This week, the guitar makes the band, and that is why awesome guitar solos always stick in our mind!
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Stephen Schleicher began his career writing for the Digital Media Online community of sites, including Digital Producer and Creative Mac covering all aspects of the digital content creation industry. He then moved on to consumer technology, and began the Coolness Roundup podcast. A writing fool, Stephen has freelanced for Sci-Fi Channel's Technology Blog, and Gizmodo. Still longing for the good ol' days, Stephen launched Major Spoilers in July 2006, because he is a glutton for punishment. You can follow him on Twitter @MajorSpoilers and tell him your darkest secrets...
7 Comments
I have a list, and I had to share it
Best Guitar Solos
5. Let’s Dance by David Bowie has a crazy good guitar solo. It’s actually played by none other than Stevie Ray Vaughn, but it’s hard to recognize because the voice on his guitar has been changed to sound much smoother, almost like a Prince Solo. It’s amazing, and a way for me to get David Bowie and SRV on this list in one.
4. Killing In the Name Of by Rage Against the Machine, it’s a super simplistic but really effective crunchy riff that get’s this song started, and then you get that vocal, but the thing that really tops it off is Tom Morello’s gorgeous solo. It’s one of those solos that you want to sing out because it’s awesome.
3. Jump by Van Halen has the quintessential 80’s rock solo. The best/Most frustrating part is that Eddie Van Halen makes it look way too easy, he doesn’t pull your classic solo faces he just plays this face-melting solo.
2. Painkiller by Judas Priest. The Guitar sound that influenced every other guitar sound. All the Eddie Riggs solos in Brutal Legend(aka my favourite game of all time) all based off of Judas Priest and specifically Painkiller. It’s a perfect Metal song.
1. Killer Queen by Queen, It’s perfect. There’s just nothing else to say about the solo, it’s perfect.
There are just too many awesome guitar solos out there, but here are five I thought of today.
5. Jordan by Buckethead: This eccentric guitarist does things with the guitar that I didn’t even think was possible. Jordan is by far the most accessible song in his catalog, and is a sheer joy to listen to from top to bottom.
4. Eruption by Van Halen: Eddie took the guitar to the next level with this solo, melting faces left and right.
3. Mr. Crowley by Ozzy Osbourne: Randy Rhoads was an outstanding guitarist and it was a shame that he was taken from the world so young. His mixing of classical and metal styles laid the foundation for many shredders to come.
2. While My Guitar Gently Weeps by The Beatles: Personally, I think this is one of the best written songs in the Beatles’ catalog. The solo is stylish and dramatic, perfectly matching George’s personality.
1. Texas Flood by Stevie Ray Vaughan: Another musician taken from us far too soon, Stevie and his guitar Lennie took blues into the modern era with his amazing skills.
Interesting fact, the guitar solo in the Spider-Man theme song was performed by Joe Perry of Aerosmith.
Ha! you beat me to the Joe Perry Spider-Man connection!
While I agree that the solo on While My Guitar Gently Weeps perfectly fits George’s song, it was played by Eric Clapton, not Mr. Harrison.
Surprises that are not on anyone’s list:
BB King
Sgt Pepper
Matt Murphy
and the vote Mike TV
5) Led Zep – Stairway. Certainly not the greatest, but maybe set the bar for what the absolute unit of a guitar solo was, is, and should be. It’s probably what most people think of when they think of a “guitar solo.”
4) Van Halen – Eruption. The song is the solo. The solo is the song. It’s the only good Van Halen song, don’t @ me.
3) AC/DC – Bad Boy Boogie, specifically the version from that 1978 “rock goes to college” live concert video they did. AC/DC at the height of their power, Bon Scott fronting, and Angus Young freaking out and doing that “Curly from the Three Stooges running around in a circle on the floor” while playing. It’s definitely one of those songs that’s about 2/3 guitar solo with maybe about 8 verses sung in total, and it rules. It’s on youtube, and Angus Young does a cheeky striptease in the middle of the damn song, picks up the guitar wearing nothing but his shorty-shorts, and rips into the what, third solo of the song without missing a beat.
2) Queen – The Hero. The REAL Flash Gordon theme song. Another one of those songs where the solo is the whole song and Freddie Mercury just happens to be singing about Flash Gordon somewhere in it.
1) The Adolescents – Amoeba. One of those songs that changed my outlook on life and made me realize that punk and hardcore had room for guitar solos. It’s pure danger, it’s surfy, it’s 1980s Los Angeles dead-end kid ennui, it’s got that awesome dive-bomb “nyeewwww” effect. It’s Repo Man, it’s Pulp Fiction, it’s Die Hard.
Just FYI the lead guitar on the 90’s Spider-Man theme was played by Joe Perry of Aerosmith…so Rodrigo did actually have Aerosmith on his list! Great show, thanks!
So surprised no Metallica (One, Fade to Black, others) at all. Some of this felt more like “best riffs” and I’m glad at least that you guys mentioned that toward the end. Good stuff all around though.