I've been friends with Vernon since high school and been his guitar tech from 1985 through 1989 and again from 2001 through 2016. His background as a guitarist includes free jazz and harmolodics, which was conceptualized by Ornette Coleman. It can range from blues to chromatics to dissonance, all in one passage. Sometimes it's called playing "out", because there are times when you play outside of the key. It's more noticeable in Avant-garde music. Of course, he can play "in" as well, but a lot of his influences played that way. Oh, and if you're wondering, the solo was without edits and the second take...
Thanks for saying this, I was gonna comment about Vernon's jazz background and playing "out" to build tension, but you beat me to it. Even in the crazy parts he's still landing on chord tones. Anyone who ever dug Coltrane will be able to appreciate it.
@@HHGary I was also going to say the same thing! It's like he brought a bit of free jazz/skronk into hard rock. It's not *supposed* to played note for note by anyone else. It's supposed to be a moment in time that can never be exactly recreated by the man himself or by any of us, his legion of admirers. It's about the energy and abandon, not about perfect time, perfect note choice, perfect execution. It's about the moment--just go for it!
have you guys heard the outro to money talks of their biscuits ep japanese import? the whole band falls apart, then this bass line picks up and it all sort of falls back together again lol.
This solo inspired me. Seeing other black men rocking out like that made me want to shred even more!!!!! Here's to the black rockers out there. Mr.Reid is an amazing guy, and great to talk to.
@MVia so are you saying Vernon Reid is a hack? A hack who has not been around as long as McAlpine? I got no problem with McAlpine, but Vernon Reid was around a good bit before Tony McAlpine, and he is way better in my opinion. Whatever man, I guess you can have any stupid opinion you want, but you are pushing the edge of stupidity here. Not to mention that rock was pretty much invented by black guys, so it is only hard to find good black guitar players if you aren't looking.
Vernon Reid rules! He also started The Black Rock Coalition- to promote other amazing artists. Reid is a genius (my opinion). There's some jams with Ronnie Drayton on youtube that are really great too. As well as Veenons' exceptionally rad work with The Decoding Society. For me he's like the Coltrane of rock guitar. Pete Cosey & Sonny Sharrock are really mindblowing for inspirarion (if you haven't come across them already- And yeh there are heaps more artists other's have listed). Yeh he is still one of my greatest inapirations to rock out too.
@@Lordofthereee_ Except that Slayer solos really ARE nonsense when it comes to music theory. King and Haneman don't/didn't know any scales or modes, and just played random stuff with their fingers. Also, they were able to replicate their solos because, guess what, they ended up learning and memorizing them after recording. Dave Mustaine was the same (before his hands got messed up and he had to relearn the guitar and took up lessons), but he was at least aware of notes that worked, unlike both Slayer guitarists.
@@Incog2k6 Jeff and Kerry had some good solo work on Seasons. It showed a solid sense of scale knowledge and theory, and had plenty of melody. South of Heaven was pretty good in the solo department, as well. The majority of their leads were nonsense, though, but sometimes that was fun.
According to an interview I read with Vernon when the reissued Vivid about 10 years ago; he said that he had a completely different solo planned for Cult Of Personality than what appeared on the record. The thing was is that it he couldn't get it to vibe with the rest of the song. After what probably felt like the 1 Millionth take the producer finally told him to just just turn his brain off and play. So all of those sporadic bursts are just a product of his frustration boiling over. This just happened to fit the vibe perfectly for the record and it was completely improvised. If you see him play it live, it never comes out the same way twice. It was a perfect moment in time captured on tape.
Kinda reminds me of the story behind the guitar in “Creep” by Radiohead. Johnny Greenwood hated the song and would just sporadicly and aggressively played the loud “chug chug” to ruin it. And that part made him a guitar god 🤣
Stewart Copeland said the same about his drums. He said in the studio he never played a police song the same way twice, and the versions that ended up on the albums he would then have to learn because they’re so iconic and people would expect him to play the parts that way from then on…
I also read in an article that the producer called the first take a keeper, but Vernon wanted another try. The second take is the one on the record he says.
I tried the "I'm just gonna play in this area and go crazy" approach, and my girlfriend left me, police were called, and the dog is still hiding somewhere.
I love this solo. It isn't just like tasteless shredding, it is like he intentionally tried to make the most insane, incomprehensible solo of all time and it worked and is what makes it so good
Agreed. Some Slayer solos are sonic chaos, but they fit the overall mood & vibe of the song. I think that's intentional and brilliantly executed, like Reid's solo.
Yeah you right! Just trying to play the riff... (which there is footage of him playing it 2 separate ways and not remembering the exact way that he recorded it!) is a mind-f*ck! So from that idea of him being that talented should be able to tell the average guitarist that he’s not playing around! Right?
Vernon Reid is more than capable of playing lyrically as well. I think he's mentioned that the crazy stuff he plays is more derivative of avant jazz players like John McLaughlin.
Yeah, the same accusation use to be leveled at Greg Ginn, except if you compare the studio stuff to live, it is note for note (also a devotee of McLaughlin). Check out Living Colour's live performances. It seems to be a direct translation.
Except John McLaughlin is not sloppy at all. His articulation and note-to-pick accuracy was always dead on. Each note rings through perfectly and never sounds muted. McLaughlin is a true virtuoso.
He was known for sacrificing some accuracy for speed but this is one of my favorite songs from them. I was a teenager when it came out and guitar player had the tab so I was able to learn the main riff but I never even tried the solo.
To be fair, I've seen a couple of live clips where he's playing *insanely* clean (sadly can't remember which ones, but it was impressive enough to stick with me), enough to make me think it's intentional.
Vernon Reid comes from a free jazz background so his approach is a bit different than the average hard rock guitarist. His first major professional gig was with Ronald Shannon Jackson's Decoding Society and he's just as influenced by Sonny Sharrock and James Blood Ulmer as he is Jimi Hemdrix, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Carlos Santana or Eddy Van Halen.
One thing I've seen in my lifetime is a lot of guitarist improvise their solo (or not play it how it's played on the album). Even when the solo is sloppy I've seen them rip the same sloppiness Note for note. It's also cool when they add a few extra notes then what is hurt on there and I've heard people like Ace Frehley Eddie Van Halen, Randy Rhoads, and Vernon Reid do the same thing, can sometimes it sounds better live then it was way it was played on the album.
Vernon Reid studied with Ornette Coleman, who pretty much invented the harmolodic concept. He knew exactly what he was doing. The solo is supposed to be at least partly noise (an artful statement regarding a cult of personality).
I am very much in the Reid and his solo in "Cult of Personality" are brilliant camp. Though I am unable to find it online, in an old interview around the time of Living Colour's second album TIME'S UP, Reid explained the concept behind many of his solos as being to improvise a stream of cogent ideas at high speeds in which the ideas come one after the other. He believed he achieved this in the solos to such songs as "Cult of Personality, Information Overload," and "This Is Life." He acknowledged that there are those that could play faster and cleaner, and that he -- himself -- could clean it up and just play composed material, but that he wouldn't have the same access to the ideas and emotions found in his more cathartic method of controlled chaos. It adds a beautiful element of danger and discovery.
Vernon is such an underrated guitar player. His solo in cult of personality has to be my favorite from him, and was an indicator of pushing the boundaries of the sounds and uses of Guitar at the time!
