# Favorite - ultra ultra short - guitar solos **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 4, 2013, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-ultra-ultra-short-guitar-solos/662610 "2013-07-04T03:32:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2013, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-ultra-ultra-short-guitar-solos/662610/81 "2013-07-08T05:04:53Z")
The OP picked it right, Elliot Easton is the king of saying what he has to say and getting out of there. If “Shake it up” comes on the radio, I might change the station after the solo, but I’m hearing that solo. After I realized that, I was sad that I had nothing off the top of my head to contribute. I’m a guitar player, but I don’t think most solos are necessary at all. If the guitar solo doesn’t move the song forward, it should probably have been omitted. As was mentioned upthread, the solo break from “Whole Lotta Love” completely moves the song back into the riff. If the solos aren’t of that type, I’m probably not crazy about it. If I really like a solo, the song is usually all solo, and the rest of the song is completely devoted to building that solo. Then, I realized that my favorite solo in a Tom Waits song (and possibly my favorite solo, period ) completely qualifies. The first time I heard [“Telephone Call from Istanbul”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6g8eRnks9bM), when the guitar solo started, it was an ecstasy like being on drugs. It’s just so _bent_. I’ve listened to many versions of this song played by Marc Ribon, and as far as I can tell, they’re all improvised, but they’re all _that_ solo. It’s always bluesy, jazzy, and atonal. I’d like to know the rules he constructs them all by (if any), but I haven’t figured that out yet. Even in the slow version on _Frank’s Wild Years_ clocks in at 28 sec, but the linked version on the album version of Big Time, and most of them, clock in at about 22 sec. The sax and bass solos both clock in at about 21 sec, and they’re both great. Trust me on the bass solo. I’m a bass player that thinks a bass solo usually verges on an unforgivable sin. That one makes me want to jump up and do interpretive dance. Marc Ribon has other examples of gorgeous solos that are short. [“Yesterday is Here”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YagKlrz_5a0) is another. But “Telephone Call from Istanbul” still wrings my brain out. Nels Cline’s channeling Roger McGuinn for 23 seconds in the Geraldine Fibber’s [“California Tuffy”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2Mm1DY-t5o) makes me think I like guitar solos more than I think I did. Maybe they just have to be short? ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2013, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-ultra-ultra-short-guitar-solos/662610/82 "2013-07-08T05:33:10Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > The first time I heard [“Telephone Call from Istanbul”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6g8eRnks9bM), when the guitar solo started, it was an ecstasy like being on drugs. It’s just so _bent_ **scabpicker** , I just listened to this solo like 8 or 9 times and it really is _so_ bent and so perfect for that song, and so short that it’s bentness is hard to grasp. I cannot even put my finger on what’s great about it. Every time I listen to it, I nod along for a bit, hmmm, yeah… that was nice… then just bust a huge grin about 3/4 through. I don’t even know why! I love it and I’m really not even sure _why_ I do. I think it’s because it keeps lunging toward atonality, like it’s teasing you, and never _quite_ takes the plunge, and lunges back toward the melody at the last moment – phew! Safe again. But there’s more than that and I can’t quite analyze it in a few listenings. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2013, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-ultra-ultra-short-guitar-solos/662610/83 "2013-07-08T11:50:18Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Yep - the slop in Page’s Whole Lotta Love solo is the equivalent of Merry Clayton’s voice breaking when she is belting the Rape, Murder break in Gimme Shelter - only adds to the emotion and power as they try to keep it together and don’t quite succeed. > > ETA: I hate thread-shitting, and really try to avoid it, and understand when folks dismiss threadshitters, even when they have something to say. I just struggle with the inclusion of _any_thing by Big Brother and the Holding Company - I am a San Franciscan and Northern California boy down to my bones, but man, they were mediocre musicians at best - easy to see why Janis moved on. Sorry, **JKellyMap**. No worries! I agree entirely. Terrible, terrible musicians. I cringe when I hear that awful solo in “Summertime,” for example. Which is why I was really surprised that the lead-in to “Piece of my Heart” is so good. And your analogy between Page and Clayton at their “breaking points” is right on. I think of moments when Michael Jordan would push some move or play just a little beyond the pale, and somehow keep it together and make the shot just as everything seemed like it was starting to unravel. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2013, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-ultra-ultra-short-guitar-solos/662610/84 "2013-07-08T14:03:49Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > No worries! I agree entirely. Terrible, terrible musicians. I cringe when I hear that awful solo in “Summertime,” for example. Which is why I was really surprised that the lead-in to “Piece of my Heart” is so good. > > And your analogy between Page and Clayton at their “breaking points” is right on. I think of moments when Michael Jordan would push some move or play just a little beyond the pale, and somehow keep it together and make the shot just as everything seemed like it was starting to unravel. All good - and yeah, that sports analogy fits - Jordan was amazing that way; kinda like that play from Eli Manning to David Tyree to beat the Patriots for the first time - a lot of slop, but they somehow pulled it off. My favorite line from Eddie Van Halen was an interview where he said that his goal was to sound like he was falling down the stairs but somehow landed on his feet. I love that. