# Worst guitar solo's ever... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 12, 2004, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-guitar-solos-ever/254741 "2004-07-12T17:58:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-guitar-solos-ever/254741/1 "2004-07-12T17:58:09Z")
This may be a bit more difficult than a “Best ever” thread, but I was listening to the radio and actually sat through Queen’s “We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions” and noticed that Brian May’s solo in “We Will Rock You” is horribly out of time with the rest of the song. How can you lose time on “We Will Rock You”, the simplest beat of all time?!?! So that’s it. What are the other really BAD guitar solos of all time? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-guitar-solos-ever/254741/2 "2004-07-12T18:37:20Z")
Hands down We’re Not Gonna Take It by Twisted Sister. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-guitar-solos-ever/254741/3 "2004-07-12T18:58:31Z")
No, no. The worst is “Free Bird”. No further replies to this topic are necessary 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RAWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71e660/32.png) [@RAWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RAWDuke)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-guitar-solos-ever/254741/4 "2004-07-12T19:32:37Z")
Free Bird is way down there, but my vote for the worst is Neil Young’s one note solo on “Cinnamon Girl” ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-guitar-solos-ever/254741/5 "2004-07-12T20:16:58Z")
‘I Don’t Want To Dance’ by Eddy Grant. Nice little pop song, even got to No 1 here in the UK, but features a truly clueless, dreadful guitar ‘solo’ in the middle. Sounds to me like Grant (who over-dubbed all the parts on the song in his own studio) decided his song needed _some_ kind of middle eight, hadn’t a clue what to do, tried for a guitar solo and just couldn’t come up with anything. ‘Simply Irresistible’ by Robert Palmer. I like the song, and it was successful enough. But the guitar solo, and in fact the guitar work in general, could suck the pattern off a Persian rug. ---
**Author:** ![Chastain86](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Chastain86](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chastain86)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-guitar-solos-ever/254741/6 "2004-07-12T20:48:48Z")
Why does the solo from “November Rain” keep popping into my head? Oh yeah. Because it sucks sour frog ass. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-guitar-solos-ever/254741/7 "2004-07-12T21:27:16Z")
> [@](#): > > No, no. The worst is “Free Bird”. I’ve heard this bandied about a lot before, and I’ve asked this question before (without reply,) but…why? I mean, sure, it’s long and overplayed, and essentially self-gratifying. But it’s not off-time, off-pitch, or out of key. It’s not my choice for the greatest solo EVAR, but for the genre, it ain’t bad. So, honestly, why do people say this? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-guitar-solos-ever/254741/8 "2004-07-12T22:28:23Z")
And the first shall be the worst: _Heartbreak Hotel_ Thank you, thank you very much! ---
**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-guitar-solos-ever/254741/9 "2004-07-12T22:40:53Z")
On one hand, this _is_ a poll of sorts. On the other, it’s purely about music, so it would fit into Cafe Society very nicely. But on the other hand :: bemusedly checks number of arms and attachments:: uh, back on the _first_ hand, if I hadn’t used it already, I haven’t dumped anything on Ike in simply a day or so. Yeah, the second (and third) hand wins. Off to Cafe Society it goes… Veb, IMHO mod ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-guitar-solos-ever/254741/10 "2004-07-12T23:33:17Z")
The solo in Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll” sucks balls. Especially the live version. Or any other Led Zep song, for that matter. How on earth did Jimmy Page become regarded as a musical genius? Oh wait, he sold his soul to the devil. That’s right. Never mind. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-guitar-solos-ever/254741/11 "2004-07-13T01:12:47Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > I’ve heard this bandied about a lot before, and I’ve asked this question before (without reply,) but…why? I mean, sure, it’s long and overplayed, and essentially self-gratifying. But it’s not off-time, off-pitch, or out of key. It’s not my choice for the greatest solo EVAR, but for the **genre** , it ain’t bad. > > So, honestly, why do people say this? bolding mine…Actually, I’d say, even thought I don’t recall a lot of these, I’d say that perhaps it’s not the worst EVER compared to some of these, but definitely the worst in the _genre_. It is not only long and self-gratifying, it also tries to be much more than is (i.e. a _ **Great Classic Rock Solo** _), and doesn’t realize its ambitions at all. It’s sort of like the difference between camp and kitsch. Camp doesn’t take itself too seriously: a lot of soloes in the 80s for instance were self-limiting both in tiem and attempted breadth: while they never had the chance to succeed, at least they never thought they could. Whereas Free Bird seriously thought it was reaching for the stars, which is why it’s so humorous to poke fun at. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-guitar-solos-ever/254741/12 "2004-07-13T02:27:38Z")
Yes, I’d say the “Free Bird” solo really goes off the deep end of the musical taste scale. MUCH too long and it is as if the guitarist is saying look at me - see what I can do? There is an expression that “sometimes _less_ is _more_” which is very apt for this solo. There is another expression that states “leave the audience wanting more”. I don’t think Lynard Skynard ever heard of these 2 expressions. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-guitar-solos-ever/254741/13 "2004-07-13T02:46:32Z")
