Perhaps the most beautiful guitar playing on a rock record is the introduction to "Little Wing" from Axis: Bold as Love (1967), by Jimi Hendrix. To me, it is a perfect example of Picasso's great aphorism that states, "A work of art is one that keeps on changing even after it's finished", because every time I hear it, it sounds different. It is based on a vocabulary that Hendrix learned and developed while playing with a variety of rhythm and blues acts including the Isley Brothers and Little Richard. But it transcends its roots. One of the reasons it does so is its almost unbelievable rhythmic depth. One of my teachers once said, "When I think of Hendrix' time-feel, I want to smash things up and run into the street screaming." (He was serious, by the way.) Another quote about Hendrix comes to mind, although I forget the source: When Hendrix first played London, someone at the back of the crowd said, "You'd better not go to the front of the stage; it's all wet up there." He was asked to explain. "All the guitar players are crying." We still are.

(By the way, it is very much worth checking out some of the cover versions of the song, including the one on Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970) that features both Eric Clapton and Duane Allman, and Stevie Ray Vaughan's instrumental version on The Sky is Crying from 1991.)