Great musical solos

[Clutch Munny]

I was just reflecting on how annoying it is to hear a song on the radio, especially if it's a mediocre or crappy song, where you listen to most of the thing just to get to a great solo -- this morning it was Edie Brickell's "What I Am", with a nice solo by Robbie Blunt -- only to have the frickin station edit out half the thing.

What's the point of suffering through Axl's nasal whining in "Sweet Child of Mine" if they then cut out over half of Slash's solo?

Anyhow, what are some of the solos, guitar, piano, horn, whatever, that you really think are great?

I mean in popular-ish music, now. If you want to rave about the washtub solo from Peter, Paul and Mary's Live Hootenanny bootleg record, or some underground Charlie Mingus B-side, go start your own shitty and boring thread. This shitty and boring thread is more for those moments of instrumental brightness in popular music hell.

[Ymir's blood]

On a similar note, isn't it annoying when DJs talk over the intro or ending to a really good song? Music isn't just about singing, people. :glare:

[livius drusus]

Do movie soundtracks count? If so, the horn solo in the Spanish, Antonio Banderas version of "Beautiful Maria of My Soul" in The Mambo Kings gets my vote.

[Clutch Munny]

Do movie soundtracks count? If so, the horn solo in the Spanish, Antonio Banderas version of "Beautiful Maria of My Soul" in The Mambo Kings gets my vote.
:whup:

[Clutch Munny]

On a similar note, isn't it annoying when DJs talk over the intro or ending to a really good song?


Or the middle! When I lived in Greece there was a local tendency for the dj to just start talking at any point in the song. First time it happened (not yet speaking any Greek) I thought there must some national news emergency -- the long-awaited attack from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, or somesuch. Soon realized it was just dj-wanking.

[livius drusus]

Do movie soundtracks count? If so, the horn solo in the Spanish, Antonio Banderas version of "Beautiful Maria of My Soul" in The Mambo Kings gets my vote.
:whup:

What? What? It's not obscure! It was in a movie, for God's sake. The damn thing's on cable once a week.

[Barefoot Bree]

On a similar note, isn't it annoying when DJs talk over the intro or ending to a really good song?


Or the middle! When I lived in Greece there was a local tendency for the dj to just start talking at any point in the song. First time it happened (not yet speaking any Greek) I thought there must some national news emergency -- the long-awaited attack from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, or somesuch. Soon realized it was just dj-wanking.
Back in the day before CD's and MP3's (yes, I'm a dinosaur), I was told they did that to prevent people from taping clean songs off the radio - they wanted you to buy the records.

Don't know what the excuse is now, though. But I guess you wouldn't be a DJ unless you loved the sound of your own voice, would you?

[Clutch Munny]

Do movie soundtracks count? If so, the horn solo in the Spanish, Antonio Banderas version of "Beautiful Maria of My Soul" in The Mambo Kings gets my vote.
:whup:

What? What? It's not obscure! It was in a movie, for God's sake. The damn thing's on cable once a week.

Okay. Maybe. It ain't what you'd call pop music hell, though.

Like, think of the repetitive and lyrically inane songs by the Spin Doctors that radio's gonna keep feeding us forever, even though the band is (I think) long gone. The guitar solos in those things are actually pretty well crafted and tuneful. Or "My Sharona". Or Toto's whiny "Rosanna", when they play the whole thing and include the jazzy piano/guitar "outro".

[Godless Wonder]

I like the first, slow "solo" in Metallica's Master of Puppets. I put "solo" in quotes because it's harmonized against a 2nd guitar, so it's not really a solo.

The entire (instrumental) song, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" by Joe Stump

There's an instrumental by Marc Pattison called "Space Jam" that's pretty cool (similar to some of Joe Satriani's stuff)

Boston's "Foreplay"

Shall I mention Neil Young's Cinnamon Girl solo, awesome for the mere fact that it has the audacity to contain only one note?

Kansas, "Carry on Wayward Son" has a cool sounding solo, but possibly overplayed to the point of approaching nausea.

The intro Jimi Hendrix does to Red House is kind of a pretty cool solo.

Randy Rhoads "Over the Mountain" solo is cool, though, what's most cool about Rhoads (and goes for Schenker in UFO too) is the little throwaway shit, pick slides, little fills, that they toss in between the meat of the music.

Intro to Scorpions' "Big City Nights" is cool. Lots of cool, completely unplayable stuff in the Scorps music.