Who gives a fuck about these fictitious "ratings"? That is such a bullshit elitist thing to say, as if you are smarter than all these so-called "raters" (who don't exist). Music is not a competitive sport, it is a mode of expression.
I saw him play live many times and were allvery small venues (I live in a small third world city), so I was literally in front of him, and I know he can play at that speeds fully in control, the guy is a freak and one of a kind like Gambale or Holdsowrth, never seen anyone else play in that style, he truly is comfortable at that speeds. He doesnt try to do note for note replicas when playing live, he improvises a lot but still goes crazy. Off course now is not so precise like he was 20/30 years ago but its still damn close. Theres no random sloppy playing in his solos trust me.
Vernon Reid made his bones playing free jazz. That's the spirit he goes into solos with. Make something in the moment. Have an idea of what you want to do, forget it, and play something. The ideas are all extended phrasing. The fast notes are a wash of color to express a feeling without words.
Vernon Reid has been panned as being a sloppy guitarist but he knows exactly what he's doing and played the "Cult of Personality" solo exactly as he intended to: raunchy. Vernon, formerly of the jazz-rock group The Decoding Society, already had a Bachelor's degree in music by the time he formed Living Colour. Living Colour songs such as "Solace In You," which captured a West African highlife sound, shows he's just fine playing cleanly.
Same thing for me. I’ve always thought it’s a vertical block of sound for an emotion (sounds like the middle finger to me) without an attempt to create a linear melody. It’s brilliant.
You win a prize!... I clearly remember a Vernon Reid interview (in Guitar Player magazine I think) in which he specifically referenced the influence of Coltrane's Giant Steps record on his soloing. Reid was not everyone's cup of tea as a player, but I don't think there were any accidents in his playing, only choices that he made. It is perfectly reasonable for someone to not agree with them, but lack of ability or musical knowledge were certainly not factors in them.
With the jazz background of Vernon Reid, I think that your interpretation, the Pollock style, is right. Love this and this solo also blew my mind when I was young. The whole song is a master piece.
the problem is that all he does is improv, and its exactly the same improv every time. there's no actual creativity to it at all. It borders on being like that one dude who used to be so fast and had a stroke or whatever back in the day. It's just, meaningless nonsense. That's good for one song. But after that, you gotta do something else
Rick Kelley I’m not sure if you’re talking about Jason Becker or not? - he got ALs (Lou Gehrig’s disease). But if so I think you should look up him playing again. He played Paganini, Bach, His own musings, etc. he was very fast, yes - but also very accurate and articulate. He is to sweeping what EVH is to tapping.
Rick Kelley but if your general meaning is that playing random (or seemingly random) gibberish super fast isn’t good for every song - even for people that like very fast sweeping or whatever - then I definitely agree.
Points of reference for this solo: intervallic concepts/playing of Arthur Rhames, Joe Diorio, and Eric Dolphy. Ornette Coleman's Harmolodics concept, Coltrane's "sheets of sound" concept, Jimi Hendrix exploratory side found in "Machine Gun" and the live "Star Spangled Banner" (he did record a studio version that is very much a different thing), the conceptual breakthrough of Jackson Pollock's paintings -- all built off of a base technique similar to that of George Benson.
ever since i’ve started playing guitar, this song always made me go like “is this good or bad?” now that you’ve made this video, i feel better that i’m not alone
I grew up in the era when this came out & Living Colour's sound & look stood well away from any other metal or rock band at the time. We all loved this solo back then because it was so off the wall, weird, & crazy sounding! We finally just quit trying to wrap our heads so tight around the mystery & sheer spontaneity of it to finally just settle to enjoy it while agreeing that like Hendrix he could NEVER replicate it the same way twice (which was shown confirmed from every live performance of the song). We all knew that it didn't exactly rise to the technical greatness of the contemporaries of that time like the clean chops of Nuno Bettencourt or the precision of Malmsteen, Satch or Vai. Yet we DID respect & dig the artistic vision that Vernon Reid was painting on his own personal sonic tapestry. His eclectic noisy fuzz static tone was given a pass by me at the time because it separated him from all of the other players even though he was using the same ADA MP1 preamp that they were. I always knew he was influenced by players like Hendrix, Santana, & Eddie Hazel anyway so it didn't bother me so much. Today though after having played guitar for over 20 years & having purchased his solo albums, I have to say that his whole approach to playing is an act of chaotic serendipity. Which I can respect from an artistic standpoint but the thing that bothers me most is that his rig is the biggest & most complex rig on the planet!!!! It's full of enough pedals, processors, & synths to rival the Edge's setup from U2, but for ALL that spectrum of sound at his fingertips his tone in & of itself is (if we can be honest) is total crap!! It is not something I can overlook in his playing anymore & ALL of his soloing is always very similar to the one here in Cult of Personality. As a matter of fact the entirety of his instrumental albums were like an extended version of this one solo & just a big hot mess! All of his note choices & tone are always the same! He is sloppy & in all actuality not a very good player. I think he is extremely overrated. All this being said Living Colour as a unit is a FANTASTICALLY original & legendary groundbreaking band that I give much respect to.
Well, anyone who has followed his career through the years, with LC and long before that, which would include his tenure with Ronald Shannon Jackson, among many others, knows he's a master of improvisation. I obviously couldn't tell you whether or not he's composed any of his solos (doubtful), but I do know that every time (and there are many) I've seen him perform with LC, he's never played the same solo twice in any of their songs. And for me personally, that's one of many things I love about his playing and is why I keep coming back for more. So in other words, I think it's safe to say, this particular solo is just simply improvised and IMO, absolutely compliments the song perfectly. I mean, for anyone to write it off as being nothing more than "mindless garbage" is kind of missing the point. I mean, it's not like he's soloing over several complex changes, it's just straight up hellified rock and roll. So again, with this particular song, section, moment, Vernon's unbridled and chaotic solo works beautifully and is totally apt. In contrast, check out his stellar solo on "Undercover Of Darkness", which is really uniquely forward-thinking, as is the song itself. What he's soloing over in that song is not even really well defined, as far as changes but impressively, he manages to outline or suggest changes that you really don't hear otherwise. But yeah, love him or hate him, Vernon is absolutely a master and certainly does not get the credit he deserves. i.e SUPREMELY underrated ad under appreciated.
+1 on Undercover of Darkness and making you hear those changes, it's a thing of beauty. His solo on a cover of Enjoy the Silence on one of the Masque records does the same thing.
I've always thought it was kinda sloppy but musically it fits the chaos of the song so it is actually pretty genius if you really think about it. Maybe he just let it rip for the song and made it fit.
His solo literally explodes! out of an already powerful rock riff. I saw this band play in St Louis before they were famous. Holy Schnikeys were they beyond good. A year later they came back, but they were now opening for The Rolling Stones at Busch stadium, and I couldn’t afford to go. This guitar player knew exactly what he was doing. He is a master of the instrument.
It's pretty wild, crazy, a boom blasts in your face, wild all over... But at the same time, the craziness of it is the spice of the song. It just adds a flavour that cannot be done by any other thing...The first time i heard the lead solo of this song, I thought -WHAT THE HELL?. . He uses pentatonics, tremolos, harmonics,.. He is creative to do it in a way that can bring out that craziness that he wants to deliver. And he nailed it completely. It complements the main riff of the song,together with the other instruments as well as the vocals. The drums are also very well played.. The overall beat is just superb. I think he did the craziness intentionally, that is why it just not only fits the song but really compliment it in a way that was not expected. Great solo.
