about 4:50.
He even has a leisurely drink of orange squash during his solo!!! A serious contender, straight out the traps!
I’d kind of forgotten exactly how good Roy Buchanan was.
Superb playing. Great tone too.
Oh! It worked…..
I’ll throw in the track from which I suspect Boris got their inspiration, The Velvet Underground‘s I Heard Her Call My Name
But if you’re allowing guitar solos that don’t rely on effects pedals, I’ll look further afield.
Now, I do dig the solo in this – and am a big Velvets fan – but it’s just not quite as ferocious as the Boris one (v. similar though Chris right enough) !
A guitar solo that delivers emotion rather than just pyrotechnics is Jerry Garcia‘s on the Live/Dead version of Death Don’t Have No Mercy. The six notes that kick off the second part (around 5:30) always send a shiver down my spine, even after 40 years of hearing them.
I like the way the organ and the two guitars work together, and the way it builds up.
Oh my Lord, yes.
Will get everyone in bed early this evening, then come downstairs and put the headphones on!
Full participation then, but in the meantime, here’s an opening gambit to see what you’re made of …
From the school of “not-that-technically-gifted-but-crikey-feel-the-power” guitar-slingers, here’s Soulsavers’ version of Some Misunderstanding. The solo itself is fine, but I just love that when his allotted time is over, and Mark Lanegan comes back in, the guitar just keeps going and REFUSES to give up the centre-stage.
Back (much) later.
amazing beautiful song, makes me want to listen to “Dust” – I kinda zoned out and missed the guitar solo though (i was writing an email to my mum) – sorry Rich, that’s no way to beat the MIGHTY BORIS!
OK, I finally just got to listen to the Boris track … ah, you wanted a freak-out. Oh well, this round is over, but hopefully Round2 will be a little clearer. Bring it on.
Re Soulsavers – you are kinda right about the zoning-out, Blimpy, as the song tends to take you on a trip to a place where the solo doesn’t arrive like an electric shock. Again, if I’d had the time to prep for my opening gambit, instead of rushing it before ushering the girls out of the door … but enough excuses, where’s that second round you promised us?
Round two is ready!
I didn;t want a freak out !! – I wanted the freak-out bettered !!
GAME ON!
HOLD ON A SECOND! You didnt lsiten??!! Haven;t you heard the phrase “know your enemy?” – no wonder YOU LOST THE BATTLE!!
No, I posted ‘blind’, ’cause I’d already been called to get in the car. As the old adage printed on page 1 of The Trainer’s Manual says:
“Fail to prepare – prepare to fail”
I shall not make the same mistake again.
Another hero capable of telling a story with his solos is Mr Richard Thompson. This isn’t my favourite RT track but the solo (from around 4:20) is a fine example of what the man can do.
Richard Thompson – Put It There Pal
That did sway me, as it went on, to begin with I was wishing I could just hear the dude playing the double bass. good stuff!
That’s Danny Thompson, you know.
I’m not a huge fan of guitar solos, despite being a “player” I don’t really rate the guitar as a soloing instrument.
I prefer my solos short, sharp and to the point and here’s one that always hits the spot for me.
Junior Brown- Broke down south of Dallas
Cudos to Jr. for detuning his guitar during the solo, but Boris still have the edge!
Economical, lyrical, loads of pyrotechnics, plenty of emotion and a real feel for the fretboard.
It has to be Jan Akkerman from Focus
Jan Akkerman was the first name that sprung to mind when I saw this post. Tommy is a good shout although I was thinking more of something from Focus 3.
I’m also not a big fan of guitar solos for the sake of a guitar solo but I always felt that Mr Akkerman stands above the crowd when it comes to being ‘one’ with his guitar. It’s passionate and intense while somehow appearing effortless at the same time.
Shit!!!! SPRANG to mind. I’ve been teaching irregular verbs for the past few weeks as well!!!
