Favorite guitarist and solo

Allan Holdsworth, Devil Take the Hindmost

Honorable Mention: Alex Lifeson, By-Tor & the Snowdog ("All the World's a Stage" version)

 

Guitarist: Eddie Van Halen. He did things with a guitar I had never heard before.

Solo: Ace Frehley, "Shock Me" or "Firehouse". What I like about Frehley's solos is the spacing he leaves between notes that make the solo more melodic and less of an exercise of let me show you how fast my fingers can go.

 

Another fantastic choice.

 

Just a few in no order:
Trey Anastasio
Frank Zappa
Tommy Emmanuel (as mentioned)
Michael Hedges
B.B. King
Billy Gibbons
Jeff Beck

 

Did you play...



The Obama pic is just in good fun. I could not resist.

 

Various Clapton songs, especially "Layla." I was at a Clapton concert in Seattle I believe in 1999. He starts playing this tune, not great, not bad, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out what it was. He holds the last chord and then breaks into "Layla." Pretty cool.
I also like Clapton's collaboration album with B.B. King from 2000. Title track is a great song.
It's too bad SRV died so young, the guy could flat play the guitar. Love his work on "Let the Good Times Roll," just imagine what he would have accomplished. I could see him doing killer albums with guys like Clapton.

 

This guy must be good judging by his "solo face."

 

I do not endorse the music of Toto, but Steve Lukather is a serious player who is well respected among players.

 

Jerry Garcia.

His solo on "Wharf Rat," from the Dick's Picks Vol. 3 (5-22-77, Pembroke Pines, Fla.) is absolutely stupendous.

 

I'm not saying this is the best, but Berton Averre of the Knack just freeking rocks during the My Sharona solo.

- 2:45 but the camera never shows his hands.

And so you can see what he was doing...

What the hell ever happened to these guys? Damn

 

It's impossible to pick just one, but one of my favorites is Blue Sky, by the Allman Brothers. I believe Duane Allman and Dickey Betts tag-teamed that one.

Others:

John Fogerty's work on CCR's version of I Heard It Through The Grapevine.

The outro to Back In Black, moreso than the solo in the middle of the song. (And Malcolm Young's rhythm part makes Angus' lead part even better.) It wish it didn't fade out so soon, though; too often idiot DJs start yapping over it when I hear it on the radio.

It's only about 15 seconds, and it may not be on anyone else's list of great solos, but I've always liked Rivers Cuomo's solo on Dope Nose, by Weezer.

 

I'm 95 percent sure Blue Sky was recorded after Duane's death. It was on the Eat A Peach album, which had live stuff (leftover from Fillmore East) and studio material.

"One Way Out" was on that album, however, and that was definitely Duane and Dickey.