10 Greatest Hard Rock Guitar Solos Of All Time
6. Photograph - Def Leppard
Def Leppard were hitting their stride by the time they reached Pyromania. After scoring hits off of their previous effort High N Dry, the band entered the studio again with producer Mutt Lange and walked out with some of the best hard rock ever released in the 80's.
Though the riffs gave the songs their sonic bite, the real flair of these tunes came from new guitarist Phil Collen. After firing guitarist Pete Willis due to his heavy drinking, Collen brought an added virtuosity to the band's playing. Though you can still hear Willis' guitars across Pyromania, "Photograph" is where you start to see Collen marking his territory in the best way possible.
The solo starts like any typical rock solo, but it gets more interesting once he starts to add subtle legato breaks about halfway through. Collen does save the best items for last though, as he fires off one of the fastest guitar flourishes to lead us back into the pre-chorus.
This was a completely different sound for the band that took them a great rock outfit to a pure musical machine. While we had gotten used to the rough and tumble solos of Leppard guitarist Steve Clark, Collen's arrival brought the band a technical skill they hadn't yet tapped into.