The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
December 31, 2021 4:56 PM Subscribe
The thorny subject of the greatest guitar solo of all time has long been a fiercely contested debate, probably because every solo is different. How do you compare, say, “Comfortably Numb” with “Crazy Train,” or “Stairway to Heaven” with “Sultans of Swing”? It’s impossible. Still, public opinion ebbs and flows, and we wanted to find out which solos currently rank among our readers as the greatest of them all.
OP here: Where the fuck is Stevie Ray Vaughan? Ridiculous.
OP here: Where the fuck is Stevie Ray Vaughan? Ridiculous.
For your consideration, here's a video of Brian May discussing Nuno Bettencourt's solo from Extreme's Get The Funk Out.
posted by mhoye at 5:14 PM on December 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by mhoye at 5:14 PM on December 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
oh my. Jimi near the Eagles...I wonder if they ever met. While stairway is a nice ride.
"I don't think that's right
I've really been the best, the best of fools"
posted by clavdivs at 5:20 PM on December 31, 2021 [3 favorites]
"I don't think that's right
I've really been the best, the best of fools"
posted by clavdivs at 5:20 PM on December 31, 2021 [3 favorites]
It's pretty weird to see this list coming from Guitar Player, when it seems to have been compiled by people who've only ever heard guitars on the radio in their dad's car.
posted by mhoye at 5:23 PM on December 31, 2021 [29 favorites]
posted by mhoye at 5:23 PM on December 31, 2021 [29 favorites]
I didn't even know Sweet Child O' Mine had a guitar solo. I was too distracted by the swooping crane shots during the solo in November Rain.
posted by clawsoon at 5:27 PM on December 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by clawsoon at 5:27 PM on December 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
Okay, I've got a new contender for personal favorite guitar solo from this year.
Michelle Zauner, aka Japanese Breakfast, closed out the magnificent album Jubilee with the track Posing for Cars, culminating in a guitar solo that absolutely soars.
posted by MrVisible at 5:33 PM on December 31, 2021 [9 favorites]
Michelle Zauner, aka Japanese Breakfast, closed out the magnificent album Jubilee with the track Posing for Cars, culminating in a guitar solo that absolutely soars.
posted by MrVisible at 5:33 PM on December 31, 2021 [9 favorites]
Is this the thread where we post our favorite guitar solos?
To be honest, I’m not much for guitar heroics, but I’ve always loved this solo by Nancy Wilson at the beginning of Crazy on You
posted by Kattullus at 5:34 PM on December 31, 2021 [19 favorites]
To be honest, I’m not much for guitar heroics, but I’ve always loved this solo by Nancy Wilson at the beginning of Crazy on You
posted by Kattullus at 5:34 PM on December 31, 2021 [19 favorites]
It doesn't count as a solo, I suppose, but: Joe Satriani's "Nineteen Eighty"
posted by mhoye at 5:38 PM on December 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by mhoye at 5:38 PM on December 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
Putting Jimi "he cut Clapton, he killed god" Hendrix one notch behind the Eagles on a list like this is something you should be summoned to explain in front of a UN Tribunal.
posted by mhoye at 5:46 PM on December 31, 2021 [51 favorites]
posted by mhoye at 5:46 PM on December 31, 2021 [51 favorites]
Where the fuck is Stevie Ray Vaughan? Ridiculous.
Here he is, right here. The thing that stands out to me most clearly in this particular solo is his unconventional sense of rhythm and his incredible right hand technique. It’s not so much all the notes, because Stevie frequently played all the notes, but the little gaps he leaves, and where he leaves them. A lot a people can play fast, but Stevie’s right hand was just extraordinary.
Empty Arms
posted by Devils Rancher at 5:57 PM on December 31, 2021 [5 favorites]
Here he is, right here. The thing that stands out to me most clearly in this particular solo is his unconventional sense of rhythm and his incredible right hand technique. It’s not so much all the notes, because Stevie frequently played all the notes, but the little gaps he leaves, and where he leaves them. A lot a people can play fast, but Stevie’s right hand was just extraordinary.
Empty Arms
posted by Devils Rancher at 5:57 PM on December 31, 2021 [5 favorites]
Now do the greatest drug-free guitar solo.
posted by clawsoon at 5:59 PM on December 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by clawsoon at 5:59 PM on December 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
Now do the greatest drug-free guitar solo.
I feel like SRV has that one covered too.
posted by Devils Rancher at 6:10 PM on December 31, 2021 [3 favorites]
I feel like SRV has that one covered too.
posted by Devils Rancher at 6:10 PM on December 31, 2021 [3 favorites]
These are mostly just so bog standard...
Best solos in all those hit songs you know.
(Sorry rhythm guitar player here, who can't play lead, but knows a good one when I hear one).
posted by Windopaene at 6:13 PM on December 31, 2021 [3 favorites]
Best solos in all those hit songs you know.
(Sorry rhythm guitar player here, who can't play lead, but knows a good one when I hear one).
posted by Windopaene at 6:13 PM on December 31, 2021 [3 favorites]
Shouldn't Robert Fripp's solo on Baby's on Fire be boilerplate for this sort of list?
posted by brachiopod at 6:15 PM on December 31, 2021 [21 favorites]
posted by brachiopod at 6:15 PM on December 31, 2021 [21 favorites]
loved this solo by Nancy Wilson at the beginning of Crazy on You
Sweartogod I played this Tuesday for morale reasons at work
Gleðilegt nýtt ár og þessi flotta uppgötvun.
Recuerdos De La Alhambra by Chet Atkins.
posted by clavdivs at 6:16 PM on December 31, 2021 [3 favorites]
Sweartogod I played this Tuesday for morale reasons at work
Gleðilegt nýtt ár og þessi flotta uppgötvun.
Recuerdos De La Alhambra by Chet Atkins.
posted by clavdivs at 6:16 PM on December 31, 2021 [3 favorites]
Yeah, placing Hendrix in whatever slot- he had to go somewhere, but how is Machine Gun not the best solo he played in any universe? Seems lazy.
Also, here’s another favorite of mine that wasn’t a commercial success: Richard Thompson The Way That It Shows.
posted by Devils Rancher at 6:19 PM on December 31, 2021 [9 favorites]
Also, here’s another favorite of mine that wasn’t a commercial success: Richard Thompson The Way That It Shows.
posted by Devils Rancher at 6:19 PM on December 31, 2021 [9 favorites]
I've really been the best, the best of fools"
Oh, right. Say what you will about Led Zeppelin, and you may not be wrong, but Page had some moments that were just transcendental. I was in a cover band for a while with a guy who knew that song note for note and while a lot of what we played was fun, or just songs, or that were 3 minutes I’ll never get back, that one always took me to a happy place.
posted by Devils Rancher at 6:29 PM on December 31, 2021 [3 favorites]
Oh, right. Say what you will about Led Zeppelin, and you may not be wrong, but Page had some moments that were just transcendental. I was in a cover band for a while with a guy who knew that song note for note and while a lot of what we played was fun, or just songs, or that were 3 minutes I’ll never get back, that one always took me to a happy place.
posted by Devils Rancher at 6:29 PM on December 31, 2021 [3 favorites]
Quicksilver Messenger Service, "Who Do You Love?" They had some very amazing solos. I think U2 had some very top work as well, "In God's Country." It is kind of cool Eddie van Halen gets a double dip.
posted by Oyéah at 6:31 PM on December 31, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by Oyéah at 6:31 PM on December 31, 2021 [3 favorites]
Sultans isn't even Knopfler's best what the heck. I'm not a Straits completist so maybe there's better out there but I would definitely put Once Upon a Time in the West off Alchemy above it.
posted by juv3nal at 6:32 PM on December 31, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by juv3nal at 6:32 PM on December 31, 2021 [5 favorites]
Just making sure Larry Carlton is here. Thanks.
posted by How the runs scored at 6:38 PM on December 31, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by How the runs scored at 6:38 PM on December 31, 2021 [5 favorites]
I think U2 had some very top work as well
I mean, really, it depends on what you think the purpose of a guitar solo is. The airplane strafing runs that Edge creates on his guitar during Bullet The Blue Sky are a kind of sonic art that is rarely matched anywhere else.
posted by hippybear at 6:42 PM on December 31, 2021 [11 favorites]
I mean, really, it depends on what you think the purpose of a guitar solo is. The airplane strafing runs that Edge creates on his guitar during Bullet The Blue Sky are a kind of sonic art that is rarely matched anywhere else.
posted by hippybear at 6:42 PM on December 31, 2021 [11 favorites]
Here's my favorite: Looking at You by MC5.
And Stairway to Heaven isn't Jimmy Page's best - that's Since I've Been Loving You.
posted by pH Indicating Socks at 6:47 PM on December 31, 2021 [5 favorites]
And Stairway to Heaven isn't Jimmy Page's best - that's Since I've Been Loving You.
posted by pH Indicating Socks at 6:47 PM on December 31, 2021 [5 favorites]
“We’re an American band” by Yo La Tengo (not a cover, oddly enough, considering their usual proclivities).
posted by hototogisu at 6:55 PM on December 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by hototogisu at 6:55 PM on December 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
There's a lot of classic rock here, huh. I was expecting to see something from Tash Sultana (Jungle?) or Kaki King (Doing the Wrong Thing?).
