Blogcritics Comments on Death of the guitar solo? Pat Benatar: Go

Comment by bill27 on Death of the guitar solo? Pat Benatar: Go

Wed, 13 Dec 2006 19:12:41 EST

How come no one has mentioned Eddie Van Halen? He is one of the greatest guitarists of all time, in my opinion. I wish people would play more like him these days.

Comment by Moo on Death of the guitar solo? Pat Benatar: Go

Sun, 11 Dec 2005 23:50:56 EST

Remember, some songs dont need a guitar solo, or it would mix in badly with that certain piece of song. It aint like you are going to have a fast, hard hitting guitar solo in a slow song such as Nothing Else Matters by Metallica, whereas, in a fast paced, thrashy song, you would expect a guitar solo, especially a fast one, as it would fit in well - Seek and Destroy and Master of Puppets are 2 good examples both by Metallica. It depends on what the song is.

Comment by dan00b on Death of the guitar solo? Pat Benatar: Go

Wed, 23 Nov 2005 23:52:42 EST

Its a interesting point. But the solo is necessary for music. Its emotional. Its critical, and it shows that a band actually has skilled players. Because solos aren't easy. Its hard to listen to Metallica's Blackened, and not imagine the solo near its end. That solo for reasons I don't quite know, has been the reason I'm playing guitar. It just fits that song and sticks in my mind.

Comment by J-Satch on Death of the guitar solo? Pat Benatar: Go

Fri, 7 Oct 2005 22:38:39 EDT

Some people have no idea what they are talking about. Tom Johnson you should learn that solos are the musican playing scales really fast. Just look at Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Marty Friedman, Ywiengie Malmsteen (most of his stuff) all their songs are, are 5 min solos. They all have more talent than Jimme Paige and especially Kurt Colbain could ever imagine. And if you don't believe me that they know about music, Satriani and Steve Vai studied at Berkley College. Solos are what seperate the best from good. I can play just about any riff or intro out there. But the solo is what now seperates the alternive rock guitar players from the guitar players who could actually play.

Comment by JR on Death of the guitar solo? Pat Benatar: Go

Sat, 1 May 2004 13:13:18 EDT

Um, I don't have a problem with that.

Comment by Eric Olsen on Death of the guitar solo? Pat Benatar: Go

Sat, 1 May 2004 12:21:54 EDT

the problem is when the solo becomes the point

Comment by Solo Fan on Death of the guitar solo? Pat Benatar: Go

Sat, 1 May 2004 01:39:10 EDT

Solos have been an integral part of Rock'N Roll since the beginning,Chuck Berry,Elvis,old Bluesmen,The Beatles,Stones even most Punk bands. Every song but one on "Nevermind The Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols" has a solo.The Ramones first 5or6 albums didn't have any but several of their mid-eighties LP's were loaded with them. I think 80's Metal "guitarwank" gave solos a bad name.No pun intended.

Comment by TDavid on Death of the guitar solo? Pat Benatar: Go

Sun, 28 Dec 2003 13:26:28 EST

Oh, and as for being interesting musically? Forget that. It's about money, not artistic expansion and exploration. If these artists don't sell well then they will end up playing casinos and rehasing the stuff they did when they were selling albums. If they can mix in being fresh with selling albums then that's icing on the cake, but whether any of us like it or not it is about selling music. It's a business.

Comment by TDavid on Death of the guitar solo? Pat Benatar: Go

Sun, 28 Dec 2003 13:22:20 EST

Damn, maybe it is a sign of old age as I am sensing a disconnect with today's music scene! danny - "Stop living in the past"? LOL! Some of the best music in my lifetime has been produced and released "in the past" -- Tell you what, you can have all this hiphop stuff that is popular today and see if folks are still listening to it in 20 or 30 years the way they listen to some of the music of the 70's and 80's today. I'm sure that this will hold true for some folks. Extremely doubtful that I will be one of them. Personally, I see this phase sort of like the disco phase.

Comment by danny diess on Death of the guitar solo? Pat Benatar: Go

Mon, 22 Dec 2003 18:45:41 EST

i think people need to stop living in the past. as to comment on the new benatar album. i think its a wonderful piece of work. the reason artist like pat benatar are still around is because she is still interesting. if she was still making the same music she was making 20 years ago that would be really tired . she continues to be up to date. and very hip. shes probably the coolest women in music.

