# Not a spec o' cereal - "Complete" guitar solos



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Just came back from fetching coffee, and the coffee place had one of those satellite stations tuned in. While I put cream and sweetener in, they were playing the Pretenders' "Middle of the Road". Robbie Macintosh has one of the most deliciously engineered, self-contained, solos in that. Not one unnecessary note or pick-stroke. A beginning, middle, and end that tells you it's a proper time to return to the song. Not too soon, not too late, just...time.

There are a lot of recorded solos that we can appreciate for their artistry and virtuosity, but the bits we like may be only the best parts of something that just goes on much too long. Or, it may be something that never gets a chance to flourish because the song structure demands that the player stop to return to the bridge.

Self-contained, "complete" solos are not as rare as passenger pigeons or pre-war baseball cards, but they are not all that common either, so we appreciate them when we hear them. I think part of what appeals to people about Brian May is that many of his solos are like that: well-structured, thought-out, and complete. Two of my all-time favourite solos like that are from Jeff Beck. He does a brief one in the old Yardbirds tune "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago" that is completely unlike anything else from that era; short, slicing, jarring, and no longer than it needs to be. His little bit of clean riffery in Stevie Wonder's tune "Lookin for another pure love", slightly reminiscent of "Midnight at the Oasis" (another one in this category), sprinkled with some Les Paul-isms, is also pure and complete. You can't imagine one more note added to it, or anything that could possibly improve it. It's just...."done". Mick Ronson's solo at the end of Bowie's "Moonage Daydream" is also in that category, as is Robin Trower's solo on the Procol Harum instrumental from their first album "Repent Walpurgis" (actually a bunch of his solos with them were like that).

So what's on your personal list of "perfect", "complete" solos? They don't have to be old or new, they don't have to be clean tone or dirty tone, and they don't have to be 3 bars or less. But they should be solos that tell their own story, begin with "Once upon a time", and end with "And they all lived happily ever after", regardless of how many bars are in between, with no subplots.


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## Guest (May 23, 2012)

The outro solo to Pearl Jam's Alive. That is, IMO, the perfect rock and roll guitar solo.


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## fudb (Dec 8, 2010)

Something by George Harrison, Anything by Mike Campbell (Tom Petty), and Everything by David Gilmour, lol...


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## Rugburn (Jan 14, 2009)

I think longer rambling pieces and short solos are two different animals. I wouldn't say one is more "complete" or better than the other, just different. A short perfectly married solo to a song is something I really enjoy. "Something" certainly comes to mind. JJ Cale's solo in "Crazy Mama" is killer. Angus Young's solos in "Ride On" are another favorite.


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## FrankyNoTone (Feb 27, 2012)

I was recently diverted from my metal path to glory by some jazz stuff (strangely enough, both metal and jazz players tend to use the same picks).

Anyways, Charlie Christian's solos in "Rose Room" just blew me away.


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

Freebird!!!!!!!


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

The short and sweet solo in Norah Jones's "Come Away With Me".

"Big Log" - Robert Plant - the whole thing, superb strat tone and taste.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Every solo Brian May and Jeff Beck ever played.

That is all.


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## Hamstrung (Sep 21, 2007)

Two that come to mind quickly for me are:
Randy Rhoads - Diary of a Madman
David Gilmour - Mother


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

One of my favourite solos has always been David Lindley's solo in Jackson Browne's "Running on Empty".


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

Just remembered Zakk on "No More Tears", still amazes me.


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## bagpipe (Sep 19, 2006)

The solo to Kid by The Pretenders fits in that category. Each phrase matches perfectly with the underlying chord and its very succinct. No rambling pentatonic minor scales there.


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## Roryfan (Apr 19, 2010)

Agree w/ previous posts about May, Gilmour, Beck & Angus (no love for Billy F. Gibbons?) here are a few more in no particular order:

Randy Rhoads, Goodbye To Romance
The Edge: All I Want Is You
Vito Bratta: When The Children Cry
Jimmy Page: The Rover & Travelling Riverside Blues
Ace Frehley: I Was Made For Lovin' You
Eric Clapton: Double Crossin' Time & Have You Heard
Peter Green: Jumping At Shadows & Need Your Love So Bad
Colin James: Speechless
Mike Bloomfield: Stop
Jason Moserzsky (Ben Harper): Number With No Name
Slash (Lenny Kravitz): Fields Of Joy
Billy Duffy: Love Removal Machine
Santana: Samba Pa Ti
Gary Moore (yes, it's possible): Midnight Blues


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

Roryfan said:


> Agree w/ previous posts about May, Gilmour, Beck & Angus, here are a few more in no particular order:
> 
> Randy Rhoads, Goodbye To Romance
> The Edge: All I Want Is You
> ...


Oh hell yes!


