10 best guitar solos of all time

With Eric Clapton announcing his permanent retirement from touring, now is a perfect time to hearken back on what may soon become a musical fossil: the rock guitar solo.

For five years, popular music has entrenched itself in the pop, hip-

hop and metal tributaries, where guitar solos - at least the discernible, melodic kind - are about as welcome as Monica Lewinksy at a Hillary Clinton campaign fund-raiser.

Most of today`s music fans can still remember the glory days of the rock guitar solo, when fingers blazed and ears rang. A great solo was vastly more than an excuse for the singer to have a drink and a groupie backstage during a concert. It was more than a way for a guitarist to show off how much tuition he paid at the Guitar Institute of Technology. A great guitar solo served a song. In fact, it lifted a song. And, in rare cases, it transcended it.

The following list comprises those rare cases. Probably the most contentious omission is Carlos Santana, who is obviously a talented, emotive guitarist. But, in my opinion, his problem is that he views songs simply as vehicles for overly drawn-out guitar jams. And where are "Freebird" and the like? I don`t happen to like Southern rock, and this is my list. So tough.

1. "Since I`ve Been Loving You" by Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin, 1970.

This is fingers-down the best rock guitar solo ever laid to tape. Beginning at 3:38 in this raunchy blues, it dances and snakes through the gaps in syncopation left by drummer John Bonham, running an emotional gamut from slow agony to angry bombast and back again. It then drops the dazed and confused listener off at 4:52, where it slinks back into the song`s main riff.

"Stairway to Heaven," the popular choice of Jimmy Page solos, is good, but way too polished, revealing little human emotion other than the obvious rehearsal that went into getting every note precise. "Heartbreaker" would rank about fifth or sixth on this list if it wasn`t so sloppy.

2. "Eruption" by Eddie Van Halen, Van Halen, 1978.

A good argument can be made for filling the remaining nine slots with Eddie solos. Measured in terms of skill, innovation and influence, the scorching Van Halen tunes, such as "I`m the One," "Little Guitars" and "Panama," are worthy of such exaltation.

But I`ve elected to represent Eddie with this 1:40 gem, actually a guitar solo without a song to go in. It`s where most jaws first dropped in awe at what Van Halen created and perfected by employing his picking hand to tap strings near where he frets them. This quadrupled the velocity possible with picking.

But speed isn`t the only feature of this solo. Not unlike the spokes of a car wheel on a freeway, it forms artistic patterns and swirls that take on a life independent of the constituent parts. And it gets more interesting with every listen.

3. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" by Eric Clapton, the Beatles, 1968.

George Harrison performed some great solos in his life, including the weeper on "Something" and the slide-guitar knife-stab punctuating John Lennon`s "How Do You Sleep?" Nevertheless, the quiet Beatle was not one of rock`s best soloists.

So when he invited pal Eric Clapton to play with his group, the degree of elevation was exponential. And never has any guitarist tailored a solo more perfectly to a song. The way Clapton plays it, his guitar actually does weep.

4. "Little Wing" by Jimi Hendrix, 1967.

Jimi didn`t play guitar, it played him. It forged a communications channel directly to his soul. Unplug it mid-riff and the guitarist might have flat-lined without a drug in his system.

This was his most inspiring solo, employing the soft trills pioneered by Curtis Mayfield in the `60s, but busting them wide open with a dizzy dose of psychedelia. (Note: Hendrix`s brilliant, unmatchable version of "The Star Spangled Banner" is not technically a solo, but a song played on guitar.)

5. "Comfortably Numb" by David Gilmour, Pink Floyd, 1979.

The brick holding up Pink Floyd`s "The Wall" album actually was this brilliant burst of guitar, so solidly original and melodic it sounds like its own separate song. (In fact, it was. Gilmour originally intended the chord sequence for a track on his first solo album in 1978.)

It is by far the premium example of Gilmour`s signature clean tone and spacey timing.

6. "Layla" by Eric Clapton, Derek and the Dominos, 1970.

Clapton is the only guitarist appearing on this list twice and, interestingly, both his entries have a George Harrison association.

"Layla" was an unrequited-love song secretly written about the Beatle`s then-wife, Patti, whom Clapton would later marry and divorce himself. Clapton`s solo is an electrical hemorrhage of the longing and guilt he must have reeled from at the time.

7. "Texas Flood" by Stevie Ray Vaughan, 1983.

This solo is a raging tsunami of fat, wailing notes, executed with equal parts prodigious technique and spiritual devotion. If there`s a heaven, something like this should be playing instead of that harp crud.

8. "Crazy Train" by Randy Rhoads, Ozzy Osbourne, 1981.

Of all the speeding minions of King Edward, only two have ever taken the Van Halen formula significantly further: Steve Vai and Randy Rhoads.

Vai is as technically good as anyone who`s ever played music. Yet he`s an anti-soloist, dotting his fretboard blitzes with dissonant jazz speed bumps reminiscent of his days backing Frank Zappa.

Rhoads, on the other hand, was a kid who really could have challenged Van Halen for the soloist throne, had he not died in a ridiculous plane wreck in 1982. This is his finest 28 seconds.

9. "Carol" by Chuck Berry, 1959.

Although lesser known than "Johnny B. Goode," this bit of Berry picking is worlds more interesting, chugging like a `57 Chevy as it turns through unexpected notes and descending scales. The Rolling Stones based their early career entirely on this one song (and never got it perfect).

10. "Something to Believe In" by C.C. DeVille, Poison, 1990.

You hate me for including this one. I know, I hate myself for it. But try to switch off your gag reflex and look for the "Flesh and Blood" CD. (There are plenty in the cut-out bins.)

This solo is among the most melodic ever cranked out, and it sings with fervid lament (and other big words no member of Poison would understand). Who knows, maybe DeVille didn`t even play it. A critic can always hope, can`t he?

(c)Copley News Service

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Author: Corey Levitan