Five Guitar Solos that everyone should hear

I'm unprepared for this, beyond perhaps three of five... but..

Absolutely...

Alex Lifeson - 'Freewill' from Permanent Waves - just stellar
Martin Barre - 'Aqualung' - don't care about the Led Zep references, or the life versions, the studio original is just superb - it rolls...
Steve Howe - 'To Be Over' from 'Relayer' (Yes, 1974) - marvellous stuff - a Telecaster I believe, not Steve's usual axe.
Brian May - 'Now I'm Here' - where do you split rhythm from lead from solo if he's the onlv guitarist there?
George Harrison - 'Nowhere Man' - minimal, clean, brilliant (and I'm not a Strat fan, particularly) - but so perfect, for that briefest moment

 

From the top of my head without any specific order:

Alex Lifeson (Rush) - Closer to the Heart (Exit Stage Left)
David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) - Comfortably Numb
Kee Marcello (Europe) - Ready or Not
Richie Blackmore (Deep Purple) - Highway Star (Made in Japan)
Norman Greenbaum - Spirit in the Sky

Probably 100% different tomorrow...

 

It’s absolutely top notch. Its not just the guitar solo, it’ also how extremely well the guitar communicates with the piano. Just awesome.

Same thing with my Rush Pick, Closer tonthe heart from Exit Stage Left where the interplay between bass and guitar is exeptional!

 

Prince-Joy in Repetition! Magnificent!!!!

 

UFO- Love to Love as mentioned earlier live version is best

Led Zeppelin - Since I’ve Been Lovin’ You

Pink Floyd- Comfortably Numb

Mountain- Traveling in the Dark + Nantucket Sleighride

 

A few hardly known lead parts, very well played and -to me much more important than technical wizardry- both fitting and significantly enrichening the songs, by German band Eloy (Hannes Arkona on lead guitar from 1980 - 1984):

Eloy "Colours", 1980, Track 7 "Silhouette" (starting at 33:51 on full album)
Eloy "Time To Turn", 1982, Track 2 "Behind The Walls Of Imagination" (starting at 10:14 on full album) Eloy - Time to Turn (Full Album)
Eloy "Performance", 1983, Track 7 "A Broken Frame" (starting at 5:35, again at 7:20 ) a broken flames eloy

Gibson Les Pauls rules … Unfortunately, the lineup splitted in 1984.

 

1. Grateful Dead-Morning Dew(Europe 72)

2. Allman Brothers Band- It's Not My Cross To Bear

3. Blue Cheer-Peace Of Mind

4. Jethro Tull-We Used To Know

5. Funkadelic- Hit It and Quit It

 

The Only Ones- Another Girl Another Planet

The solo at 1.45 is sublime, short song and brilliant solo

The Ballad of Tom Joad Bruce Springsteen and Tom Morello

Bruce Springsteen & Tom Morello - The ghost of Tom Joad (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 2009)

Already mentioned, Prince in tribute to George Harrison, While my guitar gently weeps

Prince, Tom Petty, Steve Winwood, Jeff Lynne and others -- "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"

How to blow everybody off the stage

Yes - Starship Trooper Steve Howe

Not really a guitar solo but brilliant song

TEENAGE KICKS the Undertones

The Undertones - Teenage Kicks (Official Video)

 

I wish I had access to the original "Dark Magus" Japanese pressing. I have 4 Men With Beards reissue, which is not at all bad. Certainly heads and shoulders above the 1997 CD issue. But I wonder if Japanese pressing may offer a better, less blaring sound quality...

 

Definitely a Top Five w/
George Harrison & Pete Ham playing together slide guitar Solo!​

 

In no particular order...

Danny Cedrone - Rock Around the Clock (Bill Haley)

Carlos Santana - Supernatural (Santana)

Yngwie Malmsteen - Hiroshima Mon Amour (Alcatrazz)

Alan Murphy - SOS (Go West)

Louie Shelton - Hello (Lionel Richie)

 

Unfortunately I can't help you with the Japanese issue as I have a late 70's Holland pressing & the '97 disc...

I hear the SACD is pretty decent...

FWIW my Holland import is much less grating than the CD, if you can find a copy not bad at all & all the original Japanese pressings I have come across are $$$, the cheapest I looked at 6 months ago was $150 in VG++ condition

 

A lot of good stuff listed but what about:
Ted Nugent-Stranglehold?

 

My Top 5, pretty much in order:

Eric Clapton - Rain
Don Nix - Going Down
Allman Bris - Jessica
Santana - Smooth
Eric Clapton - The Core

 

I'm not sure about "should hear", but I'll throw out five that I think are great and a little more off the beaten path.

Brian Eno: Robert Fripp's solo on "Baby's on Fire", from Here Come the Warm Jets
Larry Coryell: "Beyond These Chilling Winds", from At the Village Gate
Harvey Mandel: "One Way Street" from Baby Batter
Dinosaur Jr (J Mascis): "Start Choppin" from Where you Been
John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers: Mick Taylor's solo on "I Can't Quit You, Baby" from the live album, Diary of a Band (Vol. 1)

 

Magic Man was the first one that popped into my head.

 

Richard Thompson - Can’t Win from Celtic Connections
Television - Marquee Moon (solo after Verlaine sings “Hesitating”)
Prince - RRHOF Performance of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” with Tom Petty/ Jeff Lynne et al
Cream - Crossroads
Neil Young - Powderfinger from Weld

 

Frank Zappa - "Sad Jane" and "While You Were Art II"

 

Five out of way too many others to mention:

Django Reinhardt - Brazil, 1953 version
Brian Setzer - Sleepwalk
Jimmy Rosenberg - Night and Day
Mark O'Connor - Beaumont Rag
Bireli Lagrene - Troublant Bolero

 

YCDTOSA Vol II disc one. "Ivan? Yeah, that's me!" Colossal FZ and Montana? "Such a ballad at this tempo"

 

I thought of these as fast as possible so as not to ruminate on myself.

Eric Bell The Rocker
Jimi Hendrix Look Over Yonder
Robert Fripp It's No Game Part I or Fashion or Teenage Wildlife I like Dave and Dave likes Bobby so I like Bobby.
Eric Johnson Victory
FZ Dirty Love

 

Extreme - Get The Funk Out - Nuno Bettencourt

Alcatrazz - Hiroshima Mon Amour - Yngwie Malmsteen

Black Sabbath - Heaven And Hell - God

Rainbow - Stargazer - Ritchie Blackmore

AC/DC - Whole Lotta Rosie (If You Want Blood Live Version) - Angus Young

 

Steve Hackett - Everyday
Alex Lifeson - Passage to Bangkok (Exit Stage Left)
Tony Macalpine -Tears of Sahara
Jimmy Page - Stairway to Heaven
Gary Moore - Empty Rooms

 

when you own thousands and thousands of songs like many people here do my list could fill pages .
I will pick 1 for now ....Mick Taylor solo on the song Winter on the album he did with Carla Olson - Too Hot for Snakes Plus . this is the solo that the Glimmer Twins told him there was no room for on Goats Head Soup .

 

A thousand thumbs up on "Traveling In the Dark"!