Top 20 Strangest Guitar Solos

[1-0-0-1-0-0-1]

 

[dream & vapour]

The words which popped into my mind upon seeing the theme of this Beato video were 'Kid' and 'Gloves'.  That solo is so angular and unorthodox, which makes it a personal favorite.  Rick selecting some other Alex solo for his 'strangest' theme was a slight surprise.  "Okay Rick, yeah, valid selection.  Points awarded."

 

Allan Holdsworth had to be in that mix.  He always had so much of that 'out there' playing style.

 

Alex Lifeson & Allan Holdsworth interesting factoid:  When Rush was visiting England in the late 70's, they attended a concert by the band U.K., in which Holdsworth was the guitarist.  Alex was duly impressed by the Allan's amps, asking about them after the show.  They were Marshall Club & Country combo amps (the 4140 2x12 model).  Alex went on to use Club & Country amps as his workhorses during the Moving Pictures and Signals recording sessions and tours.  (Selecting Club & Country amps might be considered an unorthodox choice, as they weren't exactly designed or marketed as a typical rock amp, such as the Plexi.  But that's another example of Alex charting his own course.)

[Mr. Not]

If I were to make one it'd definitely include Kid Gloves, which is also a top 10 Lifeson solo for me.. There's a thread idea. I was going to complain if Lifeson wasn't included in this vid, even though Cut To The Chase is one of the last solos by him I'd throw in.

 

That Painkiller solo kicks ass, so did the Megadeth one, I need to listen to them more. Same goes for Buckethead, considering I always complain that there's not enough quality instrumental music out there and that seems to be what Buckethead's dedicated his life work towards producing. 

 

I'm gonna plug Cardiacs like I always do, here's a very strange, and very prog guitar solo (embedded vid should start at the solo, but it's at 3:07):

 

 

[Entre_Perpetuo]

Good video. Rick doesn't make a ton that interests me anymore (Why Gen Z doesn't care about music???? Just from the title I don't want to hear it.  Either it's clickbait to get me to listen to a lecture about the importance of kids finding their own taste, which is something I already know, or this man doesn't actually interact with people in Gen Z before deciding he knows what they think), but this was entertaining and I agreed with a number of the choices. Especially Owner Of A Lonely Heart. When I was first getting into music, I read a blurb that described Yes' music as "angular," I think in reference to Chris Squire's bass playing. This was the next song I heard after reading that, and while I don't think "angular" is an incredible descriptor for a lot of Yes' output, it absolutely applies to the Owner Of A Lonely Heart solo, to a T!

 

His Lifeson pick was weirder than the solo itself, but any extra love for Cut To The Chase is welcome, though he got the date wrong (93, not 04).

[J2112YYZ]

How does the solo in Cut To The Chase not sound like Alex?

[Entre_Perpetuo]

1 minute ago, J2112YYZ said:

How does the solo in Cut To The Chase not sound like Alex?

I don't think Alex usually plays super fast and clean with that thick of a tone. He usually plays a little bit looser when he gets up to that speed, not because he can't play cleanly at that speed, but because it adds a bit more spontaneity and emotion to his solos. That opening lick to the CTTC solo sounds like he's been listening to Marty Friedman recently. I will say when I think about it more it's not surprising to me, because I know Alex is capable of a wide variety of techniques and colors with his instrument, but it isn't a quintessentially Alex lick there at the start. He's doing something a bit different than he normally would.

[J2112YYZ]

1 minute ago, Entre_Perpetuo said:

I don't think Alex usually plays super fast and clean with that thick of a tone. He usually plays a little bit looser when he gets up to that speed, not because he can't play cleanly at that speed, but because it adds a bit more spontaneity and emotion to his solos. That opening lick to the CTTC solo sounds like he's been listening to Marty Friedman recently. I will say when I think about it more it's not surprising to me, because I know Alex is capable of a wide variety of techniques and colors with his instrument, but it isn't a quintessentially Alex lick there at the start. He's doing something a bit different than he normally would.

