3 Timeless Guitar Solos That Feel Like Emotional Breaking Points

Have you ever seen a guitar player get into the zone? All of a sudden, the musician isn’t just playing a string of notes. Now they’re on another planet. Their lips are mouthing each riff, their hands are flying up and down the neck, and it almost seems like they’re about to burst into tears.

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Indeed, sometimes seeing a guitar player on stage feels as if you’re witnessing the height of passion. And that’s just what we wanted to highlight below. These are three timeless guitar solos that feel like emotional breaking points.

“Comfortably Numb” by Pink Floyd from ‘The Wall’ (1980)

For all their classic rock majesty, the British-born band Pink Floyd was also one of the most subversive rock bands ever. They took on a punk rock mentality before the genre was around. Their epic, beautiful tracks poked holes in the worst parts of society. Take, for example, “Comfortably Numb”. The song title seems gross until you realize so many of us want that state of mind. The band’s David Gilmour takes it to the next level with the track’s lead guitar solo. It’s so sky-scrapingly incredible that it puts us in a state of comfortable numbness. Even if we wanted to resist, we’re lost in Gilmour’s talent.

“Cortez The Killer” by Neil Young from ‘Zuma’ (1975)

The guitar solo on this song seems as if it’s coming up from the actual Earth. Not only does it feel like Crazy Horse band members like Neil Young and Frank Sampedro are at their emotional breaking points, but it feels as if the very planet we’re living on is crying out for help. Each note seems to rise up from the muddy crags, from the ocean waves. Each note is thick like rock and hangs in the air like bad news. It’s tremendous!

“Purple Rain” by Prince from ‘Purple Rain’ (1984)

“Purple Rain” is an explosion of music. It’s a torrential song that builds and builds like a storm all the way until the epic climax of Prince’s guitar solo. The notes begin to fall down on you like tears, like raindrops. All of a sudden, everything that has consumed the Minnesota-born songwriter is gone, shed. Like a dark cloud above you, the release is full and unstoppable. And then it’s over. And you’re panting.

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