3 Classic Rock Songs That Don’t Include a Lead Guitar Solo

When you put on a classic rock song, there is one thing above all else that you expect: A guitar solo. Some long, thrilling, perhaps heavy-handed lead guitar riff that aims to summon the gods from Mount Olympus with its nimble wailing. It’s just a standard part of the classic rock formula. Or is it?

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Then again, there are some classic rock songs that don’t offer fans a guitar solo. Odd but true! And that’s just what we wanted to dive into below. Indeed, these are three popular and beloved classic rock tracks that actually don’t offer fans a wailing guitar solo. And they’re all absolutely killer songs regardless.

“Baba O’Riley” by The Who from ‘Who’s Next’ (1971)

Comedian Joe Pera famously freaked out when he discovered “Baba O’Riley”. But he also criticized the ending, saying it didn’t need that violin solo. Did you hear that? Violin solo. Not guitar. How does this song not have a guitar solo? Indeed, that was provided by Dave Arbus. No guitar lead, though. Wild stuff! “Baba O’Riley” proves that you really don’t need a hefty lead guitar solo to create an excellent classic rock song.

“Immigrant Song” by Led Zeppelin from ‘Led Zeppelin III’ (1970)

The guitar in this track is so prominent that you might think there is a lead guitar riff present in Led Zeppelin’s famous “Immigrant Song”, but there is not. You might get confused, thinking Robert Plant’s banshee vocals are an actual guitar solo, but nope. Led Zeppelin becomes larger than life and never resorts to a guitar lead. Largess and restraint. Genius! There’s a reason why this song is one of their best.

“Lithium” by Nirvana from ‘Nevermind’ (1991)

Grunge music famously shied away from lead guitar solos. The thinking was that the sub-genre wanted to be different from the party rock bands of the 80s, so why not eliminate the lead those groups often leaned on? Nirvana showed this on their hit single, “Lithium”. The poetic, depraved track is buzzy, big, and does not include a lead guitar solo. Grunge lives on with what Nirvana left behind!

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