Foreplay/Long Time guitar solo

Boston, 1976, from Boston. Solo by Tom Scholz.

Scholz layers harmonised leads and his home-built tone into a suite that runs from organ intro to soaring solo.

Foreplay/Long Time plays like two pieces joined at the hip: a dramatic keyboard-driven instrumental opening that hands off to a sunny, galloping rock song. Tom Scholz's guitars arrive stacked and harmonised, with thick, smooth sustain that sounds carefully sculpted rather than simply loud. His leads are melodic above all, built from lines you could almost sing, and they are layered so precisely that the parts lock together like a choir. That polished, multi-tracked sound became a template for much of late-1970s arena rock. Listen for the harmony guitar lines that answer the vocal phrases in Long Time, and notice how cleanly each voice sits in the mix despite the density of the arrangement.

Foreplay/Long Time by Boston is ranked #306 in our consensus of 80 guitar-solo lists. The solo is played by Tom Scholz and the song was released in 1976. It appears on 1 lists, placing as high as #15 (SiriusXM (countdown transcribed on PRS Guitars forum)).

In our lists

• The 25 Greatest Rock Guitar Solos — #4
• Twin Guitars & Harmonies — #20
• The Best Boston Guitar Solos — #2
• Top 20 Guitar Solos of 1976 — #14

Sources

• SiriusXM (countdown transcribed on PRS Guitars forum): 50 Baddest Guitar Solos — #15