"If I had more time, I'd have written a shorter letter."


It's well known that everyone here drools over Mick Taylor solos, but what about Keith's? Playing far fewer notes, and making use of silence, Keith can be very effective with his solos. (i.e. the shorter letter reference)

Put another way: Forget musical technicalities for a second and listen to his overall sound.

Keith creates a distinctive, devilish feeling that he is attacking the silence, only to let it build back up so he can beat it down again...

Instead of just droning on the whole time with note after hypnotizing note...Keith will play a few licks, wait, then strike again at just the right moment...

True he may not be as "technically gifted" as Clapton/Jon Mayer/Gary Clarke Jr. But given the right tune, Keith can damn sure rip a powerful solo.

Take a listen to the links below and let me know what you think. Keith's solos are the only ones that really hit me in the gut....


1) Champagne and Reefer Keef Solo = ~3:30 minute mark
2) Goin' Down Keef Solo = ~5:30 minute mark






Champagne and Reefer




Goin' Down


MGS

the silence are the best parts, now? how about he just do an entire solo of silence...that'll wow 'em....

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GRNRBITW
the silence are the best parts, now? how about he just do an entire solo of silence...that'll wow 'em....

My point was that he makes use of silence. Listen to Clapton on C&R or Mayer/Clarke on Goin' Down. They don't stop playing. Its just note after note after note etc....

Not saying Clapton/Clarke/Mayer sound bad, they are great. But Keith is very distinctive.

Without the video, I would have a bit of trouble telling you who is soloing when, except for Keith. You can always tell when he's playing.

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mgshorr

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GRNRBITW
the silence are the best parts, now? how about he just do an entire solo of silence...that'll wow 'em....

My point was that he makes use of silence. Listen to Clapton on C&R or Mayer/Clarke on Goin' Down. They don't stop playing. Its just note after note after note etc....

Not saying Clapton/Clarke/Mayer sound bad, they are great. But Keith is very distinctive.

Without the video, I would have a bit of trouble telling you who is soloing when, except for Keith. You can always tell when he's playing.

excellent use of revisionist logic...the difference is these other guys can and do make use of "pregnant pauses" in their playing, whereas keith has no choice....

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GRNRBITW

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mgshorr

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GRNRBITW
the silence are the best parts, now? how about he just do an entire solo of silence...that'll wow 'em....

My point was that he makes use of silence. Listen to Clapton on C&R or Mayer/Clarke on Goin' Down. They don't stop playing. Its just note after note after note etc....

Not saying Clapton/Clarke/Mayer sound bad, they are great. But Keith is very distinctive.

Without the video, I would have a bit of trouble telling you who is soloing when, except for Keith. You can always tell when he's playing.

excellent use of revisionist logic...the difference is these other guys can and do make use of "pregnant pauses" in their playing, whereas keith has no choice....

So what's your opinion of the solos in the two vids I put up? Keith's part in absolute terms, and then relative to the others....

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mgshorr

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GRNRBITW

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mgshorr

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GRNRBITW
the silence are the best parts, now? how about he just do an entire solo of silence...that'll wow 'em....

My point was that he makes use of silence. Listen to Clapton on C&R or Mayer/Clarke on Goin' Down. They don't stop playing. Its just note after note after note etc....

Not saying Clapton/Clarke/Mayer sound bad, they are great. But Keith is very distinctive.

Without the video, I would have a bit of trouble telling you who is soloing when, except for Keith. You can always tell when he's playing.

excellent use of revisionist logic...the difference is these other guys can and do make use of "pregnant pauses" in their playing, whereas keith has no choice....

So what's your opinion of the solos in the two vids I put up? Keith's part in absolute terms, and then relative to the others....

someone's asking for my opinion? (YOU WATCHING THIS, LATEBLOOMER???)

clapton and mayer take the stones players to school...

Quote
mgshorr
"If I had more time, I'd have written a shorter letter."


It's well known that everyone here drools over Mick Taylor solos, but what about Keith's? Playing far fewer notes, and making use of silence, Keith can be very effective with his solos. (i.e. the shorter letter reference)

Put another way: Forget musical technicalities for a second and listen to his overall sound.

Keith creates a distinctive, devilish feeling that he is attacking the silence, only to let it build back up so he can beat it down again...

Instead of just droning on the whole time with note after hypnotizing note...Keith will play a few licks, wait, then strike again at just the right moment...

