Trevor Rabin
And You & I
Yes
Hard to believe that over 150 posts made it before Yes was mentioned, but still no Steve Howe. Like Steve Morris, Steve Howe was one of Guitar Player Magazine's Guitarist of the Year for many years in a row, and in fact, I believe that he was the first inductee into GP's "Gallery of Greats," where you get taken out of the running once you've won so many times, to give other people a chance!
Anyway, Steve Howe is quite a multifaceted guitarist, and plays many different styles. There are a number of terrific guitar solos that he's done, but he's not really known so much for solos.
One that is AMAZING is the guitar part from "Awaken" on "Going for the One," which is even more amazing when you learn that it was played on a 12 string guitar.
While not a "solo" per say, his guitar parts on the Yes cover of Simon & Garfunkle's "America" (be sure to listen to the longer album version, not the "single" version, which cuts out about 1 minute or 2 of Steve's guitar playing). His playing on that song is really something, and in fact when you listen to their version and S&G's version, just wow. They REALLY did something special with the song. It's NOT just a cover.
Two of his best known solo acoustic pieces are "Clap" from "The Yes Album" and "Mood for the Day" from Fragile. A fun guitar part is on "South Side of the Sky" from Fragile as well, which gives Steve a chance to rock out a bit. And "Don't Kill the Whale" has a bit of fun rock guitar in it as well.
Mark
I agree, Steve Howe should be mentioned here. I started to post to that effect, but then I watched a video of “And You & I” before posting, I realized it wasn’t Howe that played my fav, but is actually Rabin.
The part I love starts about 4:45 on this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jVPH4Rmq8k
How the heck did I miss Steve Howe?
Starship Trooper
Perpetual Change
If you want to see a live version of their take on the song, check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS2FUW7UkR0&feature=related
Steve Howe is remarkable on this song.
Mark