MusicRadar.com recently spoke with Alex Lifeson and asked him what he thought were his three best guitar solos. Alex chose Freewill, Kid Gloves and Limelight. Very interesting. Here’s what Lerxst had to say about each solo:

1. Limelight (1981)

I love the elasticity of the solo. It’s a very emotional piece of music for me to play. The song is about loneliness and isolation, and I think the solo reflects that. There’s a lot of heart in it. It’s a feel thing: you have to feel a solo as you play it, otherwise it’s going to sound stiff. I never had that problem with Limelight. The first time I laid it down in the studio, I feel a real attachment to it and I could tell it was special. Even now, it’s my favorite solo to perform live. I never get tired of it. Each time I’m about to play it, I take a deep breath and I exhale on that first note. I guess that sounds corny, but for me, it releases something.

2. Kid Gloves (1984)

That song is from our Grace Under Pressure album. What I like about the solo is, it’s the opposite of Limelight: it’s got a hip, kind of slinky attitude, a little goofy humor. When I play it, I feel a certain confidence, also like a prankster, which is not the way I am in real life at all. What’s funny about it, too, is that it has a plot to it, and I only realized that after I recorded it for the first time – I never have a plot in mind when I’m recording solos; I always just kind of wing them. The Kid Gloves solo guided me; it’s like it knew what it wanted to be and I just had to allow myself to follow.

3. Freewill (1980)

It’s a really hard solo to play. I think I feel a certain amount of pride in that fact alone. Every time I play it, I’m amazed I got through it. It’s so frenetic and exciting. The rhythm section too – Geddy and Neil are all over the place. It’s probably one of the most ambitious pieces of music Rush has ever done. In a sense, everybody’s soloing at the same time. Recording it, I didn’t have anything planned; I was just responding to what the other guys did. Basically, I was just trying to keep up! But I think it worked out pretty well. I’m rather happy with it, and I can usually find fault with everything I do.

Many thanks to Rushisaband.com for the info.