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2013, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-ultra-ultra-short-guitar-solos/662610/85 "2013-07-08T17:10:13Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > **scabpicker** , I just listened to this solo like 8 or 9 times and it really is _so_ bent and so perfect for that song, and so short that it’s bentness is hard to grasp. I cannot even put my finger on what’s great about it. And the crazy thing is, he can do it over and over again, it seems. For the movie, they recorded at least 3 different performances of that song. Like I said earlier, they’re all very different, but they’re still that kind of solo. The one that’s used in the movie is probably my favorite one. The audio is variable due to the movie context [but it’s still damn good.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-t9z8OLoCg) Through looking up the different versions of that solo and his other work over the last day, I’m starting to think that Marc Ribot is probably the most underrated guitarist that I know of. Heck, I knew about him, and I didn’t appreciate him enough yesterday. Great thread, **squeegee**. I need to go order some records now. ---
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2013, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-ultra-ultra-short-guitar-solos/662610/86 "2013-07-08T17:13:26Z")
Does Glenn Tilbrook’s solo in Squeeze’s Another Nail in My Heart qualify? (Starts at 0:51). More as I think of them… ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2013, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-ultra-ultra-short-guitar-solos/662610/87 "2013-07-08T17:38:09Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > All good - and yeah, that sports analogy fits - Jordan was amazing that way; kinda like that play from Eli Manning to David Tyree to beat the Patriots for the first time - a lot of slop, but they somehow pulled it off. > > My favorite line from Eddie Van Halen was an interview where he said that his goal was to sound like he was falling down the stairs but somehow landed on his feet. I love that. Sadly I think anymore EVH is just falling down the stairs… ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2024, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-ultra-ultra-short-guitar-solos/662610/88 "2024-03-10T02:16:51Z")
My favorite is Cross Eyed Mary by Jethro Tull. 10 seconds long, but it _sounds like_ a much longer solo. Partly because it is preceded by a 10 second long flute solo, but also because the guitar gets right down to business with the note bending: it almost sounds like the guitarist was almost angry at how eager they were to start picking. Then, having quickly packed a full length solo into 10 seconds, they stop because they’ve said what needed to be said. Flute solo starts at 2:29, guitar solo starts at 2:39 [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Tvt6lyiDwQc/hqdefault.jpg "Jethro Tull - Cross-Eyed Mary") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tvt6lyiDwQc) ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2024, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-ultra-ultra-short-guitar-solos/662610/89 "2024-03-10T07:25:54Z")
**The Byrds** _Eight Miles High_ Has that little ‘diddle diddle diddle’ for a couple seconds. My friend always said, _“They put that part in to piss off your parents”._ I miss that guy. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2024, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-ultra-ultra-short-guitar-solos/662610/90 "2024-03-10T10:47:14Z")
Re: Aerosmith: I always thought that Joe Perry’s series of three solos, each lasting four bars (about six seconds) ~three minutes into “Dream On” were brilliant examples of ‘less is more’, and constrast with Tyler’s vocals. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2024, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-ultra-ultra-short-guitar-solos/662610/91 "2024-03-10T13:20:03Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > The Police [Driven to Tears](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuoOSGkX7no). Andy Summers delivers (starting at 1:41) 12 seconds of irritation just right for the song. Controlled and angry, just like the song This is my answer today. I guess I wasn’t as intimate with the Police’s work ten plus years ago, but this has been my favorite for years now. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2024, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-ultra-ultra-short-guitar-solos/662610/92 "2024-03-10T13:49:55Z")
As soon as someone says “short guitar solos,” I think of Richard Thompson. His solos on his studio work tend to be short and unpredictable. I’ve always particularly admired his solo on “You Don’t Say” from **Across A Crowded Room**. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2024, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-ultra-ultra-short-guitar-solos/662610/93 "2024-03-10T15:09:17Z")
The first one I thought of was Pete Townshend’s solo toward the end of “I Can See For Miles”. Same note played over and over. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-ultra-ultra-short-guitar-solos/662610.md?page=4)