Iāve just found it on YT; very interesting considerations about the past, present and future of authentic guitar solos in pop music:
Lots of valid points there, imho, please let me know what you think, thank you.
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Music is cyclical, like fashion, things come and go but then come back around again. It would only take whoever was the biggest artist of the day was to include a guitar solo and the guitar solo would be backā¦ and itās bound to happen because right now it would make you stand out from the crowd of generic sounding music.
Iām not entirely convinced that the Spotify top ten is equivalent to a chart where people had gone and spent hard earned money on a new album or single. Admittedly those days probably are gone forever but I do wonder what would survive if somehow we did go back to paying for and owning music.
And of course the guitar solo does still exist, itās just not what the masses are listening to.
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Exactly! My thoughts, too.
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Interesting point of view, but as itās been already said, it refers to certain types of music listened to in certain environments. Fortunately, the music I listen to is full of fantastic guitar solosā¦ 
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To paraphrase a famous guitarist, guitar solos are not dead, they just smell funny.
I appreciate if someoneās caring a lot about āthe state of the [insert instrument or musical genre]ā but a perspective of 50 years or so isnāt very much and yet too much in this case. The most we can say is that fashion changes all the time, trends come and go, some things might never make a comeback (think of medieval codices or the spinet, once a very popular instrument) while others crop up from time to timeā¦
I think that the days of the āguitar solo disguised as a songā are pretty much past in mainstream music. It seems to me that nowadays most young people are not that interested in one instrumentalist with an inflated ego (and a backing band) showboating on stage for hours, especially if the playing is not very inspired / inspiring. I also like most of the so-called guitar gods like Hendrix, Jimmy Page, etc. but they were the products of a different era playing music to the audience of a different era with expectations of a different era. Itās very difficult to compare the āartist-audience-expectationsā equation of, say, 1975 with that of 2025.
I think what ultimately matters the most is if the given piece (music, painting, literature, etc) speaks to me or not. Personally, I donāt think that the number of notes played per second is directly proportional to the emotional impact of a piece of music. When I think about guitar solos, I try not to limit myself to the long format (say, 3+ minutes) which indeed requires originality and feeling (not just shredding power) but to also consider 3-4 minute long songs with maybe a few bars worth of soloing. I think thereās plenty of that kind of music around, and 20-30 seconds can be sufficient to show that someone is a good player.
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Sure, but there are long solos full of originality and feeling (as opposite to shredding power) that have inscribed themselves in the rockānāroll history book; my all-time favourite example is Mark Knopflerās solo in āBrothers-In-Armsā. But that was 40 years ago! Hard to believeā¦
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I have read a lot of print articles over the past year referring to this. I think thereās more nuance to it than just āguitar solos are deadā.
I think it should be read more as ābombastic and self-aggrandizing guitar solos are dead or dyingā. Many modern musicians see the old-style guitar solos were just obnoxious. You can kinda see a general moving away from them in the popular music styles of the day going back quite a long time. In some of these articles, itās been mentioned that many modern guitarists see themselves as part of a BAND and are looking for more musicality in their playing. Typically this means complementing what their other band members are playing. This doesnāt necessarily mean the solo is dead completely. But rather guitarists want solos to contribute to and make sense to the musicality of the song as a whole.
Solos are absolutely still alive, though. Musicians are just finding ways that they prefer to apply them in ways that they like. Look at someone like Grace Bowers. An 18 year-old guitar phenom. She has in some ways cast herself into the blues pigeonhole, but she has said she doesnāt want to be known as just a blues guitarist. She wants to be more than that. So I expect weāll see more of her music exploring other aspects of music and blending of a variety of styles.
I think someone like Prince exemplifies this in some ways. He was an amazing guitarist that has been very much overlooked in that way for a long time. He is recognized for it now, at least by some. Some feel like his āMy Guitar Gently Weepsā solo in that Rock Hall of Fame performance he did was a huge middle finger to the Rock Hall itself for not recognizing him as a skilled guitarist.
