Gitarzan
Credits to Ray Stevens, one of the funniest songwriters ever for the leading on todays column.
Guitar player. The frontmen that almost always become the stars of any good Rock and Roll band. Sure the lead singers get the attention but when it comes to it, it’s the guitar player that carries a lot of the show.
Why am I even thinking about this and what do I do with it? I know, I will make another dubious list of great… Guitarists for now.
Actually what precipitated this idea was while I was working around the yard with my headphones on, I decided to listen to the Sirius rebroadcast of U2’ final show at The Sphere in Vegas. Having seen U2 three times I sort of knew what to expect but as with all great concerts, you always see and hear the unexpected. I could give a review of the show but I haven’t gotten all the way through. It’s roughly five hours (I think) and I only have the attention span of about an hour for any one thing so I have a long way to go.
Listening to this I started to realize how great a guitarist The Edge is. Forget the stupid name, he is just plain brilliant.
I know little to nothing about music. Chord changes? Cadence? Tempo? Whatever. I just know when I hear greatness and he is great. His playing never really takes over any one song but he is a genius in filling in those spaces that need a sound. That is probably one of the main reasons why U2 has been so successful. The songwriting and Bono are amazing as well and Larry Mullin Jr. is like a rock behind the drums. The sound goes nowhere without Adam Clayton on bass either. This concert is worth listening to just to get a true appreciation of the musicianship this band has developed over the last 48 years.
It all comes back to the guitar though and The Edge is one of the best guitarists to ever pick up a six string.
Here are some others:
Once again, this is just an opinion and there is no rhyme nor reason to it. There will be hundreds of great guitarist left off this list for the simple reason, yeah everyone knows how great Hendrix was or Stevie Ray Vaughn. I work on the fringes and I put up people that will cause an argument or at least a discussion.
John Fogerty would be a perfect example of this. He is either loved or hated but make no mistake, he can play guitar. Just listen to the live version of “Keep on Chooglin”. Great songwriter, great guitarist.
Link Wray would be up there as well. Granted his period of popularity may not fit with what I normally cover but he was a badass guitarist that created all sorts of new sounds back in the 50’s and 60’s. Listen to “Rumble” and you will understand.
The cleanest, crispest guitarist I think I have ever heard is Mark Knopfler from Dire Straights. I think if anyone wants to learn to play guitar with no fancy tricks, learn from this guy. A perfect example of his clean, clear guitar playing can be found on
”Down To The Waterline”.
Brian May from Queen is often overlooked but if you peel back the brashness and flamboyance of Freddie Mercury this was Brian May’s band. He was a solid backup vocalist and a very talented guitarist. Listen to “Dragon Attack” and you will get a much better sense of how good a Rock and Roll band Queen was.
Ritchie Blackmore is another of those guitarists that we all know and respect but never think of them being a top tier guitarist but I am here to tell you he is. If you just go on YouTube and watch him do some of his later stuff you can see he is absorbed by what he is putting out there. I wasn’t really into his mystical music phase with Blackmores Night but if you just listen to hear him play, it is well worth it. Come on, the opening to “Smoke on the Water” is legendary even if the song has been beaten to death by FM radio. I can’t talk about Blackmore without mentioning “Lazy” which has both an incredible electric piano opening and Blackmore special guitar solo.
I am going to give Metallica there due here. I’m not into shredding but when James Hetfield shreds it’s just fun and scary to listen to. The guy can play with speed and with fire and it rarely sounds confusing. That is a huge deal since so many shredders rip through stuff it is almost impossible to hear clearly. Not Hetfield, you know what his guitar is doing and if he isn’t the meanest looking dude on stage but yet he seems like a guy you can have fun bowling with.
I am going to give Tom Morello a passing nod here. I think the dude can do things with his guitar that few other guitarist could ever dream about but I just do not like Rage Against The Machine. Too much is pushed on you with little regard for it is actually good. They have a lot to say but like every other artist that bitches about the system, they are the ones taking advantage of that system the most. Hypocrisy in rock.
This is the part of this column where I need to put a few artists together. Not that their playing styles are similar but their impact on other guitarists has been more profound tyou can imagine. Albert King, BB King, Robert Johnson, Mother Mabel Carter, Les Paul, Albert Collins, Muddy Waters and T.Bone Walker. Pick any song by any of these artists and you will see why the next generation of guitarists followed in their footsteps.
Back to the show. Not everyones cup of tea, Frank Marino from Mahogany Rush plays guitar in a Jimi Hendrix style. Meaning he plays fast and hard and maybe it’s improvised, probably not. His own stuff isn’t as good as some of his covers and if you really want to get a taste of what he can do, listen to Real Live and you will understand why he is on this list. I don’t care if people think he is a Hendrix clone. I love Hendrix.
Trying to define the guitarists in Parliament Funkadelic is like doing the New York Times Sunday Crossword puzzle. You do it but you have to work at it. Most assuredly it is Eddie Hazel that defined the band. It was a circuitous route for sure to where he was a full time member of ParFunk but make no mistake about this guy. He put the Funk in Dr Funkenstein and could play with anyone on the planet.
Speaking of otherworldly talent, Prince could be one of those guys that might be on the Mt Rushmore of guitarists. He had R&B chops, He had Funk chops, he could rock with anyone and he was just so damn sexy doing it. Forget watching that stupid video of him playing with Tom petty and Jeff Lyne. Watch his show from the Hollywood Theater where he destroys “Play That Funky Music” by Kool and The Gang. That will be the best five and half minutes you will spend today. I promise.
I know there hundreds if not thousands of session musicians that could be on this list but I am choosing David Lyndley. He played on a bunch of jackson Brown albums and his touch was perfect for each song. Never too loud, never too brash but he could play a searing riff in the middle and never much up the song. One of his singles, mercury Blues” really highlights his guitar playing.
These next two guys for whatever reason stick in my head together. Two different styles but I think it’s their historical significance again that strikes me most. Roy Buchanan and Rory Gallagher. Both legendary guitarists but their influence is what got me. Jeff Beck said that Buchanan was one of his main influences and that’s all you need to know. Similar with Gallagher, The Edge worshipped the guy.
Speaking of Jeff Beck. How could any mention of great guitarists be complete without putting him here. His career was amazing and I won’t bother to go on and on about all of his different phases but just to say that he was the consummate guitarist in every way. Smooth, could be loud, could shred it, could play in the background. He could do it all. I have a special place for Beck because while I was in college a buddy of mine invited me over to hear his new sound system he had just installed. The first record he played was Blow by Blow and the first song he dropped the needle on was “Freeway Jam”. Imagine if you will, hearing that song played on the most perfect sound system you have ever heard at around 90 decibels. It changed my life. For a short period of time.
My last selection this time around is Robin Trower. He started as the lead guitarist in Procul harem and then created his own band The Robin Trower Band. Now, maybe this is because again I was in college and I saw his band at the Knoxville Civic Auditorium, a true dump if ever there was one, and blew the doors off the building. Now I don’t think he is on the level of Prince or Jeff Beck but he could sure play a loud guitar and clean one as well. Listen to “Bridge of Sighs” and tell me he can’t play. I think he is often overlooked but he really did have a great career.