solos, collectivised (not-so-slight return)
the mighty Woebot wonders:
why no mention of this chap?
eric clapton's "slunky"
-from 1:26 to (gasp) 3:34
i was determined for this to be A Clapton Free Zone and YouTube's on my side as that one is Not Available in Your Country
the mighty Tim Finney
I love the solo in "Gypsy" for this very reason, it's sorta like The Edge isn't it. The (grittier but more insane and just "how can this tune possibly get better") solo in "Eyes of the World" also magnificent.
Not sure if it's a solo in the classic sense perhaps but I love the guitar in the final minute or so of The Blue Nile's "The Downtown Lights" for similar reasons as in "Gypsy", a kind of focal point for the amassed ecstaticness constantly billowing around it.
Whereas definitely solo hall of fame worthy is the similar sounding but way more extravagant guitar work in Disco Inferno's "The Long Dance" (esp. this longer version rather than the normal "The Last Dance") and even more extremely the universe-dissolving two minute solo in "Second Language". People always forget how brilliant Disco Inferno's guitar work was during this period (less solo-ish but see also "Sleight of Hand").
Jake Pilikian:
I have genuinely always loved to air-guitar along to Curt Kirkwood's one-minute, one-note solo that kicks in at 2.05 on 'Maiden's Milk'. I've never been able to (or never wanted to) use my ear to disentangle the endless burbling thickets of guitar that wind so beautifully around the whole album... They make me feel either that the band contains a hundred guitarists or that the whole record is one long wondrous solo, so it's wildly exciting to hear him STOP soloing and break out a whole minute of one perfect repeated, ringing note. I'm always gripped by the fact that the note very occasionally clips entirely away, I think two or three times it's swallowed by some kind of harmonic and breaks off. Every time I hear it I know exactly when it's going to happen. It only adds to the dry humour and breathless drama of it all. It's solo as pause for breath after hiking to the top of the world.
Meat Puppets, how could I forget? Dozens of candidates here: the billowing sandstorm whoosh of "Split Myself In Two", the peals and forked lightning of "Aurora Borealis", the orgasm's orgasm fluttery shivered Verlaine-isms of "We're Here" and I've only got to the end of Side One of Meat Puppets II...
Roberto Nascimento:
Steely Dan - Haitian Divorce
Beautiful talk box solo by this session guy Dean Parks...
Hendrix - Hey Baby (Live in Maui).
This just drips with poetry.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
meanwhile:
AJ Ramirez pitches in at Pop Matters
yes about time Prince was mentioned, "Purple Rain" at Wembley in I think 1988 caused tears to roll down my cheeks at the sheer sky's-ablaze splendor
W Kasper, with some more more unusual selections: Dirty Projectors and George Benson
talking of great jazz guitarists who went MOR, did you know that Gallic dreamboat Sacha Distel was a very accomplished and well-regarded jazz guitarist?