One of the lasting legacies of the rock era is the guitar solo. You know, those dramatic, ugly-face posing, mindbending, crap-your-pants interludes that allow self-absorbed musical ego trips and inspire generations of lonely introverts to indulge their underwear heroics in their bedroom mirrors. What are the guitar solos that moved you and made you the person you are today? I’ll go first:
1: Mick Ronson – Spiders from Mars (solo starts at 0:36 and is probably still going on today, in heaven)
2: Jimi Hendrix Experience. This is the one that got me started. The solo starts at…well, don’t worry when the solo starts, just listen to the whole thing.
3: St Vincent – Assorted. No, guitar solos are not gender-specific (you can tell Annie Clark spent her share of time soloing in front of a mirror)
4: Jeff Beck. I like that Jeff Beck doesn’t seem to be trying to impress anyone, and lets the bass player shine. Fuck Eric Clapton, by the way. The Beck/Page Yardbirds were much much better.
5: Albert Lee. Every time Albert Lee solos it’s like snorting an 8-ball and driving your truck off a cliff. He cooks throughout this song, but his second solo starting at 2:08 is a whole nother level. I’m surprised his hands don’t combust.
Thank you all for participating. It’s fun to do this with other people. There is no “i” in DUAN.
Neil Young – Down By The River
im probably skirting the rules here
many little solos here…
tho i actually prefer the original….its a beautiful song
fwiw tho…i consider g&rs november rain solo one of the greats….i just dont feel like posting it….
anyways…its hard to pick out great solos when your normal music is this
About 1:30 in Matteo goes off!
And Joscho shredding
Eddie had the gift for both solos and just straight-up riffs. This is a bit excessive, but still drops my jaw.
Van Halen – Eruption
Nobody did it better:
Segovia could shred.
Once upon a time I recorded a guy who was a student of Segovia. He had some funny stories.
Way way back when, I was dating the daughter of the Spanish consul in Chicago. I got to go to Segovia’s 85th birthday party at the consulate after a concert in Orchestra Hall. His son was some late teen something who wanted to know about all-ages punk clubs in town. I shook Segovia’s hand and I couldn’t believe how un-guitarist-like his fingers were.
This is a completely true story.
At 1:35
SRV got my attention right away.
No doubt. SRV was a one-of-a-kind talent. I almost went with this solo (starts at 5:01) but I figured it best to some of the real greats for someone else to pick.
Mrs Butcher has a funny story about meeting him.
Do tell!
She was hired by his landscaper to photograph the grounds for advertising. Frampton saw her taking pictures and came out of the house asking if she was paparazzi. The landscaper who hired her left her twisting in the wind for a few minutes before letting her off the hook.
Carlos Santana