# New candidate for worst solo ever on any instrument **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 27, 2019, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-candidate-for-worst-solo-ever-on-any-instrument/840911 "2019-09-27T14:25:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-candidate-for-worst-solo-ever-on-any-instrument/840911/1 "2019-09-27T14:25:20Z")
[Great imagination on this one](https://twitter.com/galgracen/status/1176740969988800513). In the category of Not Quite Taking Ourselves Seriously, [the guitar solo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hcZ4s9cvpw&t=1m8s) on the Bonzo Dog Band’s “Canyons Of Your Mind” remains a favorite. ---
**Author:** ![squidfood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@squidfood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squidfood)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-candidate-for-worst-solo-ever-on-any-instrument/840911/2 "2019-09-27T14:30:34Z")
Well, car horns _are_ notoriously difficult to play. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-candidate-for-worst-solo-ever-on-any-instrument/840911/3 "2019-09-27T15:24:18Z")
I vote for the [guitar solo](https://youtu.be/4xmckWVPRaI?t=179) on Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It.” He somehow made that expensive guitar sound like a Casio in a garbage can. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-candidate-for-worst-solo-ever-on-any-instrument/840911/4 "2019-09-27T16:31:16Z")
Man, I’m still going to have to give it to the Edge in _I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For_, a song when you listen to it, it… it… it does this: breaks to the guitar solo part … you wait… … you wait some more… … The Edge, apparently realizing he’s on, plays four notes, three of them the same (I think)… … a pause… … two notes… … more pausing… … three notes… “I believe in the Kingdom come…” I mean, yeah, there are worst solos by incompetent guitarists, but still… this was a number 1 song, Edge! You could’ve tried! ---
**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:** [September 27, 2019, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-candidate-for-worst-solo-ever-on-any-instrument/840911/5 "2019-09-27T16:37:57Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Man, I’m still going to have to give it to the Edge in _I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For_, a song when you listen to it, it… it… it does this: > > breaks to the guitar solo part > … you wait… > … you wait some more… > … The Edge, apparently realizing he’s on, plays four notes, three of them the same (I think)… > … a pause… > … two notes… > … more pausing… > … three notes… > > “I believe in the Kingdom come…” > > I mean, yeah, there are worst solos by incompetent guitarists, but still… this was a number 1 song, Edge! You could’ve tried! I never really thought of that part as a guitar solo. It’s just a little instrumental break. I’m not sure anything more than that would be appropriate in a song with that vibe. ---
**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:** [September 27, 2019, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-candidate-for-worst-solo-ever-on-any-instrument/840911/6 "2019-09-27T16:41:20Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > I vote for the [guitar solo](https://youtu.be/4xmckWVPRaI?t=179) on Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It.” He somehow made that expensive guitar sound like a Casio in a garbage can. The tone has always sounded fine to me there for an 80s hair metal song, but the solo itself is just a restatement of the melody, so kind of lazy. I don’t _hate_ it (I’m fine with Kurt Cobain doing the same thing in “Smells Like Teen Spirit”), but it leaves something to be desired. As for the OP, I mean, it’s cliché, and I actually don’t mind Lil Wayne otherwise, but [this infamous guitar solo of his](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g762REJWcg) has to qualify. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-candidate-for-worst-solo-ever-on-any-instrument/840911/7 "2019-09-27T16:44:32Z")
I’ve always said it was the guitar solo on the **Young Fresh Fellows’** cover of **The Kinks’** “Picture Book,” which was on their studio album **The One’s for the Ladies** (1989). Just running up and down a C scale. Possibly meant “ironically.” YFF was a very “ironic” band. Major excellent video, though. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ne_G0zCBHqA/hqdefault.jpg "Picture Book The Young Fresh Fellows") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ne_G0zCBHqA) ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-candidate-for-worst-solo-ever-on-any-instrument/840911/8 "2019-09-27T16:48:53Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > I vote for the [guitar solo](https://youtu.be/4xmckWVPRaI?t=179) on Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It.” He somehow made that expensive guitar sound like a Casio in a garbage can. Yeah, the sound on that was astonishingly minor league. The guitar sounded like a child’s toy, one of those little plastic things. ---
