Could Edge solo more than 2 mins?

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theu2fly

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For the most part of U2's music, Edge has held himself back on songs I think. Edge is an excellent guitarist who can make his guitar do things that musicians today envy. Also I think he is one of the best there is today...

There are some songs that Edge has soloed on incredibly well, songs such as...

Bullet The Blue Sky
The Fly
With Or Without You
Bad

Sometimes these are impromptu solos, but I've always wondered, if Edge could, could he ever pull off a song like Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb" or Led Zeppelin's "Stairway To Heaven"

Edge has a lot of talent, but does he prefer not to do solos?
 
Edge has always talked about long solos as being unnecessary most of the time, that they take away from songs more than add to them. and U2 are still a punk rock n' roll band. none of this big classic rock instrumental bollocks.

Edge has been playing guitar for 30 years. If you've been playing that long and can't knock off a decent solo, you should have quit decades ago. Then there's that Street Missio solo that Edge did back in '76 :drool:






btw, is it 'bollocks' or 'bullocks' ? i think it's actulaly with a U but it looks better with an O
 
You know, in the past I've been overly critical of Edge's soloing abilities, but I'll try to clarify my point of view.

If Edge has the chance to compose and rehearse a solo then it'll be a great thing. He could play two notes and make them sound amazing.

One guitar skill that he [seems to be ] severely lacking compared to his superstar peers, however, is improvisational skills. Maybe that's why we rag on him (all in good fun) sometimes.

:heart: Edge
 
I loved how he changed the BTBS solo on ZooTV, but the power from that song has drifted away over the past few years.

I think Edge could solo with the best.
 
ZooTV's solo and Popmart of Bullet = 1,30 or 1,40 minutes if u count all

And

LIB's solo does count exactly 2 minutes
 
discothequeLP said:
Edge has always talked about long solos as being unnecessary most of the time, that they take away from songs more than add to them. and U2 are still a punk rock n' roll band. none of this big classic rock instrumental bollocks.
Click to expand...

See, I'd disagree with that. Long solos, when done tastefully and constructed well, are awesome. :drool:

btw, is it 'bollocks' or 'bullocks' ? i think it's actulaly with a U but it looks better with an O
Click to expand...

It's 'bollocks'. A 'bullock' is completely different: a young or castrated bull.
 
I agree with Edge long guitar solos are boring, but it would be nice to see him include some shorter ones on the next album...even 30 seconds in length would be nice.
 
There've been some nice solos in "All I Want Is You" also, over the years. Funny, Larry doesn't get down with the whole solo thing either...maybe it's a band thing, and not just an Edge thing?
 
Guitar solos :|

It's funny, I was just listening to Desire from the last show of the Lovetown tour in Rotterdam, and I thought about how out of place and just... wrong the solo sounded.

Obviously Edge can solo, it's that he chooses not to, which I respect very much. :up:

ETA: I should add that I don't not appreciate the Bullet or LIB solos--these definitely add to and enhance the songs they're in, but I think that anything lasting longer than them on a regular basis (as opposed to a one-off at one concert) would not work as well, and would in fact detract from the song.
 
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I guess the band's about the band, and not 4 soloists, which is perhaps why solos can jar for some and why they don't indulge in them often. They need each other to be U2.
 
Yep, he can and has. The thing is he usually just doesn't want to.
He generally uses other things to show off, like bedazzling or facial hair, not guitar solos. :tongue:
 
on VH1's making of the joshua tree edge said he had the option of ending with or without you with a huge solo guitar rift but instead he thought it was a better way of ending the song the way he did. I agree with him.

My best edge solo is all i want is you:drool:
 
amerrydeath said:
Guitar solos :|
Click to expand...

:|

Anyway, yes, Edge could solo for more than two minutes if he wanted to. "Wanted" being the key phrase here. The last time Edge did a real solo was on Street Mission. I don't think he'll be doing anything like that anytime soon, and this makes me sad. But oh well, U2 just aren't a soloing kind of band. I think they could add far more dimension to their music if they just tried it a few times. I just don't ever see it happening.
 
Solo's of any kind usually don't add anything to the song. Edge's typical 20-30 second solos are perfect because they don't really break the cohesion of the song. Like someone said earlier, the solos in Bullet and LIB are great because they're both rare and designed around the song. Edge's solos are really just another musical accompaniment, not a talent show-case.
 
maybe its not about time...but I just HAVE to mention Electric Co...its the one song where i fell in love with the Edge!
 
Canadiens1160 said:
You know, in the past I've been overly critical of Edge's soloing abilities, but I'll try to clarify my point of view.

If Edge has the chance to compose and rehearse a solo then it'll be a great thing. He could play two notes and make them sound amazing.

One guitar skill that he [seems to be ] severely lacking compared to his superstar peers, however, is improvisational skills. Maybe that's why we rag on him (all in good fun) sometimes.

:heart: Edge
Click to expand...

I don't know about that...Edge did a pretty good job improvising a solo on the Dave Matthews Band song "Smooth Rider" when he played live with them at the Jazz Festival in New Orleans this year
I think you can see it on You Tube under the obvious search words "Smooth Rider"
 
I was thinking maybe it was a band thing, but of course there's Bono (do those Shakespearean soliloquies count as solos?). Would be a riot if Bono was rambling on some night and Edge or Larry just said "screw this" and busted out with this ripping solo, right smack in the middle of the One intro.
 
Maybe after working with Rick Rubin, Bono will do just that.

Edge most emphatically has said he does not want to be a "guitar hero" but he is mine.
 
Edge has done a handful of solos!

New Years Day
Until The End Of The World
The Fly
Acrobat
The Electric Co.
Street Mission
BTBS (live)
....

:rockon:
 
Zootlesque said:
Edge has done a handful of solos!

New Years Day
Until The End Of The World
The Fly
Acrobat
The Electric Co.
Street Mission
BTBS (live)
....

:rockon:
Click to expand...

miracle drug
all because of you
all i want is you


COME ON GUYS LETS ADD TO THE LIST
 
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