Favourite guitar solos...and why

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;ivlunsdystf
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Post by ;ivlunsdystf » Sat Feb 28, 2009 9:15 pm

doooooooood

I have been listening to the Zappa recent issue 'Imaginary Diseases' all week (album of Petit Wazoo 1972 live stuff). Pretty much the entire album is just "Zappa shreds" in a very very good sort of way. Highly recommended.

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Slider
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Post by Slider » Sun Mar 01, 2009 7:52 am

VU - Pale Blue Eyes
Pretenders - "Kid" opening.
Marc Ribot - anything on Rain Dogs or Swordfish.
Django - many
I'm also a sucker for those Jeff Beck solo records from the 70's. Closest thing to shredding I enjoy.

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;ivlunsdystf
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Post by ;ivlunsdystf » Sun Mar 01, 2009 3:52 pm

That Pretenders "Kid" is, like, the best song ever.

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Jay Reynolds
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Post by Jay Reynolds » Sun Mar 01, 2009 6:53 pm

Pat Metheny-Two Folk Songs.
One of the most beautiful solos ever. Sometimes I break down when I hear it.

Eddie Hazel-Red Hot Mama
I know Maggot Brain gets all the love, as it should, but this solo is so "singable".
Prog out with your cog out.

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Post by lukievan » Sun Mar 01, 2009 7:23 pm

superaction80 wrote:Eddie Hazel-Red Hot Mama
I know Maggot Brain gets all the love, as it should, but this solo is so "singable".
Nice call!

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Snarl 12/8
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Post by Snarl 12/8 » Sun Mar 01, 2009 7:34 pm

I think almost every song should have 3 totally ripping guitar solos. Why the hell not? I mean you've got to have 1-3 players that can pull it off. I loved when Prince played the superbowl and took 3 solos within the first 3 minutes. It made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

In that spirit, I love the solos on Stevie's Spankin'...
Vai, Zappa and Zappa all trying to out do each other.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKWBFWneJQ0
Here's a version. I like the solos on the record waaaay better. I also like it when a song starts with a solo.

(Man, this just doesn't seem right to me... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Bu9GaWAkew&NR=1)

I also like the dweezil solo on "My Beef Mailbox" by Z. I like it's otherworldly quality.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oma4bPTmRig (1:38 )

I also love all the Hillel solos on Uplift Mofo Pary Plan. Hillel is my archetypal guitarist. Lock it in the pocket and then transcend everything.
(NSFW--->)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XSXrfIulBg Short and to the point.
or
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4fZJHZy ... re=related
I like it when the song's bridge, or whatever, is structured around taking the solo higher.

O crap, Buckethead's work on the praxis records is amazing too. He plays so fast that the arpeggios become their own chords. Cascading sheets of sound. At first I was turned off to it, until I gave myself over to the absurdity of it. He totally carries some of those songs on their journey with his improvised shredding.

Enuf outta me.
Carl Keil

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palinilap
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Post by palinilap » Sun Mar 01, 2009 9:55 pm

A Ghost Is Born by Wilco has tons of great solos.

Tweedy pulls off some amazing Neil Young-esque stuff, and Nels strikes a great balance between technical ability and feel. He's got chops, but is always appropriate to the song.

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Post by Recycled_Brains » Mon Mar 02, 2009 7:57 am

in no particular order....

Pearl Jam - "Alive".. the long one at the end. I played air guitar to this so many damn times when it first came out. Still get chills when I hear it.

Pantera - "Flood"... There's two solos in this song, and both are my all time favorites. Sometimes I get choked up listening to them now.

Alice in Chains - "Junkhead"... simple, great melody, simple... I rip off Jerry Cantrell more than any other guitarist.

Hendrix - "Little Wing", "Voodoo Chile" (not the 'slight return' version), "Red House" ("it's alright, I still got my guitar... look out!'), and countless others... why? because he's fucking Jimi Hendrix. hahaha.

Pink Floyd - "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" - because I like to take bong hits and listen to Pink Floyd. :lol:

Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse - "Out of the Blue, Into the Black"... those really short ones where he just bends that one note over and over... why? because less is more.