This solo totally shook people up in a new way just as eruption did, or anything by Hendrix back in that day. It expanded how people perceived what the guitar could be. That was the mission. Mission accomplished. So hell yeah it was art.
I think if you're covering this at a gig it'd probably one of the easiest solos to just improvise as long as you can manage fast pull offs, triplets, some pinch harmonics and a little whammy. Keep it in key and the audience wouldn't know the difference...
I met Vernon a few years ago in Hamilton Ontario. He was in a band with my drummers drum teacher and I got to be his roady for a night pretty much. I will tell you this. This man is a genius. Every note in that solo was put in there with intent. So educated when he spoke. When I looked at the sheet music he was playing that night (he was playing with a jazz band) my jaw dropped. Extremely underestimated guitarist.
Guitar for the Practicing Musician did an interview with him, and had the transcription to this song back in the November '89 issue. In the interview Reed said that he has no idea what he played, and never plays it the same in shows. According to him he just went into the studio and started shredding. If I remember correctly in the transcriptions when you reach the solo it's blank and just says "Play what ever you want".
I love how this channel introduces me to so many cool new things and gets me hyped for learning new techniques. Thanks to everyone at the channel for taking the time to put out such inspiring content.
I first heard an excerpt from this song from a playable vinyl tear out from guitar magazine. They called the main riff Zeppelin like, but I didn't think so. There was energy in places where Zeppelin had a drunken feel. The solo always felt like it exactly fit though. It just doesn't feel even slightly out of place in a song that has the music frequently interrupted by or distorted by outside noise (in the form of historic speeches). I vote Vernon did it intentionally, and was not just covering for a lack of some sort.
Thanks for the video on this solo. I tried to learn this song and I just was not skilled enough so I backed off. But when I slowed the solo down with my computer's playback, I heard beautiful singing tone (at least to my ears) and some really long nice lines. I am planning to go back to it one day. When I do, I plan to break the entire solo down into separate written out long phrases that I will practice until I can get them up to speed. I think that even if I can't get it up to speed, it is a solo I will enjoy playing at half speed because some of the lines were so tasty IMHO.
I went from loving it as a kid, to hating it when I started playing guitar and exploring "better" music as a teenager. I thought it was terrible and had no real form to it. Once I got over myself and learned to appreciate more styles of music (especially more free-form jazz and blues) I came full circle.
I think he's just letting the feels out and having a good time which I totally respect. I usually listen to Shawn Lane, Jason Becker and buckethead when I want a shred fix. Vernon may not be in their league but he's a very important guitar player to learn from.
I've seen some early footage of Vernon playing in an improv jazz band, sort of the same thing he does in this and a lot of his creations. He masters controlled chaos with so much passion and follows it up with killer riffs. The whole band explores places in music untouched by most artists. Especially live, sometimes it misses but when it hits, aural bliss on a new plane
It's funny you compared the solo to a Jackson Pollock painting, because while those paintings seem to be just random splatters, they actually form fractals (which is nuts). That seems a rather apt comparison--an artist's seemingly random choices coming together to actually have a sort of internal logic and form, a sort of messy beauty. Also "Cult of Personality" fucking slaps.
I remember an old "Guitar Player" magazine interview where Vernon Reid said his solos are sometimes based on geometric shapes or patterns along the neck. So the Jackson Pollock analogy is spot on. He seems more interested in the vibe or groove than the structure.
Saw them live a few months ago and I just stood the entire time mouth open utterly amazed by how tight and insanely good they all were. Vernon definitely can play perfect when he wants to but I’ve always thought exactly the same thing: the solos are often messy and all over the place (there are times I think he is almost spamming notes) and for me sometimes it works and other times not
It's a good solo. I think it's intended to be very spontaneous. Also I love when he hits those bends and the tapping with the whammy bar. It's a cool solo for sure. There is some tasteful stuff in there during the slower parts.
Have seen them live several times, solo is never the same twice. It’s like he is trying to out do himself on the speed in which he plows through that scale in every performance, with only a few set points.. hitting pinches and a couple harmonics to keep the overall structure similar to the album version.? IDK, just how it seems to me.
I remember an interview Vernon did with Guitar Player magazine when their debut album came out, and he stated that one of his biggest influences was the avant-garde jazz horn player Ornette Coleman and Coleman’s improv concept of Harmolodics. If I understand correctly, Coleman’s ideas pushed the boundaries of playing outside and often flirted with atonality. Just my takeaway, but I think that is what Vernon was going for in the solo, particularly the busier measures, Might have to find some live videos of Personality, but my hunch is Mr. Reid can play it identically as many times out of 100 as he chooses to! The solo may have been improvised, but those licks are thought out and have a basic (though tricky to play) rhythmic motif.
I used to think that solo was all over the place but its grown on me over the years. He goes crazy for a bit but i love how it eventually gets back on track and ties up nicely. Plus the breakdown right after the solo is epic so it pays off in the end.
First comment I guess! I think the craziness of the solo is definitely fitting for the song. I agree with you on the whole abstract art comparison for sure!
They said the same things about all the 'original' and innovative guitarist...They said Wes Montgomery style was strange because he played with his thump...they said Jimi Hendrix style was strange because he played upside down....and on and on.....Vernon Reid? It's his style. He is not only a guitarist like millions of others, but he is an artist which most guitarists are not because, well they have no original style. Proof? Then why are we here??
Living Colour is one of the few 80’s bands that sounds exactly the same now as they did back then. These dudes are in their 60’s and are still killing it
Vernon Reid was responsible for the first time my love of heavy rock and metal being accepted among my family. As a black x gen kid i was more of an outcast than most heavy metal fans. For that alone this will always be my all time favorite solo.
One of my favorite songs of all-time. Vernon's solo made me cry because it is drenched with emotion, just like Mike McCourt says below in his comment -- Vernon's solo is in compliment to/in keeping with the song's lyrical content. Vernon's performance/solo in "Cult of Personality" is not merely "just getting lucky" nor is it simply "aural diarrhea" (just playing indiscriminate notes 10,000 miles per second such as many "heavy metal shredders" tend to do). It is a very well-thought out performance/solo, beginning with its G-Dorian riff, later evolving to "Chuck Berry-thirds" near the end. Vernon has also spoken about the late guitarist Arthur Rhames, as a musical influence. When you listen to Corey sing "Cult of Personality" you completely feel and understand the words/lyrics. Who would ever think to put "Mussolini" and "Kennedy" or "Joseph Stalin" and "Gandhi" in the same sentence -- but Living Colour's "Cult of Personality" is about that very essence: demagogues (Mussolini-Stalin) versus inspirational leaders (Kennedy-Gandhi). Vernon's solo serves the song's conceptual basis very well.
Well here’s my two cents… this song hit like a year or so before grunge hit. To understand what he is doing you might have to understand the context in which he was doing it. When this song came out rock and metal had progressed so far and had become so incredibly technical and difficult to play that very few people could compete with the technical leaders at the time. I think there was a sense of frustration and a sense that the music was getting played out because of this. I think the solo was meant to show that frustration, at least that’s how I felt about it at the time. As a guitar player myself his frustration came off more like discouragement, and giving up than inspiration, so I never really cared for it much. Grunge picked up on that same frustration but I think channeled it in a much more musical way that completely connected with American genXer’s at the time, including myself. Not saying I liked grunge more than what was before, In fact I like it less, BUT it absolutely connected with a pure energy that I have never seen in music before. It was incredibly pure and powerful at the time... for like a year or two lol! So that’s my basic interpretation, he was picking up on something you could feel in the air, a feeling that the Mere mortals that existed back then could no longer compete and progress rock and metal music the way it was so subconsciously it was getting ready to be thrown out.