Effortless indeed, but BORIS hold off Focus (because they PUT THE EFFORT IN!!)
I’m not a Prince fan – it’s more the bloke singing the song that I like. Still…
While My Guitar Gently Weeps – friends of George Harrison
That solo may well have edged Boris, but for two things – despite flashes of brilliance it lapsed into cliche occasionally. AND, when he leant right back, he had to be supported by a roadie.
Makes me think though, why doesn’t Prince pull his finger out and make a decent new record – he must be capable, surely?
But what about when he threw his guitar up in the air and it didn’t come down? Bet Boris can’t do that.
Try this one, John Cippolina with Quicksilver from late 60′s. There’s a couple of interesting solo sequences, one at 3min and another at 6min though he plays throughout.
I love the atmosphere created on this track, by not just the guitar – superb stuff GF
And in a totally different style, one more:
A classic.
One of my favourite guitar solos is almost an anti-solo. The guitar break in Aztec Camera’s Oblivious starts at about 1:45 with a magnificent one-note assault. It’s short and sweet – and that’s never a bad thing as far as I’m concerned.
That is super, but they didn’t have the balls to stick to the one note, though? I think we need some Buzzcocks to show the way…aaaah there we go….
After Wannee, could go 5 years without anymore fretwank, although I’ve grown quite fond of Luthor Dickinson’s bluesy, slidey stuff. Less is usually more for me. Most of my fave guitarists are too cool to solo (Geordie, Keith Levine…). Here’s Pete Shelley’s 2 note solo masterwork:
HECK YES!! I can feel Boris weakening under the constant two-note attack…
well this is the one for me…all a guitar solo should be
Robert Fripp is one of my favourite players of all time, probably not the most emotional player, but with a ferocious technique and a truly inventive mind.
He, as some of the comments on this video mention, really seems to have invented shredding before the shredders and his influence on modern metal guitar is incalculable.
This is a compilation of a number of his solos.
Heheh I was leaving you some space for KC while I cooked a ragout sauce. However, I was tending towards the earlier solo’s on tracks like Sailor’s Tale and Starless where I think Fripp developed the full on emotional style that now has been diverted into the Soundscapes.
This is a non-shredding, understated solo, RF guesting on a track that Maddy listed, way back then . . .
Fripp can Do No Wrong as far as I am concerned.
His guitar playing is never less than exemplary.
You are right about Starless, superb, and his playing on Fracture is some of the most fiendishly difficult stuff he ever wrote.
Very engaging, and inventive, as you say – he’s not even flinching under the shred!
I’m not really putting Charlie up as a “contender” here, but if anyone’s ever so slightly axed out by this stage, here’s something which might cleanse the palate befoe diving back into the fray..
Thanks Nilp – I think we’ll find what eventually wins this whole challenge will be originality over axe histrionics – it’s gonna be interesting finding out!
Now guys, don’t use up all your aces in the first round, ya hear!!
OK! THIS ROUND IS NOW CLOSED!! SAVE ANY FOR ROUND TWO -COMING LATER THIS EVENING!!!
I’m a bit confused about the rules here, Blimpy…
Hi TFD – the rules will be better explained in the round two post, I am refining them as I speak (to make things clearer and more democratic than they are just now – round one has proved to be a testing ground for this previously ill-thought out contest of mine).
Only, you know, it seems to me that we have all lost because you say the one you suggested is the winner.
No, no – judging is ongoing as I type this! All will be revealed in round two!!
Still time to kick round one’s ass
Is that the guy outta Kasabian playing the solo?
DISQUALIFIED!!
That’s him right enough, he’s the Brian in … Kasabrian
Even Richard Dawkins thinks Steve Rothery is God
Pingback: Guitar Solo Battle! Round Two!! « The 'Spill
ROUND TWO IS NOW OPEN!
Ahh! Am I too late to nominate the Pink Fairies and “Walk don’t run”?
So short, but so sweet -
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