Favourite 'other instrument' solos

[Rich]

Shamelessly stolen from a post on Thomann's farcebook page... 

Your favourite non-guitar, non-bass solos. Sax, piano, drums, whatever. Just not guitar or bass. 

One of mine for starters... the late Kenny Kirkland’s brilliant piano solo on Sting’s live version of ‘When The World Is Running Down’, from the Bring On The Night album. Three minutes of ivory-tinkling fabulousness.

 

Edited June 10, 2020 by Rich

[atsampson]

I always liked Charlie Gillingham's Hammond-plus-pile-of-effects solo in this live version of Counting Crows' "Ghost Train":

His playing on that album was definitely responsible for getting me interested in keyboard playing again.

[Crawford13]

Bob Reynolds sax solo in this song is one of my personal favourites, the drums are going crazy at the same time, which just makes it extra tasty. 

[Doctor J]

Wayne Shorter, you have the floor...

 

 

[mikel]

The sax solo on "Will you" by Hazel O'Connor. Heartbreaking in its beauty. Dont listen if you have had a few and feel a bit sad.

[Maude]

1 minute ago, mikel said:

The sax solo on "Will you" by Hazel O'Connor. Heartbreaking in its beauty. Dont listen if you have had a few and feel a bit sad.

I was going to suggest that as, strangely it was on the radio in the car as I got home earlier, I waited in the car for it to finish. Then I came in and saw this thread. 

Also love the sax all in Boomtown Rats' Rat Trap. The solo's great but the sax all the way through makes that song. 

[Mickeyboro]

3 minutes ago, Maude said:

I was going to suggest that as, strangely it was on the radio in the car as I got home earlier, I waited in the car for it to finish. Then I came in and saw this thread. 

Also love the sax all in Boomtown Rats' Rat Trap. The solo's great but the sax all the way through makes that song. 

Then there’s Love And Affection. Joan Armatrading’s drummer has to double on Sax for just that one song!😁

[Lozz196]

21 minutes ago, mikel said:

The sax solo on "Will you" by Hazel O'Connor. Heartbreaking in its beauty. Dont listen if you have had a few and feel a bit sad.

Was going to say this one, heard it on the radio earlier today, beautiful solo.

[Maude]

The clarinet solo for the first half of Soft Cell's 12" version of Say Hello Wave Goodbye is beautiful. I love the song anyway but that solo is sublime. 

 

Edited June 10, 2020 by Maude
Got my woodwinds confudled up.

[Japhet]

Always loved the vibraphone solo in this

 

[Shaggy]

Many possible choices,, but a favourite of mine since the LP first came out is the Herbie Hancock keys solo on Simple Minds "Hunter and the Hunted" (album: New Gold Dream).  As with all great solos; a beautiful use of space.

 

[davegriffiths91]

Ruslan Sirotas piano solo on this is great.

 

[Crawford13]

3 minutes ago, davegriffiths91 said:

Ruslan Sirotas piano solo on this is great.

 

Ruslan is a total monster! Love his playing. 

[musicbassman]

Well, here's two memorable guitar solos - completely different.

The first is edging towards chaos theory - it's Jon Poole's solo on Cardiacs 'Fiery Gun Hand'  Starts at 3.20

The second is Jay Graydons very carefully constructed solo on Manhattan Transfer's 'Twilight Zone'  Starts at  2.35

(By the way, Jay Graydon also played the solo on Steely Dan's 'Peg')

 

[Rich]

17 minutes ago, musicbassman said:

Well, here's two memorable guitar solos

 

Ahem.

5 hours ago, Rich said:

Your favourite non-guitar, non-bass solos. Sax, piano, drums, whatever. Just not guitar or bass. 

 

[fretmeister]

Almost anything recorded by Jeremy Pelt. Trumpet. 

[casapete]

3 hours ago, Maude said:

Also love the sax all in Boomtown Rats' Rat Trap. The solo's great but the sax all the way through makes that song.

Interesting bit of trivia about this song -

When the band performed the song on Top of the Pops (which is also mentioned in the song) as the UK new number one, the band members began by tearing up pictures of Travolta and Newton-John to emphasise the fact that the pair - who had spent a total of 16 weeks out of the preceding 22 at the top of the charts - had been deposed. Geldof mimed the saxophone part on a candelabra, a jest he explained in his autobiography Is That It?: "The Musicians' Union had forbidden me to play saxophone on the video, as obviously I hadn't done so on the record. But I saw a candelabra on the piano at the shoot and I put a mouthpiece in the central candle holder and played it. The impact of video came home when during the next few British gigs kids pulled out candelabras from nowhere and began playing them during the sax solo in 'Rat Trap'".^[6]

[casapete]

Two for one on this classic tune by Emmylou Harris - the piano solo by Glen Hardin is just perfect, followed by the pedal steel of Hank De Vito. Pure class.

 

[upside downer]

I've always enjoyed the Count Basie Orchestra on triangle.

 

[Barking Spiders]

I'm a sucker for a bit of bluesy harmonica plus some tasteful shred. Here's a tasty bit of blues harp from Joe Satriani on Big Bad Moon at 2.14. As an aside also some nifty slide guitar .

Back from around the same time I was also well into piano led house music (sad old ageing raver that i am). Here's a classic from back in the day. Not a solo as such but the piano is throughout.

 

 

Edited June 11, 2020 by Barking Spiders

[T-Bay]

Dr Feelgood Roxette - the harmonica solo is just stunning. A massively underrated song by a massively underrated band imho.

[MrCrane]

Jacka's mandolin solo at the end of Maggie May always does it for me.

 

[Chezz55]

Oh - so many good solos out there but my current faves are both sax solos

 

Steven Marcus' solo (starts at 2' 30") is a bit tasty

 

AND

Richard Elliot's sax playing .................. - pick the bones out of that.

[Bill Wy,Aye,Man]

The Sax on Hazel O'Connor's 'Will You'

[Bill Wy,Aye,Man]

On 11/06/2020 at 13:36, MrCrane said:

Jacka's mandolin solo at the end of Maggie May always does it for me.

 

Thanks for crediting Ray Jackson