Robert Fripp: The most beautiful guitar solo?

Hi,

This is really hard to decide, since RF re-defines the idea of "solo", and "lead", when both of these do exactly the same thing within one piece of music ... sometimes leading it, and other times, just adding to it.

When you hear some of "Heroes" (David Bowie's) and specially watch the KC video, you realize that ... wow ... is this a solo? And the answer is NO ... this is the drive in the song, and it does not stop and RF does this on so much of the KC material, that defining something he does as "solo", I think demeans the quality of his compositional work, and material that is used in King Crimson. I seriously doubt, that RF looks at any of these pieces mentioned here as a "solo", at all, and I question the knowledge and appreciation of the music itself ... when you think of KC as a bunch of solos ... and it isn't.

The musicians are given some solo spots ... but you will rarely find one for RF ... he doesn't like doing "solo's" and has stated so many times ... and we still look for "solo's".

I really wonder what folks are listening to ... when they have simplified all music to just "solo's" and have no idea when it is a solo and when it is not! My definition is not perfect, but I think it is perfectly obvious to my ear!

Not so easy to tell outside of conventional structures such as : lead = theme / solo = everyone plays the chords from the grid except the improvizing soloist. 

Now if a line "leads" it should mean all the other lines "follow" which is not really the case in a solo where the soloist would "fly" above the remaining.

I don't think Fripp is a very succesful soloist, because it often sounds like he's launching lines but becomes stuck, typically into repeating patterns after playing differents notes, before finding ways out. When he succeeds it's champagne for all though !!

Sailor's Tales's solo is one of my best Crimson trips. Providence is sublime with it's agility and change of directions (but everyone is flying there so it's not really a solo, even if it is played like a solo). The New heavenly Corporation and Swastika Girls have me ! Lately a dgm download  "Heavy Skirmish" (from April 18th 2016) features one of his all time bests at my place.