Post your favorite guitar sounds on albums...

[Jeff Mason]

I would have laid money that Ian would have had a Neil Young moment in there.

[Chris D.]

I would have laid money that Ian would have had a Neil Young moment in there.

Not since he's been spotted on Ventura selling his Neil "Mung" albums.  I think Ian's turned a corner, but I don't know if there's a handicapped ramp.

[Beckner]

Hell, while we are at it I gotta say I love the tone all over "Maladroit." here we go again...

[I. Spaceman]

Well, Jeff, that's in 3-5.
The final choked harmonic-reverb solo on Like A Hurricane.
Scotty Moore's slashing break on Hound Dog, atonal rock.
Townshend's Hiwatt scorch on Live At Leeds.

[cabinessence]

The early Beefheart guitarists all made great sounds, though I'm not usually sure whose were whose: Alex St. Clair's and Antennae Jimmy Semens' (Ry Cooder is easier to pick out on the first record). I love tracks like Electricity for crackling bluesy energy; Kandy Korn supplies free style cross-the-English-Channel marathon guitaring that slots neatly in between the longest live rambles of Grateful Dead and Velvet Underground. What's hugely exciting to me about this track is that -rarity of rarities- the band lumbering and sweating away in the same groove for sixteen minutes or so suddenly gets to that tantric release point jams always aimed for: a totally different guitar-led composition emerges slowly, slowly from the deteriorating repetitions and knocks me right between the eyes, transcendent afterglow. It's like the coda of Layla as if growing organically out of the first half of the tune instead of being grafted on as it is

Allman and Clapton together on that particular Dominos' number remind me a bit of Beefheart's combos overall, multiple guitar playing  that's often edgy and tense aspiring to joint ecstasy, a drama of two very distinct virtuoso players trying to interlock and mesh while also trying to run rings around one another and sometimes talking over each other's sentences in the process. You can hear them figuring out how to consolidate and build as they go along. That sort of dual guitar relationship appeals to me in part because it reminds me of the  human everyday kind, no instruments involved.

[Ron]

I'm nowhere near as musically eclectic as most of the people on this board, but a few sounds/tones that stick out in my mind...

Of course you have to mention "The Edge" when you mention guitar tone because he did a lot of creative stuff with it.  My favorite tone or whatever of his is actually the solo? break? to "Discoteque"

I know it's probably not a unique tone, or anything that's not easily replicable, but Del SHANNON.  For instance, listen to "Hats off to Larry" or listen to "Keep Searchin".  That's rock and roll, baby! One of my favorite parts of his songs is always how kick-ass the guitar sounds in a 'that's the way a guitar is supposed to sound' kind of way.

Don't laugh, but the distorted guitar that breaks in the chorus of "More Than A Feelin' by Boston.  KICK ASS moment right there and it's all because of the tone of the guitar.

Gotta mention Johnny Cash's strummed guitar in "Folsom Prison", I believe that's the track... where he stuck paper in the strings so it would sound like a snare drum (which I guess he said you couldn't use that sound on a country record at that time). 

Wichita Lineman.  End of discussion

[Ron]

I can't go to sleep without mentioning George Harrison.  I love "Wah-Wah", and the slide on "If Not For You" is just great.  Of Course "And Your Bird Can Sing" is nothing short of legendary and I also really like his guitar playing on "Not Guilty".  I think all this is on topic because I'm not really a huge fan of how great of a guitarist someone is, but more on how expressive their playing is, the tone, and how well it fits the song.  So basically I wouldn't like a guitar part anyways if it didn't have a great tone, so all of these I think are my favorite guitar sounds on albums.  George was such a great example of a guy who didn't give a crap about flash, but was an intelligent guitarist and perfectly competant when they needed a great guitar line out of him.  You could find guys infinitely more knowledgeable than George on guitar, but you'd search long and hard to find someone who actually sounded better. 

[cabinessence]

Not a big hometown fan of Boston (the band; writing from my sometimes home the town, right now), but that guitar break is massive, I've got to agree, likewise all Ron's choices.

I can't go to sleep without mentioning George Harrison.  I love "Wah-Wah", and the slide on "If Not For You" is just great.  Of Course "And Your Bird Can Sing" is nothing short of legendary and I also really like his guitar playing on "Not Guilty".

I just mentioned Layla a couple posts ago written to George's wife by Clapton, and doing a quick scan through the LP of the same name, I keep hearing George H. as a ghostly collaborator, Allman taking his place on slide. The record's a bit like the sounds Eric and George might have been making together  had Eric not been screwing/screwed by George's wife. Fanciful on my part?  (Clapton-free And Your Bird Can Sing is among my top five guitar breaks too, by the way)

[I. Spaceman]

My Clapton/Allman moment is Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad. Breakneck.

[halleluwah]

As far as blues/rock goes, Peter Green's tone is my all-time favorite.  Particularly on the Fleetwwod Mac Live at the Boston Tea Party set, his Les Paul/Twin Reverb sound is absolutely haunting.  Listen to the soloing on "Jumping at Shadows" and "Green Manalishi" from vol. 1.  It's amazing.

Of course, Neil Young's wiry, Bigsby-heavy tone really gets me too, particularly on Rust Never Sleeps / Live Rust.  The moment at the end of the second (third, maybe?) solo in the Live Rust "Cortez the Killer," where he's doing Bigsby divebombs with some really heavy delay, is particularly spine-chilling for me, as is the industrial grind he gets on "Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)."

