10 Greatest Rock Music Guitar Solos Of The 2010s
2. Rope - Foo Fighters
Dave Grohl’s band of nice hairy rock ‘n’ roll men, also known as the Foo Fighters, are another group not known for soloing. That’s probably because Grohl’s roots lie in grunge, a genre that some people associate with the death of the guitar solo.
Whether that’s true or not is highly debatable.
In 2011, the Foos released one of their best ever albums, Wasting Light. The likes of Walk, These Days, White Limo, Arlandria, and more made for a consistently excellent listening experience, and let’s not forget about the second track and lead single from the album, the mighty Rope.
Influenced by Led Zeppelin and the aforementioned Rush, Rope is absolutely gigantic, full of crashing guitars, drums, and Dave’s gravelly voice. The solo is played by Chris Shiflett, who releases his inner rock god to deliver something Jimmy Page would have been proud of, and maybe also a bit frightened by.
It’s crunchy, it’s rough, it’s frenetic, it’s the perfect excuse to fling yourself around the room with zero regard for your own safety. It’s not particularly long, but that’s not the point; it’s an entire two-minute solo’s worth of action condensed into 20 seconds, and it really works.