Posted on 03/27/2006 11:20:47 AM PST by Cagey
Led Zeppelin’s classic ‘Stairway to Heaven’ has been voted the best guitar solo of all time.
The rock behemoth fought off competition from Van Hallen’s ‘Eruption’ and Guns n Roses’ ‘Paradise City’ which were number two and three respectively.
The list was based on 2,000 votes in a poll conducted by Total Guitar magazine.
Magazine editor Stephen Lawson said: "Everyone loves to play air guitar when they hear the moment in a song where the guitarist rocks out."
The full Top 10 is as follows:
1. Led Zeppelin – ‘Stairway to Heaven’
2. Van Halen – ‘Eruption’
3. Guns N' Roses – ‘Paradise City’
4. The Eagles – ‘Hotel California‘
5. Metallica – ‘Enter Sandman’
6. Cream – ‘Crossroads’
7. Jimi Hendrix – ‘Voodoo Child’
8. Ozzy Osbourne – ‘Crazy Train’
9. Free – ‘All Right Now’
10. Queen – ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’
"Pure and Easy" is from Townshend's solo album from 1972 called "Who Came First".
Here are the songs rated by people on the web:
Pure & Easy - *****
Evolution - **
Forever's No Time At All - ***
Let's See Action - ****
Time Is Passing - *****
Heartache - *****
Sheraton Gibson - *****
Content - ***
Parvardigar - ****
http://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/pete_townshend/who_came_first/
And his mastery of minor scales helped as well, which isn't exactly common for a blues-based guitarist. (Brian May was another minor key monster).
I'm with ya -- a thorough grounding in the blues is essential for a rock guitarist, from acoustic (delta) blues to electric (Chicago) blues ....Charley Patton, Son House, Skip James, RJ, Elmore James, J.L. Hooker, The Wolf, Muddy, etc.
When I was in high school (in the late 70s) I didn't know a thing about any of these guys, even though I'd been playing guitar for about 4 years by then. One day I was browsing in a used record store in L.A. and an old guy who worked there recommended I get one blues album and one jazz album -- Robert Johnson's King of the Delta Blues and Miles Davis' Kind of Blue. ...and that was that -- I was hooked. Never got tired of listening to them, and always discovered new things I hadn't heard before. ....and still do to this day.
What about that killer guitar lead in "Cover of the Rolling Stones"?
For blues fans, "Rattlesnake Guitar: The Songs of Peter Green" is not to be missed.
http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=1160205&style=music&cart=323212622&BAB=M
So I checked out the link to Thompson.....and no offense and with all due respect..........NOT impressed. Go to Nashville and in any street corner bar you'll hear kids who'll mop the floor with 'im.
I say this as a blues/rock guitarist since 1968.
By the way......"Paradise City" contains pure crap for 'solo' work. Catchy song, but Slash's work on it is A-1 sloppy. Near the end as they try to kick it out at warp speed........he can't even keep up. Awful. How this dreck ever made such a list tells me a lot about the 'ears' of those voting.
Also......never heard anyone make a Les Paul sound so bad as Slash......
David's new CD is quite good.
I would be happy to burn it for anyone who needs it.
it's very Floyd.....Mother to WYWH
* saw Medlocke at the Ryman last month with the lads.....pretty sharp
Carlos Sanatana.....Trower-Mahogony Rush-Mclaughlin
Read the sign - No Stairway
Boy, you and me like a lot of the same stuff.
I haven't heard anyone mention Frank Marino and Mahogany Rush in years. I'm familiar with his stuff.
I thought Besk's Orange album was his best.
Stevie Ray is killer.
Tommy Bolin's "Teaser" is fine.
I had Trower's album "Twice Removed From Yesterday" before anyone around here knew who he was.
Etc.
Great minds think alike!..lol
btw..nice Sten and most importantly
lovely niece....with all due respect.
I was born in 57....nice timing to grow up with music that utterly overwhelms most of the dribble today.
Regards
Good choices
Good point -- and David Gilmour could go on that list too.
a thorough grounding in the blues is essential for a rock guitarist, from acoustic (delta) blues to electric (Chicago) blues ....Charley Patton, Son House, Skip James, RJ, Elmore James, J.L. Hooker, The Wolf, Muddy, etc.
Yep. Blues is where you learn the vocabulary to play rock. I've always thought Freddy King was a great source for cool blues licks that can be reused for rock playing. You mention Howlin Wolf -- Hubert Sumlin was another one with a lot of rock-ready blues licks.
I started playing guitar in 1990 when I was in highschool. I began with Zeppelin, Hendrix, and Clapton, then worked backwards into the blues. I've always liked that reverse deja vu experience you get when you listen to a blues album and hear a lick that Page or Clapton or whoever lifted almost verbatim (Sumlin's Killing Floor riff comes to mind). You really get a sense of where it all came from.
Red House...Hendrix
Crossroads...Clapton
Since I've Been Loving You...Page
Fast Life Rider...J.Winter
I'm Going Home...A.Lee
Repent Walpurgis...Trower(ProcolHarum)
One Way Out...Allman/Betts
Heartbreaker...Page
Come On Part I...Hendrix
The Clap...Howe(Yes)
Later generations of rock guitarists, on the other hand, learned to play not by listening to the original blues players, but by listening to the guys *who listened* to the original blues players.
The Faith isn't dead, just temporarily suppressed by modern trends. Cleaning carwarshes I witness truck-driving cowpokes, urbanite hippies and seemingly respectable young people listening to...(C)Rap. Thank you so much, MTV, for polluting our culture while turning your back on all of the great artists mentioned on this thread for an easy buck.
One other point: almost all of those musicians possess an understanding of classical music that is reflected in their work. I've yet to find anything of musical value in the bad poetry my ears have endured and do not understand why people subject themselves to a constant unmelodious assault of misogyny, misanthropy and worship of materialism when there's so much great music to listen to. The Democrats must be behind this! (Joking and half-seriously).
BTW: a few of my favorites are Zappa's "Pojama People", future Michigan Governor Ted's "Stranglehold", and the awesome work Randy Rhoads put into "Mr. Crowley" - a song with silly lyrics praising a totally evil reprobate. It was as if that young man knew his time here was limited and made his mark when the moons aligned.
Interesting list, but I would have rated "The Millionaire Waltz" as Brian May's best, and "Dogs" well above "Atom Heart Mother." At least some of these selections are interesting (a la "Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad").
Some honorable mentions that no one else will list:
"Rolling Down the Hill" -- Phil Solem (the rembrandts)
"Another Nail in My Heart" -- Glenn Tilbrook (Squeeze)
"Girlfriend" -- Richard Lloyd (Matthew Sweet)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.