Best Instrumental Acoustic Guitar Songs

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Which gets your vote?

My picks:

Jimmy Page - "Bron-yr-Aur"

Randy Rhoads - "Dee"

― calstars (calstars), Friday, 21 November 2003 19:53 (twenty-two years ago)

Lee Ranaldo - "Here"

― Al (sitcom), Friday, 21 November 2003 19:54 (twenty-two years ago)

Pink Floyd: Is There Anybody Out There
John Williams: Cavatina (from "Deer Hunter")

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Friday, 21 November 2003 20:03 (twenty-two years ago)

Geir - the same John Williams that did the Star Wars soundtracks?

― calstars (calstars), Friday, 21 November 2003 20:05 (twenty-two years ago)

john fahey = sunflower river blues (original takoma version).

― gygax! (gygax!), Friday, 21 November 2003 20:08 (twenty-two years ago)

preston reed, "wirewhip"

― fact checking cuz, Friday, 21 November 2003 20:11 (twenty-two years ago)

Minutemen, "Cohesion"

― Phil Freeman (Phil Freeman), Friday, 21 November 2003 20:17 (twenty-two years ago)

Jorma Kaukonen - Downhill Sleigh Ride

― dave225 (Dave225), Friday, 21 November 2003 20:19 (twenty-two years ago)

you all are silly for not saying Uncle Tupelo's "Sandusky."

― tobo, Friday, 21 November 2003 20:38 (twenty-two years ago)

Bert Jansch owns this thread.

Angie
Lucky Thirteen
First time Ever i Saw Your Face

Pentangle's 'Sweet Child' has loads of great ones too.

― Pete S, Friday, 21 November 2003 20:42 (twenty-two years ago)

Eddie Van Halen - "Spanish Fly"
Fridge - "Harmonics"

― Mark (MarkR), Friday, 21 November 2003 20:46 (twenty-two years ago)

Mark - Eddie Van Halen OTM

― calstars (calstars), Friday, 21 November 2003 20:48 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah it's like "Eruption: Unplugged"

― Mark (MarkR), Friday, 21 November 2003 20:50 (twenty-two years ago)

That it is. It's cool that it's on the second album, and 'Eruption' is on the first.

― calstars (calstars), Friday, 21 November 2003 20:55 (twenty-two years ago)

Hans Reichel: "Southern Monologue"

― Rockist Scientist, Friday, 21 November 2003 21:13 (twenty-two years ago)

One of my favourites (and fitting this category, although it has snappy drums and bass added on the bridge) is 'Sunflower' by J. Saunders (from the 1976 De Wolfe LP, 'Traveller'). Sounds poignant and somewhat in the vein of an early '70s Rod Stewart backing track (as do several of the tracks on that LP).

― David (David), Friday, 21 November 2003 21:17 (twenty-two years ago)

Schlong - "Fairy Circus"
The Smiths - "Back to the Old House" (from 'Hatful of Hollow')
Richard Thompson - "1952 Vincent Black Lightning"

― Bryan (Bryan), Friday, 21 November 2003 21:24 (twenty-two years ago)

(sorry - I forgot about the instrumental part for the second two)

― Bryan (Bryan), Friday, 21 November 2003 21:25 (twenty-two years ago)

That "Back to the Old House" is instrumental? Is it just Marr?

― Mark (MarkR), Friday, 21 November 2003 21:33 (twenty-two years ago)

"Mood For A Day", Steve Howe (Fragile

― t\'\'t (t\'\'t), Friday, 21 November 2003 23:02 (twenty-two years ago)

Mark, it's acoustic but not instrumental. Moz sings on it. A nice, wistful song, though.

― David A. (Davant), Friday, 21 November 2003 23:28 (twenty-two years ago)

The one on the Kyuss - 'Blues For The Red Sun' album.

― Johnny Badlees (crispssssss), Friday, 21 November 2003 23:45 (twenty-two years ago)

Oh, how about-

Julian Bream - "Sonata for Guitar" (L. Brouwer)
Sylvester Weaver - "Guitar Blues" and "Smoketown Strut"
Mississippi John Hurt - "Spanish Flangdang"
Roy Smeck - "Guitarese"
Wilhelm Bruck / Theodor Ross - "Salut für Caldwell" (H. Lachenmann)
Davy Graham - "Blue Raga"
Derek Bailey - "Niigata Snow"
John Fahey - "Fare Forward Voyagers"
Michael Gulezian - "Cafe on the Rings of Saturn"
Currituck County (Kevin Barker) - "Staynor Family Breakdown"

also, I like "The Clap" better than "Mood For a Day", so let's nominate that one too.

and also whoever played that extended intro to "Crazy On You" (one of the Wilson sisters? Roger Fisher?)

