Lynyrd Skynyrd "Free Bird" Isolated Guitar Solos

Here's something that I posted a few years ago that I got a request to post again. It's the isolated guitar solo tracks to Lynyrd Skynyrd's iconic "Free Bird."

There are a number of really interesting things that you hear when the tracks are isolated that you don't notice in the final mix.

1. The solo is doubled (and towards the end tripled), but each one begins to vary from around the 1:30 mark. Since the song was composed two years previously and played live over that time period, the solo was mostly composed before it was recorded, so there were several takes. When both sounded so good together, they were allowed to stay in the mix.

2. Until 3:48, the sound of the guitar is exactly the same (and even when it changes, it only sounds like a coil-tap of a pickup), as all the tracks were played by the late Alan Collins on a Gibson Explorer.

3. As is many times the case, the record label didn't want this song on the album, yet it went on to become the song that defined the band and has remained a rock anthem 40 years later.

4. Guitar World Magazine rates the solo as the 3rd greatest ever.

You can go here for a full analysis of the arrangement of the solo section.

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REM "End Of The World" Isolated Guitars

During the 80s and 90s, R.E.M. was one of the most popular and influential bands to come out of the U.S. In this week's isolated track, we'll listen to the isolated guitar from one of the band's most beloved songs "It's The End Of The World As We Know It."

The song is from the R.E.M.'s 1987 Document album, which spent 33 weeks on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart, peaking at #10. Here's what to listen for.

1. Peter Buck has a different guitar sound in every section, with a relatively clean electric on the verse, a bigger distorted one on the B sections and choruses, and another on the last part of the chorus and the bridge. An acoustic guitar enters on the next to last chorus and the very last chord of the song.

2. The guitar goes from mono in the verses and bridge to doubled in B sections and chorus. The acoustic guitar also leans to the left a little.

3. The playing is not perfect, but the timing is. It keeps that indie feel and stops the song from feeling too slick.

4. Listen to the hard mute at 2:28. You can hear a brief click of the beginning of next chord being cut off, something that would be easy to fix today in a DAW, but not so easy in the console/tape days.

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The Beatles "I Feel Fine" Isolated Guitars

It's always fun to listen to hits of years past and dissect the parts, and today's song is no exception. It's "I Feel Fine" by The Beatles, a big hit for them from way back in 1964. This might have been the first example of feedback electric guitar (John Lennon's amplified Gibson acoustic J-160E) on record, but it was discovered accidentally when Lennon leaned his guitar up against the amp after a take. The band loved it and later edited it in to the beginning of the song.

John, who wrote and sang the song, claimed that the riff was based around a Bobby Parker song the band used to play live called "Watch Your Step." What you'll hear comes from the last of 8 basic track takes. Here's what to listen for (it starts at 0:05):

1. John plays the main riff on his Gibson while George Harrison sometimes doubles, and other times plays rhythm on his Gretsch Tennessean.

2. As was the production norm of the day, the parts of the two guitars aren't really defined. They both drift from playing the riff to playing the chords at different times. Today the parts would be much more worked out with every lick in mind.

3. Georges rhythm is a little out of tune, especially in the beginning, but you don't it notice in the track.

4. Listen through to the end to hear the ending not on the record.

The Who "Pinball Wizard" Isolated Guitars

If you grew up playing in bar bands back in the 70s/80s, chances are you played "Pinball Wizard," the seminal hit from The Who's Tommy rock opera. But how many of us actually played it correctly?

Take a listen to the isolated acoustic and electric guitar parts in the song. Here's what to listen for.
1. There are two acoustic guitars, one playing the low 8th note pedal note on the intro parts, which then doubles the other acoustic during the strumming.

2. The electric guitar, which plays on the intro, first verse and chorus.

3. Take notice how the electric drops out in the second verse, and one of the acoustic guitars changes to different chord inversions so it's slightly different from the first and last verses.

4. There's a nice long delayed reverb on the guitars that give them that big sound that we're familiar with.

Fleetwood Mac "Rhiannon" Isolated Guitars And Vocals

Today we'll listen to the first hit from the reconstituted Fleetwood Mac  - "Rhiannon" from the big selling self-titled album that made the band a household word. Here's what to listen for.

1. The playing is extremely precise. This is one of the records that led to the modern production techniques of today, but remember this was done without a DAW. The precision came from playing or singing it over and over until you got it right (ah, the good old days!).

