Backspacer - Where are the riffs?

jonbond1779
jonbond1779 London, UK Posts: 1,642
edited September 2009 in The Porch
Anyone else noticed that there are no riffs on this album!! WTF????
"Bring it back, to the clean form. To the pure form"

28/09/04 - Boston, 20/04/06 - London [\\mm//Astoria\\mm//] - 18/06/07 - Wembley Arena, 11/08/09 -  London [\\mm//Shepherds Bush Empire\\mm//],18/08/09 - 02 Arena, 25/06/10 - Hyde Park, 26/06/12 - Amsterdam, 27/06/12 - Amsterdam, 08/07/14 - Leeds,11/07/14 - Milton Keynes, 13/06/18 - Amsterdam, 18/06/18 - London 02 Arena, 17/07/18 - London 02 Arena, 08/08/22 - Hyde Park, 9/08/22 - Hyde Park - 25/08/22 - Amsterdam.
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  • cippociappo
    cippociappo Posts: 692
    I hear them clearly.

    Mmm.. Supersonic? Force of Nature?
    Johnny Guitar?
    The Fixer?

    ... :shock:
    Makes me ache, makes me shake...
    ...is it so wrong to think that love can keep us safe?
  • imissyoualready
    imissyoualready Posts: 438
    jonbond1779 wrote:
    Anyone else noticed that there are no riffs on this album!! WTF????

    are you serious? do you know what a riff is?
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  • cannotstaylong
    cannotstaylong Posts: 668
    jonbond1779 wrote:
    Anyone else noticed that there are no riffs on this album!! WTF????

    I think you may be a bit fuzzy on the definition of "riffs." I think there are plenty on this album.
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  • Zidane
    Zidane Ottawa Posts: 362
    And the answer is... Who cares!
    You're not what you own - Ian MacKaye, Fugazi

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  • 1STmammal2wearPants
    1STmammal2wearPants Worcester, MA Posts: 3,009
    probably solos he means. there aren't many at all, save for 'amongst the waves.'
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  • G Force
    G Force Posts: 1,393
    Yeah... definately not many solos. Was Ed just blowing smoke up our asses in that interview with Matt where he says Mike has some of his best solos on this album? Really Ed? Where?
  • Mortality
    Mortality Posts: 156
    TipJammer wrote:
    Yeah... definately not many solos. Was Ed just blowing smoke up our asses in that interview with Matt where he says Mike has some of his best solos on this album? Really Ed? Where?

    He changed that to best "patterns" he has ever done. If you listen closely you can hear them throughout the verses. I like his little pattern in supersonic, sounds like its from the wild west.
  • 1STmammal2wearPants
    1STmammal2wearPants Worcester, MA Posts: 3,009
    TipJammer wrote:
    Yeah... definately not many solos. Was Ed just blowing smoke up our asses in that interview with Matt where he says Mike has some of his best solos on this album? Really Ed? Where?

    personally, i think mike was in the bahamas during the recording of the album........
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    2008 Bonnaroo, Hartford, Mansfield I 
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  • G Force
    G Force Posts: 1,393
    Mortality wrote:
    TipJammer wrote:
    Yeah... definately not many solos. Was Ed just blowing smoke up our asses in that interview with Matt where he says Mike has some of his best solos on this album? Really Ed? Where?

    He changed that to best "patterns" he has ever done. If you listen closely you can hear them throughout the verses. I like his little pattern in supersonic, sounds like its from the wild west.

    Gotcha. Well... I could go for some more solos. I like what we get in Amongst the Waves but even that could have been longer.

    I'm going to make this my last complaint about length... but its really the only problem with the album and one I think they could have easily overcome... Just give us more. We love you... give us longer songs. Johnny Guitar to me seems to end at the half way point. How about a wild Matt Camera drum bonanza. Take a page out of Jack Irons book and gimme a track that's a red dot... Something... Filler is cool with me. I just wanna be able to knock out 60 miles on the freeway listening to one album.
  • DeLukin
    DeLukin Posts: 2,757
    I just listened to Avocado after spinning Bacspacer constantly all weekend and I'm not sure if it's the production or what but Avocado does seem to rock a little harder. More hooks/riffs/licks,etc, more Mike, more Jeff, and the guitars are constantly in your face. Backspacer seems to put Ed in your face. Which is good, don't get me wrong, but I can see what the OP was getting at when he mentioned an absence of 'riffs'. Not sure better/worse is a fair comparison, but in the OPs defense Backspacer definitely seems to be less riff-rocky than Avocado.
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  • DewieCox
    DewieCox Posts: 11,432
    What about the fuzztastic solo in Supersonic? The classic toned licks of Amongst the Waves?

    Their albums have been pretty short on solos since 1994.

    I don't hear many riffs, either, but there is plenty of Mike here.
  • corduroykelly
    corduroykelly Posts: 668
    If you don't hear any riffs maybe you don't know what they are?
  • jonbond1779
    jonbond1779 London, UK Posts: 1,642
    I think I caused confusion here...

    When I say riffs I mean the distinctive melodic figure that runs throughout the song..like, Jeremy, Alive, In Hiding, Given to Fly, Leash, Yellow Ledbetter, Corduroy and so on....

