The Top 100 Rock Guitar Solos of All Time--69-60

69.) "Circles" (Joe Satriani)



The first time a Surfing with the Alien track shows up on here, but by God it won't be the last. Joe opens this song peacefully with a shimmering guitar melody. At one minute in, he unleashes hell. Obviously the whole point of the song is the contrast between the beauty of the melody and the intensity of the solo. Being as this is on the greatest guitar album of all time, Joe certainly doesn't let us down. He really pulls out all the stops on here, from lightning-speed legato to whammy bar squeals to sighing bends, and the transition into and out of the solo is one of the great moments of this album, which stands in my top ten of all time easily. This is fun to watch a live version of.

68.) "Feathers" (Steve Vai)



"Feathers" is a very pretty song written by Vai as a product demonstration for whatever effect gives this song its unique guitar tone (I forget what it is, but you can look up if you really are interested). You can only find the song in the Steve Vai box set or if you buy one of the Mystery Tracks CDs contained in that set. He never released it on any of his normal albums. Housing a delicate melody encased in that beautiful warbling tone of Vai's guitar, the real highlight of the track is the two minutes and thirty seconds-plus gently building guitar solo, in which Vai at first starts out using the effect that he used for the melody of the song, combining the warm tone of this effect with playful licks. At 3:18, Vai discards his effect to return to his standard solo tone, slowly building towards a climactic conclusion to the solo and a reintroduction of the main melody, this time with more bombast. A really great little track.

67.) "Cliffs of Dover" (Eric Johnson)



Eric Johnson is a fine virtuoso player with a knack for melody and bluesy licks thrown out at rapid-fire pace. "Cliffs of Dover" is his signature piece, full of summer energy and memorable hooks. That refrain first heard at 1:00 is so joyous that you won't be able to get it out of your head. The whole piece is resplendent in the thrill and love of music. Eric is well known as a perfectionist, and his solos are indeed pristine and gem-like. This song can't fail to put a smile on my face.

66.) "Stranglehold" (Ted Nugent)



What a bad-ass fucking song. That bottom-of-the-sea bass is just great. You could solo forever over that groove. And Nugent does indeed solo his brains out here. I love the delay-soaked mid-parts of the solo, the random ghost wails creeping from the depths of the swamp groove, and how this song is nothing other than one long breakdown into the depths of the Bayeux. It's where the blues began and it's where we go to die.

65.) "Race with the Devil on a Spanish Highway" (Al DiMeola)



Another effortlessly cool song, which white people cannot seem to make anymore. No one was as fast and precise a player as DiMeola was in the mid-70's. Perhaps John McLaughlin had his speed, and indeed plays with DiMeola on some records, but Al was so fucking clean that it just slays me. A forerunner to the shred greats of the next decade, DiMeola brings a rocking, sexy vibe to his songs that is severely lacking in the neoclassical shred of the '80s. The palm-muted riff at 2:50 is just awesome, and he breaks into a thrilling solo, only to draw the song back into its lush Mediterranean vibe after only a few bars of gorgeously precise shredding. God, the part at 4:10 is so fucking sexy. He has such an authority to his playing that you can't help but be in awe.

64.) "Hot for Teacher" (Van Halen)

Hot teachers--what a great subject for a song. Only David Lee Roth could sing about such a thing. He loved doing the whole talk-during-the-middle-of-the-song thing in his songs. What the hell was that about? "Teacher, I brought my pencil...gimme something to write on!" Really?! However, the song rests on Alex Van Halen's fine drumming and a great breakdown riff from EVH over Lee Roth's adolescent antics, punctuated by bursts of explosive, exuberant lead guitar in a way that only Eddie seemed capable of. You can make a strong case that this band is pretty one-dimensional--but they were great at writing fun rock songs, and no matter how many copycats Eddie has, his own style in inimitable.

63.) "Slow and Easy" (Joe Satriani)



Released on Joe's very underrated Engines of Creation, which is a mix between electronic music and virtuoso guitar, boasting some of his strongest melodies and best sound experiments, this slow burn of a song really sinks in with repeated listening. I'm not sure if he actually uses a sitar for the solo on this, but I would suspect it's probably a guitar effect. Either way, it's absolutely and truly gorgeous. One of his most beautiful solos ever, this song just reeks of 1940's steamy, morally ambiguous film noir. What else is there to say? Just listen.

62.) "25 or 6 to 4" (Chicago)



Where the fuck does this come from? Who ever knew Chicago had good guitar in their music? Besides boasting one of the great rock guitar riffs, Terry Kath delivers one mean solo on this song. His phrasing is so full of attitude, the wah pedal use is perfect, and he just fills the whole second half of the song with great fills. His playing is very reminiscent of Eric Clapton in his prime on here, and I dare say that if he could do this on a regular basis, then I would consider him a peer of Eric's. However, I don't particularly know much Chicago music, so I couldn't tell you. It looks like he died quite young. What a great song.

61.) "Call It Sleep" (Steve Vai)



Sorry, I couldn't find the original version on YouTube, but I suggest everyone try to seek it out. His tone is absolutely raw and gorgeous on it. This live version is quite good, though. Steve wrote this song in high school about a girl that he knew who died (I believe). His unschooled playing and almost overpowering tone on it really keep the emotions on the surface in such a powerful way. As I talked about on "Junkie," Vai's playing was so unusual on his first record, Flexable. There was a great sense of adventure and experimentation, and already his talents were so full that it seemed he didn't know what to do with them. There is a part towards the end, after the solo break, where he goes off on a series of seemingly erratic notes that resolve themselves in the most beautiful way--only Steve Vai could make this work. As everyone knows, there were legions of technically gifted and enthusiastic shredders dripping out of the floorboards in the 1980s, trying to copy Eddie Van Halen and Yngwie Malmsteen. But there were very few truly original guitarists that came out after these guys. Steve Vai was one of them.

60.) "Rainbow in the Dark" (Dio)



Generic-sounding '80s metal song? Check. Ass-kicking solo? Check. 'Nuff said.

--Edward