 

I guess that's the difference between the musicians ear and one of a regular fan. I never thought of it as unusual. Just Alex doing what he does.

[Mr. Not]

2 hours ago, J2112YYZ said:

How does the solo in Cut To The Chase not sound like Alex?

i think it's his only solo that's nothing but shredding without pause, which makes it one of least 'strange' solos. as i said earlier i'd expect something like kid gloves to make the list instead. 

[condemned2bfree]

That's a great list. Love everyone on there really. Holdsworth is just the greatest for me tho. No one comes close. Rick was almost reaching for a replay. lol. Though Beck stumps too. Beato 's channel is tops.

[condemned2bfree]

I would have added Larry Lalonde tho. He's done many great unusual solos with Primus. Is It Luck? being a standout for me.

Edited April 29, 2022 by condemned2bfree

[treeduck]

I've just watched this and it's pretty much like a greatest hits of albums I own.

[ozzy85]

Lots of interesting stuff for me to react to. This guys usually puts out some interestind vids. Love his assement of John Paul Jones bass playing.

I agree with the comment about Cut To The Chase. Funny thing is I've been listening to Counterparts at work quite a bit lately.

Nice to see some Kim Thayil. I remeber in an interview he said he had a hard time with writing songs in 4/4 time. His mind is more tilted to 5's and 7's. Makes sense.

Love that Sails Of Charon even gets mentioned.

90125 is the album that got me into Yes when it came out. I started checking out some their earlier stuff and was surprised how different they were. Soundscapes. As much as I genuinely liked 90125, I accused the abrupt style shift as selling out to the 80's sound.

Didn't most solos sound that way on JP's Painkiller?  A couple of times it sounded like a sped up tape.

Smashing Pumpkins.... that one just sounded to me like something the Butthole Surfers would do.

 

Just a few initial thoughts.

[treeduck]

On 5/1/2022 at 4:52 PM, ozzy85 said:

Lots of interesting stuff for me to react to. This guys usually puts out some interestind vids. Love his assement of John Paul Jones bass playing.

I agree with the comment about Cut To The Chase. Funny thing is I've been listening to Counterparts at work quite a bit lately.

Nice to see some Kim Thayil. I remeber in an interview he said he had a hard time with writing songs in 4/4 time. His mind is more tilted to 5's and 7's. Makes sense.

Love that Sails Of Charon even gets mentioned.

90125 is the album that got me into Yes when it came out. I started checking out some their earlier stuff and was surprised how different they were. Soundscapes. As much as I genuinely liked 90125, I accused the abrupt style shift as selling out to the 80's sound.

Didn't most solos sound that way on JP's Painkiller?  A couple of times it sounded like a sped up tape.

Smashing Pumpkins.... that one just sounded to me like something the Butthole Surfers would do.

 

Just a few initial thoughts.

Vinnie Vincent was accused of tape speeding!

[ozzy85]

6 hours ago, treeduck said:

Vinnie Vincent was accused of tape speeding!

I tried to listen to a couple of his solo albums... not my kind of stuff. A bit silly.

[treeduck]

28 minutes ago, ozzy85 said:

I tried to listen to a couple of his solo albums... not my kind of stuff. A bit silly.

I like the first one it features the former Journey singer Robert Fleischman and it's got a lot of good songs. I don't like the second one because I hate Mark Slaughter's vocals, can't stand to listen to them at all.

[condemned2bfree]

Elephant Talk, King Crimson. Tho it's more that crazy sound. 

[Entre_Perpetuo]

9 hours ago, condemned2bfree said:

Elephant Talk, King Crimson. Tho it's more that crazy sound. 

Yeah actually no list of weird guitar noises is complete without Fripp.

[goose]

Funny, the first song that came to mind was Driven to Tears, and it kicked off the list.  

[custom55]

I always found Bird of Fire tough to listen to.   It's odd and chaotic.   A perfect soundtrack for a nightmare.

 

 

 

Edited May 25, 2022 by custom55