Rolling Stone recently posted a list of "Coolest Guitar Solos." Smashing Pumpkins' "Soma†was nominated in lieu of anything by Jimi Hendrix. That just ain’t right. Here’s my list.
1. "The Star Spangled Banner," Jimi Hendrix
Still the best. Need a refresher course? Click here.
2. "You Don't Love Me/Soul Serenade," The Allman Brothers Band
This nearly 20-minute monster jam pays tribute to the then recently murdered King Curtis and finds Duane Allman at his most expressive. Recorded in concert shortly before Allman’s death, it can be found on the ABB box set Dreams.
3. “Achilles Last Stand,†Led Zeppelin
Jimmy Page’s most innovative composition, it’s a song for blues geeks and speed metal freaks featuring a guitar solo that is at once brutal and beautiful.
4. “Layla,†Derek and the Dominos
Eric Clapton and Duane Allman alternate on lead and then are heard intertwining in perfect harmony. Collaborations don’t get much better than this.
5. “How Blue Can You Get?†(from Live in Cook County Jail), B.B. King
No one bends them guitar strings like B.B. King.
6. “Down by the River,†Neil Young with Crazy Horse
Sludgy brilliance from the godfather of grunge.
7. “Beck’s Bolero,†Jeff Beck
Beck plays the pioneering fuzzbox solo and a pre-Zep Jimmy Page plays rhythm and gets the much disputed songwriting credit.
8. "Stone Crazy," Buddy Guy
There’s a reason Eric Clapton calls Guy the greatest guitarist ever and that Hendrix was accused of copping his style.
9. “I’m Yours and I’m Hers,†Johnny Winter
Winter’s arsenal of hot licks and ability to issue what sounds like 10 at once is on full display here, the cock strutting opening track to his self-titled breakthrough album from ’69.
10. “The March†(Live at the Wetlands version), Robert Randolph
Sacred steel genius takes listeners to the heavens with the freshest guitar sound to emerge in the new millennium.
WHAT DID I MISS?
This article appears in Aug 1-7, 2007.