guitar solo entrances and exits

lordfinesse · April 10, 2011, 03:13:36 PM

Lately I've been noticing a little more how guitar solos enter and exit a song. So far, I think I can say that no guitar solo I've heard has announced it's fiery arrival with more bravado than John Sykes' solo on Thin Lizzy's "The Sun Goes Down." He shakes the shit out of that first note, and it's like "Bitches!...The Guitar Solo Part of the Program Has Begun!..." Awesome.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, solos that creep their way in... the first one that comes to mind is Mike Campbell's solo on Don Henley's "Boys of Summer." It seems that just as I realize I'm hearing a guitar solo, it's over. I'm not sure how much it counts as a solo, because he plays that way throughout the song, but there is a part where there are no vocals, and he's noodling, so... solo. And it's tasteful. Damn I love Mike Campbell. Pink Floyd "Wish You Were Here" is another one. Not very intrusive. Hell he even sings along with it, and it's still doesn't have a very big place in the mix.

I also have to mention the most unnatural sounding, "this was obviously punched in and overdubbed" guitar solo. For me, it's Whitesnake "Here I Go Again." I've always thought it just sounded like wankery, and that super shakey note at the end is completely ridiculous. I'll bet he had a fan blowing on him while he recorded it. Just my opinion.

Any thoughts or other examples?

Ranbat · April 10, 2011, 05:18:03 PM

There are solos I hear sometimes that you can really hear that it's punched in. Listening to Zakk on No Rest For the Wicked is like that as is alot of 80's stuff. The solos I like best are the ones that are like a mini song in the middle of a song. Something that has a beginning, middle and end. The solo for Crazy Train practically has a chorus and verse. Randy plays a lick(verse) then has a bend(chorus), plays a lick(verse) then bends(chorus), plays a lick(verse) and bends(chorus) and then plays a lick out. If you listen to it, you'll probably pick up on what I'm referring to.

mortlock · April 10, 2011, 06:21:57 PM

im not sure if anyone here has it but im sure someone does..its my favorite guitar solo and perhaps the greatest rock/psych/fuzzed out guitar solo ever..

stray - s/t track 07..move on..rippes my head off each and every time.. the way its crafted, the build up. the nasty raunchiness of it is awesome .

mawso · April 11, 2011, 02:11:21 AM

Quote from: lordfinesse on April 10, 2011, 03:13:36 PM

I also have to mention the most unnatural sounding, "this was obviously punched in and overdubbed" guitar solo. For me, it's Whitesnake "Here I Go Again." I've always thought it just sounded like wankery, and that super shakey note at the end is completely ridiculous. I'll bet he had a fan blowing on him while he recorded it. Just my opinion.

The reason it sounds that way, is cos it was..

During the recording of the album, Coverdale sacked the whole band. John Sykes had tracked every guitar part already, except for that solo. Adrian Vandenberg was brought in as a session player to record that solo. It's a rush job and he's just doing filler.

Overall I find that whole album really frustrating.. partly because there's so much to like about it.. but then there's the really thin guitar sound and the cheesy drums.. and you're left at the end thinking "man, this could have been so great". Then if you hear some of the same songs on "live in the heart of the city" it kind of really underlines it.

Discö Rice · April 11, 2011, 07:45:17 AM

Can't say I've ever been frustrated about Whitesnake's wasted potential.

justinhedrick · April 11, 2011, 09:21:45 AM

the solo in "beat it" has to be the most out of place guitar solo i've ever heard.

LogicalFrank · April 11, 2011, 10:21:54 AM

Quote from: justinhedrick on April 11, 2011, 09:21:45 AM
the solo in "beat it" has to be the most out of place guitar solo i've ever heard.

That's why it's so awesome! You can just hear Quincy Jones saying, "Eddie Van Halen? Sure pay him what he wants. White people eat that shit up."

Discö Rice · April 11, 2011, 10:44:07 AM

Quote from: justinhedrick on April 11, 2011, 09:21:45 AM
the solo in "beat it" has to be the most out of place guitar solo i've ever heard.

but the hook in the song is a solo-ish guitar riff. How is a solo out of place? A flute solo would be out of place, but guitar is one of the main ingredients.

justinhedrick · April 11, 2011, 11:18:49 AM

it is totally punched in. in some parts it doesn't even seem like he listened to the song before he played it. it just sounds so weird and out of time.

