Firth of Fifth is a song by the British progressive rock band Genesis. It first appeared as the third track on the 1973 album Selling England by the Pound, and was performed as a live piece either in whole or in part throughout the band’s career. Steve Hackett’s guitar solo on “Firth of Fifth” has become a favourite among Genesis fans, included me!
I searched for the various versions of this solo and liked both the studio original one and the last versions Hackett plays live with is own bands. Then I had the opportunity to play it live thanks to my friend Leonardo Beltri, as band director, who push to insert it in a live track list.
Starring: Leonardo Beltri (band director), Maurizio Giovanardi (electric guitar), Luke Lavorgna (electric guitar), Paolo Boccadamo (keyboards), Mauro Sacchini (bass), Davide Volpini (drums).
Here I’m presenting you three versions of this solo (in terms of sound/interpretation):
1) Hackett Live version of last period (see for example live in Budapest 2004 or live in Liverpool 2015)
2) Hackett Live version of Tokyo Tapes in 1999
3) Original Studio version
For the Live covers I used the backing created live during a rehearsal session with our beautiful group recluted by Leonardo Beltri in 2016 with the great Mauro Sacchini on Bass (which remember me of a mix influences between Levin and Wetton). Mauro over this track used the MTD 535 Bass and the BS5000 Parsek ampli… he was very inspired as you will listen to …
For the Studio original cover I decided to go over a good backing track found on Internet on which I adjust some things. I prefer this for the studio since it has a more similar instruments mood to the original Selling England By The Pound recording.
KEMPER SETTINGS
I used in all the covers the Les Paul Standard on Bridge Pickup, then I differentiate the ampli and the settings on the Kemper for the three version. For the live versions to obtain distortion I used a clean amp with a Muff in front of it, while for the studio version I used a dirty channel HiWatt and a boost/EQ before the pre-amp section.
In all the rigs I used the morphing feature to go from the “verse” part towards the “chorus”. To maintain the sustain on the famous F# for three bars I helped the natural sustain of the guitar (which is already great) with the Hold Delay function activated by the last button on the Kemper Remote. In the video I clearly show how I used the KPA remote.
I made two VIDEO versions LIVE and STUDIO:
- VIDEO LIVE VERSION
- VIDEO STUDIO VERSION
- Download the Guitar TABs & Chords I personally adjust for the song:
- Download the Backing Tracks below:
- GEAR USED
Guitar: Gibson Les Paul Standard 2012
- Below you can download for FREE the Kemper Profiling Amplifier RIG I used for the Studio Version:
Hope you like it! Check the site for other songs and cover!
Maurizio70
I do not own this song. This cover is simply a tribute to the original owners.
ANY COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL IS USED UNDER THE GUIDELINES OF “FAIR USE”. SUCH MATERIAL REMAINS THE COPYRIGHT OF THE ORIGINAL HOLDER AND IS USED HERE ONLY FOR THE PURPOSES OF EDUCATION, COMPARISON, AND CRITICISM ONLY. NO INFRINGEMENT OF COPYRIGHT IS INTENDED.