Paul Gilbert does this thing in Racer X called "B. R. O." (Bach Rip Off) which is kind of cool.

There's a local guy around Houston called Marzi (used to be anyway, haven't seen him in a while. He sold me a guitar once) who does this thing called "The violin song" (an instrumental) that's kind of cool.

Eruption.

I tend to be more a fan of cool riffs and rhythm playing than solos though.

[JoeP]

Agree on the annoyingness of DJs. Let them rot in their narrow confines; we'll listen to our own tpaes & CDs in the car. And everywhere else.

Solos. I love solos. I go for the solos in the middle of songs. I haven't really thought this through (ie: will change my mind without warning), but best ever: Light My Fire, The Doors.

Then...
Comfortably Numb, Pink Floyd

Most of the other solos I salivate over are album tracks (by popular artists, Clutch) that you may not know:
Firth of Fifth, Genesis (Selling England by the Pound)
A Strange Day, The Cure (Pornography) (short solo)
Dogs, Pink Floyd (Animals)

Does Hotel California have a solo?

I'll think of some more. I'm not sure all of the above count ... I'm actually thinking of instrumental sections but some of them are multi-part. Hmm. Ignore this post.

[Petra]

I love the piano intro to one of Springsteen's songs on The Wild, The Innocent and the E Street Shuffle (a great album!). I can't remember which song, exactly, it was. Mighta been New York Serenade. Anyway, it gets me everytime.


I'll think of more later. :chin:



Oooh, oooh, and who can forget that drum solo! Dammit, I've forgotten what it's from and whether it was Keith Moon or John Bonham! Damn, I wish I had a better memory. :( You know the one, though, right?

[Clutch Munny]

Oooh, oooh, and who can forget that drum solo! Dammit, I've forgotten what it's from and whether it was Keith Moon or John Bonham! Damn, I wish I had a better memory. :( You know the one, though, right?

Moby Dick? Bonham.

The "Hotel California" thing made me think of Don Henley's "Dirty Laundry". Kind of an annoying repetitive organ throughout the song, but the two guitar solos (Joe Walsh and Danny Kortchmar, i think) are nifty. The one that closes out the song especially.

"You Got Another Thing Comin", Judas Priest -- still hear this one on the radio from time to time, and the solo is a fine blend of screechy metal and musicality.

With you on the Comfortably Numb, JoeP.

[Petra]

Moby Dick? Bonham.




Yes! Bingo.

[Legs]

Do movie soundtracks count? If so, the horn solo in the Spanish, Antonio Banderas version of "Beautiful Maria of My Soul" in The Mambo Kings gets my vote.

Ohhh.. that song makes my knees grow weak, but I feel so sorry for the character Delores :(

[lady cop]

Do movie soundtracks count? If so, the horn solo in the Spanish, Antonio Banderas version of "Beautiful Maria of My Soul" in The Mambo Kings gets my vote.
god yes! (i loved the book too.) Bette Midler doing anything in 'the rose' especially 'when a man loves a woman' oh, the passion! :rose3: and any aria by Pavarotti where he hits high C. (or doesn't). :bow2: :ovation:

[D. Scarlatti]

Some guy called Jay Graydon played the guitar solo on Peg by Steely Dan. Never heard of him again. It may have been his one moment of greatness in a career spent playing on Pepsi commercials.

I always liked the guitar solo on Goodbye To Love, by the Carpenters. But I haven't heard it in 25 years so maybe it sucks.

Then there's the late, great Robert Quine's solo on Richard Hell's Betrayal Takes Two, but they probably never played it on the radio. Same for James Williamson's solo on New Values by Iggy Pop.

Music sucks nowadays.

[Clutch Munny]

Some guy called Jay Graydon played the guitar solo on Peg by Steely Dan. Never heard of him again. It may have been his one moment of greatness in a career spent playing on Pepsi commercials.

I think SD (Becker and Fagen) were prone to asking a few studio musicians to try the solos, and then picking the one they liked most.

There's a great guitar solo, one of my all time favorites, in Kings, from their first album. They had at least three guitarists, though, and I don't know who did the solo. Unlike Peg, I've never heard it on the radio, either.

[Crumb]

Music sucks nowadays.

90% of music has always sucked. You just have to find the good stuff.

[Ensign Steve]

I think Slash is the best, but you already said that in the OP.

(there's no Slash smiley?)