guitar solos where less is more

Peter Green at the end of Peter Gabriel's Sky Blue on UP. It might be only two or
three notes repeated...but they're the right few notes with just the right amount
of distortion. Lot of emotional weight in very little space.

2:10; less is more, and very tasty.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fALdOkf_eCM

Beatles solos, whether George, Paul (Taxman, Drive My Car, Another Girl) or John, tend to be just the right length and tasty as can be.

Hendrix from Rainbow Bridge "Pali Gap"

Ah, got it!
I suspect that there's more than one exception, but I got it.

"is it something inherent in rock music that prevents rock guitar players from producing "less is more" solos of the type that players in jazz and blues are able to produce?"

This is the correct answer. of course there has to be at least one exception. It's a LOUD and fast music.

Rok,

Kinda curious how you reached this conclusion ("no one in rock"). Was this via a comprehensive survey of rock guitar solos, or is it something inherent in rock music that prevents rock guitar players from producing "less is more" solos of the type that players in jazz and blues are able to produce?

Marty

Any and All B.B. King in Blues. Wes Montgomery and Kenny Burrell in Jazz. No one in Rock. I am sure I missed some in Blues and Jazz.

Ghost.

Burnt Weenie is still my favorite FZ record. I guess our taste does overlap a fair bit.

Hey Marty - glad someone else agrees. Love how The Chain just builds. re the Zappa, for those that might be interested but don't know, "Holiday in Berlin" is from Burnt Weenie Sandwich. Another great FZ solo to be found there as well is on the track, "The Little House I Used to Live In."...about 4:15 in and right before Sugar Cane sets sail.

Ghost,

Good calls, all. In particular, the end of "The Chain" (breakdown/outro) is among my favorite 2 minutes of rock n roll. There's that iconic bass guitar figure to kick it off, Mick Fleetwood going batsh*t on his drums, and Buckingham's repetitive solo, replete with accompanying chant. My favorite Buckingham solos are usually not of the "less is more" variety, but the last 30 seconds of this song probably qualify:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TV6BEwJEKI

Marty

Lindsey Buckingham on F/M's "The Chain".
Zappa, "Orange County Lumber Truck" on Weasels Ripped My Flesh
Zappa, "Holiday in Berlin, Full Blown". Latter part of the track after the schmaltzy sax stuff. He gets the groove down. Don't know if it is "less" but it sure is "more" for me.

Ritchie Blackmore's solo on 'Hold On' from Stormbringer album. Every time I hear that, it just makes me feel so good. Not a single wasted note in the whole solo.

Jeff Beck's solo on What God Wants, Part III on Amused To Death.

Santana, 'now you know'...:0)

Auralone, where are you?

I think the OP lost his interest after I posted the guitar links with too many notes!

It appears Buddy Flett is solo at this time. I will have to learn how to import videos, but a lot on Youtube.

I have to agree that Beach Boy's solo is hard to beat. Many great players I have never heard. Thanks.

Neil Young-Like a Hurricane. A very long but simple guitar solo that never gets old.

Funny that some thought of Stevie Ray. My first thought was Jimmie Vaughn. Another that comes to mind is the Bluebird's Buddy Flett , more slide but still economical.

Has anyone heard form auralone?

i have never tired of hearing pete townsend's solo on "pure and easy". played with great passion and energy....

Frogman, can you give a example of Frisell doing Miles's like use of space? I am familiar with him a little but was never impressed. Maybe I missed something.

No mention of Bill Frisell? A great artist. Cliche-free playing, few notes,
and every note counts. Improvises in the traditional way of always
returning to the melody while stretching the harmonic boundaries. Miles
Davis-like use of space, and a very unique sound.

Of course, the king of packing meaning and emotion into a single note will
always be B.B.

Auralone, I'm looking for some feedback, that will let us know who's hot and who's not.

Yes, flamenco, fusion jazz and world music. But as I said, I am open to suggestions.
http://youtu.be/yXyHjNwENdI

Inna, your taste in guitar music seems to be pretty much flamenco and fusion jazz, which is fine by me. I'm not a huge fan of Al DiMeola's guitar playing, other than Mediterranean Sundance. I do like flamenco in small doses.

second JJ Cale for restrained brilliance. There's a reason Clapton is so enamored with his work.

