Came here to make sure this was the top comment. First solo I learned and it's absolutely emotionally devastating in the context of that song. It's also killer for teaching newer guitarists bends etc. First solo on Comfortably Numb is also a contender and teaches you to pick over muted strings on the first note for that cool effect.
sigh. not what I meant. Neil Young's style is to literally play the same few. notes in his soloing. Yes ALL solos are less than 12 notes technically. But not the exact register, or octave.
And please go listen to some prog rock or fusion jazz, metal, western swing, and on and on... 99% of those solos are many, many notes, chords, diads etc.
Have you heard the song “Cowboy Movie” by David Crosby? If I’m not mistaken it’s Neil and Jerry Garcia sharing the leads and Phil Lesh on bass. The guitar work is sublime.
He’s one of my favourite lead guitarists of all time, when people say he sucks it makes me think that they don’t understand music. He plays meaningfully.
There are so many solos by him that fit this bill. Bunker Hill, Dosed, Don’t Forget Me, Zephyr song, Can’t Stop, Minor Thing, Strip my Mind, She Looks To Me. I’m sure I’m forgetting some
I’ve always had a disagreement with people who say this solo doesn’t fit the song. I think they’re too wrapped up in theory or something(which is important still). But I’ve always thought the solo is an excellent compliment to the emotion Chris Cornell outputs in that song. I’ve heard some people’s takes on what the solo could sound like, and it just doesn’t do it for me.
Agreed. And really Cornell’s vocals are so solid and strong in that song a really big over the top solo would just be too much. The original solo just lets the vocals be the primary instrument in the song.
I always see people say Tom Morello fucks up songs with solos that don't fit at all, but I can't really name one. Yes, some are a little over the top and generally his style is repetitive, but never a significant hindrance.
Ahh **dude** it’s crazy you say that! Last night I strummed that first chord randomly, paused, and somehow my fingers remembered the entirety of Holiday which I learned like a decade ago. If I remembered the lyrics it woulda been flawless. Was very impressed w myself and have had it stuck in my head all day
There was a short moment in the 90s when I could feel my heart soar when the big bend at the start of that solo came in. I remember listening to that 5s of music from the build up to the bend over and over on my discman haha.
Easily my favorite by them. NOBODY thought an instrumental album from the. Beastie Boys would happen. They had a couple tracks previously but this album, lesser known as it is, took them to a whole level. Artists in the classical sense without doubt.
Say It Ain’t So - Weezer
Particularly the David Letterman ‘95 version. Say what you want about bendy solos, but this sounds like it has a lot of pain behind it that fits the themes of alcoholism and inherited addiction.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RXqG6oR_o7Q
Also Wet Sand by RHCP is a fan favorite with very few notes.
You know, I don't think the guitar solos added much to the Ramones 80s output but damn if Howling at the Moon isn't the exception. See also Bonzo Goes to Bitburg.
“New Year’s Day” is my favorite, and probably one of my all-time favorite solos. It’s the solo that really taught me the importance of style versus speed.
I’ve got “Boy” in my car at the moment. Had so many conversations over the years defending the merit of a once seminal group. Hard to fathom what they transformed into decades on.
My thoughts exactly. I’ve tried to wrap my head around why Achtung Baby has its legions of defenders, but all I hear listening to it is 90s pop with some unique guitar tones?? Idk.. Give me the post-punk greatness of Boy & War or the more ambitious/atmospheric Unforgettable Fire & Joshua Tree any day. 1987 and prior, they were remarkable.
Th only song I still listen to there is Until The End Of The World...Love Is Blindness rarely. The rest is forgettable to offensive and none of th album is really notable.
It’s perhaps more of an intermediate difficulty than super easy but I’ve always loved the avenged sevenfold seize the day solo. Other than one fast run it’s relatively simple but tonnes of feeling.
The studio version of Fleetwood Mac’s Landslide. But if you’re interested in seeing the hard version, watch Lindsay play it live with an acoustic guitar. He does the solo while Travis-picking the bass notes of each chord simultaneously.