    Its just that Backspacer (with the expection of the ballads) has no real memorable riffs or hooks...Dont get me wrong, I think its a great album and Im so happy we have more PJ to add to our collections but the songs seem to basic!
    "Bring it back, to the clean form. To the pure form"

    28/09/04 - Boston, 20/04/06 - London [\\mm//Astoria\\mm//] - 18/06/07 - Wembley Arena, 11/08/09 -  London [\\mm//Shepherds Bush Empire\\mm//],18/08/09 - 02 Arena, 25/06/10 - Hyde Park, 26/06/12 - Amsterdam, 27/06/12 - Amsterdam, 08/07/14 - Leeds,11/07/14 - Milton Keynes, 13/06/18 - Amsterdam, 18/06/18 - London 02 Arena, 17/07/18 - London 02 Arena, 08/08/22 - Hyde Park, 9/08/22 - Hyde Park - 25/08/22 - Amsterdam.
  • TT8270
    TT8270 Posts: 429
    jonbond1779 wrote:
    Anyone else noticed that there are no riffs on this album!! WTF????

    Yep. They're in Stone's pocket which Ed has ordered to keep closed.
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  • Kinsey
    Kinsey Posts: 197
    DewieCox wrote:
    Their albums have been pretty short on solos since 1994.
    I don't hear many riffs, either, but there is plenty of Mike here.

    That is one of the most intelligent things I've read here in a long time. I keep seeing posts bemoaning the lack of Mike solos - Vs was the last album where Mike was regularly set up to let rip. Since then he has usually coloured songs rather than led them, or added solos to live versions, like Corduroy. Backspacer is no different, but does feature one of his best ever on Amongst The Waves.

    Backspacer has plenty of distinctive riffs, melodies, whatever you want to call them.
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  • DewieCox
    DewieCox Posts: 11,432
    corduroykelly wrote:
    If you don't hear any riffs maybe you don't know what they are?

    If you do, maybe you don't.

    There are a few minor rifflets, but nothing that just screams RRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIFFFFF!!!!!!!, like the old days.
  • TMudrick
    TMudrick Posts: 267
    I agree with the OP here. Its not a bad thing...However, I was wondering myself where are the hard rockin riffs a la DTE, Alive, RVM?...This album is very power chord heavy and leans to the punk genre. Being a musician, picking up the chord progression is very simple on this record. Heck, I can listen to the album with a guitar in hand and play every single song because its just simple chord progression after simple chord progression...There really aren't any "riffs" on this record just melodies and chord arrangments.
  • imissyoualready
    imissyoualready Posts: 438
    jonbond1779 wrote:
    I think I caused confusion here...

    When I say riffs I mean the distinctive melodic figure that runs throughout the song..like, Jeremy, Alive, In Hiding, Given to Fly, Leash, Yellow Ledbetter, Corduroy and so on....

    Its just that Backspacer (with the expection of the ballads) has no real memorable riffs or hooks...Dont get me wrong, I think its a great album and Im so happy we have more PJ to add to our collections but the songs seem to basic!

    Oh man. I'm gonna leave this alone.....no i'm not. In hiding does not have riffs, a "hook" is usually a catchy chorus that tends major as opposed to minor and this album is clearly full of those (8 out of 11 songs have a clear hook.....SOME HAVE 2 different kinds of hook). I'll give you that the songs are basic in structure but the individual parts are not basic at all. I think we know what you basically mean but you might want to brush up on your garage band jargon.
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  • imissyoualready
    imissyoualready Posts: 438
    TM248419 wrote:
    I agree with the OP here. Its not a bad thing...However, I was wondering myself where are the hard rockin riffs a la DTE, Alive, RVM?...This album is very power chord heavy and leans to the punk genre. Being a musician, picking up the chord progression is very simple on this record. Heck, I can listen to the album with a guitar in hand and play every single song because its just simple chord progression after simple chord progression...There really aren't any "riffs" on this record just melodies and chord arrangments.

    Oh man......the chord progressions are pretty easy to figure out, i'll give you that. But how long do you think it would take you to figure out each guitar part. There's a lot of neat stuff in there and it's not super easy stuff that they're doing there.
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    Washington D.C. '04, London '05,Hamilton '05,Grand Rapids '06,
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    NYC '08, NYC '08, Chicago '09, Chicago '09, ACL '09, Columbus 2010, Noblesville 2010, Cleveland 2010, Buffalo 2010.
  • Fahka
    Fahka Posts: 3,183
    jonbond1779 wrote:
    I think I caused confusion here...

    When I say riffs I mean the distinctive melodic figure that runs throughout the song..like, Jeremy, Alive, In Hiding, Given to Fly, Leash, Yellow Ledbetter, Corduroy and so on....

    Its just that Backspacer (with the expection of the ballads) has no real memorable riffs or hooks...Dont get me wrong, I think its a great album and Im so happy we have more PJ to add to our collections but the songs seem to basic!

    Maybe stone jut got preoccupied with Hank songs?? :mrgreen:
    I think you more so mean "licks" Any song with guitar in it has a riff..... I know what you are saying but riff is generalizing it to much.. I think this album was definitely lacking powerful lead and yes, stone usually offers more "defining" licks that kind of separate the songs from each other..

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