― Broheems (diamond), Friday, 21 November 2003 23:46 (twenty-two years ago)

John Fahey -- "On the Sunny Side of the Ocean"
I can listen to it over and over again.

― jp, Saturday, 22 November 2003 01:17 (twenty-two years ago)

No mention of Paco De Lucia yet, so I'd nominate much of his output, in particular anything on "Siroco".

Seconding Davey Graham, Hans Reichel, John Fahey, and Bert Jansch; as long as we're bringing up Jansch, let's also note his Pentangle colleague John Renbourn ("The Lady and the Unicorn", "The Three Maidens", "Sir John Alot Of" as album starting points).

Anthony Phillips as well, but I can't single out a specific track -- his "12" album is solo acoustic 12-string. Also his forner Genesis cohort Steve Hackett -- "Bay of Kings" and "Momentum" are all-acoustic albums and are quite nice.

In the classical realm, Christopher Parkening is a good interpreter -- the composers that he's performing on a given record will determine which you'll like best. And, of course, John Williams (calstars -- not the fellow who scores Spielberg's films). I can't claim to have an authoritative knowledge of his work, but I have a collection called "The Baroque Album" that I really enjoy (Scarlatti, Bach, that sort of thing).

― Nom De Plume (Nom De Plume), Saturday, 22 November 2003 04:36 (twenty-two years ago)

Pete, I was listening to Dazzling Stranger right as I saw this thread and was just about to post Angie and Lucky Thirteen but you scooped me, so I guess I'll say Blackwaterside.

― Matt Helgeson (Matt Helgeson), Saturday, 22 November 2003 04:39 (twenty-two years ago)

But that's not even an Instrumental, D'oh I suck.

― Matt Helgeson (Matt Helgeson), Saturday, 22 November 2003 04:40 (twenty-two years ago)

Baden Powell: "Variacao" (jagged variations on the "Ipanema" theme)

And some other Powell stuff, but I have a feeling I haven't yet discovered the things by him that I would like best.

― Rockist Scientist, Saturday, 22 November 2003 04:57 (twenty-two years ago)

Heitor Villa-Lobos - Chôros #1

I've learned to play it fairly badly (I'm not much of a guitarist) and sadly peoples first reaction is somewhere in the middle: "Hey, wasn't that the Nokia melody?"
MEH!

― Øystein H-O (Øystein H-O), Saturday, 22 November 2003 05:23 (twenty-two years ago)

"Little Martha"!
the brotherly Allman 'strumental

― t\'\'t (t\'\'t), Saturday, 22 November 2003 13:34 (twenty-two years ago)

''Derek Bailey - "Niigata Snow"''

ha, damn these time zones ;)

also: I'd like to mention that sequenza for guitar in the luciano berio 3 CD set (deustche gramophon).

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Saturday, 22 November 2003 13:43 (twenty-two years ago)

whole of the marc ribot "plays the works of frantz casseus" album...

― marcg (marcg), Saturday, 22 November 2003 14:19 (twenty-two years ago)

'young raccoon'

― RJG (RJG), Saturday, 22 November 2003 14:23 (twenty-two years ago)

whole of the marc ribot "plays the works of frantz casseus" album...

well, well - a whole lot of Ribot's 'Saints' alb. is very good too.

― t\'\'t (t\'\'t), Saturday, 22 November 2003 23:54 (twenty-two years ago)

Geir - the same John Williams that did the Star Wars soundtracks?

Incredibly, yes. The theme from "Deer Hunter" is one of the most beautiful instrumental pieces ever made, a classic fingerpicking guitar track.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Sunday, 23 November 2003 01:19 (twenty-two years ago)

one year passes...

The entirety of Leo Kottke's 6- and 12- String Guitar. Absolutely jaw-dropping playing--for years I thought it was overdubbed. Unfortunately, everything else I've ever checked out by him was very disappointing after this. I've also tried to learn these songs myself, but I just can't play them at anything less than a quarter of the tempo he plays at. Seriously recommended for people who like this kind of thing.