True he may not be as "technically gifted" as Clapton/Jon Mayer/Gary Clarke Jr. But given the right tune, Keith can damn sure rip a powerful solo.

Take a listen to the links below and let me know what you think. Keith's solos are the only ones that really hit me in the gut....


1) Champagne and Reefer Keef Solo = ~3:30 minute mark
2) Goin' Down Keef Solo = ~5:30 minute mark






Champagne and Reefer




Goin' Down


MGS

I think Keith is better guitarist - i dont care for lead masturbation with guitars, Keith has nothing left to prove, Taylor is bit overrated - he tried to turn the stones into guitar solo fest, when in fact - song writing is always the most important part of the band - and far more interesting then masturbation with guitar strings - Taylor's solo albums speak for themselves, they are boring as hell...

seitan - you seem to have a preoccupation with a certain word....wanna enlighten us?

In terms of Keith's guitar solos that are cited above, I can't say they impress me.
This does not mean
I don't like the Stones
I don't own every Stones album
or that I don't think Keith is an incredible song writer

I do agree that players with pauses and who know how to break up their solos are more interesting, more interesting than someone who just plays a million notes with no space. However the pauses require a connection once the notes return. For me (my own subjective opinion) Keith's solos don't 'go anywhere' and lack a story. He pauses and then hits some notes in a pattern that work with the key the song is in. He doesn't push the song with his solos. It is too patchwork for my liking.

Fast forward to the 4 minute mark to hear Freddie King pull off the pauses the way I personally like them.




When the guitar kicks back in the notes he chooses build on the last set, to me Keith's just sound meandering without a resolution or turn around. But that isn't to say it can't float another's boat.

Better example of using silence

The ultimate use of silence by John Cage:

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canadian.sway
In terms of Keith's guitar solos that are cited above, I can't say they impress me.
This does not mean
I don't like the Stones
I don't own every Stones album
or that I don't think Keith is an incredible song writer

I do agree that players with pauses and who know how to break up their solos are more interesting, more interesting than someone who just plays a million notes with no space. However the pauses require a connection once the notes return. For me (my own subjective opinion) Keith's solos don't 'go anywhere' and lack a story. He pauses and then hits some notes in a pattern that work with the key the song is in. He doesn't push the song with his solos. It is too patchwork for my liking.

Fast forward to the 4 minute mark to hear Freddie King pull off the pauses the way I personally like them.




When the guitar kicks back in the notes he chooses build on the last set, to me Keith's just sound meandering without a resolution or turn around. But that isn't to say it can't float another's boat.

Dude this is a great example. Thanks.

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canadian.sway
Better example of using silence

Good one. I'm also on board that breaking it up makes it more interesting.

Nothing against Clapton, but his part in C&R is just note after note after note....its good, but same ol'....

Deft use of silence? So that's what all the posing was for!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2013-05-26 04:14 by tatters.

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GRNRBITW

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mgshorr

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GRNRBITW

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mgshorr

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GRNRBITW
the silence are the best parts, now? how about he just do an entire solo of silence...that'll wow 'em....

My point was that he makes use of silence. Listen to Clapton on C&R or Mayer/Clarke on Goin' Down. They don't stop playing. Its just note after note after note etc....

Not saying Clapton/Clarke/Mayer sound bad, they are great. But Keith is very distinctive.

Without the video, I would have a bit of trouble telling you who is soloing when, except for Keith. You can always tell when he's playing.

excellent use of revisionist logic...the difference is these other guys can and do make use of "pregnant pauses" in their playing, whereas keith has no choice....

So what's your opinion of the solos in the two vids I put up? Keith's part in absolute terms, and then relative to the others....

someone's asking for my opinion? (YOU WATCHING THIS, LATEBLOOMER???)

clapton and mayer take the stones players to school...

Congratulations.

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latebloomer

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GRNRBITW

Quote
mgshorr

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GRNRBITW

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mgshorr

Quote
GRNRBITW
the silence are the best parts, now? how about he just do an entire solo of silence...that'll wow 'em....

My point was that he makes use of silence. Listen to Clapton on C&R or Mayer/Clarke on Goin' Down. They don't stop playing. Its just note after note after note etc....

Not saying Clapton/Clarke/Mayer sound bad, they are great. But Keith is very distinctive.