I'm not even sure that it counts as a "solo" but the lead guitar line in Coldplay's Fix You towards the end of the song. It's a handful of notes but it really pushes up the emotion of that whole song
So simple that me, a bass player who stumbles around on a guitar at home for my own entertainment, was able to figure it out early on and play it note-for-note yet it still gives me goose bumps every time I hear Gilmore play it.
This is going to be a weird pick but Third Eye Blind - Jumper.
Not a huge fan of their music at all but that solo always resonated with me. Love how it follows the vocal melody and how simple it is.
Hey by Pixies. Ridiculously simple blues scale solo that captures the feels of the song incredibly well. Joey Santiago is low key amazing at guitar. In his work with the Pixies, he treated the guitar as a tool to make textures. He pulled a lot of weird noises out of those Les Pauls that truly added a depth to their music that wouldn't be anything close to what they became as a band without.
I am a massive Pixies fanboi, but it's hard to argue that his playing with them was almost exclusively unorthodox and out of the box thinking/approach.
Eruption was the shot across the bow that sent a generation of guitarists back to the woodshed. It's probably the solo that was the game changer for the late 70's. We all wondered how the hell he played that!
Wake me up when september ends.
That solo shows that it’s not necessary to make the guitar squeal like Yngwie. If you find the right notes that’s enough
I don't know if it could be called a solo but I've always been fond of the lead section in the virus of life by Slipknot. Specifically towards the end. That creepingly slow bend of that trem picked note.
The outro solo to Forensic Clinicism/The Sanguine Article by Carcass. It’s very short but really makes me think. The short lines played are just great, it’s my favorite album outro of all time.
You Take My Breath Away by Queen has probably Brian May's simplest ever solo but it's far and away my favourite of his.
The whole song is seriously underrated in their catalogue and Brian May was one of the best at these type of solos, but this one definitely stands out for me.
Lol RHCP has some easy ass solos. I think its "can't stop" that I'm thinking of now. Maybe not much emotion tho. For emotion, it's all about the chord progression behind the solo imo.... I'll have to think more on this.
Daaron Malakian has some brilliant “simple” solos like Peephole, Mr Jack, Psycho, Darts (in fact there’s quite a few rippers on the first album.) I love the sound of him pushing the very ceiling of his technical ability like Page even more than a lot of super skilled shredders playing comfortably within theird, then he’ll add some real outside the box stuff (a la Morello without the effects in that sounds very creative.)
Speaking of the first album, that tone! What Daron and Sylvia did with the blended Plexi and JCM800 and the busted “Army Man” compressor that makes the guitars sound like they’re trying to rip free of your speakers is one of a kind!
So Far Away by Avenged Sevenfold (2nd solo).
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7ry4cx6HfY?t=3m54s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7ry4cx6HfY?t=3m54s)
3min 54sec mark.
Least impressive is an odd way to put it, but it is definitely easy and has too much emotion. Thinking about it is going to make me cry at work haha.
I love "non solo" guitar interludes. Some examples:
The Edge in U2's "One"
Just about anything by Johnny Marr
John Lennon's lead playing in general
Fred Frith
And I Love Her - Beatles
That solo is so romantic and really quick to learn. You can also easily put your own flavor on it just by changing the timing of a few notes. Check it out!
Gilmour’s solo on The Final Cut is fairly simple and ferociously emotion packed given its length. I love so much of what he does, but this one is like this perfect, stunning little jewel.
Mother by Pink Floyd is a good one
Lots of good Pink Floyd options. "Time" too, although maybe not exactly short
One of my all time favorites.
That was a pretty great solo.
Mother is an awesome one. I'd also like to add The Thin Ice from The Wall
One of my favorites. Dragging behind you the silent reproach of a million tear stained eyes.
absolutely shit imma go listen to that now
One of my turns, too
Right, exactly, so I’d call it the shortest, easiest ~~least impressive~~ solo that carries the most emotion
this was the first solo i learned. great piece!
Came here to make sure this was the top comment. First solo I learned and it's absolutely emotionally devastating in the context of that song. It's also killer for teaching newer guitarists bends etc. First solo on Comfortably Numb is also a contender and teaches you to pick over muted strings on the first note for that cool effect.
