The best guitar solo ever?

[craig1912]

I do love Springsteens solo on Prove it all night (1978)
https://youtu.be/_Xab-th4ltU

[David_D]

Less is more!

The Only Ones - Another Girl, Another Planet]

Love that!

[David_D]

but I've always had a soft spot for Kid by the Pretenders... sinks beautifully into the song, has a wonderful lyrical feel to it.. nowhere near as flash or complicated as most but really adds to the song. 14 seconds of perfection! The solo starts at about 1.30 but you should really listen to the whole song.

Agreed! A cracker. And, unlike most guitar solos, you can have a reasonable stab at it. I think I got a "how to" video for it from YouTube and can play it at about 1/10th the speed of the late, great James Honeyman-Scott.

[mjc1216]

Not been mentioned but always had a soft spot for Carlos Santana and although might not make most peoples top 10 he works for me.

Out of the ones mentioned so far my favourite is Prince.

[David_D]

Glenn Tilbrook has some highly memorable solos for my money:

Squeeze - Another Nail In My Heart https://youtu.be/9bTWF7eirJw?t=51

Squeeze - Pulling Mussels (From The Shell) https://youtu.be/IaXxr8ISXR4?t=99

Squeeze - Black Coffee in Bed https://youtu.be/t9QZhLSKEps?t=175

[aamaci]

Not been mentioned but always had a soft spot for Carlos Santana and although might not make most peoples top 10 he works for me.

+ 1, and his dueling with John McLaughlin on Love, Devotion, Surrender is pretty spectacular

A

[sevvy]

Not been mentioned but always had a soft spot for Carlos Santana and although might not make most peoples top 10 he works for me.

Out of the ones mentioned so far my favourite is Prince.

His solo on “She’s not there” up there in my favourites.

Comfortably Numb tops my list.

Others I’d recommend are Larry Carlton on Kid Charlemagne and Don’t take me alive from The Royal Scam. Wanted Dead or Alive by Richie Sambora, and Running with the night and You might need somebody from Steve Lukather.

[tvralan]

Another vote for Gary Moore


https://youtu.be/P7rQp9kt-M4



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[hogthrob]

Another vote for Gary Moore


https://youtu.be/P7rQp9kt-M4

[oldoakknives]

Not sure if it counts as a solo, and whether acoustic are allowed, but Dave Gilmour's acoustic version of Shine On You Crazy Diamond is the one for me. Every note just seems to hang.

[walkerwek1958]

The live version of David Bowie’s ‘Panic in Detroit’ has one if the best guitar solos I can recall. This was issued as the B side to one of the singles, eventually released on the remastered CD version of the excellent ‘ David Live’ album. Well worth digging out if you’re a Bowie fan.

[Ruggertech]

Cliched and not trendy but genuinely for me Mark Knofler makes the best noise from a guitar I've heard.

Maybe not trendy but not cliched either. When I first heard Sultans of Swing in 79 it blew my then 13 year old brain. I was very familiar with ELO, Queen, and Bowie due to older sisters who had a bit of taste, but that solo of Knoplflers was like nothing I had heard before.
As an aside, try to check out the version on Alchemy, the live album. It just builds and builds, you know what is coming and the expectation is sublime. I believe at the time it was the first live album where mistakes were not edited out before release, it's a struggle to find any though.

[TheGent]

Maybe not trendy but not cliched either. When I first heard Sultans of Swing in 79 it blew my then 13 year old brain. I was very familiar with ELO, Queen, and Bowie due to older sisters who had a bit of taste, but that solo of Knoplflers was like nothing I had heard before.
As an aside, try to check out the version on Alchemy, the live album. It just builds and builds, you know what is coming and the expectation is sublime. I believe at the time it was the first live album where mistakes were not edited out before release, it's a struggle to find any though.

Mark Knopfler is my all time favourite guitarist. His qualities as a player and songwriter just ooze quality. The guitar break/solo just before the 6minute mark in telegraph road is just so aching and powerful.


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[Ruggertech]

Mark Knopfler is my all time favourite guitarist. His qualities as a player and songwriter just ooze quality. The guitar break/solo just before the 6minute mark in telegraph road is just so aching and powerful.


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I was lucky enough to see them in Birmingham on the Brothers in Arms tour. Not the best Dire Straits album for me by a country mile, but they played all the songs you could hope for, and yes, to say Knopfler oozes quality is very true.

[TheGent]

I was lucky enough to see them in Birmingham on the Brothers in Arms tour. Not the best Dire Straits album for me by a country mile, but they played all the songs you could hope for, and yes, to say Knopfler oozes quality is very true.

Fantastic. I’ve only seen him as a solo artist (3 times) what a fantastic performer, his choice of musicians is also exceptional.

