cannot resist Carl's challenge to a friendly duel of riffs (do check out his penetrating insights on the nature of riffage, yes the riff should clench you inside, anticipating how it resolves)

now I'm really NOT a fan of the Nuge but this one has stayed with me every since an encounter with the CD soundtrack to Dazed and Confused and a strong spliff in the summer of 1994 (the prequel to an expedition to the Labrynth if memory serves)



actually though the riff is ace what really sends me is the rolling, gluey bassline, the processed sounding hi-hat/cymbal and the whole section of lead playing that starts around 2.15, which i venture to suggest is quite psychedelic

now i wonder is there a relation between great riffage and slower tempos (cos 'stranglehold' is quite sluggish really).... relating to what Carl says about timing... you need time for the riff to unfold, for the spacing within the riff-note sequence to take effect, the faster the tune is the more that is going to be hampered, flustered out of existence....

please ignore the lyrics if you can (this is going to be a consistent problem with Riff Week unfortunately--just wait til we get to the Scorpions....)