Guitar solos making a comeback??

For those of you who listen to popular "rock" music (I know that most of you don't . . .), do you think that the guitar solo is making a comeback?

I've noticed that a lot of the new music (i.e. Tool, Tantric, Godsmack, Nickleback) actually has guitar solo bridges. Not the stupid 80's "mastubatory" kind, but smooth solos that actually follow the mood of the song and add to its overall musicality.

What do ya'll think?

I agree with you about tool... but I'm sooo glad it's not 80's ego feeding, and is something that adds to the music...
I'm not so sure about nickelback though (just in general)..

i believe theyre coming back slowly but surely. moshers don't wanna show off so these punk bands dont feel right doin' solos. however, people are starting to realise that playing chords and doing the odd arpegio isn't that hard. so people are starting to want more. trust me, when im famous i'll do loads of solos and improve the requirements for all you bands out there- BE WARNED!!!

I got to say I don't listen to popular music a lot but I hope solos are making a come back.

I don't know if where you guys live it's the same as here but the popular radio station has a tendencie of cutting off solos from songs. This bugs me a lot. It seems solos are making songs too long for radio and from their point of view it's kind of useless. Talk about insulting a guitarist.

I hate radio mix.

Well, I'd say solos were always around, it's just a matter of what the public likes at a particular point in time. I mean, just like metal is more popular now than it was a couple years ago. So I'd say that it's a trend thing that the rock bands with guitar solos are more popular now even thought they've always been around. People just didn't notice them.

Originally posted by Benoit

I don't know if where you guys live it's the same as here but the popular radio station has a tendencie of cutting off solos from songs.

Man that's such BS... I can't believe they would have the nerve to hack up someone's peice of art. If i wrote a song and someone played it without the solo without first recieving my consent, I'd go down to the station and raise some serious hell.

Originally posted by Benoit
. . . the popular radio station has a tendencie of cutting off solos from songs.

Yeah, the song "Astounded" by Tantric has an awesome acoustic guitar solo at the beginning of the bridge, but on the radio edit, it's always cut out. They left in the electric solo that follows it, but still! . . . like James said, you can't go hacking up people's works.

The version of Aeroplane (Red Hot Chili Peppers) that I usually hear on the radio has a shortened intro, and both the Guitar and Bass solos are cut in half.

Oh, I get miffed when I hear that. Enough to call the station and grill the DJ fa little.

The Strokes have a couple of nice solos on their album and their been called "the saviours of rock n' roll" or something like that(they are here anyway).

The new Oasis album should be huge, Noel always has a few solos.

The new Guns N' Roses album should be huge too, the record coapny will need to make back all the money they spent on it ($8 million apparently), thatll definitely have solos.

Originally posted by fenderwez
.....when im famous....

That's the attitude.

Originally posted by educatedfilm

I'm not so sure about nickelback though (just in general)..

Me too,in some way.Like in How You Remind me ,although this isn't really a solo:don't you think that part,after the second chorus,where it's only that prs playing,it would have sounded better if it had been done with an acoustic.I dunno,or maybe some slightly faster(is deeper the word)strumming.

How is that album? I read some good things about them.

I like the album. There's a really good song about violence against women (which I totally despise).

But don't listen to me, I'm canadian. I'll always stand by canadian artist :)

If solos make a comeback, what's gonna do Britney while her guitar player plays it? Dude...

Imagine if in one of Britney's live performances she slung on a guitar and played some Malmsteen?... heh... Totally off topic but kind of nuts to think about.

Originally posted by lalimacefolle
If solos make a comeback, what's gonna do Britney while her guitar player plays it? Dude...

Britney Spears concerts are about music?
Since when?

whenever anyone plays a guitar solo now i've noticed on the "radio-worthy" songs (excuse me while i fart) there is nothing in them. first of all, they only go along with the melody of the song, it is not the 'expression of a guitarist' (good call, whoever called a guitar solo that earlier...) that it is intended (in my mind) to be. I feel guitar solos should blend in with the song, but have it's own emotion tied into it... I'm sixteen, and i'm workin on vai stuff, i've built technique, (i just have a little ways to go before i'm satisfied with that for a while) and i'm in the process of figuring this out, how you can play a solo, and have it really satisfy you... like writing a poem to a poet, or lyrics or sumpthin, but it's different, it's deeper, and you don't hafto worry about saying something that you don't think even makes sense to you and makes you want to put yourself into an insaneasylum. well, that's my little thought dudes, party on, God bless---
-Steve Fuhry----christian dude who solos------------------

There are two things you will commonly hear in a contemporary pop music that claims to have a "solo" these days...

A.) Something that involves octaved chords played in a raising or lowering succession. With massive attemps to strum the octaved notes fast so it sounds "cooler".

B.) Some bent notes and a slow meoldy of some sort. This usually involves some asshole on a wah doing the Kirk Hammett thing, no offense to Kirk's ability, he's farly good and can actually play a decent solo.

Those two little bits in my book count as leads or melodies as most people refer to them, not solos. Sure one instrument (usually a guitar) is playing the melody but that doesn't make it a solo. That means that someone had to play the melody, which equals one of the guitarists (if the band even has two) breanches off and plays it.

I'd have to say Guitar solos are not making a come back. I haven't heard much on the radio ever that does, as far as contemporary pop music on the radio goes. Anyhow that's my biased stance on that issue. Good Day.

[Edited by Seiko_Hejiro on 02-17-2002 at 05:02 PM]

Dude, don't listen to the radio. I hear contemporary artist who actually shred!! Don't get me wrong, I'm not talking about guys who forgot it wasn't the 80's anymore, but listen to this:

http://www.freakkitchen.com/downloads/mp3/spanking_02.mp3
That's freack kitchen

Now here:
http://www.ronthal.com/sounds/RonThal-solo-1999-unknown.mp3
That's Ron thal.

They aren't shredders in the 80's way, but they rock, and their music sounds exciting and fresh.

Let's just give props to the guys that are still putting out REAL Guitar based albums and leave the radio trash to decay on the ears of the less informed.