Crank It Up To Eleven!: 01.13.09: Flying Solo: Part II

Posted by Sandeep Murali on 01.13.2009

Part II of our special feature on the art of the guitar solo deals with the rise to the pinnacle and the subsequent fall from grace of the artform.







Hello Boys and welcome back again to my show. Last wee, something got screwed up within the system and as a result, this column got approved a day late. If you haven't checked it out, please do so Here because today, we are continuing from where we left off at the end of that column. So let's not waste any more time and get on with our feature on the evolution of the guitar solo over the years.

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I Remember You... And your music:

As the rock guitar solo became one of the highlights of the art form, performers began using a plethora of effects to distinguish themselves in the arena. In common usage was pedals such as compressors, wah, fuzz etc. and some not-so-common ones such as the "Talkbox" popularized by Peter Frampton. The public and the performers themselves were anxious at how far they were willing to push their soloing to. Well, they got their answer in 1978.

The shred era:

Because in that year, an up and coming band released their debut album that took the world of hard rock by storm. That album was Van Halen by the band of the same name. The band's lead guitarist, Eddie Van Halen, unleashed a style of playing that was later popularly known as "Shredding". Simply put, speed speed and more speed.


Van Halen or EVH as the fans call him, wasn't really doing anything that the world hasn't seen before. For example, several Jazz musicians had already mastered the technique of playing fast. Steve Hackett of had used (what is considered as EVH's trademark) tapping in his songs earlier. But EVH's kamikaze blend of these techniques (plus others such as the dive bomb) and that distinctive tone was unlike anything else seen before and instantly set the bar higher in the realm of the guitar solo. "Eruption", featured on Van Halen showcased these techniques beautifully and is still considered as one of the benchmark tracks when it comes to improvised shredding (Eddie plays it differently at each performance).









Eruption inspired many an upcoming guitarist to follow in Eddie's tracks and soon, shredding was the norm when it came to soloing. Every single one of them picked a superstrat up and embarked on a quest to out-do EVH. The soulful "feel" inherited from Blues was sacrificed in favor of speed and aggression. Soon, several guitar virtuosos emerged and "Epic" solos were everywhere. Men like Randy Rhoads and Yngwie Malmsteen infused classical elements into their shred style playing while those like Gary Moore (Yes, Bluesman Gary Moore) focused on hitting the maximum possible notes per second. Yet others like Steve Vai, much like his teacher Satriani came up with a pleasing mixture of speed and sensuality. Whichever way you looked at it though, one thing was clear. Sloppy technique wasn't gonna cut it any more.


Van Halen's mixture of insane guitar work and provocative lyrics proved to be a successful formula and soon every hard rock band out there was emulating it. Hell, they took it a whole step further. Sleaze, tassels and makeup was everywhere. In other words, Hair Metal was born. Some may call it the greatest abomination on the face of Rock music (Far from it, as we shall see) while others like yours truly have fond memories of the era but make no mistake about it, some of the most technically gifted guitarists out there are from this era. Several of my past columns have attempted to shed spotlights on such men, so fell free to browse through the archive in case you feel the urge to dispute the claim.


The Thrash metal scene, which also rose to prominence in the 80's took these blitzing solos and combined them with bone crunching riffs. Technically, very little separated the two genres, but the no-nonsense approach favored by the thrash metal artists helped them appeal to a whole different fanbase. That of course, is another tale for another day.

Wake up! It's time to... Unshred?

As with most walks of life, too much of a good thing can royally piss people off. By the end of the decade, shredding or "Wanking" as the critics called it, was starting to get a bit tiresome. Instead of complimenting the songs, the solos started to look like they were tacked in. So when a band called Guns and Roses came up with a whole new sound that was gritty (like Punk) yet melodic (like Blues), the people embraced it with both arms. Les Paul wielding Saul Hudson, better known as Slash became the new anti-hero that the fans rallied behind. Slash sacrifices some of the speed that the shredders exhibited in favor of a more soulful, melodious approach to soloing. Call it a back to basic approach if you will. G'nR songs, lyrically may have dealt with outrageous subjects, but the guitar work was absolutely old school. But what happens when the whole "stripping down deal" goes one step too far? Well, come 1991, we'd all know.


For that year saw "Alternative" becoming the new "Maintream".


Yes, we are talking about "Nevermind". The second studio album by the Seattle bandNirvana was released this year and unexpectedly, because a roaring success. Now I know that there are several people out there who are huge fans of their music and even have special meanings associated with Nirvana songs but frankly, Nirvana was the worst thing that could happen to the art of guitar playing.


Because gone was the finesse, gone was the emotion. All that remained was high gain, drop tuning and some random noises. I may get major flak for this but as someone who grew up addicted to the surreal sounds that the electric guitar made, this was torture. And It was just the beginning. While other grunge bands such as Alice In chains and Pearl Jam had admirably talented guitarists who came up with minimalist, yet enticing solos, the sheep decided to follow the one with the most success. In a way, I hold Nirvana responsible for... things such as Korn, Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park (Let's say Nu-Metal in general), because without the former band's success, they wouldn't have sold five dozen records. Not with the mastery (Or rather, the lack of it) that these gentlemen exhibited over the instruments they wielded.


Don't believe me? Watch the lead "Guitarist" of Linkin' Park (I can't be bothered to google for his name) absolutely fail hard attempting the "Sweet child 'o mine" intro riff live. A riff I have seen 13 year old kids play with moderate practice. A Riff *I* can play. And if yours truly plays something better than a multi million dollar recording artist , there's a problem somewhere.









What DOES make the clip though is seeing the lead "Singer" pop a turd attempting to hit the notes Axl Rose does in the original. Priceless.


Thankfully though, Nu-Metal went out of fashion in the blink of an eye and guitarists re-discovered the scales. Sort of. So what does the new millennium has in store when it comes to the guitar solo? I'm not quite sure. On one hand, we have bands like Dragonforce that absolutely amazes me by utilizing sizable amounts of talent to make 80's videogame music. On the other hand, Nickelback rules the charts with music that gives Vanilla ice cream a complex when it comes to blandness. SO is there any innovation left? Certainly. I have seen flashes of old school rock 'n roll from bands such as Woldmother and (this is bound to raise some eyebrows) Buckcherry. Then there of course is the metal scene that fortunately sticks to their guns, even if they enjoy only a fraction of the popularity they once had. The electric guitar as a lead instrument isn't dead. Yet.

Summing it up:

Over the course of a century, the art of guitar playing has been through a roller coaster ride. What was once a rhythm instrument was pushed into the spotlight by Jazz musicians, given a soul by the Bluesmen, turned into a howling banshee by rockers and then into the mother friggin godzilla by the shredders. That however, marked the pinnacle of it's achievements as the importance of lead guitar playing has been on a steady decline since then. Most trends in life however, cyclical and who knows, we may see solos such as this once again!

Never say goodbye:

Just wanna conclude things by stating that I'm with Ringo Starr one hundred percent on his decision about not signing any more fanmail. He could have worded his response a bit more tastefully, but lord knows, the man has been far too kind to people who were taking advantage of his nice behavior.



Rock on and see y'all next Tuesday.