Top 5 guitar solos ever

[Yeagermeister]

Yes I love BB's sound.

I also think Carlos Santana has one of the sweetest tones ever.

No doubt

 

[Hostile]

Yes I love BB's sound.

I also think Carlos Santana has one of the sweetest tones ever.

I wore out my cassette of "Abraxas" by Santana.

I can't believe Yeager hasn't said much about SRV.

 

[Yeagermeister]

I wore out my cassette of "Abraxas" by Santana.

I can't believe Yeager hasn't said much about SRV.

He was already covered and it goes without saying.

Texas Flood is one of my favs also.

 

[jem88]

Oh btw, have you ever noticed on songs, Penny Lane, We Can Work It Out, Hey Jude....there's no intro...He just starts singing. I don't know of many other songwriters who have done that.

Elvis Costello used to do that quite a lot (ex. No Action, Welcome To The Working Week, Accidents Will Happen, New Amsterdam.) You have to be a confident musician to get away with that. Jack White (White Stripes) does it from time to time as well (Denial Twist, Forever For Her, I Wanna Be The Boy.)

 

[iceberg]

\\:shoot3:

Here's the thing about McCartney...there aren't many people who can write and sing songs so dramatically different as...

I'm Down
Yesterday
Why Don't We Do It In The Road
Blackbird
Oh Darling
You Never Give Me Your Money
I've Got A Feeling
Let It Be

But hey, this is about guitar solos...

uh....like just about every 5 note lick played by BB King...uh, the beginning of "The Thrill Is Gone" for instance.

i recognize the talent of the beatles, i give full credit for them accomplishing what they did, i was just never much into the "style" of the time and they kinda defined it to a large degree.

let it be is flat out a classic and when i do play the beatles, that's usually the one. i've got beatles friends all around me who his bands is more or less a todays beatles with some cheap trick thrown in - "I get the respect they get and why".

just not my thing.

glad to see santana getting more props!

night ranger - wow, i'm back in college now. i've seen them on concert in front of 25k people, and in front of 250 people very late in their career. i still may wanna book 'em in dallas one day.

i'll think more when i wake up more.

 

[DallasCowpoke]

If y'all ever get a chance to see a replay of Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival held at Fair Park in Dallas, Texas in June 2004 on your local PBS station, I highly recommend you don't miss it.

I went to day 3 of this, an all-day affair, and boy was it worth the sunburn!! :laugh1:

FYI, you can watch a few clips on-line at the above link.

 

[jem88]

Well, I think that's why after a few years on his own...and with Wings...he really came up with some clunkers. He still recorded some GREAT stuff...but there wasn't a John Lennon there to give him THAT look.

The only thing that allows me to excuse him for his Beatles drivel is that the songs were goofs to begin with. Honey Pie, the two you mentioned, etc.

They may have been joke songs, but apparently McCartney was beyond meticulous in recording them, something that drove Lennon to distraction. Apparently, many takes were spent on Ob-la-di just to give it a 'spontaneous' sound. Contrasting this, was Why Don't We Do It In The Road?, which was quickly knocked off. Lennon was bitter that we wasn't invited to participate in the recording of this song, seeing as how it was exactly the kind of rough sound that Lennon was getting more and more into.

 

[Juke99]

They may have been joke songs, but apparently McCartney was beyond meticulous in recording them, something that drove Lennon to distraction. Apparently, many takes were spent on Ob-la-di just to give it a 'spontaneous' sound. Contrasting this, was Why Don't We Do It In The Road?, which was quickly knocked off. Lennon was bitter that we wasn't invited to participate in the recording of this song, seeing as how it was exactly the kind of rough sound that Lennon was getting more and more into.

Ya know, I've always excused McCartney's "perfectionism" because I consider it within the context of the Beatles.

LOVED them. Definitely my biggest influence. BUT truth be told, outside of McCartney, they were awful musicians.

There's that scene in the movie "Let it Be" where McCartney is getting "at" Harrison on the way he is playing the descending line at the stop in "I've Got A Feeling"

And to some, it might look like McCartney is being a picky *******..but fact of the matter is, Harrison simply wasn't "getting it".

You could hear EXACTLY what McCartney was asking for....Harrison simply couldn't play it.

