MindCrime Posted October 17, 2009 Report Share Posted October 17, 2009 Guitar World did an article on the 100 worst guitar solos. Are there any others that you would add or any on the list that you disagree with? Click here to read what they had to say for each song 1. Poison - Guitar Solo 2. Blue Cheer - Summertime Blues 3. Carlos Santana - The Game of Love 4. Cream - Falstaff Beer 1967 Radio Spot 5. The Beatles - All You Need Is Love 6. Black Flag - Thirsty and Miserable 7. Ted Nugent - Wango Tango 8. Rolling Stones - Ain't Too Proud to Beg 9. Manowar - Sting of the Bumblebee 10. Lenny Kravitz - American Woman 11. Megadeth - Crush 'Em 12. Twisted Sister - We're Not Gonna Take It 13. Kenny Loggins - Danger Zone 14. Peter Frampton - Do You Feel Like We Do 15. Korn - Y'all Want A Single 16. David Bowie - Hang Onto Yourself 17. Def Leppard - Rocket 18. Britny Fox - Save The Weak 19. Roy Buchanan - Sneaking Godzilla Through the Alley 20. Metallica - 2x4 21. Buzzcocks - Noise Annoys 22. Blind Melon - No Rain 23. Smashing Pumpkins - Zero 24. Vinnie Vincent Invasion - Boyz Are Gonna Rock 25. Warrant - Cherry Pie 26. Faith No More - Epic 27. Poison - Every Rose Has Its Thorn 28. Green Day - Brain Stew 29. Iron Maiden - Fear Is The Key 30. B.B. King - Into the Night 31. Grateful Dead - Shakedown Street 32. Thin Lizzy - The Rocker 33. Kiss - Love Gun 34. David Lee Roth - Rankee Rose 35. Rage Against the Machine - Know Your Enemy 36. Molly Hatchet - Gator Country 37. AC/DC - Dirty Deed Done Dirt Cheap 38. Jackyl - She Loves My Cock 39. Bob Marley & The Wailers - Stir It Up 40. Limp Bizkit - Faith 41. Motley Crue - Looks That Kill 42. The Who - Eminence Front 43. Venom - At War with Satan 44. Offspring - Lightning Rod 45. Jimi Hendrix - Foxey Lady 46. Candlebox- Far Behind 47. Marilyn Manson - Cyclops 48. POD - Eternal 49. Godsmack - Moon Baby 50. Albert King - Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight 51. Nitro - Freight Train 52. Jefferson Starship - By My Lady 53. Lou Reed - Metal Machine Music [entire double album] 54. Bruce Springsteen - Bad Lands 55. Triumph - Lay It on the Line 56. Aerosmith - Walk This Way (live off of some bootleg) 57. The Cramps - Garbage Man 58. Journey - Faithfully 59. The Cult - Born to be Wild 60. Slipknot - Spit It Out 61. Living Colour - Cult of Personality 62. Stevie Ray Vaughan - Say What! (Live Alive) 63. Loverboy - Working for the Weekend 64. Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Rapid Transit 65. Slayer - Exile 66. Billy Joel - It's Still Rock & Roll To Me 67. The Rolling Stones - Sympathy for the Devil (live Four Flicks) 68. Tyrannosaurus Rex - Element Child 69. Ramones - This Ain't Havana 70. The Kinks - Welcome to Sleazytown 71. Sammy Hagar - Three Lock Box 72. Bob Dylan - Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn) 73. Dinosaur Jr. - Show Me The Way 74. Grateful Dead - Not Fade Away 75. Joan Jett & the Blackhearts - I Love Rock N' Roll 76. Kiss - Firehouse 77. The Firm - Radioactive 78. The Strokes - Last Nite 79. Whitesnake - Spit It Out 80. The Cure - Pictures of You 81. Nazareth - Hair of the Dog 82. The Replacements - Black Diamond 83. Joe Satriani - Cryin' 84. Pantera - Ride my Rocket 85. Blues Traveler - Closing Down the Park 86. The Beatles - If You've Got Troubles 87. Autograph - Turn Up The Radio 88. Dead Boys - Sonic Reducer 89. White Stripes - Offend In Every Way 90. Styx - Mr. Roboto 91. INXS - Need You Tonight 92. Ministry - Filthy Pig 93. Allman Brothers Band - High Falls 94. Eric Claptop - I've Got A Rock N' Roll Heart 95. Spin Doctors - Two Princes 96. Rosie & The Originals - Give Me Love 97. Disturbed - Down with the Sickness 98. Godsmack - Running Blind 99. The Replacements - Hootenanny 100. Michael Jackson - Black or White Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinkstones Posted October 17, 2009 Report Share Posted October 17, 2009 I see a lot of hair metal on that list. That said, I don't know what really constitutes a "bad" guitar solo. Too repetitive? Too short? Too long? I know what makes a good guitar solo IMO, but I've never thought about what makes one bad. I am a little disheartened to see Springsteen and the Beatles on that list, but hey.....everyone has an opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockyRaccoon Posted October 18, 2009 Report Share Posted October 18, 2009 I think it's strange that "Cult of Personality" is on there. I think that guitar solo is quite good. I think the question is what does constitute a good solo? I mean, is it a solo that requires a great amount of talent to play? One that musically is very good? I don't know. I think it varies. I mean, "Cult of Personality" isn't very musical of a guitar solo but it's not meant to be. It's just straight shredding. And "Do You Feel Like We Do" is 13 minutes long. It's pretty much all guitar solo. And it's not about the solo, it's about the talkbox. That was only the second time a talkbox had been used in popular music. It was invented for Joe Walsh for "Rocky Mountain Way" and was given to Frampton. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berjo1429030949 Posted October 18, 2009 Report Share Posted October 18, 2009 (edited) I think its more or less a joke unless that mag has really changed over the years. Although its been years when I quit collecting Guitar World and Guitar for the Practicing Musician mags, it was rare if at all that they did articles on negative guitar playing. If this is quite real, then I'll have to say the respect is gone. For example: 53. Lou Reed - Metal Machine Music [entire double album] - why on earth was that even mentioned? Does anyone know about this album? Take my advice - DO NOT PURCHASE NOR LISTEN! I don't see the reasoning why it was included. The people who do know this album would understand. 