Man I couldn't disagree more. I found this music borne of inspiration, optimism, creativity and pure energy. No discouragement to be found. None of this "we can't compete." I mean, do you hear the riff? I think you're projecting something onto the music that isn't there.
@@harrodsongs Of course it's projection, but it's also connecting. Maybe the guitarist was feeling what he was feeling, maybe not but I definitely connect with what he's saying having been down the route as a guitarist. This isn't saying it's shit, quite the opposite.
Even Jimi Hendrix and Randy Rhoads would have been floored by this solo AND the song itself too no doubt. The timing of that final unleashing of that moment of euphoric emotion expertly adorned into the solo that even the bass line complements Perfectly and glides along with is Phenomenally AWESOME to the point of being Otherworldly. It's one of the BEST moments EVER RECORDED in musical history: Timelessly Iconic and Triumphant.
The solo is chaotic and nuts but it is a work of art I’ve always loved this song because not just the guitar work but because of what the song is and says as a whole. And if you think about it the solo is not just a song within the song but it’s also saying how crazy and chaotic the world is and it’s heading for a crash course no matter how hard we try to prevent it. Put simply it’s brilliant chaos that has a lot to say which was also the point of the entire song
I think in that day it was the times of the 'guitar gods' and Vernon just wanted to leave his mark on the genre and leave his mark he did with the solo. beautiful chaos.
This solo feels like somebody is screaming at me in a foreign language. It's obvious that he's very passionate about what he's saying but I have no idea what it means.
Lol... that solo... man! I started playing guitar in 1987, a year before that song came out. By the time I heard "Cult of Personality", I was able to play the solo from "Panama" and most of the solo from "Sweet Child". Those solos made sense to me. Vernon's sounded chaotic similar to Vinnie Vincent's playing. I didn't bother learning it. When playing it at gigs, I just went nuts at the 15th fret and called it a day....lol... I don't think Vernon ever played it the same each time. I wouldn't say whether it's brilliant or terrible. I say it's all rock 'n' roll, baby! ROCK ON!!! That song is in my Gym Playlist 'til this day.
You hit the nail on the head. Ive always said he must have picked a position on the neck and just to play so fast that it sounds outside. All his live solos for the song are different so I guess that is helping to confirm my suspicions
One of the greatest rock solos of all time. Pure, unleashed expression. It's a huge ball of anger, frustration, and aggression. Then you get that chaotic melodic section that rolls right into more aggression. It's perfect, and fits the song to a T.
I totally nderstand what you mean I felt the same way BITD when this came out and I got the disc....I think it is because it is just not the solo you expect to hear in that song at first it is off the fukin chain tons of energy and aggro ..BUT.....if you stop thinkin' about it and let it flow a few times it settles in and fits the song and album perfectly..
It's brilliant. It captures everything that rock and roll should be. It's intense and fits the intensity of the song. Quoting Dopamine here. "Brilliant, because chaos under the right conditions is beautiful."
Going off-piste is what makes players like Vernon Reid shine out in the darkness that is most 'shredding' to me. Some artists realize early that all the interesting shit happens right on the edge.
As a Nirvana fan of 30 years, I love controlled noise. To me, that's what Vernon's solo was here; very well-controlled noise. Vernon's noise is just really, really fast noodling with some good riffs thrown in to break up the noise; kind of like a radio tuner finding a station as the dial is turned.
![Rig Rundown - Living Colour Vernon Reid & Doug Wimbish [2016]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/vtHd2v9YiEA/mqdefault.jpg)
![Rig Rundown - Living Colour Vernon Reid & Doug Wimbish [2016]](/img/tr.png)
I've been friends with Vernon since high school and been his guitar tech from 1985 through 1989 and again from 2001 through 2016. His background as a guitarist includes free jazz and harmolodics, which was conceptualized by Ornette Coleman. It can range from blues to chromatics to dissonance, all in one passage. Sometimes it's called playing "out", because there are times when you play outside of the key. It's more noticeable in Avant-garde music. Of course, he can play "in" as well, but a lot of his influences played that way. Oh, and if you're wondering, the solo was without edits and the second take...
Awesome - thanks for that insight
Thanks for saying this, I was gonna comment about Vernon's jazz background and playing "out" to build tension, but you beat me to it. Even in the crazy parts he's still landing on chord tones. Anyone who ever dug Coltrane will be able to appreciate it.
@@HHGary I was also going to say the same thing! It's like he brought a bit of free jazz/skronk into hard rock. It's not *supposed* to played note for note by anyone else. It's supposed to be a moment in time that can never be exactly recreated by the man himself or by any of us, his legion of admirers. It's about the energy and abandon, not about perfect time, perfect note choice, perfect execution. It's about the moment--just go for it!
I loved that jazz influence in early in the band. Loved muzz Skilling's bass playing and his vocals
Dustman, thats cool as hell that you've been buddies since h.s.!! 🤟
Vernon Reid is never mindless. He’s one of the most underrated guitarists in rock. That solo is wild, on the edge, but he never loses control of it.
He's kind of teetering on the edge of chaos then suddenly reining it back in. That's what makes it so exhilarating.
Agreed! Not out of control. When he plays it live it’s true to the album
have you guys heard the outro to money talks of their biscuits ep japanese import? the whole band falls apart, then this bass line picks up and it all sort of falls back together again lol.
He's kinda not a rock guitarist. He is a jazz fusion guy who happens to play in a rock band
"...on the edge, but he never loses control of it."
man i loved the way you put it
This solo inspired me. Seeing other black men rocking out like that made me want to shred even more!!!!! Here's to the black rockers out there. Mr.Reid is an amazing guy, and great to talk to.
@MVia what about Hendrix?????
@MVia so are you saying Vernon Reid is a hack? A hack who has not been around as long as McAlpine?
I got no problem with McAlpine, but Vernon Reid was around a good bit before Tony McAlpine, and he is way better in my opinion.
Whatever man, I guess you can have any stupid opinion you want, but you are pushing the edge of stupidity here. Not to mention that rock was pretty much invented by black guys, so it is only hard to find good black guitar players if you aren't looking.
Vernon Reid rules! He also started The Black Rock Coalition- to promote other amazing artists.
Reid is a genius (my opinion). There's some jams with Ronnie Drayton on youtube that are really great too. As well as Veenons' exceptionally rad work with The Decoding Society.
For me he's like the Coltrane of rock guitar. Pete Cosey & Sonny Sharrock are really mindblowing for inspirarion (if you haven't come across them already- And yeh there are heaps more artists other's have listed).
Yeh he is still one of my greatest inapirations to rock out too.
Color doesnt matter.
Really sad that he had to be black to make you shred even more. Sounds pretty racist.
Vernon Reid gets crap for one solo being nonsense when literally every Slayer solo is nonsense done by two guys. 🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️
😭 😭
Just because you can't comprehend it, does not make it nonsense. They can play it the exact same way every time.
@@Lordofthereee_ I've never herd him play it the same way twice. But I do absolutely love Vernon Reid .
