Roisin Dubh (Black Rose)
Thin Lizzy, 1979. Solo by Gary Moore & Scott Gorham.
Roisin Dubh is Thin Lizzy's most ambitious piece, a long suite that weaves traditional Irish melodies into twin-guitar hard rock. Gary Moore and Scott Gorham play slow airs in close harmony, then tear into a reel at a speed that shows off Moore's ferocious picking. The trick is that the folk tunes never feel like quotations pasted on; the harmonies and hard-rock tone make them sound native to the band. It remains one of the clearest examples of rock guitar drawing on a national folk tradition without softening either side. Moore's vibrato on the slower passages is as expressive as his fast runs are precise. Listen for the shift from the stately air into the reel, where the two guitars lock together at full tilt.
Roisin Dubh (Black Rose) by Thin Lizzy is ranked #211 in our consensus of 79 guitar-solo lists. The solo is played by Gary Moore & Scott Gorham and the song was released in 1979. It appears on 2 lists, placing as high as #40 (NME).
In our lists
- Twin Guitars & Harmonies — #17
Sources
- NME: 50 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time — #40
- DigitalDreamDoor: 200 Greatest Metal Guitar Solos — #40
- Guitar Tricks: 200 Best Guitar Solos of All Time — #102
Who played the guitar solo on Roisin Dubh (Black Rose)?
Gary Moore & Scott Gorham played the solo on Thin Lizzy's Roisin Dubh (Black Rose) (1979).
What guitar was used on the Roisin Dubh (Black Rose) solo?
A gibson les paul, according to widely reported accounts.
Where does Roisin Dubh (Black Rose) rank among the greatest guitar solos?
#211 in the GreatestSolos consensus of 79 published lists; it appears on 2 of them.