King of Hollywood Solos

[Shadowland07]

the solos are played by Glenn, Don, and Joe (in that order), but when do the last two solos start?

[MikeA]

HUH?

[Freypower]

The second solo starts after the verse which ends 'I made 'em what they are today' and the third solo is after the lyrics have finished, or at least that's how I've always interpreted it.

One of my favourite songs, one reason being that all three guitarists get to solo on it.

[MikeA]

LOL, I get it. The SONG "King of Holywood!" Hey, it's been a LONG week <sigh>.

[bernie's bender]

it is the hemiola type licks that make the trade offs work so well...

what I've always wondered is who came up with the figures...

[chaim]

I've always wondered what the three solos are, as there seems to be only two. My theory has always been that the "first solo" (Glenn) is the one that comes when the song modulates to A minor after being in F sharp minor up until then (I think it was after the line "I made them what they are today") and ends with the "descending tuplets" with some chromatic notes, leading the song back to F sharp minor. The "second solo" would be just the few licks after that; between the modulation back to F sharp minor and the next sung verse. And the "third solo", of course, would be the final one.
This theory of mine makes the second solo rather short, but I think the sound changes slightly between those parts (A minor -> F# minor). I am probably completely wrong, but I don't think they would count the harmonized main riff as a "solo", so I can't think of any other way to cut these seemingly two solos in three.

[Freypower]

Now this is something that has always worried me. I have always assumed the opening riff is a 'solo' because I could not hear another separate guitar part later in the song. So Chaim, if you're suggesting Glenn plays that first part after 'I made 'em what they are today' that's an interesting theory indeed.

[chaim]

Now this is something that has always worried me. I have always assumed the opening riff is a 'solo' because I could not hear another separate guitar part later in the song. So Chaim, if you're suggesting Glenn plays that first part after 'I made 'em what they are today' that's an interesting theory indeed.

I just listened to it to check. The solo after "I made them what they are today" has a few rakes, which Glenn had been doing A LOT from the start, and the distorted sound sounds just like Glenn's distorted sound with his black Gibson. And some notes seem to be just a bit "laid back", as I think sometimes was the case in Glenn's lead playing. By "rakes" I mean sort of ghost notes, where the plectrum hits a couple of strings before hitting the intended string, but the "extra strings" are muted, so there are no actual notes, just a little "trr" sound before the actual note. A LOT of that can be heard in Glenn's playing in the 70's.
To my guitarist ears the sound of the lead guitar changed dramatically when the chords came back to F# minor; at about 4:00. So I think it's clear that the solo from 3:35 to 4:00 is a totally different take than the one that starts at 4:00, so I guess it's Felder from 4:00 to 4:18.
What I DON'T understand is why Felder would play such a small bit. One possibility is that they both played a solo for the whole bit, but they liked more Glenn's beginning and Don's ending, and kept those.
Of course I could be wrong about all of this, but to me the A minor solo really DOES sound like Glenn.

[Freypower]

That is very interesting indeed.

So who do you think plays the opening riff? Either Don or Joe, I presume? I wouldn't know and I bow to your knowledge!

[chaim]

That is very interesting indeed.

So who do you think plays the opening riff? Either Don or Joe, I presume? I wouldn't know and I bow to your knowledge!

It's VERY unlikely that the solos were played while cutting the basic tracks. Eagles, as I've understood, tended to cut the basic tracks (drums, bass, rhythm guitars, keyboard) live as a band before overdubbing vocals and solos and perhaps other extra bits. I've never listened to the riff in this song so closely, but I got really curious now!
I think the guitars that play the "riff" and the harmonizing of it, were part of the "basic tracks" (because there are hardly other guitars in the song), so all three guitarists are playing them, harmonizing each other. I just listened to the intro with headphones. It's very interesting how the guitars start the song. In the beginning all three play chords. Then the guitar in the middle starts playing the riff and the guitars in the left and right continue playing the chords. Next the guitar in the right starts harmonizing the guitar in the middle, and the guitar in the left is still playing chords. Finally the guitar in the left starts harmonizing the riff too. I think these were played while playing live in the studio. To me it sounds like Glenn who first starts the riff (the guitar in the middle), but I've no idea which one is Don and which one Joe between the guitars in the left and right.

[sodascouts]

Hmm, fascinating! I don't even like the song that much but now I want to listen to it a few times to see what you're talking about.

[chaim]

I'm not sure if it came across very well, but what I meant to say earlier is that I think the guitars playing the riff here are part of the rhythm parts, and not lead stuff added later. All those three guitars play chords every time the vocals come and the riff between the verses. So I think of the riff parts as rhythm guitars.
There seems to be no keyboards on this track, and hardly any other guitar parts (except for the solos, and occasional extra chords added under the riff, I think), so that's why I think all three guitarists must have been playing those parts while cutting the basic track.