Thursday, July 20, 2006

My TOP 13 Guitar solos in songs

Well, I hate to admit it...but guitar is an integral part throughout the history of Rock music. I think, The Beatles were one of the first "Guitar bands" and there have been COUNTLESS Guitar bands ever since. And there have been GREAT guitar solos which have kind of enriched our lives.

Guitar enjoys a status in Rock n Roll which was enjoyed by Violins and Pianos in Vienna types "classical music".

OKAY HERE GOES THE LIST !!!


13. COME AS YOU ARE, SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT - Kurt Cobain From Nirvana

"Come as You Are" is remembered as being one of Nirvana's more optimistic songs. While many other songs by the band would feature dark, bleak lyrics, "Come as You Are" welcomes the listener "as a friend". The song has a weird and really awesome sounding guitar solo by Cobain.

The same sound can be heard in Smells like Teen Spirit.

12. BEAT IT - from Michael Jackson's Thriller Guitarist : EDDIE VAN HALEN

One song which is very different from any of Michael Jackson's songs. The guitarist is from the band Van Halen. The uniqueness of the song "Beat It", is that, it has got a R&B style of vocal rendered by Whacko-Jacko and there is this dreamy guitar solo.

11. LIGHT MY FIRE, FIVE TO ONE - The DOORS

The Doors were a great band. They had keyboards, bizzare lyrics , outlandish and bigger than life singer in Jim Morrison. They had a cult following. Personally,I like many songs of The Doors. Not for just Jim Morrison's lyrics. But the MELODY was an essential component in their music. The guitar just speaks with Morrison and played very naturally.

10. WHILE MY GUITAR GENTLY WEEPS - The Beatles - Guitarist - Eric Clapton

The Beatles.

They are just too big as a band.

But when it comes to Guitar, Harrison and Lennon were okay (if you ask me, that is). But the guitar in this song is GREAT !!! This is because , Eric Clapton was requested by The Beatles to play this song.Clapton is one of the "slow" Guitarists. Plays really slowly but he kicks your head when he plays .... wooooo hooooo!! I need some cocktail RIGHT NOW....

The composition by Harrison, was met with little to no interest by the other Beatles. Let down and yet undaunted, Harrison invited his friend Eric Clapton to join him during a day's recording session. Despite Clapton's doubts ("Nobody ever plays guitar seriously on the Beatles' records"),

9. SULTANS OF SWING - Dire Starits - Mark Knopfler

A guitarist who plays the guitar with lots of "ticks".I mean "short twangs".It is actually difficult to appreciate this guitar solo, because the guitar takes a "soft lead" .

The album version of the song featured an extended guitar solo. Knopfler improvised and expanded that solo many times during live performance

8. FADE TO BLACK, UNFORGIVEN - Metallica - Kirk Hammett

Kirk Hammett is a very talented guitarist, plays really very fast. Fade To Black was a favorite of mine during my college.It is a thrash metal song. And the opening sequence is really amazing.

7. N.I.B aka Nativity In Black - BLACK SABATHTH Guitarist :: Tony Iommi

One of the better Black Sabbath songs with a very good guitar.Forget abt anti-christ and all that crap...The vocals are really simple in this song, but the guitar solo is long, prolonged and very good!

6. SWEET CHILD OF MINE & NOVEMBER RAIN - GUNS n ROSES - SLASH

A GnR song generally goes like this :-

Axl Roses used to create good lyrics, but not THAT good compositions. However, Slash used to build the tempo and change the chords and take the song to another dimension. Axl used to join Slash in the finale and the songs used to END very well.

Probably everybody reading this post will have heard these songs. GnR was the late 80s/90s band which tasted success like CRAZY. Slash really gears up "November Rain" with that solo of his and the chorus. This video is very often requested in many music channels.

I like the "Sweet Child of Mine" solo. It appears to be easier to play and more relatable.

5. HEY JOE, VOODOO CHILE, FOXY LADY - Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix !!!!
The man....The Hippie....The guitar....The Wah-Wah Pedal....The number #1 guitarist of all the time as voted by many people.

He was an innovator while playing guitar.....But his solos, in my opinion, are really too techincal to undertsand.

