What Is Your Favorite Rock Guitar Solo?
Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple) in ‘Highway Star’. Famous for crafting one of the most famous riffs in ‘Smoke on the Water’, the passage below offers great phrasing, fast picking, and fabulous chromatic passage work. Amazing!
Eric Clapton (Cream) in “Crossroads”. Inspired by Robert Johnson’s playing, this solo exerts the maximum of hard rock as combined with intense blues inflictions. Insane!
Don Felder & Joe Walsh (Eagles) in “Hotel California”. Imagine driving on the 10 freeway looping into PCH in Los Angeles, with your rooftop down. It’s hard to imagine another classic rock duo solo more appropriate for the SoCal warm breeze swooshing through your hair. Ecstatic!
Allen Collins & Gary Rossington (Lynyrd Skynyrd) in “Free Bird”. Ballad-like and full of rock swagger, this pumping solo is a relentless metric shuffle and stage cool stuck in the minds of rock fans since ages. Sweet!
Randy Rhoads (Ozzy Osbourne) in “Mr. Crowley”. Otherwise known for the famous riff in Crazy Train, Randy Rhoads shows a true classical guitar left hand technique as applied to the metal genre. Beautiful right hand picking with perfect left hand position and effortless motion makes this a one of a kind solo. Inspiring!
Brian May (Queen) in “Bohemian Rhapsody”. A legendary tune requires a legendary solo, and Brian May doesn’t fall short. An almost vocal approach to his bends and well paced passage work brings makes this solo an unforgettable one. Stunning!
Jimmy Hendrix (Jimmy Hendrix Experience) in “All Along the Watchtower”. An original song by Bob Dylan, raised to a psychedelic rock level, with groove and cool unparalleled and only mastered by the one and only Jimmy Hendrix. Unforgettable!
Slash (Guns N’ Roses) in “Sweet Child O’ Mine”. This is a solo that everyone knows without knowing. This can only happen when something done on a whim (yes – the solo was created as a joke) aligns so well with the aura of our inner rock child. Crazy!
Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin) in “Stairway to Heaven”. Clean string attack, metric shifts and folksy groove are a signature to this eternal solo in an even more eternal song. Jimmy’s passage work can be called nothing short of craftwork of the highest caliber. Jaw-dropping!
David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) in “Comfortably Numb”. Elegant, sophisticated and beautiful are the words that come up when listening to this historical solo. Through the mountain of visual effects and evocative staging, this solo shines through as a beacon of excellence. Classic!
What’s your favorite solo?!