Guitar solos in rock

[SteveXFR]

I've been wondering recently why almost every rock & hard rock song has a guitar solo? Where did the rule that there has to be a solo originate? Was there a band that started it?

I've heard a lot of clasic rock recently (not by choice) and there seems to be a lot of songs with solos which don't really add to the song, they just seem to be there because there has to be something to fill the time.

 

[Beedster]

Oh god…… 😆

[Beedster]

It’s a norm, every system has norms, it’s one of rock’s. But it’s not a rule or a law 👍

[Beedster]

And if you want the Freudian account I can provide that also 😆

[ahpook]

Could be worse...could be a bass solo

 

[Beedster]

[Mykesbass]

This list includes a Hendrix track!!!

 

https://www.guitarworld.com/features/greatest-rock-songs-with-no-solo

 

[Bassassin]

It's because guitarists like to play solos.

 

While that may sound glib, as bassist/main composer in a good few original bands, I've quite often written stuff that doesn't have a bit where everything else takes a back-seat so the guitarist can do widdly-squee stuff.

 

But they just do it anyway.

[peteb]

4 hours ago, SteveXFR said:

I've been wondering recently why almost every rock & hard rock song has a guitar solo? Where did the rule that there has to be a solo originate? Was there a band that started it?

I've heard a lot of clasic rock recently (not by choice) and there seems to be a lot of songs with solos which don't really add to the song, they just seem to be there because there has to be something to fill the time.

 

 

Basically when 'rock' became a thing in the mid-sixties, it grew out of not only rock n'roll and pop, but also blues and jazz. These forms of music generally incorporated an instrumental interlude that gave featured soloists a chance to shine.

 

As this new genre was predominantly guitar based, this generally meant a guitar solo. Seeing as the first big stars of this new 'rock' music included Jimi Hendrix and Cream, the solos were sometimes more important than the actual song (especially live). This established the idea of rock songs generally having a default position of there being a guitar solo. This was reinforced by a succession of bands, from Free to Van Halen to Pearl Jam (and many others). 

 

Edited August 28, 2024 by peteb

[Bassassin]

Intro.

Verse.

Chorus.

Verse.

Chorus.

GUITAR SOLO!!!

Chorus.

Chorus.

Fade.

[Doctor J]

The solo, when it's present, should be a melodic/atonal addition which enhances the emotional impact of the song. Too often, however, it's just lads with no imagination cycling through variations of the five blues licks they know simply for the sake of it. Mostly filler, yeah, but there is some killer out there too.

[SteveXFR]

I've no objection to a solo in a song. There are a lot of them which don't add to the song and don't even really feel like part of the song.

My favourite one is in Floods by Pantera and although it's a guitar solo, it's backed up by an awesome bass parts. The solo is from 3:50 in this video

 

[prowla]

53 minutes ago, Bassassin said:

Intro.

Verse.

Chorus.

Verse.

Chorus.

GUITAR SOLO!!!

Chorus.

Chorus.

Fade.

 

Or the Deep Purple version...

 

Intro.

Verse.

Chorus.

ORGAN SOLO!!!

Verse.

Chorus.

GUITAR SOLO!!!

Chorus.

Chorus.

Fade.

[PaulThePlug]

Hawkwind's Motorhead... Simon House Violin Solo...

[JottoSW1]

6 hours ago, SteveXFR said:

I've been wondering recently why almost every rock & hard rock song has a guitar solo? Where did the rule that there has to be a solo originate? Was there a band that started it?

I've heard a lot of clasic rock recently (not by choice) and there seems to be a lot of songs with solos which don't really add to the song, they just seem to be there because there has to be something to fill the time.

 

And yet, there are some great soloists around. Angus young still does tasty stuff amidst the expected antics

Though the Facebook Allan Holdsworth (URAH) cab be weird it does give you a different slant on various other guitarists ( like Mr Thordendahl) and other Allan enthusiasts like Morgan Agren.

We were talking arctangent elsewhere, I got fairly well into what the Omnific were doing with lead basses (2 of?)

Cheers

I also like Chon.

[tauzero]

2 hours ago, Bassassin said:

Intro.

Verse.

Chorus.

Verse.

Chorus.

GUITAR SOLO!!!

Chorus.

Chorus.

Fade.

 

I remember Jonathan King defining song structure as "verse, chorus, verse, chorus, clever bit, verse, chorus".

 

Alice Cooper, until at least the Billion Dollar Babies album, used to put their guitar solo after the first verse and chorus, not the second.

[Norris]

Didn't it all start with the sax solo back in the days of rock and roll? Ok, guitarists usually take a few extra bars than the saxes used to, or possibly need hitting over the head with a mic stand to actually stop widdling,  but they didn't invent the concept

[prowla]

The singer needs a rest.

[Delberthot]

My first gig was with a big band and most of the horn players would have a solo at some point in the night but I'm sure it probably goes back further to classical music and perhaps the odd harpsichord solo back in the day 🤔

[Crusoe]

I was just about to type that The Smiths didn't tend to have guitar solos on their songs when "What She Said" came on Spotify. Spooky! And, of course, it has a solo of sorts. 😂

[chris_b]

The foundations of rock were laid down by blues bands like Cream and the Jeff Beck Group. There were a lot of solos in those bands. Then came Hendrix and rock was on its way.

 

Bands like Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin took rock to the next level. It's a genre that was (and still is) built around "hero" guitarists.

Edited August 29, 2024 by chris_b

[Guest]

Like the philosophical suggestion that an infinite number of monkeys with typewriters will eventually produce the complete works of Shakespeare, heavy metal was a thirty year project searching for the solo in Tornado of Souls. That's all folks, thanks for playing, remember to take all your luggage with you.

[diskwave]

For the same reason I cant stand modern guitar bands that dont do solos or middle eights, bridges or any other manner of song writing technicalites that produce good music. 

[Bassassin]

12 hours ago, tauzero said:

 

I remember Jonathan King defining song structure as "verse, chorus, verse, chorus, clever bit, verse, chorus".

 

Alice Cooper, until at least the Billion Dollar Babies album, used to put their guitar solo after the first verse and chorus, not the second.

 

Considering their origins as weirdo psychedelic proto-prog Zappa proteges, I always felt the partneship with Bob Ezrin imposed more conventional song structures on them. Although I doubt I'd ever have heard of them, never mind heard them if he hadn't!

[pst62]