Voodoo Chile is one of Hendrix's greatest solos. I love it!!

4. ONE OF THESE DAYS , TIME , COMFORTABLE NUMB , HIGH HOPES & ECHOES - PINK FLOYD - Guitarist :: David Gilmour

Pink Floyd's forte is really complex and intriguing lyrics. Taking a concept and visualising and coming up with a whole album of songs.David Gilmour has the speciality of playing the Guitar like a Violin. He can make it moan in melody.Pink Floyd can depress you with its lyrics and the cynical look at reality.

From a keyboard POV, Gilmour's rifffs and chords are mostly black keys. There are rarely white keys :-)

ONE OF THESE DAYS is not exactly your regular Psychedelic piece...But it is really eerie. The guitar makes an slow entrance and in a minute gains control of the whole song.

TIME : The lyrics are legendary. Penned by Roger Waters, they can instantly send you to a bloody depression of meaninglessness. But the guitar piece is melodies.


3. BLACK DOG , COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN , BABE Im GONNA LEAVE YOU - LED ZEPPELIN Guitarist :: Jimmy Page aka the Boss

Hmmm...Led Zeppelin, any comments ?
Hmm...James Patrick Page , any comments ?

This guy is WAY tooo good. He'll play fast. He'll play slow. Each one of the above song's solo is unique. Black Dog's riffs are quick. "Babe...." is a rock ballad. Communication Breakdown is a short song with a terrific solo well complemented a skipped beat by the drummer.


2. STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN, HEARTBREAKER - LED ZEPPELIN Guitarist :: Jimmy Page

It's Jimmy Page again!!!

Heartbreaker solo is one of the most difficult solos to play. It is a marvel.

And who hasnt heard of Stairway to Heaven ?

1 FREE BIRD - LYNNRD SKYNNRD - Dont know the guitarists

This Southern Rock band rocks like hell! And the guitar solo is long , and fast and lots of adrenaline...I heard this song when I was in Infy...Boy! I was blown by the guitar !!! For the moment, I dont have this song and I am looking for it....If you have it, please let me know :-)

7 comments:

zee said...

I guess everybody has their own musical preferances. But I feel Tony Iommi is magical when it comes to guitar. Those riffs, those lengthy solo's, simply amazing. One of the greatest guitarists of all times - Randy Rhoads ! Then Marty Friedman, Zakk, Joe sat, john petrruci, steve vai, akerfeldt, steve harris. The list is endless. Neverthless enjoyed this post.
I think I have "free bird". I can send it.

sudeep said...

Well,I have heard Joe Sat and Steve Vai and the G4 concert songs...They are really good....I havent heard of the other guys....Need to check them out! Any recommendations of the songs of those guitarists ? If you have the "free Bird" do send it to me at sudeeprg [_at_] gmail . com..... merci :)

clangorous said...

I object you mentioning that The Beatles were the first guitar bands, What about the countless Jazz and Blues bands which existed much before the so called beatles. Also Beatles have very less songs which have a big solo. Most of their songs were purely Rhythm guitar playing the chords. Listen to some BB King or Eric Clapton for some kick ass solos ( These ppl existed about the same time or earlier to The Beatles

direkishore said...

great list! Each one of them legendary. I am a Blues fan, Clapton is undoubtedly the best, ofcourse MK isn't far behind ;), Youtube has some videos where the two share stage!! Check them out.

test123 said...

Please make it top 15 by adding the latter two songs :)
Stairway to Heaven,
Nothing Else Matters,
Hotel California.

sudeep said...

clangorous:

Yes, there were musicians..I didnt say the beatles invented guitar chords...I just said they were not just singers...they were songwriters and composersand GOOD musicians and one of the first Guitar dominated bands...I didnt find a Guitar BAND before the fab-four..Ofcourse, before the Beatles, There were great guitarists like Chuck Berry, Buddy Guy etc...

DireKishore:
Surely duuuude....

JAGGU :
SURELY MOMS....Nothing Else ending sakkathaagi ide....But I think the guitarist is Hetfield....

Dhimant Parekh said...

I am sure this post took a looooong time to write and a lot of effort, no strings attached ;-)