Expecting Rain

I'm sure this is done to death here before but can't be bothered to search too far back..

I'm wondering what some opinions are of the best guitar solos on his official releases. There aren't many that come to mind..

For me, the solos on 'One More Weekend' from New Morning and 'Are You Ready' from Saved must rank pretty high..

what others? Sittin' on a Barb Wire Fence? Nashville Skyline Rag?...

A little off-topic, but it's got me thinking: I'm not sure there are any proper guitar solos from TOOM onward, unless you count the short breaks on Summer Days. Rollin' and tumblin' does, I think, but they just state the theme, as it were.

Best guitar solos from official (studio) releases?


I can only assume we're being baited with a question like that... And if not, don't consent to a random drug test today.

You won't pass.

Michael Bloomfield on Tombstone Blues the last bit, I don't remember if it's on the out chorus or not, but no matter. It's all good.

I'd say the most exciting guitar work on any Dylan album is that of Mike Bloomfield on Tombstone Blues. Charlie McCoy on Desolation Row is also a high point. After that, maybe Robbie Robertson's work on the finale of Visions of Johanna (if that is indeed Robbie--it might be Joe South or Charlie McCoy). Norman Blake plays extremely well on Nashville Skyline, especially on dobro. Pete Drake's pedal steel guitar on the same album is outstanding.

Nope... no baiting... i just relistened to Sittin' On a Barbed Wire Fence... great solo at 1:30 of the song... i'm assuming Bloomfield.

Post TOOM i think Cry Awhile and Shake Shake Mama may have some instrumental bits, but not sure of a guitar solo...

Rock guitar solos have got to be the most boring thing on Earth. I'm speaking of the band vamping while one guy puts his complete lack of taste and restraint on display. Where they exist at all they should be as short as possible. A short solo as typified by Chuck Berry can ignite a song, push it into another gear, and a brief melodic break like Harrison on UNDER THE RED SKY can reinforce a mood, but in rock "solos" are almost always a "hey look at me" kind of nonsense. Dylan seems to frown on soloing and his music is far better for it.
I do enjoy the kind of string band breakdowns he used to engage in with the other guitarists back in the late '90s, but that interplay isn't what I'd call a solo. What Charlie McCoy plays on DESOLATION ROW isn't a solo either.
Best solos on Dylan records would come from Bloomfield when he wasn't playing any of "that B.B. King crap," as well as Dylan's solos on BLOOD IN MY EYES FOR YOU, and LEOPARD SKIN PILLBOX HAT.
Worst solo ever is the one on the end of WHERE ARE YOU TONIGHT.

That's a very "rock" solo. I remember liking it when I was 18, but I'm not fond of it now. He does tend to frown on it, on albums at least.

Tombstone Blues is a hot one, for sure. Mark Knopfler takes some nice ones on Slow Train Coming - my favorite phrase re: Knopfler btw is "rampant tastiness" which I think about sums it up. Nice ones here though, that's undeniable.

I remember reading Slash was pissed because he thought he played a great solo on Wiggle Wiggle (after being directed to do it like Django which he thought wouldn't fit at all) which got cut on the record. He didn't like Dylan, who hardly talked to him at all, plus "he had this fuckin' hood on and all I could see was, like, his upper lip".

The guitar and band interplay on the album take of "Corrina, Corrina" is stunning, I'm not sure there are any "solos" though.

What to choose, what to choose...

I choose the pedal steel solo on Meet Me In The Morning...it ventures close to over the top but doesn't quite get there. The one on the bootleg series version of the song ("Call letter Blues") might be even better, and is pretty much the same type of thing.

Sweetheart like you?

Unlike alot of other 'rock' artists (to the extent Bob is) ther studio and live records are not known for alot of guitar solos..

a few guitar moments, (some of them more solo-ish then others) come to mind tho, mostly live

-the live version from 'masked and anonymous' of 'crash on the levee (down in the flood)' with that great larry/charlie/bob interplay
-the live version from rolling thunder fall 75 (released originally as an ep of 'renaldo and clara' songs) of 'it ain't me babe with the pedal steel licks
-live version of 'most likely you go your way' from before the flood
-live version from rolling thunder fall 75 (on the bootleg series) of 'hard rain'- those mick ronson licks
-studio version of of 'never say goodbye' with robbie robertson's guitar (plus off the same album, robbie's guitar on 'dirge')

"Tombstone Blues" for sure. Bloomfield also plays nice stuff on "Tom Thumb."

It is Robbie on "Visions of Johanna." But I would say his solo on "Obviously Five Believers" followed by his solo on "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat." Bob is playing the stuff at the beginning. While not really a solo, but great playing is "Going Going Gone."

On Nashville Skyline, Charlie Daniels on "Country Pie."

As noted above, Bob really doesn't have many guitar solos on his records, maybe on some of the blues songs. It's more like accompaniment, and in terms of that Bruce Langhorne on "Tambourine Man" is way up there.

Freddie Koella on High Water from TTS.

Robbie on Dirge floats my boat...

Robbie Robertson on Going Going Gone springs to mind.

The studio version of Desolation Row, especially when the harmonica comes in, listen to that guitar. Beautiful.

I can only assume you weren't around for the '70s when many bands (in concert) featured (a) a guitar solo, (b) a drum solo, and (c) some other instrumental solo like the keyboard or bass guitar. Take enough drugs and any one of them may suddenly have an appeal.

That said, I don't recall any albums I own containing a "solo" of anything other than maybe the guitar, unless the song is instrumental (no lyrics/vocals), in which case, I have a few.

Dylan rarely lets any instrument get in the way of the lyric. The words are always first. When I listen to Not Dark Yet I always imagine that a beautiful guitar solo will appear, but all the instruments are focussed on carrying the lyric. Having said that I always like listening to the solo on Like a Rolling Stone on Budokan. The guitars on Lonesome Day Blues sound great but again they carry the words without disturbing the flow. Lots of numbers like that.

Totally agree, I was going to write something just like that myself. I also love Knopfler's work on "I Believe In You."

Easy: the second (Fred Tackett?) solo from Saving Grace on Saved. The live solos are nastier though, meaning better. Speaking of live...In The Summertime from Drammen, Norway has nice guitar solos where the studio cut has nice harp solos.

For my taste, Knopfler's caramel smooth guitar lines have never sat that well with Bob's music. At least he exercises taste and restraint. Unlike that horrible solo on Call Letter Blues from Bootleg I-III, whoever played that. It's the other end of the wedge.

...and that's why so many of his songs seem to go on forever and ever.

Sorry, I have just been listening to Dylan alot lately in expectation of his new album, and I have been noticing many of his songs need fewer verses and more solos.

The biggest offenders at the moment are "Lonesome Day Blues" and "Changing Of the Guards," which seem to come up all the time when I have my mp3 player set to shuffle.

It all depends on whether the soloist can play. It IS music after all. Anybody who writes "almost all solos are nonsense" is beyond dogmatic. Some are, some aren't. I assume the writer never listens to jazz.

robbie on pillbox hat

Exactly. I am an individual who loves Frank Zappa, some of his songs are just one long guitar solo and it's great. patford is just stating a personal opinion that is in no way factual.