What defines a guitar solo? Is it necessarily a guitar break in the middle of a full-band performance? Does a solo performer not qualify to do guitar solos? (honest question, this is pretty out of my wheelhouse)
posted by curious nu at 6:56 PM on December 31, 2021 [8 favorites]
What defines a guitar solo? Is it necessarily a guitar break in the middle of a full-band performance? Does a solo performer not qualify to do guitar solos? (honest question, this is pretty out of my wheelhouse)
posted by curious nu at 6:56 PM on December 31, 2021 [8 favorites]
Ctrl-F Spinal Tap Reunion 1992 (with extra Fred Willard)
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 6:57 PM on December 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 6:57 PM on December 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
In addition to focussing on dad rock, Guitar Player made a list with no women.
posted by roolya_boolya at 7:05 PM on December 31, 2021 [15 favorites]
posted by roolya_boolya at 7:05 PM on December 31, 2021 [15 favorites]
My vote for Mark Knopfler / Dire Straits would be "Brothers in Arms" rather than "Sultans of Swing."
Would rather see Mefi's list. A reader's poll is bound to lean into classic rock and obvious (somewhat stale) choices. Let's see some Mdou Moctar or ... anything off the beaten path? It's telling that there's nothing newer than 1990 here. You mean to say all great guitar solos were recorded by 1990 and everybody else can just pack up and go home?
posted by jzb at 7:16 PM on December 31, 2021 [7 favorites]
Would rather see Mefi's list. A reader's poll is bound to lean into classic rock and obvious (somewhat stale) choices. Let's see some Mdou Moctar or ... anything off the beaten path? It's telling that there's nothing newer than 1990 here. You mean to say all great guitar solos were recorded by 1990 and everybody else can just pack up and go home?
posted by jzb at 7:16 PM on December 31, 2021 [7 favorites]
Many best-of lists are designed to enrage you, but Rick Beato aims to engage you.
posted by fairmettle at 7:17 PM on December 31, 2021 [9 favorites]
posted by fairmettle at 7:17 PM on December 31, 2021 [9 favorites]
Just popping in to say... any random recording of Neil Young playing "Cortez the Killer" live
posted by billjings at 7:18 PM on December 31, 2021 [15 favorites]
posted by billjings at 7:18 PM on December 31, 2021 [15 favorites]
Yeah, this is the classic rockapalooza stuff that a lot of people would know.
But for my money, the best is on a song called The Haunting by The Golden Palominos, which I'm 99.9% sure is Richard Thompson. Not flashy, doesn't go on for eight minutes, but it always takes me on a journey, no matter how often I hear it.
If that's too obscure, I'll vote for Maria Muldaur's Midnight At The Oasis, a hit tune from the 70s that seems to evoke pretty strong feelings among people's opinions whom I don't particularly respect, which features an extremely masterful and tasty short solo by musician Amos Garrett.
posted by 2N2222 at 7:18 PM on December 31, 2021 [8 favorites]
But for my money, the best is on a song called The Haunting by The Golden Palominos, which I'm 99.9% sure is Richard Thompson. Not flashy, doesn't go on for eight minutes, but it always takes me on a journey, no matter how often I hear it.
If that's too obscure, I'll vote for Maria Muldaur's Midnight At The Oasis, a hit tune from the 70s that seems to evoke pretty strong feelings among people's opinions whom I don't particularly respect, which features an extremely masterful and tasty short solo by musician Amos Garrett.
posted by 2N2222 at 7:18 PM on December 31, 2021 [8 favorites]
A recent entry into the canon IMO is Adrianne Lenker's solo at the end of the Big Thief song Not
posted by Rinku at 7:21 PM on December 31, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by Rinku at 7:21 PM on December 31, 2021 [3 favorites]
Damn, what an old, dudely list. Not saying that none of those solos are legit, but would it kill them to consider women or anything recorded from the 90s onward?
In the interest of not just driving by this thread to drop a turd, here’s Marissa Paternoster from the Screaming Females kicking ass.
posted by ActionPopulated at 7:22 PM on December 31, 2021 [10 favorites]
In the interest of not just driving by this thread to drop a turd, here’s Marissa Paternoster from the Screaming Females kicking ass.
posted by ActionPopulated at 7:22 PM on December 31, 2021 [10 favorites]
@brachiopod: I thought about mentioning Fripp, but, personally, I think he transcends mere ratings. Tossing Robert Fripp into the discussion is sort of like using a cheat code.
I have to wonder what he would consider a great guitar solo, though.
posted by JustSayNoDawg at 7:24 PM on December 31, 2021
I have to wonder what he would consider a great guitar solo, though.
posted by JustSayNoDawg at 7:24 PM on December 31, 2021
Even for someone with a strong reflexive dislike of performative snobbery, this is incredibly weaksauce. Take "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" away from Clapton (who, in addition to having outed himself as an extraordinarily shitty person, is heavily overrated) and give it to Prince, whose superlative version more than rivals the original. (You could also put "Let's Go Crazy" in there if you're trying to stick to originals, but then you'd also get rid of "Crossroads".) Put in "Spread Your Wings" for Queen. "The Way That It Shows" is a good Richard Thompson piece, but there's so much of the rest of his catalog that would also work; the title cut from Shoot Out the Lights or "Walking on a Wire" or the coda to "Tear-Stained Letter", just off the top of my head.
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:29 PM on December 31, 2021 [8 favorites]
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:29 PM on December 31, 2021 [8 favorites]
Since "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" is in the original list, just gonna leave Jeff Healey's cover (and solo) here. Also, speaking of "While My Guitar..." where the hell is Prince in all this?
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:31 PM on December 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:31 PM on December 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
Heh. Or what Halloween Jack said.
And yeah, the guitar on "Shoot Out the Lights" is brilliant.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:33 PM on December 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
And yeah, the guitar on "Shoot Out the Lights" is brilliant.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:33 PM on December 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
I would argue that Annie Clark's take on Dig a Pony is just one long glorious solo and worthy of contention.
posted by calamari kid at 7:35 PM on December 31, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by calamari kid at 7:35 PM on December 31, 2021 [6 favorites]
Soooo many boomer bends.
posted by signal at 7:36 PM on December 31, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by signal at 7:36 PM on December 31, 2021 [6 favorites]
I am a fan of the sub 10 second solo, like in The Replacements’ You’re My Favorite Thing, or Peanuts by the Police. I need to make a list of those… and yeah women can’t be absent here. Longer stuff but I’ll take an hour of Electric Wizard or Boris please. And bands that don’t use a guitar like Lightning Bolt or Morphine should get a category.
I’m just happy they left it at 20 as a convo starter and see it develop here.
posted by drowsy at 7:43 PM on December 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
I’m just happy they left it at 20 as a convo starter and see it develop here.
posted by drowsy at 7:43 PM on December 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
No Sister Rosetta Tharpe? Really? I can understand not adding “Marquee Moon” or ”Matty Groves” or ”Private Plane”, but without Sister Rosetta we wouldn’t have rock and roll.
posted by pxe2000 at 7:48 PM on December 31, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by pxe2000 at 7:48 PM on December 31, 2021 [5 favorites]
June from Fanny delivers a solo on "Hey Bulldog" with such swagger that we might think, are we worthy? And the answer of course is no, we are not.
posted by credulous at 7:50 PM on December 31, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by credulous at 7:50 PM on December 31, 2021 [4 favorites]
Beverly Watkins was playing right up until her death at 80 in 2019.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:52 PM on December 31, 2021
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:52 PM on December 31, 2021
For me, there are a few players (Hendrix and Jimi Page, for instance) who have so many prodigious moments that no single solo comes to mind. And then there's some of the virulently spectacular stuff that Thurston Moore and Lee Renaldo delivered as a two headed monster at various points through Sonic Youth's long career; again, way too many examples to single anything out.
Tommy Bolan comes to mind as someone most folks probably haven't heard of. I'm a particular fan of his contributions to Billy Cobham's 1973 album Spectrum. Stratus is a particular standout. What happened to him? Deep Purple drafted him in to replace Richie Blackmore when he left ... and a few years later, he od'ed on heroin.
And I've got to say it. I am sick to f***ing death of Comfortably Numb.
posted by philip-random at 7:56 PM on December 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
Tommy Bolan comes to mind as someone most folks probably haven't heard of. I'm a particular fan of his contributions to Billy Cobham's 1973 album Spectrum. Stratus is a particular standout. What happened to him? Deep Purple drafted him in to replace Richie Blackmore when he left ... and a few years later, he od'ed on heroin.
And I've got to say it. I am sick to f***ing death of Comfortably Numb.
posted by philip-random at 7:56 PM on December 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
John Frusciante‘s solo on Californication is a great one; best, I don’t know but pretty damn good.
posted by sudogeek at 7:57 PM on December 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by sudogeek at 7:57 PM on December 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
one of my favorites is robert fripp's solo on 21st century schizoid man on king crimson's usa album - he makes this guitar scream in agony - i wish i could find it on you tube
neil young - rocking in the free world - it's amazing a guitar can live through that
jerry garcia's solo on hard to handle - august 8, 1971 - it starts at about 4.15 and because it's an audience tape you can really hear them winding the crowd up
link wray's rawhide on his 70s album bullshot
son seals' i can't hold out from live and burning
the whole thing about cream's crossroads is interesting as the tapes of other performances on that tour are out there - it was generally performed as a pretty much straight two step syncopated blues but on the version we know, ginger was a beat off - neither he or eric could figure out how to get back on track and jack bruce did a brilliant job of tying the two conflicting beats together and it spurred eric to some damn classic soloing
i'm also really into steve hillage's aftaglid
needless to say, hendrix's machine gun must be on this list
mother earth is pregnant for the 3rd time because y'all have knocked her up ... you can tear up any list that doesn't have maggot brain on it
posted by pyramid termite at 8:01 PM on December 31, 2021 [12 favorites]
neil young - rocking in the free world - it's amazing a guitar can live through that
jerry garcia's solo on hard to handle - august 8, 1971 - it starts at about 4.15 and because it's an audience tape you can really hear them winding the crowd up
link wray's rawhide on his 70s album bullshot
son seals' i can't hold out from live and burning
the whole thing about cream's crossroads is interesting as the tapes of other performances on that tour are out there - it was generally performed as a pretty much straight two step syncopated blues but on the version we know, ginger was a beat off - neither he or eric could figure out how to get back on track and jack bruce did a brilliant job of tying the two conflicting beats together and it spurred eric to some damn classic soloing
i'm also really into steve hillage's aftaglid
needless to say, hendrix's machine gun must be on this list
mother earth is pregnant for the 3rd time because y'all have knocked her up ... you can tear up any list that doesn't have maggot brain on it
posted by pyramid termite at 8:01 PM on December 31, 2021 [12 favorites]
Putting Jimi "he cut Clapton, he killed god " Hendrix one notch behind the EaglesActually, it’s just Eagles, which is yet another reason why they should not be taken seriously.
