Consider progressive rock and what instantly involves thoughts is caped keyboard gamers navigating a sea of wires related to their Moog. But most of the pivotal gamers in prog rock have been guitarists, and there are simply as many earth-shaking guitar solos in prog as there are in exhausting rock or steel. Generally these prog guitarists are the chief and mastermind of their band, generally they’re the participant who retains these cosmic flights well-grounded. This checklist pays tribute to a few of prog’s landmark ax-slingers.
25: Steve Rothery (Marillion)
In each the Fish and Steve Hogarth incarnations, Marillion was all the time an unconventional prog band. They prevented instrumental prowess for its personal sake, preferring sluggish and stately items constructed largely across the vocal. Steve Rothery could be a mannequin of restraint, taking part in mood-enhancing textural elements, however he may also ship a solo as dramatic because the one on “Easter,” Hogarth’s lament for Northern Eire.
24: Franco Mussida (PFM)
Italy’s premier prog band, PFM absorbed some affect from their friends. Listening to Franco Mussida’s leads you possibly can detect traces of Steve Howe, Robert Fripp, and Al DiMeola – all with a robust European classical affect. The latter got here out when Mussida performed acoustic, which he did typically: PFM’s “Jet Lag” often is the solely prog basic to open with three minutes of pure acoustic guitar. However he might additionally do a ripping electrical solo; witness the reside showpiece “Alta Loma Five Till Nine,” with a solo that retains ramping up the ability.
23: John Petrucci (Dream Theater)
As one of many definitive prog guitarists in steel, Dream Theater’s axman can shred with the flashiest of them, however he additionally retains the dynamics of a bit in thoughts. “Behind the Veil” from 2013’s self-titled album is certainly one of his nice moments. The solo unfolds with a lyrically restrained theme, then the shredding comes precisely when the rising stress requires it.
22: John Goodsall (Model X)
Model X was certainly one of England’s biggest fusion bands, however your prog credentials are intact while you’ve received Phil Collins on drums and longtime Brian Eno collaborator Percy Jones on bass. To not point out John Goodsall, a lead guitarist who’s a showoff in one of the best sense. He’s additionally performed sufficient periods to really feel snug leaping genres (that’s him incognito on Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell”). Take heed to “Nuclear Burn” for a style of the whole lot: atmospheric 12-string and a few difficult variations on the music’s already complicated riff.
21: Andy Latimer (Camel)
An emotive participant with a fluid contact, Andy Latimer was the right match for a band that specialised in otherworldly soundscapes. Due to him, Camel all the time had a recognizable sound regardless that he was the only real constant member. His solo on the Snow Goose spotlight “Rhayader Goes to Town” is funky and evocative directly, with some well-placed string-bends to additional the drama of the piece.
20: Justin Hayward (The Moody Blues)
Although he was generally known as The Moody Blues’ nice balladeer, there are occasions when Justin Hayward most popular to be only a participant in a rock’n’roll band. Having a rock-solid guitarist did the band quite a lot of good, and because the Moodies have been by no means into lengthy solos, Hayward was adept at concise melodic statements in his solos. “The Story in Your Eyes” has a memorably gritty one, and it’s nonetheless certainly one of their prettiest tunes.
19: Pye Hastings (Caravan)
Caravan’s longtime chief is a modest guitarist, to the purpose of ultimately bringing different gamers to do the heavy work. However the band made its best-loved albums as a one-guitar quartet, and Caravan’s beloved early epics profit from Pye Hastings’ capacity to swing and his knack for a heavy riff – “Nine Feet Underground” exhibits glory in each instances.
18: Richard Williams (Kansas)
Kansas’ lead guitarist is an unassuming persona, and since Kansas is without doubt one of the extra business prog bands, Richard Williams typically will get missed. However there are two the reason why he belongs right here: First, the double riff-slinging in “Carry On Wayward Son” could make a fist-waver out of anybody. Second, for its heyday, Kansas had two lead guitarists – Williams and Kerry Livgren – however through the later line-up, Williams spent 20 years holding down each elements.
