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David Gilmour doesn't.....

Coytee

Coytee

Super Member
Riff

Fair?

I'm driving down the road one day when a recollection of a comment came to me. As I recall, I think it was the INXS live concert and Hutchens says 'Play that riff Timmy.... play that 'effing riff" (forget the song)

It hit me, David Gilmour doesn't riff. Or does he and I'm as stupid as my wife reminds me? Solo on Comfortably Numb or Fat Old Sun.... aren't riffs, they are soliloquies.

Thoughts?
 
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I can't say that I ever gave it much thought but I guess I agree. Nothing in Pink Floyd music is very "hook oriented" like in lots of pop or even most other rock.

But I have to say that the slide guitar solo in Shine On You Crazy Diamond at the end of Wish You Were Here is my favorite piece of music that I have encountered so far. Chills and hair on my arms standing up.
 
He is definitely an amazing technician. Super talented. His solos are quite inspiring. Don't know about "riffs"... But obviously he isn't just soloing the entire time he plays.
 
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His newest album "Luck and Strange" is excellent- it gets better with every listening.

According to the intranets, a RIFF is a repeated motif and "Smoke On the Water" is given as an example, so I would have to say that DAVE DON'T RIFF (for the most part- an occasional one does pop in there).
 
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krautmaster said:
His newest album "Luck and Strange" is excellent- it gets better with every listening.

According to the intranets, a RIFF is a repeated motif and "Smoke On the Water" is given as an example, so I would have to say that DAVE DON'T RIFF
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I would say that was a bad example. Super popular and well known, but bad.

How's about the opening riff on The Trooper?
 
He certainly doesn't play standard 'riffs' ala Keith Richards.
But there are a few passages that are immediately distinctive. Take the 4 solo notes in Shine On You Crazy Diamond, it repeats and anybody who hears it knows where it's from. Or the acoustic opening on Wish You Were Here.
Could be considered riffs . Yes ? No ?
 
coonmanx said:
Yeah is a riff only bar chords?
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Might as well define our terms.

This is our friend at google ai:

A riff is a short, repeated musical phrase, often played on a guitar, that forms a memorable part of a song. It's typically a distinctive, catchy musical idea that can be found in the introduction, verses, or even throughout the entire song. Riffs are different from guitar solos, which are longer, non-repeating sections. They can be simple or complex, and are a key element in many genres, particularly rock and blues.
 
Opens with it and uses it through out the song. Is that called a riff? I happen to love this song and the 'riff' that runs through it. By the above definition it is a riff, right...
 
krautmaster said:
His newest album "Luck and Strange" is excellent- it gets better with every listening.

According to the intranets, a RIFF is a repeated motif and "Smoke On the Water" is given as an example, so I would have to say that DAVE DON'T RIFF
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app4dstn said:
Young Lust (off the top of my head
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I’m stuck. Can’t even nominate “not now John”. What was I thinking…yeah not a riffer. Is noodling on delay sufficient? Nope still not a riffer. Noodler. With 1 distinguished riff. Final answer for now lol.
 
I admit this might be a somewhat stupid statement: When I hear him play on DSOM, it seems like he's playing the blues.

I love 'psychedelic music' and his playing on DSOM is what helps the album become beautifully separated from the 'real world.'

Love him, love the band, love pretty much all their albums...they remain fresh, to me, which is a great tribute for a 50+ year old album!

Sometimes, I try to imagine what a variety of treats we'd have if Pink Floyd had performed really long form jam band style sets.
 
Enophile said:
I admit this might be a somewhat stupid statement: When I hear him play on DSOM, it seems like he's playing the blues.

I love 'psychedelic music' and his playing on DSOM is what helps the album become beautifully separated from the 'real world.'

Love him, love the band, love pretty much all their albums...they remain fresh, to me, which is a great tribute for a 50+ year old album!

Sometimes, I try to imagine what a variety of treats we'd have if Pink Floyd had performed really long form jam band style sets.
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Get Gilmores "Luck and Strange" on CD or streamer... there is a "jam session" of Luck and Strange recorded in a barn when Richard Wright was still alive- no vocals, just the touring band he had been playing with at the time feeling out a tune. He used Wrights parts in the song on the new album... however, the tune is not on the vinyl record.

FWIW, Gilmore recorded the second solo on Comfortably Numb in ONE take after noodling around with three or four ideas until the inspiration hit him... Wow !
 
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krautmaster said:
Get Gilmores "Luck and Strange" on CD or streamer... there is a "jam session" of Luck and Strange recorded in a barn when Richard Wright was still alive- no vocals, just the touring band he had been playing with at the time feeling out a tune. He used Wrights parts in the song on the new album... however, the tune is not on the vinyl record.

FWIW, Gilmore recorded the second solo on Comfortably Numb in ONE take after noodling around with three or four ideas until the inspiration hit him... Wow !
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Jeff Beck is another guitar player that comes to mind when I think k about David Gilmore's style of playing.
The song "The Final Piece" was Jeff Beck just noodling around with Jan Hammer joining in on keyboard. It turned out so good it wound up on the album. Its a pretty cool track. You have to really listen to hear where the guitar leaves off and the keyboard comes in.
 
RVT1K said:
I can't say that I ever gave it much thought but I guess I agree. Nothing in Pink Floyd music is very "hook oriented" like in lots of pop or even most other rock.

But I have to say that the slide guitar solo in Shine On You Crazy Diamond at the end of Wish You Were Here is my favorite piece of music that I have encountered so far. Chills and hair on my arms standing up.
Click to expand...
Check out the slide on this live version I absolutely love it.
 
Enophile said:
I admit this might be a somewhat stupid statement: When I hear him play on DSOM, it seems like he's playing the blues.

I love 'psychedelic music' and his playing on DSOM is what helps the album become beautifully separated from the 'real world.'

Love him, love the band, love pretty much all their albums...they remain fresh, to me, which is a great tribute for a 50+ year old album!

Sometimes, I try to imagine what a variety of treats we'd have if Pink Floyd had performed really long form jam band style sets.
Click to expand...
I don't think you're wrong to say that Gilmore's style is bluesy. I think it's pretty obvious that it is, even of the music of PF is far from actual blues music. The type of scales he plays, the way that he bends the notes and the soulful/emotional vibe of his playing certainly have the stamp of the blues. As for the "jam band" style, you could point to certain parts of tunes like Echoes and a couple of things from the Wish You Were Here LP for extended instrumental sections with long stretches of guitar soloing. I actually prefer those kinds of tracks to most music that would be considered to be "jam band," stuff because that music always seems to have solos which keep ramping up in intensity, which though designed to be exciting, I feel get boring quickly. Gilmour covers some of the same ground but his soloing tends to ebb and flow more and is more about sustaining a mood than rather than simply about keeping the excitement going...
 
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