So, considering that McCartney, the group's bass player was a better guitar player, by far, than the lead guitarist, I kinda understand how he was seen as a perfectionist.

But, IMO, he wasn't. He was simply a guy who had to explain things over and over to guys who simply weren't good musicians.

 

[jem88]

Ya know, I've always excused McCartney's "perfectionism" because I consider it within the context of the Beatles.

LOVED them. Definitely my biggest influence. BUT truth be told, outside of McCartney, they were awful musicians.

There's that scene in the movie "Let it Be" where McCartney is getting "at" Harrison on the way he is playing the descending line at the stop in "I've Got A Feeling"

And to some, it might look like McCartney is being a picky *******..but fact of the matter is, Harrison simply wasn't "getting it".

You could hear EXACTLY what McCartney was asking for....Harrison simply couldn't play it.

So, considering that McCartney, the group's bass player was a better guitar player, by far, than the lead guitarist, I kinda understand how he was seen as a perfectionist.

But, IMO, he wasn't. He was simply a guy who had to explain things over and over to guys who simply weren't good musicians.

I don't know about that. I find All Things Must Pass to far superior to anything McCartney put out. I think both Lennon and McCartney had a negative effect on Harrison and he became more reticent in their presence. Once he was left to his own devices, he was able to shine on his first solo album. I guess it all depends how you define 'good musician', but for me, Harrison was a very good songwriter (imo a key component of musicianship.)

 

[Juke99]

I don't know about that. I find All Things Must Pass to far superior to anything McCartney put out. I think both Lennon and McCartney had a negative effect on Harrison and he became more reticent in their presence. Once he was left to his own devices, he was able to shine on his first solo album. I guess it all depends how you define 'good musician', but for me, Harrison was a very good songwriter (imo a key component of musicianship.)

I think the reason All Things Must Pass was so good was because he had years of material stored up. A number of those songs were recorded as rough demos while he was with the Beatles. There was simply no "room" on the albums for them.

After All Things Must Pass, he was pretty bad.

Well, I think we have different perspectives/definitions.

Lennon was a great songwriter. But a horrible guitar player.

I write. In fact, I have two songs currently signed with a publisher. I've also won a few song writings contests in the past year.

When I speak of musicianship, I mean the ability to play the instrument...in and of itself.

There are a TON of great musicians who can't write to save their butts. Every studio musician I have ever played with could shred me to ribbons on the guitar. But NONE of them could write. In fact, most often, they were in the studio to play on my songs.

To me, the test of a good song writer is time.

I don't see many post-Beatle Harrison songs that have stood the test of time.
I love the All Things Must Pass album...but the only song that still gets air play is "MY Sweet Lord" and we know the story behind that one.

McCartney, like the songs or not, has a lot of stuff that still gets air play from his solo days...from his Wings days...

 

[jem88]

I think the reason All Things Must Pass was so good was because he had years of material stored up. A number of those songs were recorded as rough demos while he was with the Beatles. There was simply no "room" on the albums for them.

After All Things Must Pass, he was pretty bad.

Well, I think we have different perspectives/definitions.

Lennon was a great songwriter. But a horrible guitar player.

I write. In fact, I have two songs currently signed with a publisher. I've also won a few song writings contests in the past year.

When I speak of musicianship, I mean the ability to play the instrument...in and of itself.

There are a TON of great musicians who can't write to save their butts. Every studio musician I have ever played with could shred me to ribbons on the guitar. But NONE of them could write. In fact, most often, they were in the studio to play on my songs.

To me, the test of a good song writer is time.

I don't see many post-Beatle Harrison songs that have stood the test of time.
I love the All Things Must Pass album...but the only song that still gets air play is "MY Sweet Lord" and we know the story behind that one.

McCartney, like the songs or not, has a lot of stuff that still gets air play from his solo days...from his Wings days...

The thing is, there should have been room for them. Take a somewhat silly song like Wah Wah: To me, it's still way better than Maxwell's Silver Hammer. However Harrison, and in a way he had only his lack of confidence to blame, didn't push for his songs to be included they way McCartney and Lennon did. Now let me be clear, I consider McCartney to be the better musician (and songwriter), but I feel both he and Lennon allowed their egos to stifle Harrison (and perhaps even each other: Lennon did a hatchet job on bass on The Long and Winding Road.)