**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:** [September 27, 2019, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-candidate-for-worst-solo-ever-on-any-instrument/840911/9 "2019-09-27T17:12:44Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > I’ve always said it was the guitar solo on the **Young Fresh Fellows’** cover of **The Kinks’** “Picture Book,” which was on their studio album **The One’s for the Ladies** (1989). Just running up and down a C scale. Possibly meant “ironically.” YFF was a very “ironic” band. > > Major excellent video, though. > > [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ne\_G0zCBHqA](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ne_G0zCBHqA) Great band! (I assume you know related acts like The Fastbacks and maybe Flop as well?) But what part is the guitar solo? It sounds like a pretty straight (but electrified) cover of the Kinks version. They also have that ascending major scale hook. It doesn’t sound to me like any irony was involved, but rather quoting the original source material. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-candidate-for-worst-solo-ever-on-any-instrument/840911/10 "2019-09-27T17:22:59Z")
[Sublime](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Uc3ZrmhDN4) deserves a mention here, no? “I can play the gui-tar like a motherfucking riot!” _plink plink plonk plink_ ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-candidate-for-worst-solo-ever-on-any-instrument/840911/11 "2019-09-27T17:34:41Z")
I saw Foreigner live sometime in the early '80s. Not bad, at all. However, they were playing, “Star Rider,” and gave the guy on flute a very long solo. He was either drunk, or high, or asleep. I didn’t know the flute could make such awful noise. ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-candidate-for-worst-solo-ever-on-any-instrument/840911/12 "2019-09-27T17:56:25Z")
The muskrat sounds at the end of Muskrat Love. (if you can call that a solo). ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-candidate-for-worst-solo-ever-on-any-instrument/840911/13 "2019-09-27T18:07:01Z")
Having seen late career Miles Davis a few times, his solos were…an acquired tasted. Bleet blep Blep Bleet eet Blep eep …and so on. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-candidate-for-worst-solo-ever-on-any-instrument/840911/14 "2019-09-27T18:10:59Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > [Sublime](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Uc3ZrmhDN4) deserves a mention here, no? > > “I can play the gui-tar like a motherfucking riot!” > > _plink plink plonk plink_ That’s more like a fill than a solo… Bradley was a great guitarist. Johnny’s solo for “I Wanna Be Sedated” by the Ramones has to be mentioned here. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-candidate-for-worst-solo-ever-on-any-instrument/840911/15 "2019-09-27T19:15:10Z")
I’ve always despised the guitar solo in Rush’s [Lakeside Park.](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjAtOOS2vHkAhUPpFkKHTmgCdQQyCkwAHoECAkQBQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dtgeg-xadx9s&usg=AOvVaw3DdDyjkkPdMob9xTefk-Rp) It’s like a guitar solo written and performed by someone who doesn’t know how to play the guitar. So awful that when I’d play the CD at my horrible college apartment, I’d keep the remote nearby so I could fast forward through the solo. So awful that when Mrs. Cheesesteak recently put Rush on Spotify, and Lakeside Park played, I steeled myself for the solo, only to find that they recut the song to skip the solo, or I went into a brief fugue state during the solo, which is entirely possible. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-candidate-for-worst-solo-ever-on-any-instrument/840911/16 "2019-09-27T19:17:57Z")
> [@Sparky812](#): > > Johnny’s solo for “I Wanna Be Sedated” by the Ramones has to be mentioned here. It’s pretty weak as solos go, but then I’d say one of the thinnest books around would be a list of Ramones songs that even have guitar solos. Just wasn’t a part of their sound. Sometimes, especially on their later stuff, you might hear a few bars that sound like might break into a solo, but they’re just little fills between parts of a song. ---
**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:** [September 27, 2019, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-candidate-for-worst-solo-ever-on-any-instrument/840911/17 "2019-09-27T20:46:25Z")
> [@BrickBat](#): > > It’s pretty weak as solos go, but then I’d say one of the thinnest books around would be a list of Ramones songs that even have guitar solos. Just wasn’t a part of their sound. Sometimes, especially on their later stuff, you might hear a few bars that sound like might break into a solo, but they’re just little fills between parts of a song. Yeah, much of punk is very much anti guitar solo. That particular “solo” is either just poking fun at the whole guitar solo culture or just a cool sounding instrumental interlude. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-candidate-for-worst-solo-ever-on-any-instrument/840911/18 "2019-09-27T22:38:09Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > As for the OP, I mean, it’s cliché, and I actually don’t mind Lil Wayne otherwise, but [this infamous guitar solo of his](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g762REJWcg) has to qualify. WTF? Has that guy ever even seen a guitar before? That’s what my five-year-old daughter does when she picks up my guitar. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-candidate-for-worst-solo-ever-on-any-instrument/840911/19 "2019-09-27T23:06:11Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > [Great imagination on this one](https://twitter.com/galgracen/status/1176740969988800513). \ That’s hysterical! I could play that and I’ve never picked up a sax in my life. I gotta listen to it again. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-candidate-for-worst-solo-ever-on-any-instrument/840911/20 "2019-09-27T23:25:17Z")
Cover of the Rolling Stone by Dr Hook has the guitar player deliberately fucking up the solo. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-candidate-for-worst-solo-ever-on-any-instrument/840911.md?page=2)