He tragically passed away 25 years ago today. In his memory, I wanted to highlight some of his guitar skills, since I think he's a supremely underrated guitarist - even among guitarists.
I read a few lists ranking the top 100 guitarists from the 90’s, and Bradley Nowell wasn’t on any of them, which is a shame, IMO.
He's obviously not the most technically proficient player – he’s downright sloppy if I'm being honest. But his embellishments and guitar solos were always interesting. I especially like his phrasing during solos. He's definitely a messy player, but I think it fits that punk/reggae/ska genre and adds some character to his solos.
I think Nowell's best attribute as a guitarist, was his "ear" for what sounded good. His solos may not have been the fastest. They may not have been the cleanest. They may have been basic scales. But they all fit the song perfectly IMO.
Here are some of my favorite (timestamped for your convenience) guitar solos from Bradley Nowell:
We're Only Gonna Die for Our Arrogance
I like his acoustic work a lot too. Here's Nowell's bluesy acoustic cover of Don't Push.
Anyway, I just thought I'd share some of the licks and solos that made me appreciate Bradley Nowell as a guitarist, and not just a front man/singer. Hope you enjoy! RIP Bradley and Lou Dog!
RIP Bradleyyyyy -
Him doing what he does best. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpEp5uCov0o
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradley_Nowell
His son: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y59VasfpbGk
They were huge fans, and then he died 2 years before I was born. My mom and dad haven’t listened to sublime since I was 6. I ended up getting an old iPod with all my moms music when I was ten, and it had “40 oz to freedom”, “sublime”, and “everything under the sun”. I’ve been listening to them for the last 10 or 12 years now. I swear I know the lyrics to every song they have, and I can listen to them any time of the day doing whatever. I’ve never heard a group that sounds anything like them since. I just found out about the foolish fool book and am for sure gonna find a hard copy of it.
My first and middle name are Bradley Nowell. Apple Music doesn’t say whether I’m 1% or not, but I definitely feel like I belong there.
I would like to start posting inspirations behind a lot of Bradley's music. He is the reason I found a love in reggae. Will you all enjoy that? I mean you might start your own reggae adventure. Reggae influenced a lot of the 90s late 80s music. I hear it all the time. Its pretty cool. Let me know what you think.
Now I've got the needle And I can't shake But I can't breathe Take it away and but I want more and more One day I'm gonna lose the war... Does anyone else feel those lyrics in their core..
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84 Bradley Nowell/Sublime - Santeria solo https://youtu.be/4Q-OIyRnvVo
As I mentioned last time, there are three different versions of this list from different years with only a few changes here and there. Two of them have Lights Out by Michael Schenker/UFO at # 84 but the main one that I was generally following had Santeria at # 84. I figured that I would learn both and plug them both in at # 84.
When I first looked over this list, I didn't know this one. Really had no idea. When I first listened to it a few days ago, I still didn't know it. My wife heard me practicing and said "Finally, something that I like!". I said "You know this one?"
I guess that this was a massive hit, and the solo, though not particularly difficult, would fall into the "iconic" solo lexicon. I must be one of the few people on the planet who somehow managed to get through the past twenty years without ever hearing it. Strange, but then again, I'm old and not very hip.
Such a happy little jazzy/blues solo and a lot of fun to play. Great for playing on a clean Stratocaster. In E major but mostly played in it's relative minor box of C#. A good beginner to intermediate solo. Lots of quick little shifts and runs with a lovely little chromatic run mid solo. Good practice for a beginner to get their speed up.
Not much else that I can add to this one. Nothing too complex going on here, but a great well composed solo nonetheless. This, or Michael Schenker at #84 if I had to choose? I'd have to go with Schenker, but that's just me and the Schenker solo is pretty much right in my wheelhouse as far as solos go.
Until next time, thanks for watching. Stevie Ray at his quickest coming up next at # 83 with Scuttle Buttin. Still need a few more days with that one. She's quick, and blues is not my forte, but it's coming along nicely so far.
Edit: just want to give a shoutout to u/LukeSniper at this point. Just discovered last night that he's a Redditor. I've mentioned once or twice that another guy on YouTube was doing something similar (except he had added lessons) with this top 100 list but apparently gave up a few years ago. That's Luke.
I'm old school and still like to use my ears as much as I can to learn a solo (I hate tabs), but sometimes a guy gets stuck. I've turned to u/LukeSniper's YouTube channel a number of times for parts that I was having difficulty with. I just want to thank Luke for his help. Your YouTube channel is awesome buddy! Thanks for all your help with the fidd
... keep reading on reddit ➡For years this is something ive thought could be a great musucal (but im not a playwright). Just a hypothetical Share thoughts if you want.
