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subject appears to be a white male, early 50's, pathologically tall/skinny. brain patterns show evidence of a life in alcohol - first swimming in it then running from it. fingers show wear from years of guitar playing. heart presents slow repair, through writing, from being broken by rock and roll.
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RATTLES AND HUMS: A PRB LIST OF GREAT GUITAR SOLOS
I had such a good time formulating the top 10 list, and have really enjoyed yr comments regarding same, so I'm gonna pull a Pink Floyd and go back to the well again w/a list of some of my favorite guitar solos. When it comes to 'rating' things like this I have to be totally arbitrary. I try not to consider one guitarist 'better' than another, because technique is relative. Take, say Steve Vai playing at the top of his technique and compare/contrast it w/say Neil Young doing the same. Certainly the argument can (and has) be made that Vai is a 'better' guitarist, but both musicians have the power to move hearts and that can't be rated. Only appreciated.
So w/out further ado.......................... (AND IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER.........)
Lou Reed - I Heard Her Call My Name
From the second Velvet Underground record 'White Light/White Heat' (1969). With this solo Reed violently redefines what a rock guitar solo can be. Eschewing trivialities like harmony, melody and pitch, Reed takes off into a frenzied flight of 'wrong' notes, screeches of feedback and a commitment to velocity and impact over structure. Extra texture indeed. This solo really seperates the men from the boys, so to speak, when it comes to adventures in sonic experimentation. If you can see why this is a great solo, then sit right here next to me. Revelatory.
Brian May - Bohemian Rhapsody
We all know this one right? If only from Wayne's World. This solo is a great example of the 'composition within a composition' thing that guitarists are always talking about in the guitar magazines. The solo is a beautifully structured thing with a grand entrance which soars in a triumphant arc through stately cadences and manic note flurries majestic enough to support, nay, enhance the wonderfully over reaching grasp of Freddie Mercury's vision herein.
Richard Thompson - Shoot Out the Lights
One of my very favoritest guitar players takes the swagger of Link Wray's 'Rumble' and jacks it up on psychotic hinges, each phrase more manic and spiderlike than the last. Sounding much like Mark Knopfler on acid and steroids, Thompson is among the rarest of players in that he can consistently surprise and who's playing has remained cliche-free for nigh onto 40 years now. I'll have to write a good overview for the uninitiated, but if yr interested, there's a great 3 CD set called 'Watching the Dark' that I feel is required listening for anyone who..... well, for anyone.
Steve Vai - Ease
From the largely forgotten Public Image Ltd. 'generic' CD from the mid 80's. (The cassette was called 'Cassette', the record 'Record' etc). Vai played all the guitars on the record and burned throughout. He (Vai) has gone down on record as saying this is his favorite recorded solo and I have to agree with him. As a guitar player I always check out the latest 'hotshot' players (and there really haven't been any since the mid 80's, unless someone can hip me to somebody - and I know all about In Flames and Lamb of God etc. heavy metal piffle all), and the 80's were lousy with sweep picking, arpeggiatin' Yngwie clones. Amongst this field of mediocre weedwhackers, Vai stood and stands head and shoulders above the pack by bringing a real musicality to his speed freaking. I have most of his solo output and am consistently impressed not just w/his chops ('cause anyone can get chops if they play long enough) but what he does with them. On this cut, backed by Bill Laswell on bass and Ginger Baker (!) on drums, Vai snake charms a solo of manic ascendance that hasn't a hair out of place. Priceless. And extra bonus points for not having to sit through 6 minutes of David Lee Roth or David Coverdale's posturing to get to the solo.
Mick Ronson - Time
From 'Aladdin Sane', David Bowie's 1973 follow up to 'Ziggy'. Ronson's work, criminally overlooked, with Bowie ranged from the ridiculous to the sublime and, to me, the most sublime moment of his (or maybe anyone's) career, comes in that 4 bar phrase right after Bowie sings 'We should be on by now' at the song's crescendo. The notes seem to breath out of Ronson's half-cocked wah wah pedal and speak with a voice of triumph and grace that never fails to raise the hair on the back of my neck.
Jeff Beck - You're the Only One I Want
From Kate Bush's 'The Red Shoes'. Beck is, without a doubt, my favorite guitar player in the world. The solo on this song is rather buried in the mix, but rises like a phoenix through the clouds of Gary Brooker's organ, he of 'Whiter Shade of Pale' fame and darts, parries, thrusts and dances with and against the angelic soul shouts of the lovely Kate. Transcendent and almost holy.
That's all I can think of right now, gotta get to work. I hope to hear from y'all with yr picks and pans etc. One of these days I gotta get my thoughts on Hendrix down. It's odd that a guitar player my age doesn't worship at his feet, but I have a theory, involving Lou Reed and the mid 60's New York city club scene that I'll flesh out later. Don't expect it to be popular, but who is?
Ta,
tim
Posted by: timbyrnes at 17:56 |
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