Back when I was about 14, I used to think a song was a bit shit if it didn't have some legend doing arpeggios for two minutes straight. A thread to celebrate that idea. Post your favourite songs with guitar solos, or songs that are guitar solos.
The greatest:
Also the greatest:
Was always dead fond of this:
*Obligatory Comfortably Numb link*
Yay, Maggot Brain. That was maybe my favourite in the two P-Funk gigs I went to. The John Frusciante track Before The Beginning, which is a bit of a tribute to Maggot Brain, is really cool too. But the best John solo for me might be She's Only 18 by Chili Peppers.
Purple Rain, Time, Comfortably Numb, Hotel California, Tears, The Rover, Stairway.
One of the most memorable solos:
In terms of instrumentals you can't go wrong with Satriani (the part around 2.30-3.00 is one of my favourite pieces of guitar playing):
and, even though he's a nut case, Buckethead is up there with the best of them:
Guitar solos are objectively bad.
November Rain >
I like subtle ones more than look-at-me ones, so much so that I can't think of any examples at the moment. Probably a Johnny Marr or two.
Look-at-me ones are typically easier to come up with. Just a lot of techniques together but not much in terms of actual composition so to speak.Originally Posted by Jimmy Floyd
The bass at the end.
I generally prefer subtle ones too, but flashy ones can be great as long as they're played with musicality and not all about silly technique. I don't know how this guy has so many fans, or how he's apparently worth 7.5million dollars, which implies he has a broader following than solely guitar players.
I mean technique is also nothing to scoff at. Malmsteen is one of the best in that arena and he has done more than just speed. He did a lot of work in sort of "meshing" classical and metal music. Huge cunt though.
Free Bird.
Sultans of Swing.
It's impressive as a craft, but whether or not the guitar player is hitting 20 notes a second and covering the whole neck is irrelevant to the ear (for most people).
Yeah I'm not a big fan of him (or that type of music) personally, but still he wasn't just about that, if you listen to the song I linked. I would argue he's definitely overrated though.
On that subject you should listen to Dragonforce. Biggest wankfest ever and they presumably have a net worth of 2 million.
88 fucking million views.
Sounds like you guys hate guitar solos that are actually guitar solos.
I've never got into Cream, @Offy (listened to Eric Clapton's solo stuff more for whatever reason) but I like that. I'll dig into their stuff.
That's fair enough. I've perhaps come across the wrong material of his.
And yeah, that DragonForce song from 5 minutes in is a good example of showy nonsense.
I went through a fairly short phase of listening to nothing but Dream Theater, so the first solos that come to mind will always be John Petrucci, and the Erotomania solo in particular. That one blends the sort of needlessly showy technique wank Reg is on about with actually sounding like music.
I mean showy technique is fine. The problem is when all you got is showy technique and the solo just ends up being forgettable.
With a tth music thread, pretentiousness soon follows.
There's plenty of solos mentioned as favourites in here.
Why is it pretentious to dislike the showy stuff discussed above?
Definitely worth checking out. Some of The Yardbirds stuff is great, too.
Banging solo in that as well.
Didn't know which one to choose as he has so many great ones, but can't let one of the true greats go unmentioned:
From 3:24 if you cba to listen to it all. That whole song is just epic.
Hi.
Now I'll spend all afternoon listening to this stuff.
This guy is good (not technically a solo, but a solo player):
Prefer the original myself.
Do you seriously listen to that, Raoul? Yet you think Pink Floyd are 'fiddly guitar wank'? Muaaaad.
No, I just think it's kinda cool. Awesome technique.
Best hard rock album ever.
Wouldn't say best, but it's up there for sure.
3:11.
/thread.
Solos that go on for more than about 16 bars, 99% of the time, can be lumped into plain old self-indulgent shit (that one's 12). If you can't make a complete virtuoso statement in less than 16 bars, you start to lose the essence of a guitar solo - it's essentially the nexus, the focal point, the moment the song gets itself off.
Dinosaur Jr are one of a few bands I'm will to give the benefit, no other band is so capable of writing a 30-45 second sweet pop song and then stuff in a two-minute song with absolutely no effort at all - I remember seeing them at Glastonbury in 2013 and they just completely blew my mind, specifically this song:
1:54.
My computer ballsed up a bit as that post was loading, so I got to read that entire first paragraph before either video thumbnail had appeared. Weezer was not what I expected from someone talking about the nexus of the song. Although perhaps I should have, given the onanism metaphor.
Definitely feels like it could be for me. It's the first rock album I properly loved so I may be biased, though. Need to give it a listen tomorrow as it's been far too long.
Rainbow
Neil Young is my favourite guitar player ever. I think most of my other favourite guitar players are trying, either knowingly or not, to sound like him. I'm under no illusions about him being the most technically gifted, but he gets a better tone and more feeling out his guitar than anyone.
Unusually clean and bluesy for Malkmus, one of my all time favourites. I love how it just sort of emerges from the gloom towards the end of the track and then floats off into the ether.
Obligatory J Mascis entry. Underrated gem from a super underrated album. He really rips into this one. For such an outwardly wooden bloke he really injects a lot of emotion into his guitar playing.
Ira Kaplin is really underrated I think, sort of the forgotten man of nineties alternative rock guitar heroes. Capable of making a beautiful racket when he wants to.
Always been a fan of this one by Led Zeppelin. Solo starts at 3.45.
And also (starts at 2:30):
Sultans of Swing.
I was at that Dinosaur Jr. show too, I think J. Mascis is the best guitarist I've ever seen. Most of the songs off that album are a good shout tbh, though my favourite guitar bit on it is what he does to the melody on that Cure cover at the end.
Buckethead's album he wrote while his mother was dying is the GOAT demonstration of the full range of emotions that can be expressed through guitar:
Allman Brothers for capturing that quintessentially American ethos of driving down an open road in the summer deep in Gods Country, heading to a bonfire party with your girl by your side:
The ultimate 'GDI Killer' to put on at the local dive bar:
@Greg Achilles Last Stand
"What's he doing breaking out and shredding like this? Just play the song as it's intended you pretentious cunt!"
Shadow Play too (Rory Gallagher, not joy Division). They're practically the same song anyway.
John Mayer - Covered In The Rain is fucking superb, depending on the version.
@Alex
I'd choose different songs by all the same guitarists. The only addition would be the guitar work on Miles' Jack Johnson soundtrack. I like McGlaughlin's accompanying even more than the solo.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-8TdZFVj6tA
Was just listening to this and remembered this thread. Don't know how I forgot this masterpiece of a solo (the first one at 2-ish minutes in). Perfect example of using showy techniques and creating a memorable solo at the same time, in my opinion. You can skip the first 2 minutes if you're not into metal and/or seizure-inducing videos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM__lPTWThU
Imagine bowling up and just donning Eric Clapton.
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