A British guitar magazine recently polled it readers to compile a list of the greatest guitar riffs. Guns 'N Roses "Sweet Child of Mine" came in at the number spot. Here's a link to the poll results. As you can see the list is entirely metal oriented.
My list would include:
The Chuck Berry intro The Chuck Berry rhythm The Bo Diddley beat Temptations - My Girl Kinks - You Really Got Me Steely Dan - Reelin' In the Years Sam & Dave (Steve Cropper) - Soul Man Stone Temple Pilots - Plish Beatles - I Feel Fine intro Jimi Hendrix - Purple Haze intro
Is it my fault that nearly all the great riffs are pre-1980?
The guitar solo in Sympathy for the Devil. Not a riff, per se, but IMHO the definitive solo. What Keith doesn't play is as important as what he does play.
The only other one I can remember is from the one hit wonder band named Head East "Never Been Any Reason" 1975. Definately not the best, but a nice first 45 seconds.
Gimme Shelter - Stones Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress intro - Hollies Don't Fear the Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult Up Around the Bend - Creedence Clearwater Revival Minstrel in the Gallery electric riff - Jethro Tull Voodoo Chile slight return - Jimi School's Out - Alice Cooper Helter Skelter - Beatles Pinball Wizard - Who
Day Tripper- Beatles Mr. Tambourine Man- Byrds Over Under Sideways Down- Yardbirds Heartbreaker- Led Zeppelin All Right Now- Free Cinnamon Girl- Neil Young Layla- Derek and Dominoes House of the Rising Sun- Animals Down on the Corner- Creedence China Grove- Doobies Needles and Pins- Searchers/Tom Petty Brown Eyed Girl- Van Morrison Woodstock- CSNY Satisfaction- Stones Bang a Gong- T Rex Substitute- The Who Superstitious- Stevie Wonder La Grange- ZZ Top
Here are some repetitive ones of the simpler variety that you can never get out of your head (once you've heard the song). Some are mind numbingly simple but like Beethovens 5th - the simple ones stick.
Queen - Another one bites the dust Queen - We Will Rock You Queen - I want to Break free Queen/Bowie - Under Pressure Paul Mccartney - too many great bass riffs to mention "Come Together" is memorable The Who - My Generation Pink Floyd - Money Lynrd Skynrd - Sweet Home Alabama Eagles - Life in the fast lane Eric Clapton - Cocaine ACDC - TNT Pink Floyd - Another Brick in the Wall Bon Jovi - Wanted Dead or Alive Doors - Riders of the Storm Tom Petty - I won't back down Clash - Should I stay or Should I go
T. Rex - Get it On Foghat - Slow Ride Rick Derringer - Rock and Roll Hoochie Coo Neil Young - Ohio Rolling Stones - Can't You Hear Me Knocking Scorpions - Rock You Like a Hurricane Rush - Limelight Eagles - Life in the Fast Lane George Thorogood - Bad to the Bone Steve Miller - The Joker Aerosmith - Last Child Joe Walsh - Life's Been Good Van Halen - Ain't Talkin''Bout Love Bob Seger - Her Strut Kansas - Carry On Wayward Son Boston - Smokin'
Duane Allman on "Loan Me a Dime"-Boz Scagg's first album. Gary Duncan on "Who Do You Love"-Quicksilver Messenger Service's "Happy Trails" lp. Some early Neil Young stuff is in the same category.
Paul Westerberg "My Little Problem" Todd Rundgren "Hammer in My Heart" Clash "Clampdown" Yardbirds "Train Kept A Runnin'" Talking Heads "Crosseyed and Painless" Patti Smith "Pumping (My Heart)" Jefferson Airplane "Volunteers" Outsiders "Time Won't Let Me" (later appropriated by Pretenders for "Time The Avenger") Deep Purple "Smoke On The Water" Allmans "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" etc,etc,etc
Mountain: "Mississippi Queen" this song totally rocks. Dire Straits "Money for Nothing" AC/DC "Hell's Bells" Scorpions "The Zoo" Led Zeppelin "Bring it on Home"
The Stones version: "Oh Carol" The Stone Roses: "Drivin' South" Echo & The Bunnymen: "Do it Clean" Adrian Belew: "Momur" Humble Pie: "I Don't Need No Doctor" Mountain: "Mississippi Queen"
FZ by far, but my biases are well known. Comfortably Numb is an all-time favourite, jeez the list has been well covered already.
How about some new guitar riffs, something more recent? Tom Moriello does some really fun stuff, check out "The Battle of L.A." by Rage Against the Machine.
I originally thought it said horsehead so while reponding here to a genuinely hlarious answer to a well..... so imagine my delight at actually assimilating some letters and seeing...it was .. actually .... hose. Im still laughing. This is the best answer i have read yet on AG and Mr , you deserve the title , keep posting my friend.
Dang - this has got to be one of the stupidest threads I've looked at in years. Can you all imagine how expensive this is gonna get?
Started to go through the mental list, but started to show some years (and a senior moment or two 'cause I probably can't remember about half of what I'd put here). Then I went to the "magic closet" - the one where all the vinyl's stored. OMG - what a mistake! Dang - this is gonna be one expensive evening now. Already got the turntable and cartridge choices figured out, now just gotta get 'em & set 'em up... Stupid, stupid thread. Stupid, stupider me for going to that closet...
Tkmetz done real good there, & Marakenetz and Wellfed hit some classics (FZ furever). Also Santana (Samba Pa Ti? Song of the Wind?), Joe Walsh, Bromberg somewhere, Schon, Knopfler, prob. Beck, more Tull than just Aqualung (Barre done darned good), and I'm just going to have to hook everything up and listen again and we'll get back to this thread in a year or so with a better list (yup, got a bunch of time saved up from work ;~). Stupid thread...
You're all forgettin' probably the greatest riff of all time:
Oh Pretty Woman - Roy Orbison
Honorable mentions:
Day Tripper - The Beatles Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana Dirty Water (Oh Boston You're My Home!) - The Standells Whole Lotta Love - Led Zeppelin Satisfaction - The Rolling Stones
No hurt feelings. I threw that one in because when I was learning to play guitar in the mid 80's, Stairway was one of the most overplayed riffs of the day. It seemed like everyone of my era knew it (at least the beginning, few learned the whole song). Same for Purple and Iron, everyone knew them.
we have a man down...he has lost all sense of zeppelin riffage...the hendrix and sabbath picks are acceptable, but... "whole lotta love" and "heartbreaker" KILL "stairway to heaven"...which itself is a great although overplayed song...still,no contest...not even close... btw, in no way am i trying to launch a heated debate or hurt feelings...
Satisfaction - Stones Love Me Two Times, People Are Strange - Doors Aqualung - Tull Ride My See-Saw - Moody Blues Red House - Hendrix Cliffs Of Dover - Eric Johnson Bridge Of Sighs - Robin Trower What Is Life - George Harrison Layla, Sunshine Of Your Love - Eric Clapton Drive My Car - Beatles
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