Please consider registering
Guest
sp_LogInOut Log Insp_Registration Register
Register | Lost password?
Advanced Search
Forum Scope


Match



Forum Options



Minimum search word length is 3 characters - maximum search word length is 84 characters
sp_Feed sp_TopicIcon
Guitar Solos John
13 January 2013
12.19pm
Avatar
barry_wom
A Beginning
Members
Forum Posts: 3
Member Since:
12 January 2013
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

Hi everyone.  I don’t know if this has been covered previously as I’m a newbie, but does anyone have a list of Beatles guitar solos performed by John? I know of the obvious ones such as You Can’t Do That .  There were also ones he shared the solo duties with George such as the first solos of Long Tall Sally and Yer Blues respectively. However did he play the solos on Matchbox and Come Together ? For that matter I have recently discovered that the solo from Honey Pie may not have been his. Does anyone want to weigh in on this and offer some clarification? Thanks :)

13 January 2013
9.21pm
Avatar
RunForYourLife
London Palladium
Members
Forum Posts: 153
Member Since:
18 November 2011
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

Long Tall Sally (First solo)

You Can’t Do That

Every Little Thing

Yer Blues (Shared with George)

– I Want You (She’s So Heavy)

– In “The End “, they take turns soloing. John goes third in the rotation, his guitar is the “dirtiest” sounding one.

For You Blue (He’s playing the lap steel guitar)

The Ballad Of John And Yoko (Not a solo, per se, but he’s doing those fills)

Get Back

 

John does some of the electric guitar on “Nowhere Man “, but I’ve also heard that the solo is played by both he and George in unison (There are two guitars, but it could be double-tracked).

In addition, some believe that “Slow Down ” and “Run For Your Life ” are played by John, but I think they sound like George.

15 January 2013
7.32am
Avatar
barry_wom
A Beginning
Members
Forum Posts: 3
Member Since:
12 January 2013
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

 

Thanks RFYL

I love his lead work on I Want You…..although I think George played the intro lead. John’s guitar sound in this song reminds me of the sound in Come Together . That’s why I felt that possibly John played the solo on Come Together on his trusty Epiphone Casino. 

15 January 2013
6.32pm
Avatar
RunForYourLife
London Palladium
Members
Forum Posts: 153
Member Since:
18 November 2011
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

I agree, the solo on “I Want You” is one of my all-time favorites.

From what I understand, the intro is actually both George and John playing those arpeggios, overdubbed several times to create that intense sound.

29 February 2016
8.52pm
Avatar
Ahhh Girl
sailing on a winedark open sea
Moderator

Moderators

Members

Reviewers
Forum Posts: 22213
Member Since:
20 August 2013
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

Do you agree with the write of this article?

7 of the worst guitar solos of all time

99% of musicians would do anything for the merest shred of opportunity that some of the musicians below have had.
So you would think that once an artist was in the position of being signed and had got to the dizzy heights of having their songs released and in the charts that they would strive for perfection and not waste a single opportunity through complacency.

Which makes it all the worse that the solos listed here haven’t been played by a teenager murdering Stairway To Heaven in the local guitar store to the annoyance of everyone in there, but artists who have spent their lives playing and making a living from music and who have had no other job than to be the best at what they do.

They have no reason to suck.

However, it appears these people go into the studio and do just that, then present the results to a worldwide music community to be listened to and scrutinised.

Here are just seven of the offenders, even though there are countless more out there…

1 – The Beatles – Get Back John Lennon

Let’s be honest, whoever told John Lennon he’d nailed it was probably just wanting to get out for his lunch break
get-back-john-solo.jpgImage Enlarger


(Photo by Mark and Colleen Hayward/Redferns)

This song could have been named after the number of times the producer could have told John Lennon to get back in the studio and do another take, but instead uttered the words, ‘Yeah, nice one, we got it on that take.’

The Beatles had it all.

There was so much genius and talent in that band. However, in the sessions for recording Get Back , their usual lead guitarist George Harrison had temporarily left the band.

Enter stage right John Lennon , to attempt to take up the reins and produce some…interesting…fret work.

It sounds like just before recording the solo Lennon was presented with a choice of guitars on which to express his melodic musings and, instead of reaching for the Gibson, he made a beeline for the guitar out of the Fisher Price catalogue on which to record this badly executed solo.

The only other reason I can think of for Lennon playing such a bad solo would be that, as it was a McCartney composition (despite being credited Lennon-McCartney) Lennon knew what a bad song it was and so set about cleverly mocking it with a goofy, cartoon-esque solo that would be the musical equivalent of urinating all over his bonfire.

I pray it was the latter.

I don’t know much about “good” guitar work, but I like Get Back just fine.

That picture of John is not from the Get Back era. Annoying.

