Descending melodic rock guitar song?

September 26, 2011 1:29 AM

Here comes an ultra-vague what's-that-song request. Rock. "Descending", melodic guitar intro. Almost certainly 80s or earlier.

I heard only the intro and I know very little about music, and what I do know I'm bad at describing... so if anybody helps me get this, I'll be dead impressed.

posted by hoverboards don't work on water to media & arts (29 answers total)

Is it clean or distorted? Fast/high energy, or lumbering/thunderous?
posted by TheSecretDecoderRing at 1:39 AM on September 26, 2011

I heard it covered by a wedding band, but I'm sure it's not original to them.

Clean, neither fast nor lumbering - but I'm going on the opening riff only.
posted by hoverboards don't work on water at 1:47 AM on September 26, 2011

Cream - Sunshine of Your Love.
posted by larb at 2:11 AM on September 26, 2011

Sorry, it wasn't that. Not that I know anything about the timeline of rock, but I'm going to guess it was more modern than that - maybe 70s or 80s.

You've got the idea behind what I mean by descending, but the descent in question was much longer - a real progression from high to low over a longer period of time.
posted by hoverboards don't work on water at 2:14 AM on September 26, 2011

What about "Pictures of You" by The Cure?
posted by wherever, whatever at 2:37 AM on September 26, 2011

Good attempt but I'm afraid that's not it.
posted by hoverboards don't work on water at 2:42 AM on September 26, 2011

Maybe it was the bass, not the guitar?
posted by eric1halfb at 2:46 AM on September 26, 2011

No, in the suggestions so far the "descent" barely seems to cover an octave, whereas the song I'm thinking of noticeably drops down from high to low, at which point the drums begin (that's probably a useful piece of info, should have mentioned it before).
posted by hoverboards don't work on water at 2:58 AM on September 26, 2011

Possibly Dazed and Confused?
posted by daikaisho at 3:06 AM on September 26, 2011

...though that's a bit lumbering, so perhaps not. Curses!
posted by daikaisho at 3:07 AM on September 26, 2011

The Cure "Just Like Heaven"?
posted by bardic at 3:12 AM on September 26, 2011

Maybe you could tell us something about the mood or the style of the song? Was it a ballad, like a love song? Energetic? Something to dance to? Any other instruments? Keyboard? Bass?
posted by eric1halfb at 3:17 AM on September 26, 2011

If that's what lumbering means, then it definitely wasn't lumbering. I have discovered that I like The Cure a lot - but it's not that one.

Pretty sure the passage I'm thinking of starts on the lead guitar rather than the bass.
posted by hoverboards don't work on water at 3:18 AM on September 26, 2011

Dizz Knee Land?
posted by fleacircus at 4:56 AM on September 26, 2011

Melt With You by Modern English?
posted by Potomac Avenue at 4:57 AM on September 26, 2011

The Cult - She Sells Sanctuary
posted by maloon at 5:12 AM on September 26, 2011

What genre was it? Hard Rock, Indie, Grunge, New Wave, Punk, Yacht Rock, come on, give us something to work with here.
posted by empath at 5:28 AM on September 26, 2011

I'm going to go with Foreplay.
posted by empath at 5:30 AM on September 26, 2011

ELO - Strange Magic starts with a 20 second, 'clean' descending guitar solo, dates from 1976, and is the sort of song wedding bands play. But, yeah, clarity on the genre would help, since 'rock' covers everything from Sabbath through to ELO's noodly orchestral workings.
posted by wackybrit at 5:48 AM on September 26, 2011

Duran Duran, Come Undone?
posted by ourobouros at 6:29 AM on September 26, 2011

It's not quite "clean," but White Wedding comes to mind...
posted by schmod at 6:46 AM on September 26, 2011

Runnin with the devil? If not, is that stylistically closer?
posted by tremspeed at 6:47 AM on September 26, 2011

Styx - Come Sail Away?
posted by pwb503 at 7:20 AM on September 26, 2011

Sunny Afternoon by the Kinks?
posted by ROTFL at 7:28 AM on September 26, 2011

ACDC - Thunderstruck?

That would have been a hell of a wedding.
posted by Sutekh at 7:36 AM on September 26, 2011

Sweet Child O' Mine or Welcome to the Jungle by Guns n Roses

Shook Me All Night by AC/DC

In A Gadda Da Vida by Iron Butterfly

Life in the Fast Lane by The Eagles

Don't Fear the Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult
posted by melissasaurus at 7:53 AM on September 26, 2011

Well, if nothing else I've discovered some nice tunes by asking this question. The closest, stylistically, is Life in the Fast Lane, by The Eagles.

empath, I'm sorry but I don't understand genres well enough to specify - probably Hard Rock.

I'm going to ask for contact details of the band so I can ask them directly. Of course my contact, the groom, has now gone away on honeymoon for 3 weeks... but if I find out I will be sure to follow up.

Thank you all.
posted by hoverboards don't work on water at 8:00 AM on September 26, 2011

WOAH I got it!

Baby Please Don't Go.

I managed to locate the wedding band. They identify as local and have a website, duh. Confirmed by memories of beardedness. I went down their repertoire list with YouTube and found it. I have to say, they did a stellar cover - definitely hard rock.

Thank you all once again.
posted by hoverboards don't work on water at 8:23 AM on September 26, 2011

Joe Walsh - Life's Been Good
posted by maloon at 7:27 PM on September 26, 2011