As far as My Sweet Lord, I've never found the plagiarism charge to be fair, especially when you consider what other bands have gotten away with (Zeppelin with their early 'blues' songs are one striking example.) As well, I consider Isn't It A Pity, What Is Life, Beware of Darkness, All Things Must Pass, and I'd Have You Anytime to be classics, as well as Give Me Peace On Earth from a later album. The only McCartney solo work I'd put with them is Maybe I'm Amazed.

I guess we measure guitar players in different ways. I love Lennon's sound (witness the solos he takes on The End.) Of course I could play that, but I'm not sure I would have ever come up with that. For me, it's the same with drummers. I think Ringo was a genius: Paperback Writer, Tomorrow Never Knows, A Day In The Life are particular highlights. Maybe they weren't difficult parts, but they greatly enhanced the songs.

One thing I will give to McCartney is that he gave way more to Lennon's songs (and Harrison's for that matter) than Lennon gave to his. Perhaps that was a positive aspect of his perfectionism.

 

[Juke99]

The thing is, there should have been room for them. Take a somewhat silly song like Wah Wah: To me, it's still way better than Maxwell's Silver Hammer. However Harrison, and in a way he had only his lack of confidence to blame, didn't push for his songs to be included they way McCartney and Lennon did. Now let me be clear, I consider McCartney to be the better musician (and songwriter), but I feel both he and Lennon allowed their egos to stifle Harrison (and perhaps even each other: Lennon did a hatchet job on bass on The Long and Winding Road.)

As far as My Sweet Lord, I've never found the plagiarism charge to be fair, especially when you consider what other bands have gotten away with (Zeppelin with their early 'blues' songs are one striking example.) As well, I consider Isn't It A Pity, What Is Life, Beware of Darkness, All Things Must Pass, and I'd Have You Anytime to be classics, as well as Give Me Peace On Earth from a later album. The only McCartney solo work I'd put with them is Maybe I'm Amazed.

I guess we measure guitar players in different ways. I love Lennon's sound (witness the solos he takes on The End.) Of course I could play that, but I'm not sure I would have ever come up with that. For me, it's the same with drummers. I think Ringo was a genius: Paperback Writer, Tomorrow Never Knows, A Day In The Life are particular highlights. Maybe they weren't difficult parts, but they greatly enhanced the songs.

One thing I will give to McCartney is that he gave way more to Lennon's songs (and Harrison's for that matter) than Lennon gave to his. Perhaps that was a positive aspect of his perfectionism.

Well, sorry but I completely disagree about the Harrison songs you've listed as compared to McCartney. But that's ok. That's what musical tastes are all about. And I very much like the songs you've listed. But if you gave me the choice of being the author of "Maybe I'm Amazed" "Every Night" "Junk" "Band on the Run" "Jet" "Too Many People" "Back Seat of My Car" "Give Ireland Back to the Irish" "My Love" "Let Me Roll It" "Junior's Farm" "Live and Let Die" I'd take them any day over every Harrison song with maybe the exception of Beware of Darkness and All Things Must Pass. But again, that's why people like different kinds of music.

Lennon was a butcher on the guitar. If you listen to any of the stuff from the Let It Be sessions, when they are jamming etc, he's just awful. And I LOVED the guy. Great voice. Great pop song writer. Great lyricist. And just a brilliant man. I have the Richard Avedon photo of him, 3 feet high, hanging in my recording studio. But he was awful on the guitar.

A guy like Keith Richard blows him away. And Keith Richard is not a good guitarist. He's a damn good rythmn guitarist for the Stones. But there's a funny scene from the movie Hail Hail Rock and Roll where Chuck Berry is trying to get him to play a song the "right" way. And Keith can't do it.

Yet, I'm hard pressed to find a better rythmn track than he does on Brown Sugar....and the intro to Honky Tonk.

But he's not a very good guitarist. Yet he's light years better than Lennon. Lennon could not have played on Get Yer Yas Yas Out. In fact, Harrison couldn't either.

