Why aren't there any real guitar solo's in today's music?
Is this nothing more than a hiccup in generational music priorities?
I think the first question we gotta ask is where the hell did all the rock bands go? There was a time - a very long time, when your average rock band consisted of at least four or five members. Every band had a drummer, a bass player, at least one or maybe two guitar players and a keyboard player. At least one, two or maybe even three or four of the members of the group sang or shared lead vocals and backing vocals. I just described thousands of bands from about the 1950's through the end of the 1990's. Forty to fifty years worth of real music created by real musicians. The digital age, the internet, file sharing, home computers and recording studio software and of course, social media changed all of it.
Think of rock and roll's greatest electric lead soloing guitar players. Several legends probably come to mind. These people played a major significant role in the band. Nearly every song on every album had a guitar solo. This was a universal understanding for several decades. If you called yourself a rock band, someone in that band better know how to improvise a guitar solo, on the spot, without blinking an eye. If the band had a keyboard player, more often than not, that keyboard player took solo's as well.
So, with all of that explained, how many rock bands came to mind? How many of those bands are long gone or on their way out? How many of them are now considered “dinosaur rock stars” who loiter on stage because jumping around like they did forty years ago, would require a hip replacement?
Is it purely generational?
Does anyone actually record full-length albums anymore? Does anyone actually buy full-length albums anymore? Does anyone actually listen to full-length albums anymore? Why is today's music so cheap and empty? Why is every song produced from a cookie-cutter template? Where are the rock guitar solos?
The younger generations don't listen to complete albums. They listen to playlists. Do you remember when a vinyl record album held the same value to you as a book? There was a tangible feel to listening to music back then.
For the life of me, I still cannot understand or figure out why there are no rock guitar players doing solos in today's bands. You know, players who can shred like the legends used to. I know for a fact that there are some insane shredders out there. Just watch YouTube for a couple of hours. You'll find a lot of teenage guitarists out there who are insane on the guitar, and yet they have almost no real recognition, except for their subscriber fan base.
It's no longer about the music.
Musicians, artists, bands - whatever you want to call them, are no longer required to have actual musical talent. They just have to look good. You see, it isn't about them anymore, and it hasn't been for nearly two decades. You wanna know who it is about? It's about the producer. Since the digital revolution of twenty years ago, rock music changed into something that never would have been accepted by the average listener or even played on the radio.
Imagine Van Halen music with no Eddie Van Halen guitar solos. Imagine the band Boston with no guitar solos in any of their songs. Imagine “Frampton Comes Alive” with no guitar solos anywhere on that double album. What if Aerosmith recorded all of their songs with no guitar solos. Imagine "Hotel California" without the guitar solos. Imagine David Gilmore playing guitar in Pink Floyd, with no guitar solos on any song. Imagine Rush with no guitar solos. Imagine a time many decades ago - when there would have been no guitar legends in any music whatsoever. It is difficult to imagine a world without Eddie Van Halen's insane solos on every Van Halen song. It is impossible to imagine "Stairway to Heaven" without Jimmy's incredible solo. For fifty or more years, guitar solos ruled rock music. Then it stopped cold dead. Why?
Who do we blame?
Do we blame the disappearance of the former music industry that helped create and define those legendary guitarists of yesteryear? Do we blame the disappearance of A&R managers and talent scouts who used to go from venue to venue, club to club in search of the next big thing? Do we blame the digital age, the computer, Napster and file sharing, social media and smartphones? Where are we supposed to point the finger at when and where everything changed? Is this nothing more than a hiccup in generational music priorities? Will the 2030's and beyond bring a whole new resurgence of rock musicians and guitar gawds?
Eddie took his remaining solos with him to the grave. Jimmy did too. So did Terry Kath. So did Stevie Ray. The remaining legends are barely remembered now. The younger generations simply see them as dinosaur rock stars that have nothing to do with their music.
Imagine if Taylor Swift brought out a twenty-five year old guitar virtuoso to play a three minute long shredding solo on just one of her songs. Something like that would change everything about the importance of the rock guitar solos, and just how badly they are needed in today’s' music.