Like many rock fans from yesteryear after I heard Jimi Hendrix I fell in love with guitar solos. Whether it was Frank Zappa, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, David Gilmore, Carlos Santana, Angus Young, Joe Walsh, Johnny Winter, Keith Richards, Gary Moore, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Joe Satriani, Tommy Bolin or whoever rocks your boat. I wanted to play guitar after that but my parents didn't have much money so I never got one. I eventually ended up with the sax in high school because we had a music program back then.
One of the guitar solos that we used to talk about a lot when I was a teenager and before Steely Dan was Steely Dan came from their 1972 hit, "Reelin' In The Years." Elliot Randle's playing was clean, expressive, technical with not a wasted note in the entire piece and it was the real reason rockers like myself at the time loved the song. Listen to it today and it's still an impressive feat of musicianship so it got me thinking.
What are some of your favorite rock guitar solos of all time? I just chose a list of players from the 70's and 80's, but they can be from any time period.
Go for it and enjoy.