Those are some good points about Free Bird. To keep a good thing going: the guitarists seem to have thought that whatever they were playing was made _much more impressive_ by the fact that _three guitars_ were doing it. _Three guitars!_😛 Three guys playing two- and three-note licks, or tapping for what feels like a week, is not really that amazing. Similarly they seem to think length makes the solo better. Nope. ---
**Author:** ![Lando\_Griffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f17d59/32.png) [@Lando\_Griffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lando_Griffin)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-guitar-solos-ever/254741/14 "2004-07-13T02:52:56Z")
> [@KGS](#): > > The solo in Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll” sucks balls. Especially the live version. Or any other Led Zep song, for that matter. How on earth did Jimmy Page become regarded as a musical genius? Oh wait, he sold his soul to the devil. That’s right. Never mind. Clearly, you’ve never listened to: 1)Since I’ve Been Loving You 2)White Summer 3)Heartbreaker 4)No Quarter 5)Achilles’ Last Stand 6)Thank You 7)Ten Years Gone And that Satan worship thing? Pure BS. How many Satan worshipers raise money for charity? :rolleyes: > [@](#): > > 1994 saw the return of Jimmy Page and Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant in a musical collaboration that produced the innovative album ‘No Quarter’. > > Whilst Jimmy was in Brazil, promoting this album, a minor civil war broke loose in the biggest and most infamous favela (shanty town) in Rio de Janeiro. From his hotel room, Jimmy could see army tanks moving up the hill into the favela. It shocked him to see this happening while he was there. > > Feeling he needed to do something to relieve the plight of the street children, Jimmy became involved with TaskBrasil Trust (The Abandoned Street Kids of Brasil Trust) which resulted in a safe house in Rio. He also became patron of ABC Trust (Action for Brazil’s Children Trust) which finances projects working with children at risk in the impoverished North East Brazilian state of Bahia. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-guitar-solos-ever/254741/15 "2004-07-13T02:52:57Z")
I think the “We Will Rock You” solo is pretty cool—in fact, it’s the only part of the song I can still listen to without embarrassment. For the rest, I just keep picturing high school basketball fans stomping in the bleachers. This is hard question to answer … I really don’t think much about the solos I **don’t** like. Even a solo from a lousy or undistinguished player can work in the right setting—I wouldn’t call Tommy James a good guitarist, but I wouldn’t replace the solo on “Hanky Panky” with anything else. Let’s see … the solo on Concrete Blonde’s “Woman to Woman” is pretty godawful, but then, so is the song, and Jim Mankey has played some fine leads otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Manatee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/50afbb/32.png) [@Manatee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manatee)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-guitar-solos-ever/254741/16 "2004-07-13T05:55:05Z")
I don’t know if it’s bad per se, but the solo in Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” always bugs me. Everything about the song is so kick-ass, but this solo is so generic–it seems like it could be plugged into just about any other hard rock song. ---
**Author:** ![Denis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5e9695/32.png) [@Denis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Denis)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-guitar-solos-ever/254741/17 "2004-07-13T08:15:19Z")
The one Alex Lifeson pukes out in “Chain Lightning.” Lerxst, what were you thinking? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-guitar-solos-ever/254741/18 "2004-07-13T10:03:10Z")
Harrison’s solo from the alternate version of _Let it Be_ - the single, not the one from the album. They tend to play that version more often on the radio, so wheneve I hear the _good_ solo I always feel this little upsurge of joy. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-guitar-solos-ever/254741/19 "2004-07-13T10:51:48Z")
I’ve always thought that “WWRY” had a fantastic solo. You can complain about it being “off time”, but you can complain about Picasso painting both eyes on the same side of the head. Name something else of the era that sounds like that. And can you truly say that the solo doesn’t work? I find it hard to believe that you can. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-guitar-solos-ever/254741/20 "2004-07-13T11:23:10Z")
> [@Chastain86](#): > > Why does the solo from “November Rain” keep popping into my head? > > Oh yeah. Because it sucks sour frog ass. :eek: Really? You honestly think it sucks? I wouldn’t call it my favourite solo of all time, but I think it’s quite well done, actually. Oh well, tastes will vary! **Denis** , I agree about _Chain Lightning_ - and I’m a die hard Rush fan. Sub-par to say the least. I have two additions to this thread. 1. **Golden Earring** ’s _When the Lady Smiles_ is actually a quite catchy pop/rock tune, but the guitar solo George Kooymans craps out is unbelievably dull and uninspired. Which is odd, because he’s really quite a good guitarist. 2. **Cheap Trick** ’s live version of _I want you to want me_. Cripes, would it kill you to _tune_ your fucking guitars before you go on stage? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-guitar-solos-ever/254741.md?page=2)