guitar solos where less is more

Check out acoustic guitar work by David Rawlings on any of the Gillian Welch recordings. Their recent "The Harrow & the Harvest" album is a perfect example of what you're talking about.

I've always liked Andy Latimer (Camel - check out "Ice"), and Mark Knopfler (Solo work - check out "Our Shangri-La") for this reason. For that matter David Gilmour is also a less is more soloist.

Check out David Gilmour Live at Royal Albert Hall (DVD) (2-disc)...very tasty w/o flash. I would also say Vince Gil takes a similar approach, though his songs are a wee bit different than Gilmour's.

JJ Cale...any album he has put out.

There's a couple of approaches that could satisfy the "less is more" description. Here are a few guitar solos that are short (less) and that don't feature rapid playing (less, again), but really serve the song (more):

Todd Rundgren - "I Saw The Light"
Terry Kath (Chicago) - "25 or 6 to 4"
Dave Davies (Kinks) - "I'm Not Like Everybody Else"

There are also longer solos that boil along at a slower tempo which could be nominated - but many of those end up at speed. It would probably require a little thought to identify those that never accelerate.

Marty

Yikes! - I forgot to mention a couple of top line choices here:

George Harrison - "Something". Simple, elegant, and purely in service to the song.

The other side of that coin might feature Chuck Berry's solo on "Johnny B Goode". Short, simple and PERFECT in a way that is 180 degrees different from "Something".

I usually think of George as a songwriter first and a guitar player as a distant second (and this one is very easy to play), but this is a really wonderful solo. Berry just about invented the rock n roll guitar solo and "Johnny B Goode" is my pick of his litter.

Marty

Santana- 'Europa' from the moonflower album.
Back in the early 90's, Santana created his own record label called guts and grace where he petitioned the estates of dead artists and released compilation albums from his idols. He only released one album: "Sacred Sources,Vol.1 Live Forever.' On this album is my favorite live Stevie Ray Vaughan song "Riviera Paradise".You can buy this cd off of amazon for a buck. This is one of the best tips I have given on the 'gon. Enjoy.

Is this what you're looking for?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uU3HcuQKeM

Mark Knopfler
"If This Is Goodbye" from All The Roadrunning

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULTgD7Ni5xA

Riviera Paradise by Stevie Ray Vaughn.

Wasn't it BB King who said, "It's not the notes you play, it's the notes you don't play."? (or something closely approximating that).

Neil Young's single note solo on Cinnamon Girl:)

Rivera Paradise is the correct answer.. Thank Kjweisner for giving you the correct answer.......

Would this do?
http://youtu.be/IVxsB5oNiTw

Robbie Robertson's live solo on Unfaithful Servant from The Band's Rock of Ages should not be missed nor left off this list. It is short, but oh so sweet. It is brilliant. Check it out and let us know what you think.

And this is more is more:
http://youtu.be/Cx55BV13laM

Tuck Andress (Tuck & Patti) solo of "Europa". The entire song is just Tuck and it is a great natural sounding recording.

Nels Cline's solo in Wilco's "Impossible Germany".

on dwight twilley's "i'm on fire" there's an incredible three-second guitar break (shortest on record?). on the same lp, sincerely, check out the solo on the title track, which always brings tears to my eyes.

Kjweisner and Sounds_real_audio:
FYI-
The Sacred Sources cd I mentioned in my post contains the only live version of Riviera Paradise by SRV and is why I recommended it.

Ry Cooder - Paris, Texas
Michael Timmins - Blue Moon Revisited from the Trinity Sessions
Mick Jagger - Heaven from Tattoo You
David Hidalgo - Forever Night Shade Mary from The Latin Playboys self-titled
Robbie Blunt - Big Log from Robert Plant's The Principle of Moments
Lou Reed - Beginning of a Great Adventure from New York
John Fogerty - The Old Man Down the Road from Centerfield
Pat Metheny - Travels from Travels

Have not read all the input her thus far, but enthusiastically second David Rawlings and Michael Timmons. Would add, Rory Block, Ricard Buckner, Tim Reynolds, Jeffrey Foucault, Patti Larkin...can probably come up with more, but those come right to mind.

Hey, not to hijack the thread, but I did a search and I cannot find any new threads that are offering an outlet for comments on this newly formatted website. Can anyone point me to one, or have none been actually posted....or? Audiogon has pointed to a blog that is strictly informational and does include a link to 'reply' but offers no replies within the blog. Sorry if I'm missing the obvious, but I find this new format very difficult to navigate. I've heard from three friends thus far and all three are less than happy (and I'm being very polite given their responses which is similar to my own) with the new format. I realize it is in Beta, but would like to think they'd be interested in community feedback. Perhaps I'm wrong.

Jax2 - I'm with you on the Beta. In keeping with the spirit of this thread...perhaps less is more?

