singemonkey wrote:
Grunge guitar reacted heavily against shred, so it's not surprising that he limited the number of notes he played per second. In fact he had a lot to say about that in interviews. But it was always clear that his chops were in another league compared to other "alternative" guitar players. Even though he didn't play fast it allowed him to do things that they wouldn't dare attempt. And you can hear it on those records. The speed wasn't there, but the confidence and the fretboard knowledge - as well as control over the vibrato arm - was.
I'm not sure I agree that he held back. Got Vieuphoria? That was around the second album, at the very height of both grunge and the Pumpkins' popularity, and he rips it up regularly (well, at the live shows, anyway. I think part of his concession to "alternative" was to obscure his speedier solos with swirling effects and gain overkill on the albums). Free of any grunge ethos by the time they toured South Africa, his solos weren't any faster or more extended; in fact they were more or less the same. Then again, Billy was always considered uncool by the grungest of the grunge, so I guess it makes sense that he didn't fit the mould. Although, weirdly, in the extras of Pink Floyd's Pulse DVD there's their induction into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, Corgan introduces the band and sits in on a performance of Wish You Were Here...and he sounds terribly amateurish and limited in that song.
And ja, I was completely blown away when I finally saw them live. I'd always thought James would've carried the more hectic solos, but Billy just stepped forward and made merry. Sheesh.
