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Your Greatest Riffs In Rock History

g under pg under p Surfing The far side of THE Sombrero Galaxy Posts: 18,201
edited February 2012 in Other Music
I'm sure this has probably been tackled before...but what is your favourite riff, or riffs in history?


"Johnny B. Goode" by Chuck Berry
"Purple Haze" by Jimi Hendrix
"Stairway To Heaven" by Led Zeppelin
"Smoke On The Water" by Deep Purple
"Cult Of Personality" by Living Colour
"Back In Black" by AC/DC
"Enter Sandman" by Metallica
"The Camera Eye" By 2.gif
"Kasmir" by Led Zeppelin
"Renegades Of FunK" by Rage Against The Machine and many others by them

Peace
*We CAN bomb the World to pieces, but we CAN'T bomb it into PEACE*...Michael Franti

*MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
.....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti

*The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)


Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments

  • bellosjambellosjam Posts: 288
    "I Will Follow", U2
  • Thirty Bills UnpaidThirty Bills Unpaid Posts: 16,881
    The following three must be in the top 10:

    Whole Lotta Love- Led Zeppelin
    Sweet Leaf- Black Sabbath
    Limelight- Rush
    "My brain's a good brain!"
  • SatansFutonSatansFuton Posts: 5,399
    Just a few classics (I know they're pretty obvious choices, but that's why they should be brought up) that come to mind.

    Sunshine Of Your Love - Cream
    Funk #49 - James Gang
    Jumpin' Jack Flash - The Rolling Stones
    Can't You Hear Me Knocking - The Rolling Stones
    Aqualung - Jethro Tull
    You Really Got Me - The Kinks
    Layla - Derek And The Dominoes

    And of course Alive
    "See a broad to get dat booty yak 'em, leg 'er down, a smack 'em yak 'em!"
  • intodeepintodeep Posts: 7,240
    I'm a sucker for Stranglehold by Ted Nugent :oops:
    Charlotte 00
    Charlotte 03
    Asheville 04
    Atlanta 12
    Greenville 16, Columbia 16
    Seattle 18 
    Nashville 22
    Ohana Festival 24 x2
  • uninnocent-uninnocent- Posts: 5,959
    I'd like to add in Ben Harper's Glory & Consequence. Simple yet memorable and catchy.
  • Evolution6579Evolution6579 Posts: 624
    One of my picks is a saxophone riff.
    Morphine's Honey White

    Also, just to give credit where credit is due...Renegades of Funk is by Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force.
    Chicago 8-23-09

  • AtlantaJammerAtlantaJammer Posts: 2,611
    intodeep wrote:
    I'm a sucker for Stranglehold by Ted Nugent :oops:

    GREATEST SONG EVER MADE!
  • veddertownveddertown Scotland Posts: 5,260
    Led Zeppelin - (where do you start?) Heartbreaker, The Ocean, Whole Lotta Love, Celebration Day, How Many More Times, Black Dog, No Quarter, Kashmir, Rock n' Roll........

    Black Sabbath - Sweet Leaf, Black Sabbath, Fairies Wear Boots, Supernaut, Paranoid, Children Of The Grave, Iron Man, War Pigs.......

    Deep Purple - Burn, Never Before, Space Truckin, Highway Star, Speed King, Smoke On The Water, Lazy, Stormbringer, Mistreated......

    Obviously there are many other riffs from other great bands/artists from the 60's until present but I like to think that these three bands perfected the blueprint laid down by their predecessors and influenced pretty much everything in the rock world since.
    Like a book among the many on a shelf...

    Dublin 02 Arena - 22/6/10. Belfast Odyssey Arena - 23/6/10. London Hyde Park - 25/6/10. Berlin Wuhlheide - 30/6/10.
    Manchester MEN - 20/06/12. Manchester MEN - 21/06/12
  • Pearl Jam_iePearl Jam_ie Posts: 821
    All the above that are listed are great. A couple others for me are...

    Money For Nothing-Dire Straits
    Message In a Bottle-The Police
    Personal Jesus-Depeche Mode
    Remedy-The Black Crowes
    Cold Shot-SRV
    Panama-Van Halen
    I Got Mine-The Black Keys
    Bulls on Parade-RATM
    "In certain trying circumstances...profanity furnishes a relief denied even to prayer." - Mark Twain
  • musicismylife78musicismylife78 Posts: 6,116
    Jerry Cantrell-My Song
  • musicismylife78musicismylife78 Posts: 6,116
    on the cantrell tip, Hurts dont it? is a insane song. instrumental. from the first second until 37 seconds in and how it fades into the main song is unreal. that song exudes heroin hell
  • facepollutionfacepollution Posts: 6,834
    Smashing Pumpkins - Cherub Rock - that opening riff is an absolute beast!
  • nuffingmannuffingman Posts: 3,014
    Stockholm Syndrome - Muse
  • g under pg under p Surfing The far side of THE Sombrero Galaxy Posts: 18,201
    edited August 2015
    220px-Zeitgeist_cover.png

