SOLO FLIGHT
IF YOU’RE LOOKING for musical inspiration, Guitar Player is always a great place to start, and this issue is especially stimulating. Inside these pages you’ll find writeups on more than 100 exhilarating guitar solos chosen by our readers and a host of guitar greats, each of whom took time to reveal from one to five solos that have made a difference in their playing.
When we first set out to create this special issue dedicated to guitar soloing, we had a few expectations. Chief among them was that many players would choose a track by an artist named Jimi, Eric, David, Jimmy, Keith… and of course a couple of Joes and a few Steves. Fair enough, but we wanted to shake things up and discover what lesser-known inspirations lurk in guitarists’ hearts. So we asked our participating guitar stars to think outside the box and pick a solo or two that might surprise readers and even illuminate the work of lesser-known artists.
The result is a kitchen sink of tracks from across the eras and genres — from the soul of the Commodores to the outlaw country of Billy Joe Shaver… from the progressive rock of Ollie Halsall to the jazz of Philip Catherine.
Looking at the list, I found my favorite moments were when an artist called out a solo from another of our participants — such as when John Petrucci named Steve Morse’s Dixie Dregs cut “The Bash” and Steve Howe’s solo in “Yours Is No Disgrace,” from Yes’s live Yessongs. Or when Jake Pitts of Black Veil Brides revealed his appreciation for the playing of Paul Gilbert. It’s a welcome reminder of the intergenerational — and genre-crossing — influence that permeates our world and informs the playing of tomorrow’s guitarists. Most heartening was the strong evidence that some of our most cherished players — those who have been in these pages the longest, and, sadly, those who we’ve lost, like Allan Holdsworth and Leslie West — continue to resonate with guitarists today.
I’d like to give our sincere thanks to all the readers and guitarists who participated to make this such a special issue of Guitar Player. It dawns on me that this will be our final issue of 2021. Some 12 months ago, we launched the new year by asking many of the same guitarists in this issue what they were looking forward to in the coming months. Most were hopeful for a return to normalcy and touring. We’ve yet to get back to some semblance of our pre-Covid lifestyle, but venues have reopened, tours have returned and there are signs of life where not long ago lights were turned off. Go out, support music and keep the faith alive.