I've always wanted to do a guitar solo draft but I think it's way too deep and it would end up looking like all the Guitar World rankings you see all the time. Because people pick value.

So let's just have a draft where we talk about some of our favorite solos that might not get the publicity of the Stairway to Heavens of the world, but deserve love.

You can post bass solos, drum solos, keyboard, whatever, but mostly I'm sure we'll see guitar solos. Please post a YT video or equivalent of the song, and PLEASE post the starting point of the solo in case we want to skip right to (though they should be reviewed with context of course). Not everyone wants to wade through In-a-Gadda-da-Vita waiting for the solo. I'll start:



Here the very underrated Steve Lukather follows up his incredible driving riff with an outstanding, world class solo. From 1:50-2:34, he unleashes fury on virgin ears, with a 3/4 of a minute axegasm that impregnates all groupies within 40 rows of his swag. This song came out in 1978 but very much has a 1983-1985 era feel to it, and it's easy to see why.

This solo has it all. First and foremost, it fits the context of the song. It does not overpower the rest of the song or sound at all out of place or arbitrary. His tone fits comfortably with the vibe of the song. His timing is superb, and he changes gears at the right moments and knows when to go for it. His note selection is tasty, and the solo has enough nuances to be memorable.

He discovers the bowels of the song around 2:02-2:04 then he starts to speed things up around 2:08 and by 2:14 is just OPSing like 1.172 with some repeated high note bends where it becomes apparent this is not just a normal song. He chases this with some super fast shredding for a while there, then 2:22-2:26 he unleashes a series of more relaxed wails as a last hurrah. And from 2:28-2:34 he slowly and seamlessly brings us back to Earth with some tasteful, well-timed neckplay.

Bravo, Steve Lukather. And Rest in Peace.

Wait, RIP Steve Lukather? He's alive and well. And cool as ****. I've "worked" with him on a few things over the years and dude is hysterical. And one hell of a guitar player. If you're able to get someone like Larry Carlton to do a record with you, you gotta be a beast.

As for my contributions:

This one is, I think, one of the all-time great guitar solos. And for more then just what it is. Anyone who is fairly familiar with Zappa, but isn't aware of this song, be prepared for your mind hole to be blown.

Zappa was never known for sentimentality, so this solo is extra special.



Another one, and from Zappa's most successful protege, no less. I think it's the best rock instrumental performance ever, and I say that as an extremely biased person.



And for good measure, one of Vai's lesser known works but still has similar emotional punch as FTLOG:

Here is another. Of course Jimmy Page is heralded but this one never gets mentioned and it is probably one of my 3 favorites from him.

Fool in the Rain. Solo starts at 3:52 and ends at 4:56.



For 64 seconds Pagey just has a whole lot of fun with this one and kinda jams for a while. One of the things I love most about Page and what I think sets him apart from most rock guitarists is his penchant for, and ability to, change gears at will and speed up or slow down the solo without ever losing control of it. Listen to how many times he starts and stops this solo, while maintaining its unity. It's always monolithic construction, if you will. It's not always about what you play, but sometimes about when to not play, or when to hold a note for a few seconds and Page is fantastic at this. Tone and note selection is fabulous as always, though around the 4:28-4:30 mark his notes do get a bit sloppy during his shredding portion. A few notes sound mis-timed or just plain wrong. Who cares. If you want perfect shredding, Yngwie Malmsteen is your guy. This is Page and his solos are much more than that.

Some of my favorite parts:
the comedown from 4:14-4:18 and the subsequent sustained note from 4:18-4:22.
The high notes he chooses at 4:35 then again (but lower) at 4:40.

Overall it just sounds like the guitar is talking to you and being emotional with the ups and downs. Maybe not crying but definitely emotional rambling. Love it.

Those Solo cups are hard to beat.

well worth the ten minutes of your life to see!