@@Lordofthereee_ Except that Slayer solos really ARE nonsense when it comes to music theory. King and Haneman don't/didn't know any scales or modes, and just played random stuff with their fingers. Also, they were able to replicate their solos because, guess what, they ended up learning and memorizing them after recording. Dave Mustaine was the same (before his hands got messed up and he had to relearn the guitar and took up lessons), but he was at least aware of notes that worked, unlike both Slayer guitarists.
@@Incog2k6 Jeff and Kerry had some good solo work on Seasons. It showed a solid sense of scale knowledge and theory, and had plenty of melody. South of Heaven was pretty good in the solo department, as well. The majority of their leads were nonsense, though, but sometimes that was fun.
According to an interview I read with Vernon when the reissued Vivid about 10 years ago; he said that he had a completely different solo planned for Cult Of Personality than what appeared on the record. The thing was is that it he couldn't get it to vibe with the rest of the song. After what probably felt like the 1 Millionth take the producer finally told him to just just turn his brain off and play. So all of those sporadic bursts are just a product of his frustration boiling over. This just happened to fit the vibe perfectly for the record and it was completely improvised. If you see him play it live, it never comes out the same way twice. It was a perfect moment in time captured on tape.
Kinda reminds me of the story behind the guitar in “Creep” by Radiohead. Johnny Greenwood hated the song and would just sporadicly and aggressively played the loud “chug chug” to ruin it. And that part made him a guitar god 🤣
Stewart Copeland said the same about his drums. He said in the studio he never played a police song the same way twice, and the versions that ended up on the albums he would then have to learn because they’re so iconic and people would expect him to play the parts that way from then on…
I also read in an article that the producer called the first take a keeper, but Vernon wanted another try. The second take is the one on the record he says.
It's frenetic, and bombastic, and energetic, and disregards "scale boundaries". I love the solo.
chuckfaststrat it is to guitar as onomatopoeic words are to language. It’s amazing!
I tried the "I'm just gonna play in this area and go crazy" approach, and my girlfriend left me, police were called, and the dog is still hiding somewhere.
joynthis you HAVE to have a solid bass and drum section
Lol!
Dude, you had me howling out loud, brilliant !
😂😂😂🤙
Ha, take it from me: they're all just JEALOUS. Yeah, including the dog.
I love this solo. It isn't just like tasteless shredding, it is like he intentionally tried to make the most insane, incomprehensible solo of all time and it worked and is what makes it so good
Brilliant, because chaos under the right conditions is beautiful.
I agree and like your name, I wanna get the dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine molecular structures tattooed on me
Nailed it
Controlled chaos.
Agreed. Some Slayer solos are sonic chaos, but they fit the overall mood & vibe of the song. I think that's intentional and brilliantly executed, like Reid's solo.
Yeah you right! Just trying to play the riff... (which there is footage of him playing it 2 separate ways and not remembering the exact way that he recorded it!) is a mind-f*ck! So from that idea of him being that talented should be able to tell the average guitarist that he’s not playing around! Right?
Vernon Reid is more than capable of playing lyrically as well. I think he's mentioned that the crazy stuff he plays is more derivative of avant jazz players like John McLaughlin.
Yeah, the same accusation use to be leveled at Greg Ginn, except if you compare the studio stuff to live, it is note for note (also a devotee of McLaughlin).
Check out Living Colour's live performances. It seems to be a direct translation.
@@quintessenceSL I've seen them live a few times in their heydey and they were always fierce.
John Zorn and Ornette Coleman, too, IIRC from reading Guitar Player over 30 years ago.
Except John McLaughlin is not sloppy at all. His articulation and note-to-pick accuracy was always dead on. Each note rings through perfectly and never sounds muted. McLaughlin is a true virtuoso.
Hahaha...there’s absolutely nothing avant-garde about John McLaughlin.
I Vote Brilliant. Vernon Reid is a freakin' monster.
...... maybe BOTH?????
I think Vernon can be a little sloppy, but I really like him and the band overall.
He was known for sacrificing some accuracy for speed but this is one of my favorite songs from them. I was a teenager when it came out and guitar player had the tab so I was able to learn the main riff but I never even tried the solo.
To be fair, I've seen a couple of live clips where he's playing *insanely* clean (sadly can't remember which ones, but it was impressive enough to stick with me), enough to make me think it's intentional.
That's sort of what I was thinking. There's no perfect reason why it couldn't be mindless AND brilliant.
Vernon Reid comes from a free jazz background so his approach is a bit different than the average hard rock guitarist. His first major professional gig was with Ronald Shannon Jackson's Decoding Society and he's just as influenced by Sonny Sharrock and James Blood Ulmer as he is Jimi Hemdrix, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Carlos Santana or Eddy Van Halen.
One thing I've seen in my lifetime is a lot of guitarist improvise their solo (or not play it how it's played on the album). Even when the solo is sloppy I've seen them rip the same sloppiness Note for note. It's also cool when they add a few extra notes then what is hurt on there and I've heard people like Ace Frehley Eddie Van Halen, Randy Rhoads, and Vernon Reid do the same thing, can sometimes it sounds better live then it was way it was played on the album.
Vernon Reid studied with Ornette Coleman, who pretty much invented the harmolodic concept. He knew exactly what he was doing. The solo is supposed to be at least partly noise (an artful statement regarding a cult of personality).
There it is.....
Ornette did invent Harmolodics.
I am very much in the Reid and his solo in "Cult of Personality" are brilliant camp.
Though I am unable to find it online, in an old interview around the time of Living Colour's second album TIME'S UP, Reid explained the concept behind many of his solos as being to improvise a stream of cogent ideas at high speeds in which the ideas come one after the other. He believed he achieved this in the solos to such songs as "Cult of Personality, Information Overload," and "This Is Life."
He acknowledged that there are those that could play faster and cleaner, and that he -- himself -- could clean it up and just play composed material, but that he wouldn't have the same access to the ideas and emotions found in his more cathartic method of controlled chaos. It adds a beautiful element of danger and discovery.
The solo compliments the theme of the song’s lyrics - it’s its own statement within the song
Complements*...but great comment.
Yeah
FINALLY, someone with an artist's brain responded!!
eh thats a stretch
That's a Pollack. I love it. I call it Kerry kinging
You probably learned this solo by ear when you were 13
I was gonna say, this sounds exactly like a Reign in Blood era Slayer solo
Definitely would fit any Slayer song.
Kerry kingking hahahahaha genious! Its true
I remember hearing a interview ,where I believe he just totally improvised it on the fly and did it in one take ...
Buckethead: Hold my Chicken
🤣🤣🤣
🤔🤨😁👍😂😂😂
lol :)
Vernon is such an underrated guitar player. His solo in cult of personality has to be my favorite from him, and was an indicator of pushing the boundaries of the sounds and uses of Guitar at the time!
He also played with bunch of great jazz musicians like Bill Frisell and Ronald Shannon Jackson , he knows his stuff
@@TheZooropaBaby Ahhh that is definitely true!
Behind the sun is probably my favourite piece Vernon Reid has done. Not just the tapping riff but the ending really drives the emotion home.
Who gives a fuck about these fictitious "ratings"? That is such a bullshit elitist thing to say, as if you are smarter than all these so-called "raters" (who don't exist). Music is not a competitive sport, it is a mode of expression.
He's underrated by non-gutarists.