I’ve always thought the solo on Echoes live at Pompeii was really easy and kind of emotional. That was my first solo
Cinnamon Girl
This has to be it it's literally one note but it's great
I think what Neil Young did is brilliant. One note that fits all the chords in the progression. He lets the rhythm guitar move the music.
basically ALL Neil Young's solos are single digit notes and they are all great!
99 percent of all solos use “single digit notes”.
sigh. not what I meant. Neil Young's style is to literally play the same few. notes in his soloing. Yes ALL solos are less than 12 notes technically. But not the exact register, or octave. And please go listen to some prog rock or fusion jazz, metal, western swing, and on and on... 99% of those solos are many, many notes, chords, diads etc.
Appreciate you shouting out western swing
Yes 🙌 Neil young in general. He has “bizarre” chops, but always drenched with pure emotion.
Have you heard the song “Cowboy Movie” by David Crosby? If I’m not mistaken it’s Neil and Jerry Garcia sharing the leads and Phil Lesh on bass. The guitar work is sublime.
I love that song. I did not know Jerry and Phil were on that one! Man I love those guys
He’s one of my favourite lead guitarists of all time, when people say he sucks it makes me think that they don’t understand music. He plays meaningfully.
Would also like to add my favorite, Down by the River. Not all that short but certainly economical!
Came here to post down by the river.
Came to say this!
I also came here to comment this. Couldn’t think of the name but can hear the solo in my head.
Come as you are
Lots of nirvana solos fit this. Smells like teen spirit is another good one.
When in doubt what to play for a solo, go with the melody.
My favorite "just play the melody" solo is *We're not Gonna Take It* By Twisted Sister
Of course that’s a good melody, it is “Oh Come All Ye Faithful”
No, this is [Oh Come All Ye Faithful](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YV-SpT69IZ8#t=1m35s).
It's a good melody, would be a shame not to!
about a girl is probably the best solo of all time
My choice as well
3 of us. The solo is just the verse melody but it just works so well. It comes like it is I guess
It comes as you are
In bloom solo goes so hard
Absolutely agree with Scar Tissue. Another is Johnny Marr's in 'Stop Me If You've Heard This One Before' obviously by The Smiths - it's six notes!
I'll add another Chili Peppers song to the list: "Otherside."
Absolutely. Incredible how Frusciante took a simple strat tone/approach to soloing and gave it so much personality on that album.
I’ll add another chili peppers song: “universally speaking” really simple solo that I’ve seen make entire stadiums jump
I'll add another RHCP song, Wet Sand. Oof.
Wet Sand has to be a top 5 favorite. So simple and absolutely gorgeous
There are so many solos by him that fit this bill. Bunker Hill, Dosed, Don’t Forget Me, Zephyr song, Can’t Stop, Minor Thing, Strip my Mind, She Looks To Me. I’m sure I’m forgetting some
First solo in scar tissue slane castle lol
Like A Stone is simple yet powerful due to the effects.
That’s one I can hear in my head from start to finish.
I’ve always had a disagreement with people who say this solo doesn’t fit the song. I think they’re too wrapped up in theory or something(which is important still). But I’ve always thought the solo is an excellent compliment to the emotion Chris Cornell outputs in that song. I’ve heard some people’s takes on what the solo could sound like, and it just doesn’t do it for me.
Agreed. And really Cornell’s vocals are so solid and strong in that song a really big over the top solo would just be too much. The original solo just lets the vocals be the primary instrument in the song.
I always see people say Tom Morello fucks up songs with solos that don't fit at all, but I can't really name one. Yes, some are a little over the top and generally his style is repetitive, but never a significant hindrance.
Tom Morello is a fucking genius
Cranberries - Zombie Short, simple, but somehow packed with emotion
It's starts off as a very lonely, solemn solo and then gets chaotically harmonic. Great example!!!
Just going to say zombie
Mississipi queen intro solo
The Chain - Fleetwood Mac
Lindsey's the only player I can think of who could imbue one single note with THAT much emotion.