If you’re gonna bring up this ridiculous band, I am going to force you to adhere to the absurd, nails-on-a-chalkboard way they decided to stylize their name.
posted by schmod at 8:09 PM on December 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
All wrong. It's obviously Prince's guitar solo for "Just My Imagination" (After Show, Live at Paard van Troje, The Hague, 1988).
posted by Hairy Lobster at 8:11 PM on December 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Hairy Lobster at 8:11 PM on December 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
Pretty sure this list, in every incarnation from every guitar magazine, has been basically the same since I started playing guitar in the late 90s. Anyway the best guitar solos of all time are:
Mike Scheidt (YOB), “Marrow”
Trevor de Brauw (Pelican), “Sirius”
Wata (Boris), “Farewell”
Steven Drozd (The Flaming Lips), “Feeling Yourself Disintegrate”
Unless you want shreddy, then just take your pick from Hendrix, Satriani’s pre-2000s oeuvre, or pretty much anything Tosin Abasi has ever played.
posted by sinfony at 8:12 PM on December 31, 2021 [3 favorites]
Mike Scheidt (YOB), “Marrow”
Trevor de Brauw (Pelican), “Sirius”
Wata (Boris), “Farewell”
Steven Drozd (The Flaming Lips), “Feeling Yourself Disintegrate”
Unless you want shreddy, then just take your pick from Hendrix, Satriani’s pre-2000s oeuvre, or pretty much anything Tosin Abasi has ever played.
posted by sinfony at 8:12 PM on December 31, 2021 [3 favorites]
How is Eagles any different from Fleetwood Mac or Frankie Goes To Hollywood or ABBA?
I don't understand your argument.
posted by hippybear at 8:13 PM on December 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
I don't understand your argument.
posted by hippybear at 8:13 PM on December 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
I think about this one when people talk guitar solos. "Punk Rock Girl"
posted by dogstoevski at 8:14 PM on December 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by dogstoevski at 8:14 PM on December 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
Coming in to third Prince's performance on While My Guitar Gently Weeps. He plays with such effortlessness, its magic or divine inspiration.
posted by JDHarper at 8:15 PM on December 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by JDHarper at 8:15 PM on December 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
Not to dismiss the mentions of newer / non-male-type guitarists, but since Jeff Healey was mentioned above I wanted to nominate this solo (well really the whole song) with Dr. John, Marcus Miller, and Omar Hakim as an absolute burner.
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:20 PM on December 31, 2021
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:20 PM on December 31, 2021
I am a fan of the sub 10 second solo
Ah yes, James Honeyman-Scott delivering 16 seconds of utter perfection on Kid.
posted by Devils Rancher at 8:31 PM on December 31, 2021 [6 favorites]
Ah yes, James Honeyman-Scott delivering 16 seconds of utter perfection on Kid.
posted by Devils Rancher at 8:31 PM on December 31, 2021 [6 favorites]
I've long felt that the best guitar solo is "We Will Rock You" from Brian May. It gets in and gets out utterly perfectly. It caps the song and is brilliant.
Prince's best guitar solo is just about anytime he played "Joy In Repetition" live. Like this one. Or this one.
posted by Catblack at 8:34 PM on December 31, 2021 [4 favorites]
Prince's best guitar solo is just about anytime he played "Joy In Repetition" live. Like this one. Or this one.
posted by Catblack at 8:34 PM on December 31, 2021 [4 favorites]
C̶͕̍͜H̴̩͎̽̀͌E̵͈̝͚͊͝ͅA̵̫͙͓̓͌̅̏͜P̴͓͔̣̾͗̋͆ ̶̥͐̌̋̀T̵̺̟́̉̃̑R̵̮̜̈́Ì̴̛͚͑̚C̶͈͍̪̙͊K̵͇̰̹͙̎͑̾̓
posted by clavdivs at 8:39 PM on December 31, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by clavdivs at 8:39 PM on December 31, 2021 [3 favorites]
The best guitar solo of all time is obviously the shotgun sample from MIA's Paper Planes.
posted by signal at 8:40 PM on December 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by signal at 8:40 PM on December 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
I don't understand your argument.
As I've come to accept, when yrrr arguing guitar solos, it's best to assume to stance and the rationale of a stoned sixteen year old.
Speaking of which, where the hell's Buck Dharma?
posted by philip-random at 8:50 PM on December 31, 2021 [6 favorites]
As I've come to accept, when yrrr arguing guitar solos, it's best to assume to stance and the rationale of a stoned sixteen year old.
Speaking of which, where the hell's Buck Dharma?
posted by philip-random at 8:50 PM on December 31, 2021 [6 favorites]
To be honest, I’m not much for guitar heroics, but I’ve always loved this solo by Nancy Wilson at the beginning of Crazy on You yt
I just want it to be known that before I even got past the words “Nancy Wilson,” I knew where the sentence was going to end up, and I heard the entire piece unspool note-for-note in my head.
I am barely a guitar player at all now but I was when I was a teenager. I happened to get that same live performance off of MuchMusic and onto a Betamax tape in maybe 1985. I replayed it so many times learning that part that if that tape exists now, it will look like a blizzard of static for ninety seconds followed by the rest of the song.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:54 PM on December 31, 2021 [4 favorites]
I just want it to be known that before I even got past the words “Nancy Wilson,” I knew where the sentence was going to end up, and I heard the entire piece unspool note-for-note in my head.
I am barely a guitar player at all now but I was when I was a teenager. I happened to get that same live performance off of MuchMusic and onto a Betamax tape in maybe 1985. I replayed it so many times learning that part that if that tape exists now, it will look like a blizzard of static for ninety seconds followed by the rest of the song.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:54 PM on December 31, 2021 [4 favorites]
My favorite: Neil Innes "Canyons of Your Mind" by the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band.
posted by le_vert_galant at 9:07 PM on December 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by le_vert_galant at 9:07 PM on December 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
Speaking of which, where the hell's Buck Dharma?
If we’re doing classic rock radio standards, there’s really not much like the explosiveness of the “Don’t Fear the Reaper” solo.
posted by atoxyl at 10:49 PM on December 31, 2021 [3 favorites]
If we’re doing classic rock radio standards, there’s really not much like the explosiveness of the “Don’t Fear the Reaper” solo.
posted by atoxyl at 10:49 PM on December 31, 2021 [3 favorites]
Guitar solos should have stopped in the 70s while they were ahead. The best one is from the 60s - You Really Got Me.
posted by aspersioncast at 11:04 PM on December 31, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by aspersioncast at 11:04 PM on December 31, 2021 [4 favorites]
Andy Summers
I'd place Driven To Tears quite near the top of the list, or, if that's not minimalist enough for you, When The World Is Running Down
posted by thelonius at 12:04 AM on January 1, 2022 [6 favorites]
I'd place Driven To Tears quite near the top of the list, or, if that's not minimalist enough for you, When The World Is Running Down
posted by thelonius at 12:04 AM on January 1, 2022 [6 favorites]
Barely audible due to some strange mixing decision, there's Christopher Cross's quite good solo at the end of Ride Like the Wind.
posted by bz at 12:53 AM on January 1, 2022
posted by bz at 12:53 AM on January 1, 2022
I started listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd doing "Freebird" live at Oakland Coliseum in 1977 when I started reading this thread and they're only on the third fucking guitar solo.
I'm not saying that's a dealbreaker.
posted by kirkaracha at 12:54 AM on January 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
I'm not saying that's a dealbreaker.
posted by kirkaracha at 12:54 AM on January 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
This is a rather lazy list of greatest hits, probably remembered off the radio or, in Stairway's case, the school dance . But Hendrix below the Eagles or the Eagles anywhere near Hendrix? Stop embarrassing yourselves. Also, Steely Dan's catalogue is full of great solos but Showbiz Kids surely? And where is Zappa?
posted by epo at 3:41 AM on January 1, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by epo at 3:41 AM on January 1, 2022 [3 favorites]
Fripp's solo at end of VDGG's Plague of Lighthouse Keepers - holy and majestic.
posted by whatevernot at 4:47 AM on January 1, 2022
posted by whatevernot at 4:47 AM on January 1, 2022
>Also, Steely Dan's catalogue is full of great solos but Showbiz Kids surely?
Denny Dias on Throw Out Your Gold Teeth II by Steely Dan. From 2:16 to the end.
Never heard better. Not even on Kid Charlemagne.
>And where is Zappa?
The solo on Cosmic Debris is hard raw blues-rock at its best. Starts at 2:00.
posted by Pouteria at 4:48 AM on January 1, 2022 [4 favorites]
Denny Dias on Throw Out Your Gold Teeth II by Steely Dan. From 2:16 to the end.
