Hi guys. Tonight, I'm thinking about guitar solos. You might know that I play guitar (though not as much as I used to because of Dupuytrens), and even before I started, at age 19, it was always my favorite instrument. Like many fans, I was always moved by a tremendous guitar solo in a song. From way back I remember feeling this way. One of the first that affected me was in "All Along the Watchtower" by Jimi, and at the opposite end of the spectrum, I loved the gentler but no-less-expressive solo in "Something" by George Harrison. Who would even concieve of playing a solo like that, right?
Of course, it was Sir Richard who first blew me off the map with his solo in "Highway Star" in 1972. In addition to being a connoisseur of guitar solos, I also (modestly) consider myself an expert on them, and as such, I've researched the issue, trying to find a more advanced solo than that one at that time, and I haven't been able to do it. I mean, it still sets a high bar 53 years later, but in 1972 it was unheard of, to play that fast and that clean with that much fire and musicality.
I'm saying all of this, and thinking about guitar solos tonight because - every so often - I like to ponder what the Top Ten might be. You know me, I love lists. I have an innate need to "put things in order", while aknowledging that, "yeah, lists might be stupid, enumerating "The Greatest This or That", but still, I love to do it, just for the heck of it. Also, a few times, I've Youtubed a famous-but-difficult solo to see if any of these modern shredmasters has figured it out. For a long time, I couldn't figure out Ritchie's solo on "Burn", which I consider the greatest of all time. It's my #1, I've known it in my head note-for-note since 1974, and I can hum it. But I never took the time to try to play it, even slowly, because there were just too many notes and bends and whammys. Then, in the last couple years, I found a Youtube Guy who figured it out and posted it, and I set out to copy his example. Now I can play it. Not like Ritchie, but I do a respectable job.
Much harder is Uli Jon Roth's solo in "Still So Many Lives Away". That's also in my Top Ten. I should note that, for me, technical difficulty doesn't give a solo brownie points, or someone like Steve Vai would get all the accolades. But Uli's solo is both technically advanced and extremely musical. It sound like violin playing. I would never have attempted to try learning it, even when I had use of all my fingers, but lo and behold, a Youtube Guy has now replicated it perfectly. These modern-day shredders can't write a memorable song, but they can copy and play anything.
So, with no further ado, let's list The All Time Top Ten Guitar Solos. Before we do, let's define what makes a classic solo. A classic solo, first and foremost, is dramatic. It usually comes in after the chorus following the second verse (and often a bridge). It "takes flight" from the vocal melody and builds on that theme in the guitarist's signature tone and phrasing, and in the very best solos it turns that melody inside out or "plays beside it". Finally, it builds to a crescendo and then climaxes. Think Jimmy Page in "Stairway to Heaven", which many consider the greatest solo of all time. These are the ingredients of a classic guitar solo. Now, what are the ten best? We have one rule: only one solo per guitarist, otherwise Ritchie Blackmore would get at least three and it wouldn't be fair. So here we go. Here are my top ten:
1) "Burn" by Sir Richard Blackmore
2) "Comfortably Numb" by David Gilmour. This or "Stairway" are the consensus #1 among many fans.
3) "Still So Many Lives Away" by Uli Jon Roth
4) "Rock Bottom" by Michael Schenker. Another I thought was unplayable but a Youtube Guy has done it!
5) "Lonely in the Night" by the great Eric Johnson. It was a tough call between this and EJ's "Desert Rose."
6) "Crying to the Sky" by Bill Nelson. A brief but deeply emotional solo with heart-rending tone.
7) "Wurm" by Steve Howe
8) "Limelight" by Alex Lifeson
9) "Beyond the Realms of Death" by Glenn Tipton. A prime example of the classic, dramatic guitar solo.
10) "Blue Sky" by Dickie Betts. A beautiful solo that takes up most of the song.
You'll notice there are no solos by Edward Van Halen, one of the greatest guitarists of all time and one of my very favorites. You may disagree, but I don't put his solos in the "classic" category, a) because they were almost always brief - more like guitar breaks rather than solos - and b) Ed's playing was so idiosyncratic that he was almost using the entire song structure as a "solo canvas", playing all kinds of voicings, sounds, and "call-and-response" to the vocals. He never played a lengthy solo of the type we are listing. This takes nothing away from him, obviously, but he's His Own Thing and doesn't fit what we are listing. If I had to pick an EVH solo that most resembles our list, it would be the one in "Dreams", which has soaring musicality and drama but is also brief.