Comment by Tim Hall on Death of the guitar solo? Pat Benatar: Go

Tue, 11 Nov 2003 08:09:18 EST

It wasn’t music that required these virtuoso guitar players," he says. And there's the culprit, laziness. To be able to play great guitar solos means long hours of practice, something today's instant gratification generation isn't interested in doing.

Comment by duane on Death of the guitar solo? Pat Benatar: Go

Mon, 10 Nov 2003 23:34:37 EST

Here's an excerpt from an article about Dan Donegan, the guitarist for Disturbed. I think this is fairly representative of the mindset of the successors to the heyday of guitar-hero bands. This is from Guitar World, November 2002. Donegan cut his teeth on a steady diet of classic and contemporary metal, from Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin to Tool and Korn. In particular, the grunge bands of the early Nineties -- namely Soundgarden and Alice in Chains -- had a major impact on him. "Grunge appealed to me because it was very riff oriented. It wasn't music that required these virtuoso guitar players," he says. "I liked the fact that a riff could carry the song, instead of merely killing time until the big guitar solo." Interestingly, the first incarnation of Disturbed was actually heavy on guitar solos. That all changed when Dave Draiman, who had just left a band he describes as an "acid-funk project," signed on as the band's new singer. Says Donegan, "Seeing how syncopated and melodic a vocalist Dave could be, I wanted to take the music in a more riff-oriented direction -- that Soundgarden type of thing where the riffs take you on a bit of a journey. As a band, we felt like there was so much more that we could do." Ain't it a shame?

Comment by Tom Johnson on Death of the guitar solo? Pat Benatar: Go

Mon, 10 Nov 2003 23:00:44 EST

Built To Spill - nice one, Eric. Very cool band. And effective soloing, too.

Comment by duane on Death of the guitar solo? Pat Benatar: Go

Mon, 10 Nov 2003 22:55:40 EST

Yes, but Eric, an exception constitutes a mere peu de chose. Allusions to Neil Young could appear to be a facile stab at elusion. My hypothesis is virtually --- virtually, I say --- incontestible.

Comment by Eric Olsen on Death of the guitar solo? Pat Benatar: Go

Mon, 10 Nov 2003 22:18:15 EST

Back to grunge and guitar solos, #3 - Duane's statement, though imbued with some truth, is something of a canard since two of the demigods of grunge, Jay Mascis and Neil Young (while in grunge mode, of course, and this goes all the way back to "Down By the River"), solo their asses off. Lot's of soloing in post-grunge Built to Spill as well.

Comment by Mark Saleski on Death of the guitar solo? Pat Benatar: Go

Mon, 10 Nov 2003 20:44:39 EST

dang, i think you're right. that's what i get for dissing hair metal!

Comment by TDavid on Death of the guitar solo? Pat Benatar: Go

Mon, 10 Nov 2003 17:38:22 EST

Blacklie = Blackie, doh!

Comment by TDavid on Death of the guitar solo? Pat Benatar: Go

Mon, 10 Nov 2003 17:37:44 EST

Didn't Blacklie mostly play bass guitar, Mark? I realize in later albums he played guitar, but the earlier (and good) material he was just the bassist twirling around that fake long black hair with the skunk white stripe in it.

Comment by Mark Saleski on Death of the guitar solo? Pat Benatar: Go

Mon, 10 Nov 2003 13:09:02 EST

c'mon...WASP's Blackie Lawless was a fricken' artiste! look beyond the flaming codpiece and he was Jimi-freakin' Hendrix. ok, maybe not.

