What makes up a good guitar solo? Depends on your taste to an extent, I suppose. I like a solo that has a hooky-melody and tells a story, takes you on a little trip, if only for a few seconds. It should complement the song and be some sort of roundabout extension of the vocal line, or in some cases, a departure from it. Some flash and speed doesn’t hurt, when appropriate, but it’s certainly not necessary a lot of the time. Hell, I don’t know, but here’s a few of my favorites and why. What are some of yours?
5. Flowers of Guatemala – R.E.M. (Peter Buck) – Not every great solo has a million notes and finger tapping. When I was a teenager, R.E.M. and Pete Buck (along with Strummer/Jones, East Bay Ray, and Johnny Ramone) showed me that there is more to rock and roll than precision, speed and technical talent. This solo has about eight notes and it’s just 15 seconds long, but the tone is so fat & thick and the melody just grabs your heart and tugs on it. It does everything a solo is supposed to do.
4. Tilted – SUGAR (Bob Mould) – Bob’s solos are often chaotic and noisy, mixed into the other tracks so they don’t stand out too much. “Tilted” takes that aesthetic but injects some welcome structure into a glorious juggernaut of a post-punk masterpiece of a guitar solo.
3. Locked Away (live version) – Keith Richards and the Expensive Winos (Keith Richards) – Keith is known primarily as a rhythm guitar player, but he can play some tasty leads too. So much feeling here, with such beautiful use of space and emotion. His guitar takes on the dialog where the lyrics left off. That bit at 3:52 where he plays off the piano is pure fucking art. He goes back around 4:26. The ancient art of weaving. There is only one Keith. No one is cooler.
2. Crazy Train – Ozzy Osbourne (Randy Rhoads) – When I was a kid we thought “Flying High Again“ was the shit (and it is, as is “Over The Mountain”), but a couple dozen years and a bit of perspective has shown “Crazy Train” to be the better pick. It’s got the finger tapping that Randy took from EVH but it’s got some great bends and licks afterwards making a more diverse and complete statement. Randy did a lot of great stuff, but this was his greatest moment. Imagine if that kid was still around today.
1. My Sharona – The Knack (Berton Averre) – Just pure perfection, and it goes on forever. It tells a story, it ebbs and flows, it shreds, it’s got chaos, melody, structure and pizzazz. One of my favorite moments in all of rock & roll. A masterpiece of a solo. I just watched it 6 times.
Honorable Mentions:
Dinosaur Jr – Whatever’s Cool With Me (J Mascis) Great tone, unique style. Could have picked a few from around this time, but this one’s always stuck with me. Watch it HERE!
Sometime To Return – Soul Asylum (Dan Murphy) Not a flashy player, but always got the job done for this band, here perfectly in 11 seconds. Watch it HERE!
Gonna Raise Hell – Cheap Trick (Rick Nielsen) Under-rated behind the shtick, but a great player, especially on record. I prefer the album version, but I chose this video because I was there and it’s pretty killer. You need the bass/drum intro too. Watch it HERE!
Jeremy Porter lives near Detroit and fronts the rock and roll band Jeremy Porter And The Tucos. Follow them on Facebook to read his road blog about their adventures on the dive-bar circuit.
www.thetucos.com
www.facebook.com/jeremyportermusic
www.rockandrollrestrooms.com
Twitter: @jeremyportermi | Instagram: @onetogive & @jeremyportermusic