I think it sounds awesome, the song is killer in itself and Vernon Reid’s solo is one of the craziest things I’ve ever heard and I absolutely love it
THRASH METAL & FUN RIFFS weird but i actually love the tone haha. it works to me
I saw him play live many times and were allvery small venues (I live in a small third world city), so I was literally in front of him, and I know he can play at that speeds fully in control, the guy is a freak and one of a kind like Gambale or Holdsowrth, never seen anyone else play in that style, he truly is comfortable at that speeds. He doesnt try to do note for note replicas when playing live, he improvises a lot but still goes crazy. Off course now is not so precise like he was 20/30 years ago but its still damn close. Theres no random sloppy playing in his solos trust me.
Vernon Reid made his bones playing free jazz. That's the spirit he goes into solos with. Make something in the moment. Have an idea of what you want to do, forget it, and play something.
The ideas are all extended phrasing. The fast notes are a wash of color to express a feeling without words.
Vernon Reid has been panned as being a sloppy guitarist but he knows exactly what he's doing and played the "Cult of Personality" solo exactly as he intended to: raunchy.
Vernon, formerly of the jazz-rock group The Decoding Society, already had a Bachelor's degree in music by the time he formed Living Colour.
Living Colour songs such as "Solace In You," which captured a West African highlife sound, shows he's just fine playing cleanly.
Vernon's playing gives me a funny vibe.
Ha!
Your mom gives me a funny ride.
Heh indeed 😜
Reid’s solo reminds me of John Coltrane’s sheets of sound concepts.
Same thing for me. I’ve always thought it’s a vertical block of sound for an emotion (sounds like the middle finger to me) without an attempt to create a linear melody. It’s brilliant.
That’s his approach. Old Ornette Coleman thing, Harmelodics
You win a prize!... I clearly remember a Vernon Reid interview (in Guitar Player magazine I think) in which he specifically referenced the influence of Coltrane's Giant Steps record on his soloing. Reid was not everyone's cup of tea as a player, but I don't think there were any accidents in his playing, only choices that he made. It is perfectly reasonable for someone to not agree with them, but lack of ability or musical knowledge were certainly not factors in them.
Yes
this right here!
With the jazz background of Vernon Reid, I think that your interpretation, the Pollock style, is right.
Love this and this solo also blew my mind when I was young. The whole song is a master piece.
Cult of Personality is literally one of the best riffs in rock music. EVER. And the solo is iconic. It isn't even debatable.
Actually, it is debatable. That is exactly what is happening here. A debate.
Go away, liberal fool.
He's improvising. Its just a really good take of a great improviser. I love this solo. Vernon Reid is a madman.
the problem is that all he does is improv, and its exactly the same improv every time. there's no actual creativity to it at all. It borders on being like that one dude who used to be so fast and had a stroke or whatever back in the day. It's just, meaningless nonsense. That's good for one song. But after that, you gotta do something else
Rick Kelley I’m not sure if you’re talking about Jason Becker or not? - he got ALs (Lou Gehrig’s disease).
But if so I think you should look up him playing again. He played Paganini, Bach, His own musings, etc. he was very fast, yes - but also very accurate and articulate.
He is to sweeping what EVH is to tapping.
Rick Kelley but if your general meaning is that playing random (or seemingly random) gibberish super fast isn’t good for every song - even for people that like very fast sweeping or whatever - then I definitely agree.
@@DirkParker hes talking about Richard Benson
Translations: I can't play the solo, and I don't believe anyone else can.
Points of reference for this solo: intervallic concepts/playing of Arthur Rhames, Joe Diorio, and Eric Dolphy. Ornette Coleman's Harmolodics concept, Coltrane's "sheets of sound" concept, Jimi Hendrix exploratory side found in "Machine Gun" and the live "Star Spangled Banner" (he did record a studio version that is very much a different thing), the conceptual breakthrough of Jackson Pollock's paintings -- all built off of a base technique similar to that of George Benson.
vernons technique isnt remotely similar to benson in any way.
ever since i’ve started playing guitar, this song always made me go like “is this good or bad?” now that you’ve made this video, i feel
better that i’m not alone
I grew up in the era when this came out & Living Colour's sound & look stood well away from any other metal or rock band at the time. We all loved this solo back then because it was so off the wall, weird, & crazy sounding! We finally just quit trying to wrap our heads so tight around the mystery & sheer spontaneity of it to finally just settle to enjoy it while agreeing that like Hendrix he could NEVER replicate it the same way twice (which was shown confirmed from every live performance of the song). We all knew that it didn't exactly rise to the technical greatness of the contemporaries of that time like the clean chops of Nuno Bettencourt or the precision of Malmsteen, Satch or Vai. Yet we DID respect & dig the artistic vision that Vernon Reid was painting on his own personal sonic tapestry. His eclectic noisy fuzz static tone was given a pass by me at the time because it separated him from all of the other players even though he was using the same ADA MP1 preamp that they were. I always knew he was influenced by players like Hendrix, Santana, & Eddie Hazel anyway so it didn't bother me so much. Today though after having played guitar for over 20 years & having purchased his solo albums, I have to say that his whole approach to playing is an act of chaotic serendipity. Which I can respect from an artistic standpoint but the thing that bothers me most is that his rig is the biggest & most complex rig on the planet!!!! It's full of enough pedals, processors, & synths to rival the Edge's setup from U2, but for ALL that spectrum of sound at his fingertips his tone in & of itself is (if we can be honest) is total crap!! It is not something I can overlook in his playing anymore & ALL of his soloing is always very similar to the one here in Cult of Personality. As a matter of fact the entirety of his instrumental albums were like an extended version of this one solo & just a big hot mess! All of his note choices & tone are always the same! He is sloppy & in all actuality not a very good player. I think he is extremely overrated. All this being said Living Colour as a unit is a FANTASTICALLY original & legendary groundbreaking band that I give much respect to.
Well, anyone who has followed his career through the years, with LC and long before that, which would include his tenure with Ronald Shannon Jackson, among many others, knows he's a master of improvisation. I obviously couldn't tell you whether or not he's composed any of his solos (doubtful), but I do know that every time (and there are many) I've seen him perform with LC, he's never played the same solo twice in any of their songs. And for me personally, that's one of many things I love about his playing and is why I keep coming back for more.
So in other words, I think it's safe to say, this particular solo is just simply improvised and IMO, absolutely compliments the song perfectly. I mean, for anyone to write it off as being nothing more than "mindless garbage" is kind of missing the point. I mean, it's not like he's soloing over several complex changes, it's just straight up hellified rock and roll. So again, with this particular song, section, moment, Vernon's unbridled and chaotic solo works beautifully and is totally apt.
In contrast, check out his stellar solo on "Undercover Of Darkness", which is really uniquely forward-thinking, as is the song itself. What he's soloing over in that song is not even really well defined, as far as changes but impressively, he manages to outline or suggest changes that you really don't hear otherwise. But yeah, love him or hate him, Vernon is absolutely a master and certainly does not get the credit he deserves. i.e SUPREMELY underrated ad under appreciated.
+1 on Undercover of Darkness and making you hear those changes, it's a thing of beauty. His solo on a cover of Enjoy the Silence on one of the Masque records does the same thing.
I've always thought it was kinda sloppy but musically it fits the chaos of the song so it is actually pretty genius if you really think about it. Maybe he just let it rip for the song and made it fit.