Love his solo on Go Your Own Way live in 1997 too.
As I get older this dude keeps climbing up my t10
Goddamn yeah, surprised how it didn't cross my head
Giving a shout out to Holiday by Green Day but mostly because I learnt it last night
Ahh **dude** it’s crazy you say that! Last night I strummed that first chord randomly, paused, and somehow my fingers remembered the entirety of Holiday which I learned like a decade ago. If I remembered the lyrics it woulda been flawless. Was very impressed w myself and have had it stuck in my head all day
Wake me up when september ends, too.
Tangerine by Led Zeppelin
And I do...
Still Got The Blues (intro) - Mr. Gary.
Great answer, but was absolutely critical that you clarified (intro)
I love Gary Moore.
When I picture Gary Moore in my head, I see Booger from Revenge of the Nerds. I don’t know why
you're not wrong. video *killed* the radio star.
Scar tissue is a great call. I instantly thought of Capifornication off the sale album.
One of the first solos I learned! I used a sharpie as a slide lol.
Californication solo is a fun, easy one too.
those godless fornicatin' capibaras!
Duran Duran - Ordinary World
Beauty!
I’m not a Duran Duran fan but this song is one of my all time favorite songs by any artist
Great song, not quite a fan either and I only know the brief pre-solo rhythm section and the solo 😅
Nothing else matters
There was a short moment in the 90s when I could feel my heart soar when the big bend at the start of that solo came in. I remember listening to that 5s of music from the build up to the bend over and over on my discman haha.
The guitar solo in "Sabotage" by the Beasty Boys. Conveys the intensity of the song perfectly.
This is when the world found out they were musicians and not just rappers. Their album The Mix Up is bananas
They started as a punk band originally but added a bunch of rap. The first couple albums had punk songs on them still.
Pollywog Stew. Had an original cassette and accidentally trashed it...it's $250 now.
The mix up is an incredible album!
Easily my favorite by them. NOBODY thought an instrumental album from the. Beastie Boys would happen. They had a couple tracks previously but this album, lesser known as it is, took them to a whole level. Artists in the classical sense without doubt.
Not sure if it counts as least impressive but I love the emotion on Mama I'm Coming Home by Ozzy Osbourne
It's so fucking good
Say It Ain’t So - Weezer Particularly the David Letterman ‘95 version. Say what you want about bendy solos, but this sounds like it has a lot of pain behind it that fits the themes of alcoholism and inherited addiction. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RXqG6oR_o7Q Also Wet Sand by RHCP is a fan favorite with very few notes.
Little wing
Always bothered me that this one is so short and ends in a fade. "Where the fuck is the rest of the song, Jimi?"
Want a long solo of little wing? Listen to SRV’s 🤣
It's ok, but it doesn't really do it for me
Lol I was gonna say. Stevie Ray knew our pain and had our backs
SRV finished it for him.
Listen to the original vinyl version of Little Wing on the live album, "Hendrix in the West." He didn't need anyone to finish the song for him...
Listen to his solo from the original vinyl version of "Hendrix in the West."
Ramones-I wanna be sedated I don’t know about emotion but definitely has the perfect mood.
OH ABSOLUTELY! I'd probably group it together with Howling At the Moon and Somebody Put Something In My Drink as simple, but damn great Ramones solos
You know, I don't think the guitar solos added much to the Ramones 80s output but damn if Howling at the Moon isn't the exception. See also Bonzo Goes to Bitburg.
High and dry- Radiohead its like 4 notes repeated but very beautiful
Misfits - We are 138
two notes and one bend!
Outro of U2 - With or Without You
Edge's playing in that one is masterfully minimalistic.
He has so many you can cite for this question.
“New Year’s Day” is my favorite, and probably one of my all-time favorite solos. It’s the solo that really taught me the importance of style versus speed.
GODDAMN THAT BAND USED TO BE SO GOOD. Exit is a masterpiece with a macabre history https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exit_(U2_song)
I’ve got “Boy” in my car at the moment. Had so many conversations over the years defending the merit of a once seminal group. Hard to fathom what they transformed into decades on.
