Best short guitar solos

[Doctor Jeff]

I may have posted this before, can't remember with the Alzheimer's and drink...

Anyway...

Any semi-proficient guitarist can do a long meandering guitar solo, given all the space to work with. It takes real skill, IMO, to do a short solo that grabs you by the b***s and pushes the song into classic territory. There aren't a lot of them out there frankly.

I'm going to throw out a couple I was thinking of recently, feel free to add others. No real criteria, other than should be less than 20 seconds.

Eric Clapton--After Midnight and In the Presence of the Lord. Sir Eric pretty much tore it up with these, surprising since he's also the master of the long meandering guitar solo (see Cream live albums).

George Harrison--also a master of the form, Something is the epitome of concise expression.

Paul McCartney--Taxman--yes he does play lead on some of the Beatles' songs.

Brian May--Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Killer Queen--great tones, unusually concise solos.

Chuck Berry--Johnny B. Goode and many others--there's a reason so many guitarists wanted to emulate him.

Scotty Moore--It's Alright Mama, Mystery Train--pretty much set the template for rockabilly guitar.

Others?

[MarkRhodes]

I think the solo on Steely Dan's "Peg" qualifies.

[Doctor Jeff]

Definitely pretty much any good SD song would qualify--Don't Take Me Alive, Kid Charlemagne, Ricki Don't Lose That Number, the list goes on and on. Fagen and Becker understood the value of a concise instrumental break. Even those are a little long compared to some on the list above.

Led Zeppelin is known for their instrumental excesses, especially in concert, but Jimmy Page does have some nice short work on the albums, including Fool in the Rain (super fuzzbox solo) and All My Love among others.

Let's not forget country. Luther Perkins, the guitarist with Johnny Cash, has many gems, including Folsom Prison Blue and I Walk the Line. Don Rich contributed some great work for Buck Owens. And pretty much every solo Doc Watson ever recorded is a 15-second miracle.

[cosmic gumbo]

Herman Pickles played the best dang 19 second polka guitar solo never recorded.

[rictroll]

Given this is a jazz guitar forum how about Charlie on Seven Come Eleven.

[fumblefingers]

Agreed about Steely Dan, their "catalog" is great.

[Dennis D]

Amos Garrett: Midnight at The Oasis ( Hope it's under 20 seconds ).

Absolute knockout ! As good as any solo. The song itself knocked me out w/ Maria Muldaur's singing - and then that solo.

And here I am 40 years later and I still can't play it.

[Hep To The Jive]

Angus- Shook Me All Night Long
Eddie Van Halen- Outta Love Again

having a hard time thinking of a short​ jazz solo!

[jasaco]

...George Harrison--also a master of the form, Something is the epitome of concise expression.

Don't forget that perfectly-formed little guitar solo on "Michelle"...

[Peter C]

Hendrix Wind Cries Mary. Probably longer than 20 secs. I've heard players who have learned his solos note for note, but they're nowhere near, not even Eric Johnson

[MarkRhodes]

Definitely pretty much any good SD song would qualify--Don't Take Me Alive, Kid Charlemagne, Ricki Don't Lose That Number, the list goes on and on. Fagen and Becker understood the value of a concise instrumental break. Even those are a little long compared to some on the list above.

I've been a Steely Dan fan since '72 and agree they have put out a plethora of killer guitar solos, but many of them are not short. "Reelin' In The Years" for example is about as much guitar solo as it is song! ;o) I think what makes the solo in "Peg" stand out is that the song is not guitar-driven and is a sort-of blues, so the solo is a full chorus but short, and the tone comes out of nowhere. The "Kid Charlemagne" solo is classic but I wouldn't call it "short."

[MarkRhodes]

Hendrix Wind Cries Mary. Probably longer than 20 secs. I've heard players who have learned his solos note for note, but they're nowhere near, not even Eric Johnson

I do love that solo. Actually, that's my favorite Hendrix song, period. I spent a lot of time with that solo as a kid and considered it a marvel.

[jkstigma]

Grand Slam by Charlie christian

is a must

[Patrick2]

IMO, this very shor and very simple basic guitar solo has more raw emotion and fits the song, melody and lyrics better than almost any other rock ballad I've ever heard.

The writer, the singer, the band, the producer, the engineers . . . they all just hit it way outta the ball park on this one!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...&v=zggSgIT0yd0

Now, to illustrate how two very good guitarists can perform the same solo, using the same notes . . and not tell the same story.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...&v=_kjAU4ZxSzo

[MarkRhodes]

Grand Slam by Charlie christian

is a must

For those unfamiliar with it (-or know the old CC tunes but not their names)

[ColMc]

I would rate the solos in Sultans of Swing.
The repeating lick at the end is almost perfect and it seems the whole song builds to it.
At the time, the whole punk thing was going down so an out of phase guitar sound was
a breath of fresh air.

[Dennis D]

I would rate the solos in Sultans of Swing.
The repeating lick at the end is almost perfect and it seems the whole song builds to it.
At the time, the whole punk thing was going down so an out of phase guitar sound was
a breath of fresh air.

Also applies to another Marc Knopfler's line / solo in 'Romeo & Juliet'.

[pingu]

love the "rock around the clock" solo
brian setzer solo on 'runaway boys'
anthony wilson live with dianna krall 'east of the sun'

[Stuart Elliott]

Steve Cropper "Green Onions"

Bill DeArango with Dizzy Gillespie at the beginning of the be-bop revolution played fantastic solos--short by necessity of the limits of 78s. Here's one:

[OOwl]

Junior Barnard at 1:07. Punctuated by a chesty Wills YEEAA!

[Fidelcaster]

Led Zeppelin is known for their instrumental excesses, especially in concert, but Jimmy Page does have some nice short work on the albums, including Fool in the Rain (super fuzzbox solo) and All My Love among others.

My favorite being his solo on Celebration Day.

Also among my favorites is Philip Catherine's wonderful short solo on the recording of Estate by Chet Baker's trio.

[Doctor Jeff]

Yeah, Mark Knopfler is just one classy guy. He improves everything he plays on. I remember when Sultans of Swing came out, 40 years ago this month, IIRC, and we were all blown away by the guy who sang like Blonde on Blonde Dylan and played like Michael Bloomfield. He has actually gotten better over the years, particularly his songwriting. Almost makes me want a Strat or one of those 20# National guitars.

[zdub]

Yeah, was going to second the Steely Dan post because there are tons of great songs with short solos. But in just about any poll, Garrett's iconic work on Midnight at the Oasis would rank near the tippy top of great short solos.

(And both suggestions are also "appropriate" for a jazz forum even if the context is not "strictly" jazz!)

[jbernstein91]

One of the best is this one by Billy Bean:

http://www.classicjazzguitar.com/alb...d_king_nep.mp3

[rkettner]

The solo in the dance tune, "Manic" from the 80's. I don't remember who played it but very tasty.