Yngwie in the 80s.

bingefeller

For me Yngwie was at his best in the 80s, particularly from the the time of Alcatrazz's No Parole up until Odyssey in 1988.  His tone was way better in the 80s, his playing was cleaner and more melodic, and he didn't seem to shred just for the sake of it and piss all over a track.  Back then he had this great really, wide open pushed Marshall sound that he really doesn't seem to have any more.  It wasn't too gained up but still had balls.  He still has that flute like tone but it's just not as warm or something.  

I found this video on YT while watching some early Yngwie stuff 

octatonic

Before 'the carbohydrate years' eh?

peteri

Not the biggest fan but would say this isn't uncommon. 

I think it's the same as Vai - with David Lee Roth and earlier he was amazing. One the solo projects kick in I'd rather listen to paint dry

bingefeller

octatonic said:

Before 'the carbohydrate years' eh?

yeah!

mudslide73

I wasn't a fan at all until Troy Grady reintroduced me to him. He was completely incendiary back then - I can't imagine what it would have been like at the time... like Hendrix or EVH in terms of technique quantum leaps.

scrumhalf

Early Yngwie was amazing stuff.

Some of the demos he did that were sent to Mike Varney were like nothing I'd heard at the time.

However, he was at his best when he was reined in. When the Anderson brothers left Rising Force that was the beginning of the end, he became rather aimless.

Reverend

I think he was a revelation for non-Swedes. For swedes it was more of the same. 

monquixote

That's interesting, I'd never heard any early Yngwie 

Still not really my cup of tea, but there is definitely something there, almost like Ritchie Blackmore taken to the logical extreme.

The clips of the later stuff are just unlistenable shredding to my ears. 

Reverend

Rainbow toured Scandinavia and did really well  there. Blackmore and Roth-era Scorpions seemed to really inspire a lot of the Sedish players im the mid to late 70s.
Silver Mountain and Malmsteen in particular. Heavy Load were less virtuoso in their approach but the likes of Proud,  Europe,  Universe and Blacksmith really all seemed to follow that path.
Malmsteen managed to make a name stateside and obviously Europe did later on when they had became more accessible. Johann Quiz were incredible  but somewhat held back by singing in Swedish.  

Reverend

thomasross20

Been listening to a lot of Yngwie again in the car to work. 
Some fantastic song writing - the playing is off the charts. 
IMO one of the most talented natural players. Utterly astounding technique and guitar sounds. 

english_bob

Worth bearing in mind that the 80s clips all appear to be from gigs, presumably as a headliner where he would have been able to use his preferred gear and have plenty of time to set it up perfectly, whereas the 2000s ones are mostly from TV where he may well have been hampered by having to get a sound in a less than ideal environment. Pretty sure those Marshall stacks are there for show, so if he's playing live at all it might well be to some other amp down the corridor, or a modeller or something, and I bet he isn't nearly so loud, so the interaction between the guitar and the amp isn't there.

I really wish I liked Yngwie more- in terms of technique he's utterly awe-inspiring- but 80s metal always sounds like it was made by complete narcissists with cocaine-engorged egos and no sense of humour whatsoever. All that leather and pouting, songs about dragons and misogyny. Can't do it.

thomasross20

It takes a while but I'm well into it. 
Just listening to Live in Leningrad. 
Utterly astounding for live guitar work. 
For me he's probably the best / most natural technical player there ever was. 

I've got two of his tab books. I'm going to make it a mission to try and learn an album all the way through *gulp*

bingefeller

thomasross20 said:

It takes a while but I'm well into it. 
Just listening to Live in Leningrad. 
Utterly astounding for live guitar work. 
For me he's probably the best / most natural technical player there ever was. 

