Best terrible guitar solos of all time

I'm going to throw this out there also. Does this even qualify as a solo?

 

I think Neal Young's songwriting skills draw me in so much that I tend to cut him a lot of slack when it comes to his guitar solos. I would say the same about Willie Nelson too. A terrible solo surrounded by a wonderful tune. I love well written songs.

 

What appeals to me, and why I think they are unique, is that their leads sound like an extension of their singing voices. Similar phrasing and melodies.
Chet Baker also comes to mind. His soft voice was echoed in his trumpet sound.

 

I would’t consider these bad at all. They’re all trying to be obtuse or angular, but they all sound executed by someone who has some idea of what they’re doing, they’re deliberate. When I think of bad I think of someone who is kind of or totally unaware of their lack of chops. Or maybe they have some chops but they’re unaware they’re playing something totally inappropriate for the context. Also I think that might be Belew and not Byrne.

 

It's around 1:10

 

I love that solo. It’s the best part of the song hands down. It’s almost too bad good for such a bad good song. Concise, melodic and tasteful. It’s like the antithesis of hair metal guitar noodling.

 

Anything played backwards including Hendrix.

 

Those guys ( even though I dig red SG's and just got one!) were never in tune,

and they had that weird mix of virtuosity + 'do they really know how to play?!' vibe.
Kind of seems like the common pattern of SF guitar psychedelia. It was the same with Cippolona, Garcia, Barry Melton.Jorma K., but I like it all.

It was the '60's ! ( and almost all SG's!)

 

Good point. Having said that, I’m interested to know your take on The Shaggs’ “Philosophy of the World,” any track...or all of them.

 

I love a good vocal melody solo, I just think it’s funny how it’s “80’s!” with the whammy bar goofiness thrown in.

 

now those are definitely bad in the way I’m thinking of it. but they’re great!

 

You nailed it, regarding the ‘Frisco Bay Area guitar players.
I like Cippolina’s and Garcia’s playing.
I like Jorma’s acoustic playing, but NOT his electric playing.
Barry Melton failed to make an impression on me, at all.
Santana had the SG/cranked Fender thing, too.
There musta been something in the water, or Kool-Aid.

 

Honestly, I wish (sometimes) I could play as loosely and freely as these guys did. Not that I'm super-good, but I work on trying to be really precise and melodic- even when being edgy!

Always found Jorma K .electric playing to have an annoying treble PU edge to it, and that super exaggerated SF vibrato- like Hot Tuna/ acoustic stuff better
Santana may have been the best at this. as IMO he really knew Blues playing and how to incorporate

 

“Cover of The Rolling Stone” - Doctor Hook - and still one of
my all-time favorites...

Neil Young is a Guitar Genius and I reserve TWO WORDS for those who dispute me. An attack on Neil Young is like an attack on Woody Guthrie or Pete Seeger and both syllables are richly deserved by the aggressors. (Remainder Deleted in an effort to maintain decorum.)
- Richard Stanley

 

@loopfinding, thank you for your perspective. I do love how deliberate they are, to use your word, in their quirky art-pop approach and sort of oddball but mostly unique perspective on music, society, artistic sensibilities, etc. I assumed their guitarist, not Byrne, cut the solo. I just did not know the dude's name and was pointing out I'm a fan of the Talking Heads and Byrne's subsequent career.

Back to the solo, I find a lot of it atonal. There are some parts that fit. And what kind of randomizer is that dude playing through? A moogerfooger or something? I have no clue. I'm not skilled enough as a player to intentionally play off key and make it sound musical. It might help me appreciate the solo more if I understood what Byrne is singing about in this particular song. If it's a song about some aspect of life's tumult and resulting confusion, for example, then it would fit right in.

 

I'm an admirer of Eric Clapton (got hooked on the "Beano" album at a young age), but his solo on "Lay Down Sally" is really lame.

 

A good friend of mine, who is a very well-known heavy metal guitarist, thinks that solo is absolutely *killer*. I guess there's no accounting for taste!

 

This solo is awful, but try to imagine the song with any other solo. It's absolutely the only right and perfect solo for the song:

 

We're talking about solos that are technically very bad but actually sound really good right?

In that case, Lou Reed on I Heard Her Call My Name.

 

Begins at 1:37 mark--