Best Guitar Solos ever

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cerealchamp2000

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Well the dogs of hunt should jump all over this stuff so here goes my first volley:

David Gilmore Time (love that high squeaky note on the back half of the solo)

David Gilmore Money(Wet-Dry-Wet like a good shop vac)

Martin Barre Aqualung (or do I just love the whole song?)

Can you sing ANY of Nuno's solos by heart? Didn't think so
 
Couldn't sleep tonight without posting my favorite solo that I can actually play:

Cinammon Girl: Hold the "D" for 8 measures.
 
Guess I'll be the first dog to hunt on this one. Yes I can sing some of Nuno's solos. Parts of "Rest in Peace" from the III Sides CD are way cool and very melodic and not terribly fast. He has a spirit and energy to his playing that's really a lot more than just fast wanking.

As far as favorites:

Virtually any solo by Jeff Beck, Buddy Guy, Eric Johnson, Brian May, Chris Duarte, Warren Haynes, Johnny A, Ry Cooder, Prince, Albert Lee, Steve Morse, Tal Farlow, Wes Montgomery, Hendrix, David Grissom, Pete Anderson, Popa Chubby, Nuno Bettencourt, Jerry Reed, the list goes on and on. All these guys have lots to say on the instrument.

My favorite solo (because its the first one I ever learned note for note) is the intro acoustic solo to "Wish You Were Here".....boy was I proud of myself that day. Unfortunately, one of the consequences of learning stuff is that once you know it, all the magic and mystique sorta drains out of it....bummer!

peace.
 
Trey Anastasio on Sample in a Jar.

Snarling, wailing...I think that I rewind and listen to just the solo several times on every listen. Also, parts of the You Enjoy Myself and Slave to the Traffic Light solos on A live One blow me away.

Ummm...how about anything off of Friday Night in San Fran. Hard to beat that. Hard to call it "soloing" too, with the three of them contantly doing such ridiculous shit. Wayne Krantz on Whippersanpper (very tasty, screams at points)...Charlie Hunter and Les Claypool both play some very kind solos on Me and Chuck. Stanley Clark on School Days kind of scares me. John Scofield plays some sweet stuff as well on A Go Go, pretty twisty but then comes back really sweet without fail. Too hard to say "best of all time" but those are some of my favs.
 
Carlos Santana-Europa
David Gilmour(Pink Floyd)-Comfortably Numb
Steely Dan-Rikki Don't Lose That Number
Steve Rothery(Marillion) This Strange Engine
Steve Hackett-Valley of the Kings
Jimmy Page(Led Zep) Achilles Last Stand
 
There's a solo by John McGlaughlin on the Mahavishnu Orchestra album Visions of the Emerald Beyond. It's on the second song called Lila's Dance. This solo is by far one of the most rippingest solos ever. It's like fire. If anyone has ever heard this you know what I mean.


I always find Gilmours' Confortable Numb solo to be a benchmark to strive for.

And of course just about everything by Jimi Hendrix.
 
Some personal favorites:

Jeff Beck's solos on "Saint and the Rascal" from Narada Michael Walden's Garden of Love Light and "Journey to Love" from Stanley Clarke's album of the same name... actually virtually anything Jeff plays is stunning and perfect...

Eric Clapton -- "Crossroads" from Cream's Wheels of Fire, "Had to Cry Today" and "Do What You Like" from Blind Faith's one and only album, and as a guest on "Fishes and Scorpions" from Steve Stills' second solo album and "I'd Have You Anytime" from Geprge Harrison's All Things Must Pass... and I would be remiss to not mention the searing emotional solo on "Have You Ever Loved A Woman" from Derek and the Dominoes' Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs... how I wish he would play again like he did back then...

Allan Holdsworth on "Fred" from the New Tony Williams Lifetime's Believe It.

Olly Halsall on "San Antone" from the first Patto album.

Mike Stern on "Fat Time" from Miles Davis' The Man With the Horn.

Wayne Krantz on "Whippersnapper" from Two Drink Minimum -- great to see WK show up here, gritzy!

Larry Carlton on "Kid Charlemagne" from Steely Dan's The Royal Scam.

That's all for now, I could probably go on for a while...
 
Freedom by rage. One of the only songs that has a traditional solo and it gives me goose bumps everytime!
 
While My Guitar Gently Weeps: Eric Clapton w/ the Beatles

Whole Lotta Love: Jimmy Page (a cliche' but admit it, when you first heard it it kicked your ass)

Time: David Gilmour (I agree with the initial posting)

and how about the best solos played with the fewest notes: Back in The USSR: Beatles
 
almost forgot; how can anyone overlook one of the best guitar solos in Rock and Roll history using the wah:

25 or 6 to 4: Chicago
 
Boy , I thought I knew rock music till I came here - effedupstrat: POPA CHUBBY????? who he?

First thing I thought of when I saw this thread was Comfortably Numb - that's three mentions already so it has to be great.

Some not so great players have pulled off good stuff in their time - people usually look blankly at me when I say 'heard the solo on Livin' for the Future off Pat Travers' Life in London album? It passed the air guitar test when I was a teenager.

Walsh and Felder on Hotel California
Jan Akkerman on Hocus Pocus (all 3)
SRV on Pride and Joy
Danny Gatton on a live tune called (I think) Good Times (astonishing)

I saw Rory Gallagher do incredible things live on 'Souped up Ford', probably the best bottleneck playing in a rock idiom ever, but you wouldn't know from the studio version, which is the only one on record.
 