Chovie D · April 11, 2011, 11:23:04 AM

best exit(or at least a really great one): the lingering vibrato on AC/DC's "Ride On".

Discö Rice · April 11, 2011, 12:21:15 PM

Quote from: Chovie D on April 11, 2011, 11:23:04 AM
best exit(or at least a really great one): the lingering vibrato on AC/DC's "Ride On".

Some COMPLETELY off topic music here, but I always liked the way this guitar solo from Belle and Sebastian's "Fox in the Snow" enters on and doubles the last three syllables of lyrics in the bridge, continues for 8 bars and is gone before you realize a guitar solo happened. It counters the melody and compliments the rhythm section perfectly.

Discö Rice · April 11, 2011, 01:17:42 PM

Then there's this, where a sweet, spidery clean(er) solo re-states the intro, gets fuzz bombed to ashes, briefly springs back to life and collects itself before the lyrics come back in, and alternately lays back into the spidery part and erupts into solos throughout the rest of the song, following the dynamics of the vocals.

The Shocker · April 11, 2011, 02:14:55 PM

One of the reasons I love Cowboy Song by Lizzy is the way the solos are set up. You get a regular solo (still awesome), then a little tease of one that is also a preview for the final mindblowing solo.

inductorguitars · April 11, 2011, 08:21:35 PM

Cinnamon Girl

mawso · April 13, 2011, 01:39:41 AM

Quote from: Nickelnuts McFroth on April 11, 2011, 07:45:17 AM
Can't say I've ever been frustrated about Whitesnake's wasted potential.

serious? the early R&B stuff is great.. lovehunter has the best cover art of all time.. then it goes to shit

SpaceTrucker · April 15, 2011, 07:40:16 PM

Listen and Learn "Bewitched"(yeah, Again) by Candlemass.

Isabellacat · April 21, 2011, 12:02:56 AM

Eddie Hazel \m/

just listen to his solos on the first three Funkadelic records. those solos on 'Super Stupid' gives me the goosebumps all the time.he was like unpredictable especially on 'Maggot Brain' too.

SpaceTrucker · April 26, 2011, 08:09:09 PM

^gotta agree.

nonoman · April 26, 2011, 09:31:16 PM

Love the way Creston's solo on Rock and Roll Party off Harvey Milk's The Pleaser lurches into an already rowdy tune and kicks ass.

Isabellacat · August 04, 2011, 06:46:59 PM

I also really love Tony Iommi's guitars solos. Especially the ones for 'Junior's Eyes' , 'War Pigs' and 'Killing Yourself to Live'.....the way he enters and exits in his solos are so full of emotion and his solos have so much story to them.

edit: and I love how Tony always goes back to the main riff after he exits the solo. That's a trademark I've noticed that always gets ripped off by many metal guitarists.

justJon · August 04, 2011, 06:54:47 PM

One of my favorite guitar solos ever is an example of a great entrance. The second solo on "Comfortably Numb." It builds from just banging the root of the chord four times, then takes off into that soaring solo. I still get chills every single time I hear it.

spookstrickland · August 04, 2011, 08:08:32 PM

I think the solo from Hurdy Gurdy Man is as good as it gets.

jibberish · August 05, 2011, 05:56:28 AM

i tend to listen to the exits. some are so brilliant and integrated. then there's mine...srsly, a lot are just "oshit, this is last measure, quick wrap, done." sounding. since solo exits confound me, i pay more attention as i learn how to deal better.

Isabellacat · August 05, 2011, 06:42:54 AM

giantchris · August 05, 2011, 09:24:23 AM

My favorite solo entrance is probably Mastodon - Hearts Alive.

I really like how it shifts to that riff over a slower tempo and Brann just kinda builds underneath the riff until the guitar kicks in. Then the guitar opening part of the solo really colors the riff into an interesting sense of movement. Then the part where he's doing the fast arpeggios is one of my favorite parts in any solo I've ever heard. Its unfortunate I have no idea if its Brent or Bill playing it (or both). It sounds like Brent to me because of the blues style lick near the end of it. When I saw them live (Crack the Skye tour) Brent seemed to be playing almost all the solos but I know he wrote most of Crack the Skye.