What is your favorite guitar solo?

Cabarone

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I've got to co-sign dreadnut on this...probably the most orchestrated solo ever...Chicago's early stuff showed the Classical training of some of their members; a good number of their pieces built to crescendos and this solo is a perfect example...and who doesn't make the "Wah-wah Face" at that point in the solo?
 

Westerly Wood

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Mr. Clapton's work on Crossroads:


and Mr. Stills' acoustic work on Bluebird.


true that, the guitar work on the song Crossroads is remarkable. for a slow hand dude, he was quite fast. tons of power in that version. almost sounds like a Who song.
 

rampside

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I suppose it was the one that started it all for me (my love for the guitar). "Walk, Don't Run" by the Ventures.
 

walrus

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"Whole Lotta Love" solo, by the masterful Jimmy Page.

walrus
 

fronobulax

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Boston, Foreplay/Long Time solo at the 5:25 min mark...

https://youtu.be/BTFD5DZwK7g

Ditto.

The other guitar solo that always makes me stop and take notice is Zappa's segue from "Son of Orange County" to "Trouble Every Day". Roxy & Elsewhere has one example although similar and equally good solos from other performances exist. (indeed the Roxy segue is actually from two different concerts).



39:22 is a good place to start because the lead in is not bad at all or just skip to 44:00 to hear the segue.

Extra credit for going to 32:56 and listing to the origin story of my forum handle :)
 

crank

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I played that 1-note sole from Cinnamon Girl many, many times at gigs with an old band. I never really liked that song either. And it never really went over well with the crowd other than there always seemed to be 1 guy who would come up and say wow I can't believe you guys played Cinnamon Girl. lol

My favorite solo is Larry Carltons's solo on Steely Dan's Kid Charlemagne.

Or pick 1 out of thousands of Jerry Garcia's ridiculously long live solos where he managed to carry along an audience of thousands hanging on every note.
 

crank

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I played that 1-note sole from Cinnamon Girl many, many times at gigs with an old band. I never really liked that song either. And it never really went over well with the crowd other than there always seemed to be 1 guy who would come up and say wow I can't believe you guys played Cinnamon Girl. lol

My favorite solo is Larry Carltons's solo on Steely Dan's Kid Charlemagne.

Or pick 1 out of thousands of Jerry Garcia's ridiculously long live solos where he managed to carry along an audience of thousands hanging on every note.
 

Quantum Strummer

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I'm not much into guitar solos isolated from the songs they're part of, but there's a super duper 1978 live version of Television's Little Johnny Jewel, with a long spiral-y solo by Tom Verlaine, on an ROIR album called The Blow Up. Mediocre sound quality…I think it's an audience recording. There's also a splice near the song's end (after the solo) where the tape ran out and had to be flipped, and the tempo jumps abruptly at that point. :) But at least it exists.

https://youtu.be/r9BkYIlgMSA

-Dave-
 
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txbumper57

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So many favorites to choose from! I can't nail it down to just one but I'll throw a few out there.

Anything Queen and Brian May did from the Album Kind of Magic including "Princes of the Universe" and "One Vision". Also their instrumental Soundtrack to the movie "Flash Gordon" with 'Flash Gordon Battle Theme" being one of my Favs. Can't Leave out "Bohemian Rhapsody" either.

Anything Joe Satriani did especially the album "Surfing With the Alien" of which "Satch Boogie" and "Always with Me, Always with You" are two favs.

Billy Gibbons and ZZ Tops early stuff like "Jesus Just Left Chicago" and such.

Billy Squier "Lonely is The Night".

Steve Vai's cover of "Paganini 5th Caprice" and the entire "Cutting Heads guitar Duel" at the end of the movie Crossroads from the 80's. If I remember correctly Ry Cooder was playing the actual guitar parts for Ralph Macchio on Slide Telecaster.



Of all the ones I listed above I love the guitar solos in them but most of all they all have that Driving guitar sound throughout the entire songs.

That is all I got for now.

TX
 
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