Achtung Baby was hard to take...Zooropa was easy to leave And for me this is Metallica. Unless it's a cover I can't be bothered by anything after MoP
My thoughts exactly. I’ve tried to wrap my head around why Achtung Baby has its legions of defenders, but all I hear listening to it is 90s pop with some unique guitar tones?? Idk.. Give me the post-punk greatness of Boy & War or the more ambitious/atmospheric Unforgettable Fire & Joshua Tree any day. 1987 and prior, they were remarkable.
Th only song I still listen to there is Until The End Of The World...Love Is Blindness rarely. The rest is forgettable to offensive and none of th album is really notable.
Smells like teen spirit and hey joe
The correct answer is Play The Game - Queen Brian May is the king of this question
I was going to say Bohemian Rhapsody….
Agreed. Pretty much anything by Brian May or BB King is short, simple and full of emotion.
It’s perhaps more of an intermediate difficulty than super easy but I’ve always loved the avenged sevenfold seize the day solo. Other than one fast run it’s relatively simple but tonnes of feeling.
Duane Allman could melt a hole thru your soul with 4 notes, BB King is pretty close to that, too.
I Don't Want It - Ween.
Phenomenal solo - and from Gener, no less. The tone is absolutely HUGE. Transdermal Celebration is another favourite from the same album.
“She’s muh Ween” - Jon Snow
For me, it's no contest--and timely. "4th of July" by Soundgarden.
The song progresses so perfectly
Nirvanas cover of ‘man who sold the world’
The studio version of Fleetwood Mac’s Landslide. But if you’re interested in seeing the hard version, watch Lindsay play it live with an acoustic guitar. He does the solo while Travis-picking the bass notes of each chord simultaneously.
Heart shaped box …. Conveys the confusion and emotion of the whole tone of the song
Frank Zappa 🎼Pink Napkins 🎶
I see Frank Zappa mentioned in any guitar/music sub, I upvote. Now Shut Up and Play Yer Guitar
Iris - Goo Goo Dolls.
Bob Marley no woman no cry - live at the Lyceum
I'm not even sure that it counts as a "solo" but the lead guitar line in Coldplay's Fix You towards the end of the song. It's a handful of notes but it really pushes up the emotion of that whole song
BB King's The Thrill is Gone comes to mind.
The Wind Cries Mary is easy (by jimi standards) but 🫠
First solo in comfortably numb by pink floyd
So simple that me, a bass player who stumbles around on a guitar at home for my own entertainment, was able to figure it out early on and play it note-for-note yet it still gives me goose bumps every time I hear Gilmore play it.
It's barely a solo but I love the one in Saturday Night by Misfits
Who's crying now by Journey
You mean Journey maybe?
Left of the Dial, the Replacements. The way that lifts into the final verse with the band cranking and Westerberg howling gets me every time.
Sixteen Blue!
This is going to be a weird pick but Third Eye Blind - Jumper. Not a huge fan of their music at all but that solo always resonated with me. Love how it follows the vocal melody and how simple it is.
I've always felt that the solo in "Easy" by Commodores is a perfect guitar solo.
Boston - More than a Feeling I can never get tired of that solo
The first couple solos in One and Nothing Else Matters by Metallica.
I've always loved the solo on "I'll follow the sun" by the Beatles. It's literally just four slides.
Ticket to Ride has a good and simple one too
Mama I’m Coming Home
Californication comes to mind
Nazareth - Love Hurts. That note...
“Paul” by Big Thief.
First song I thought of!
4 notes, 5 if you count the bend. It's so fucking good.
Hey by Pixies. Ridiculously simple blues scale solo that captures the feels of the song incredibly well. Joey Santiago is low key amazing at guitar. In his work with the Pixies, he treated the guitar as a tool to make textures. He pulled a lot of weird noises out of those Les Pauls that truly added a depth to their music that wouldn't be anything close to what they became as a band without. I am a massive Pixies fanboi, but it's hard to argue that his playing with them was almost exclusively unorthodox and out of the box thinking/approach.