17: Audrey Swinburne (Mom Superior)
Mom Superior was nearly the one all-female band within the historical past of UK prog, and one of many first feminine bands to get signed (although not until 1975, narrowly lacking prog’s heyday). Guitarist and principal author Audrey Swinburne was beforehand in a glam band, the Cosmetix, and knew her method round a posh thought. Mom Superior’s one disc is highlighted by a Stephen Stills cowl, on this case, “Love the One You’re With,” on which Swinburne’s solo is simply as spectacular as something Stills performed on the unique.
16: Jan Akkerman (Focus)
Jan Akkerman had one foot within the jazz world and the opposite in classical and Renaissance music; he’s additionally doubtless the one prog guitarist who made a solo album dedicated to the lute (1974’s Tabernakel). In a jazz context, his prolonged solo on “Anonymous III” is one thrilling flight, however we are able to’t overlook his method with a basic steel riff on “Hocus Pocus.”
15: Adrian Belew (King Crimson, solo)
Adrian Belew is a prog guitarist who appreciates out-there soundscapes as a lot as he loves an important pop music. Few others have coated as large a variety of expression, from his experimental solo albums to the good pop of The Bears. However Belew is at his finest writing memorable tunes with bursts of guitar brilliance; “Big Electric Cat” was the primary of many showpieces.
14: Peter Banks: (Sure, Flash)
Sure’ founding guitarist Peter Banks tends to get the least discover of the band’s three axemen, however he helped invent the rock-orchestral sound that Howe and Trevor Rabin constructed on, and lower some tasty solos within the band’s days. He actually blossomed in his subsequent band Flash – certainly one of prog’s first energy trios – particularly on tracks just like the 10-minute “Lifetime,” which lives as much as the group’s identify.
13: Steve Hillage (Gong, solo, System 7)
Steve Hillage was all the time a tough one to pin down: He was a proud member of one of many spaciest prog rock outfits out right here, and later crossed over into electronica, but he might do heroic guitar strikes with one of the best. After leaving Gong for a solo profession (and getting cosmic with Todd Rundgren and Utopia on the L album), he was one of many first proggers to work with American funk gamers. The Gong showpiece “The Isle of Everywhere” exhibits off Hillage’s crystalline tone and dazzling dexterity.
12: Todd Rundgren (Utopia, solo)
Todd Rundgren does quite a lot of issues effectively, however his formidable lead-guitar abilities have all the time been his ace within the gap. The unique Utopia confirmed he might maintain his personal in a band with three keyboardists, and on his solo albums from that period, he challenged himself by taking part in alongside jazz heavyweights. On Initiation’s title observe, he has to comply with a David Sanborn sax exercise, however his guitar solo is pure transcendence.
11: Robin Trower (Procol Harum)
Due to his four-decade solo profession, there’s little doubt that Robin Trower’s coronary heart is within the blues. However throughout his stint with Procol Harum, he was successfully taking part in the blues in a prog context. For Trower, it was all about being expressive, and his work amounted to a one-man campaign towards overplaying. His masterstroke needs to be the one-note lead on “Shine on Brightly,” completely underscoring the music’s theme of artistic insanity.
10: Trevor Rabin (Sure)
Lengthy earlier than he joined Sure, Trevor Rabin was generally known as a musician of prodigious chops; he’d already carried out solo albums taking part in all of the devices. Whereas he did carry extra of an arena-shredder sensibility than every other Sure guitarist, that doesn’t imply he couldn’t serve the music. Certainly one of 90125’s highlights, “Changes,” has a style of the whole lot he does effectively: Orchestral leads, Police-like rhythm elements, and people flashy cadenzas within the intro.
