So, Hollow Years Live at Budokan guitar solo.....

[Jaffa]

Though the TLF solo on Live in Tokyo fucks it so much.

[SnakeEyes]

This is great: 

For me, the problem with the shredding in that Hollow Years solo is that it comes out of nowhere.  A bit of shredding in a slower song can work well, Another Day being a great example, as the solo in that song has a bit of shredding, but the big difference there is that there is a build-up in the first part of the solo to the little bit of shredding he does and then he takes it back down to the melodic non-shredding part of the solo.  Meanwhile, the HY solo is like going from 0 to 100 and then back to 0 in an instant, giving it the feel of "Okay, I'll just throw in some shredding here for the hell of it." It just doesn't fit, in the song or in the context of the solo, IMO.

And, to expand on what Kev said....

To me, the "song" is the melody.  Not the guitar part, the keys, the bass line..... but, the MELODY.  When you strip away all of the harmony and the drums, you are left with the melody, which is the song.  In order for a song to be a good song, in my opinion, EVERYTHING within the song has to have SOME connection with the melody.  I feel like JP's solo during Budokan Hollow Years has no connection whatsoever to the song.  That's what I mean when I say, "it doesn't fit."  It's like watching a movie that's a drama where everyone is sitting around talking and suddenly everyone just starts beating the crap out of each other and then there's a car chase.... and, suddenly everyone is sitting back down again and the little action scene had NOTHING to do with the rest of the movie.  That's how I feel about JP's solo. 

[PetFish]

It baffles me that people can call the Hollow Years solo wanking but the end of In The Name of God isn't?  Just to make sure I remembered it correctly I checked it out again and ITNoG is 95% wanking and uninteresting.  Hollow Years at least tells a story and takes me on a journey within the song but the outro to ITNoG is mostly uninspired shred.

The Hollow Years solo has three different lead tones (or "chapters") starting with acoustic, then acoustic/electric (or soft-electric), then full-on balls.  It goes from gentle and unassuming to slay-me-with-adrenaline and then ends with a very uplifting denouement.  Yeah, he shreds a little, but it's only maybe 20% of the whole composition.

I don't consider one better or worse than the other as they are both awesome in their own way.

On a side note, perhaps the only time I've personally ever thought JP's shredding was inappropriate was during his spot with Theresa on LSFNY.

[KevShmev]

This is great: 

For me, the problem with the shredding in that Hollow Years solo is that it comes out of nowhere.  A bit of shredding in a slower song can work well, Another Day being a great example, as the solo in that song has a bit of shredding, but the big difference there is that there is a build-up in the first part of the solo to the little bit of shredding he does and then he takes it back down to the melodic non-shredding part of the solo.  Meanwhile, the HY solo is like going from 0 to 100 and then back to 0 in an instant, giving it the feel of "Okay, I'll just throw in some shredding here for the hell of it." It just doesn't fit, in the song or in the context of the solo, IMO.

And, to expand on what Kev said....

To me, the "song" is the melody.  Not the guitar part, the keys, the bass line..... but, the MELODY.  When you strip away all of the harmony and the drums, you are left with the melody, which is the song.  In order for a song to be a good song, in my opinion, EVERYTHING within the song has to have SOME connection with the melody.  I feel like JP's solo during Budokan Hollow Years has no connection whatsoever to the song.  That's what I mean when I say, "it doesn't fit."  It's like watching a movie that's a drama where everyone is sitting around talking and suddenly everyone just starts beating the crap out of each other and then there's a car chase.... and, suddenly everyone is sitting back down again and the little action scene had NOTHING to do with the rest of the movie.  That's how I feel about JP's solo.

Well said.

[Perpetual Change]

I don't really like it. I'm not a big "Hollow Years" fan either. It's not that the solo itself is bad; it just doesn't fit.

I love the instrumental section in "Surrounded '07" though. That gets way too much hate.

[MoraWintersoul]

On a side note, perhaps the only time I've personally ever thought JP's shredding was inappropriate was during his spot with Theresa on LSFNY.

Me too! But then again, it's only a minute or so of music.

[Mosh]

I love the instrumental section in "Surrounded '07" though. That gets way too much hate.

Really? That section is fantastic! I hope they bring it back one day.

[DTFan0789]

No, it's amazing.

[Western Ninja]

To me, that solo will always live in the shadow of other, better, JP live solos.

TTT from Live in Tokyo, just to throw an awesome example out.