15 Greatest Classic Rock Guitar Solos
9. Sympathy For The Devil - The Rolling Stones
After the less than stellar reception to 1967's Their Satanic Majesties Request, The Rolling Stones decided to return to their blues-y rock roots with their follow-up album, 1968's Beggars Banquet.
Including songs such as "Street Fighting Man" and "Stray Cat Blues", the album is an amazing return to the style of music that the band was known for, but the greatest highlight from this album is arguably the opening track, "Sympathy For The Devil".
Incredibly vibrant and eccentric, the song is sung from the point of view of Satan himself as he explains his evil nature and his direct involvement in many of history's greatest tragedies.
The guitar solo of this song is simple and concise, mainly consisting of Keith Richards playing Minor Pentatonic scale riffs that accentuate the track's Latin/jazz feel to make an already engrossing song even more so. Although it isn't the most technically complex of solos, it doesn't need to be in order to be immediately captivating and significant.
"Sympathy For The Devil" is not only a standout single from one of the band's most highly acclaimed albums, but is also one of the most memorable and adored songs of The Rolling Stones' entire 60 year career.