Your vote on Gilmour
Hi everyone - since we've all got nothing else to do with our extensive spare time, I thought I'd start a discussion:
WHY is it that everyone loves Gilmour, especially Comfortably Numb? I don't know one axist that doesn't dig that song and playing that solo.
Here's my take: Here's a guy who, in the age of crappy equipment and archaic technology, was able to really put some feeling into even the simplest solos. DG could be playing Michael Row The Boat Ashore and you'd know it was him. His songwriting and solo creation isn't particularly sophisticated or complex - especially in light of some of the ax-masters that came after - yet he's in a class by himself, and no one else can do his sound or style.
Opinions?
WHY is it that everyone loves Gilmour, especially Comfortably Numb? I don't know one axist that doesn't dig that song and playing that solo.
Here's my take: Here's a guy who, in the age of crappy equipment and archaic technology, was able to really put some feeling into even the simplest solos. DG could be playing Michael Row The Boat Ashore and you'd know it was him. His songwriting and solo creation isn't particularly sophisticated or complex - especially in light of some of the ax-masters that came after - yet he's in a class by himself, and no one else can do his sound or style.
Opinions?
Comments
Comfortably Numb.. expression at it's best!
Another great emotion soloist is Neal Schon
Amen and Amen!!! In my opinion this still ranks as my favorite Solo of any music, any style that I've ever listened to!!! Why?? I don't know?? I just know everytime I hear it it's the same thought all over again man that's the best solo ever Man I pray that some day I will be able to express my emotion and feeling thru guitar half as good as that!!!!
I've always really enjoyed the solo in \"Time\" - again, one that isn't particularly difficult to play, but it speaks... it sings... even just covering the notes doesn't convey the solo - you have to feel it too - put your soul into it along with your fingers.
Having said that, I like the shredder leads as well - but DG has always amazed me with his ability to make compelling leads using so many fewer notes.
+1 on Neil Schon!!! I really enjoy early Journey stuff.
Now considering that I love all kinds of playing and I'm a Lifeson junkie, I've always marveled that DG can be such a stellar player when lined up next to others that are so \"technically\" proficient. But he's right up there in the ranks, dontcha think??
I think it comes down to knowing (by feel) what to do with a passage. DG has a gift for that, and although it's subtle for the most part, when he needs to deliver a stronger point he can take it that direction.
Rush, prog players, are about creating sonic landscapes in a mindful sense. That means, there is a purpose for their direction based on many takes of the same passages. It's like Floyd members trusted DG's intuititive technique.
With Rush and prog players, there are a lot of syncapated passages that have to be coordinated or it goes out in left field. Not that one is easier than the other cause I've played with prog guys that are all about timing. Then I've played bluesy stuff and simply \"feel\" the song... change the mode.. change the scale position.. change the mood.
I've seen them 9 times, dating back to the Hemispheres tour, and they never disappoint!
His solos are sometimes so peaceful yet just below the surface you can feel the tention of emoitions that he puts into them. So who cares how fast or slow you are playing as long as you get your musical thoughts across to others in the way you intended.
Man thats Deep! (and I didn't even have to pull out my Dark side of the moon anniversary addition Bong to think that up!) :roll:
\"I can play guitar and say what I want to... Eddie can just do it in 7 diffrent languages - Sammy Hagar
Yeah - it's like that guy on these boards says: \"it's not the quantity of notes but the quality of expression\"...that's what sets guys like DG apart....
Never really got into Gilmour...
Just sounds like a bunch of phrasing going nowhere..
The whole Pink Floyd thing just excapes me as well :?
In my mind the king of \"Less is More\" is the King...
BB King that is... 8)
To say it differently, the musicians I admire most (DG being on top) have the ability to know just what it takes to make the composition 'speak'. What is played and how enforces the emotion and has to fit the context or message the song is delivering.
This is of course the view of someone who focuses on the message trying to be expressed in a composition and not just the raw musical ability itself.
A drummer, lead guitarist, what ever, who knows how to throttle back and play something really simple for the benefit of the entire piece has the greatest talent. There are many people with fantastic music ability but don't have this talent, yet there are others who can't play a wild blinding lead like Eddy VanHalen but can make a complete composition sound perfect.
Lifeson is amazing with his timing. He really glues Rush's music together well. The thing I always admire is his sense of timing. Whenever I play a Rush song, the thing that I will most likely mess up is the timing.
Hey Shredd, I think all of the Rush loving hotties that you're looking for are in Rio.
Yeah, DG's really got a great touch.
Now Lifeson...that guy's got a handle on some pretty kewl styles, and he's really tight when he plays...I guess that's why it's so hard to nail his stuff...
As for Rio - I have the vid and I saw all the uber-babes that're into RUSH...I'd go there for one if I didn't think I'd get my throat cut in the first ten minutes!!!javascript:emoticon(':(')
Sad
javascript:emoticon(':oops:')
Embarassed
Try clicking on it instead.
Kewl...the great thing about guitar is it's a tool for expression that all the great players out there cover the spectrum.
I'm a RUSH fan-atic and I think Lifeson is just the berries. I'd do the robert johnson thing to have chops like him.
I started this thread 'cuz I love DG and Floyd and have always wondered why they stand out so much when their music isn't particularly sophisticated or unusual in form...it just seems no one can do it like they do.
PS thanks 'ace, for the tip - one less thing to make myself look stupid with!!!
DSOTM success was mainly due to experimentation in a time they thought the public would not be game for anything like that.
The Wall....... over the top.. but it had a unique story line.
kind of like Rush with Caress of Steel, 2112. or QR.. Operation Mindcrime
Musicians don't like dead space most of the time. Sometimes the producers have to convince them when to \"leave it alone\" or \"this needs something\" .
they can be like anticipation
OR
the calm before the storm
Hey 3456 - you're definitely right, sometimes the silence is as important as the sound. When you think about DSOTM as 'experimental', there were guys who opened the door for albums like that - think Jimi, Sgt Pepper's or White Album and the like...
When I say \"sophisticated\", I mean complexity - think Yes v. Floyd. DG's music is decidedly simple compared to many, yet it has a lot more \"feel\" to it than does many other bands whose music is more complex...
I was watching a Neil Peart instructional video. He said that one of the things that he learned later on is that silence is music. The silence in between the hits makes the song almost as much as the hits themselves.
Worse yet was trying to demonstrate playing out of sync, or out of rythym. The look on their faces was \"why would you do that curiosity expression\".
When writing, those songs stand out well since the parts are separated in their own sonic space. So it leads to a more textured, than overlapped muddy sounds from mixes in the same audio band.
I always thought it sounded great when all of a sudden the music is silent, then you can hear a floor tom just go BOOM in it's own space. Lifeson's trick to modulate his volume control on his guitar during Neil's tom roll fills was always a way to create intelligibility for the listener. I started doing that Live myself after I learned about it many moons ago in an article. Many guys that hear that say \"wow... I never heard of doing that, but it sounds great\".. What a concept... turn down for other players !!
Lifeson got his idea from the group Chicago. Those horn players had to stand out, so the guitars and KB players turned down for that moment. Like Alex Lifeson said.. \" we like to recreate LIVE what we do in studio. If you use the same technique, the audience will not know if it was Live or Memorex!!\"
I dont know what it is about him, yes his solos arent very technical. To me, technicallity doesnt mean squat if the solo doesnt have taste(a good flavor) and SOUL! And that's what he definitly has in his grasp.
He writes solos that YOU CAN HUM!
(Write that one down, all you pissed off speedy gonzales mo-fo's)