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

My pick is whitesnake-is this love....the guitar just seems to be crying/singing. In a similar vein, Brad Gillis on Sister Christian.
i still like quiet riots- cum on feel the noise solo...tasteful semi-shred.
for full shred, I'd say Vai on DLR's Yankee Rose. I know Vai purists aren't crazy about his DLR work, but IMO its the last time he sounded like he was playing for the sheer joy of it.
Another top shred solo for me was Jake on Bark at the Moon. More than 20 years later and I'm still blown away by it every time I hear it.

Even long solos can be perfect...eagles- hotel California....for my money, the greatest solo of all time, from a band I really couldn't care less about.


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## bagpipe (Sep 19, 2006)

Just thought of another one: Just What I Needed by The Cars. We used to play this in a cover band and I learned the solo note for note from the CD. You can tell that Elliot Easton actually "crafted" this solo rather than just playing a bunch of blues cliches and fast runs.

[video=youtube;mffdHmfgDFU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mffdHmfgDFU[/video]


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

bw66 said:


> One of my favourite solos has always been David Lindley's solo in Jackson Browne's "Running on Empty".


Then you'll probably appreciate Lindley's succinct playing on this old tune from his old group Kaleidescope: Kaleidoscope - Cuckoo 1969 - YouTube

I can't think of any specific examples at the moment, but there's gotta be something in this category from Richard Thompson, right?


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## Roryfan (Apr 19, 2010)

Gary Richrath gets no respect due to the schlocky/accessible(?) 80s material but his solos are quite tasty. Props for introducing lonely secretarys to searing Les Paul tone. 

REO Speedwagon


Another guy who flys under the radar is Mark Kendall from Great White. Their cover of Afterglow is a wonderful example of how to construct a chilled out, melodic solo.


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## 335Bob (Feb 26, 2006)

Joe Walsh "Hotel California" It's like a perfect paragraph in the chapter that is the song.


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## Sneaky (Feb 14, 2006)

335Bob said:


> Joe Walsh "Hotel California" It's like a perfect paragraph in the chapter that is the song.


I was going to say the same. Except it was both Felder and Walsh trading licks so is it really a solo?


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Sneaky said:


> I was going to say the same. Except it was both Felder and Walsh trading licks so is it really a solo?


Of course it is. As is the equally well-constructed trading of lean muscular licks in "The End" from Abbey Road.


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## Sneaky (Feb 14, 2006)

mhammer said:


> Of course it is. As is the equally well-constructed trading of lean muscular licks in "The End" from Abbey Road.


Well it is certainly a well crafted "solo" piece to play. As close to perfect as you can get IMO (I've certainly never been able to play it right), but I'm not sure it can be classified as a solo any more than say, Hunter and Wagner trading riffs in Lou Reed's Hey Jim (Lou Reed Live version). I'm pretty sure it was "written" in the studio by two great guitar players jamming together, perhaps with the help of a few party favours of the day, and captured on tape by a great producer.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Mulling it over, I think I'm coming round to your view. Hotel California probably is a more constructed solo. Cripes, I know **I** certainly spent enough hours as a youngun trying to memorize and mimic the whole thing, 3-fret bends and all. And it tries a little more to tell a story than The End does. Though truth be told, they both boil down to wanking with some good taste and a dollop of restraint, compared to the Jeff Beck solos I started out mentioning.

What about "Taxman"? Frantic. Weird, overly modal, but just long enough, and just right for the tune.


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## amp boy (Apr 23, 2009)

The guitar tone, and solo in this track sum up to me the best of that era.........it's just pure 70's awesomeness, and a lot better than most.
you really get the emotion in the run, and the timing of it.
Z A P P A is jedi.

[video=youtube_share;kGIHoZGaueY]http://youtu.be/kGIHoZGaueY[/video]


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## 4345567 (Jun 26, 2008)

__________


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## bolero (Oct 11, 2006)

[video=youtube;V1i-RKqOFxQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1i-RKqOFxQ[/video]


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## ed2000 (Feb 16, 2007)

Every Mother's Son - Come On To My Boat Baby...2 notes in the solo. Now there's a piece right to the point.


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

Isn't this supposed to be one of the best solos ever? 

[video=youtube;s6lJ7NWxDws]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6lJ7NWxDws[/video]


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## allthumbs56 (Jul 24, 2006)

I think of a well crafted solo as one for which you can sing every note.

Ones that come to mind: One of These Nights, Smoke on the Water, Highway Star, Stairway to Heaven, Something, and ....... My Sharona (seriously - sing it - I bet you can)


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## gtrguy (Jul 6, 2006)

GONE


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

ed2000 said:


> Every Mother's Son - Come On To My Boat Baby...2 notes in the solo. Now there's a piece right to the point.


