Riff off Rolling Stone’s latest 100 Greatest Guitar Solos Of All Time.
There is JUST enough blues on this list to try and convince you that the writer listened to some, but let’s be honest, he clearly did not.
Mind you these are actual song solos, not the best guitarists, and I certainly would have picked some different songs by some of the artists included- like I would have included Prince’s Super Bowl solo… I mean…
There are some interesting choices in here, solos that really are great embedded in a. song that.. well, just didn’t live up to the solo. Definitely some misses, either intentional to draw controversy or just plain “You sure you didn’t listen to that whole album?” kind of stuff.
Glaring omissions of Terry Kath (Chicago, I got 9 albums of choices here- pick one- doesn’t matter which), Robert Cray (I mean, if you are pulling more obscure 80’s artists like Eric Johnson), Jeff Healy (you play that well blindfolded), Melissa Etheridge (OMG- I’ll start with Your Little Secret and raise you from there), Chris Rea (My god, Working On It is a guitar ANTHEM), Nancy Wilson (uhhhh I don’t know…. maybe BARRACUDA?), Brian Setzer I mean his Rock This Town cover (OF HIMSELF) is a masterclass on guitar work, Judas Priest, You’ve Got Another Thing Coming, among a sea of other performances.
Indeed, this is all a bit subjective to be sure, but you can’t just leave out Keep Your Hands To Yourself by the Georgia Satellites, Rocky Mountain Way by Joe Walsh or The Waiting by Tom Petty. Not to say anything of any number of Journey songs (the second half of Be Good To Yourself stands out)
And while we are on Arena Rock, I must plug TeamWhitesnake, Styx, Triumph, Sammy (let’s just be honest, the whole song is. guitar solo with some lyrics), to say nothing of ZZ Topp. And if you are looking at songs where the guitar solo is a bit out of place, look no farther than 38 Special.
Which brings us to Country, and the countless country guitar solos that others could list.
The point is…. go find your own 100, and share it.