Never heard better. Not even on Kid Charlemagne.
>And where is Zappa?
The solo on Cosmic Debris is hard raw blues-rock at its best. Starts at 2:00.
posted by Pouteria at 4:48 AM on January 1, 2022 [4 favorites]
I am the resurrection stone roses Ian Brown is a colossal pain in the ass and somewhat of a nut but he is very talented Brit.
posted by markbrendanawitzmissesus at 5:55 AM on January 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by markbrendanawitzmissesus at 5:55 AM on January 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
promulgating yet more Dad rock* here, but Adrian Belew on The Great Curve
If your Dad is pretty cool!
posted by thelonius at 6:27 AM on January 1, 2022 [5 favorites]
If your Dad is pretty cool!
posted by thelonius at 6:27 AM on January 1, 2022 [5 favorites]
Tom Verlaine's solo on Television's Marquee Moon is the best solo ever.
posted by pasici at 6:45 AM on January 1, 2022 [7 favorites]
posted by pasici at 6:45 AM on January 1, 2022 [7 favorites]
which solos currently rank among our readers
As a long-time subscriber to GP, I'll say that I often find their editorial choices of players and tech to consider creative, interesting, and even adventurous.
Clearly their voting reader base is . . . well, not that.
posted by soundguy99 at 7:02 AM on January 1, 2022 [6 favorites]
As a long-time subscriber to GP, I'll say that I often find their editorial choices of players and tech to consider creative, interesting, and even adventurous.
Clearly their voting reader base is . . . well, not that.
posted by soundguy99 at 7:02 AM on January 1, 2022 [6 favorites]
Unless this is strictly about rock guitarists, I think Pat Metheny should be included in the discussion. There are many great solos by him to choose from but for now I'll go with Phase Dance, either the live version from Travels or studio version from Pat Metheny Group. (Neither of which appears to be on YouTube so here's one recorded at a concert in 1991.)
posted by fuse theorem at 7:15 AM on January 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by fuse theorem at 7:15 AM on January 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
I tell you what, I found some of my old Guitar Player magazines, early 1980's, in the parents' basement, and some of the ads were..........let's go with cringey.
posted by thelonius at 7:16 AM on January 1, 2022
posted by thelonius at 7:16 AM on January 1, 2022
No Roy Buchanan?
No Jeff Beck?
No Duane Allman?
posted by thecincinnatikid at 8:00 AM on January 1, 2022 [3 favorites]
No Jeff Beck?
No Duane Allman?
posted by thecincinnatikid at 8:00 AM on January 1, 2022 [3 favorites]
The solo in Beat It sucks due to the session playing of the rhythm part - listen to it closely - it's boring guitar playing, but that's to be expected from a member of Toto. I swear he played the rhythm riff twice, and they cut it and pasted until it was the full song. The solo feels so slapdash and it sounds like it was cut in the middle too.
If Beat It had been played by someone who had some real skill and they let Van Halen go solo for real, then it probably would have been among the greatest rock songs of all time.
If I had to include a GNR song, it would be Paradise City, because IMO solos are in-general kind of lame because all the other members drop out so one guy (this is the definition of solo) can sort of jam for a while everyone else in the band twiddles their thumbs or whatever, but some hot guitar playing that is in tune and in time (looking at you Eddie Van Halen) with the rest of the song rules, and Paradise City delivers that. Also the bass part, drums, rhythm, and even the singing outro are awesome, and it works and earns it's double time ending, unlike Freebird, where's it's a draggy '70s song until the outro (you too My Guitar Gently Weeps - you can't attach a rockin' solo to a draggy song and then say the solo is among the best of all time).
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:21 AM on January 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
If Beat It had been played by someone who had some real skill and they let Van Halen go solo for real, then it probably would have been among the greatest rock songs of all time.
If I had to include a GNR song, it would be Paradise City, because IMO solos are in-general kind of lame because all the other members drop out so one guy (this is the definition of solo) can sort of jam for a while everyone else in the band twiddles their thumbs or whatever, but some hot guitar playing that is in tune and in time (looking at you Eddie Van Halen) with the rest of the song rules, and Paradise City delivers that. Also the bass part, drums, rhythm, and even the singing outro are awesome, and it works and earns it's double time ending, unlike Freebird, where's it's a draggy '70s song until the outro (you too My Guitar Gently Weeps - you can't attach a rockin' solo to a draggy song and then say the solo is among the best of all time).
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:21 AM on January 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
I don't care about the music of Led Zepplin, Queen, or Pink Floyd enough to judge them fairly, so I'll leave those ones alone.
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:23 AM on January 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:23 AM on January 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
Guitar solos are just weird.
posted by misterpatrick at 8:38 AM on January 1, 2022
posted by misterpatrick at 8:38 AM on January 1, 2022
Oh, and one more thing: always, always the Allman Brothers doing "Ramblin' Man" over "Freebird", or generally the Allman Bros. over Lynyrd Skynyrd. I finally decided that I didn't hate "Freebird"--the opening has a certain majesty to it--but the Bros.' classic stuff has a certain joyful aspect to it that Skynyrd never had.
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:41 AM on January 1, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:41 AM on January 1, 2022 [3 favorites]
.... a good Richard Thompson piece, but there's so much of the rest of his catalog that would also work; the title cut from Shoot Out the Lights or "Walking on a Wire" or the coda to "Tear-Stained Letter", just off the top of my head.
His Season of the Witch cover is also worth your attention.
posted by thelonius at 8:46 AM on January 1, 2022 [4 favorites]
His Season of the Witch cover is also worth your attention.
posted by thelonius at 8:46 AM on January 1, 2022 [4 favorites]
What defines a guitar solo? Is it necessarily a guitar break in the middle of a full-band performance? Does a solo performer not qualify to do guitar solos?
I’ve been kinda mulling this question over since last night, and I think my answer to that question is Embryonic Journey .
posted by Devils Rancher at 8:49 AM on January 1, 2022
I’ve been kinda mulling this question over since last night, and I think my answer to that question is Embryonic Journey .
posted by Devils Rancher at 8:49 AM on January 1, 2022
Most Under-rated lead Guitarist Soloist: Rockabilly Cat Brian Setzer is surprisingly inventive, his solos are often perfect little displays of interesting musical ideas.
Also Under-rated: Richard Thompson (mentioned above) is identified as a folky but he can whip up a decent Hendrix style freak out if he feels like it.
posted by ovvl at 8:50 AM on January 1, 2022 [5 favorites]
Also Under-rated: Richard Thompson (mentioned above) is identified as a folky but he can whip up a decent Hendrix style freak out if he feels like it.
posted by ovvl at 8:50 AM on January 1, 2022 [5 favorites]
Oh man, the Allman Brothers v. All The Rest of “Southern Rock,” is a conversation I frequently have with people who don’t understand that Skynard et al were a bunch of rednecks sufficiently able to play some instruments enough to get signed by a label during a gold rush, and the AB, especially Duane, we’re some of the world’s most eminently talented, skilled, thoughtful and innovative musicians, who happened to be from the south.
posted by Devils Rancher at 8:58 AM on January 1, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by Devils Rancher at 8:58 AM on January 1, 2022 [4 favorites]
@bz: that whole album is chock-full of killer solos. I imagine Cross' own there was undermixed because how could you confidently center a solo on the same album as Eric Johnson's solo on Minstrel Gigolo?
posted by Cpt. The Mango at 9:19 AM on January 1, 2022
posted by Cpt. The Mango at 9:19 AM on January 1, 2022
METAFILTER: the Allman Brothers v. All The Rest of “Southern Rock,”
posted by philip-random at 9:20 AM on January 1, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by philip-random at 9:20 AM on January 1, 2022 [3 favorites]
It's all personal taste, I know, but for my taste these lists always seem over-weighted to solos that are widdleywiddleywiddleywiddleywheeee as fast as possible rather than solos that have soul to them and use space. Which is why (for me) Hendrix's solos are endlessly listenable and the Van Halen type stuff leaves me utterly cold.
Lots of mentions of Richard Thompson upthread, so dropping in my favourite of his - the live version of Calvary Cross. I love Marquee Moon with a passion, but I started listening to Television (thanks big sis) long before I discovered Richard Thompson, and thought that Tom Verlaine's guitar was like nothing else...then I heard this and realised that everything is influenced by something.
And of course, who can forget this classic.
posted by reynir at 9:45 AM on January 1, 2022 [3 favorites]
Lots of mentions of Richard Thompson upthread, so dropping in my favourite of his - the live version of Calvary Cross. I love Marquee Moon with a passion, but I started listening to Television (thanks big sis) long before I discovered Richard Thompson, and thought that Tom Verlaine's guitar was like nothing else...then I heard this and realised that everything is influenced by something.
And of course, who can forget this classic.
posted by reynir at 9:45 AM on January 1, 2022 [3 favorites]
His Season of the Witch cover is also worth your attention.
And would be fun to go back to back with Stephen Stills' stellar Super Session version
And speaking of guitar solos, Stills is criminally overlooked in the pantheon of guitar greats.
posted by thecincinnatikid at 10:01 AM on January 1, 2022 [6 favorites]
And would be fun to go back to back with Stephen Stills' stellar Super Session version
And speaking of guitar solos, Stills is criminally overlooked in the pantheon of guitar greats.
posted by thecincinnatikid at 10:01 AM on January 1, 2022 [6 favorites]
Tom Verlaine's solo on Television's Marquee Moon is the best solo ever.
