November Rain

Guns N' Roses, 1991. Solo by Slash.

The famous outdoor solo from the video, plus a closing lead that turns an orchestral ballad into a guitar song.

Slash contributes two main solos plus melodic fills from the third verse on, and together they turn an orchestral piano ballad into a guitar song. The first solo follows the chorus with a lyrical, sustained melody that grew straight out of an improvisation, and its strength is singable, carefully placed phrases rather than speed. The outro solo climbs as the band builds to a crescendo, moving between B harmonic minor and B natural minor for a darker, more dramatic colour. The guitars are tuned down a half step, adding weight to the Les Paul tone. Listen for the shift into harmonic minor during the closing solo; that one altered note gives the finale its grand, slightly exotic sweep.

November Rain by Guns N' Roses is ranked #11 in our consensus of 79 guitar-solo lists. The solo is played by Slash and the song was released in 1991. It appears on 42 lists, placing as high as #2 (Music in Minnesota).

The story of November Rain

"November Rain" was Axl Rose's long-term project, a piano ballad he had been developing since the band's earliest days. Songfacts traces it as far back as 1983, and former L.A. Guns guitarist Tracii Guns recalled Rose playing an early piano version and predicting it would one day be great. By the mid-1980s the song existed in sprawling form: Slash has said the band cut an 18-minute version with Nazareth guitarist Manny Charlton in 1986, before the Appetite for Destruction sessions, and MusicRadar reports that some early drafts ran close to 25 minutes.

Rose's main model was Elton John's 1973 epic "Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding", and Slash half-jokingly nicknamed the new song "the Layla song" because of its extended, multi-part structure. Rose later said Slash and Duff McKagan had resisted the band's drift toward orchestral ballads, preferring straight rock songs, though Slash disputed how serious those disagreements were. Rose described the lyric as being about not wanting to remain stuck in unrequited love.

The version fans know was finally recorded to Rose's satisfaction with producer Mike Clink during the sprawling Use Your Illusion sessions. Rose played piano and arranged the string parts himself, realised largely with synthesisers; Matt Sorum's drum feel reportedly drew on Elton John's "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", and Blind Melon's Shannon Hoon joined the backing choir. The song closed out Use Your Illusion I in September 1991 and was released as a single in February 1992.

Its lavish video, directed by Andy Morahan and starring Rose's then-girlfriend Stephanie Seymour, turned it into an MTV event. At nearly nine minutes, it became the longest song ever to reach the Billboard top 10, peaking at No. 3, a record that stood until 2021. The video, reportedly costing more than $1.5 million, follows a wedding that turns into a funeral, and it won the award for best cinematography at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards.

The solo

Slash contributes two main solos, plus melodic fills from the third verse onward. Wikipedia notes that his album solo grew straight out of an improvisation, and its appeal lies in singable, carefully placed phrases rather than speed. The first solo follows the chorus with a lyrical, sustained melody; the climactic outro solo, according to MusicRadar, moves between B harmonic minor and B natural minor as the band builds to a crescendo. The guitars are tuned down a half step. MusicRadar suggests Slash most likely tracked it on a 1959 Les Paul Standard replica into a modified Marshall JCM800 2203, though the exact studio rig is not firmly documented. In the video, filmed partly at a church transported to New Mexico, he plays a sunburst 1959 Les Paul that had belonged to Joe Perry, standing alone outside the church during the famous solo shot.

Legacy

Critics were split in 1992, with some praising its Elton John-style grandeur and others calling it overblown, but the song has since become one of the defining power ballads of the era. Guitar World readers placed Slash's solo sixth among the greatest ever, Pitchfork included it among its top tracks of the 1990s, and New Zealand's Rock 1000 listeners voted it No. 1 in 2006. Its video became the first pre-YouTube-era clip to reach one billion views in July 2018, passing two billion in 2023.

Top 10 facts about November Rain

Slash recalled that the band recorded an 18-minute version with Nazareth's Manny Charlton in 1986, before the Appetite for Destruction sessions.
Wikipedia
Some early versions of the song reportedly ran to about 25 minutes before being trimmed.
MusicRadar
Slash jokingly referred to it as 'the Layla song' because of its structure, while Rose drew on Elton John's 'Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding'.
Wikipedia
Slash said his guitar solo on the album version developed directly from an improvisation.
Wikipedia
At almost nine minutes, it was the longest song to enter the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 until Taylor Swift's 'All Too Well (10 Minute Version)' in 2021.
Wikipedia
Slash's solo was voted sixth in a Guitar World reader poll of the greatest guitar solos.
Songfacts
The video's outdoor solo scenes were shot in New Mexico, where a church was transported for the shoot after winter weather ruled out the original location idea.
Wikipedia
In the video Slash plays a 1959 Les Paul Standard that previously belonged to Aerosmith's Joe Perry.
MusicRadar
In July 2018 it became the first music video released before YouTube existed to pass one billion views on the platform.
Wikipedia
A 2022 reissue replaced the original synthesised strings with a newly recorded 50-piece orchestra arranged and conducted by Christopher Lennertz, mixed by Steven Wilson.
Wikipedia

Live versions

MTV Video Music Awards (1992) Nearly nine-minute performance closing the show, with Elton John joining on piano.
Not in This Lifetime... Tour (2016) Reunion-era shows preceded the song with the piano coda from 'Layla'.
Lisa Marie Presley memorial, Graceland (2023) Axl Rose performed a short solo version at the service.

Notable covers

Nicole Atkins and Mark Lanegan (2018) Stripped-back duet version with a country feel.
Korallreven Dreamy electronic reworking built on synth layers with a trance-like feel.
Amos Lee Live version faithful to the original's grand, string-backed arrangement.
Sandi Thom Sparse acoustic-guitar-and-organ take that drops the guitar solos.

In our lists

The Most-Taught Solos — #35
See Them Live — #5
The Greatest Solo of Every Year — #48
The Modern Canon: Best Since 1990 — #1
The 25 Greatest Hard Rock Guitar Solos — #4
The 1990s — #1
Ballad Solos — #2
Epic-Length Solos — #5
Best of Slash — #2
Played on a Les Paul — #3
Most Agreed-Upon — #10
Fans' Picks — #11

Sources

What guitar was used on the November Rain solo?

A gibson les paul through a Marshall amp, according to widely reported accounts.

Where does November Rain rank among the greatest guitar solos?

#11 in the GreatestSolos consensus of 79 published lists; it appears on 42 of them.

Who played the guitar solo in November Rain?

Slash, Guns N' Roses' lead guitarist, who plays two solos in the song.

Who wrote November Rain?

Axl Rose is the sole credited writer; he had been working on it since the early to mid-1980s.

What guitar did Slash use in November Rain?

Slash is known as a Les Paul player; in the video he plays a 1959 Les Paul Standard once owned by Joe Perry. The exact studio rig is not firmly documented.

Why is November Rain so long?

Rose modelled it on multi-part epics like Elton John's 'Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding'; early versions ran even longer, up to around 25 minutes.

What album is November Rain on?

Use Your Illusion I, released in September 1991.