1. Poison - Guitar Solo - why pick on a live recorded guitar solo? 5. The Beatles - All You Need Is Love - the explanation that most are satisfied with is that George's guitar somehow was disconnected part way through the track. Or, the amp gave out. Or was it the guitar cord? lol, but it was a technical issue and NOT George's playing. 34. David Lee Roth - Yankee Rose - I'm not finding fault with this one but Steve Vai's playing was so influenced by Frank Zappa that of course that style and such just didn't sound right to DLR's tunes. Steve is a great player and I happen to really like this solo. I don't understand why they chose this one. 36. Molly Hatchet - Gator Country - this one was confusing. Just like the Allman Brothers, MH's guitarists tended to play similar solos in every other track. But why this one? This is one of MH's better tracks. I think these dudes are just naming prominent guitar bands and pulling tracks out of a hat. 61. Living Colour - Cult of Personality - as another poster already commented and I'd like to add, this track is ferocious. Yes, Vernon does a lot of hits and misses in those fast hammer-ons/pull-off runs but I'm pretty sure that that was the intention. 81. Nazareth - Hair of the Dog - Another 'talk box' solo. I think the dudes here just don't like that effect. 83. Joe Satriani - Cryin' - this one pretty well sums it up that if these dudes are serious, then they don't know a freakin' thing about emotional guitar playing. Man does Joe make his guitar 'cry' near the end. The song is called Cryin' dudes! 86. The Beatles - If You've Got Troubles - this is just a joke. It was never officially released until the Anthology but still, why would this even be included since the Beatles themselves felt it wasn't worthy for release? Those editors have no idea. Again, it could be all a list in jest. 97. Disturbed - Down with the Sickness - I don't even think there is a guitar solo. Well, that's enough. Edited October 18, 2009 by Guest A cuss word snuck in under the radar. Sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindCrime Posted October 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2009 Excellent input guys 45. Jimi Hendrix - Foxey Lady - This isn't his worst solo, nor should any of his work be that high on this list. 62. Stevie Ray Vaughan - Say What! (Live Alive) - this track is too high on the list, given the amount of lacking effort that placed lower on this particular list. It was mostly experimental and nothing to be taken seriously where quality studio recording and production are concerned. I may get flamed for this, but Heartbreaker by Led Zeppelin should probably have been mentioned. I don't know if it's Top 100 worst, but there is a string of clear mistakes on Page's part around 3 minutes into the song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockyRaccoon Posted October 20, 2009 Report Share Posted October 20, 2009 I may get flamed for this, but Heartbreaker by Led Zeppelin should probably have been mentioned. I don't know if it's Top 100 worst, but there is a string of clear mistakes on Page's part around 3 minutes into the song. He was playing so many notes so fast. The fact that he has the ability to play like he did on that solo I find incredible in and of itself. I think that guitar solo is one of the greatest. I mean, it really was one of the first times that someone played THAT fast. I mean, it had been done before but, especially live, that solo is incredible. And, it inspired Eddie Van Halen to use finger tapping and we all know where that got him and the finger tapping technique. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueAngel Posted October 22, 2009 Report Share Posted October 22, 2009 Perhaps it would have been better to provide a little more criteria as to what a bad solo is exactly. Besides obviously bad playing it seems to be about as subjective as most other aspects of music varying with one's taste. You could argue many throwaway/filler/novelty songs from most guitar bands have sub-par solos though I'm not sure exactly how you would rank them. Live takes probably shouldn't count and as for the technical mistakes only obvious to a few, a solo is what it is, it can still sound alright despite these errors. I'm not the biggest fan of guitar solos in the first place especially not long or overwrought ones (though there are exceptions). There are a quite few I really like but I can take or leave most of them. 5. "All You Need Is Love" – The Beatles: I don’t know about the technical problems but I kind of like the way the guitar fades into the orchestration, the parts of which (horns, strings etc.) are much bigger components of the song than the guitar anyway. 21. "Noise Annoys" – Buzzcocks: I will argue this song was meant as sort of a joke. And although it may be one of their lesser songs, I don't find anything wrong with it or the solo; it is what I would expect in a song from a genre that tends toward a more raw, forceful , irreverent (and sometimes more dissonant) sound. 22. "No Rain" – Blind Melon: Dry and insufferable, really? I think it’s a nice little solo for a nice little song. 23. "Zero" – The Smashing Pumpkins: Not exactly a favourite of mine but are these writers not familiar with context? Were they expecting an uplifting, melodic, straightforward solo in a somewhat grating, vicious song about feeling like your nothing? 