Without the video, I would have a bit of trouble telling you who is soloing when, except for Keith. You can always tell when he's playing.

excellent use of revisionist logic...the difference is these other guys can and do make use of "pregnant pauses" in their playing, whereas keith has no choice....

So what's your opinion of the solos in the two vids I put up? Keith's part in absolute terms, and then relative to the others....

someone's asking for my opinion? (YOU WATCHING THIS, LATEBLOOMER???)

clapton and mayer take the stones players to school...

Congratulations.

Continue, please.:0

....where's Cropper ???.... and his use of silence



ROCKMAN

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Rockman
....where's Cropper ???.... and his use of silence

Yeah, he didn't say anything in Blues Brothers.

.... and Ray baby didn't see much



ROCKMAN

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Rockman
.... and Ray baby didn't see much

All they were missing was someone who couldn't hear, otherwise I'm sure it would have won Best Picture.

.... Geeeez Jimmy the Canadian woulda been perfect for the part...



ROCKMAN

I understand that Keith strives for minimalism. Which is a good thing in itself. The question is though whether he succeeds with this. Personally i don't think so.
Most of his solos just sounds like two or three riffs put on top of each other. It's doubtful whether you can call them solos at all.

I much prefer Keith's Chuck Berry licks over the way he started playing leads in 1989. I find them to be ok, but not real inspiring. His solo on Sympathy For The Devil live on GYYYO and LYL are great.

I do think Keith is trying to use what is called phrasing in his playing, where he comes in on different beats, hence the silent pauses. It's a blues trick that's for sure. While Keith has learned a more complex way of soloing, like someone above has said, those pauses are easily done by guys like Clapton and Taylor.

Keith is more of a creative genius and a great guitar player who knows more than he's playing here. He's a good acoustic player like Bob Dylan style, and he plays finger picking/country blues style guitar too. I wonder if Mick Taylor can play that stuff. They each have their strengths and I appreciate them all.

But as for soloing, Mick Taylor and Clapton could do this pause/phrasing thing if they wanted to. In fact there is a lot of audio/video of Clapton doing that. I guarantee that Taylor can.

I tell you this though, I would shout it out from a mountain top that no one plays a power chord that sounds as good as Keith Richards. He's got the greatest feel for fretting and hitting a chord out of anyone I have ever heard. Puts all guitarists to shame with his touch. He's the absolute greatest at that. He makes you feel those chords! If it wasn't for his feeling on the chords, no solo would ever sound as good as it does. He truly does bring out the best bed for a soloist like Mick Taylor to come up with from the soul lead playing.

We certainly must not forget that if not for Keith, there would really be no Rolling Stones. It just wouldn't sound as good.

When he played the solo on Bitch, for SF, he used silence. The studio IORR....BYe Bye Johny live in 72'.. Down the Road Apiece in 81'- All used silence. Now silence uses him, sometimes, cruely.

Well put, Thrylan. And I sometimes wonder whether he has any true self-perception at all. Sometimes I get the feeling that he has swallowed his own myth in a way. I think that maybe Ron Wood has suffered from this also.

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sanQ
I much prefer Keith's Chuck Berry licks over the way he started playing leads in 1989. I find them to be ok, but not real inspiring. His solo on Sympathy For The Devil live on GYYYO and LYL are great.

+1

I mentioned earlier that after picking up and watching biggest Bang, I have alot to rethink. I am realizing that after getting off after NS, alot has/hasn't happened. Keith needs to stick to mean riffs(MR), mean open G riffs he can still pull, and Chuck B two note stuff. I hate to sound all technical but he falls into the same bumnote, interior pentatonic trap every damn time. In contrast, I see Ronnie doing different things, heavier things, and a heavier sound. I think his time with Slash he picked up some new stuff. I also see him stretching to cover for Keith.
One example.......On Sway he has trouble with the slide solo, but hes playing a guitar, not neccesarily set up for slide. He ditches it to cover Keiths spottiness, does much better on the next solo and jumps right back to help Keith. A big ask.........MT is better, but all he has to do is solo. Sigh......Keith

This was Keith's forte up till 89. After that he started to play too much, imo. Today he is back on the right path, although his abilities have detoriated.

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DandelionPowderman
This was Keith's forte up till 89. After that he started to play too much, imo. Today he is back on the right path, although his abilities have detoriated.

heavy drug use can do that...

Keith's best use of "silence" or "less equals more" is the studio version of HTW.

Economic genius.