Which Guitarist Do You Prefer?

[Nepenthe]

shin said:

"Accident"? Did he sit on his hand to make it fall asleep so he could masturbate and pretend it was a handjob? I'd imagine that he'd get tired of playing guitar and decide to jerk off in an entirely different way.

hhmm, no actually it was a motorcycle accident I believe.

But hey, sounds like you are pretty familar with the type of accident you mention. Your knowledge must be from experience I guess.

[RocDoc]

I loved the way you put it there, describing Jimi's extension of himself with a guitar, maarts.
Plus it's the gods' truth that Jimi had quite subtle facial expressions (for the most part) while he played, but they SAID what was happening at the interface of fingers and guitar...and I'd guess you gotta say teeth and guitar...and Marshall stacks and guitar...and stage floor and guitar....

Some players grimace, do that lip pout thing while they play (Jimmy Page, who always DID do that well, with character)...Stevie Ray would just snnnnarl and fucking attack his guitar (well at least on Voodoo Child and his heavy blooz songs at least). His guitar would bounce around from the percussion of his pick on his strings...interesting when some relatively talentless players would go this grimace-pout route in an effort to signal 'Hey look, I'm playing something heavy, man!'

_{Maarts, did you ever see the performance of Johnny B Goode did at Berkeley?
It's on the restored 'A Film About Jimi Hendrix'...for one.}

[shin]

nymphofantasia said:

But hey, sounds like you are pretty familar with the type of accident you mention. Your knowledge must be from experience I guess.

Yeah, you guess.

[RocDoc]

Malmsteen can play the shit out of a guitar...and I think that basically he became trapped in this schtick of his.

But this schtick earned him some pretty decent bucks back in the 80s and 90s....

'Soul-less', I won't say but there's definitely a lack of it in his approach.

The same with Joe Satriani.

Steve Vai...with the same leopard print 'rockstar' clothes.

Garry Moore is another where I can play it and nod
'Hell yes, that a muthafukkin heavy guitar!'

But do I want to hear it again anytime soon?

'No'

<sub>Ahem, and then Frank Zappa himself, by turns, hits me in the same way.
Genius...technique to burn, but it doesn't get replayed often at all.

The only genius nimble-fingers of this sort who has gotten me to WANT to replay him is Al DiMeola...he's figured out how to wring some emotion out of his drop dead incredible (and fast when he wants) technique.</sub>

[maarts]

Doc, I haven't seen that footage from Berkeley- I do have the Live At Berkeley DVD-set in the store- I'll check out
We got about 8 different live-titles of Hendrix on stock, I'll check it out.

Re: Malmsteen- I was impressed when he played Alcatrazz and when Rising Force came out but he just blurted out albums in a hurry.
I also remembered reading this about him on allmusic:
"After several years in near obscurity, Malmsteen returned to the headlines in 2002, after a fellow airline passenger threw water on Malmsteen after he allegedly made a slanderous comment about homosexuals. This incensed Malmsteen, who had to be escorted away by security, all the while he screamed to the passenger that she had "unleashed the f***king fury".

I never read that Malmsteen was ambidextrous but, seing that he has broken his right hand twice and had developed tendonitis there in the nineties I wouldn't be surprised.

[Galactus]

Yngwie can indeed play the shit out of a guitar...and I can't for the life of me figure why anyone would want to listen to it for more then about five minutes. I do enjoy reading interviews with him though he's got an ego the size of Texas, he's crazy and a moron...really it's some of the best comedy I've ever seen.

[RocDoc]

It's interesting that the Hendrix Berkeley DVD I've been seeing is labelled 'The 2nd Set' and it does NOT have Johnny B Goode on it, the fuckers.

I have to imagine there is a 'first set', one which I am positive was one of the regulars on the 'Midnight Showings' circuit here in the late 70s-early 80s since it had a bunch of performances this latest DVD release doesn't have...

Stopstopstop....OK. Now I'm seeing Barnes & Noble has a 'Jimi Play Berkeley' DVD and the customers' reviews ARE citing this very Johnny B Goode I'm talking about here.
Nevermind.

But Hendrix on that songs pulls out ALL the stops.


