Emotionally evocative guitar solos

CrusaderFrank

Diamond Member
Joined
May 20, 2009
Messages
160,056
Reaction score
86,494
Points
2,645
Not best or greatest or whatever just what stirs you when listening

David Gilmore
Time
Comfortably Numb

Clapton
Crossroads
Badge

Hendrix
All along the watchtower

Roy Buchanan
The Messiah will come again

Frank Zappa
Watermelon in Easter Hay
Packard Goose
Outside Now
 
Not best or greatest or whatever just what stirs you when listening

David Gilmore
Time
Comfortably Numb

Clapton
Crossroads
Badge

Hendrix
All along the watchtower

Roy Buchanan
The Messiah will come again

Frank Zappa
Watermelon in Easter Hay
Packard Goose
Outside Now



 
Depends on how you define "solo" in the context of a song, off the top of my head:

Led Zeppelin- Since I've Been Loving You.
Led Zeppelin= I'm Gonna Crawl
Led Zeppelin- Achilles Last Stand.
Jimi Hendrix- Voodoo Child (slight return).
Jimi Hendrix- Little Wing
Prince- Purple Rain
GnR- Sweet Child of Mine
AC/DC- Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
Funkadelic- Maggot Brain
Beatles- While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Carlos Santana- Black Magic Woman
 
Not best or greatest or whatever just what stirs you when listening

David Gilmore
Time
Comfortably Numb

Clapton
Crossroads
Badge

Hendrix
All along the watchtower

Roy Buchanan
The Messiah will come again

Frank Zappa
Watermelon in Easter Hay
Packard Goose
Outside Now
Do any of those truly inspire emotion though? Ive wracked my brain and i can only come up with 1, MAYBE two guitar solos ever that actually hit emotionally.

The first is "Fade to Black" by Metallica. The solo starts off slow and sad, but it builds to a creshendo at the end, signifying the moment that the suicide takes place, then the solo fades out to no sound, signifying his death (aka, the song fades to black). Its one of the greatest solos of all time.



The second, lesser example, is November Rain, but the solo only hits you emotionally if you watch the video and you see the dead wife in the casket.

 
Do any of those truly inspire emotion though? Ive wracked my brain and i can only come up with 1, MAYBE two guitar solos ever that actually hit emotionally.

The first is "Fade to Black" by Metallica. The solo starts off slow and sad, but it builds to a creshendo at the end, signifying the moment that the suicide takes place, then the solo fades out to no sound, signifying his death (aka, the song fades to black). Its one of the greatest solos of all time.



The second, lesser example, is November Rain, but the solo only hits you emotionally if you watch the video and you see the dead wife in the casket.


Go down the lists, find the original studio versions, listen to the songs in their entirety and take into consideration the solos within the context of the song.

If they hit you in some manner, emotionally or otherwise than they have done their job.
 
Go down the lists, find the original studio versions, listen to the songs in their entirety and take into consideration the solos within the context of the song.

If they hit you in some manner, emotionally or otherwise than they have done their job.
No, just because it hits one person in a particular way, doesnt make it "an emotional guitar solo". If we went by your rules, this thread is a bust because, you can just name any solo at that point and it will count.

Im sure that someone thinks Eddie Van Halen's "Eruption" is emotional, but that doesnt mean that its true. Certainly not for 99.9999% of the world. Its a great solo, but it doesnt inspire emotion in the sense that the OP is discussing.
 
No, just because it hits one person in a particular way, doesnt make it "an emotional guitar solo". If we went by your rules, this thread is a bust because, you can just name any solo at that point and it will count.

Im sure that someone thinks Eddie Van Halen's "Eruption" is emotional, but that doesnt mean that its true. Certainly not for 99.9999% of the world. Its a great solo, but it doesnt inspire emotion in the sense that the OP is discussing.
I didn't choose Eruption and I don't consider it an emotive solo, but it is a matter of taste.

As it were, he learned the "finger tap" style in that solo from Jimmy Pages Heartbreaker solo regardless, it is an interesting little approach that he took basically as a flex, "check out this sound" and listeners took note at a time in which being creative and unique was important for guitarists. Always has been really since the 60s.

It works on it's own but for me it's not emotionally impactful to me, it's similar to some of Hendrix work where he employed heavy distortion pedals that were ahead of his time. Loud and different but not emotive per se.
 
15th post
I didn't choose Eruption and I don't consider it an emotive solo, but it is a matter of taste.
No, its not a matter of taste. Eruption is objectively not an emotional guitar solo. Its a great solo, but its not emotional, so anyone who mentions it or any other random guitar solo as an example, is flat out wrong. You cant just name solos that you like. Its either emotional or it isnt.
 
No, its not a matter of taste. Eruption is objectively not an emotional guitar solo. Its a great solo, but its not emotional, so anyone who mentions it or any other random guitar solo as an example, is flat out wrong. You cant just name solos that you like. Its either emotional or it isnt.
Are you suggesting that there are people who don't listen to that solo and feel emotional?

Of course it's a matter of taste.
 
Are you suggesting that there are people who don't listen to that solo and feel emotional?

Of course it's a matter of taste.
The exceptions to the rule dont make the rule. Going by your rules, this thread is pointless. You can just name any song with a guitar in it and say "thats a classic example of an emotional guitar solo". Is "Bad to the Bone" an emotional guitar solo? "I want my MTV" is an emotional guitar solo? No, they are absolutely not emotional, regardless of whether or not some weirdo says that they are for him.
 

New Topics

Back
Top Bottom