Best/favorite guitar solo? (1 Viewer)

[Tim Hoover]

Speaking of Nigel Tufnel, I'm quite partial to his control tower solo on "Sex Farm"

On a serious note, while Edge from U2 is known mainly for his innovative guitar sounds, the man can pull off some damn great solos when he needs to. The guitar solos on "Bullet The Blue Sky" and "Love Is Blindness" from the Sydney Zoo TV concert were just freakin' mindblowing.

Also, while more an instrumental break than a solo, Catherine Wheel's "Goodbye" really springs to mind...

 

[Chris Tedesco]

Wow, it's funny you said Comfortably Numb! I have always thought that Guitar Solo was the best!

I also like Smashing Pumpkins "Cherub Rock"

Alice in Chains "Man in the Box"

I think Trevor Rabin of Yes: Shoot High Aim Low is a great solo.

Lessons by Rush

 

[Robin_B]

I guess mine would have to be

David Gilmour - Another Brick In The Wall pt2

Doobie Bros - Take Me In Your Arms

Mark Knopfler - Sultans of Swing

 

[Bren_Chris]

Funny how these "best guitar solo" lists wind up with athletics trumping music. (Otherwise, where the heck are Jim Hall and Pat Metheny? Ralph Towner, anyone?) But from the rock world, here are my picks:

"Baby's On Fire" - Robert Fripp w/Eno
"The Great Curve" - Ade Belew w/ Talking Heads
"King of the World" outro solo - Denny Dias w/ Steely Dan

An earlier poster had it right: Allan Holdsworth is the man. He'll satisfy the kids looking for lotsa fast notes, but there's sophisticated jazz harmony to boot, AND his solos are actually engineered on the fly. Check out his recent live album ALL NIGHT WRONG. Stunning.

 

[Aaron Thorne]

Anything coming from Jimmy Page but to name a specific one, any live version of Since I've Been Loving You.

Many of the great solos from Gilmour and Slash already mentioned.

Brian May in Bohemian Rhapsody... GREAT tone in that first solo.

I'm cranking the Marshall when I get home!

 

[Kevin C Brown]

Reminds me:

Brian May (Queen) in Dragon Attack. Love that solo. Just one of many by him.

 

[nickGreenwood]

Mark Knopfler... man when he plays he makes anything sound good. I love his style of playing, very laid back but fierce and beautiful at the same time.

Romeo and Juliet has a great finger picking rhythem.
Portobello Belle - the live version of this song is neat.
Twisting by the Pool - D.S. attempt at an old 50's style. And it works perfectly.

Of course not to forget to mention, Sultans of Swing, Money for Nothing (esp. Live) and Walk of Life.

 

[Kevin M]

Mick Box on Uriah Heep's Magician's Birthday.

 

[Danny Tse]

This is soooo true....the live version of "Money For Nothing" on the live album "On The Night" (with Phil Palmer) smokes all other version of this song.

 

[Francis M]

Hard to believe nobody has mentioned Steve Howe. The work on "Yours Is No Disgrace" is terrific.
As long as I'm doing Yes's program, Trevor Rabin on "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" is good stuff, both riff and solo.

Regards,

 

[Kevin M]

If we're talking Steve Howe, then I personally would pick Heart Of The Sunrise, always been a favorite of mine along with South Side Of The Sky.

 

[MartEvans]

A few favourites of mine...

Steve Rothery on Marillion's "Easter" - one take from what I've read. If that's true then it's even more incredible.

Not sure who played on these but "Goodbye to Love" by The Carpenters and Andrew Gold's "Lonely Boy" both have great solos on them.

 

[Rachael B]

OK, I'm throwing a knuckleball! I'm going with Joe Pass on Unforgettable.

 

[Rob_D]

Blackmore - Rainbow - Stargazer
Page - Led Zeppelin - Dazed And Confused
Hendrix - just about everything. All Along The Watchtower & Spanish Castle Magic Magic for starters
Roeser - Blue Oyster Cult - Astronomy
Schenker - UFO - Lights Out

 

[Andrew 'Ange Hamm' Hamm]

Ooh! Ooh! Steve Howe!

The solo starting about 4 minutes into "Ritual (Nous Sommes du Soleil)" from Tales from Topographic Oceans is my second favorite guitar solo. Atop wind sounds, light percussion, and high bass notes, Howe reprises the major themes from the past 70 minutes of the piece, brilliantly connecting the earlier movements with the coming climax. Then, at 19:50, with the full band, Howe does the same thing, weaving previous themes together, but this time in a minor key and minor progression, leaving this glorious piece of prog-rock on a very unsettling final note. It actually makes me feel physically uncomfortable to listen to, it's so effective in context. And that would make it my favorite solo.

It was even better when I saw them play it live in '01.

 

[MarkHastings]

Crazy Train (Ozzy)
You Can Still Rock in America (Night Ranger)

 

[Nathan Gillmore]

Glad to see Adrian Smith is getting his due respect in this thread, but the best one ever (imho of course) of his wasn't mentioned: The solo in "King in Crimson" that he pulls off on Bruce Dickinson's epic solo album "The Chemical Wedding" has to be heard to be believed. It isn't that long, but it roxxors my boxxors.

I'm also a huge fan of Zakk Wylde, and as someone above mentioned, the first time I heard "Miracle Man" I nearly passed out from the awesomeness.

 

[Parker Clack]

Ok...I have to throw in Al DiMeola "Race With Devil on Spanish Highway" and "Elegant Gypsy Suite". Ronnie Montrose "Rock Candy" and "Town Without Pitty" and "Open Fire".

And of course all the main killers of the guitar mentioned above.

 

[John Kotches]

No one has yet mentioned one of my personal favorites...

Larry Carlton on Steely Dan's Kid Charlemagne.

Absolutely killer work.

Cheers,

 

[nickGreenwood]

I've thought of more:

Steely Dan - Reelin' In The Years, probably the only Steely Dan song I like, but I guess it's at least a good one.

Allman Brothers Band - Melissa and Little Martha (notice how all of their really, really good songs are named after girls?)

Buddy Holly - That'll Be The Day. He was one of the first tasteful guitar players.

Scotty Moore and James Burton had some really good licks on some tunes. Jimmy Burton's most noteable I think is "Hello Mary Lou". Plus there's always Duanne Eddy, Eddie Cochran and Carl Perkins.
Duanne Eddy - Rebel Rouser
Eddie Cochran - Summertime Blues (his most famous song, I think)
Carl Perkins - Blue Suede Shoes (his most popular thanks to Elvis)