2. There are 4 guitars playing throughout: a low string guitar toward the left, the riff guitar towards the right, a harmony riff guitar and a strummed guitar. These enter in varying amounts throughout the song as needed keep it interesting. Take notice that all guitars have basically the same sound, yet they all work extremely well together.

3. The vocals are about perfect, and the doubled background vocals on each side are gorgeous. There's a nice long plate verb on them which also sounds great. You can see why this record was such a huge seller.

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Jimi Hendrix "Fire" Isolated Guitar Track

When it comes to modern rock guitar players no one is more revered than Jimi Hendrix. Here's an inside look at his playing on one of the most popular songs from his first Are You Experienced album - "Fire." In this isolated track, you'll hear Jimi's guitars like you've never heard them before.

Here are some things to listen for.

1. Jimi was a great rhythm player and you can hear him push along the groove of the track really well here with the lower mellow guitar part.

2. There are a lot more guitars on this track than what seems apparent on the record. In fact, there's usually at least 2 and sometimes as many as 4. When there's 2 playing, Jimi keeps them separated by having one playing in a higher register while the other is in a lower register.

3. Listen to the double on the guitar solo at 1:23, but also check out the rhythm guitar underneath.

4. The reverb on the guitar sounds very much like a spring reverb.

5. Play it all the way to the end to hear the ending that's not on the record.

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Eagles "Hotel California" Isolated Guitar Solos

Joe Walsh and Don Felder are two of the most lyrical guitar players going, opting more for a beautiful melodic riff rather than some show-off flash. Here's the isolated guitar solo tracks from The Eagle's most famous track "Hotel California," that shows just how great these two guitar greats are. Listen for:

1. The difference between the sound of both players.

2. The nice big wide reverb on the guitars.

3. The doubling of both guitars during the famous outro line.

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ZZ Top "La Grange" Isolated Guitars

Today we gave a great study in how to use electric guitars in a song. It's Billy F Gibbon's isolated guitar parts in ZZ Top's break-through hit "La Grange" from their Tres Hombres album in 1973. Here are some things to listen for:

1. The intro clean guitar has a nice short delayed reverb on it.

2. The verse distorted guitar is doubled and spread out left and right. It also has a different reverb.

3. The solo (which is one of my all-time favorites and was played on a 55 Strat through a Marshall Super Lead 100) is a completely different sound, which keeps the song interesting as new elements and sounds are introduced.

4. When the clean intro guitar is introduced again after the solo at 2:15, it's dry except for what sounds like some recorded room ambiance.

5. Listen to the amp noise in between the phrases during the outro solo at 2:33. Not that anyone ever heard it in the track though.

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Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Don't forget to check out my Music 3.0 blog for tips and tricks on navigating social media and the new music business.

Lynyrd Skynyrd "Free Bird" Isolated Guitar Solos

A few weeks ago I posted an analysis of the solo section to Lynyrd Skynyrd's iconic "Free Bird," and now here's the isolated tracks of the guitar solos. There are a number of really interesting things that you hear when the tracks are isolated that you don't notice with the rest of the tracks.

1. The solo is doubled (and towards the end tripled), but each one begins to vary from around the 1:30 mark. Since the song was composed two years previously and played live over that time period, the solo was mostly composed before it was recorded, so there were several takes. When both sounded so good together, they were allowed to stay in the mix.

2. Until 3:48, the sound of the guitar is exactly the same (and even when it changes, it only sounds like a coil-tap of a pickup), as all the tracks were played by the late Alan Collins on a Gibson Explorer.

3. As is many times the case, the record label didn't want this song on the album, yet it went on to become the song that defined the band and has remained a rock anthem 40 years later.

4. Guitar World Magazine rates the solo as the 3rd greatest ever.

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Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Don't forget to check out my Music 3.0 blog for tips and tricks on navigating social media and the new music business.

"The Trooper" Iron Maiden Isolated Guitars

Here's a dose of metal for your Holiday Monday with the isolated guitar tracks from Iron Maiden's "The Trooper." The song is from Maiden's 1983 album Piece Of Mind and is featured in Guitar Hero II. Here are some things to listen for.

1) Each guitar part is doubled pretty closely, which thickens an already thick sound considerably.

2) To eliminate guitar amp noise, producer Marin Birch used a noise gate the the tracks, which you can hear working during the verses.

3) In an excellent bit of mixing technique, take notice that the solos are up the middle to stay out of the way of the rhythm guitars, and also have a slightly different tone to differentiate them more.

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You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Don't forget to check out my Music 3.0 blog for tips and tricks on navigating the music business.

Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.