28. "Brain Stew" – Green Day: Actually one of the few Green Day songs I like. I guess the "solo" they’re referring to is the fade out? Their main objection seems to be that they borrowed the riff from Chicago and maybe they have a point since NO other band has EVER made use of a piece of another band’s song and clearly Armstrong is to blame for this whole sampling debacle that has produced nothing of value /sarcasm. In my opinion they make better use of it anyway so who cares? 35. "Know Your Enemy" – Rage Against the Machine: Okay they’re admitting it’s a great solo so logically they decide to put it pretty high on a worst solo list. They try to explain away the incongruity by saying it has nothing to do with what's going on in the song. What kind of solo would have to do with what's going on? Heaven forbid Morello should try something a little different in the solo. (He is one of the few guitarists whose work and style I actually find interesting just on its own.) 80. "Pictures of You" – The Cure: This is one of the best, most definitive Cure songs, so obviously these people simply don’t like the Cure and their particular sound. Still, it shouldn't be on this list. On the other hand, I’m pleasantly surprised Oasis didn’t make the list considering how much people especially *cough* professionals like to disparage them, particularly Noel as a guitarist (most of the time probably with good cause but y'know we all have our favourites despite sound criticism ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindCrime Posted October 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2009 35. "Know Your Enemy" – Rage Against the Machine: Okay they’re admitting it’s a great solo so logically they decide to put it pretty high on a worst solo list. They try to explain away the incongruity by saying it has nothing to do with what's going on in the song. What kind of solo would have to do with what's going on? Heaven forbid Morello should try something a little different in the solo. (He is one of the few guitarists whose work and style I actually find interesting just on its own.) I agree, that's about what I was thinking when I read what they had to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockyRaccoon Posted October 23, 2009 Report Share Posted October 23, 2009 I think the solo in "Faithfully" is a very nice solo. It suits the song very well. Just cause it's not an unbelievable shredfest doesn't mean it's a worthless solo. You have to take the music where it needs to go and I think Neil Schon did that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuzikTyme Posted October 25, 2009 Report Share Posted October 25, 2009 worst guitar solo... Hmmm I've devoted my life trying to mimic the best one! The worst guitar solo is most likely Nirvana's "Smells like teen spirit"...all it is note for note the lyrics, unbecoming to a lead guitar solo, IMHO. I could be wrong, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumboXL Posted October 26, 2009 Report Share Posted October 26, 2009 The Final Countdown, by Europe, has a guitarsolo that has nothing to do with the rest of the song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steel2Velvet Posted October 27, 2009 Report Share Posted October 27, 2009 May have been intentional (and it does come off as funny) but the solo during Cover Of The Rolling Stone by Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockyRaccoon Posted October 28, 2009 Report Share Posted October 28, 2009 I'm pretty sure that was intentional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c_s_1987 Posted November 8, 2009 Report Share Posted November 8, 2009 (edited) I'm actually disappointed they didn't include Wind Up by Jethro Tull on the list. The boring and pretty odd sounding solo is clearly the worst part of an otherwise brilliant song. I should point out that it is actually the "100 Worst Riffs, Licks & Solos Of All Time", which explains why they included some songs that don't actually have solos. Edited November 8, 2009 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farin Posted November 8, 2009 Report Share Posted November 8, 2009 That reminds me of something I wondered when I read the Tom Johnston interview: what's the difference between a 'riff' and a 'lick'? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c_s_1987 Posted November 9, 2009 Report Share Posted November 9, 2009 I've always though that riffs are always repeated many times in the song, whereas licks are short guitar lines that aren't necessarily repeated. Not sure if I'm right, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farin Posted November 9, 2009 Report Share Posted November 9, 2009 hmm... could you give an example? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLizard Posted November 9, 2009 Report Share Posted November 9, 2009 Chris is right. Riffs are repeated, licks aren't. When I think of riffs, I think of just about any AC/DC song. The repeated chords are riffs. Any little fills that aren't repeated are licks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farin Posted November 9, 2009 Report Share Posted November 9, 2009 I see... I think, thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim in Pa Posted November 27, 2009 Report Share Posted November 27, 2009 Supprized they didnt mention "You really Got me", the Kinks. It sounds terrible, but that was by design. Ray Davies got Jimmy Page to play the solo since Jimmy was talented enough to make it sound rough and out of control on purpose. I think it was genius. But the rocket scientists from that rag didnt notice this one. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now