The 100 greatest guitarists of all time by Rolling Stone magazine
Mackenzie
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5937559/the_100_greatest_guitarists_of_all_time
1 Jimi Hendrix
2 Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers Band
3 B.B. King
4 Eric Clapton
5 Robert Johnson
6 Chuck Berry
7 Stevie Ray Vaughan
8 Ry Cooder
9 Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin
10 Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones
11 Kirk Hammett of Metallica
12 Kurt Cobain of Nirvana
13 Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead
14 Jeff Beck
15 Carlos Santana
16 Johnny Ramone of the Ramones
17 Jack White of the White Stripes
18 John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers
19 Richard Thompson
20 James Burton
21 George Harrison
22 Mike Bloomfield
23 Warren Haynes
24 The Edge of U2
25 Freddy King
26 Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave
27 Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits
28 Stephen Stills
29 Ron Asheton of the Stooges
30 Buddy Guy
31 Dick Dale
32 John Cipollina of Quicksilver Messenger Service
33 & 34 Lee Ranaldo, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth
35 John Fahey
36 Steve Cropper of Booker T. and the MG's
37 Bo Diddley
38 Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac
39 Brian May of Queen
40 John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival
41 Clarence White of the Byrds
42 Robert Fripp of King Crimson
43 Eddie Hazel of Funkadelic
44 Scotty Moore
45 Frank Zappa
46 Les Paul
47 T-Bone Walker
48 Joe Perry of Aerosmith
49 John McLaughlin
50 Pete Townshend
51 Paul Kossoff of Free
52 Lou Reed
53 Mickey Baker
54 Jorma Kaukonen of Jefferson Airplane
55 Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple
56 Tom Verlaine of Television
57 Roy Buchanan
58 Dickey Betts
59 & 60 Jonny Greenwood, Ed O'Brien of Radiohead
61 Ike Turner
62 Zoot Horn Rollo of the Magic Band
63 Danny Gatton
64 Mick Ronson
65 Hubert Sumlin
66 Vernon Reid of Living Colour
67 Link Wray
68 Jerry Miller of Moby Grape
69 Steve Howe of Yes
70 Eddie Van Halen
71 Lightnin' Hopkins
72 Joni Mitchell
73 Trey Anastasio of Phish
74 Johnny Winter
75 Adam Jones of Tool
76 Ali Farka Toure
77 Henry Vestine of Canned Heat
78 Robbie Robertson of the Band
79 Cliff Gallup of the Blue Caps (1997)
80 Robert Quine of the Voidoids
81 Derek Trucks
82 David Gilmour of Pink Floyd
83 Neil Young
84 Eddie Cochran
85 Randy Rhoads
86 Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath
87 Joan Jett
88 Dave Davies of the Kinks
89 D. Boon of the Minutemen
90 Glen Buxton of Alice Cooper
91 Robby Krieger of the Doors
92 & 93 Fred "Sonic" Smith, Wayne Kramer of the MC5
94 Bert Jansch
95 Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine
96 Angus Young of AC/DC
97 Robert Randolph
98 Leigh Stephens of Blue Cheer
99 Greg Ginn of Black Flag
100 Kim Thayil of Soundgarden
Mackenzie
guitarists listed? What do you all think?
2nz Vs Floons
> Do you all agree with this list, should there have been more
> guitarists listed? What do you all think?
Lou Reed?
I think not.
The World Wide Wade
The World Wide Wade
Mackenzie <jade...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> 24 The Edge of U2
This guy has one lick, which he plys over and over, a jingle-jangle
boring rut, saved - at times - only by electronic gadgetry.
BlackMonk
"Mackenzie" <jade...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1187729764.8...@57g2000hsv.googlegroups.com...
> Do you all agree with this list, should there have been more
> guitarists listed? What do you all think?
>
If there had been more guitarists listed, it would have been a pretty bad
top 100 list.
Andrew Schulman
> I got this from Rolling Stone magazine.
>
>
Andrew
RichL
I recently posted the following in a different thread (in a different
context, but it makes sense here):
"See, that's the thing. If you're a guitarist, you know it makes no sense
to
rank famous ones on a linear scale from best to worst. Is Jimi Hendrix
better than Django Reinhardt? The question is impossible to answer
objectively since there are such different styles of playing involved. One
guitarist's playing may be more difficult for one of us to replicate than
the other one, but that doesn't mean that the same applies to all guitarists
across the board."
Besides, the list is far too rock/pop heavy. But overall, it's just another
silly list, another set of opinions that mean nothing objectively.
O'Leary III
> If there had been more guitarists listed, it would have been a pretty bad
> top 100 list.
Yup. 100 feels right for a top 100 list.
O'Leary III
> I got this from Rolling Stone magazine. Here is the website:
What? No Fripp?
Jeff
> Do you all agree with this list, should there have been more
> guitarists listed? What do you all think?
I don't agree with any of the lists written in this group. It just
depends who responded to this "Pole" ( or whatever you call it) at the
time they took it. Poll an hour or two or three later and your answers
will all be different. Songs are WAY more important than guitarists.
anyway. Without songwriters, these guitarists are nothing on their
own. Jimi Hendrix was never the best guitarist who ever lived..and
even if he was..so what? Most of his songs are crap IMO. Eric Clapton
no 4? He was always a LOT more versatile than Hendrix..who mostly
played three or 4 chord rock..with the same old blues progressions
like Stevie Ray Vaughn..mostly in the key of E. I didn't see
Tommy Bolin on this list. If he was..excuse me..but he's way better
than most guitarists on this list. So there! :-)
O'Leary III
> I don't agree with any of the lists written in this group. It just
> depends who responded to this "Pole"
OK. Quick one.