His solo literally explodes! out of an already powerful rock riff. I saw this band play in St Louis before they were famous. Holy Schnikeys were they beyond good. A year later they came back, but they were now opening for The Rolling Stones at Busch stadium, and I couldn’t afford to go. This guitar player knew exactly what he was doing. He is a master of the instrument.
It's pretty wild, crazy, a boom blasts in your face, wild all over... But at the same time, the craziness of it is the spice of the song. It just adds a flavour that cannot be done by any other thing...The first time i heard the lead solo of this song, I thought -WHAT THE HELL?. . He uses pentatonics, tremolos, harmonics,.. He is creative to do it in a way that can bring out that craziness that he wants to deliver. And he nailed it completely. It complements the main riff of the song,together with the other instruments as well as the vocals. The drums are also very well played.. The overall beat is just superb. I think he did the craziness intentionally, that is why it just not only fits the song but really compliment it in a way that was not expected. Great solo.
This solo totally shook people up in a new way just as eruption did, or anything by Hendrix back in that day. It expanded how people perceived what the guitar could be. That was the mission. Mission accomplished. So hell yeah it was art.
I think if you're covering this at a gig it'd probably one of the easiest solos to just improvise as long as you can manage fast pull offs, triplets, some pinch harmonics and a little whammy. Keep it in key and the audience wouldn't know the difference...
I met Vernon a few years ago in Hamilton Ontario. He was in a band with my drummers drum teacher and I got to be his roady for a night pretty much. I will tell you this. This man is a genius. Every note in that solo was put in there with intent. So educated when he spoke. When I looked at the sheet music he was playing that night (he was playing with a jazz band) my jaw dropped. Extremely underestimated guitarist.
Guitar for the Practicing Musician did an interview with him, and had the transcription to this song back in the November '89 issue. In the interview Reed said that he has no idea what he played, and never plays it the same in shows. According to him he just went into the studio and started shredding. If I remember correctly in the transcriptions when you reach the solo it's blank and just says "Play what ever you want".
He’s a jazz guy. So a free form solo makes perfect sense. And, as was mentioned, it works.
I always thought he was emulating Bad Brains.
The whole band
Same, Dr. know is great as well though.
I love how this channel introduces me to so many cool new things and gets me hyped for learning new techniques. Thanks to everyone at the channel for taking the time to put out such inspiring content.
I first heard an excerpt from this song from a playable vinyl tear out from guitar magazine. They called the main riff Zeppelin like, but I didn't think so. There was energy in places where Zeppelin had a drunken feel. The solo always felt like it exactly fit though. It just doesn't feel even slightly out of place in a song that has the music frequently interrupted by or distorted by outside noise (in the form of historic speeches). I vote Vernon did it intentionally, and was not just covering for a lack of some sort.
Clearly a lot of y'all have never seen Vernon live.
What I think is this : Living colour is one of the most underrated band of the last 30 years and this song is a killer !
Thanks for the video on this solo. I tried to learn this song and I just was not skilled enough so I backed off. But when I slowed the solo down with my computer's playback, I heard beautiful singing tone (at least to my ears) and some really long nice lines. I am planning to go back to it one day. When I do, I plan to break the entire solo down into separate written out long phrases that I will practice until I can get them up to speed. I think that even if I can't get it up to speed, it is a solo I will enjoy playing at half speed because some of the lines were so tasty IMHO.
100% brilliant chaos. Purposeful, so fitting for the amazing song
ive loved this solo for the last 17 years, heard it on a vh1 top 100 list.
I went from loving it as a kid, to hating it when I started playing guitar and exploring "better" music as a teenager. I thought it was terrible and had no real form to it. Once I got over myself and learned to appreciate more styles of music (especially more free-form jazz and blues) I came full circle.
I think he's just letting the feels out and having a good time which I totally respect. I usually listen to Shawn Lane, Jason Becker and buckethead when I want a shred fix. Vernon may not be in their league but he's a very important guitar player to learn from.
I've seen some early footage of Vernon playing in an improv jazz band, sort of the same thing he does in this and a lot of his creations. He masters controlled chaos with so much passion and follows it up with killer riffs. The whole band explores places in music untouched by most artists. Especially live, sometimes it misses but when it hits, aural bliss on a new plane
Still one of my fav solos ever.
Ive never heard him play the solo live exactly like on the record ...
It's funny you compared the solo to a Jackson Pollock painting, because while those paintings seem to be just random splatters, they actually form fractals (which is nuts). That seems a rather apt comparison--an artist's seemingly random choices coming together to actually have a sort of internal logic and form, a sort of messy beauty.
Also "Cult of Personality" fucking slaps.
Fractals ftw.
I remember an old "Guitar Player" magazine interview where Vernon Reid said his solos are sometimes based on geometric shapes or patterns along the neck. So the Jackson Pollock analogy is spot on. He seems more interested in the vibe or groove than the structure.
Saw them live a few months ago and I just stood the entire time mouth open utterly amazed by how tight and insanely good they all were. Vernon definitely can play perfect when he wants to but I’ve always thought exactly the same thing: the solos are often messy and all over the place (there are times I think he is almost spamming notes) and for me sometimes it works and other times not
The solo isn't my cup of tea, but I give respect to him for playing it
ElectivireFire mine either. Especially the live versions
It's my cup of gasoline...
It's a good solo. I think it's intended to be very spontaneous. Also I love when he hits those bends and the tapping with the whammy bar. It's a cool solo for sure. There is some tasteful stuff in there during the slower parts.
I think the solo fits the feel of the song nicely. It has a chaotic frenziness to it that just works.
It's art, we'll never know. Not even the artist
I love this kind of thinking. You don't have to be precise/accurate for every piece.
Have seen them live several times, solo is never the same twice. It’s like he is trying to out do himself on the speed in which he plows through that scale in every performance, with only a few set points.. hitting pinches and a couple harmonics to keep the overall structure similar to the album version.? IDK, just how it seems to me.
*_"There's such a fine line between clever and stupid..."_*
*David St. Hubbins*
Great analogy: (paraphrasing) "An abstract portrait based on a theme".
Random noise is legit. Just ask Adrian Belew
This solo always sounded to me like the time Bobby Brady got his drum kit
I remember an interview Vernon did with Guitar Player magazine when their debut album came out, and he stated that one of his biggest influences was the avant-garde jazz horn player Ornette Coleman and Coleman’s improv concept of Harmolodics. If I understand correctly, Coleman’s ideas pushed the boundaries of playing outside and often flirted with atonality. Just my takeaway, but I think that is what Vernon was going for in the solo, particularly the busier measures, Might have to find some live videos of Personality, but my hunch is Mr. Reid can play it identically as many times out of 100 as he chooses to! The solo may have been improvised, but those licks are thought out and have a basic (though tricky to play) rhythmic motif.
I used to think that solo was all over the place but its grown on me over the years. He goes crazy for a bit but i love how it eventually gets back on track and ties up nicely. Plus the breakdown right after the solo is epic so it pays off in the end.
First comment I guess! I think the craziness of the solo is definitely fitting for the song. I agree with you on the whole abstract art comparison for sure!
Check out Shawn Lane playing this song with his band at the time, The Willy’s. The solo is just outrageous.
That was the craziest thing I’ve ever heard. 😯😯😯
They said the same things about all the 'original' and innovative guitarist...They said Wes Montgomery style was strange because he played with his thump...they said Jimi Hendrix style was strange because he played upside down....and on and on.....Vernon Reid? It's his style. He is not only a guitarist like millions of others, but he is an artist which most guitarists are not because, well they have no original style. Proof? Then why are we here??