Oh and of course he’s a speedmaster wearer so that completes it for me


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[Ruggertech]

Fantastic. I’ve only seen him as a solo artist (3 times) what a fantastic performer, his choice of musicians is also exceptional.

Oh and of course he’s a speedmaster wearer so that completes it for me


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The venues are probably better (more intimate) when you see him as a solo artist I would guess. Didn't know the speed master bit, cool.

[TheGent]

The venues are probably better (more intimate) when you see him as a solo artist I would guess. Didn't know the speed master bit, cool.

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[Ruggertech]

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Great pic, I can see a guitarist in it if I look carefully ;)

[Crammage]

Not sure if it counts as a solo, and whether acoustic are allowed, but Dave Gilmour's acoustic version of Shine On You Crazy Diamond is the one for me. Every note just seems to hang.

I was hoping someone would post this, incredible.

Another potentially contentious one but Greenwood’s in The Bends always floors me.

[GRK]

Not so much a solo, more an entire song; best imagined as a wild downwind sail with the wind gusting 35 knots and a 2 meter swell. I especially like the ending, enjoy.

https://youtu.be/2rSQmVGaufk

[TheGent]

Another potentially contentious one but Greenwood’s in The Bends always floors me.

Sounds like it’s completely wild and unrestrained, and yet it’s totally controlled. JG is a fantastic player. When you hear him speak and being interviewed he doesn’t appear to be someone who would indulge in such raucous playing...


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[monogroover]

I don't think there is a Best Guitar Solo, but I'm fond of this one, from Talc's The Out Of Work Clown





2:37 in. The guitar player is Mike Outram.


Larry Carlton's Room 335 also springs to mind.. Larry has lost this awful mullet now, but not his talent.

[craig1912]

I was lucky enough to see them in Birmingham on the Brothers in Arms tour. Not the best Dire Straits album for me by a country mile, but they played all the songs you could hope for, and yes, to say Knopfler oozes quality is very true.

Saw them At the Manchester Apollo on that tour which was a decent smallish venue and again at Maine Road for the “On Every Street” tour

[Crammage]

Sounds like it’s completely wild and unrestrained, and yet it’s totally controlled. JG is a fantastic player. When you hear him speak and being interviewed he doesn’t appear to be someone who would indulge in such raucous playing...


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A bit biased but I’d completely agree, always seems to find the perfect balance.

[sevvy]

Forgot to add Michael Schenker for Rock Bottom on the Strangers in the night live album. That said you could pick almost any solo from that album.

[JonRA]

Not so much a solo, more an entire song; best imagined as a wild downwind sail with the wind gusting 35 knots and a 2 meter swell. I especially like the ending, enjoy.

https://youtu.be/2rSQmVGaufk

Really enjoyed that - a reminder of the variety of sounds an acoustic guitar can make. Whilst a different sort of piece, John Martyn could produce some fantastic sounds - this is one of my favourites https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvFMEiVX_Ck

[hilly10]

The best guitar solo is so subjective

Jack Bruce Crossroads Bass probably the best bass ever

Eric Clapton Spoonfull one of the best ever

Steve Rothley most under rated lead ever Marrilion

[Wallasey Runner]

The best guitar solo is so subjective

Jack Bruce Crossroads Bass probably the best bass ever

That is interesting, on many an occasion I have played that track and tried to ignore Clapton and just listen to Bruce's thundering bass line and it is superb.

In the last few years of his life John Entwistle of The Who had taken to doing a 5-10 bass solo on 5:15 in concert and is worth looking up. I saw him do it several times and it takes some beating.

[CaptainRockNRoll]

That is interesting, on many an occasion I have played that track and tried to ignore Clapton and just listen to Bruce's thundering bass line and it is superb.

In the last few years of his life John Entwistle of The Who had taken to doing a 5-10 bass solo on 5:15 in concert and is worth looking up. I saw him do it several times and it takes some beating.

+1 on Entwistle. His 5:15 solos were a little fretwankery, but the sheer technique is incredible. The Real Me from Quadrophenia and Dreaming From The Waist on the Who By Numbers really showcase just how far ahead he was of almost everyone.

Haven't gone through the thread yet, but any mention of All Right Now by Free? How that solo is structured, and builds and builds is just superb. Incredible vibrato too, and what a tone!

[hogthrob]

That is interesting, on many an occasion I have played that track and tried to ignore Clapton and just listen to Bruce's thundering bass line and it is superb.

In the last few years of his life John Entwistle of The Who had taken to doing a 5-10 bass solo on 5:15 in concert and is worth looking up. I saw him do it several times and it takes some beating.