I've got two of his tab books. I'm going to make it a mission to try and learn an album all the way through *gulp*

I have found learning his solos very difficult because a lot of his phrasing is so free. You sort of have to get a general sense of the notes he's playing and go from there.  

thomasross20

Same with VH stuff, I've found. I did start learning some of Yngwie's stuff a while back but remember it was very difficult. Have you got clips of your covers of his?

bingefeller

thomasross20 said:

Same with VH stuff, I've found. I did start learning some of Yngwie's stuff a while back but remember it was very difficult. Have you got clips of your covers of his?

I can't play any of his stuff to be honest.  I can play the riffs ok but his solos are above my skill level.  Some of his Alcatrazz stuff is easier to play.  I was trying to learn General Hospital but didn't get too far on the solo.  

thomasross20

I'll check that one out!
Yeah - it's pretty intense. Despite there being excellent players these days, I still think Yngwie is a cut above and hard to mimic. I'd struggle to play his stuff note for note when it comes to the solos.
I'm going to dig out the book and attempt it.  Might take years lol.

bingefeller

I was rewatching Troy Grady's Volcano pack and a lot of Yngwie's lines and phrases are very highly organised so as to accommodate his exclusively downward pick slanting style of picking.  This is what makes his playing a lot cleaner than a lot of other fast players as Yngwie rarely seems to "swipe" his pick against a muted string on certain string changes.  He is always aware of what he is doing in each phrase, to such an extent it has been second nature and he does it without thinking about it. 

octatonic

bingefeller said:

thomasross20 said:

It takes a while but I'm well into it. 
Just listening to Live in Leningrad. 
Utterly astounding for live guitar work. 
For me he's probably the best / most natural technical player there ever was. 

I've got two of his tab books. I'm going to make it a mission to try and learn an album all the way through *gulp*

I have found learning his solos very difficult because a lot of his phrasing is so free. You sort of have to get a general sense of the notes he's playing and go from there.  

All you have to do is play as fast as you can- that is what he is doing.
In the solo constructed -> improv continuum you have Petrucci at one end (everything is learned and constructed) and Malmsteen the other (wiggle your fingers... GO!).

bingefeller

octatonic said:

bingefeller said:

thomasross20 said:

It takes a while but I'm well into it. 
Just listening to Live in Leningrad. 
Utterly astounding for live guitar work. 
For me he's probably the best / most natural technical player there ever was. 

I've got two of his tab books. I'm going to make it a mission to try and learn an album all the way through *gulp*

I have found learning his solos very difficult because a lot of his phrasing is so free. You sort of have to get a general sense of the notes he's playing and go from there.  

All you have to do is play as fast as you can- that is what he is doing.
In the solo constructed -> improv continuum you have Petrucci at one end (everything is learned and constructed) and Malmsteen the other (wiggle your fingers... GO!).

I like to try and get it kind of in the same area and not just aimlessly widdle my own improv over the top of his.  

octatonic

bingefeller said:

octatonic said:

bingefeller said:

thomasross20 said:

It takes a while but I'm well into it. 
Just listening to Live in Leningrad. 
Utterly astounding for live guitar work. 
For me he's probably the best / most natural technical player there ever was. 

I've got two of his tab books. I'm going to make it a mission to try and learn an album all the way through *gulp*

I have found learning his solos very difficult because a lot of his phrasing is so free. You sort of have to get a general sense of the notes he's playing and go from there.  

All you have to do is play as fast as you can- that is what he is doing.
In the solo constructed -> improv continuum you have Petrucci at one end (everything is learned and constructed) and Malmsteen the other (wiggle your fingers... GO!).

I like to try and get it kind of in the same area and not just aimlessly widdle my own improv over the top of his.  

You have to use the right scales and have a general melodic contour that is similar- but Malmsteen really does just play solos as fast as he can play them.
It is why you end up with those weird note groupings- 33 to a bar, 36 to a bar and such.
You can't fake it with minor pentatonic- has to be harmonic minor, phyrigian dominant, some pentatonic, some arpeggios.
Start with the 'I'll See the Light Tonight" solo.
Learn the transcribed solo- memorise the note order but don't worry too much about the playing rhythmically the same as the record.

Have a listen to some of the note groupings after the interlude here: