Best/favorite guitar solo? (1 Viewer)

[Jimi C]

What about the worst guitar solos? I would say pretty much anything from jimmi vaughn. He is so out of his league when he plays with people on the SRV tribute dvd and the clapton guitar fest dvd. Its almost too hard to watch. He does have a much better voice than Stevie though.

 

[Kevin C Brown]

I also like Jimmy Page's solo in The Song Remains the Same version of No Quarter. I still get goosebumps when I hear it.

I won't pick a "song" for this one, but I like all of Ritchie Blackmore's work on Made In Japan.

And then Pete's solo in the various versions of Young Man Blues.

 

[Chris Brunner]

I'm a "David Gilmour" kind of guy.

When I think of amazing solos, Comfortably Numb, Time, & Shine On You Crazy Diamond immediately jump to mind. Not always in that particular order.

For me, it doesn't have to be fast. Just smooooth....

C

 

[FeisalK]

Randy Rhoads: Mr. Crowley (Ozzy Osboure, Diary of a Madman)
Elliot Easton: Just What I Needed (The Cars, The Cars - blink and you'll miss it)
Dave Murray & Adrian Smith: Prodigal Son (Iron Maiden, Killers)
Mark Knopfler: Tunnel of Love (Dire Straits, Making Movies)

 

[Nathan Eddy]

Alex Leifson (Rush) in La Villa Strangiato. Any version--they all rock. Also, his "outro" solo in Mission, his solo in Marathon, his "duel" in By Tor and the Snow Dog. And his solo in YYZ. And don't forget Limelight . . . aahh! There's too many.

Alex is my favorite guitarist. What I love about him is that he doesn't have to always be the main instrument--even during his solos. They have "band solos," where all three are jamming at once, taking turns with the lead (just listen to the solo on Freewill for an example).

I also like how he can create so many textures and moods, from very delicate, ethereal, "orchestral," sounds to demonic, tortured, wailing sounds. He doesn't have a distinct style that he stamps on every song, but instead changes his style to suit the song.

I can't stand people who just play scales really, really fast: Yngwe Malmsteem, Randy Rhoads, that incredibly annoying Free Bird solo featuring the same three notes over and over and over--I can't believe this thread started with that one!

 

[Jay Mitchosky]

Great thread. Here is an off the top list in no particular order:

• Hotel California, (Eagles, can't recall what combination of Felder, Fry, and Walsh)
• Another Brick in the Wall, David Gilmour (ridiculously tasty)
• Comfortably Numb, David Gilmour (makes me want to weep)
• Voodoo Chile, Stevie Ray Vaughan
• Bark at the Moon, Jake E. Lee (Ozzy Osbourne, this video made me start playing guitar)
• Under a Glass Moon, John Petrucci (Dream Theater)
• Status Seeker, John Petrucci (Dream Theater)
• To Live Forever, John Petrucci (Dream Theater)
• Take Hold of the Flame, Chris De Garmo (Queensryche)
• Lay It Down, Warren De Martini (Ratt)
• Nobody Rides For Free, Warren De Martini (Ratt)
• Spanish Fly, Eddie Van Halen
• Tobacco Road, Steve Vai (David Lee Roth, harmonic at the end is from his tongue)
• Animal, Steve Vai (actually pretty much anything from Passion and Warfare is unreal)
• Summer Song, Joe Satriani
• Black Star, Yngwie Malmsteen (shredder label aside this guy has some of the best vibrato and feel in the business)
• Marching Out, Yngwie Malmsteen
• Icarus Dream Suite, Yngwie Malmsteen
• Desert Rose, Eric Johnson (and pretty much anything else from Ah Via Musicom)
• You Got Another Thing Coming, Glenn Tipton (Judas Priest)
• Some Heads Are Gonna Roll, Glenn Tiption (Judas Priest)
• Metal Gods, Glenn Tipton (Judas Priest)
• No One Like You, Matthias Jabs (Scorpions)
• Unchain the Night, George Lynch (Dokken)
• Wait, Vitto Bratta (White Lion)

I love that Adrian Smith from Iron Maiden is noted above. Very underrated guitar player. When I played in a band his were the solos I'd always want to do. Two Minutes to Midnight, Wasted Years, Stranger in a Strange Land, and many others are monsters.