Comment by Tom Johnson on Death of the guitar solo? Pat Benatar: Go

Mon, 10 Nov 2003 12:07:57 EST

I wish I could provide some examples, TDavid, but it appears my brain has been washed clean of them. :-) I'm not like most listeners today - I don't want to eschew them entirely. What I want is for guitarists to take the responsibility to make their solo mean something to the song. It's very often the emotional apex of a song, and, to me, having a wanky display of scales ruins what should be THE moment of the song. Style over substance. Unfortunately, most listeners today tend to be like my coworker, who immediately decides the moment he hears a guitar break free from the main melody of the song that it's just a cheesy show-off moment. The irony I see is that he appreciates DJ solos, which, to me, are exactly the same thing as a guitar solo just on a different instrument. I don't care for those either. Let me just state for the record that I am a huge Rush fan and I think Alex Lifeson is one of the most underrated guitarists in rock. His solos are always tasteful and intelligent. There are some songs, like "Bravado," where his live solo is what carries the song from being simply good to being transcendent. It's not showy, it's just emotional. That, my friends, is what a good solo should be about.

Comment by Sean Hackbarth on Death of the guitar solo? Pat Benatar: Go

Mon, 10 Nov 2003 01:49:34 EST

Where would rock music even be without guitar solo innovator Chuck Berry?

Comment by TDavid on Death of the guitar solo? Pat Benatar: Go

Sun, 9 Nov 2003 23:19:35 EST

BTW, in Benatar's Crimes of Passion (referenced in the post) these are the times of the guitar solos for each track: Treat Me Right (:20) You Better Run (:33) Hit Me With Your Best Shot (:30) Hell is For Children (:45) Little Paradise (:40) I'm Gonna Follow You (:40) Wuthering Heights (:44) Prisoner of Love (:24) Out-A-Touch (:12) - Nearly 5 minutes worth of guitar soloing and 9 out of 10 songs contained a guitar solo - The only song without a guitar solo was Never Wanna Leave You Compare this to Go which contains nary more than 45 seconds of guitar soloing on the whole CD. Others in this thread have mentioned Rush and Metallica both releasing CDs with no solos on them and the comparisons to albums released in the 80's for both these bands would turn up even more glaring holes for soloing. One would think that Benatar would have stayed true to their successful formula from Crimes of Passion, but in today's largely sololess music scene, they cut out the solos and cram an extra song or two onto the disc, thinking (?) that this is something that more appeals to today's music audience. It's not just the solos, but I think the solos were part of a larger formula that worked for 80's bands and some of them have left the formula for whatever timely reason. The converse of this is that Iron Maiden's newest CD has soloing in it and I don't think it was all that fantastic either.

Comment by TDavid on Death of the guitar solo? Pat Benatar: Go

Sun, 9 Nov 2003 22:57:26 EST

I'm curious, Tom, if you could name some songs with solos -- specific examples -- that you felt were unnecessary from 80's bands. I think some of the hair bands altogether were unnecessary, not just the solos from their respective guitarists. But I am curious if you can cite some examples of specific tracks that come to your mind as being excessive. I'm not trying to rattle ya on this or anything, but I am intrigued by your perspective. Thanks for the feedback :)

Comment by Tom Johnson on Death of the guitar solo? Pat Benatar: Go

Sun, 9 Nov 2003 22:31:01 EST

Let me re-state my position: I'm not a anti-solo snob. In fact, I love them in the right place. But the bands of the 80s overused them and they were put into effect by guitarist whose main skill was speed and not feeling. I'm lumping - sorry - I know there are very intelligent, thoughtful, expressive solos in many songs, but the majority of songs from that era are not gifted with such a thing. I wnat to hear a solo when it can advance the song, when it ties up a melodic loose end, when it can make a statement. I don't care if it shows off the skills or not - skill to me is knowing what to play, where. Being a jazz fan, I'm well aware of the importance of the solo. But the solo became the MO of a whole lot of metal in the late 80s, and the song suffered because it was just a vehicle to transport the listener to the solo. I'll never be sad to see that kind of thing disappear. But hey, I still love Joe Satriani - I follow his every release because the man makes his guitar truly sing. When I want to hear soloing, that's what I want to hear.

Comment by Mark Saleski on Death of the guitar solo? Pat Benatar: Go

Sun, 9 Nov 2003 22:08:10 EST

the lack of guitar solos is one of the main reasons i can't really get into a lot of modern rock (or nu-metal)....aside from the solo playing off of or expanding on the melody, it also can also serve to break the song up into sections...lots of modern rock i've heard ends up sounding like one long chorus.