Richard Lloyd in Elevation is probably my favorite solo on that album. I feel like he’s a little overlooked in general, I love his style.
posted by atoxyl at 10:16 AM on January 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
Richard Lloyd in Elevation is probably my favorite solo on that album. I feel like he’s a little overlooked in general, I love his style.
posted by atoxyl at 10:16 AM on January 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
All fans of the guitar solo should probably thank the Hawaiians. Check out the playlist in this This Smithsonian article. Recordings of Hawaiian steel guitar music were wildly popular from 1916 onward and HUGELY influenced country and blues performers. Those early recordings established what we think of as the “shape” of a modern pop song, including the guitar solo.
posted by brachiopod at 10:18 AM on January 1, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by brachiopod at 10:18 AM on January 1, 2022 [4 favorites]
Final thought on the Allmans. I don't care how many units they shifted -- they never really got over losing Duane in 1971. Whatever alchemy they were conjuring, the best of it died with him. Past that, they were merely good.
The Allman Brothers Band - Whipping Post - 9/23/1970 - Fillmore East
posted by philip-random at 10:19 AM on January 1, 2022 [3 favorites]
The Allman Brothers Band - Whipping Post - 9/23/1970 - Fillmore East
posted by philip-random at 10:19 AM on January 1, 2022 [3 favorites]
The solo in Beat It sucks due to the session playing of the rhythm part - listen to it closely - it's boring guitar playing, but that's to be expected from a member of Toto. I swear he played the rhythm riff twice, and they cut it and pasted until it was the full song. The solo feels so slapdash and it sounds like it was cut in the middle too.
I dunno I think the shortness of this one works to it’s advantage. It packs a lot of Eddie’s tricks into the small space it’s allocated.
posted by atoxyl at 10:25 AM on January 1, 2022
I dunno I think the shortness of this one works to it’s advantage. It packs a lot of Eddie’s tricks into the small space it’s allocated.
posted by atoxyl at 10:25 AM on January 1, 2022
The solos in that list are all good, but IMO not necessarily even the best by some of those players. Guitar Player readers skew pretty hard towards people who are more focused on "guitar craft" than anything else, which is why someone like Gary Moore who non-guitarists have probably never heard of is on there.
I have played guitar for a long time and cut my teeth on classic rock and blues before venturing into 90s indie rock, where solos were sort of generally discouraged, and then to classic country where they are expected to be short and sweet. I have always been a crap rhythm player, but I can hear pretty much any music and start soloing appropriately right away, including recognizing when *not* to do it. I definitely LOVE guitar solos and riffs, but at this point have some pretty opinionated thoughts about what one is, and what makes it good. Feel free to disagree :-)
What: A solo has to be a distinct section in the song featuring the guitar playing some sort of a melodic line, although combining that with chordal playing can be really cool. To be good, it needs to enhance the song and ideally reference the vocal or other main melody and expand it. Ideally it's also not just lengthy undifferentiated lead playing, either; a good solo can be long but if it is, it needs to take you different places.
What's good: Making the listener feel something, whether that's excitement, tension, passion, or whatever. Creating cool sounds that the other instruments can't. Usually, a sense of planning - it doesn't need to be pre-written note-for-note, but without a framework even the best players in the world tend to go off into space. I realize Kid Charlemagne (great solo) is improvised, but it sounds organized. What else ... space! Speed is only exciting in contrast to slowness and space. The internet is full of very fast players who are just doing scales more or less. Impressive, yes. Good soloing, not to me. Phrasing: If you imagine yourself singing something along with a song and then start mimicking bits of that on guitar (either melody, rhythm, or both), it often leads to a good outcome. The feel and mood trumps everything for me, so for example I think Steve Malkmus is a great lead player, but he often plays pretty tossed-off and weird-sounding lines that guitar teachers would scoff at. Song: It's really hard for me to care about a good solo in a bad or boring song. If you listen to most Guitar Institute of Technology-type people, it feels like this: Technically solid drummer and bass player lay down repetitive boring chord progression while amazingly fast classically trained lead player does stuff. Bor-ing!
What's bad: IDK, "bad" is more like "not for me". Too much of a good thing: A lot of the live versions of the old 60s and 70s stuff get on my nerves because they just keep on going. Eric Clapton (yes, I know he's a dick) is/was amazingly talented, especially at the feel and phrasing bits, but by his own admission got caught up in showing off to other guitarists, which led him to his more song-oriented solo stuff. Naked appeal to guitarists: If you have a bunch of other guitarists nodding along in front of you by the stage ... I mean great, but what about all the non-guitarists? No one cares how *hard* it is to play or what the picking technique is. Length (again): SRV, who is great, has a cover of "Little Wing" by Hendrix. But it goes on too long. Way too long. The original has very pretty, evocative solo lines, but by the end of the SRV version I'm like "geez, this is still going on?" Getting lost: From classic country you learn that you need to have a beginning and end to a solo, even if it's just 4 or 8 bars long. Lots of solos don't have enough ideas, or they have too many and don't make it back to earth in time for what's next in the song.
WIth the caveat that ranking solos is kinda not my thing, here are some specific solos I like (not THE GREATEST, just ones I like):
* Once Upon a Time in the West (Dire Straits, studio version): (proper solo starts at 2:24) - At about 45 seconds total, this tells the story of the song in solo form. I'm a huge fan of early D.S. stuff - especially this album - for lots of reasons, but for me this is the peak of saying something with the guitar instead of just noodling around.
* Plenty of Steely Dan solos. These are often great for a weird reason: the band was very pick about exactly how stuff should sound, and they are good but not amazing players themselves, so they kept rounding up hot guitarists and then making them distill their greatness into a really good and well-composed song instead of letting them noodle endlessly. So Kid Charlemagne (mentioned in the article - very weird and atonal/chromatic in spots, lots of unexpected notes, but still really memorable); Peg (Jay Graydon); lots of others.
* Lots of stuff by David Gilmour (Pink Floyd): Time (from Dark Side of the Moon) is a fave, enough that I spent time learning to play it just to see how it fit together. Starts low on the neck and pretty mellow, builds up to great high neck bends, then into a second section (chords change) that's really sad and melancholy and perfectly fits the song. Also he has a beautiful tone in general.
* Cliffs of Dover (Eric Johnson): My one guitar nerd concession, and also breaking the rule of "solo is a clearly defined part". I mean, kinda, but the whole song is lead guitar. I can take or leave the rest of his stuff, but this was a huge radio hit because it gave non-guitarists a catchy melody and also gave guitarists a heart attack. He really has a great sound on this and a unique playing style that soars beyond the earthbound. When you break it down, it's all made of parts that guitarists understand, but it's put together in ways I would have never thought of.
* Blue Sky (Allman Brothers): This is a very long solo at 3 minutes (starts at 1:09 and , but it's the embodiment of the mood "happy". The groove from the band and the major-scale interplay between the guitars is just so joyous that I give it a pass on length.
* Lots of Jimmy Page: Yes, he can get kind of messy, and they appropriated a ton of blues artists, but he has a raw excitement to his playing that grabs me and never lets go. If you are going to take a blues sound and amp/rock it up, you had better add something. The rhythm section helps a lot with it of course, and is why I still love Zeppelin but the kind of flat-footed (1-2-3-4, clap clap clap clap) rocker stuff like AC/DC has always bored me. Here's a (~1 min) slide solo from In My Time of Dying (Blind Willie Johnson), just after the song has kicked into the fast bit. I left in the main riff before it. Drumming's not bad either :-)
What are some other great solos people love? I have trouble coming up with newer, non-muso examples because of the de-emphasis of lead playing in a lot of music.
posted by freecellwizard at 10:41 AM on January 1, 2022 [12 favorites]
I have played guitar for a long time and cut my teeth on classic rock and blues before venturing into 90s indie rock, where solos were sort of generally discouraged, and then to classic country where they are expected to be short and sweet. I have always been a crap rhythm player, but I can hear pretty much any music and start soloing appropriately right away, including recognizing when *not* to do it. I definitely LOVE guitar solos and riffs, but at this point have some pretty opinionated thoughts about what one is, and what makes it good. Feel free to disagree :-)
What: A solo has to be a distinct section in the song featuring the guitar playing some sort of a melodic line, although combining that with chordal playing can be really cool. To be good, it needs to enhance the song and ideally reference the vocal or other main melody and expand it. Ideally it's also not just lengthy undifferentiated lead playing, either; a good solo can be long but if it is, it needs to take you different places.
What's good: Making the listener feel something, whether that's excitement, tension, passion, or whatever. Creating cool sounds that the other instruments can't. Usually, a sense of planning - it doesn't need to be pre-written note-for-note, but without a framework even the best players in the world tend to go off into space. I realize Kid Charlemagne (great solo) is improvised, but it sounds organized. What else ... space! Speed is only exciting in contrast to slowness and space. The internet is full of very fast players who are just doing scales more or less. Impressive, yes. Good soloing, not to me. Phrasing: If you imagine yourself singing something along with a song and then start mimicking bits of that on guitar (either melody, rhythm, or both), it often leads to a good outcome. The feel and mood trumps everything for me, so for example I think Steve Malkmus is a great lead player, but he often plays pretty tossed-off and weird-sounding lines that guitar teachers would scoff at. Song: It's really hard for me to care about a good solo in a bad or boring song. If you listen to most Guitar Institute of Technology-type people, it feels like this: Technically solid drummer and bass player lay down repetitive boring chord progression while amazingly fast classically trained lead player does stuff. Bor-ing!
