Prince’s five greatest guitar solos
One of pop’s great polymaths, the songwriter is nominally known as Prince was also a guitarist of high repute. Every guitar solo produced was done with reverence and regulation, understanding the best way to be powerful was to understand the essence of the tune. And as it happens, he did just that.
The songs selected for this list aren’t necessarily the best demonstration of his prowess as a guitar player, but they prove to be a document of his development as a lead guitar player. And so it comes to pass that the guitar solos were often utilised by other artists.
He could have just as easily presented himself as a guitar player for hire, such was the power of his craft as a six-string man. But the song was never less than the sum of the solo that pushed its way through the work. He was a man of many talents.
There are many options we could have included in this list, but we’ve limited ourselves to five, so this is more of a snapshot than anything that might be described as complete. But we’d like to think that it’s a very good one.
Prince’s best guitar solos:
5. ‘Purple Rain’
Prince’s signature song also features one of the most sparkily produced guitar solos of his career. He burns through the cylinders, creating a dizzying guitar instrumental that takes up the closing coda of the tune. It sounded good on record, but it was magnificent live, as the man burned through the instrument, letting the strings pierce through the proceedings, busily reproducing the essence of the original tune with a fire of his own making.
Rather than let his voice sing through the proceedings, he let the guitar pour out the etchings of his soul, creating a passage that was deeply sensitive to the audience and the propulsion that comes with the live audience. It may sound strikingly original, but Prince was worried it veered too close to Journey’s ‘Faithfully’. “I want to play something for you, and I want you to check it out,” Prince told keyboardist Jonathan Cain. “The chord changes are close to ‘Faithfully,’ and I don’t want you to sue me.” The keyboardist was blown away by the tune, and gave it his blessing.
4. ‘Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?’
‘Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?’ was Prince’s first venture into rock, having carved a niche for himself as a pop and funk artist. Fittingly, the guitar solo is edgy, punchy, and emotionally coiled. He layers the guitars to create a polished sound that is rich with danger and possibility, acting like the powerful tremolos that would become part of Guns ‘N’ Roses artillery. Prince’s work proved a pivotal map for the Los Angeles rockers when they decided to put their first album together. The guitar cuts through the other instruments, in a billowing fashion, making a trendier pattern that’s as seductive as it is deadly.
The song, much like the solo, was a clarion call for the artist herein referred to as Prince, as it showed he could rock as well as he could entertain. But there was more to the guitarist than rollicking riffs, and moments of blistering guitar work, as was clear from the songs he produced during the 1980s.
3. ‘American Woman’
No, Prince doesn’t play on the recording, but he did appear with Lenny Kravitz when the singer attempted to replicate the tune live onstage. In many ways, this live cover is truer to the spirit of the Guess Who original, as Kravitz admitted he couldn’t replicate the tone from the original, feeling that he needed to pull it off if he was going to do the song justice. Wisely, he chose not to attempt the song, feeling that he couldn’t replicate the essence of the original tune.
And thus Prince stepped in, capturing the drama, trauma and scale of the Canadian original number. He plays like entering into the studio in an effort to capture the presence of a Led Zeppelin number, playing the guitar as if polishing the backdrop of a sound painting, allowing the shadings to decorate the vocals in question. It’s an exhilarating performance, showing that Prince was as comfortable playing sideman as he was being the frontman of his own outfit.
2. ‘When Doves Cry’
Although his output was commercial, Prince was known for using avant-garde techniques in the studio. And so it was for ‘When Doves Cry’, which saw the artist commonly known as Prince as he did some sprucing that improved the track.”[Prince] took the bass out,” engineer Peggy McCreary admitted, “and he said, ‘There’s nobody that’s going to have the guts to do this.’ And he was smiling from ear to ear. He felt this was the best and he knew he had a hit song… so he decided to do something really daring. That’s what Prince was all about.”
Better still, the tune is brimming with guitars that chime in and out of the mixes, as splashes of reverb open the track, and power chords centre the piece, making it one of the most engaging demonstrations of guitar work the songwriter put to tape. The tune was one of Freddie Mercury‘s favourites, and the following Queen album, A Kind of Magic, features an abundance of splashily produced guitar passages that are tastily reminiscent of this little hook.
1. ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’
Could there be any other winner? Prince’s guitar solo is better than Eric Clapton’s, and he does George Harrison more than justice, pillaring through the proceedings, giving the tune a ballast that was lacking on The Beatles’ disappointing recording. Prince joined Tom Petty to celebrate the work of the deceased Beatle, avoiding the temptation to sing along with the Heartbreakers frontman but posing as the guitar hero he is rarely remembered as. But the guitar figure, sizzling in all sorts of directions, is all the better for Prince’s presence.
It’s a belting solo, brimming with possibility, bringing a modern sensibility to the understated Beatle ballad. Indeed, the chiming arpeggios are among Prince’s greatest exhibitions, and although he never committed this solo to tape, the live performance is exciting enough, revelling in the essence of the here and now.
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