Not really on topic, but Steve Morse has a new band called Flying Colors releasing a new album next month. Neal Morse and Mike Portnoy are also in the group. Hopefully it won't be too pretentious.

Martykl and Bdgregory, glad you you liked them. Matt Rach is a French kid who started off as a guitar wonder on youtube playing rocked out version of pachelbel's canon when he was 14. He really has matured into a fine guitarist. He actually plays the bass and drums on his videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owAj5LiXG5w

Dracule,

Thanks for the links - really, really great. You included a couple of players I love (Roth and Emmanuel), a couple I hugely admire but don't love (Bream and Vai), and one that I've never heard of (Matt Rach). I thought that every choice you made was a great example of the player at the top of his respective form and - in particular - I thought that the Vai and Emmanuel clips may have been the best I've seen from either.

OTOH, it is vaguely depressing. If I live to be 100 and practice 24/7 between now and then, I'll never touch any of these guys.

Marty

Cut 10 "Ain't No Way" from the "Don't Explain" album by Beth Hart and Joe Bonamass.

Dracule1, thank you, I listened to them all, and enjoyed them all. I ACTUALLY am open to all styles. . . . enjoyed the Ted Greene piece too.

And this is something I recently found:
http://youtu.be/wvbuR-i9NlM

Or how about this?
http://youtu.be/71XXQXY0yvA

Dracule1, thank you, I listened to them all. Didn't like a single one. I am open to all styles.
http://youtu.be/PfajXCs8aIQ

OK. I guess this could be less is more depending on how you define less.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ubVGiyAhkY&feature=related

Here are some very different styles. Some more is less.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yw74sDWPH7U&ob=av2e

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-AK5Nls57k&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S33tWZqXhnk&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISXznwKgKR0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGsptWdzROE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X30AroojjFk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MBjP0xw2HM

Inna, I was trained in classical guitar orginally. Nino is a flamenco guitar player, a very good one at that. It's an entirely different style of guitar playing. His playing is no better or worse than Ted, just different. Thanks for the link. I enjoyed it. You should try to be more open to other styles of guitar playing. See my next post.

I wouldn't call it playing guitar but I am familiar with the instrument and know how difficult it is.
You might like this though again it is not "less is more" in terms of technique.
http://youtu.be/5ayT9Y6NNv0

To fully appreciate Onhyway 61's response:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9E1by7PocE

Forward to the 1:43 mark

This nomination will not be beaten!

Marty

Pehare, I'm glad you enjoy Teds playing as much as I. He improvised jazz and classical styles in that piece. Go to YouTube and search Arlen Roth When a man loves a woman. There are two versions, one in his home and another in a studio, the latter has better sound. I think you would also like it too.

Inna do you play guitar? If you do, you would appreciate how difficult it is to do what he did. You can find thousands who shred like Steve Vai or Yngwie Malmsteen (not knocking them as I do like their playing too) but rarely can you find who knows phrasing of meladies and subtleties of chord progression like Ted did. Just my opinion.

Robert Fripp's absolutely beautiful solo in "The Hammond Song" from The Roches' self-title debut album has long been a favorite. It is understated, smoother than a newborn baby's bottom, and then, brilliantly, fails to stop when you think it's all over. I've played it hundreds of times, and it never fails to bring a smile. And, each time I've seen The Roches -- including just a couple of years back now -- I miss the solo when the three sisters sing what many fans (me included) consider to be their best song.

David Gilmour's solo from "Hey You" off The Wall is my favorite. It's short but extremely emotional and poignant to the song. It's not just added there for ego reasons.

great Autumn Leaves, thanks Dracule!

The Beach Boys' "Don't Worry Baby".

Nice melody but Ted Greene just can't play. Sorry.

I play the guitar and have many versions of Autumn Leaves on guitar. This is the most heartfelt rendition of the song on guitar I have ever heard. BTW, this was an improvisation by Ted Greene (RIP).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDuee6blvj8