Guitar Soloes....

[commander43]

So, I have the Rhapsody Music Service, so my listening is fairly broad because I can listen to everything without annoying downloads or buying CDs.

I was listening to one of my Favorite songs ever, Maggot Brain by Funkadelic. The song is one big guitar solo, and I love it.

Then I listened to a live guitar solo by Yngwie Malmsteen. His solo was faster and much harder to perform(although the Funkadelic solo IS a difficult solo). However, the thing is, you can't even compare the two for quality.

Maggot Brain blows Yngwie Malmsteen out of the water, not because of technical skill or speed, but because the solo has a point, and a feel. Yngwie Malmsteen's solo is pretty much just him showing off that he's a ludicrously good guitar solo, whereas Maggot Brain manages to be the saddest song I've ever heard without even having any lyrics.

Although this is a very specific example, has anyone else ever noticed that a much simpler guitar(or other instrument) solo can be played with an incredible amount of feeling and just blow a more technically difficult song out of the water?

[ReproMan]

'Little Wing', Stevie Ray Vaughn.

I need not say more...

[Moff Chumley]

I agree. Some soloes can get a bit... annoying, really, no matter how well they're played. For instance, check out the Kieth Emerson Cal Jam solo on youtube (not the flying piano solo, but that one is awsome!). Probobly two thousand notes in five minutes. However, the David Gilmour soloes on Dogs are mind blowingly emotional. There are nothing like them.

[Raistlin1040]

Fast solos are awesome in my opinion. But slow solos are cool too. Like Slash's in November Rain (The one in the middle, not at the end.)

[MostlyHarmless]

Two Words: Joe Satriani

I got into instrumental guitar music in college and checked out Joe and Steve Vai, Eric Johnson and some others but in my book, Joe is the master. Saw G3 in Chicago even.

But yeah, there are those greats (Joe is not the only one obviously) that when they play, you don't need lyrics, the guitar sings to you. I would not say that I listen to Yngwie again and again for the pleasure of the tunes. Nor to Eddie Van Halen or numerous other excellent guitarists.

EDIT: You know, I reread stuff and realize I'm out in my own little world talking about guitar instrumentalists and not really guitar solos but wth, oh well. I jumped into this thread because "Best Guitar Solos EVAR" has been on my brain recently. That's another thread I'm sure. I should go look for it.

[ElfLad]

David Gilmour - A Great Day for Freedom, by Pink Floyd

[SDF]

Ball and Biscuit by The White Stripes

MMM thats a good solo...

[Seraph]

modern bands need to realize that a guitar solo is not an instant-win button.

[Sotextli]

Alice in Chains' Rotten Apple has some pretty enjoyable solo parts. I wish that Jerry Cantrell realized how beautiful he sounds on a talk-box and started using it more.

[Amotis]

Red House Painters - Revelation Big Sur (http://youtube.com/watch?v=KXxJEh4bHWA)