I've always enjoyed this one from Candlebox. This song came out at a time when solos weren't really relevant anymore. This song came out in 1994. Guns N Roses had run its course so Slash solos weren't radio staples anymore. Grunge had already taken over and had a stronghold for a few years, and were largely anti-solo. Within a couple years you had bands like Creed and the countless copycats who, if they solo'd, did not showcase it like the bands from the 60s-80s. Pearl Jam was also changing from their first album which featured old school style long solos. Anyway, this one I enjoy and should have more credit than it does:



From 2:52-3:35

43 seconds of awesome. The intro is great and I like at 2:58 how the high note times with the splash drum or whatever. 3:05-3:07 just sounds so nice to me. 3:13-3:19 sounds like some wah-wah effects or something that I enjoy. If I don't like anything, it's the final sustained note. Just don't love that note there.

Overall this is a great solo that elevates the song without taking it over.

I actually prefer the guitar in "You" to "Far Behind". It was a bit repetitive, but I really dug it at the time.

Two for one deal... Adrian Belew rips it up prior to Frank Zappa doing justice!



of course we all know it was FZ that discovered AB...

1:40 to 2:02. Nothing spectacular but I like it.

Slash is praised for so many of his solos, especially in Sweet Child of Mine and the 3 in November Rain. Patience is a great acoustic solo that proves that you don't have to play fast to play great. Each note is handcrafted here and is pleasing to the ear. Great solo. It's roughly 30 seconds from 3:24-3:54 but bits and pieces of it continue to the strumming finale starting at 4:13.



It is quite easy to play. I learned it with ease. Again, proving that greatness doesn't have to be overly complicated or fast.

That song reminds me of this song, which I think has some really nice guitar work. One of the only 80's ballads that was pro-love, but not stupid.

Adrian Belew at TCAN, the Center for the Arts

because it's not about how many notes you can play, but how musical you can play!



the techniques and sounds are so subtle, you almost need to be a guitarist to really hear and appreciate how smooth and beautiful this 8 piece is.

This one is nice. From 3:09-3:40. Underrated solo right here.

One I like from Yes. Owner of a Lonely Heart.

4:44-5:14. A bit different. More of an industrial sound. Not so much about hitting pretty notes and pretty tone but the solo has plenty of quirks and fits the mood of the song.

Zappa one ups Carlos. Not bad at all.

Knopfler's solo at the end of Tunnel of Love... my fav guitar solo of all time

Couple great solos in There Was a Time. Not Slash. Bumblefoot or Richard Fortis I think. Both very different:

2:37-3:20 a bit slower and sad sounding. Very nice though.
4:24-6:18 Nearly 2 minutes of awesomeness. Very different more urgent vibe in this one.



Underrated album imo. Too many haterz b/c it took 15 years and millions of dollars to produce.

Both famous, rated superlatively but underrated still.

Allow me to be a d*** and posit, correctly, that playing the piano requires vastly more skill than the guitar or anything else in musicdom.

If that is accepted we may have a winner here, assuming the thread is a competition of sorts, which of course it is.

How is that a winner? We'd be judging the entries by how good they are and how little they're appreciated.

You have a YouTube audio of that guy from 1940. So he's somewhat appreciated.

Actual winner would be impossible to determine since it's some hermit somewhere that nobody knows about playing some insane solo on an instrument, never to be heard.

Nice entry anyway. I stink at both instruments but I find keyboard way easier than guitar.

"Requires vastly more skill" is presumably based on some subjective standard that makes no sense. There are specific things that are harder and easier to do, or sometimes impossible, depending on the instrument in question. But you can functionally play piano fairly quickly and spend a lifetime trying to master it, same as with guitar or almost any other instrument.

If there is a hardest instrument, it would probably be something that takes some unusual feat to operate. I think any instrument you can find a 4-year-old tearing up on YouTube is probably out of contention. Piano isn't even the hardest keyed instrument to play.

Here's Roy Buchanan's take on Don Gibson's "Sweet Dreams". One of my favorites:

Sounds like, yeah, big woop, then oh my...



I always liked this one. Short, but quite interesting:

Wakeman is always a legitimate contender...

I remember seeing that one. Rick Wakeman fingered a girl with his right hand once. ONCE.