That's a good answer JP.... and for what it's worth I agree with that stance as well.
I'd meet you in the middle on this one and say that there is value in having some solos in your back pocket. Eg. Shuffle in G, Slow in A
I'll ask the question a different way. Should I put the time in memorizing the SWS solos vs some of the other solos that might be more "adaptable". Keep in mind that some of these 24 bar solos will use a lot of brain power to memorize, and the brain's not getting any faster if you know what I mean.
Eg. The solos in BGU seem to be very adaptable to plug in to a number of popular blues songs. Do you think there's the same value here or should I be more focused on the licks, the patterns, and how some of them fit together?
Let's face it, we ALL borrow from other players and other styles so there are bound to be instances where we sound like someone else and I agree that it's a good thing to have a collection of solos in your back pocket so that if you're not feeling particularly creative, you'll still be able to play something interesting.
But there's no reason why those "off-the-shelf" solos can't be your own.
For example, I'm a huge Gilmour fan and I have learned a collection of his licks that I like to add to various tunes and in some cases I use them in a note-for-note way. But in most cases I use them as a part of what I already have in my own mind in terms of what I want to play and those licks are there to sort of tip my hat to his style (which I love) but it's more along the lines of "channeling" than copying.
In terms of memorization, making licks your own makes remembering them far easier than trying to remember what someone else played because YOU thought of them and there's a certain pride that goes with that which makes them special and thus more memorable.
Anytime you create something you commit it to memory almost by default.
I have a plant stand in my den that I made from some scraps of maple I had lying around from a bigger project. What's special about it is that unlike many things I've built, I didn't plan to build it at all. I was cleaning my garage and collecting the maple scraps and began to wonder if I could use them for something and so I began to cut things and then glue things and so on. Long story short, the table turned out great (we have a big potted plant sitting on it), and every time I look at it, I can remember every cut, every glue joint and even how many coats of linseed oil I used on it because it's something I created out of thin air with nothing to go on but imagination.
Obviously the skills I needed to build that table were learned from others who, over the years, taught me how to use tools and how to work with wood (just like learning to play guitar) and even though there will always be a little of "them" in whatever I build, I always end up with something original and something I can call my own - which is always far more memorable and far more satisfying than all of the "exact copies" I could ever hope to produce.
I hope that makes sense.
Cheers!