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What is your favorite guitar solo and why?

Although it's short, there's an overlooked guitar break about half way through "PEG" by Steely Dan that is very complex. As a guitar player, I have tried many times to just come close to the phrasing and come short. It is very, VERY complex and doesn't follow any general or average technique.
Have a listen and see what I'm talking about.
It's not my cup o' tea type genre, but very impressive with the talent in that band being above par. There's much more, but "Peg" really sticks out as superior guitar phrasing in spurts that they're very good at producing.
Steve Lukather (sp) has commented on their abilities as well.
I'm not a country fan but Glen Campbell comes to mind as a guitarist that wasn't celebrated as such, IMO.
 
OldJBL said:
I am a big fan of Terry Kath. IMO, he is one of the most underrated guitar players of all time. He was pivotal in defining the sound of Chicago from the late 1960s through the 1970s. Chicago, after his passing, was a shadow of its former self. He has numerous solos that are outstanding but my favorite might be his performance at Tanglewood in 1970. He played most of this solo with his eyes closed or his hair blocking his vision. Lastly, he has a fantastic, soulful voice too. The link below starts just before his epic solo but the entire video is worth watching.
Click to expand...

I finally had a chance to watch this video and it's excellent. Probably the best live video I've seen that captures Terry's brilliance. I've seen Chicago several times live, post-Terry, and they always have a great guitar player, but nobody has come close on 25 or 6 to 4.

Chicago played at the Capitol's New Year's Eve celebration in 2023 -- it was broadcast live on PBS. Very worth watching for those who haven't seen it. They played 4 or 5 songs and were in very fine form. Their new "Peter Cetera" is pretty spot-on -- I almost thought it was Peter from his voice. I think he's quite a bit sharp every time he hits the highest note in those phrases, but that doesn't lessen the Cetera-ness of his performance. The guitar player is quite good (not Terry, but nobody is :)). The trumpet player, Lou Loughnane, is 77 years old and he's taking some sections up an octave, and hitting high notes he rarely hit back in their "prime" days as the group. Lou's prime is now, it seems :).

 
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Quadman2 said:
For me two pioneers in guitar playing come to mind, "Les Paul" and "Chet Atkins" who started out in the early 40's! The players who followed built on the techniques of these two giants in guitar playing. Take in respectively "The World Is Waiting For a Sunrise" and "Blue Angel" from the above mentioned guitarists and get a feeling how these "two" started the whole stringed affair.
Click to expand...

Les was also a massive pioneer in recording technology and (of course) guitars. He played every Monday night at Iridium in NYC for nearly 15 years until he passed away in 2009 at 94. A friend of mine and I kept talking about going to see him, but we never found time to do it. Although I know jazz going way back, I was too young (and clueless I guess) to have known Les's playing or really anything about him -- I just thought it would be cool to see the guy who invented the Les Paul guitar. So that's why we never made time to go. If I knew what a great player he was, and what a character he was in the Iridium gigs, I would have literally been there every week.

I only learned about Les from an older bass player that my son plays in a group with. He is very, very good friends with Les' lifelong luthier (the guy who helped do all the innovation in guitars -- though Les would also gouge out wood and do mods himself also). He knew Les also. Through the bass player, I learned what a monster player Les was, and also what a character he was. He has a million Les stories. Not only was Les great, he had a "who's who" of guitar greats that would stop by all the time on Monday nights and sit in on those gigs to pay homage to Les. Fortunately, there's a ton of YouTube videos capturing it.

Here's one with Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top). Les is just a total smart ass, but in a way that just works and is endearing. It's often really hard to tell if he's serious or he's yanking the guest's chain as part of his shtick. For example, when Billy first joins Les on the stage, Les asks "Now, do you play guitar?". Billy could not have been more of a gentleman throughout the whole thing.


This one with Brian May is pretty interesting. It starts with Brian and Les doing a blues tune that sounds great. Brian doesn't really want to call the second tune, but Les urges him on. Then Brian, I guess wanting to suggest a true jazz tune more down Les's alley, suggests "C Jam Blues". Brian want Les to start the tune, but Les says "I don't know how it goes" (that is definitely Les yanking Brian's chain). Then after Brian plays the first few bars, Les asks "what key are you in?" (the answer is C of course, C Jam Blues). Brian struggles on the jazz tune a bit. Afterwards, Les says something like "that's alright Brian, you can't hit it out of the part every time".


Steve Miler brings a Fender strat to play with Les -- lot's of banter of course. Steve sounds great of the first tune. He was smart enough to just sing for the jazz tune (Nature Boy) given Brian May's experience.

 
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peterp1 said:
Les was also a massive pioneer in recording technology and (of course) guitars. He played every Monday night at Iridium in NYC for nearly 15 years until he passed away in 2009 at 94. A friend of mine and I kept talking about going to see him, but we never found time to do it. Although I know jazz going way back, I was too young (and clueless I guess) to have known Les's playing or really anything about him -- I just thought it would be cool to see the guy who invented the Les Paul guitar. So that's why we never made time to go. If I knew what a great player he was, and what a character he was in the Iridium gigs, I would have literally been there every week.