What's bad: IDK, "bad" is more like "not for me". Too much of a good thing: A lot of the live versions of the old 60s and 70s stuff get on my nerves because they just keep on going. Eric Clapton (yes, I know he's a dick) is/was amazingly talented, especially at the feel and phrasing bits, but by his own admission got caught up in showing off to other guitarists, which led him to his more song-oriented solo stuff. Naked appeal to guitarists: If you have a bunch of other guitarists nodding along in front of you by the stage ... I mean great, but what about all the non-guitarists? No one cares how *hard* it is to play or what the picking technique is. Length (again): SRV, who is great, has a cover of "Little Wing" by Hendrix. But it goes on too long. Way too long. The original has very pretty, evocative solo lines, but by the end of the SRV version I'm like "geez, this is still going on?" Getting lost: From classic country you learn that you need to have a beginning and end to a solo, even if it's just 4 or 8 bars long. Lots of solos don't have enough ideas, or they have too many and don't make it back to earth in time for what's next in the song.
WIth the caveat that ranking solos is kinda not my thing, here are some specific solos I like (not THE GREATEST, just ones I like):
* Once Upon a Time in the West (Dire Straits, studio version): (proper solo starts at 2:24) - At about 45 seconds total, this tells the story of the song in solo form. I'm a huge fan of early D.S. stuff - especially this album - for lots of reasons, but for me this is the peak of saying something with the guitar instead of just noodling around.
* Plenty of Steely Dan solos. These are often great for a weird reason: the band was very pick about exactly how stuff should sound, and they are good but not amazing players themselves, so they kept rounding up hot guitarists and then making them distill their greatness into a really good and well-composed song instead of letting them noodle endlessly. So Kid Charlemagne (mentioned in the article - very weird and atonal/chromatic in spots, lots of unexpected notes, but still really memorable); Peg (Jay Graydon); lots of others.
* Lots of stuff by David Gilmour (Pink Floyd): Time (from Dark Side of the Moon) is a fave, enough that I spent time learning to play it just to see how it fit together. Starts low on the neck and pretty mellow, builds up to great high neck bends, then into a second section (chords change) that's really sad and melancholy and perfectly fits the song. Also he has a beautiful tone in general.
* Cliffs of Dover (Eric Johnson): My one guitar nerd concession, and also breaking the rule of "solo is a clearly defined part". I mean, kinda, but the whole song is lead guitar. I can take or leave the rest of his stuff, but this was a huge radio hit because it gave non-guitarists a catchy melody and also gave guitarists a heart attack. He really has a great sound on this and a unique playing style that soars beyond the earthbound. When you break it down, it's all made of parts that guitarists understand, but it's put together in ways I would have never thought of.
* Blue Sky (Allman Brothers): This is a very long solo at 3 minutes (starts at 1:09 and , but it's the embodiment of the mood "happy". The groove from the band and the major-scale interplay between the guitars is just so joyous that I give it a pass on length.
* Lots of Jimmy Page: Yes, he can get kind of messy, and they appropriated a ton of blues artists, but he has a raw excitement to his playing that grabs me and never lets go. If you are going to take a blues sound and amp/rock it up, you had better add something. The rhythm section helps a lot with it of course, and is why I still love Zeppelin but the kind of flat-footed (1-2-3-4, clap clap clap clap) rocker stuff like AC/DC has always bored me. Here's a (~1 min) slide solo from In My Time of Dying (Blind Willie Johnson), just after the song has kicked into the fast bit. I left in the main riff before it. Drumming's not bad either :-)
What are some other great solos people love? I have trouble coming up with newer, non-muso examples because of the de-emphasis of lead playing in a lot of music.
posted by freecellwizard at 10:41 AM on January 1, 2022 [12 favorites]
Even by Guitar Player magazine standards, this list is unbelievably lazy and boring. I mean, Freebird? Really?
And as someone who's been a mediocre guitar player for almost 50 years, I'd like to say that there is nothing interesting, technically, musically or otherwise, about the guitar solo to Comfortably Numb. Complete snoozefest.
posted by ThoughtCrimeSpree at 11:07 AM on January 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
And as someone who's been a mediocre guitar player for almost 50 years, I'd like to say that there is nothing interesting, technically, musically or otherwise, about the guitar solo to Comfortably Numb. Complete snoozefest.
posted by ThoughtCrimeSpree at 11:07 AM on January 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
Cliffs of Dover (Eric Johnson)
It's iconic, but I'd go with the Venus Isle solo if I had to pick one thing
posted by thelonius at 11:26 AM on January 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
It's iconic, but I'd go with the Venus Isle solo if I had to pick one thing
posted by thelonius at 11:26 AM on January 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
While I personally never tire of this debate, I feel that the matter would benefit from replacing the words ‘Best’ and ‘Greatest’ with ‘Favorite.’ But then we’d deprive ourselves of the Greatest Internet Grar Solos of All Time.
One of my faves: Fripp’s elegant solo on Eno’s Golden Hours.
And nth-ing just about every solo on a Steely Dan track, with a particular appreciation for Skunk Baxter’s scrappy take on My Old School .
posted by barrett caulk at 11:26 AM on January 1, 2022 [5 favorites]
One of my faves: Fripp’s elegant solo on Eno’s Golden Hours.
And nth-ing just about every solo on a Steely Dan track, with a particular appreciation for Skunk Baxter’s scrappy take on My Old School .
posted by barrett caulk at 11:26 AM on January 1, 2022 [5 favorites]
Like, can we substitute "instrumental break" for "guitar solo"? Because Genesis are chock full of really great things, and Tull's Thick As A Brick is astounding, and there's so much where it isn't just a guitar going noodly-noodly but instead is a musical journey from the band that doesn't involve vocals.
I mean, Pearl Jam has a whole style where they finish the song and then do an extended instrumental coda afterward, often barely related to the original song at all. What do you call that?
posted by hippybear at 11:31 AM on January 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
I mean, Pearl Jam has a whole style where they finish the song and then do an extended instrumental coda afterward, often barely related to the original song at all. What do you call that?
posted by hippybear at 11:31 AM on January 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
My brush with Southern Rock royalty was when our band opened for Derek Trucks in the early 90's. He was about 13 or 14 and playing covers. It was insane, you could literally not see him over the crowd, sometimes you'd see the SG headstock. He was playing into two of those old Peavey tweed amps and he sounded like Duane, it was uncanny. He had a band of old clean 'n sober type rockers and toured with a tutor and a parent or other family member. I didn't get to talk to him but the band guys were very nice.
posted by thelonius at 12:14 PM on January 1, 2022 [7 favorites]
posted by thelonius at 12:14 PM on January 1, 2022 [7 favorites]
For me the greatest guitar solo, or indeed the greatest guitar performance for all time is Jimi Hendrix’s Machine Gun, recorded on this day 52 years ago. He did two concerts on New Year’s Eve, and two more on New Year’s Day at the Fillmore East. They’re available in their entirety in a box set. So he performed 4 different versions of that song and they are all very different, but the one released on the Band of Gypsys album is orders of magnitude better than the rest.
He is incredibly focused and on theme throughout. When he’s singing his guitar sings along and it’s like it’s possessed with its own soul the way it counterpoints against his vocal. His guitar sounds like a living, wild, primal, beast, screaming, roaring, and that’s before the solo even starts. The solo starts with one note (fifth above the tonic) that sustains for ages. And then he does that AGAIN, before launching into a furious tirade. Meanwhile the rhythm section is perfectly in sync, with Buddy Miles throwing in fills at exactly the right moments to emphasize what Jimi is playing.
I’ve been playing for over 30 years now. I know how to play every single note of that solo and have played along with it many times, but it would be foolish of me to claim I can really “play” it.
posted by wabbittwax at 12:18 PM on January 1, 2022 [6 favorites]
He is incredibly focused and on theme throughout. When he’s singing his guitar sings along and it’s like it’s possessed with its own soul the way it counterpoints against his vocal. His guitar sounds like a living, wild, primal, beast, screaming, roaring, and that’s before the solo even starts. The solo starts with one note (fifth above the tonic) that sustains for ages. And then he does that AGAIN, before launching into a furious tirade. Meanwhile the rhythm section is perfectly in sync, with Buddy Miles throwing in fills at exactly the right moments to emphasize what Jimi is playing.
I’ve been playing for over 30 years now. I know how to play every single note of that solo and have played along with it many times, but it would be foolish of me to claim I can really “play” it.
posted by wabbittwax at 12:18 PM on January 1, 2022 [6 favorites]
I vaguely recall an old list of greatest guitar solos in Mojo (?) that was topped by 'I Heard Her Call My Name' (Lou Reed/VU).
posted by ovvl at 12:23 PM on January 1, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by ovvl at 12:23 PM on January 1, 2022 [5 favorites]
Length (again): SRV, who is great, has a cover of "Little Wing" by Hendrix. But it goes on too long. Way too long. The original has very pretty, evocative solo lines, but by the end of the SRV version I'm like "geez, this is still going on?"
This is probably the reason I like In Session so much - Albert King and SRV's solos and fills are such an exercise in contrast. And looks like the video footage of the whole session is up on Youtube here.
And while on the King surname tip...I've always been partial to the way BB King built up "Niji Baby." It's just...good!
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 12:24 PM on January 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
This is probably the reason I like In Session so much - Albert King and SRV's solos and fills are such an exercise in contrast. And looks like the video footage of the whole session is up on Youtube here.
And while on the King surname tip...I've always been partial to the way BB King built up "Niji Baby." It's just...good!
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 12:24 PM on January 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
Also, I hate the fucking Eagles, man, and Hotel California doubly so.
posted by wabbittwax at 12:24 PM on January 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by wabbittwax at 12:24 PM on January 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
One of the things that makes bringing lists like this to Metafilter so beautiful is how just about every link on this page is a pure improvement over every link on the list in question.