Like you said, Mick Taylor could PLAY. Keith is Keith. And yet he's much better than Lennon and Harrison.

Ringo was one of the first "rock" drummers...which he deserves credit for. BUT don't lose sight of the fact that McCartney was rather heavy handed in the way he would want him to play. In fact, in the movie Let It Be, McCartney can be seen SINGING the drum parts to Ringo.

And don't lose sight of George Martin. George Martin orchestrated a lot of this stuff.

Ya know, great songs lead to great playing.

What drum work did Ringo do in his solo career that was anything but ordinary?

And don't tell anyone but this is much more fun than talking about the Cowboys.

 

[jem88]

Well, sorry but I completely disagree about the Harrison songs you've listed as compared to McCartney. But that's ok. That's what musical tastes are all about. And I very much like the songs you've listed. But if you gave me the choice of being the author of "Maybe I'm Amazed" "Every Night" "Junk" "Band on the Run" "Jet" "Too Many People" "Back Seat of My Car" "Give Ireland Back to the Irish" "My Love" "Let Me Roll It" "Junior's Farm" "Live and Let Die" I'd take them any day over every Harrison song with maybe the exception of Beware of Darkness and All Things Must Pass. But again, that's why people like different kinds of music.

Lennon was a butcher on the guitar. If you listen to any of the stuff from the Let It Be sessions, when they are jamming etc, he's just awful. And I LOVED the guy. Great voice. Great pop song writer. Great lyricist. And just a brilliant man. I have the Richard Avedon photo of him, 3 feet high, hanging in my recording studio. But he was awful on the guitar.

A guy like Keith Richard blows him away. And Keith Richard is not a good guitarist. He's a damn good rythmn guitarist for the Stones. But there's a funny scene from the movie Hail Hail Rock and Roll where Chuck Berry is trying to get him to play a song the "right" way. And Keith can't do it.

Yet, I'm hard pressed to find a better rythmn track than he does on Brown Sugar....and the intro to Honky Tonk.

But he's not a very good guitarist. Yet he's light years better than Lennon. Lennon could not have played on Get Yer Yas Yas Out. In fact, Harrison couldn't either.

Like you said, Mick Taylor could PLAY. Keith is Keith. And yet he's much better than Lennon and Harrison.

Ringo was one of the first "rock" drummers...which he deserves credit for. BUT don't lose sight of the fact that McCartney was rather heavy handed in the way he would want him to play. In fact, in the movie Let It Be, McCartney can be seen SINGING the drum parts to Ringo.

And don't lose sight of George Martin. George Martin orchestrated a lot of this stuff.

Ya know, great songs lead to great playing.

What drum work did Ringo do in his solo career that was anything but ordinary?

And don't tell anyone but this is much more fun than talking about the Cowboys.

This is why The Beatles were, and continue to be, the best. So much fodder for debate. Two guys can have very differing opinions on the music and band members(I'll give you Maybe I'm Amazed and maybe Live And Let Die, but that's it!), yet obviously be in total agreement as to how amazing the band is. I think a sign of how great the band was, is that as solo musicians, they all had fairly unremarkable careers (after Plastic Ono Band and Imagine, Lennon's output was fairly pedestrian,) yet they somehow pulled the best out of each other (Ringo's drumming during The Beatles and after providing a vivid illustration of this.)

Back to the previous discussion of The End, have you ever noticed how frustrating it is to play along with the solos and then try to go into the outro, only to realize that it ever so slightly shifts up in pitch? I suspect that was George Martin's doing. I truly believe Martin deserves full billing as the 5th Beatle. His work on I Am The Walrus alone, warrants the recognition.

Finally, you're right, I find this kind of discussion much more fulfilling than trying to discern whether or not ESPN has an anti-Cowboys bias. Maybe I need to accuse you of being a George Harrison hater. That'll get more people on to this discussion!

 

[Blake]

My input...

Gun's n' Roses-Sweete Child o' Mine
Eagles-Hotel California
Led Zeplin- Stairway to Heaven
Metalica-Nothing Else Matters (not technically outstanding, just fun to listen to)

Cant think of a 5th one right now.

