Is the guitar solo in Confusion (1983) the last `solo' solo Bernard ever played in a NO song?
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£50 Note wrote: He solos all over the end of Dream Attack, last song on Technique.
I think that solo you're thinking of on the studio recording is Gillian's: Dream Attack live footage
Bernard does do a few more lines on the live version during the Technique tour.
Then, there are the solos for Run, Guilty Partner - don't know who did those.
Eric Wang wrote:
£50 Note wrote: He solos all over the end of Dream Attack, last song on Technique.
I think that solo you're thinking of on the studio recording is Gillian's: Dream Attack live footage
Bernard does do a few more lines on the live version during the Technique tour.
Then, there are the solos for Run, Guilty Partner - don't know who did those.
you can hear bernard's part on the fade out, much higher up the neck and more solo-ish but still hardly van halen I think 'way of life' qualifies as a guitar solo - in fact he seems to go all velvet underground/j mascis for most of the last 2 mins of the song
'Sooner than you think' springs to mind, also 'State of the Nation'. Of the newer stuff (even though it's 10 years old now 
) I'd say 'Brutal', which has a fairly prominent lead guitar part, which I'd imagine is Bernard.
CTB
60mph has a guitar solo in the middle 8 does it not? I know it's supplemented by effects and keyboards but it is a guitar doing the main bit.
I always thought the lack of guitar solos was down to Hooky's playing style, can't have two people fret-wanking in the middle of your song.
John Robie played at least some of the guitars on "Shellshock"...there's a photo of it but I can't seem to find it now.
The "Confusion" solo doesn't really sound like Bernard, does it? I'd have thought it's either Hooky or somebody who happened to be in the studio at the time (Robie again?)
I still think it's the last "Big solo" he ever played....(if he played it)
The solo from Dream Attack is more of a outro riff.... Sooner than you think, Angel Dust, and shallshock are more ambient guitar riffing than `solo' solos
What I think I'm getting is that Bernard, in my view, was a lot more soloy' in Joy Division but this changed with New Order and he got less interested in the guitar...well obviously lol. But I just think Confusion with that kind of searing, over-the-topness, This is the height of the song' feeling, qualifies as his last proper solo, or at least his last best one.
Not that they need it, of course, considering all the brilliant solos from hook, I just think it's interesting.
Just my two cents
foxystarship wrote: I still think it's the last "Big solo" he ever played....(if he played it) What I think I'm getting is that Bernard, in my view, was a lot more `soloy' in Joy Division but this changed with New Order and he got less interested in the guitar... Just my two cents
agreed, and one of the reasons is that it was hard for him to play and sing at the same time.
What about Let's Go, eh? It's Barney's style of playing ... the track is full of guitars. No wonder he couldn't play that one live.
As mentioned, there are a few solos on Technique. When I think of Barney's prowess with guitar solos I must admit Confusion is not the first record that springs to mind.
indiearchivist wrote: John Robie played at least some of the guitars on "Shellshock"...there's a photo of it but I can't seem to find it now.
Is it this one from Julia Nagle's Invisible Girl website:
"American record producer John Robie working on a session for New Order / Factory Records on song 'Shellshocked'"
Just my own personal opinion but the NO tracks Robie worked on are just... terrible. The "stuttering" production values are atrocious and the female backing vocals overpower any redeeming features in the music the band came up with.
I think I remember a passage from the book "From Joy Division To New Order" where Barney was said to have stumbled out of the studio during a fairly lengthy Robie recording session and mentioned "We've finished but I'm not sure what I think of it all" or something to that effect. Bit of a visionary there.
I think Shell-shock could've been a pretty good track if it wasn't for the final mix giving the impression your CD player was "stuck". Lots of good jamming elements from both Hooky and Barney as well as some picked guitar lines... surely it could have been put together a bit better? 
Mind you in fairness this is 2010 and I'm looking back on a mix from 1986. Who knows...
I always felt suspicious about Confusion production: how much was the real contribution from the band and how much from Baker and his studio. That solo sounds like nothing that Bernard had ever played - before and after. First of all, that solo sounds very "American" (it reminds me - I don't know why - some hair bands from the 80s). Secondly, when performed live around that time - the solo was missing from the song.
I've never quite understood why most New Order fans are so critical of Robie's production and remixes. Come on - the guy was partially responsible for classics like "Planet Rock" and "Hip Hop, Be Bop (Don't Stop)"!
I personally feel that Robie's 12" remix of "Sub-culture" is fantastic - very cutting edge for its time and still holds up well today in my opinion. Much better than say the "Run2" remix that everyone still drools over. The full 9:45 version of "Shellshock" is likewise incredible.
His Cabaret Voltaire remixes are likewise classic.
-Mike
I don't hear any guitar solo on Confusion. Are you referring to the final bass solo?
on the 1985 Pumped Full of Drugs video, Bernard and Hook initially swap instruments. Bernard plays that 4-note funky bass refrain while Hook plays that fast Nile Rodgers style rhythm guitar (I presume they swapped because Bernard cannot play the guitar and sing the vocals at the same time).
Then Hook swaps back to bass and plays that high register bass solo. So there's a two bass attack going on towards the end....
dave soligo wrote: I don't hear any guitar solo on Confusion. Are you referring to the final bass solo?
on the 1985 Pumped Full of Drugs video, Bernard and Hook initially swap instruments. Bernard plays that 4-note funky bass refrain while Hook plays that fast Nile Rodgers style rhythm guitar (I presume they swapped because Bernard cannot play the guitar and sing the vocals at the same time).
Then Hook swaps back to bass and plays that high register bass solo. So there's a two bass attack going on towards the end....
No, it's there, on the original 12" (fac 93), the widdly-diddly, reverby hammer-on solo just before the "ra-ta-ta-ta..." chanting bit. It's a bit naff, too.
I'm almost certain it's not Bernard playing it, it's an 80's big-hair type solo that is completely different to the playing he'd done up to that point or since.
I think Jonny Marr once compared Bernard's notational technique to Neil Young, with economic, almost one-string soloing (if you call it that) - not technical genuis, but is brilliant in the context of the song. 'All day long', for example, has a brilliant guitar part that is a world away from that thing on 'Confusion'.
CTB
OK. i just listened to the full 12" again. This solo definitely doesn't sound anything like Bernard's playing style. Likely the work of Arthur Baker or some session guy. I'm pretty sure that they have not ever incorporated this solo live, have they?
I always thought that part of what made Barney's playing so brilliant is that his guitar parts were always in service of the song. You notice how great the songs are before you notice his playing. A good example of this is "Disorder" by Joy Division. Another one that springs to mind is "Regret" by New Order.