Geez, I love this place.
posted by mhoye at 12:26 PM on January 1, 2022 [3 favorites]
Geez, I love this place.
posted by mhoye at 12:26 PM on January 1, 2022 [3 favorites]
I always think of Extreme's "Stop the World" as having a really nice solo - melodic, short, fits nicely into the song - as one of my favorite solos. But when I went back and listened to it again I realized that I was thinking of an extended phrase at ~4:14. Apparently, there's a more conventional solo at about 2:55 I'd completely forgotten about. It's OK, not great, the later one is more interesting.
posted by wintermind at 12:27 PM on January 1, 2022
posted by wintermind at 12:27 PM on January 1, 2022
That said, yes, Hotel California sucks and the Eagles suck.
posted by mhoye at 12:28 PM on January 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by mhoye at 12:28 PM on January 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
I wish I could link to Machine Gun but the Hendrix estate is notoriously shitty about his music being made available on YouTube. Suffice to say if you don’t own a copy of Band of Gypsys I’m sad for you but also envious because you get to listen to it for the first time, and that’s a hell of a ride.
posted by wabbittwax at 12:32 PM on January 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by wabbittwax at 12:32 PM on January 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
Also, I hate the fucking Eagles, man, and Hotel California doubly so.
The Dude is in the house!
posted by freecellwizard at 12:39 PM on January 1, 2022 [3 favorites]
The Dude is in the house!
posted by freecellwizard at 12:39 PM on January 1, 2022 [3 favorites]
I quite liked Desperado though.
posted by epo at 12:51 PM on January 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by epo at 12:51 PM on January 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
Guitar Player readers skew pretty hard towards people who are more focused on "guitar craft" than anything else, which is why someone like Gary Moore who non-guitarists have probably never heard of is on there.
Flashback: I feel like every single issue of Guitar Player I bought in high school had full-page ads for Gary Moore's instructional video tapes or live performance videos.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 12:51 PM on January 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
Flashback: I feel like every single issue of Guitar Player I bought in high school had full-page ads for Gary Moore's instructional video tapes or live performance videos.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 12:51 PM on January 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
Or now that I'm hazily flashing back, maybe Vinnie Moore's instructional stuff? It seemed like it was in every guitar mag.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 12:52 PM on January 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 12:52 PM on January 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
I hate what The Eagles became as the 70s rolled along and the cocaine grew more plentiful.
I don't remotely hate Journey of the Sorcerer.
posted by philip-random at 1:00 PM on January 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
I don't remotely hate Journey of the Sorcerer.
posted by philip-random at 1:00 PM on January 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
I happen to be in Ireland right now while reading this thread and it occurred to me that not many outside of Ireland have heard of Rory Gallagher.
posted by hrpomrx at 1:08 PM on January 1, 2022 [8 favorites]
posted by hrpomrx at 1:08 PM on January 1, 2022 [8 favorites]
Like, can we substitute "instrumental break" for "guitar solo"? Because Genesis are chock full of really great things, and
speaking of Genesis, is Steve Hackett soloing here or playing a virtuous part of a greater whole? Either way, it never fails astonish me ... even as the film crew do their damnedest to focus on everyone but him, except (thankfully) toward the end.
and keeping things in the prog realm, it feels wrong to not mention Yes's Steve Howe. Nothing disgraceful going on here.
posted by philip-random at 1:20 PM on January 1, 2022 [4 favorites]
speaking of Genesis, is Steve Hackett soloing here or playing a virtuous part of a greater whole? Either way, it never fails astonish me ... even as the film crew do their damnedest to focus on everyone but him, except (thankfully) toward the end.
and keeping things in the prog realm, it feels wrong to not mention Yes's Steve Howe. Nothing disgraceful going on here.
posted by philip-random at 1:20 PM on January 1, 2022 [4 favorites]
Danny Gatton, a beer bottle, and a towel.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 1:28 PM on January 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 1:28 PM on January 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
The best guitar solo is in "Don't Worry Baby" by The Beach Boys.
posted by bonefish at 3:44 PM on January 1, 2022
posted by bonefish at 3:44 PM on January 1, 2022
speaking of Genesis
I still love this one… Hackett got the short end of the stick in the mixing sessions always, but live he could be a beast. Case in point, The Knife.
posted by Devils Rancher at 4:13 PM on January 1, 2022
I still love this one… Hackett got the short end of the stick in the mixing sessions always, but live he could be a beast. Case in point, The Knife.
posted by Devils Rancher at 4:13 PM on January 1, 2022
Also, I hate the fucking Eagles, man
Out! Out of my fucking cab!
posted by Devils Rancher at 4:17 PM on January 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
Out! Out of my fucking cab!
posted by Devils Rancher at 4:17 PM on January 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
Take "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" away from Clapton (who, in addition to having outed himself as an extraordinarily shitty person, is heavily overrated) and give it to Prince, whose superlative version more than rivals the original.
Came here to post this.
I'm fond of Nels Cline's solo in Wilco's Impossible Germany, which I never particularly liked on record but can be a monster live, especially at the end of the solo when the other guitars crash in. (I'm not sure this is the best version).
posted by Pink Frost at 4:23 PM on January 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
Came here to post this.
I'm fond of Nels Cline's solo in Wilco's Impossible Germany, which I never particularly liked on record but can be a monster live, especially at the end of the solo when the other guitars crash in. (I'm not sure this is the best version).
posted by Pink Frost at 4:23 PM on January 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
And how did I not include the incomparable Lonnie Mack - without whom we well might never have heard SRV, for whom he was a God. Was fortunate enough to see Lonnie still playing in clubs around Cincy in the 80's close to his Hoosier home.
posted by thecincinnatikid at 4:25 PM on January 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by thecincinnatikid at 4:25 PM on January 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
I think the question of "is it a guitar solo if it's an instrumental?" Composed or improv, when it's an instrumental that is designed to highlight the guitar is an interesting one.
I came in to post King Crimson's Asbury Park and Sartori in Tangiers, and Rush's La Villa Strangiato, which all feature guitar solo parts that I find very emotionally moving beyond their technical artistry. But I can't in good conscience call them guitar solos, because to me a "guitar solo" is a thing that's added to an already extant song, not the compositional raison d'etre of the song.
posted by indexy at 6:20 PM on January 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
I came in to post King Crimson's Asbury Park and Sartori in Tangiers, and Rush's La Villa Strangiato, which all feature guitar solo parts that I find very emotionally moving beyond their technical artistry. But I can't in good conscience call them guitar solos, because to me a "guitar solo" is a thing that's added to an already extant song, not the compositional raison d'etre of the song.
posted by indexy at 6:20 PM on January 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
A. those are all brilliant pieces.
B. I'd counter that an instrumental can indeed have a solo. It just needs to divert somewhat from the overall piece. In the case of Asbury Park, yes, that is all pretty much one rather brilliant Robert Fripp solo. Whereas with Sartori in Tangier, you've got two different guitarists, sometimes working in tandem, sometimes taking solos. And with La Villa Strangiato, even though the guitar is present throughout (and there is an acoustic solo bit at the beginning) I don't hear what I think of as an electric guitar solo until around the 3:45 point. Which lasts for a while then it's back to working various chords and riffs and changes, and then there's more soloing again around the 6:45 point ... and so on.
posted by philip-random at 7:12 PM on January 1, 2022
B. I'd counter that an instrumental can indeed have a solo. It just needs to divert somewhat from the overall piece. In the case of Asbury Park, yes, that is all pretty much one rather brilliant Robert Fripp solo. Whereas with Sartori in Tangier, you've got two different guitarists, sometimes working in tandem, sometimes taking solos. And with La Villa Strangiato, even though the guitar is present throughout (and there is an acoustic solo bit at the beginning) I don't hear what I think of as an electric guitar solo until around the 3:45 point. Which lasts for a while then it's back to working various chords and riffs and changes, and then there's more soloing again around the 6:45 point ... and so on.
posted by philip-random at 7:12 PM on January 1, 2022
These are mostly just so bog standard...
Misread this as "bong standard." Which, uh, doesn't not work.
P.S. Adding a vote for something from Robert Quine; his playing in Matthew Sweet's "Girlfriend," maybe.
posted by Lyme Drop at 10:38 PM on January 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
Misread this as "bong standard." Which, uh, doesn't not work.
P.S. Adding a vote for something from Robert Quine; his playing in Matthew Sweet's "Girlfriend," maybe.
posted by Lyme Drop at 10:38 PM on January 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
Jeff Beck doesn't play guitar solos, he IS a guitar solo! If a mighty tsunami swept the earth of all the guitar fast hands, Jeff Beck would be the gnarly, lichen and coral covered granite outcrop remaining. God, I love Jeff Beck! Don't even look at him! Look quick and blink away! His greatness will burn your retinas.
(Honestly, he ain't half-bad. Picking-picks o' the day:
"A Day In The Life", off George Martin's "InMyLife".
"Sleep Walk", from the wonderful soundtrack to the atrocious film "Porkie's Revenge!".
)
posted by Chitownfats at 2:54 AM on January 2, 2022
(Honestly, he ain't half-bad. Picking-picks o' the day:
"A Day In The Life", off George Martin's "InMyLife".
"Sleep Walk", from the wonderful soundtrack to the atrocious film "Porkie's Revenge!".
)
posted by Chitownfats at 2:54 AM on January 2, 2022
I'd have thought a list like this would be asking for things that had permeated the culture such that people who weren't that interested in guitar solos would have heard them, that had become (to invoke a word so overused it's essentially now meaningless) iconic. So it would inevitably be a list of cliches.
