Pee Wee Ellis in Van Morrison S Tupelo Honey
Pee Wee Ellis in Van Morrison S Tupelo Honey
Rush- Tom Sawyer (Neil Pert- drums)
Prince’s guitar solo during the cover of While my Guitar Gently Weeps. Legendary.
Bagpipe solo in "It's a long way to the top (if you wanna rock 'n' roll)" AC/DC
Your pick of Angus Young solos.
seattle prattle wrote:
In all due respect, we can't go very far without mentioning the late, great Jimi Hendrix.
Pick your favorite, but there's no shortage as he instilled even the simplest melody lines with captivating riffs - Killing Floor, Wild Thing, Hey Joe, and though not my favorite, his historic rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. or Purple Haze.
And it would be hard to call most of these solos. His guitar virtuosity is so pervasive and prolific, it intertwines in most every song to create a sense that the freeform riffing and experimentation is more the norm, which he is constantly having to reel back in service to the song's recognizable melody.
Jimi Hendrix!
Joe Satriani has said the greatest guitar solo in rock is Hendrix's "Machine Gun", Live at the Fillmore. A sonic landscape of the Vietnam War. Astonishing power.
The greatest harmonica solo is Little Walter's "Juke", in which he wrote the book for Chicago blues harp (Ry Cooder says Little Walter is the greatest soloist in the blues), Paul Butterfield's "Everything's Gonna Be Alright" Live at the Troubador, while Stevie Wonder's "Alfie" is up there (along with anything by the late great Toots Thielemans).
Saxophone is Coleman Hawkins' "Body and Soul"- a true classic - and Charlie Parker's "Koko", when modern saxophone was invented.
"Stranglehold" - Ted Nugent
So darn good.
malmo wrote:
Jimmy Page's solo in Stairway to Heaven is clearly the best rock guitar solo. Perfect phrasing and meter.
I agree with this. Page was the master at phrasing on this one. I'm not even a huge fan of the song overall, but when the guitar solo comes in it is great.
I never saw LZ perform live in person, but from what I have seen in concert videos, Page never really got close to playing the Stairway solo this well on the stage. Honestly it looked like Page and Plant were kind of phoning in their parts in a lot of tour footage.
Everything by George Harrison.
Also, Nancy Wilson's acoustic intro to Crazy on You.
I second the mention to Rick Beato's videos. Great way to get an education on what's really good across all genres.
Whisperin' Bill wrote:
malmo wrote:
Jimmy Page's solo in Stairway to Heaven is clearly the best rock guitar solo. Perfect phrasing and meter.
I agree with this. Page was the master at phrasing on this one. I'm not even a huge fan of the song overall, but when the guitar solo comes in it is great.
I never saw LZ perform live in person, but from what I have seen in concert videos, Page never really got close to playing the Stairway solo this well on the stage. Honestly it looked like Page and Plant were kind of phoning in their parts in a lot of tour footage.
I always thought Page's best work was the solo on Since I've Been Loving you. Then again, maybe I'm just being contrarian for the sake of it.
Some random ones I've always liked that never get much attention:
- All Alright, Zac Brown Band: forget the guitarists name they brought in for it, but amazing slide / wah solo
- Turbo Lover, Judas Priest: contentious album, but something just awesome about the solo, flipping the volume nob trick at the end just adds perfectly to the song
- Hurt You so Bad, Crazy Town: terrible band haha but somehow this solo is simple and nice
- Why pt. 2, Collective Soul: band is often viewed as bland, but pretty simple yet creative short wah solo on this one
- Funeral for a Friend / Love Lies Bleading, Elton John: pick a solo in that song, it's all good
For those who are (correctly) saying Gilmore's solo in "Comfortably Numb," give a listen to the performance from "Pulse." Somehow, it's MORE epic!
Buddy Rich, Channel One Suite. He is 66 in the video below.
Nils Lofgren's guitar solo on the acoustic version of "Keith Don't Go" is utterly EPIC! If you only know Nils from Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young and Ringo Starr, and you don't know his solo work, you are missing out!!
Wayne Goodwin's violin solo on Crosby, Stills, Nash's "Wasted on the Way" is short, concise and lovely.
Not really a 'solo', but John Bonham's fills--and indeed, entire drumming on--Led Zeppelin's "Fool in the Rain" is bouncy, powerful and unique. (I personally think that "Moby Dick", while great, is FAR from his best playing).
Agree that Jimmy Page's solo on LZ's "Stairway to Heaven" is impeccable phrasing and delivery.
For piano, organ, mellotron and harpsichord, I could listen to Rick Wakeman for an eternity. From his simple yet stunning parts on Cat Stevens' "Morning Has Broken" to his solo "Merlin the Magician" and everything in between.
Hendrix's solos on "All Along the Watchtower" are my fave from him.
John Entwistle's bass solos in "My Generation" from the Who are great as is his solos on "The Real Me" from the Who.
Jerry Garcia on "They Love Each Other" in Spring '77. Solo starts at 4:08
I absolutely love Jerry Garcia's solo that starts about 4:25 into Scarlet Begonias from Cornell 5/8/77. It's 2 minutes of pure bliss.
Comfortably Numb yes. But I place Shine on you Crazy Diamond right up there. Is he playing a solo or talking to Syd?
Martin Garrix - Animals
Some soloists and solos that haven't been mentioned yet:
Frank Zappa - Watermelon on Easter Hay is probably Zappa's best solo, but his oeuvre is huge and there are dozens of solos that I could list among my favorites.
Alex Lifeson - La Villa Strangiato, The Garden, Limelight, Kid Gloves, and many others.
Geddy Lee - YYZ (not really a solo, but 3 short, sweet, and funky mini solos) and La Villa Strangiato.
Stanley Clarke - School Days
Any Steely Dan solo including Jay Graydon on Peg and Larry Carlton on Kid Charlemagne.
All four Beatles - In the End
Robert Fripp - Sailor's Tale
Yesbut wrote:
Let's not forget bass solos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBBe0paov8U
Thanks for posting this.
Holy bejeezus that guy had huge hands... makes that Rickenbacher look like a twig.
Carlos Santana - Whatever Happens.