Edge's Solos......

[LarryMullenFan]

I'll start by saying what a great album.
Bono's best vocals in at least 12 years.
Adam: awesome.
Larry's best album since AB.
Songs: awesome.

Edge's solos:

??


What's with his choice of notes? I don't expect (or would ever want) Van Halen solos from him, but his melodic lines in the guitar solos (at least 4) are really not doing it for me.

Does anyone else feel the guitar solos should've been more thought out/ more melodic?

I actually had the same feeling. The whole thing just sounds awesome, everyone at their best. Only some solo's seem a bit... I dunno, B-side solo's. As if they were put there in a hurry. We'll have to wait and hear what he will do live. It doesn't really bother me, just noticed it.

 

[Matthew_Page2000]

Edge could have been better. He's rehashing stuff he's done. Unknown Caller is a cool solo but it's finale echoes old stuff which also echoes Hendrix.

Eh? what the frick are you blabbering about? Hendrix is about one billion times the soloist that Edge is. Having said that I don't thing Edge spend two seconds pondering Hendrix when he soloed on NLOTH. He sounds great. if you like Hendrix go listen to Hendrix. Jeezus.

 

[ludilobrate]

Which edge*s solo is the best on NLOTH?

Its so hard to say...but toady I would say that solo in UC is fantastic,then breathe,magnificient...

 

[bathiu]

1. UC
2. MOS
3. Magnificent
4. SUC (and the whole "Holy Joe moment" near the end )
5. Breathe

 

[MagooUK]

Unknown Caller for me.

 

[medley]

1- Breathe
2- Unknown Caller
3- MOS

I would say

 

[Yahweh_OMG]

UC solo is great...

but they are all too short....

AB is the album for solos...

 

[JOFO]

I actually had the same feeling. The whole thing just sounds awesome, everyone at their best. Only some solo's seem a bit... I dunno, B-side solo's. As if they were put there in a hurry. We'll have to wait and hear what he will do live. It doesn't really bother me, just noticed it.

Yes, this is exactly what I mean.

 

[BEAL]

This is the first album since probably AB where every member is playing great.

Is there a great solo like the FLY or UTEOTW, not really, but we already have those solos to appreciate. Let's wait and see how these songs turn out live, as that's when Edge usually adds a solo, or extends one....(i.e. Kite).

 

[JOFO]

Yes I'm hoping for that.

 

[BEAL]

This is the first album since probably AB where every member is playing great. So much going on.

Is there a great solo like the FLY or UTEOTW, not really, but we already have those solos to appreciate. Let's wait and see how these songs turn out live, as that's when Edge usually adds a solo, or extends one....(i.e. Kite).

 

[TheEnd]

You're spoiled if you think Edge wasn't in top form for this album!

Agree completely. Loving Edge on this one. My favorite Edge album since Pop.

 

[adypole]

unknown caller
moment of surrender
stand up comedy

happens to be the order of my favourite songs too

 

[Moser]

Yeh, NLOTH Edge is so alive! The solo's are really dreamy....

And the Magnificent solo...It felt like I was watching "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" with the setting of Northern Africa.

 

[Chill Mike D]

Unknown Caller and Stand Up Comedy have fine solos, but I'm generally speaking about his overall tone and use of his guitar in a lot of these songs.

 

[Flying FuManchu]

Eh? what the frick are you blabbering about? Hendrix is about one billion times the soloist that Edge is. Having said that I don't thing Edge spend two seconds pondering Hendrix when he soloed on NLOTH. He sounds great. if you like Hendrix go listen to Hendrix. Jeezus.

Edge is influenced by Hendrix. He cops certain ideas from Hendrix and sort of makes it his own. You wouldn't hear it but it's there in several songs in the past. I'm not expecting whopping improvisation or something but Edge is doing what he did on ATYCLB and HTDAAB. It's not a bad thing (for example Beautiful Day is an awesome song) but Edge has a habit of spoiling people with really great stuff.

 

[tsweeney]

UC solo is great...

but they are all too short....

AB is the album for solos...

AB had some really great solos. EBTTRT, UTEOTW, The Fly, Love is Blindness.

 

[silkensky]

They're short and sweet IMHO, but methinks Edge is just giving us a mere taste with these album solos. Wait till we see what develops in the live setting.

 

[elevation]

Edge has left the building

I don't know where the Edge has been on the last three albums, to be quite honest ... If you try to listen to NLOTH without paying attention to Bono's voice the guitar parts are rather weak ... Many things happening but that's more because of Eno than The Edge....

I just guees AB was the last true guitar album ...

 

[Vlad n U 2]

Just curious, how long are each of Edge's solos on the album?

 

[Reead]

UC solo and Magnificent Solo are perfect in that they work with the songs. The others were somewhat underwhelming, but acceptable in the context of the song.

I have no doubt he'll take more chances with them live.

 

[bigjohn2441]

bono is gonna have to man up and play some major guitar this tour or these songs are gonna sound extremely stripped down live.

 

[Utoo]

You're all missing my sentiment; I don't want notey solos from Edge; I want him to hit those one or two notes that make you cry.

I'm not hearing those as much on this album.

I had a post in a thread a few weeks ago about how part of U2's magic is that in so many of their great songs, they build and build and take you to the top of the cliff, but never let you jump off. On this album, I think that they come jump off or come very close to doing it on many of the songs. However, I think it works superbly on this album.

 

[Utoo]

Are we really sure that the MOS solo is even Edge?


That sounds 100% Lanois to me.

It probably is Edge playing it....but I'm not totally convinced.

 

[MadelynIris]

You're all missing my sentiment; I don't want notey solos from Edge; I want him to hit those one or two notes that make you cry.

I think if anybody wants to challenge the listener, it's Edge.

 

[C$'s Mommie]

Unknown Caller is a cool solo but it's finale echoes old stuff which also echoes Hendrix.

Thats the first thing I said to my husband, I hear Hendrix. He thought I was looney.

I think giving us time to appreciate Edge's talents is revolutionary for them, I mean, we know how awesome he is, but its always as a sum of the parts, whereas there are at least 3 songs on this album where he is really showcased.

My second though was how great this will be live, with an ellipse or heart or whatever for his solo. I just remember him and bono running around the stage in Boston during a long Edge solo, I think 12/4 or 12/5, with his glitter guitar. Freaking awesome.

 

[RademR]

Unknown Caller is amazing....Magnificient and MOS, they just fit the song so perectly.

I don't know, Breathe is my favorite song but I thought his guitar solo could have a litle better.

Actually, my favorite Edge work on this record is his understated stuff to support the music, like on Cedars & White as Snow.

 

[europop2005]

The solo in UC is really uplifting, its like the moment the man decides to live his life

 

[mellow moog]

Edge's 'solos' have never meant to be solos in the true sense of the word because he's never been solo. He always thinks as part of the whole.
The most chilling and breathtaking moments to me are when he goes understated, just like the guitar in Magnificent. It reminds me of how incredible I thought With or Without you was when I first heard it, especially the guitar at the end. He could've taken off in Magnificent and built into a massive crescendo but instead he sublimely just allows it to blend in the background and compliment the rhythm of the song without ever overpowering it.

 

[Roland of Gilead]

Edge solos for for the live show. It is one of the main reasons that I listen to way more live U2 than studio U2. Cedars very well might get an extended solo on the tour (if they play it). I can't help but think of how well Love is Blindness turns out live because of Edge's solo effort. And hello Moment of Surrender! The solo is fantastic on the album, but this really has a chance to go nuts like Kite live from Sydney. This might not happen early on the tour though, but I am sure Edge will "feel" something and go off with it. There is so much to look forward to with this tour.