For really beautiful, chimy tones, it's a toss-up for me between Jeff Buckley's Tele sound all over Grace, and Jonny Greenwood and Ed O'Brien's tones on songs like "Let Down," "The Tourist," and "No Surprises" (on the latter, Ed said he wanted his guitar to sound like a music box, or like some of the tones on Pet Sounds).  Those tones are so warm and inviting they're almost womb-like.

And as far as really ugly guitar violence, my favorite tones are Ron Asheton's Fun House tone and Paul's sound on the "Taxman" solo.  Also Zappa's guitar entrance into "Willie the Pimp."  That metallic glissando he leads into the song with is one of the most gloriously ugly guitar moments ever.

[Evenreven]

Keith Levene on PiL's "Memories"
That sound is psycho.

Robbie Robertson on "Tears of Rage" and "King Harvest (has surely come)"
Very different sounds, of course. Tears being fed through one of Garth's contraptions, and King Harvest featuring some mindblowing minimalist lead guitar solo work, as well as riffs during the verses. Perfect interplay with the organ too (not that that matters here, but still...)

For some reason, I really like Beck's acoustic guitar sound on "Jack-Ass" from Odelay. A very full sound. Same is true for a lot of the Mutations album, though that is mostly played by Smokey Hormel.

I really dig some good surf guitar sounds too. I'm not an expert or connoiseur by any stretch, so I'll just go for the best-known, Dick Dale and Carl Wilson. I also love the surf-ish tone on George Harrison's solo on "Honey Don't". Great recording. Also, "Surf Rider" by the Lively Ones has a good sound, if I remember correctly.

Adrian Utley's sound on Portishead's albums and the Beth & Rustin Man album is spectacular. The heightened drama on the "Theme from 'To Kill A Dead Man'" may be my favourite.

[Mitchell]

Yeah, Dick Dale, dude. I was just about to mention him 'cause I thought no one else had.

[Music Machine]

Chris Squire on the first few Yes albums, that 5000 pound buzzsaw tone.

[Joel5001]

Keith Levene on PiL's "Memories"
That sound is psycho.

Robbie Robertson on "Tears of Rage" and "King Harvest (has surely come)"
Very different sounds, of course. Tears being fed through one of Garth's contraptions, and King Harvest featuring some mindblowing minimalist lead guitar solo work, as well as riffs during the verses. Perfect interplay with the organ too (not that that matters here, but still...)

For some reason, I really like Beck's acoustic guitar sound on "Jack-Ass" from Odelay. A very full sound. Same is true for a lot of the Mutations album, though that is mostly played by Smokey Hormel.

I really dig some good surf guitar sounds too. I'm not an expert or connoiseur by any stretch, so I'll just go for the best-known, Dick Dale and Carl Wilson. I also love the surf-ish tone on George Harrison's solo on "Honey Don't". Great recording. Also, "Surf Rider" by the Lively Ones has a good sound, if I remember correctly.

Adrian Utley's sound on Portishead's albums and the Beth & Rustin Man album is spectacular. The heightened drama on the "Theme from 'To Kill A Dead Man'" may be my favourite.

While we're talking about Robbie, I've gotta mention Stagefright.  Robbie tears it up in that one.

[artie]

Love the sound Lindsey Buckingham got on"Out of the Cradle".

Amen. One of THE best albums of the nineties. Great stuff. Lindsay is one of the great original guitarists of our generation. A master.

[Maybelline]

Love the sound Lindsey Buckingham got on"Out of the Cradle".

Amen. One of THE best albums of the nineties. Great stuff. Lindsay is one of the great original guitarists of our generation. A master.

I don't really know either of you, but for your comments above , I love you both 

[Joel5001]

Love the sound Lindsey Buckingham got on"Out of the Cradle".

Amen. One of THE best albums of the nineties. Great stuff. Lindsay is one of the great original guitarists of our generation. A master.

I don't really know either of you, but for your comments above , I love you both 

Woohoo! I'm finally getting some love on this board!   

Before her love
I was cruel and mean
I had a hole in the place
Where my heart should have been

But now I've changed
And it feels so strange
I come alive when she does
All those things to me

[GP1138]

The guitar on the James Gang's "Funk #49".

Brian May - need I say more?

George Harrison
John Lennon

Back in the Saddle era Aerosmith.

The Who's sound on older songs and on "I'm Free".

[Maybelline]

Love the sound Lindsey Buckingham got on"Out of the Cradle".

Amen. One of THE best albums of the nineties. Great stuff. Lindsay is one of the great original guitarists of our generation. A master.

I don't really know either of you, but for your comments above , I love you both 

Woohoo! I'm finally getting some love on this board!   

Before her love
I was cruel and mean
I had a hole in the place
Where my heart should have been

But now I've changed
And it feels so strange
I come alive when she does
All those things to me

 

[Peter Tomatz]

I know DI is considered very uncool, but two of my favorite guitar tones ever are Kurt Cobain's on Spank Thru from the Fecal Matter tape and Mike Watt's on his four track demo of Burnin' Up of Ciccone Youth's Whitey Album.

[pdhuertas]

I guess one of my favorite tones would have to be the sound of John's guitar on the break on "You Can't Do That".

[Jason]

I guess one of my favorite tones would have to be the sound of John's guitar on the break on "You Can't Do That".

Are you sure that's John?

[I. Spaceman]

Yep, that's John. Pure punk.

[Jason]

John plays the wicked Chuck Berry riff on Revolution, that kicks ass.

[al]

I LOVE the guitars on the 45 Revolution. And Paperback Writer - and Rain - and And Your Bird Can Sing. Wonderful!