After @Twang’s magnificent thread on guitar albums (how’s Doolittle in your ears, brother?) and the recent Night In with Led Zeppelin’s BBC Sessions, I though of guitar solos. I do not like much blues rock fret wanking. I like my guitar solos compact, an intricate part of the song, lifting it on to a higher plane. Think of George Harrison in The Beatles and you are there. After some thought, I wrote down my top twenty. Most of them are more than thirty years old. I set aside Jazz guitar for another day.
I know The Afterword loves a list, so here it is:
20. David Gilmour – Blue Jean Bop
Personally, I find Gilmour’s guitar playing dull. Not on Paul McCartney’s Run Devil Run. The sparks fly, the fingers are nimble and he keeps it brief. Perfect.
19. Fred Tackett – Shore Leave
Tom Waits song is remarkable. It captures the excitement of exploring an exotic city but it is underpinned by a tender longing for home. Tackett uses very few notes but he makes your heart ache and sing at the same time.
18. Paul Warren – Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone