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Concise Guitar solos

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I was in the car the other day and the T-Rex song Ride a white swan came on. I wasn’t really a fan of theirs back in the day but have grown to appreciate them more as time wears on. I listened to the song once again and was really impressed with the short and to the point guitar solo. Normally a fan of extended guitar solos/wig outs I began to think of the concise ones that impress me.

Not a fan of Brian May but his solo on Killer Queen is excellent.
Paul Kossoff on Alright now is iconic.
Richard Thompson on Turning of the Tide is short and sweet.
But Jeff Beck on Shapes of Things takes the top accolade for me.

Which short guitar solos float your boat?

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Comments

    • Great call @DaveRoss the solo on EWTRTW is particularly brilliant rhythmically, playing against the beat some of the time. The gorgeous tone of the guitar also adds to the sense of optimism and joy in the solo, somewhat at odds with the cynical lyrics.

  12. As usual the answer is Rock ‘n’ Roll – the musical form, “not” the wildly misrepresented phrase.

    Got one of those Gene Vincent “5 albums on 2CD” set a few years ago (£6 – ever so slightly better value than yer average vinlys box set for £300) – 60 songs, one went over the 3-minute mark, by 3 seconds, the vast majority barely made two.

    Tighter and tauter than a gnat’s lower regions.
    In Out, In Out, Shake It All About. Never bettered. No one’s come close.

  14. The correct answer of course is the perfectly formed break in Kid Charlemagne. Or if that is a bit too Afterwordy, I give you Ronnie Wood taking it away in ‘You Can Make Me Dance Sing Anything’.

  16. A regular cartoon called Guitar Sam in US guitar mag Guitar World Once featured the beliefs of 50s-style players, the best of which was: A guitar solo should never last longer than it takes to order a round of drinks.

  17. Here are two of my faves – both occupying nearly the same duration (23 seconds and 20 seconds), though both very different in form and purpose. Focus’ ‘House of the King’ is a pop masterpiece from proggers who usually stretched out. Jan’s solo from 1:27 – 1:50 is like a standalone adagio movement in an otherwise allegro piece, almost a separate composition but one that both cleanses the palate in both mood and tempo in between the speedy, sugary stuff and adds a feeling of grandeur.

    The solo in U2’s ‘Pride’, however, gives the impression of being in double time – accentuating the drama rather than acting as a breather. It’s also a masterpiece in minimalism, being the same 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3-4-5 sequence of notes times 4 (with slightly varied emphasis) for 20 seconds.

  18. Two from Dave Gregory, in XTC.

    ‘Pink Thing’, from Oranges and Lemons. Loungy, cocktail-hour vibe to it.

    ‘That Wave’, from Nonsuch. Rises and falls like a wave. Apparently inspired by Adrian Belew.

    And an Andy Partridge solo from one of his Fuzzy Warbles; ‘Born Out Of Your Mouth’.

      • Disagree about the StH solo. It is absolutely perfectly crafted, without a wasted note. The live versions were always drawn out and lost much in the process. The best JP solo is Achilles Last Stand, but I wouldn’t call it concise.

        • I agree about Achilles’ – certainly my favourite solo by Page – but, as you suggest, it doesn’t fit the requirements of the OP. I also think Tea for One was a better slow blues solo than Since I’ve Been Loving You – although most people disagree with me on that…

          I’ve never much liked Stairway – never really understood the adulation…

        • Yes I think the StH is great but I excluded it as not being short enough though the studio version is another one he obviously composed, and all the better for it.

          I’m not a fan of the Since I’ve been…solo, which I put in the “bit of a mess” category, not too messy but still. The version on the live movie is an obvious drop in, presumably because the original one was a mess, but even the replacement doesn’t convince me, though as Fitz says, it has many admirers so I’m in a minority here.

          Incidentally I nearly posted the Communication Breakdown solo which I too think is a cracker.

  23. Two from me, both often heard by youse lot so shan’t post the YT links.

    1. Tim Renwick’s perfectly judged run of a solo on China Crisis’ ‘King In a Catholic Style’ from 1987.

    2. The middle eight solo by Mark Knopfler on Dire Straits ‘Down To The Waterline’. Side one, track one of the debut album. A subtle delight to broadcast the virtuosity ahead.

  28. RT, about 32 seconds of class starting at 2:57 with a key change. Towards the end he does a little chord run followed by a drunken spider run down into the vocal. It’s gorgeous.

  34. I love a good short guitar solo

    Albert King – Born Under a Bad Sign
    Beatles – Taxman
    Jimi Hendrix – Wind Cries Mary
    Roxy Music – Virginia Plain
    Fleetwood Mac – Need Your Love So Bad
    The Pretenders- Kid

    • 2 quick observations:
      is that K K Downing or Vim Fuego?
      The video features Rob Loonhouse – the man who perfected the air guitar by taking his own plywood cut-out to The Soundhouse in Canning Town

  37. “Art Blakey used to say that at a jam session you could be long-winded, but at a concert you should get to the point—the number of people there dictated that you condense what you say.”
    I would say that Art’s maxim also applies to recordings.

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