Welcome one and all to the Guitar Wars. These battles feature songs nominated by you, the folks from the Realms. This isn’t about who the better guitarist is, or what band is better. This is about the instrument and the song. Great solos are something that make us sit up and take notice, but the guitar is more than that. There are great riffs like the one in Beat It, which was not done by Eddie Van Halen. You know, that awesome riff that permeates the song is also the part that EVH had nothing to do with.

There are ways that the guitarist wraps his playing around the melody and makes a perfect fit that’s so subtle and imperceptible that most times it gets missed. And of course, there are the solos, some with blinding speed and some played so eloquently and with so much feel that you can get lost in one sustained note after another.

You are hear! Hendrix, Clapton, Lifeson, Atkins, Page, Abasi, Santana, Morello and a host of others will be popping up. Come on in and check out the virtuosity of these and others. Find new songs you can add to your shuffle or just reminisce on songs you may not have heard in a while. Enjoy.

Listen to each song and pay attention to the guitar part and vote for the song whose guitar part you liked better. Maybe you’re a fan of the slide, or finger-picking or electric solo, but give each song a chance and then vote for the performance that you liked better. We’ll go round by round and match by match until we have a winner. That song will be crowned best overall guitar song to listen to on the Realms. All the songs will have the main guitarist or guitarists listed along with the band’s name and the name of the song. Critique it if you want, and judge it as you will, but keep in mind, this isn’t a battle of what band or artist is better. I for one may not be a fan of a certain band or solo artist, but that will not keep me from voting for a song of theirs if that song has one of the most gorgeous guitar solos ever heard.

Matchups will close on the fifth day after they are posted.

So, without further adieu, hear we go:

GALAXY 500 – Jim Heath/Reverend Horton Heat

DIRTY WOMEN – Tony Iommi/Black Sabbath
First solo begins around 1:37 to 3:20. Second solo runs from 3:50 to end of song.

ROUND 1 MATCHES:
1 Chet Atkins (Orange Blossom Special)Vs Buddy Guy (Baby, Please Don’t Leave Me) Chet Atkins wins 11-9
2 Clapton/Allman – Derek & the Dominos (Layla) Vs Joe Satriani (Oriental Melody) Satriani wins 13-8
3 John Mayer (Slow Dancing in a Burning Room Vs Duane Eddy (Rebel Rouser) Duane Eddy wins 11-10
4 B.B. King (The Thrill Is Gone) Vs Alex Lifeson – Rush (Working Man B.B. King wins 16-5
5 Jimmy Page – Led Zeppelin (Black Dog) Vs Eric Clapton – The Beatles (While My Guitar Gently Weeps) Eric Clapton wins 12-7
6 Adrian Smith – Iron Maiden (Sea of Madness) Vs Mick Jones – The Clash (Lost in a Supermarket) Adrian Smith wins 12-9
7 Pete Townshend – The Who (Pinball Wizard) Vs Friedman/Becker – Cacophony (Concerto) Friedman/Becker wins 8-7
8 Ronnie Montrose – Montrose (Space Station #5) Vs Allen Collins – Lynyrd Skynyrd (Free Bird) Allen Collins wins 13-6
9 Angus Young – AC/DC (Fling Thing/Rocker) Vs Steve Clark – Def Leppard (Switch 625) Angus Young wins 12-9
10 J Mascis – Dinosaur Jr (Pick Me Up) Vs Snakefinger (Climbing the Ladder) J Mascis wins 16-4
11 George Lynch – Dokken (Mr Scary) Vs Henry Paul – The Outlaws (Green Grass and High Tides) Henry Paul wins 14-7
12 Yngwie Malmsteen (Arpeggios from Hell) Vs Brian Setzer (Switchblade 327) Brian Setzer Wins 12-9
13 Sterling Morrison – Velvet Underground (Oh! Sweet Nothin’) Vs Daniel Ash – Love and Rockets (Yin and Yang and the Flowerpot Man) Sterling Morrison wins 12-7
14 Zakk Wylde – Ozzy Osbourne (No More Tears) Vs Robin Trower (Day of the Eagle) Robin Trower wins 16-4
15 Ronaldo/Moore – Sonic Youth (Total Trash) Vs Tosin Abasi – Animals As Leaders (CAFO)
16 Jerry Cantrell – Alice in Chains (Man in the Box) Vs Mick Ronson – David Bowie (Moonage Daydream)
17 Larry Reinhardt – Captain Beyond (Dancing Madly Backwards Vs Gary Moore (Parisienne Walkways)
18 Jim Heath – Reverend Horton Heat (Galaxy 500) Vs Tony Iommi – Black Sabbath (Dirty Women)

DIRTY WOMEN – Tony Iommi/Black Sabbath


these threads make me realize how completely out of synch I am with the rest of society.

GALAXY 500 – Jim Heath/Reverend Horton Heat

Such a fun song.

This is our third song about cars or trains. Gotta love it that guitarists dig those things, especially the rockabilly/psychobilly dudes.

I'm an old Sabbath fan from the early 70s when I first got into R&R, and I remember buying this LP back in the 70s and playing it maybe once or twice. I never really connected with the direction the band was taking here and it felt as if they were going through the motions. Tony Iommi's soloing just never seemed inspired and creative. Even on this solo you can hear bits of Nativity in Black.

Just like with Brian Setzer's Switchblade 327 (I preferred the Dodge/Mopar 318 series), the Reverend winds out the guitar and the fretboard becomes the open road. It doesn't dazzle, but at :37 he opens it up and winds it on down the highway and then the solo comes on and is reminiscent of Commander Cody's ode to racing, Hot Rod Lincoln.

So for me, this one is one of my easier votes - Jim Heath and Galaxy 500

I read all the posts up to VG9's and then watched the vids. My vote would not be different if I had reversed the viewing order. I'm going with The Reverend...

Tony Iommi.

Oh, I just enjoyed that Rev. Horton Heat track way too much to vote against it. Not to detract from Iommi's proto-metal stylings, but one of the first bands I ever worked with was Goober and the Peas, and that left me with a lingering fondness for cowpunk, rockabilly, and whatever the Butthole Surfers are. Jim Heath to advance.

What I love about Jim Heath is that while he is amazing I never feel like he is showing off. He is always doing what is best for the song and taking you along on the ride and it isn't until your toe stops tapping and you force yourself to just sit and listen that you realize how crazy good he is. It's like the old saying about athletes, the really good ones never have to tell you how good they are.

Jim Heath

Whoever nominated Galaxy 500 here, my thanks to you. I love Reverend Horton Heat and hadn't heard them in quite a while.

Anyhow, my vote goes to Galaxy 500. Listening to the two songs back to back, Iommi's guitar honestly feels plodding next to Heath's maniacal style.

Your welcome

this is a hard one......




ok so ive made my up my mind. im gunna have to give it to DIRTY WOMEN – Tony Iommi/Black Sabbath, what iommi accomplishe's with his guitar is always amazing. i have to say though that i absolutly love the reverend and the guitar playing is amazing in that song but i had to give it to iommi.

Galaxy 500 is a quirky and fabulously entertaining song. And it doesn't hurt that a 1964 Galaxy 500 is one of my all-time favorite cars. I like the song.

But this is also a really good Black Sabbath song, and my vote has to go to for DIRTY WOMEN – Tony Iommi/Black Sabbath.