3 Underrated Guitar Solos From the 1980s That Don’t Feature the Names Van Halen, Hetfield, or Rhoads

Eddie Van Halen, James Hetfield, and Randy Rhoads really dominated the guitar sound of the 1980s. But there were also countless other excellent guitarists who left their mark on the unique sound of 1980s rock music. Let’s look at just a choice few incredible guitar solos from the 1980s that are way too underrated today.

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“The Way I Walk” by The Cramps (1983)

I love Poison Ivy’s guitar solo on this song. In fact, I think it’s one of the most memorable rockabilly and gothic rock guitar solos out there. “The Way I Walk” was technically recorded around 1978 but wasn’t released until the 1983 compilation album, …Off The Bone. Honestly, if you’re unfamiliar with The Cramps and want a good primer, this compilation record is a fantastic place to start.

“Sailing Ships” by Whitesnake (1989)

Honestly, I’m surprised that Adrian Vandenberg’s solo on this 1987 track doesn’t get more love. It’s very of-the-era, and also very well done from a technical aspect. It’s a slow-burner of a solo, one that makes the whole of this song from the 1989 album Slip Of The Tongue even better. I’m surprised that “Sailing Ships” wasn’t released as a single, considering how good it is.

“It’s a message from me to all of you, to everybody,” songwriter David Coverdale said of the song. “That’s your ambition. That is your fantasy. It’s up to you to exercise that. Everybody has so many walls them because of this ridiculous society that we live in, y’know, you must express yourself, you have to, ’cause nobody’s gonna do it for you.”

“Little Fighter” by White Lion (1989)

Even if you weren’t a diehard White Lion fan back in the late 1980s (or a glam metal fan at all, honestly), you can’t deny that Vito Bratta’s guitar solo on this track is pretty incredible. Released in June of that year, this single ended up being a pretty successful single for the band, peaking at No. 52 on the Hot 100 and No. 12 on the US Album Rock Tracks chart. And yet, despite the song’s success (and the whole of the album Big Game’s success, considering it hit No. 19 on the Billboard 200), I don’t hear much love for Bratta in retrospect. This is really an underrated gem in glam metal history.

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