~

Erm, either way it definitely IS on that wonderful documentary I mentioned 'A Film About Jimi Hendrix'...TONS of great performances from many sources.
It's the Hendrix version of 'The Kids Are Alright'

[phil]

HÉ ! Johnny Winters, everybody's favorite albinos,
is not on the list ... ! He should at least be on the list !!

And Frank Zappa was SO MUCH MORE than a guitar player ...

[RocDoc]

Johnny Winter has put out some shit hot albums, no doubt about it....my absolute favorite is STILL that 'Johnny Winter And - Live'...the one with Jumping Jack Flash that came out in the early 70s...

_{And Frank Zappa was SO MUCH MORE than a guitar player ...}

A comic.

A serious 'composer'.

Social critic/commentator.

First and foremost, to rock fans, like he himself said, 'Shut Up And Play Yer Guitar'...

[Galactus]

phil said:

And Frank Zappa was SO MUCH MORE than a guitar player ...

...but he was really good at it!

[luke]

I can't remember whose review this was...Rolling Stones', maybe? But they were reviewing Twista, and made a derogatory comment about him being "the Yngwie Malmsteen of rap." Absolutely hilarious shit, and I can't hear that Twista fucking garbage without thinking of it.

IMO, Malmsteen sounds like a computerized parody. He is not a musician, he is a technician. And that's not a good thing when you're a guitar player.

[strat-0]

I sorta overlooked this thread. I'll have to ease on into it like steaming bathwater.

Hendrix? Oh, yeah. Another like him will not pass this way. I can understand how it could be overload for some people at times, yet he also had tremendous finesse and sense of melody. Also, one reason he is so inimitable is of course because he played a right-handed guitar upside down. I guess nobody told him, "man, you just can't do that!" so he did. Or maybe they did and he did it anyway.

Yep, Santana should be on any such list for sure, along with SRV, Robert Johnson, Jeff Beck, even Joe Perry, and you could include the likes of Randy Rhodes, Steve Vai, Ronnie Montrose, maybe even Roy Buchanan and a few others with the speed demons. Sure, you have to give the nod to Van Halen for coming up with that horribly annoying fretboard hammer-on thing. Ugh. But it's a good effort on the list, Melon.

Mantis, it does my heart good to hear you giving Duane his props - so few young fellers do these days. It really goes to the "soul" versus "technician" aspect of the conversation - you can always feel what he's giving you, and that is so rare anymore. You can't explain it or describe it - you just feel it.

Lots of good mentions here - Johnny Winter, etc. I've seen him play up close and personal, and it's something to see! No ladies...? Maybe Bonnie Raitt, Nancy Wilson...?

Of course, I picked Townshend. Though he might not shine as a virtuoso, he is an extremely talented and capable guitarist - he just chose to pursue the avenue of stylist (in which I believe he outshone any others), rather than technician.

As soon as I post this, I'll think of a dozen other names worth mentioning high on the "A list." Great guitar players are a dime a dozen. Really.

[primixed]

I voted for Duane Allman because of his incredible soul too. And it's not like he couldn't play a guitar.

Santana I love because noone IMO can play those long sustained notes and make every note quiver with expectation, longing, yearning... and then he'll segue seamlessly into a rhythm driven (even percussive maybe) section that's just off the wall.

I'd also add several of the blues and jazz greats here, but not sure if that's the topic at hand.

Does anyone like Graham Coxon, previously of Blur? I always found his guitar technique very modern and pretty eclectic. He complemented, with gritty off kilter hooks and melodies, Damon's tendency to sing pretty and overblown songs. He's the sound of Blur.

I would definitely add Bonnie Raitt - one of the best slide players ever.

[strat-0]

Glad you appreciate Duane, too, Prim! And you are so right about Santana! It's economy - he can say more with a few notes, tastefully sustained, bent, and embellished, than some of the speed demons like Malmsteen could ever dream of as they wildly run arpeggio drills up and down the fretboard (saying nothing). It should also be mentioned that Santana is no slouch as a technician, either - when called for! ...I think I miss playing Gypsy Queen onstage most of all! In the Mojos, we used to segue from Hendrix' Third Stone from the Sun into Gypsy Queen, and it was sublime! That was the end of a medley that also had some Allmans, Dead, and a few other choice bits. Ah, well...

[phil]

Now playing ...

Frank Zappa's own "Variations On The Carlos Santana Secret Chord Progression"
from the "You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore" Vol. V

Best of both worlds ... ;D