On a side note, I have to mention The Longest Guitar Solo Ever Played (at least as far as I know). That's the one in "Green Grass and High Tides" by The Outlaws. I kid you not: I once went into Trader Joes when that song was playing on the radio. The solo had just started, and I turned the car off, went in the store and shopped...and when I came out and started the car, the solo was still going. I've never forgotten that.
Some honorable mentions: "Symptom of the Universe" by Tony Iommi, "Fade" by Ty Tabor, "Just One Victory" by Todd Rundgren, "Shesmovedon" by Steven Wilson.
I watched "Hardcore" the other night on Tubi. The movie has historical significance in my life because I first saw it on Saturday February 10, 1979, the day after it opened, which was also two days before I started working at MGM. Eight days earlier, I had driven my sister Vickie to Columbia Studios (aka Warner Bros, The Burbank Studios, etc.) so she could meet with our "Uncle" Earl Hamner to enquire about a part for "The Waltons". I remember the exact date because it was the day Sid Vicious died. I worked for Metrocolor until December 1981, when I was let go following a suspension. As for the movie, "Hardcore" was noted for its X-rated subject matter and the full-frontal nudity of Season Hubley, who co-starred with George C. Scott. His famous, explosive line, "Turn it off.....turn it off....TURN IT OFF!!!" became a meme for me and my friends for a few weeks. We went to see it because it was written and directed by Paul Schrader, and also because of the nude scene (a big deal when you're 18 years old), which turned out to be a half-second long. On first view, the movie didn't make a big impression, possibly because I was preoccupied with starting a major-league job, and was nervous. At the time, we (me and Pat Forducci) thought it was "pretty good" but not great.
Watching it a second time, now aged 65, my opinion is more nuanced. "Hardcore" still doesn't qualify as great, much less a classic like the Schrader-penned "Taxi Driver". It remains "pretty good", but my opinion is affected by my life story. I now applaud Schrader for what I see as his moral excoriation of Hollywood, L.A. Sex Culture and of course the porn "industry", which has since been "legitimized" but began as an out-in-the-open underbelly of lowlifes, mostly men, and the women who were jaded or young and naive enough to "work" for them. Schrader destroys them in this movie. They all get creamed in the end. George C. gets his daughter back. Ya gotta remember that Schrader wrote "Taxi Driver" as a revenge story, in which Travis Bikel - a Vietnam Vet (remember, they were spit on) - cleans up the scum of New York City. "Hardcore" is like the L.A. sequel to that film, with George C. playing the Travis Bikel role, only this time, he's a version of Schrader himself: a Calvanist father (Schrader was raised Calvanist) whose daughter runs away from home. Season Hubley plays the porn actress who puts her life on the line to help him find her, and when you scrutinize her performance (which is quite good), it's easy to see her as an older version of "Taxi Driver"'s Iris Steensma, the 13-year-old hooker played so memorably by Jodie Foster. Schrader is a moralist, and I think he does believe in God, despite the fact that you can't admit it when you work in Hollywood (Mel Gibson excepted), and he also wrote a third movie called "Rolling Thunder", an all-time revenge masterpiece in which William Devane and the great Tommy Lee Jones go after a bunch of ruthless rednecks who steal Devane's honorary silver dollars (one for each day he was a P.O.W.) and grind his hand off in a garbage disposal.
I like Paul Schrader, not only because he makes good movies but because he hates bad guys as much as I do. His films show the good guys getting revenge as they win. In addition, to Schrader's credit, he was one of two people - the other being me - who saw Scorsese's "Raging Bull" for what it was, a boring waste of celluloid. Critics spewed all over themselves to praise that flick. Gene Siskel called it the greatest film ever made. In reality, it sucked and Schrader nailed it. I've always remembered his quote from an interview: "Marty sure dropped the ball on that one". Well, anyhow...
How about a few Bands I Wish I'd Seen? We always think of our favorite concerts; what about the ones we missed? For me, the #1 Band I Wish I'd Seen is Van Der Graaf Generator, followed by Gentle Giant, Caravan, Frank Zappa at The Roxy (his legendary 1973 shows), David Bowie at the Santa Monica Civic in 1972, Traffic (same year, same venue), Genesis at The Roxy on the "Selling England" tour, and Elton John at The Troubadour (talk about a legendary show)...so there's a few. I know, I know: what about Jimi, The Four Zepplini Brothers, The Allmans, etc...yeah, I would love to have seen them, too, but the above listed bands are the first I'd go back and see if I had a Time Machine and a ticket to each show.
Anyhow, that's all for tonight. Make sure to listen to the songs with The Top Ten Guitar Solos and see what you think. Thanks for reading and Tons of Love, as always.
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