At 9 minutes and 11 seconds Stevie Ray Vaughn's Tin Pan Alley (Couldn't Stand the Weather CD) is the most awe inspiring slow-smouldering guitar solo you have ever heard! Too bad he did not employ this technique more often.

I went to an Electrocompaniet demonstration at my local dealer where they had Electro's top-of-the-line amp, preamp and CD player mated with with the Wilson Maxx speakers and highest grade of Transpaent cables. The demo track chosen for the evening was SRV's Tin Pan Alley(aka Roughest Place in Town)

I play the guitar and have many versions of Autumn Leaves on guitar. This is the most heartfelt rendition of the song on guitar I have ever heard. BTW, this was an improvisation by Ted Greene (RIP).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDuee6blvj8

Nice melody but Ted Greene just can't play. Sorry.

The Beach Boys' "Don't Worry Baby".

great Autumn Leaves, thanks Dracule!

David Gilmour's solo from "Hey You" off The Wall is my favorite. It's short but extremely emotional and poignant to the song. It's not just added there for ego reasons.

Robert Fripp's absolutely beautiful solo in "The Hammond Song" from The Roches' self-title debut album has long been a favorite. It is understated, smoother than a newborn baby's bottom, and then, brilliantly, fails to stop when you think it's all over. I've played it hundreds of times, and it never fails to bring a smile. And, each time I've seen The Roches -- including just a couple of years back now -- I miss the solo when the three sisters sing what many fans (me included) consider to be their best song.

Inna do you play guitar? If you do, you would appreciate how difficult it is to do what he did. You can find thousands who shred like Steve Vai or Yngwie Malmsteen (not knocking them as I do like their playing too) but rarely can you find who knows phrasing of meladies and subtleties of chord progression like Ted did. Just my opinion.

Pehare, I'm glad you enjoy Teds playing as much as I. He improvised jazz and classical styles in that piece. Go to YouTube and search Arlen Roth When a man loves a woman. There are two versions, one in his home and another in a studio, the latter has better sound. I think you would also like it too.

To fully appreciate Onhyway 61's response:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9E1by7PocE

Forward to the 1:43 mark

This nomination will not be beaten!

Marty

I wouldn't call it playing guitar but I am familiar with the instrument and know how difficult it is.
You might like this though again it is not "less is more" in terms of technique.
http://youtu.be/5ayT9Y6NNv0

Inna, I was trained in classical guitar orginally. Nino is a flamenco guitar player, a very good one at that. It's an entirely different style of guitar playing. His playing is no better or worse than Ted, just different. Thanks for the link. I enjoyed it. You should try to be more open to other styles of guitar playing. See my next post.

Here are some very different styles. Some more is less.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yw74sDWPH7U&ob=av2e

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-AK5Nls57k&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S33tWZqXhnk&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISXznwKgKR0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGsptWdzROE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X30AroojjFk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MBjP0xw2HM

OK. I guess this could be less is more depending on how you define less.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ubVGiyAhkY&feature=related

Dracule1, thank you, I listened to them all. Didn't like a single one. I am open to all styles.
http://youtu.be/PfajXCs8aIQ

Or how about this?
http://youtu.be/71XXQXY0yvA

And this is something I recently found:
http://youtu.be/wvbuR-i9NlM

Dracule1, thank you, I listened to them all, and enjoyed them all. I ACTUALLY am open to all styles. . . . enjoyed the Ted Greene piece too.

Cut 10 "Ain't No Way" from the "Don't Explain" album by Beth Hart and Joe Bonamass.

Dracule,

Thanks for the links - really, really great. You included a couple of players I love (Roth and Emmanuel), a couple I hugely admire but don't love (Bream and Vai), and one that I've never heard of (Matt Rach). I thought that every choice you made was a great example of the player at the top of his respective form and - in particular - I thought that the Vai and Emmanuel clips may have been the best I've seen from either.

OTOH, it is vaguely depressing. If I live to be 100 and practice 24/7 between now and then, I'll never touch any of these guys.

Marty

Martykl and Bdgregory, glad you you liked them. Matt Rach is a French kid who started off as a guitar wonder on youtube playing rocked out version of pachelbel's canon when he was 14. He really has matured into a fine guitarist. He actually plays the bass and drums on his videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owAj5LiXG5w

Not really on topic, but Steve Morse has a new band called Flying Colors releasing a new album next month. Neal Morse and Mike Portnoy are also in the group. Hopefully it won't be too pretentious.

second JJ Cale for restrained brilliance. There's a reason Clapton is so enamored with his work.

Inna, your taste in guitar music seems to be pretty much flamenco and fusion jazz, which is fine by me. I'm not a huge fan of Al DiMeola's guitar playing, other than Mediterranean Sundance. I do like flamenco in small doses.

Yes, flamenco, fusion jazz and world music. But as I said, I am open to suggestions.
http://youtu.be/yXyHjNwENdI

Auralone, I'm looking for some feedback, that will let us know who's hot and who's not.