I think you can also look at Gary Clark Jr. in this respect, too. Heās an amazing guitarist, but in quite a few of his songs, his guitar playing just blends into the song and it isnāt really given much of a focus. Heās one of the guitarists Iāve seen quoted in quite a few of these articles Iāve referenced. He has said that he feels like his early stuff (where he does play more solos) feels much more self-aggrandizing. He moved away from solos entirely for awhile to counter that, and more recently he has started bringing solos back, but has been trying to make sure that they make sense for the song. And further, he minimizes his use of them for his studio albums and expands on them during live performances. IIRC, he has said that he uses those solos as a carrot to make live performances extra special.
Personally, I find that when I want to listen to guitars, I tend to gravitate towards instrumental rock type stuff. Jeff Beck, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Eric Johnson, etc. Yngwie Malmsteen starts to feel bombastic and self-aggrandizing pretty quickly, as a bit of an extreme reference point for the idea. Sure, heās very highly skilled, but his constant shred high-speed stuff is just too much. One thing I like about blues guitar solos is how musical they are. Sure you get some high-speed runs in there, but most guitarists offset them with periods of playing with very few notes where they are still able to inject a ton of emotion.
Anyway, super long-winded. But I hope that it was worth reading to folks.
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Mark Knopfler is amazing and he is just so good at using guitar solos to elevate the song. āBrothers-in-Armsā is a stellar song.
This one is another favorite of mine. It just so happens to be Jeff Beckās last recording before he passed away.
Mark Knopflerās Guitar Heroes ā Going Home (Theme From Local Hero) (Official Audio)
As a cancer survivor, this particular recording is close to my heart.
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My favorite solos tend to be shortish & complement the song musically as opposed to the lead guitarist āshowing offā his chops.
Solos like Adam Levyās in āCome Away With Meā by Norah Jones:
Or like John Mayerās in āLast Train Homeā, the ballad version:
These are very tasteful to my ears. As talented as many artists may be, they donāt always help the song musically - Iām going to tread on some toes here - but guys like Peter Green, John Mayall, Alvin Lee etc. were too much for meā¦ great guitarists, yes, definitely! Great musicians, to me, not so much!
Tod
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Oh, I love that Adam Levyās solo, too, thank you for remembering it 
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Adam is really talented! He has a YouTube channel thatās interesting to hear a career session musicianās point of view! Kind of like Tim Pierce but less manic!
Speaking of Tim Pierce, that guy has got to be the Happiest Guitarist on the Planet!!! He looks like he truly loves what he does!
Tod
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Sure, there are some longer guitar solos that I like. To me, the original proposition of the video is not very revealing. āThe songs in the Spotify Top donāt have guitar solos in them.ā Well, they donāt. Neither do they have drum or bass solos. What are you going to do about it?
I think it would be much more interesting to examine how peopleās relationship to instrumental music / instrumental skills has changed over time, and how it is related to their expectations from music. Like, do they look upon music as a source of entertainment, background ānoiseā, intellectual endeavor, etc?
Also, it seems to me that a lot of people have a problem with contemporary music not having the same impact that the sort of music they listened to and liked 15, 20, 50 years ago. Of course, people have only their own memories and experiences to compare newer things to, but quite often this turns into a complete dismissal of anything produced in the past 5, 10, 20 years.
As for myself, Jimiās Electric Ladyland is one of my favourite albums. I listened to it so many timesā¦ Now, imagine that a 20-25 year old kid came out and played that music in 2025. What sort of impact would it have on most people? āJimi did it first and did it betterā would probably be the most common reaction. Hell, even Hendrix would have less of an impact now than in 1968. A lot of people just donāt seem to accept that times change whether they like it or not.
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The Timeās, They Are A Changināā¦
There oughta be a song ābout that!!! 
Oh, right! There is!!!
Tod
P.S. Not a solo, though!
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I donāt usually care for long guitar solos but I can listen to this one again and again:
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Oh, absolutely! The song is great, but the solo is a masterpieceā¦ Thanks!
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