I only learned about Les from an older bass player that my son plays in a group with. He is very, very good friends with Les' lifelong luthier (the guy who helped do all the innovation in guitars -- though Les would also gouge out wood and do mods himself also). He knew Les also. Through the bass player, I learned what a monster player Les was, and also what a character he was. He has a million Les stories. Not only was Les great, he had a "who's who" of guitar greats that would stop by all the time on Monday nights and sit in on those gigs to pay homage to Les. Fortunately, there's a ton of YouTube videos capturing it.

Here's one with Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top). Les is just a total smart ass, but in a way that just works and is endearing. It's often really hard to tell if he's serious or he's yanking the guest's chain as part of his shtick. For example, when Billy first joins Les on the stage, Les asks "Now, do you play guitar?". Billy could not have been more of a gentleman throughout the whole thing.


This one with Brian May is pretty interesting. It starts with Brian and Les doing a blues tune that sounds great. Brian doesn't really want to call the second tune, but Les urges him on. Then Brian, I guess wanting to suggest a true jazz tune more down Les's alley, suggests "C Jam Blues". Brian want Les to start the tune, but Les says "I don't know how it goes" (that is definitely Les yanking Brian's chain). Then after Brian plays the first few bars, Les asks "what key are you in?" (the answer is C of course, C Jam Blues). Brian struggles on the jazz tune a bit. Afterwards, Les says something like "that's alright Brian, you can't hit it out of the part every time".


Steve Miler brings a Fender strat to play with Les -- lot's of banter of course. Steve sounds great of the first tune. He was smart enough to just sing for the jazz tune (Nature Boy) given Brian May's experience.

Click to expand...


Super share! :thumbsup: He was truly an Icon in the music industry.

Caught Les a few times in the past on the air waves, and he was a "card", even in his elder years. Full of stories, full of history, along with a "crusty" attitude, with memories to match!

Q
 
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peterp1 said:
I finally had a chance to watch this video and it's excellent. Probably the best live video I've seen that captures Terry's brilliance. I've seen Chicago several times live, post-Terry, and they always have a great guitar player, but nobody has come close on 25 or 6 to 4.
Click to expand...
Poem 58 is another example where Terry Kath's skills are up front and center.

 
Whomever posted Derek Trucks should have went with his solo on "Midnight In Harlem". They're all good, but here's my favorite -


My own favorite guitar solo might be Django Reinhardt on "I'll See You In My Dreams". Improvisation of the highest caliber, execution that dripped style. And the fella had only 2 functional fingers on his fretting hand.

Get some.

 
peterp1 said:
Les was also a massive pioneer in recording technology and (of course) guitars. He played every Monday night at Iridium in NYC for nearly 15 years until he passed away in 2009 at 94. A friend of mine and I kept talking about going to see him, but we never found time to do it. Although I know jazz going way back, I was too young (and clueless I guess) to have known Les's playing or really anything about him -- I just thought it would be cool to see the guy who invented the Les Paul guitar. So that's why we never made time to go. If I knew what a great player he was, and what a character he was in the Iridium gigs, I would have literally been there every week.

I only learned about Les from an older bass player that my son plays in a group with. He is very, very good friends with Les' lifelong luthier (the guy who helped do all the innovation in guitars -- though Les would also gouge out wood and do mods himself also). He knew Les also. Through the bass player, I learned what a monster player Les was, and also what a character he was. He has a million Les stories. Not only was Les great, he had a "who's who" of guitar greats that would stop by all the time on Monday nights and sit in on those gigs to pay homage to Les. Fortunately, there's a ton of YouTube videos capturing it.

Here's one with Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top). Les is just a total smart ass, but in a way that just works and is endearing. It's often really hard to tell if he's serious or he's yanking the guest's chain as part of his shtick. For example, when Billy first joins Les on the stage, Les asks "Now, do you play guitar?". Billy could not have been more of a gentleman throughout the whole thing.


This one with Brian May is pretty interesting. It starts with Brian and Les doing a blues tune that sounds great. Brian doesn't really want to call the second tune, but Les urges him on. Then Brian, I guess wanting to suggest a true jazz tune more down Les's alley, suggests "C Jam Blues". Brian want Les to start the tune, but Les says "I don't know how it goes" (that is definitely Les yanking Brian's chain). Then after Brian plays the first few bars, Les asks "what key are you in?" (the answer is C of course, C Jam Blues). Brian struggles on the jazz tune a bit. Afterwards, Les says something like "that's alright Brian, you can't hit it out of the part every time".


Steve Miler brings a Fender strat to play with Les -- lot's of banter of course. Steve sounds great of the first tune. He was smart enough to just sing for the jazz tune (Nature Boy) given Brian May's experience.

Click to expand...
When you say Brian May, do you mean the one from Queen or a different Brian May?
 
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