Meshuggah - "Straws Pulled at Random"... probably the only really "beautiful" sounding bit of music they've written. It's in such stark contrast to the usual bludgeoning brutallity that they produce. It's certainly their most melodic moment. Frederick Thorendal has a really unique and interesting approach to soloing. Lots of chromatics and more eastern and middle eastern tonalities.

I'll think of more later, I'm sure.
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Post by MoreSpaceEcho » Mon Mar 02, 2009 10:56 am

Snarl 12/8 wrote:
O crap, Buckethead's work on the praxis records is amazing too. He plays so fast that the arpeggios become their own chords. Cascading sheets of sound. At first I was turned off to it, until I gave myself over to the absurdity of it. He totally carries some of those songs on their journey with his improvised shredding.
i could never get into any of their records other than the first one, but there's some great stuff from all parties on that record. is it 'animal behavior' with the really long bucket solo at the end? actually he's got a couple really long jams on there.

this reminded me of a couple more good wailing guitar records:

suicidal tendencies-'how will i laugh tomorrow....'

rocky george's solos on this are super fun to listen to. i could never really tell if he had structured them all out ahead of time or if he was just making that shit up. i always assumed the latter, but the solos are so melodic and well thought out it's hard to tell.

jane's addiction'-'nothing's shocking'

dave navarro, like kirk hammett and me, peaked when he was 19.

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Post by shedshrine » Mon Mar 02, 2009 12:59 pm

trying to think of stuff that hasn't been mentioned..

Pretty in Pink soundtrack, Jesse Johnson Get to Know Ya. I grabbed the album cheap to get S. Vega's "Left of Center" at the time. then, Boom, hold on.

Lyle Workman solos on Frank Black stuff has a certain ?falling down the stairs and landing though it?s all chops so why wouldn?t he ? feel I've always liked.

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;ivlunsdystf
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Post by ;ivlunsdystf » Mon Mar 02, 2009 3:11 pm

y'know, the "Pretty In Pink" soundtrack really deserves to be listed as one of the 'ten albums that changed my life'. There really isn't a single turkey song on there. Just solid stuff from start to finish.

Being I don't have my old cassette anymore (nor have I since prolly 1989) of that soundtrack, I'm going to have to find a copy again. Thanks for mentioning that. I am blanking on the solo of which you type. Will investigate.

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Archmart
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Post by Archmart » Wed Mar 04, 2009 11:38 am

palinilap wrote:A Ghost Is Born by Wilco has tons of great solos.

Tweedy pulls off some amazing Neil Young-esque stuff, and Nels strikes a great balance between technical ability and feel. He's got chops, but is always appropriate to the song.
Absolutely! My contribution to this thread is the last little mini-solo in Theologians, because through it I finally got the album. The first break is sort of melancholy but flippant in a way, then the song goes a bit dark at "I'm going away. Where you will look for me. Where I'm going you cannot come" and even deeper/darker at "And no one is ever gonna take my life from me. I lay it down. A ghost is born..." and then that little riff just lifts like a bird (or a cherry ghost) has just taken flight, a release, a surrender that is only a victory in disguise, and then the song just wanders off... at peace with itself. Brilliant. That's a band firing on all cylinders.

-Archmart

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Post by mjau » Wed Mar 04, 2009 11:43 am

Snarl 12/8 wrote:I also love all the Hillel solos on Uplift Mofo Pary Plan. Hillel is my archetypal guitarist. Lock it in the pocket and then transcend everything.
I forget about him, but man, what a guitarist he was.

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Snarl 12/8
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Post by Snarl 12/8 » Wed Mar 04, 2009 1:32 pm

mjau wrote:
Snarl 12/8 wrote:I also love all the Hillel solos on Uplift Mofo Pary Plan. Hillel is my archetypal guitarist. Lock it in the pocket and then transcend everything.
I forget about him, but man, what a guitarist he was.
R.I.P.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Someone mentioned Good Times, Bad Times?

It blows my mind that that was the first song on their first record. I love a lot of the Zep that followed, but man, they coulda stopped right there and still been legendary in my book. As a drummer, with a thing for 12/8. jeez...
Carl Keil

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Post by MoreSpaceEcho » Thu Mar 05, 2009 2:47 pm

they could've stopped after the first verse...

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