Five guitar solos that prove Prince was one of the greatest of all time
Prince is one of the most divisive guitarists in history. You have those who claim that he can throw his hat in the ring as the greatest of all time, and then there are people like Keith Richards who once called him “an overrated midget”. Acerbically adding: “Prince has to find out what it means to be a prince. That’s the trouble with conferring a title on yourself before you’ve proved it.”
However, for every Richards condemner, there is an Eric Clapton who is happy to opine that the little ‘Purple One’ was a “guitar God”. Prince came along “at a time when I thought rock and roll was dead,” he continued. “This is someone who is a reincarnation of Little Richard, Jimi Hendrix and James Brown in one. I thought that’s exactly what the world needed.” That, in itself, is a feat that elevates him to a lofty height: he was a star who helped to reinvent the wheel.
This notion of being a pioneer as well as a skilled star is something that makes Prince stand out. Many virtuosos find themselves hoisted by their own petard, but Prince was aware of the truth that the song is all. In the process, it was energy rather than approval that he sought, and as Tom Petty once said, when he tapped into that ether, “you could feel the electricity of ‘something really big is going down here.’”
As Prince said himself, “music is music, ultimately. If it makes you feel good, cool.” That is a point which makes his music beautiful. He could string out arpeggios for days, and bend 12-bars into a mule-kicking power frenzy, but the key asset of his sound was the melodic alchemy that captured energy like no other. His axe was an engine of atmosphere more so than anything else, and the clips below prove his near unrivalled skill.
Five of Prince’s greatest guitar solos:
‘I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man’
When we talk about brilliant guitarists, one essential element that often escapes the exacting nature of the written word is how essential performance is. It might not be as apparent in recorded music, but when you see someone blow you away live it’s a force to behold. Prince had this in abundance.
Hotfooting across the stage in his orange velour suit, the star makes his synchronised wailing with the keyboard riff seem remarkably easy. I mean, imagine being about to dance like that alone, never mind ripping out some melodious magic while you do it—awe-inspiring stuff from a born performer. (Solo begins at 02:56)
‘Something in the Water’
Another key facet of Prince’s brilliance is how he could do it all. He wasn’t just a one-trick pony with lightning-quick hammer-ons or a fellow who could make a rig work like an orchestra, he could do just about anything a six-string could and beyond. The way the sound swirls and constructs itself in this tune is a credit to the way he sweated over engineering too.
“He always demanded the best,” Patrick Whalen, Prince’s former production manager, once told The Hollywood Reporter. Whalen was one of the fateful few who said ‘no’ to Prince once and learned very quickly never to say it again. He recalled: “He looked me in the eye and said: ‘So what you’re telling me is that in the one second it took for you to say ‘no,’ you left your body and exhausted every possibility?’” That sense of cohesion is readily apparent in the synced sound on display here. (Solo begins at 02:19)
‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’
Imagine being in the presence of Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood and making them all look like Grade 3 players while you extend the scales with what might be the greatest guitar solo ever captured on camera. That brilliance of it, in my opinion, is that you don’t need to be an aficionado to appreciate it—everyone from a hard-of-hearing gospel-loving granny to a three-year-old high on TikTok melodies could tell you how magical it is.
“You see me nodding at him, to say, ‘Go on, go on,’” Petty recalled of the moment. “I remember I leaned out at him at one point and gave him a ‘This is going great!’ kind of look. He just burned it up. You could feel the electricity of ‘something really big is going down here.’” The faces of the fellow virtuosos watching on says it all. And he even makes a performance of it beyond the sheer shredding sound. (Solo begins at 03:29)
‘The Ride’
In this classic solo, Prince changes pace faster than the racetrack rabbit who was found guilty of doping. He flips from flying through rapid picking and arpeggios to slow strumming vibrato on a whim. However, he somehow always remains melodious in the process. The laws of music are within his command and he’s making them dance like a marionette.
This ability to be both divisive and uniform is something that Prince loved in art. As he once said himself in praise of Jack White and his James Bond offering: “You’re throwing yourself into the sea of… It’s a very divisive track.’ And he goes, ‘Oh, I thought it was real strong.’” (Solo begins at 01:39)
‘Play That Funky Music’
Dressed like a Yeti at a cocktail party, Prince blasted off ‘Play That Funky Music’ at the Hollywood Bowl like a sonic rocket. You could almost believe that this was a free-form jam if it wasn’t for the fact that Prince was so damn meticulous about everything. Nevertheless, it has the searing energy of someone throwing caution to the wind and the kitchen sink along with it.
Filled with unison bends that build to a crescendo, there is a beautiful arch to this solo which is more akin to composing than simply cutting loose. Everything is geared toward the eventual melody which makes the magic along the way all the more amazing because it’s style with absolute intent. What’s more all of this requires note-perfect finger placement throughout, and not a single slide or hammer-on is missed amid the maelstrom of sound. (Solo begins at the get-go)