    *United States*....especially near the end the riffs there are rhythmically slow and ends the song with a bang. Also a drum workout for any drummer.

    http://youtu.be/FspnTZTa-5I

    Peace
    Post edited by g under p on
    *We CAN bomb the World to pieces, but we CAN'T bomb it into PEACE*...Michael Franti

    *MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
    .....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti

    *The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)


  • rick1zoo2rick1zoo2 between a rock and a dumb place Posts: 12,632
    The Fly - U2
  • Yellow LedbellyYellow Ledbelly Posts: 3,749
    Metallica - Seek and Destroy....so many to name
    All I have to do is revel in the everyday....then do it again tomorrow

    They say every sin is deadly but I believe they may be wrong...I'm guilty of all seven and I don't feel too bad at all
  • DewieCoxDewieCox Posts: 11,430
    Whipping Post-ABB
    Come Together-Beatles
    Loser-Beck
    Twice As Hard, Sting Me, Virtue And Vice-Crowes
    Oh Well, The Chain(outro bass)-Fleetwood Mac
    Sinister Kid bass riff-Black Keys
    Black Sabbath, Electric Funeral, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
    Welcome Home-Coheed and Cambria
    Sunshine of Your Love, Crossroads-Cream
    Fortunate Son, Around the Bend, Ramble Tamble, Hey Tonight-CCR
    Rebel Rebel, Ziggy Stardust-Bowie
    Hang You From The Heavens-Dead Weather
    Passenger-Deftones
    Already Gone, These Shoes-Eagles
    She Don't Use Jelly, The W.A.N.D.-Flaming Lips
    Nightrain, Paradise City, Get In The Ring-GnR
    Manic Depression, Spanish Castle Magic, Burning of the Midnight Lamp, 1983, Voodoo Child-Hendrix
    21st Century Schizoid Man, Red-King Crimson
    How Many More Times, Whole Lotta Love, Lemon Song, Heartbreaker, Living Loving Maid, Moby Dick, Bring It On Home, Out On The Tiles, Black Dog, The Ocean, No Quarter, The Rover, In the Light, Ten Years Gone, Wanton Song, Nobody's Fault But Mine, Achilles Last Stand intro-Zeppelin
    Gimme Three Steps, Don't Ask Me No Questions, Give Me Back My Bullets-Skynyrd
    Lifeless Dead-Mad Season
    Viscera Eyes, Goliath-The Mars Volta
    Sleeping Giant(just after 1:00), Colony of Birchmen-Mastodon
    Fade To Black(heavy outro), Master of Puppets, Wherever I May Roam-Metallica
    This Is Shangrila-MLB
    The Way That He Sings, One Big Holiday(when it really kicks in), Off the Record, Laylow, Aluminum Park-MMJ
    Why Go, Jeremy, Animal, Go, Glorified G, Not For You, Given To Fly, DTE, Faithfull(heavy part), MFC, Insignificance(prechorus)-PJ
    Judith, The Package(heavy part), Pet-APC
    Interstellar Overdrive, One of These Days, Money, Have A Cigar, In the Flesh, ABitW 2-Pink Floyd
    My Name Is Mud-Primus
    Keep Yourself Alive, Death On 2 Legs, Prophet's Song, Tie Your Mother Down, Under Pressure, Another One Bites the Dust-Queen
    3's and 7's-Queens of the Stone Age
    Salute Your Solution(just past 1:30)-Raconteurs
    Give It Away, Greeting Song, Can't Stop, Especially In Michigan-RHCP
    Working Man, Limelight, YYZ-Rush
    Siva, Zero-Smashing Pumpkins
    Outshined, Spoonman, Dusty-Soundgarden
    Dead and Bloated, Sex Type Thing, Meat Plow, Down-STP
    No One Loves Me Neither Do I, Gunman, Mind Eraser No Chaser, Elephants-Them Crooked Vultures
    Prison Sex, Bottom, Swamp Song, 46&2, Pushit, Aenema, Lateralus-Tool
    Dead Leaves and Dirty Ground, Ball and Biscuit, Blue Orchid-White Stripes
  • RB247657RB247657 Posts: 34
    Gotta be Working man-Rush. Electric and bass riffs. Metallica-One has to get a nod
  • Jason PJason P Posts: 19,160
    Good god, Dewie ... that's a big list!
    Be Excellent To Each Other
    Party On, Dudes!
  • g under pg under p Surfing The far side of THE Sombrero Galaxy Posts: 18,201
    edited August 2015
    Here's another...from ...

