Discussion: The best guitar solo in history

Photo by Libert Schmidt CC BY

Regardless of the musical genre, the guitar solo has always been, is and will be a special, sometimes the main part of the song. In this regard, the participants of the discussion on the resource Quora, who are part-time lovers of rock music, tried to figure out which guitar solo is the best in the world.
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Vikesh Khanna from Stanford University says that it’s difficult for him to single out one piece: “There are a lot of great guitar solos, and I’m sure that there is a complete list of them somewhere, but I’ll give just a few of them ".

Someone thinks that the faster a solo is played, the better it is. Perhaps in most cases this is true, but a slow pace can add to his sensuality and emotionality. For this reason, Vikesh put the Pink Floyd song “ High Hopes ” in first place on his list.

In second position is “ While my guitar gently weeps ” performed by George Harrison and Eric Clapton. Clapton once said that “no one should try to reproduce the masterpieces of The Beatles,” so he refused to play it for a long time. However, he did it later - the solo turned out great.

Pink Floyd was again in third place with the song “ Comfortably Numb ”. “Once you realize how cool Pink Floyd is, you’ll understand the philosophy of their music,” says Viqs. “Solo alone can convey the meaning of a song.”

Vikesh Hannah identified several other groups and musical works: Freebird by Lynrd Skynyrd, November Rain by Guns N 'Roses and Get The Funk Out by Extreme. But special attention in his list deserves the composition “ Sultans of swing ” performed by Mark Knopfler. Mark is one of the few guitarists playing without a pick. This makes his game very unusual.

In turn, Ankit Gupta, a software developer, believes that it is wrong to compare different solos, but highlights several of his favorites. One of his favorite solos is Jimi Hendrix’s song “ Voodoo Child ”. “It’s hard to imagine that this song was recorded on the first attempt,” Gupta notes. - Hendrix just suddenly offered to record it when the band was in the studio. And that's what happened. "

Even on his list was Neil Young's Cortez the Killer , which begins and ends with a solo. And also “Keith You Hear Me Knocking ” by Keith Richards. “One of the best whale solos. “It's also one of the best The Rolling Stones albums,” said Gupta. “It’s amazing how a sax solo emphasizes a guitar solo.”

Alex Stoll, joining the discussion, points to the fact that no one mentioned the song " Rock Bottom " by the UFO group. And this solo really deserves attention, because there are many moments in it where an ordinary guitarist would stumble. But Michael Schenker plays him like no other.

But the composer Fabian Upton (Fabian Upton) chose a scientific approach to answering the question about the "epic" of a guitar solo. “Let's try to use the method of Socrates, but first we define the necessary terms for this,” says Fabian.

The method of Socrates is a method named after the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates, which is based on a dialogue between two individuals for whom truth and knowledge are not given in a ready-made form, but represent a problem and involve searching. In other words, this research is in the form of a discussion, when the interlocutors, answering certain questions, come to important conclusions.

To assess the "epic" of a solo, you need to define certain parameters. Upton singled out for himself the following. Exceptional guitar solo by his version:

• Longer than average solo (56 seconds);
• Possesses "heroic" qualities (decent performance speed, high accuracy, the use of various techniques (vibrato, tremolo);
• Performed in the "sublime style" (above-average performance technique).

To test the method, Fabian chose the song “ Resurrection Mary ” played by Eric Glass. This instrumental composition lasts 5 minutes 19 seconds. Solo begins at 1:35 and ends at 5:14, it turns out that its length is 3:39.

After listening to the composition, Fabian came to the conclusion that it possesses the following characteristics: fast playing style and high precision of performance, a variable stroke, a hybrid stroke, as well as legato and vibrato techniques. Based on the above, he came to the conclusion that this solo is quite “epic”.

By applying a similar approach to other songs, Fabian decided that the solo songs in the following songs could be terrific: "Hypnotic Tap" by Vices and Adulation, "Happy to be Alive" by Danny Danzi and "Always With Me, Always With You" by Joe Satriani. Not enough "epic" was recognized as a solo in the song " Stream of Consciousness " by Dream Theater, mainly due to the short duration and mistakes of the musician in the performance.

Unlike previous discussion participants, Liu Timothy (Liu Timothy), a consulting engineer and just a music lover, managed to decide on a favorite guitar solo. "My favorite solo is in Gary Moore's song Still Got The Blues, " Liu shares. - Here there is everything that a real fan of rock is ready to die for: a game technique, emotionality and an unforgettable motive. Everything in this song is perfect. ”

As for Jeff Lentz (Jeff Lentz), creative director of Back2DLab Web Design & Marketing, he even started distributing awards to the songs in the nominations he invented himself. “The prize for the best blues gets a group of Rolling Stones and their song“ Bitch ”, because you need to be a genius to come up with something sloppy and so amazing at the same time. Says Jeff. - And the reward for “the loudest performance” goes to David Gilmore for the solo in the song Pink Floyd “Money”.

The award “I do not believe that this is possible” Jeff “handed” to Carlos Santana for the song “Soul Sacrifice” and Jimi Hendrix for “Voodoo Child”. Working Man Rush and Mean Street Van Halen received the award of the Champion of an Imaginary Guitar. “If there is something in the shape that resembles this power tool,” says Jeff, “then you will surely“ play ”on this subject when you hear these songs.”

In the nomination “Just Cool Music”, the “Whiplash” was won by Metallica and Big Takeover from Bad Brains. “I hit something every time I listen to them,” says Lentz.

Finally, Jeff singled out guitar solos in the following songs: Turn It Again and My Love Man at the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nothings Shocking and True Nature by Jane's Addiction, and In the Evening and Dazed and Confused "by Led Zeppelin. “All these songs are regulars on my player,” he concludes.

But to finish this far incomplete selection of "epic" guitar solos still want the composition of Frank Zappa " Muffin Man ". There are emotions and passion here - his performance is simply saturated with the purest energy.

PS Share in the comments songs that you think are distinguished by exceptional, “epic” and even the best guitar solos in the world - and tell us why you chose them.

PPS More materials on the topic of audio technology - in our blog " Hi-Fi World ".