The Beat It solo is very fast. The Little Red Corvette solo is very good. Good trumps fast. Learning to write good guitars solos is hard. Learning to noodle up and down the neck really fast is something that 14 year old boys do because puberty makes them afraid to leave the house.

LRC every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

abigail05 said:

The Beat It solo has got to be the most overrated rock solo of all time. By EVH standards it's pretty hack. A lot of great things happen, but overall it sounds like a pastiche of Eddie shredding.

It pales in comparison to anything he did on Van Halen I a few years earlier. He didn't do one unsavory thing on that album - it is just perfect.

Little Red Corvette's solo is simplistic, singable, and by far the better solo. It actually suits the song instead of being a showboat "holy shit, we got Eddie Van Halen!" moment.

That's nonsense. I liked it long before I knew who the fuck Eddie Van Halen was. Maybe that was MJ and Quincy's thinking when they recruited Eddie but it worked anyway. Besides, both are pop songs with an obligatory guitar solo. The guitar sound was a little more prominent throughout Beat It so if anything, Eddie's was a better fit. Ultimately it's really a matter of taste. For me it's the Beat It solo.

However, I do agree that it's overrated-- good but overrated. I've heard people say that they can't stand the song but like Eddie's solo or that the solo is the only good part of the song. That's ridiculous. Take it away from the song and it sounds like the pretentious showboating you spoke of.

purplemookiebut said:

well considering this is a PRINCE forum..what do u think?

Isn't the topic EVH vs Dez?

EVH is just grandstand showboating on that solo. i prefer the rythm riff in Beat It to the solo, i don't notice Dez's solo in LRC, to me it's not the focal point of the song,i spend my time listening to Prince singing so it passes me by.

But then if i listen to LRC, its usually only the 'special dance mix'. Far better.

starkitty said:

The riff in LRC right after he sings "And the ride..." is so endearing and wonderful to me. I love the little details.

I listen for that part every time, it's the best part of the song!