On 19 Mar 2016,
zippl...@gmail.com wrote in rec.music.beatles:
> Well, it's an interesting question because once George picked up
> that slide, he rarely put it down, and I've never seen the
> question asked before. It's a mystery with George because he had
> some interesting lead guitar parts, but no one will really ever
> know just how good he was, because he didn't show the world what
> he was capable of playing. He held back, and onto that slide. Did
> you see that clip though of Deep Purple announcing him as a guitar
> hero, and did you hear what he played? It was awful and probably
> embarrassing to him. George was just not a good lead rock
> guitarist, so if people are looking for that, they'll always be
> disappointed. Too bad he didn't ask Clapton to play on "Wake Up My
> Love'.
I can't think of any later session playing that didn't feature slide,
but he played regular fingered guitar in his own shows. I think his
playing in this clip of "Something" is really beautiful.
https://youtu.be/qwn0qY2qY_s
I think George was a good lead guitarist, he just wasn't that good at
winging it. He liked to work his solos out. The definition of "lead
guitar" came to be synonymous with "long improvised solos", which
unfortunately (maybe) for him wasn't what he was best at.
I was just admiring George's solo in "Baby's in Black", which is only
about 10 seconds long, but is just perfect in tone, note choice, and
taste. THAT's what he was best at.