The Asphalt World
Suede, 1994, from Dog Man Star. Solo by Bernard Butler.
The album version's long centrepiece gives Butler room for one of his most ambitious solos.
The Asphalt World is one of the longest and most dramatic songs on Dog Man Star, and the album version gives Bernard Butler room for a solo to match. He builds slowly from the ballad's brooding atmosphere into layered, soaring guitar that swells and twists, mixing melodic phrases with bursts of noise. It is less a conventional rock solo than a piece of orchestration, with each section deepening the song's mood. Butler's ambition here is part of why he is still regarded as one of the most inventive guitarists of his generation. Listen for the way the solo keeps returning to a few recurring melodic ideas, reshaping them as the intensity rises.
The Asphalt World by Suede is featured in our Britpop (#14) list. The solo is played by Bernard Butler and the song was released in 1994.
In our lists
Sources
Who played the guitar solo on The Asphalt World?
Bernard Butler played the solo on Suede's The Asphalt World (1994).