You might like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zk-4ZyXjBY

[Stanford]

I'm not going to try and pick a 'best' because it's too subjective - for me it's not about the complexity but the emotion (how it makes me feel) and that can change depending on the date, time of day, weather, what beer I'm drinking and so on.

Most of those already mentioned would be on the short(ish)list, though.

[zanderpants]

Surely it has to be Ralph Macchio!

https://youtu.be/CqdL36VKbMQ


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[hogthrob]

Surely it has to be Ralph Macchio!

https://youtu.be/CqdL36VKbMQ

[oldoakknives]

I was hoping someone would post this, incredible.

Another potentially contentious one but Greenwood’s in The Bends always floors me.

Yes, lacking the power and force of some of his electric performances, but for sheer excellence he hits every note for me.

[Crammage]

Yes, lacking the power and force of some of his electric performances, but for sheer excellence he hits every note for me.

Total control, he’s completely at one with that acoustic.

[JackW]

I know it will never qualify as 'the best', but Neil Young's 'solo' in Cinnamon Girl always brings a smile to my face. Clapton on the Derek & the Dominos album, especially in Key to the Highway.

Two guitarists that may be underrated: Chuck Prophet and Nels Cline. I saw Prophet in concert circa The Age of Miracles and he had the best guitar sound I ever heard. I saw Wilco with Cline live four times. They're a brilliant live band and Cline's extended solo's are thrilling.

[blackal]

1985 Farm Aid, Eddie Van Halen and Sammy Hagar .............. "Rock and Roll"

[kildareman]

Isaac Albeniz - Asturias.

The Polish guitarist Marcin Patrzalek plays it impressively- from 1.50 onwards if you want to get to the technical genius stuff.

https://youtu.be/mC9GeVJxW5Y

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Thanks for that. Another one to follow. Jes he's good. Similar to Rodrigo & Gabriela.

[Merch131]

For jaw dropping perfection check out Tina S

https://youtu.be/o6rBK0BqL2w

and

https://youtu.be/XpASSx0ecTU

[PhilT]

Surely the most famous guitar solo must be EVH on Beat It
https://youtu.be/oRdxUFDoQe0

Nobody mention either Jimmy Page or Jeff Beck?
https://youtu.be/TZlFTbvfKPE

https://youtu.be/HQmmM_qwG4k

For sheer cool and the ability to play solos using mostly the one note :-)

https://youtu.be/zFvQo1si_p8

But I don’t think Tufnel will ever be bettered...

https://youtu.be/ikHQT6mluhk

[Jake]

Particular favourite of mine. Beautiful finger picking style and effortless.

Keith don’t go - Nils Lofgren

https://youtu.be/coNqbqnH3AM

Jake

[hogthrob]

Nobody mention Jeff Beck?

Sublime. Beck's too good to be included in this thread. Oxblood too.


My favourite ever Jimmy Page guitar part is this section from the Song Remains The Same version of Since I've Been Loving You

[SteveM112]

Anything from Adrian Belew ...

[wildheart]

Another vote for Jimmy Page but his solo in Dazed and Confused Earls Court 1975 for me is incredible, next would be Rory Gallagher Shadow Play https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0n799jXZ2s I saw Rory many times and he was so unique. Slash rates him the greatest rock guitarist!:)

[craig1912]

Another vote for Jimmy Page but his solo in Dazed and Confused Earls Court 1975 for me is incredible, next would be Rory Gallagher Shadow Play https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0n799jXZ2s I saw Rory many times and he was so unique. Slash rates him the greatest rock guitarist!:)

Saw Rory a couple of times in the 70’s. Met Gerry McAvoy and Rod d’Ath in the pub before one of the concerts!Two genuine nice guys.

[JonRA]

There's a preponderance of male guitarists here - ladies can play too :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gpIxto5MOY

[Strnglwhank]

A fair few of your have said it before in that there is no such 'best solo' because sometimes your want something heavy, sometimes something bluesy, sometimes something atmospheric.

From a technical perspective I think early Satch was awesome https://youtu.be/mlkbT4GDYAQ. Marty Friedman with Tornado of Souls is a classic https://youtu.be/Mr9q9d8-NhM.

I also like to watch this mismash shred collab done a couple of years ago https://youtu.be/oj0CjV1QxtQ

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[Go Big]

Forgot to add Michael Schenker for Rock Bottom on the Strangers in the night live album. That said you could pick almost any solo from that album.

That's definitely up there.

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[Go Big]

Solo starts at 1.50

https://youtu.be/F6YKJX-dXIM

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[eddie1]

Layla
Derek & the Dominoes and listen for Duanes slide guitar work

https://youtu.be/Th3ycKQV_4k