― Keith C (kcraw916), Sunday, 8 May 2005 14:22 (twenty years ago)

John Fahey's "Approaching Of The Disco Void" and Steve Howe's "Clap" are good'uns.

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Sunday, 8 May 2005 15:11 (twenty years ago)

"The Fields" Chris Brokaw

― Aja (aja), Sunday, 8 May 2005 15:17 (twenty years ago)

Tavern On The Green by Chic---Not the type of band you'd expect to do an acoustic guitar instrumental, but they did, and it's great.

― kornrulez6969 (TCBeing), Sunday, 8 May 2005 17:57 (twenty years ago)

Heart song by Gordon Giltrap.

― Kris England, Sunday, 8 May 2005 18:12 (twenty years ago)

Lindsey Buckingham has a cupla nice ones on his last solo album "Out of the Cradle"

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Sunday, 8 May 2005 21:59 (twenty years ago)

"Psalm" by M.Ward is pretty great, I think.

― giboyeux (skowly), Sunday, 8 May 2005 22:00 (twenty years ago)

Charalambides - "Denver Harbor"
Sandy Bull - "Little Maggie"
Alvarius B. - "Sleepgunner" (I think that's the title)

― That's not cocaine! It's Ian Riese-Moraine! (Eastern Mantra), Sunday, 8 May 2005 22:04 (twenty years ago)

"Lightning Song"--Queens of the Stone Age

― steve hise, Sunday, 8 May 2005 23:32 (twenty years ago)

windy and warm - doc watson

― m0stly clean (m0stly clean), Sunday, 8 May 2005 23:35 (twenty years ago)

nick drake "horn"

― shine headlights on me (electricsound), Sunday, 8 May 2005 23:44 (twenty years ago)

...there was some song they used to play on 93X back in the day...Cliffs of Dover? I was all over that.

― giboyeux (skowly), Sunday, 8 May 2005 23:48 (twenty years ago)

Jefferson Airplane, "Embryonic Journey," which still makes me stop what I'm doing anytime I hear it.

― Joseph McCombs (Joseph McCombs), Monday, 9 May 2005 03:09 (twenty years ago)

Mick Wills 'The Magic Garden'
Shawn Persinger 'Camel Carries Lamb'
Richard Leo Johnson 'The Filing Song'

― echoinggrove (echoinggrove), Monday, 9 May 2005 03:33 (twenty years ago)

No love for "Classical Gas"?

Joseph, a friend of mine walked down the aisle to "Embryonic Journey." Cheeky guitar player -- her parents didn't know she was pregnant. Fortunately, they didn't know the title of the song, either.

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Monday, 9 May 2005 04:21 (twenty years ago)

four months pass...

any song from Leo Kottke

― antonio navarro, Sunday, 25 September 2005 06:27 (twenty years ago)

Buckethead: Colma and Electric Tears

Michael Hedges: Taproot

these are full instrumental acoustic albums

― dumb negro white boy out west, Sunday, 25 September 2005 06:32 (twenty years ago)

four months pass...

Guns N' Roses - Patience

― James Fanais, Friday, 10 February 2006 03:44 (twenty years ago)

All my favorites are pretty obvious canonical ones - Embryonic Journey, The Clap, Bron-yr-Aur - but it's nice to get some additional suggestions. I've wanted to fill out a playlist with this stuff.

Surely there's some Richard Thompson out there. Who knows the specifics?

― Mitya (mitya), Friday, 10 February 2006 06:34 (twenty years ago)

robbie basho & jandek.

― Special Agent Gene Krupa (orion), Friday, 10 February 2006 06:36 (twenty years ago)

At the Gates?

― Cameron Octigan (Cameron Octigan), Friday, 10 February 2006 06:39 (twenty years ago)

For all you Tea Party hataz out there, I offer "Winter Solstice": If it doesn't give you at least a molecule of enjoyment, I give up. (As baffled as ever.)

(My favourite is still "Clap", tho. Ooh, and then there's Jimmy Page's [ok, really Bert Jansch's] "White Summer". The Yardbirds version, with the tabla and the soprano sax accompaniment.)

