3 of The Best Songs With Spellbinding Guitar Duels

Almost everyone can spot the best guitar solos of all time. But to spot the best guitar duels, that’s another level of music fandom very few qualify for. Which is a shame, as guitar duels are a musical dialogue that place guitarists in a nuanced debate of sound and energy. Plus, what’s better than one guitar solo? Two guitar solos!

Given that more sometimes means better, there have been a plethora of musicians to utilize the tool in their most memorable songs. Matter of fact if it wasn’t for these epic guitar duels residing between verses these memorable songs would possibly not be memorable at all. Per this logic, here are three of the best songs with spellbinding guitar duels.

1. “Hotel California” by The Eagles

One of the best motivators in music is that of competition. Thus, when The Eagles wrote “Hotel California” Joe Walsh and Don Felder felt an unspoken competition and what entailed was a paradoxically harmonious duel.

Even though this has been labeled as a competition, the product would say otherwise. The duel between Felder and Walsh takes up more than two minutes of the six-minute song. It is truly the most iconic part of the Eagles’ No. 1 hit and it can mainly be attributed to Walsh and Felder’s need to musically trump the other.

2. “Free Bird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd

Despite being primarily known for the electrifying guitar work by Allen Collins. The solo in “Free Bird” wouldn’t have been half of what it is if it weren’t for Gary Rossington’s work on the steel guitar. Filing the solo with steel interludes, Rossington’s rebuttals are what make the solo a tonal debate of call and response.

Keeping the 4x4x4 rhythm pattern, Rossington and Collins create a convoluted yet organized mess of a piece of music. A truly masterful example of chemistry, the more than four-minute guitar segment is one of the best of all time.

3. “Whipping Post” by The Allman Brothers Band

The Allman Brothers Band is often associated with being one of the founders of the Southern rock sound. One of the songs attributing to that fact is their 1969 hit “Whipping Post.” Though, that wouldn’t be the case if it weren’t for Duane Allman and Dicky Betts’ guitar duel.

The riffs between Allman and Betts not only give the song its energy but also its improvisational jam band feel. Regarding jam bands, the band has been reported to play the song for over 20 minutes with the guitar solo taking up a vast majority of the piece. The two might sit in opposition on the song, but they just can’t help but play with one another.

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