Re: [MLUG - DISCUSSION] 100 Greatest Guitar Solos

["Jonathan King" <EMAIL:PROTECTED>]

On 1/6/07, Vern Green <EMAIL:PROTECTED> wrote:
> Well, I am all too willing to chime in.

Thanks for spotting some things I had missed.

> I have only one problem with the top 10 so far and that is having Slash's
> solo for November Rain in the list. While it might have been a good solo,
> there are a number of other solos that are much better and the fact that
> Slash could NEVER reproduce the solo live is a testiment to how piss poor of
> a guitarist he really is.

I thought the real stinker there was Van Halen's "Eruption". Sorry,
but that's not really a guitar solo in the context of a song, and,
actually, I think it's just a loose collection of licks that only
prove that he can play really fast. For me, that's not so impressive.

> Brian May's solo on Bohemian Rhapsody is one of my all time favorites. It
> just drips emotion.

It does, but I guess I discount it somewhat because the lore is that
it was written out by Freddie Mercury.

> I have heard some others that are probably better I
> admit, but very few people are going to be voting for some of the more
> obscure songs.

True. Brian May had a way of putting something useful into even songs
that weren't very good. Also, his style is somewhat distinctive, which
is not true of some others.

> I do get a little tired of seeing all the Jimi Hendrix on
> these types of lists as well. Jimi was an outstanding guitar player, but
> geez come on.

Well, he *did* record All along the watchtower AND Little Wing and
lots of other great stuff. But his National Anthem is waaay
over-rated.

> OK, so when I get down to number 26 on the list, I see that Nirvana was on
> the list. Now I have to say the solo in Smells Like Teen Spirit could be
> played accurately by my 9 year old.

That made no sense. Nor did the appearance of George Harrison for
anything. (And that bird can sing is probably his best stuff, but
that's more  of a riff than a solo.)

> Brian May gets another nod for Brighton Rock, so maybe what I said before is
> incorrect, people are voting for the obscure stuff.

Some of it; I'd missed that one my first time through the list (oops).

> Santana made 49 for Europa, which I would have expected to see much higher.

Yes, and one wonders why half of Abraxas isn't on the list. (OK, or
not. I'm a fan.)

> I don't know how on earth Kurt Cobain or Slash gets higher on the list than
> Europa.
>
> Frank Zappa made 60 for Zoot Allures

I guess Zappa would be hard to place on this list since his stuff was
very different and a lot of it was something that was an acquired
taste.

> Steve Howe made 68 for Starship Trooper.

Which is a bit of a head-scratcher for me.

[snip]

> I don't see a problem with most of the stuff on the list, though I might
> order them differently.

I think I was mostly bothered by over-representation of some stuff
(e.g., David Gilmour, Jimmy Page) which mean other things got left
out, and the ordering seemed odd. I think Mark Knopfler gets jobbed
somewhat, although admittedly a lot of his amazing value is stuff that
isn't in solos per se.

I still think the absence of Clapton's work on "Something" is really
weird. That was a big hit, but you wonder why. The tune is pretty
good. Harrison's singing is...adequate. Paul McCartney plays a decent
bass line...but pretty much everything else is Clapton playing just
enough of exactly the right notes.

jking

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