 

[Juke99]

This is why The Beatles were, and continue to be, the best. So much fodder for debate. Two guys can have very differing opinions on the music and band members(I'll give you Maybe I'm Amazed and maybe Live And Let Die, but that's it!), yet obviously be in total agreement as to how amazing the band is. I think a sign of how great the band was, is that as solo musicians, they all had fairly unremarkable careers (after Plastic Ono Band and Imagine, Lennon's output was fairly pedestrian,) yet they somehow pulled the best out of each other (Ringo's drumming during The Beatles and after providing a vivid illustration of this.)

Back to the previous discussion of The End, have you ever noticed how frustrating it is to play along with the solos and then try to go into the outro, only to realize that it ever so slightly shifts up in pitch? I suspect that was George Martin's doing. I truly believe Martin deserves full billing as the 5th Beatle. His work on I Am The Walrus alone, warrants the recognition.

Finally, you're right, I find this kind of discussion much more fulfilling than trying to discern whether or not ESPN has an anti-Cowboys bias. Maybe I need to accuse you of being a George Harrison hater. That'll get more people on to this discussion!

George Martin WAS the fifth Beatle indeed.

I saw him make a presentation in NYC. Total class.

He was saying that when he first met them, he was a "loser" doing Peter Sellers albums. And he was thinking "Oh my, what has my career come to. I am going to be producing a rock and roll band?" The Beatles on the other hand were thinking "Oh my, what has it come to. We are going to an audition with a guy who does Peter Sellers albums?"

He said that after about a hour, he had beat on them relentlessly and he said "Listen. I've been at you for an hour now. This is a two way street. If there is something you don't like about me, speak up"

And Harrison said "Well for starters, I don't like your tie"

Ya gotta love it.

I Am The Walrus. Yowza what a song.

The thing that I most respected about them is that they could have stuck with the sound that made them millions. But they scrapped it when they did Rubber Soul...then they scrapped that when they did Revolver...and scrapped it again for Pepper...And so on...

My point about McCartney's song writing vs the others is, he wrote true standards..."Yesterday" "Michelle" "And I Love Her" And that was when he was a puppy. "Hey Jude" "Fool On The Hill" and tons of others. These songs transcended Rock/Pop

I always LOVED Lennon's stuff. He was clearly my fav.

Harrison would chime in with a special one on occasion..."Here Comes the Sun"..."Something" (Which was in the vein of the McCartney classics)

But McCartney was just, ya know, special.

I saw him last time he was in NY...third row. A highlight of my life.

Oh and btw, you're comment about Led Zep...on the nose. "Bring It on Home" was stolen, note for note, Plant even sang it the same way as Sonny Boy. Just a total rip off. I lost tons of respect for them over that.

So, what kinda guitar do ya play? How long have you been playing?

 

[Payton34Smith22]

1.Randy Rhoads~Crazy Train
2.Dimebag Darrell~Walk
3.Slash~Sweet Child O' Mine
4.Kirk Hammett~Master Of Puppets
5.Zak Wylde~No More Tears
6.Eddie Van Halen~Hot For Teacher
7.Stevie Ray Vaughan~Pride and Joy
8.Jimi Hendrix~Purple Haze
9.Angus Young~Thunderstruck
10.Chuck Berry~Johnny Be Good

 

[jem88]

George Martin WAS the fifth Beatle indeed.

I saw him make a presentation in NYC. Total class.

He was saying that when he first met them, he was a "loser" doing Peter Sellers albums. And he was thinking "Oh my, what has my career come to. I am going to be producing a rock and roll band?" The Beatles on the other hand were thinking "Oh my, what has it come to. We are going to an audition with a guy who does Peter Sellers albums?"

He said that after about a hour, he had beat on them relentlessly and he said "Listen. I've been at you for an hour now. This is a two way street. If there is something you don't like about me, speak up"

And Harrison said "Well for starters, I don't like your tie"

Ya gotta love it.

I Am The Walrus. Yowza what a song.

The thing that I most respected about them is that they could have stuck with the sound that made them millions. But they scrapped it when they did Rubber Soul...then they scrapped that when they did Revolver...and scrapped it again for Pepper...And so on...

