Many have been doing it already, but now you have a dedicated thread where you can recommend, and link to, guitar solos you consider amazing. They don’t have to be complicated shred fests (hell… I’ll be highlighting Nirvana’s “Come As You Are” in a future post), but they can be if you think they’re incredible.
The one’s I like the best will be highlighted in future posts in the series, and you’ll get credit, with a link to your comment!
Let me know what you listen to and what you love. And don’t worry about the genre… I’m interested in the guitar solo, not the style. You may even see classical and flamenco show up!… if I’m not careful, that is… 😉
A couple from Brazil:
Heitor Villa-Lobos (perf. David Russell) -- Choros no. 1 … No words for this. It’s just perfect.
Gilberto Gil -- Expresso 2222 … Sure, there’s Gil’s vocal soloing too, but let’s not forget the all-important tambourine and triangle drum breaks. I like how the intro falls so naturally into an accompaniment part. Although the guitar backs off a bit to give space for the vocals, it’s an incredibly interesting part the whole time and keeps asserting itself into the foreground at the right moments. The rest of the band adds a lot of course, but it’s nice that the guitar has an entire little world of its own that it gets to explore.
I love Villa-Lobos! Especially his preludios (here’s the second one).
OK, I can’t resist this call. Within the world of classical guitar, I’m very partial to Tarrega’s Capricho Arabe, Mangore Barrios La Catedral, Albeniz/Segovia’s Asturias (now that’s some flashy shredding!), and Dyens’ Tango en Skai. Once upon a time, I could play them all…
As for lead guitar work, one must surely mention Narciso Yepes soloing in Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez. The more impressive parts can be found within 9:40-14:15.
But enough classical guitar. Allow now me to submit… John Frusciante!
He’s a musician more than a guitarist, and he usually puts his guitar to the service of the whole song, rather then in solos. In fact, he has often stated his dislike for showing off one’s skills in flashy solos. Still, he has some great ones, in a variety of styles. Here are some of my favourites.
Ramparts is a little gem, a pure example of the multi-layered style featuring in many of his songs.
Before the Beginning is a simple bare melody showcasing his typical use of distortion and compression. For something more typically rock, I love Look On (solo at 2:40-4:33).
He’s done some great stuff with the the Red Hot Chilli Peppers of course, but perhaps everybody already knows about that so I’ll refrain from linking. Let me just mention that one can spend many happy hours on youtube watching Frusciante’s live solos and improvised jams, often in a duet with Flea (OK, just one link).
Not guitar (I have my favourites, but probably nothing that you aren’t well aware of already) but perhaps you might be interested in hearing some Shamisen solo’s from Japan ( Chie Hanawa is quite amazing to my untrained ear) and the Yoshida brothers ( this one is called “Rising”) are well known outside Japan now.
Mentioned him before, and I know relatively little about him, but these two are I think worthy of note:
Soothsayer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyQJH615KwA
Whitewash:
I am still an amateur guitarist. I wish I could be a part of it.