Back in my band days, I used to love playing the "solo" from _California Sun_ by the Rivieras (later covered by the Ramones). Mostly, it's one note, worked to the hilt. But hey, if it's the _right_ note......
[video=youtube;Yy57Xdk9u0o]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yy57Xdk9u0o[/video]

There's a spot like that in Neil Young's _Down By the River_, where he hits one note for a bit, although I would never place the entire solo of that tune in the category this thread is intended to represent. Those few bars represent pretty much the only "economy" in that tune, amidst a lot of anguished (but still fun) wanking.


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

Hamstrung said:


> Two that come to mind quickly for me are:
> Randy Rhoads - Diary of a Madman
> David Gilmour - Mother


I always enjoyed that little piece in Mother as well


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## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

...a foot in cold water: (make me do) anything you want.


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## Sneaky (Feb 14, 2006)

How about the famous one note solo in Cinnamon Girl. Not much fluff in that one. :banana:


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## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

...i like a minimalist solo as much of the next guy, but the excitement of listening to a great "shredder", whether it be in jazz, latin, bluegrass, country or rock still appeals.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

david henman said:


> ...i like a minimalist solo as much of the next guy, but the excitement of listening to a great "shredder", whether it be in jazz, latin, bluegrass, country or rock still appeals.


Absolutely. I wasn't attempting to situate "complete" solos above all else, though I suspect you recognize that. They're just wonderful things when they happen, and remind us of what we need to include in our playing...sometimes a little more often than we do.

FWIW, I spent a goodly chunk of my adolescence attempting to learn Frank Zappa's solo from "Invocation and Ritual Dance of the Young Pumpkin" off the Mothers of Invention's _Absolutely Free _( The Mothers of Invention - Invocation & Ritual Dance of the Young Pumpkin - YouTube ). Along with Butterfield's "East-West" ( The Paul Butterfield Blues Band - "East-West" - YouTube ), probably my first real exposure to guitar wanking, and modal meanderings. Still blows me away. A "complete" solo? Not on your life.


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## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

...my former songwriting partner is currently recording his 4th or 5th cd, and has asked me to contribute.
i'm having a ball, because he is finally recording many of my favourite songs that he, or he and i together, composed.
i have the luxury of recording in my home studio and sending my parts via "dropbox".
it is always interesting what you end up with and, especially, how you got there.
sometimes there are extremely happy accidents, which often happen when you lose yourself.
sometimes you're almost there, and the best way to get all the way there is with some carefully-executed overdubs or edits.
ideally, i record "slightly" stoned, which helps me develop a sense of "flow" and discourages over-thinking and over-analyzing.
i record absolutely dry - a mic placed about six inches off axis. no eq.
more and more i'm learning to listen to and react to the rhythm section and, especially, the singer, and to re-interpret, on my guitar, what they are saying.
i won't know until the cd is released how much of my contributions will make the cut.
sometimes what a player adds during overdubs is counter-intuitive to what the writer and producer have in mind for the song.
but i'm hopeful - this is some of the best playing i've done.


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## bolero (Oct 11, 2006)

that sounds cool, I hope you post some samples once it's done

ps what amp/mic/gtr are you using?


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## neldom (Apr 29, 2009)

After having this tune come up in the rotation today I remembered this thread. 
The tone of the lead guitar and the whole solo itself consistently blow me away.
I owe it to Vadsy for turning me on to these guys, as at first I gave him nothing but scathing derision for listening to this band.
And now I love them... Same story with Joel Plaskett.
It's been a growing process having to admit I was wrong, but I guess there's a first time for everything.

[video=youtube;AzdoOGUsEKg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzdoOGUsEKg[/video]


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## 4345567 (Jun 26, 2008)

__________


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## doriangrey (Mar 29, 2011)

GuitarsCanada said:


> I always enjoyed that little piece in Mother as well


me too...and the first solo in Comfortably Numb is still one of the most moving guitar solos in rock history...imho...so many great Gilmour solos...

I also think Hendrix's main solo in 'All Along the Wathctower' is a perfectly "complete" solo...


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## Rugburn (Jan 14, 2009)

doriangrey said:


> I also think Hendrix's main solo in 'All Along the Wathctower' is a perfectly "complete" solo...


I've had this solo stuck in my head over the last couple of weeks. There's little question in my mind that this solo is pieced together from a few takes. It's really well structured and fits the song perfectly. Cheers


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## leftysg (Mar 29, 2008)

Three memorable solos that have stuck with me from the first time I heard them on vinyl as a kid in the basement...Martin Barre's in Aqualung, Jimmy Page's in Dazed and Confused and Steve Howe's at the end of Starship Trooper. They bring back memories. A few scratches in the vinyl from picking up the tone arm and dropping that needle close to the right place, but hopefully no skips!


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