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:

JOHNNY B GOOD – Chuck Berry

BREAKING THE LAW – Tipton& Downing/Judas Priest

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) Tosin Abasi wins 13-7
16 Jerry Cantrell – Alice in Chains (Man in the Box) Vs Mick Ronson – David Bowie (Moonage Daydream)
17 Larry Reinhardt – Captain Beyond (Dancing Madly Bacwards Vs Gary Moore (Parisienne Walkways)
18 Jim Heath – Reverend Horton Heat (Galaxy 500) Vs Tony Iommi – Black Sabbath (Dirty Women)
19 Chuck Berry (Johnny B Good) Vs K.K. Downing/Glen Tipton – Judas Priest (Breaking the Law)

Johnny B Good fills me with joy every time I hear it. Judas Priest may be more technically advanced, but there's a certain something they just don't capture in comparison.

BREAKING THE LAW – Tipton& Downing/Judas Priest

it's my ringtone!

I will go with Chuck Berry.

Think I'll go with Chuck Berry as well.

can I change my vote to Judas Priest covering Johnny B. Goode?

It has to be the original innovator. I would write more but my hand is already fading so I need to vote quickly and then get this car up to 88 mph.

Chuck Berry

Would rock guitar be the same today without Johnny B Good? Sure, someone would have done it, whether it was Bo, Buddy, Scotty or Johnny, there was someone who was going to make the guitar the focal point of the song. But it wasn't them and Johnny is the song that is the the one they all defer to. I hear the early grumblings of the great British guitarists in this solo. Hells yeah, that's George Harrison and early Clapton soloing - not Chuck Berry - but it is Mr Berry. I'm voting Chuck here, because you can't get to point B without having a starting point A.

Judas Priest perfected the art of the dual guitarists, and I've seen them live a couple of times. Even wound up backstage and got some pics of me (and my GF at the time) with the band. But back to the guitar parts...Tipton and Downing weren't just technically good, they were creative too, but in this match, I have to go with the man who started it all.

You can change it to this version.

I absolutely, positively would choose to listen to Judas Priest ten out of ten times.

But I have said from the start that I will not vote for a tag team. That my vote will go to the guitarist, singular, that I think does the best job.

Sorry Glenn, sorry KK.

Chuck Berry.

There are some times when technical skill will not save you. This is one of them.

Much respect for Judas Priest, but my vote goes to Chuck Berry.

BREAKING THE LAW – Tipton& Downing/Judas Priest

As much as I love and respect the original of anything, Breaking the Law is just such an iconic song due to an intro riff that takes you by the balls and makes you listen. It is similar to Enter Sandman but over 10 years earlier. As much as I enjoy Chuck Berry and Judas Priest, when I pick up my guitar to play or learn a song it will be Breaking the Law 9 times out of 10.

this one i thought would be hard at first as i absolutely love judas priest and chuck berry is part of the reason i first started playing guitar, but once i listened to the song's back to back it was no contest. JOHNNY B GOOD – Chuck Berry wins.