Vease,
Chubby is a New York City blues-rock guitarist named Ted Horowitz. He is indeed quite chubby, but plays a mean, snarly guitar. He had one major label album called "Booty and the Beast" on Okeh (division of Sony) records about five years ago, but now he's on an indie label. He has toured on your side of the pond quite frequently, though.

http://www.popachubby.com/

He puts up new mp3's regularly, check him out.

peace.
 
Some favs...

Steely Dan - Peg (Larry Carlton?), Rikki Don't Lose that Number (Skunk Baxter?)
J. Hendrix -All Along the Watchtower
Malmsteen - Soldier Without Faith small doses of Yngwie overkill is sometimes ok, this one flowed just right for me
Steve Morse - Morning Rush Hour the ending lick, played twice still makes me laugh out loud it's so cool
Eric Johnson - All About You average song, but whatta majestic solo
Robben Ford - Help the Poor
Jeff Beck - Cause We Ended As Lovers, Where Where You
Greg Howe- anything
David Gilmour - Another Brick in the Wall
Satriani -Crush of Love
Eddie Van Halen - Outta Love Again and Push Comes to Shove
Billy Gibbons - Jesus Just left Chicago, I'm Bad I'm Nationwide, La Grange, Hot Blue Righteous
...could go on awhile hehe....
 
Elco,

The solo on Steely Dan's "Peg" is Jay Graydon, not Carlton. And it's a gem!

Vease, that solo on the Pat Travers record, could it have been played by Pat Thrall, whoi was in the Pat Travers Band for a while? That guy was stupendous.

Here's a couple of more -- Pat Martino on Benny Golson's tune "Along Came Betty" from Consciousness.

Hendrix, "Rainy Day, Dream Away" and especially "Still Raining, Still Dreaming" from Electric Ladyland.

-AlChuck
 
A few of my favorites

My favorite solos are mostly live recordings. Anyone can sound like a genius in the studio. It takes talent to do it live.

My all-time favorite rock solo is Jimi Hendrix's Machine Gun, on Band of Gypsys. Also check out Power To Love on the same album. And he claimed Johnny B. Goode as his own in the film Jimi Plays Berkeley.

A close second is Frank Zappa's Inca Roads solo from Helsinki in '72(?), which can be heard on two albums: slightly edited with studio backing on One Size Fits All, and the original version on You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 2.

Just about anything live by Steve Morse with the Dixie Dregs.

For studio work:

Jimi's studio stuff rates pretty highly for me. Particular favorites are Manic Depression, Are You Experienced?, Voodoo Child (the long blues piece, not the much-copied "Slight Return"), and of course the original studio version of Red House.

Allan Holdsworth's blazing riffs on Road Games (from the EP of the same name). Also Three Sheets To The Wind from the same EP, Back To The Beginning Again from Bill Bruford's Feels Good To Me, Alaska from UK, and much of the Metal Fatigue album.

Steve Howe's variations on a rockabilly theme. I've Seen All Good People (live or in-studio), and America, from Yes's Yesterdays, are great examples of this.

Lots of Pink Floyd stuff by David Gilmour, most of which I can actually play, though not as well!

A bunch of too-short solos on singles by The Cars, whose guitarist's name escapes me. One example is Just What I Needed. That guy could put more into 12 bars than many rock guitarists could in a whole album side!

Hmmm, there's nothing here newer than '85 or so... guess I'm getting old! I'm certainly listening to less rock these days.

I'm sure I've spaced out on a number of other favorites, but this should tell you what my main influences are as a guitarist.
 
Chris N said:
There's a solo by John McGlaughlin on the Mahavishnu Orchestra album Visions of the Emerald Beyond. It's on the second song called Lila's Dance. This solo is by far one of the most rippingest solos ever. It's like fire. If anyone has ever heard this you know what I mean.


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Click to expand...

He was good wasn't he! Here goes another "I remember when" but I saw him at the Whiskey back in the early 70's. We all sat in the mosh pit area. He was loud and fast. Had a driving fiddle player in his band. I can only remember 1 of his songs.

Nowhere Man the Beatles. Making the most out of a few tasty licks

Whammer Jammer Magic Dick - A harmonica that gave me goosebumps YEAHHHH!!!!!
 
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LIVE you say???

Can you beat DO YOU FEEL by Frampton??

or ONE WAY OUT Duane&Dickie (warts and all)

Best ever I saw? Buzz Featon on bottleneck "Angry Eyes" with Kenny Loggins in concert. Blew Fleetwood Mac off the stage
 
now some good old perm-pop-metal...

no big technique but a whole lot of soul:

- richie sambora's solo on bon jovi's "wanted" (it kicks ass, I think)
- richie kotzen's two solo's on poison's "stand" (more soul any one?)
- blues saraceno's solo on poison's "lay your body down" (now THIS is gooseflesh!)
 
Chucko, Elliot Easton was the lead player in the Cars, I agree he did some great stuff, he's currently with Creedence Clearwater Revisited.

Alchuck, the solo on Livin' for the Future is a pretty simple pentatonic scales, no effects affair, so I'm guessing that Travers DID play it.

After all the controversy about Neil Young on another thread, I have to say that while I don't like his music in general, theres something about all that scratching and flailing around on 'Like a Hurricane' that appeals to me, but don't ask me to explain it - it just feels good.

Apart from Comfortably Numb, the next most 'perfect' solo that comes to mind is Gary Moore on a song called 'You' from the G-Force album, it all fits together beautifully, not overly long either.
 
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