Slipknot!
Grateful Dead, 1975. Solo by Jerry Garcia.
An angular, jazz-tinged instrumental bridge where Garcia and Bob Weir weave tight, unusual lines.
Slipknot! is the knotty instrumental bridge on Blues for Allah that links Help on the Way to Franklin's Tower, and it is one of the most composed-sounding pieces the Grateful Dead ever made. Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir trace angular, chromatic lines that twist around each other, often in parallel or in close counterpoint, while the rhythm section keeps shifting accents underneath. Garcia's lead is jazz-tinged and slightly unsettled, avoiding easy resolutions until the piece finally breaks open into Franklin's Tower. It revealed how much structure the band could handle when they chose to. Listen for the recurring descending figure the two guitars share, and notice how each return sounds a little more tense than the last.
Slipknot! by Grateful Dead is featured in our Jam (#7) list. The solo is played by Jerry Garcia and the song was released in 1975.
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Who played the guitar solo on Slipknot!?
Jerry Garcia played the solo on Grateful Dead's Slipknot! (1975).