To add my own example of something astonishing that people might not automatically think of, Jon Poole's solo in Fiery Gun Hand by Cardiacs (solo begins at 3:24).
posted by Grangousier at 5:27 AM on January 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
To add my own example of something astonishing that people might not automatically think of, Jon Poole's solo in Fiery Gun Hand by Cardiacs (solo begins at 3:24).
posted by Grangousier at 5:27 AM on January 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
To me, a bad guitar solo is one which dominates or even overshadows the song in question. The kind of flamboyant adolescent show-offery so beloved by air guitarists (if you don't know look it up, preferably with video). This practice spawned the wonderfully dismissive term "fretwank" which also applies to the kinds of solo they mime to.
Freebird and Sweet Child of Mine are fretwank, the songs would be dull and easily ignored without those solos. Some Zeppelin, lots of Deep Purple and Van Halen and many (most?) hair bands are also of that ilk.
posted by epo at 7:03 AM on January 2, 2022
Freebird and Sweet Child of Mine are fretwank, the songs would be dull and easily ignored without those solos. Some Zeppelin, lots of Deep Purple and Van Halen and many (most?) hair bands are also of that ilk.
posted by epo at 7:03 AM on January 2, 2022
D. Boon on the Minutemen's "Political Song for Michael Jackson to Sing," which directly follows the line, "And cut down our guitar solos..."
posted by AJaffe at 8:57 AM on January 2, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by AJaffe at 8:57 AM on January 2, 2022 [6 favorites]
Came to proselytize SRV’s “Tightrope,” but Devil’s Rancher beat me to it. Absolutely sublime.
posted by gottabefunky at 9:58 AM on January 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by gottabefunky at 9:58 AM on January 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
Another recent contender. Courtney Barnett said she wanted the solo to sound like a weeping woman.
posted by pxe2000 at 10:04 AM on January 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by pxe2000 at 10:04 AM on January 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
One person's "fretwank" is another person's moving display of musicianship and lyricism. We can all have our own preferences, but can we avoid intolerance?
No, probably not, but I had to try.
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:42 AM on January 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
No, probably not, but I had to try.
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:42 AM on January 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
I mean, have you ever watched a pianist play Rhapsody In Blue, with their hands jumping and crossing all the time, and SO MANY NOTES. It's a total keywank, I'm telling you!
posted by hippybear at 10:59 AM on January 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 10:59 AM on January 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
You know what’s amazing? Jeff Buckley’s Grace is a whole album full of guitar-oriented dude-rock without a single guitar solo. As much of a music nerd as I am, it took me years to notice that and figure it must have been intentional, because it cuts right across the grain of conventional rock songwriting.
posted by Devils Rancher at 11:15 AM on January 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by Devils Rancher at 11:15 AM on January 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
Devils Rancher: You know what’s amazing? Jeff Buckley’s Grace is a whole album full of guitar-oriented dude-rock without a single guitar solo
Guitar solos were rare in rock music in the first few years of the 90s. It seems odd now, but Smells Like Teen Spirit’s minimalist guitar solo was taken as a pointed attack on guitar solos in general, so for a few years they were considered deeply lame. If you wanted to be taken as a serious artist, you tended to avoid guitar solos.
posted by Kattullus at 11:54 AM on January 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
Guitar solos were rare in rock music in the first few years of the 90s. It seems odd now, but Smells Like Teen Spirit’s minimalist guitar solo was taken as a pointed attack on guitar solos in general, so for a few years they were considered deeply lame. If you wanted to be taken as a serious artist, you tended to avoid guitar solos.
posted by Kattullus at 11:54 AM on January 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
Kaki King 'Playing With Pink Noise' is at the top of my list.
posted by ryoshu at 12:33 PM on January 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by ryoshu at 12:33 PM on January 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
I’m partial to this solo by J Mascis shortly after he learned to play guitar. He’s fishing around for notes but he always lands them. Years later he produced this glorious number. In the last third the solo continues through the verse weaving magically in and out.
ETA: you tended to avoid guitar solos. Mascis schooled them good.
posted by sjswitzer at 1:48 PM on January 2, 2022 [4 favorites]
ETA: you tended to avoid guitar solos. Mascis schooled them good.
posted by sjswitzer at 1:48 PM on January 2, 2022 [4 favorites]
Oh yeah Dinosaur Jr, my fave grunge-ish project..
posted by ovvl at 2:53 PM on January 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by ovvl at 2:53 PM on January 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
Steve Howe's work in Siberian Khatru is unmatched.
posted by pee tape at 3:05 PM on January 2, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by pee tape at 3:05 PM on January 2, 2022 [4 favorites]
This song has two guitar solos. That Mascis and dino j are not on the list is an affront.
posted by vrakatar at 4:22 PM on January 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by vrakatar at 4:22 PM on January 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
Steve Howe's work in Siberian Khatru is unmatched.
The best part of Siberian Khartu is towards the end when it gets icy and slow, but that part after that with those buzzing bees is great.
posted by ovvl at 5:46 PM on January 2, 2022
The best part of Siberian Khartu is towards the end when it gets icy and slow, but that part after that with those buzzing bees is great.
posted by ovvl at 5:46 PM on January 2, 2022
But what if J Mascis and Mike Watt covered Maggot Brain?
posted by sjswitzer at 5:59 PM on January 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by sjswitzer at 5:59 PM on January 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
Guitar solos were rare in rock music in the first few years of the 90s. It seems odd now, but Smells Like Teen Spirit’s minimalist guitar solo was taken as a pointed attack on guitar solos in general, so for a few years they were considered deeply lame. If you wanted to be taken as a serious artist, you tended to avoid guitar solos.
This just does not compute. Even among their Seattle contemporaries, you've got Kim Thayil shredding all over Soundgarden's records, Jerry Cantrell likewise with Alice in Chains, and Pearl Jam megahits like "Alive" with long, wanky solos. Elsewhere, Billy Corgan kept soloing until Mellon Collie in '95, Jonny Greenwood lit up the fretboard on the first couple Radiohead albums, RHCP with Frusciante, Jane's Addiction, Stone Temple Pilots, the radio-friendly list goes on. Even fucking Weezer had guitar solos.
posted by sinfony at 8:45 AM on January 3, 2022 [3 favorites]
This just does not compute. Even among their Seattle contemporaries, you've got Kim Thayil shredding all over Soundgarden's records, Jerry Cantrell likewise with Alice in Chains, and Pearl Jam megahits like "Alive" with long, wanky solos. Elsewhere, Billy Corgan kept soloing until Mellon Collie in '95, Jonny Greenwood lit up the fretboard on the first couple Radiohead albums, RHCP with Frusciante, Jane's Addiction, Stone Temple Pilots, the radio-friendly list goes on. Even fucking Weezer had guitar solos.
posted by sinfony at 8:45 AM on January 3, 2022 [3 favorites]
If we are adding our own favorites:
The Ocean Blue - Between Something and Nothing
Ted Leo - Bleeding Powers I like that even when he plays solo he plays his solos.
Go Betweens Streets of Your Town acoustic sweeps!
INXS Dancing on the Jetty
This one isn't a solo exactly as the band never drops away and everyone ups the intensity while the solo is played and the drums even do the 'gun shots' thing someone praised MIA for above.
Bill Kirchen - Hot Rod Lincoln this guy wrote the song and then starting at 2:20 or so does all the riffs, and then a live version just for kicks.
posted by The_Vegetables at 9:19 AM on January 3, 2022
The Ocean Blue - Between Something and Nothing
Ted Leo - Bleeding Powers I like that even when he plays solo he plays his solos.
Go Betweens Streets of Your Town acoustic sweeps!
INXS Dancing on the Jetty
This one isn't a solo exactly as the band never drops away and everyone ups the intensity while the solo is played and the drums even do the 'gun shots' thing someone praised MIA for above.
Bill Kirchen - Hot Rod Lincoln this guy wrote the song and then starting at 2:20 or so does all the riffs, and then a live version just for kicks.
posted by The_Vegetables at 9:19 AM on January 3, 2022
Yeah, it's not true that nobody played solos in the 90s, and it's definitely not true that Nirvana was the cause of it. Punk and hardcore bands had been avoiding solos for a long time. Not universally, because punk and hardcore have always been super splintered into subgenres and those go lots of different ways. But in many of those subgenres, yeah, solos were deeply uncool all through the 80s.
Nirvana inherited that aesthetic, got some number one singles out of it, and paved the way for some other bands who shared it to get big. So if you weren't listening to punk in the 80s, it's easy to feel like Nirvana did it and then it was everywhere.
But not all 90s alt bands had punk roots in the same way. A lot of grunge bands were more metal-influenced and played lots of metal-sounding solos. And lot of alt-rock bands had nothing to do with grunge — some of them solo-heavy (Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkins) and some of them not (REM, They Might Be Giants).
posted by nebulawindphone at 11:47 AM on January 3, 2022 [1 favorite]
Nirvana inherited that aesthetic, got some number one singles out of it, and paved the way for some other bands who shared it to get big. So if you weren't listening to punk in the 80s, it's easy to feel like Nirvana did it and then it was everywhere.
But not all 90s alt bands had punk roots in the same way. A lot of grunge bands were more metal-influenced and played lots of metal-sounding solos. And lot of alt-rock bands had nothing to do with grunge — some of them solo-heavy (Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkins) and some of them not (REM, They Might Be Giants).
posted by nebulawindphone at 11:47 AM on January 3, 2022 [1 favorite]
« Older The Case of The Second Egress and the Missing... | The worst mountaineering disaster in modern... Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by saladin at 5:04 PM on December 31, 2021 [30 favorites]