What are the Best Acoustic Guitar Solos? Link Drop
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This week, we’re talking about great guitar solos, why you should (sadly) expect more music biopics to get made, a potential merger between two huge music companies, the death of sensual soul star, and so much more.
What are the Best Acoustic Guitar Solos?
Last week, Rolling Stone published a list of the greatest guitar solos of all time. As I was opining on the topic, a question began to loom: Why is every list of guitar solos only made up of electric guitar solos? The acoustic guitar has a longer history than the electric. Surely, as much six-string genius has been played without amplification as with.
As I started to dig into this topic, I came to realize that the acoustic guitar solo is almost never discussed. Lists related to the acoustic guitar just focus on nice acoustic songs. Yes, Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Boxer” is a great song with an acoustic guitar, but there is no acoustic guitar solo.
Growing up, my guitar teacher was an avid fingerstyle guitarist. So, I thought it would be easy to assemble a list of the greatest acoustic guitar solos. Not so! Everything that came to mind was a solo acoustic piece. “Little Martha” by the Allman Brothers Band. “The Clap” by Yes. “Spanish Fly” by Van Halen. “Classical Gas” by Mason Williams. “Midsummer’s Daydream” by Triumph. “Signe” by Eric Clapton. “Brom-Yr-Aur” by Led Zeppelin. “Watermelon” by Leo Kottke. “Sligo River Blues” by John Fahey.
I could go on. But this is not what I am looking for. These are closer to études, the classical composition used to demonstrate a particular technical skill. I wanted a solo like you’d hear in something like “Sweet Child O’Mine.” There’s a song. There’s an instrumental break led by a guitar. And that guitar is doing more than just recalling the vocal melody. It’s a solo, not an accompaniment.
So, with all of these rules, what are the greatest acoustic guitar solos of all time? I spent hours looking so you won’t have to.
