Keyboard solos

Well, I do not remember many keyboard solos from modern players (as well as in the modern rock). Maybe in the prog-metal they are quite common, but it's not my cup of tea.

Hi,

Edited by moshkito - November 15 2010 at 18:03

moshkito wrote: Hi,   I want to say ...NONE.   Because if all the music is about is "solo's" ... why the heck am I bothering with spending money on "progressive" ... there are much better solo'ists in jazz and many other disciplines out there worth listening to, and the majority of "progressive" and specially the "prog" ones, are just adding solo bits and pieces on the top of the music, because they have no idea that a synthesizer can be used for anything else ... but just another orchestra/group instrument ... and that is the main difference in a lot of the "progressive" music ... some of it is not a solo, but a lead in to the next level/step of the music ... and that is not being given the proper consideration it deserves.   In general, rock music and popular music tend to simply "change" the key they were in to get to the next part. A lot of classical music "develops" the transition, and it is not just a chord change, and sometimes it can have a new theme, with the original one a sub-textual point in the score on violin #4 (so to speak -- meaning background).   Too much of "progressive" music was NOT about solo's. Too much of "prog rock" is nothing but an extended solo and thrashing that has a lot less to do with music than it does with the sales of a genre and the band looking for fame.   If we're talking about just solo's on keyboard ... go listen to Yanni ... you might get your answer a little faster.   Btw ... if all a keyboard player can do is "solos", he/she is not very good at helping a band ... they would be better off on their own. Btw .. Rudess has solos? .. where? in the bathroom? you certainly will never hear them in concert! ... ( hehehe ---    )

Dave Stewart's organ solo at the beginning of National Health's "Dreams Wide Awake".  also his solo at the beginning of the episode "Hiram Aftaglid Meets the Dervish" in the "Solar Music Suite" from Steve Hillage's "Fish Rising"

Maybe not the best but very good and not mentionet yet:

- Caravan - With An Ear To The Ground You Can Make It (If I Could Do It All Over Again I'd Do It All Over You) - Dave Sinclair - this solo starts around 3:00 min.
- Caravan - Winter Wine (In the Land of Grey and Pink) - Dave Sinclair - classic;
- Caravan - In The Land Of Grey And Pink (In the Land of Grey and Pink) - Dave Sinclair - beautiful piano part that turns into organ solo :]
- Caravan - Nine Feet Underground (In the Land of Grey and Pink) - Dave Sinclair - almost whole piece :P
- Caravan - The Dog, The Dog, He's at It Again (For Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night) - Dave Sinclair 
- Camel - Never Let Go (Camel) - Peter Bardens
- Camel - White Rider (Mirage) - Peter Bardens - really epic one
- Camel - Song Within A Song (Moonmadness) - Peter Bardens
- Camel - One Of These Days I'll Get An Early Night (Raindances) - Peter Bardens
- Camel - Lies (Nude) - Duncan Mackay - rarely mentioned but pretty nice hammond solo;
- Cressida - Munich (Asylum) - Peter Jennings - beautiful and dramatic hammond solo that starts at 4:38
- Deep Purple - Highway Star (Machine Head) - Jon Lord
- Deep Purple - Lazy (Machine Head) - Jon Lord
- Deep Purple - Fireball (Fireball) - Jon Lord
- Deep Purple - Demon's Eye (Fireball) - Jon Lord
- Ethos - Space Brothers (Adour) Duncan Hammond or Michael Ponczek? Probably Ponczek, but I have no idea; rather underrated one, starts 2:30, beautiful;
- Ethos - Pimp City (Open Up) - Michael Ponczek - this one starts about 3:00; a long and diversified one;
- Genesis - Stagnation (Trespass) - Anthony Banks
- Genesis - Seven Stones (Nursery Cryme) - Anthony Banks - this ending mellotron solo... hmm :D
- Gentle Giant - A Cry For Everyone (Octopus) - Kerry Minnear
- Jean-Luc Ponty - Mirage (Enigmatic Ocean) - Allan Zavod
- Jean Michel Jarre - Oxygene Part II (Oxygene) - J.M. Jarre - this little thing between 1:40 and 2:10;
- Matching Mole - Instant Kitten (Matching Mole) - Dave Sinclair - almost whole song is Dave solo;
- Riverside - Reality Dream (Out Of Myself) - Jacek Melnicki - the opening little solo after the clock introduction;
- Sam Brown - Stop (Stop) - Bob Andrews - wow... whis one blow my mind and sends shivers down my spine; an epic, classic, rock hammond solo... just wow!
- Trace - Opus 1065 (Birds) - Rick Van Der Linden
- Uriah Heep - July Morning (Look At Yourself) - Manfred Mann - everybody knows what I'm thinking about ;)
- Yes - Close to the Edge (Close to the Edge) - Rick Wakeman - same as with July Morning, everybody knows which one I was thinking about ;)
- ELP - Take A Pebble (ELP) - Keith Emerson - a piano little solo that starts about 2:30, just love how it all works - piano, bas and drums... yummy

There's probably plenty of organ/keyboard solos that I like at least, but for the moment I only figured out these.
Cheers ;)


Edited by Publius84 - November 17 2010 at 10:31

Talking of Rick Wright I love the synth solo near the end of Welcome To The Machine.

  It's not all about keyboard solos for most of us, I think. It's all about different aspects of music. Some of us like to analyse the music we are listening to. I know music works as a whole. But we should not deceive ourselfs. The fact is that such music aspect as construction of a composition, melody, tempo, dynamics, instrumentation, each instrument sound and part it plays make music work as a whole. It's not all about "soloing" over the whole song, but you have to agree that diversity of music is important. Sometimes it's a guitar, keyboard, bass, drum or other instrument solo, sometimes it's a bridge, collision, interludium or even "Ad Libitum". It all make music diverse and interesting. On this forum people discuss those aspects they like in many different threads and this is what is all about.  

Edited by Publius84 - November 18 2010 at 08:19

moshkito wrote: Hi,   I want to say ...NONE.   Because if all the music is about is "solo's" ... why the heck am I bothering with spending money on "progressive" ... there are much better solo'ists in jazz and many other disciplines out there worth listening to, and the majority of "progressive" and specially the "prog" ones, are just adding solo bits and pieces on the top of the music, because they have no idea that a synthesizer can be used for anything else ... but just another orchestra/group instrument ... and that is the main difference in a lot of the "progressive" music ... some of it is not a solo, but a lead in to the next level/step of the music ... and that is not being given the proper consideration it deserves.   In general, rock music and popular music tend to simply "change" the key they were in to get to the next part. A lot of classical music "develops" the transition, and it is not just a chord change, and sometimes it can have a new theme, with the original one a sub-textual point in the score on violin #4 (so to speak -- meaning background).   Too much of "progressive" music was NOT about solo's. Too much of "prog rock" is nothing but an extended solo and thrashing that has a lot less to do with music than it does with the sales of a genre and the band looking for fame.   If we're talking about just solo's on keyboard ... go listen to Yanni ... you might get your answer a little faster.   Btw ... if all a keyboard player can do is "solos", he/she is not very good at helping a band ... they would be better off on their own. Btw .. Rudess has solos? .. where? in the bathroom? you certainly will never hear them in concert! ... ( hehehe ---    )

Edited by rogerthat - November 18 2010 at 10:56

BaldJean wrote: Dave Stewart's organ solo at the beginning of National Health's "Dreams Wide Awake".

CARAVAN with in the land of the grey an pink produced the beautifulest organ chorus i ever heard CARAVAAANNN!!!!!