Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen names his favourite solo of all time
Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen once said: “Guitar solos are funny things. To so many people who pick up the instrument, solos are all they can think about. They dream about the spotlight hitting them, and at that moment, they can go, ‘Hey everybody, look at me!’ Personally, I’ve never really thought that way.”
However, these comments might seem peculiar to come from the mouth of someone who has earned a name for playing guitar solos, that age-old feat of complete and utter self-indulgent showmanship. However, playing too many notes in a solo just get messy. The space between the notes is equally important.
It’s a sentiment that Collen understands, who gave credit to his producer Mutt Lange in showing him the art of subtlety. He said: “Mutt really drove home the point that every part of a song, especially the solo, has to have groove, feel and rhythm. If a solo gets too wacky and complicated, then everything is lost. That said, you can still rip and burn and play your ass off.”
He added: “In fact, that’s what a guitarist is supposed to do. You just have to do it with purpose in mind, and that purpose should always be the song, the band, the creative whole. Even something like ‘Eruption’, which I guess you could say is one continuous solo, it’s not this audacious attention-grab – not in my book, at least. It’s a beautiful composition, with feel and spirit and joy.”
‘Eruption’ by Van Halen, in fact, appears to be Collen’s favourite guitar solo of all time, not to mention being considered one of the greatest solos of all time, period. The track appeared on Van Halen’s self-titled debut album in 1978.
Giving praise to the track, Collen said: “It takes a lot to beat this solo. Fire, technique, structure – it’s got everything you could want. Plus, there’s the tapping. Like a lot of people, I’d never heard tapping before Eddie Van Halen did it. What a mind-blower! I was like,’ What’s this guy doing?’ It was revolutionary.”
“But the best thing about ‘Eruption’ is the sense of freedom you feel when you hear it,” he adds. “To this day, it gives me chills. It’s pure rock expression. You don’t sense the thought that went into creating it; it simply exists, like the sun or the moon. When I heard it for the first time, all I could say was,’ Fuck, man. Thank you!’ That’s how good it made me feel… and still does.”