Living Colour is one of the few 80’s bands that sounds exactly the same now as they did back then. These dudes are in their 60’s and are still killing it
You need to listen to Bad Brains, song called Soulcraft
You look like the love child of every Smashing Pumpkins rhythm guitarist. 😂
Vernon Reid was responsible for the first time my love of heavy rock and metal being accepted among my family. As a black x gen kid i was more of an outcast than most heavy metal fans. For that alone this will always be my all time favorite solo.
One of my favorite songs of all-time. Vernon's solo made me cry because it is drenched with emotion, just like Mike McCourt says below in his comment -- Vernon's solo is in compliment to/in keeping with the song's lyrical content. Vernon's performance/solo in "Cult of Personality" is not merely "just getting lucky" nor is it simply "aural diarrhea" (just playing indiscriminate notes 10,000 miles per second such as many "heavy metal shredders" tend to do). It is a very well-thought out performance/solo, beginning with its G-Dorian riff, later evolving to "Chuck Berry-thirds" near the end. Vernon has also spoken about the late guitarist Arthur Rhames, as a musical influence. When you listen to Corey sing "Cult of Personality" you completely feel and understand the words/lyrics. Who would ever think to put "Mussolini" and "Kennedy" or "Joseph Stalin" and "Gandhi" in the same sentence -- but Living Colour's "Cult of Personality" is about that very essence: demagogues (Mussolini-Stalin) versus inspirational leaders (Kennedy-Gandhi). Vernon's solo serves the song's conceptual basis very well.
Well here’s my two cents… this song hit like a year or so before grunge hit. To understand what he is doing you might have to understand the context in which he was doing it. When this song came out rock and metal had progressed so far and had become so incredibly technical and difficult to play that very few people could compete with the technical leaders at the time. I think there was a sense of frustration and a sense that the music was getting played out because of this. I think the solo was meant to show that frustration, at least that’s how I felt about it at the time. As a guitar player myself his frustration came off more like discouragement, and giving up than inspiration, so I never really cared for it much. Grunge picked up on that same frustration but I think channeled it in a much more musical way that completely connected with American genXer’s at the time, including myself. Not saying I liked grunge more than what was before, In fact I like it less, BUT it absolutely connected with a pure energy that I have never seen in music before. It was incredibly pure and powerful at the time... for like a year or two lol!
So that’s my basic interpretation, he was picking up on something you could feel in the air, a feeling that the Mere mortals that existed back then could no longer compete and progress rock and metal music the way it was so subconsciously it was getting ready to be thrown out.
Man I couldn't disagree more. I found this music borne of inspiration, optimism, creativity and pure energy. No discouragement to be found. None of this "we can't compete." I mean, do you hear the riff? I think you're projecting something onto the music that isn't there.
@@harrodsongs Of course it's projection, but it's also connecting. Maybe the guitarist was feeling what he was feeling, maybe not but I definitely connect with what he's saying having been down the route as a guitarist. This isn't saying it's shit, quite the opposite.
Well, Reid was both influenced by and worked with Sonny Sharrock. Listen to him and you hear similar chaos.
Definitely. Sonny could play beautifully lyrical passages, and then pure chaotic Id.
Even Jimi Hendrix and Randy Rhoads would have been floored by this solo AND the song itself too no doubt. The timing of that final unleashing of that moment of euphoric emotion expertly adorned into the solo that even the bass line complements Perfectly and glides along with is Phenomenally AWESOME to the point of being Otherworldly. It's one of the BEST moments EVER RECORDED in musical history: Timelessly Iconic and Triumphant.
did you just discover this? ive known this for 15 years at least. i was blown away when i first heard this. GENIUS
Vernon plays sloppy sometimes, but in a very good way if that makes sense? When he played this song live, the solos were different every single time.
I always respect anything I can’t do on guitar. Hence, I respect this solo, brilliant!!
The solo is chaotic and nuts but it is a work of art I’ve always loved this song because not just the guitar work but because of what the song is and says as a whole. And if you think about it the solo is not just a song within the song but it’s also saying how crazy and chaotic the world is and it’s heading for a crash course no matter how hard we try to prevent it. Put simply it’s brilliant chaos that has a lot to say which was also the point of the entire song
I think in that day it was the times of the 'guitar gods' and Vernon just wanted to leave his mark on the genre and leave his mark he did with the solo. beautiful chaos.
This solo feels like somebody is screaming at me in a foreign language. It's obvious that he's very passionate about what he's saying but I have no idea what it means.
I think it’s brilliant. But what do I know Taylor Swift plays a better axe we should ask her
Lol... that solo... man! I started playing guitar in 1987, a year before that song came out. By the time I heard "Cult of Personality", I was able to play the solo from "Panama" and most of the solo from "Sweet Child". Those solos made sense to me. Vernon's sounded chaotic similar to Vinnie Vincent's playing. I didn't bother learning it. When playing it at gigs, I just went nuts at the 15th fret and called it a day....lol... I don't think Vernon ever played it the same each time.
I wouldn't say whether it's brilliant or terrible. I say it's all rock 'n' roll, baby! ROCK ON!!! That song is in my Gym Playlist 'til this day.
You hit the nail on the head. Ive always said he must have picked a position on the neck and just to play so fast that it sounds outside. All his live solos for the song are different so I guess that is helping to confirm my suspicions
The question is brilliant or terrible, right?
Brilliant, obv.
I thought you were gonna talk about Lil Wayne solo lol
You must be a younger man haha.... Good for you 👍
@@genesiskeglar6372 Lil Wayne is kind of old reference at this pt
One of the greatest rock solos of all time. Pure, unleashed expression. It's a huge ball of anger, frustration, and aggression. Then you get that chaotic melodic section that rolls right into more aggression. It's perfect, and fits the song to a T.
Glad you covered this topic. Very powerful song and one of my favorite guitar rock solos from that time.☺☺☺
I've always felt weird about the solo. Love the song but the solo has always stood out to me and not in the best of ways.
I totally nderstand what you mean I felt the same way BITD when this came out and I got the disc....I think it is because it is just not the solo you expect to hear in that song at first it is off the fukin chain tons of energy and aggro ..BUT.....if you stop thinkin' about it and let it flow a few times it settles in and fits the song and album perfectly..
This solo proves to me that my terrible playing is ok. Because that excerpt at the beginning sounds like me thinking I can shred
Yeah, who says wrong notes are wrong.
It's brilliant. It captures everything that rock and roll should be. It's intense and fits the intensity of the song. Quoting Dopamine here. "Brilliant, because chaos under the right conditions is beautiful."
Going off-piste is what makes players like Vernon Reid shine out in the darkness that is most 'shredding' to me. Some artists realize early that all the interesting shit happens right on the edge.
They need to re-release the song with your solo instead.
His wasn't nothing special either
Although I like LC and Vernon, I never understood his Solos. They seem totally random.
Pille Palle that's the brilliance
Learn more about noise.
Guy is just sick with it. Knows that guitar well enough to pull that madness off.
As a Nirvana fan of 30 years, I love controlled noise. To me, that's what Vernon's solo was here; very well-controlled noise. Vernon's noise is just really, really fast noodling with some good riffs thrown in to break up the noise; kind of like a radio tuner finding a station as the dial is turned.