9: Gary Inexperienced (Light Big)
Light Big was throwing round so many musical concepts that all of it might need fallen aside in the event that they didn’t have a rock-solid prog guitarist within the combine. On the later albums, when Big shifted to a extra direct and aggressive sound, Gary Inexperienced was audibly having the time of his life. However he was additionally nice in Big’s extra complicated items, most notably “On Reflection,” the place he takes management of a principally a cappella music and requires a guitar/keys showdown with Kerry Minnear.
8: Frank Zappa
As an general musician, Frank Zappa transcends straightforward classes. However as a lead guitarist, his work matches extra comfortably into the prog realm. Every time he soloed in live performance, the band would slide right into a realm someplace between rock, jazz, and classical. The instrumental Sizzling Rats was enormously influential on prog, and a few of his solos – particularly Joe’s Storage lower “Watermelon in Easter Hay,” – confirmed the wonder and delicacy he was able to.
7: Mike Oldfield
Mike Oldfield is above all a composer, and he makes use of the massive guitar moments to advance the drama of a bit. Witness the climactic “storm” part of Hergest Ridge, which has a reported 90 guitar elements constructed into it. However he might be equally efficient with a solo guitar. See the cascading solo that covers most of Incantations’ third aspect; or the uncharacteristically aggressive solo that brings half certainly one of Ommadawn to an exhilarating peak.
6: Steve Hackett (Genesis)
Steve Hackett has a good declare to have invented tapping; his solo on “Dancing With the Moonlit Knight” often is the first well-known use of the method. He additionally has a uncommon affinity for the nylon-stringed classical guitar, to which he’s devoted full albums. However his actual energy, with Genesis and to today, is cinematic grandeur; the climactic solo on “Firth of Fifth” is Hackett at his most majestic.
5: Martin Barre (Jethro Tull)
Jethro Tull’s lead guitarist was a blues participant at coronary heart, and the important thing to Tull’s sound was Martin Barre including grit to every of the band’s proggy and folky excursions. Generally he’d take a sizzling solo inside a extra complicated piece (see “Thick As a Brick,” about 10 minutes in), different Tull classics have been constructed round his riffage. Legend has it that the jaw-dropping solo on “Aqualung” was performed in a single take to impress an onlooking Jimmy Web page.
4: David Gilmour (Pink Floyd)
David Gilmour got here into Pink Floyd after they have been nonetheless very a lot a psychedelic band, and slid simply into that mindset. “The Narrow Way,” his featured piece on Ummagumma, explored the cosmic prospects of slide, metal, and looped echoes. However he was above all an emotive participant, whose work received extra soulful because the years went on. It peaked along with his lengthy opening assertion on “Shine On You Crazy Diamond,” certainly one of prog’s most luminous moments.
3: Alex Lifeson (Rush)
Rush often is the solely energy trio the place the lead guitarist generally received overshadowed by the rhythm part. But Alex Lifeson would have been the standout star in nearly every other band, and what he gave Rush was immeasurable: he might do heavy arena-ready leads, subtler textural elements, or wildly exploratory solos. His profession showpiece, “La Villa Strangiato,” has loads of all three.
2: Steve Howe: (Sure)
As a guitarist, Steve Howe embodies the whole lot that’s nice about prog rock. Countless melodic creativeness, eclectic musical style, and a aptitude for various tones and imagery. He might do livid electrical solos with one of the best, however may be as lyrical as “Mood for a Day” or as sprightly as “Clap.”
1: Robert Fripp (King Crimson)
Go forward and name Robert Fripp the Miles Davis of prog rock. He’s a superb participant who used his ever-changing band as his instrument. Each model of King Crimson supplied a soundscape by no means heard earlier than, and Fripp developed his guitar accordingly. The violent outbursts, the shimmering Frippertronics, and the gamelan buildings of the Self-discipline period all turned logos. As for his technical prowess, suffice to say that prog guitarists might be battling “Fracture” for many years to come back.
Take heed to one of the best of the pioneers of prog in our unique playlist.
