The Guardian reports that, according to a new poll, the greatest guitar solo of all time is... David Gilmour's solo at the end of Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb." Which, since most people automatically default to "Stairway," is quite remarkable. Here's the rest of the list:
2. Slash, "Sweet Child O' Mine" (Guns 'N' Roses)
3. Gary Rossington/Allen Collins, "Free Bird" (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
4. Eddie Van Halen, "Eruption" (Van Halen)
5. Slash, "November Rain" (Guns 'N' Roses)
6. Jimmy Page, "Stairway to Heaven" (Led Zeppelin
7. Mark Knopfler, "Sultans of Swing" (Dire Straits)
8. Martin Barre, "Aqualung" (Jethro Tull)
9. Joe Walsh, "Hotel California" (Eagles)
10. Ritchie Blackmore, "Child in Time" (Deep Purple)
Some surprises, some standards. Glad to see the Aqualung solo finally getting some respect - I think the last list I saw had it at #25. Personally, I think that Page's solo in "Black Dog" is a hell of a lot better than his "Stairway" solo, and Terry Kath's excellent solo in "25 or 6 to 4" is ridiculously underrated. And I'm somewhat surprised that Carlos Santana and Jimi Hendrix both got shut out of the top 10. It's also worth noting that there are no songs on this list recorded after 1990. Anyone else know any solos that don't get the respect they deserve?
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6 comments:
The first that springs to mind is Dan Ortiz's amazing solo in Unexpectedly Sober's "Littleton".
Below are some of my other favorites. Many actually do get the respect they deserve but simply didn't crack that top 10. Many more may not garner critical respect or be particularly technically challenging, but man I like 'em. Besides, most of them are
post-1990. (This is probably more than you really wanted, but you know I can't shy away from music discussions.)
Jerry Cantrell, "Angry Chair" (Alice in Chains)
Dicky Betts, "Ramblin' Man" (Allman Brothers)
Tom Morello, "Doesn't Remind Me" (Audioslave)
Eric Clapton, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (the Beatles)
Doug Martsch, "Carry the Zero" (Built to Spill)
Doug Martsch, "Some" (Built to Spill)
Peter Klett, "Far Behind" (Candlebox)
Jim Adkins, "The Middle" (Jimmy Eat World)
John Roderick, "Nora" (the Long Winters)
Cliff Burton, "Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth)" (Metallica) (a bass guitar is still a guitar, so dammit, I'm including this one)
Kirk Hammett, "One" (Metallica)
Isaac Brock, "Trailer Trash" (Modest Mouse)
Randy Rhoads, "Crazy Train" (Ozzy Osbourne)
Mike McCready, "Alive" (Pearl Jam)
Dave Gilmour, "Time" (Pink Floyd)
Brian May, "Bohemian Rhapsody" (Queen)
Jonny Greenwood, "Paranoid Android" (Radiohead)
John Frusciante, "The Zephyr Song" (Red Hot Chili Peppers) (simple but great)
Brian David Blush, "Banditos" (the Refreshments)
Ryan Newell, "All for You" (Sister Hazel)
Kim Thayil, "Black Hole Sun" (Soundgarden)
Tom Petty, "Mary Jane's Last Dance" (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers) (particularly likeable because it's one of the few Petty himself actually plays)
Rivers Cuomo, "Buddy Holly" (Weezer) (yes, it's only 9 notes, but how awesome are those 9?)
Also, I tend to agree with you on "Black Dog".
Wait, what's this about Eric Clapton on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"? Wouldn't that be George Harrison or is there some Beatles trivia I don't know?
Eric Clapton made a guest appearance on that track, and played the solo. Hence the reason he frequently covered (covers?) it in concert.
(Star shoots overhead, accompanied with the words "The More You Know".)
In regards to the omission of Santana from the top 10, I personally think it was warranted. Honestly I have been stunned by the number of rock/pop artists over the past few years that have teamed up with him, when I think he way more suited to latin-style music. Backed by rock or pop singers, his guitar riffs and solos usually sound disconnected from the rest of the song. As opposed to someone like Mark Knopfler whose riffs ARE the song, clearly more deserving IMHO of a top 10 spot.
It suddenly occurs to me (not to be nitpicky) that "November Rain" was recorded (or at least released) in 1991. The more telling statement would be that none of the songs on the list were recorded after the grunge era.
Y'know it just occurred to me...one of my favorite solos is from "Cult of Personality" by ??????.
That one came out after the grunge era, didn't it?
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