― myONga vON bONtee (Myonga Von Bontee), Friday, 10 February 2006 07:19 (twenty years ago)

Guitar Chimes and Blind Arthur's Breakdown by Blind Blake. Anything by Sylvester Weaver.

― Ogmor Roundtrouser (Ogmor Roundtrouser), Friday, 10 February 2006 12:09 (twenty years ago)

Faust, "On The Way To Abamäe"
Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, "Cursed, Coined & Crucified"

― Deluxe (Damian), Friday, 10 February 2006 13:28 (twenty years ago)

Faust, "On The Way To Abamäe"

... that's my acoustic guitar party piece

― Dadaismus (Dada), Friday, 10 February 2006 13:34 (twenty years ago)

and also whoever played that extended intro to "Crazy On You" (one of the Wilson sisters? Roger Fisher?)

Nancy played it, and she is completely underrated as a guitar player. That intro is a bitch to play correctly.

John Williams the composer and John Williams the classical guitarist are NOT in fact the same person. Also the Cavatina from the Deer Hunter, played by the latter John Williams, was composed by Stanley Myers.

I'll second the Steve Howe Instrumentals, and Bron-Yr-Aur, and submit Adrian Legg's early 90's work (Guitar for Mortals, Guitar and Other Cathedrals) and uber-percussive Hipster darling Kaki King.

― Ash (ashbyman), Friday, 10 February 2006 16:36 (twenty years ago)

one month passes...

I've been listening to some mellow Dire Straits stuff tonight and thought I would ask -- didn't Knopfler ever do something that would fit it here. None with Dire Straits, but surely something off one of his solos or soundtracks?

― mitya is really tired of making up names, Friday, 10 March 2006 05:38 (twenty years ago)

Theme from Dead Man - Neil Young

― DoG67, Friday, 10 March 2006 06:28 (twenty years ago)

M. Ward's cover of the Beach Boy's "I Still Believe In You." Off his Transistor Radio Album

― tenbuck, Saturday, 11 March 2006 05:15 (twenty years ago)

no-one said Horizons (genesis)? seriously it is quite good. and allegedly the inspiration for Jim O'Rourke to learn to play acoustic (maybe some of you don't think that's a good thing).

― kyle (akmonday), Saturday, 11 March 2006 06:35 (twenty years ago)

Jim O'Rourke's entire Bad Timing album
Steve Howe--"Clap"

― smogwai, Saturday, 11 March 2006 07:10 (twenty years ago)

I just got this sweet CD by Laurence Juber (ex-Wings) at my work--it's all solo acoustic instrumentals of Wings tracks! And--no joke--it's great! "Band on the Run" is especially awesome. Apparently, Juber has a CD of Beatles instrumentals as well, but I haven't heard it.

Also, I like "Dargai" by Richard Thompson--it's the tail end of "Dimming of the Day" on Pour Down Like Silver. Perfect.

― Tyler W (tylerw), Saturday, 11 March 2006 15:31 (twenty years ago)

"Horizons" is pretty tame compared to the other stuff listed here, IMO.

― Mitya (mitya), Saturday, 11 March 2006 17:04 (twenty years ago)

I go with the Leo Kottke crowd, but nominate specifically _Vaseline Machine Gun_ as the one to pick.

Amon Duul II-Cerberus

John McLaughlin-My Goals Beyond

― J Arthur Rank (Quin Tillian), Saturday, 11 March 2006 17:10 (twenty years ago)

And just to be an asshat--songs have vocals by definition (I've had this argument before and lost. I too used to think of "songs" as any discrete piece of music, but it's not.)

― J Arthur Rank (Quin Tillian), Saturday, 11 March 2006 17:12 (twenty years ago)

seventeen years pass...

I just got this sweet CD by Laurence Juber (ex-Wings) at my work--it's all solo acoustic instrumentals of Wings tracks! And--no joke--it's great! "Band on the Run" is especially awesome. Apparently, Juber has a CD of Beatles instrumentals as well, but I haven't heard it.

sounds good!

recently came across this awful-looking package https://www.acoustic-music.de/while-my-guitar-gently-weeps (streaming here https://open.spotify.com/album/6CAb0IUvVj8OPNJEKUbm32 ) and... it's great? maybe those songs are so good it shines through even inna tacky acoustic guitar vibe

― corrs unplugged, Friday, 9 February 2024 11:14 (two years ago)

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