    DIO...In Dreams

    http://youtu.be/dlNqh52gcCM

    Peace
    Post edited by g under p on
    *We CAN bomb the World to pieces, but we CAN'T bomb it into PEACE*...Michael Franti

    *MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
    .....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti

    *The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)


  • pjamaholicpjamaholic Posts: 1,225
    nuffingman wrote:
    Stockholm Syndrome - Muse

    I second this. Plug-in Baby has a really good riff too.
  • g under pg under p Surfing The far side of THE Sombrero Galaxy Posts: 18,201
    Barracuda by Heart an easily identifiable riff.

    Peace
    *We CAN bomb the World to pieces, but we CAN'T bomb it into PEACE*...Michael Franti

    *MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
    .....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti

    *The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)


  • OGT92OGT92 Posts: 1,588
    Thirty Bills Unpaid wrote:
    The following three must be in the top 10:


    Sweet Leaf- Black Sabbath

    I would go with Under the Sun before Sweet Leaf, but that's just me.
    "I read about the evils of drinking, so I gave up reading." - Henry Youngman
  • JOEJOEJOEJOEJOEJOE Posts: 10,655
    edited February 2012
    Begin The Begin - REM
    Favorite Thing - The Replacements
    Can't Hardly Wait - The Replacements
    Little Mascara - The Replacements
    Left of the Dial - The Replacements
    White Girl - X
    Iron Maiden (the song) - Iron Maiden
    Breaking the Law - Judas Priest
    Sunday Morning - Wilco
    My War - Black Flag
    I Believe - REM
    Once - PJ
    SOLAT - PJ
    Spin the Black Circle - PJ

    way too many to ponder!
    Post edited by JOEJOEJOE on
  • dimitrispearljamdimitrispearljam Posts: 139,721
    Iron Butterfly – Inagadadavida

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIVe-rZB ... re=related
    "...Dimitri...He talks to me...'.."The Ghost of Greece..".
    "..That's One Happy Fuckin Ghost.."
    “..That came up on the Pillow Case...This is for the Greek, With Our Apologies.....”
  • BrainOfMABrainOfMA Posts: 553
    Don't forget Money - Pink Floyd
    2013 : London, Buffalo
    _____________________________
    It makes much more sense, to live
    In the present tense
  • g under pg under p Surfing The far side of THE Sombrero Galaxy Posts: 18,201
    edited August 2015
    Seek and Destroy....Metallica

    http://youtu.be/AgBDAqWaPrc

    Peace
    Post edited by g under p on
    *We CAN bomb the World to pieces, but we CAN'T bomb it into PEACE*...Michael Franti

    *MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
    .....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti

    *The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)


  • goldrushgoldrush everybody knows this is nowhere Posts: 7,606
    The first ones that spring to mind would be two of my favourite riffs:

    Kyle Petty, Son Of Richard - Soundgarden
    Third Man On The Moon - Masters Of Reality

    I think this one has been quite significant to most of us too...
    http://youtu.be/qM0zINtulhM
    “Do not postpone happiness”
    (Jeff Tweedy, Sydney 2007)

    “Put yer good money on the sunrise”
    (Tim Rogers)
  • rick1zoo2rick1zoo2 between a rock and a dumb place Posts: 12,632
    Sad But True - Metallica
  • PKTrekGirlPKTrekGirl Posts: 747
    There are tons of them. I'll try to keep it to one or two per band and spread it out over a few decades. Top 5 in bold and #1 indicated:

    Lady Madonna - The Beatles
    Can't Find My Way Home - Blind Faith
    Sympathy For The Devil - The Rolling Stones
    Kashmir - Led Zeppelin
    Brick House - The Commodores
    Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen
    #1 - Sultans of Swing - Dire Straits - I could listen to this song forever and never get tired of it - for me, the #1 riff in all of rock.
    Crazy Little Thing Called Love - Queen
    Every Little Thing She Does is Magic - The Police
    Wanted Dead Or Alive - Bon Jovi
    Panama - Van Halen
    Mysterious Ways - U2
    Touch of Grey - The Grateful Dead
    Love Shack - The B-52's
    It's The End of the World As We Know It - REM (REM is an awesome riff band)
    Man on the Moon - REM
    Poets - The Tragically Hip
    State of Love and Trust - Pearl Jam
    Porch - Pearl Jam
    Animal - Pearl Jam
    Would? - Alice In Chains
    Man in the Box - Alice in Chains
    Superhero - Jane's Addiction
    Short Skirt/Long Jacket - CAKE
    Loser - Beck
    Run to the Water - Live
    Pain Lies On The Riverside - Live
    Learn To Fly - Foo Fighters
    Epic - Faith No More
    Beast And the Harlot - Avenged Sevenfold
    Seize The Day - Avenged Sevenfold
    37 Stitches - Drowning Pool
    Starlight - Slash w/ Myles Kennedy

    Sultans of Swing - listen to this and tell me this is not one awesome riff:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2PCBx6s ... plpp_video
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