Bravo. For me, however, I'll see and raise with Jake E. Lee's rendition from the US Festival. Now THERE is a box set DVD that absolutely demands the royal treatment!

I'll have to come back and add more. Inspired to go and play.

 

[Kevin C Brown]

One more: Roger Fisher (Heart) in Barracuda.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

I agree with many on this list, including Gilmour, Blackmore, Lifeson, Eagles...

A couple that most here probably are not aware of:

Scorpions - The Sails of Charon by Uli Roth
Hannah - Robin Trower
Blue Collar - Bachman Turner Overdrive (and many other BTO solos)
Paradise Skies - Max Webster (Kim Mitchell)

 

[Jeremy Deal]

Blue sky - allman bros
fool in the rain - zeppelin

2 that come to mind

 

[Michael Varacin]

I always enjoyed the guitar solos in:

Bob Seger - Like a Rock.
Meat Loaf - Bat out of Hell.

 

[Philip Hamm]

My favorite guitar solos are in the following song:

Paul McCartney & Wings: "My Love"
Saigon Kick: "Going On"
DEVO: "Beautiful World"

I'm more into how the solo fits into the song as a whole as opposed to the technique.

 

[Frank Lee]

I love many of the ones mentioned here. My favorite has always been; Guns n Roses - Sweet Child o' mine.

 

[AricB]

Comfortably Numb (off Pulse)
as someone said, just about anything off Steve Vai's Passion and Warefare, Tobacco Road is a good choice as well.

Can't believe Saigon Kick and George Lynch got mentioned here, awesome. Mr Scary is an impressive piece no doubt.

not really a solo, but the guitar sound of the pixies, Letter to Memphis. the solo from Vamos is killer too.

 

[Joel Stein]

Eddie Hazel's "Maggot Brain" on the Funkadelic album of the same title. As my friend Mark has said, it's the solo that Clapton has been trying for his entire career.

Funniest guitar solo-- Pete Shelley's endlessly repeated two notes in Buzzcock's "Boredom" (Get it?)

 

[Nathan Eddy]

Allan Holdsworth is the greatest guitarist I've ever heard. But he doesn't play rock, he plays jazz, so I guess that doesn't count. But he blows away anything that any rock guitarist has ever done. He's playing in a totally different dimension than everybody else.

Check him out. There is one rock-jazz fusion disc he did in the 70s (Velvet Darkness) if you can't stand jazz. But Allan disclaims that one as simplistic and juvenile.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

More props for Adrian Smith (and Dave Murray) from Iron Maiden. The solos from Aces High take the intensity to eleven!

Another favorite is the guitar/ keyboard duet line from Dream Theater's Metropolis Part 1.

I'd bring up a few Steve Morse solos, but I don't know that instrumental songs really count for this (there are some Yngwie solos that could be here too -- Far Beyond The Sun immediately comes to mind).

Damn, this thread makes me want to get in the car and crank the radio (well, that and the fact that it's after 7 pm and I want to get out of the office!). . .

 

[Jay Mitchosky]

I says "pardon"?!! Of course it counts. Mr. H. is inhuman and a true innovator on the instrument. If you like his playing make sure you check out Frank Gambale. Sweep picking, baby! Incredibly cool.

Metropolis by Dream Theater is one of my all time favorites (song, album, band). The instrumental break is amazing, particularly when Petrucci first launches into those super clean picked triplets. If you don't have their Live at Budokan DVD yet go get it. Now. On the behind the scenes material there is a short spot where John and Jordan (Rudess, keyboards) are practicing said triplet break backstage. John with his guitar unamplified and Jordan just tapping his fingers on the table. It's one thing to play crazy shit behind a wall of distortion, but to hear it played absolutely clean is a thing of beauty.

 

[Jason Kirkpatri]

Hence, Judas Priest.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Previous post edited -- I spelled "Yngwie" wrong! Oh, the shame. . .

 

[Greg_C_T]

Off the top of my head:

SRV: Tin Pan Alley, Voodoo Chile, etc.

Nuno Bettencourt: Suzie (Wants Her...), Play With Me

Randy Rhoads: most anything from Tribute

Eddie Van Halen: Eruption, Hot For Teacher, Dance the Night
Away, etc.

Mark Knopfler: Golden Heart, Darling Pretty, Money For Nothin

Runner-up: Ace Frehley/Paul Stanley: Detroit Rock City

LOVE a good guitar solo!