JDB Best Guitar Moments From RiF?

[Son of Stopped]

People Give In doesn't have a solo so it's excluded.
Liverpool Revisted excluded because James didn't play the solo.
Dylan & Caitlin excluded because it's more an orchestral solo than guitar.
The Left Behind should have but didn't have a guitar solo.
Probably pushing it keeping Vivian in.
But that's four songs excluded from a 12 track album to leave eight options an Other option for you Japanese Double Pack Choosers and even a none if you seriously think James is the biggest disappointment on the album.
Fingers crossed I can make a poll with multiple (but still secretive to members) options.

But what are your three favourite James guitar moments from

International Blue
Distant Colours
Vivian
Sequels Of Forgotten Wars
Hold Me Like A Heaven
In Eternity
Broken Algorithms
A Song For The Sadness
Other
None

[Europa Gluten Free]

As a pretty big guitar nerd, it's interesting to sit and think about the guitar on this record. Nothing especially stands out for me. There seems to be a distinct lack of character on the guitars on here, which I always blame on Eringa and ProTools. Obviously Sequels and BA are the heavier guitar tracks but there are no real guitar moments that stand out. Actually my favourite guitar moment is the unexpected shift from Gm to an Am chord in the outro of International Blue as James continues the songs signature riff over it. But that's about it.

[UEF]

Originally Posted by Europa Gluten Free

As a pretty big guitar nerd, it's interesting to sit and think about the guitar on this record. Nothing especially stands out for me. There seems to be a distinct lack of character on the guitars on here, which I always blame on Eringa and ProTools. Obviously Sequels and BA are the heavier guitar tracks but there are no real guitar moments that stand out. Actually my favourite guitar moment is the unexpected shift from Gm to an Am chord in the outro of International Blue as James continues the songs signature riff over it. But that's about it.

The rhythms in that song are pretty cool too

[Judge_yrself]

It isn't the most in your face 'guitary' album, but there are some lovely moments. The riff on Sequels, the quirky little riff in Sadness. Not many solos moments to really write home about, its more textures and riffs from Bradders here (nothing wrong with that!)

[Mr Richey]

The lead guitar line from “In Eternity” that always reminds me of the music that plays in the Lost Woods from Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JxvsBwjot4

[darkanddivine]

I have to say, I'm a huge fan of the musicianship on this record. I touched on it in my overall review, but I'd started to feel like there was an over simplification in James guitar work, especially around the SATT/Postcards era. Loud major chords are great, but it can make things a bit one dimensional at times. That was addressed to some extent with the curveballs on RTF/Futurology, but that was more down to the production than anything. In short, there was a sense of parts being repeated and there being a sense of there being a cut and paste feel to things.

While Resistance is Futile may not be solo (or even guitar) heavy, I do think this is one of Jimmy's most interesting albums for years. There are loads of little flicks and chord changes that give it a much richer feel. Naturally International Blue just soars above everything solo wise for obvious reasons. It's a classic Manics track already, and the guitars are outstanding.

But more than that I love some of the chord work on this. There's that little "odd bit" where the D# - Bb repeats twice under the solo on only one occasion (in International Blue.) I'd put the middle of Distant Colours, the post-chorus drop in People Give In and the chorus of Sequels in that bracket too (along with the super quick guitar break in that song.) Even the fact that there's a random drop out of the guitars on In Eternity is a nice little way to change things up. Sometimes the best guitar is no guitar!

[Porco]

Originally Posted by darkanddivine

I have to say, I'm a huge fan of the musicianship on this record. I touched on it in my overall review, but I'd started to feel like there was an over simplification in James guitar work, especially around the SATT/Postcards era. Loud major chords are great, but it can make things a bit one dimensional at times. That was addressed to some extent with the curveballs on RTF/Futurology, but that was more down to the production than anything. In short, there was a sense of parts being repeated and there being a sense of there being a cut and paste feel to things.

While Resistance is Futile may not be solo (or even guitar) heavy, I do think this is one of Jimmy's most interesting albums for years. There are loads of little flicks and chord changes that give it a much richer feel. Naturally International Blue just soars above everything solo wise for obvious reasons. It's a classic Manics track already, and the guitars are outstanding.

But more than that I love some of the chord work on this. There's that little "odd bit" where the D# - Bb repeats twice under the solo on only one occasion.
I'd put the middle of Distant Colours, the post-chorus drop in People Give In and the chorus of Sequels in that bracket too (along with the super quick guitar break in that song.) Even the fact that there's a random drop out of he guitars on In Eternity is a nice little way to change things up. Sometimes the best guitar is no guitar!

Agree with this a lot.

Personally I think RIF is chock-full of lovely little guitar moments, but I don't know how this thread(OP) is really defining that (no offence Son of Stopped!).

Sorry to keep banging on about Mirror Gaze, but the fact that track is a Japanese-only bonus track, essentially one level lower than B-side in some ways just blows my mind really, that track has so much lovely guitar on it for me... I would love a whole album of tracks that sound pretty much exactly like Mirror Gaze.

But honestly I don't think there is a single track on the album that doesn't have some nice guitar on it, IMHO, even if it's not all as obvious as the obvious bits.

[darkanddivine]

Originally Posted by Porco

But honestly I don't think there is a single track on the album that doesn't have some nice guitar on it, IMHO, even if it's not all as obvious as the obvious bits.

Yeah deffo. For all the talk of SATT et al being like EMG, in truth it was only like the really "straight" guitar tracks like Australia, Further Away and Enola/Alone. James guitar playing on the EMG era was super interesting because he went away from power chords to all those strange chords that are on pretty much every song. Back then, the majority of the songs had at least one slightly off kilter chord or progression. I think the thread I spotted was a throwback to EMG era B-sides and to a lesser extent JFPL. I can see similarities between RIF and EMG era B-sides like Mr Carbohydrate, Black Garden, Hanging On and First Republic.

[Jimi A]

The bit where he fell over in Leeds.