1 March 2016
6.49am
Avatar
Beatlebug
Find me where ye echo lays
Moderator

Moderators
Forum Posts: 18181
Member Since:
15 February 2015
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

*person who analyses the greatest guitar solos on a daily basis to the rescue* 

Sure it wouldn’t win any awards, but it’s a perfectly acceptable guitar solo for a laid-back country-flavoured number. I think whoever wrote that just wanted to jam the Beatles in there so that folk would click on it, and so s/he went with a solo in a song which was fairly well-known (you’ll notice s/he didn’t pick The Night Before or anything). 

The following people thank Beatlebug for this post:

Ahhh Girl

([{BRACKETS!}])
New to Forumpool? You can introduce yourself here.
If you love The Beatles Bible, and you have adblock, don't forget to white-list this site!
whiteheart.png
avatar_creative_signature_Hmm.pngStarSpangledBanner.png

1 March 2016
7.39am
Avatar
Ron Nasty
Apple rooftop
Members

Reviewers
Forum Posts: 12534
Member Since:
17 December 2012
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

It should be noted that there are two major mistakes in the article.

By the time Get Back  was recorded at Savile Row George was back in the fold, and so a decision was made that John would be the lead guitarist on it, rather than George not being available. George isn’t absent on the track, he’s playing rhythm.

Plus, any understanding of the Get Back /Let It Be  sessions has to start with the fact that they were recording multiple live takes of songs. The rule was no overdubbing (we can ignore the overdubs that happened to the material much later, and which in the main didn’t involve actual Beatles participation).

This means that the idea of GM telling John to have another go at the solo was out of the question.

Now, whether the best take was selected for release is another thing, but I very much doubt it was John who had the loudest voice on which take was the keeper. It’s a pretty good guess that the take used was chosen by Paul with advice from the others.

Sometimes it’s not about how technically great something is, but its “feel”. The take used has the “feel” that Paul wanted.

The following people thank Ron Nasty for this post:

Beatlebug, Ahhh Girl, Mademoiselle Kitty >^..^<, ewe2, Von Bontee

"I only said we were bigger than Rod... and now there's all this!" Ron Nasty

To @ Ron Nasty it's @ mja6758
The Beatles Bible 2020 non-Canon Poll Part One: 1958-1963 and Part Two: 1964-August 1966

5 March 2016
10.13am
Avatar
O Boogie
Candlestick Park
Members
Forum Posts: 1352
Member Since:
27 April 2015
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

Wikipedia says that George had left the band temporarily, so John worked out the lead guitar part. So, could it be that John played the lead as he worked it out, and when George came back, he played rhythm?

 

For tomorrow may rain, so I'll follow the Sun

23 August 2016
11.10am
Ram4
Casbah Coffee Club
Members
Forum Posts: 22
Member Since:
23 August 2016
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

I though John did a nice job on the soloing for Get Back .  It’s about musicality, not killer tone or showmanship.  His solos on Get Back are memorable, and that’s what you want on a hit single.  I also love what John does on the choruses, playing four notes in a similar phrase to the intro of Dig A Pony and then ending the lick by playing either the A7 chord or D7 chord (depending on the chord changes).  I can tell you that is more advanced guitar playing from a musicality standpoint even if it’s not flashy.  Nice simple country type playing in A major. 

If you watch the outtake of the session at Apple, when they go into the control room to listen to it, even George enthusiastically says to someone “this is our next single.”  He was still part of the team even if he only played the upstroked offbeat chords while John did the Chuck Berry rhythm, fills, leads, and some backing vocals.

The following people thank Ram4 for this post:

Beatlebug, Ahhh Girl
26 August 2016
2.49am
Avatar
ewe2
Inside the beat
Rishikesh
Members
Forum Posts: 3025
Member Since:
8 January 2015
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

That’s probably my favourite John solo.

I'm like Necko only I'm a bassist ukulele guitar synthesizer kazoo penguin and also everyone. Or is everyone me? Now I'm a confused bassist ukulele guitar synthesizer kazoo penguin everyone who is definitely not @Joe.  This has been true for 2016 & 2017 Sig-Badge.png but I may have to get more specific in the future.

aus-flag-v-small.png

Forum Timezone: Europe/London
Most Users Ever Online: 700
Currently Online: Timpetus
Guest(s) 1
Top Posters:
Starr Shine?: 16105
Ron Nasty: 12534
Zig: 9832
50yearslate: 8759
Necko: 8043
AppleScruffJunior: 7583
parlance: 7111
mr. Sun king coming together: 6402
Mr. Kite: 6147
trcanberra: 6064
Member Stats:
Guest Posters: 88
Members: 2859
Moderators: 5
Admins: 1
Forum Stats:
Groups: 3
Forums: 44
Topics: 5509
Posts: 380343
Newest Members:
frankc, viv@nelsontraining.co.uk, bornhairyman, frankkilmore123@gmail.com, onlyanorthernsong
Moderators: Joe: 5691, meanmistermustard: 24950, Ahhh Girl: 22213, Beatlebug: 18181, The Hole Got Fixed: 8410
Administrators: Joe: 5691