My point about McCartney's song writing vs the others is, he wrote true standards..."Yesterday" "Michelle" "And I Love Her" And that was when he was a puppy. "Hey Jude" "Fool On The Hill" and tons of others. These songs transcended Rock/Pop

I always LOVED Lennon's stuff. He was clearly my fav.

Harrison would chime in with a special one on occasion..."Here Comes the Sun"..."Something" (Which was in the vein of the McCartney classics)

But McCartney was just, ya know, special.

I saw him last time he was in NY...third row. A highlight of my life.

Oh and btw, you're comment about Led Zep...on the nose. "Bring It on Home" was stolen, note for note, Plant even sang it the same way as Sonny Boy. Just a total rip off. I lost tons of respect for them over that.

So, what kinda guitar do ya play? How long have you been playing?

I have a black Les Paul Custom (there's no dot on the "i" on the Gibson insignia on the headstock), a black and gold telecaster which is beautiful to look at but needs some serious work, and a Guild acoustic, which I completely adore. I don't know why, but I have a real connection with that guitar. My amp is a Marshall JCM 900.

I've been playing for over 20 years, but technically, I probably haven't progressed in the last 15. I never was one for scales and I can't read music. I just used my ear and listened to a ton of Stones songs when I was first really getting into it. I swear Let It Bleed taught me how to play guitar. I used to be the lead guitarist in a band, but I think I'm more of a rhythm player (I'm really digging Malcolm Young these days.)

If I had any clue how to upload one of my songs from my computer onto here, I'd do it. Sadly I'm clueless in that department. I've just been recording on the Garageband program on my computer. Pretty rough recordings, but I like them that way (you can even hear the mouse clicks at the end of the songs!)

What I'd really like to find out is how I can transfer the songs which I recorded on the 4-track (these are from about 5 years ago) onto the computer. I can listen to the tapes on the 4-track but not on a stereo as it plays them at half the speed they were recorded at. I'm curious to know if there is a way run something out of the 4-track and straight into the computer and transfer them that way. Any suggestions would be welcome!

 

[AbeBeta]

Randy Rhoads...Crazy Train.

not a metal fan -- but that one rocks hard. our local semi-pro baseball team has a brass band that plays Crazy every night - the crowd shouts "ai ai ai" and does the 666 symbol with their hands.

that song transcends musical boundaries - a true classic

 

[AbeBeta]

Gun's n' Roses-Sweete Child o' Mine.

i dig that one a ton. as the story goes Axl hated it. Tons of covers of that one now. One of the best songs of the past 20 years.

 

[Juke99]

I have a black Les Paul Custom (there's no dot on the "i" on the Gibson insignia on the headstock), a black and gold telecaster which is beautiful to look at but needs some serious work, and a Guild acoustic, which I completely adore. I don't know why, but I have a real connection with that guitar. My amp is a Marshall JCM 900.

I've been playing for over 20 years, but technically, I probably haven't progressed in the last 15. I never was one for scales and I can't read music. I just used my ear and listened to a ton of Stones songs when I was first really getting into it. I swear Let It Bleed taught me how to play guitar. I used to be the lead guitarist in a band, but I think I'm more of a rhythm player (I'm really digging Malcolm Young these days.)

If I had any clue how to upload one of my songs from my computer onto here, I'd do it. Sadly I'm clueless in that department. I've just been recording on the Garageband program on my computer. Pretty rough recordings, but I like them that way (you can even hear the mouse clicks at the end of the songs!)

What I'd really like to find out is how I can transfer the songs which I recorded on the 4-track (these are from about 5 years ago) onto the computer. I can listen to the tapes on the 4-track but not on a stereo as it plays them at half the speed they were recorded at. I'm curious to know if there is a way run something out of the 4-track and straight into the computer and transfer them that way. Any suggestions would be welcome!

How old is the tele? I had a 1963 Telecaster that I sold for $95. What a ******* I was.

I've been playing for a while and just this year decided it was time for lessons. I can't read either. Nor do I want to learn how to. My teacher is the coolest guy on the planet. I KNEW we had a breakthrough when for one lesson, he took my book and began to write in it...then put the pen down and said, "Here's how the song goes. I'll expect that you'll know it next week." Perfect.

Sure you can run that 4 track into the computer. I have done it with old LP's and some cassette tapes.