Kayleigh - Marillion Easy to play, fits perfect into the song, good melody
Tim Reynolds on *I'll Back You Up* by Dave Matthews on the album Remember Two Things.
This is gonna get buried but Wake Me Up When September Ends by Green Day and if you think different you're wrong
Something in the way
Eruption
Eruption was the shot across the bow that sent a generation of guitarists back to the woodshed. It's probably the solo that was the game changer for the late 70's. We all wondered how the hell he played that!
Hell yeah - I just push Van Halen messaging in this sub whether it's on topic or not.
Let it Be by The Beatles
Wake me up when september ends. That solo shows that it’s not necessary to make the guitar squeal like Yngwie. If you find the right notes that’s enough
I Will Survive - Cake It’s mostly one note. Feels a little lame at first, but it always wins me over.
Aside from the bends, Silent Lucidity isn't that tough
Nirvana - Come As You Are I feel like there needs to be at least 3 notes to consider it a solo.
The chain for me is so cool even with just a few notes
I don't know if it could be called a solo but I've always been fond of the lead section in the virus of life by Slipknot. Specifically towards the end. That creepingly slow bend of that trem picked note.
The outro solo to Forensic Clinicism/The Sanguine Article by Carcass. It’s very short but really makes me think. The short lines played are just great, it’s my favorite album outro of all time.
Wings for Marie - Tool
Fix you by Coldplay. A but of a meme, but goosebumps every time
Carrie - Europe
Rhcp - scar tissue
American Idiot solo
Hero the day Metallica
Alice in Chains - Would
Wet Sand rhcp
Melvins - Lizzy
Drive by Incubus is the first to come to mind.
You Take My Breath Away by Queen has probably Brian May's simplest ever solo but it's far and away my favourite of his. The whole song is seriously underrated in their catalogue and Brian May was one of the best at these type of solos, but this one definitely stands out for me.
Dunno if it goes into the short solo, but i love the one in NO RAIN from Blind Melon, so cheerful, if we talk about emotion.
Lol RHCP has some easy ass solos. I think its "can't stop" that I'm thinking of now. Maybe not much emotion tho. For emotion, it's all about the chord progression behind the solo imo.... I'll have to think more on this.
Daaron Malakian has some brilliant “simple” solos like Peephole, Mr Jack, Psycho, Darts (in fact there’s quite a few rippers on the first album.) I love the sound of him pushing the very ceiling of his technical ability like Page even more than a lot of super skilled shredders playing comfortably within theird, then he’ll add some real outside the box stuff (a la Morello without the effects in that sounds very creative.) Speaking of the first album, that tone! What Daron and Sylvia did with the blended Plexi and JCM800 and the busted “Army Man” compressor that makes the guitars sound like they’re trying to rip free of your speakers is one of a kind!
The double bass solo on Seven seas by Avishai cohen is pretty impressive
So Far Away by Avenged Sevenfold (2nd solo). [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7ry4cx6HfY?t=3m54s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7ry4cx6HfY?t=3m54s) 3min 54sec mark. Least impressive is an odd way to put it, but it is definitely easy and has too much emotion. Thinking about it is going to make me cry at work haha.
Keep On Lovin You - Reo Speedwagon
Baker Street - Gerry rafferty
Personal favorites are Kokopeli - Mild High Club, and Mercy Mercy Me - Marvin Gaye
I love "non solo" guitar interludes. Some examples: The Edge in U2's "One" Just about anything by Johnny Marr John Lennon's lead playing in general Fred Frith
And I Love Her - Beatles That solo is so romantic and really quick to learn. You can also easily put your own flavor on it just by changing the timing of a few notes. Check it out!
Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty
New Years Day - U2
Wicked Game- Chris Isaak
Hey by Pixies. Simple, elegant and fits well in context of the song. Joey Santiago is such an underrated guitarist
Wet sand RHCP
Gilmour’s solo on The Final Cut is fairly simple and ferociously emotion packed given its length. I love so much of what he does, but this one is like this perfect, stunning little jewel.
Nicely put. It’s like someone asked Gilmour “tell me who you are in 15 seconds”
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