Which is better? The North Pole, or the South Pole?
dgs
news:87ydnVpm6tGQw1bb...@comcast.com...
> Mackenzie wrote:
>
>> I got this from Rolling Stone magazine. Here is the website:
>
>
> What? No Fripp?
From the list:
42 Robert Fripp of King Crimson
What, no Peter Banks? George Benson? Wes Montgomery? Joe Pass?
Larry Coryell? Phil Manzanera?
--
dgs
O'Leary III
>>What? No Fripp?
>
>
> From the list:
> 42 Robert Fripp of King Crimson
Thank you. Missed it.
> What, no Peter Banks? George Benson? Wes Montgomery? Joe Pass?
> Larry Coryell? Phil Manzanera?
Oooo. Manzanera.
Tom K
"Jeff" <yourimag...@sbcglobal.net> skrev i en meddelelse
news:1187734786.2...@r23g2000prd.googlegroups.com...
> On Aug 21, 3:56 pm, Mackenzie <jade_...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> Do you all agree with this list, should there have been more
>> guitarists listed? What do you all think?
>
Jimi Hendrix was never the best guitarist who ever lived..and
> even if he was..so what? Most of his songs are crap IMO. Eric Clapton
> no 4? He was always a LOT more versatile than Hendrix.
Whike I agree with you, and appearently everybody else, that these lists are
boring and irrelevant, this staement is flat out wrong. Hendrix out-rocked,
out-psycadelisized, out-bluesed and out-composed Clapton in every way, and
EC would be the first to tell you that!
.who mostly
> played three or 4 chord rock..with the same old blues progressions
Do you know "Castles Made of Sand" or "1983...(A Merman I Should Turn To
Be)/Moon Turn The Tides...gently gently away"
You can not like them, your loss, but don't drop your pants in
public..................
So there.
me
And where was Ty Tabor? and Alvin Lee?
O'Leary III
> And where was Ty Tabor? and Alvin Lee?
Not my day to watch them.
Mackenzie
> "See, that's the thing. If you're a guitarist, you know it makes no sense
> to
> rank famous ones on a linear scale from best to worst. Is Jimi Hendrix
> better than Django Reinhardt?
I often wondered how they judged these guitarists and what
characteristics they had to have to get on the list in the first
place. But overall, the best is purely subjective. I think Rolling
Stone also published 100 best drummers of all time, but I can't find
it anywhere. It's always interesting to see these lists.
Mackenzie
>Stone also published 100 best drummers of all time,
Well I've found this from rankopedia:
http://www.rankopedia.com/ZoneID=3/Step1/62.htm?origin=GoogleMusic&gclid=CKSzs_Hjh44CFQEtZQod2UyqFg
I think this this is better because it's based on who inspires you the
most. The motto here is the best drummer is the one who inspires the
most.
crazytimes
> 21 George Harrison
> 22 Mike Bloomfield
> 24 The Edge of U2
> 36 Steve Cropper of Booker T. and the MG's
> 37 Bo Diddley
> 38 Peter Green of Fleetwood Ma
> 42 Robert Fripp of King Crimson
> 44 Scotty Moore
> 45 Frank Zappa
> 46 Les Paul
> 47 T-Bone Walker
> 49 John McLaughlin
> 50 Pete Townshend
> 54 Jorma Kaukonen of Jefferson Airplane
> 55 Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple
> 64 Mick Ronson
> 67 Link Wray
> 70 Eddie Van Halen
> 78 Robbie Robertson of the Band
> 79 Cliff Gallup of the Blue Caps (1997)
The fact that the three below are on the list ranked above the guys
listed above shows me this list is BS, if not a joke...
16 Johnny Ramone of the Ramones
17 Jack White of the White Stripes
18 John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers
The absence of jazz guitarists should be noted as well... they'd have
to kick about twenty guys off this list...
Would like to have seen Johnny Marr, Bernard Butler, and Robin Guthrie
on the list... but it's a fool's Bud-light list, so whatever there
have you...
And, Kurt Cobain was a decent guitarist, but no way should he be no.
12... Whoever compiled the list needs their shot hearing checked...
O'Leary III
> Well I've found this from rankopedia:
Rankopedia? Rankopedia? Rankopedia?
OCD-opedia is more like it.
Barrabas
No Devo. The guitarist in that group was pretty good.
Fripp influenced? There is a lack of Fripp in my life.
Fripp influenced the playing in Ultravox, they influenced Devo?
I'm half guessing now.
I shared the Devo bias against 70s blues styles.
d.g.s.
> On Aug 21, 4:50 pm, Mackenzie <jade_...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> 49 John McLaughlin
>
> The absence of jazz guitarists should be noted as well...
Well, one made it, even if it's for jazz-rock "fusion."
--
dgs
O'Leary III
>> What? No Fripp?
>
>
> No Devo. The guitarist in that group was pretty good.
> Fripp influenced? There is a lack of Fripp in my life.
> Fripp influenced the playing in Ultravox, they influenced Devo?
> I'm half guessing now.
> I shared the Devo bias against 70s blues styles.
Uh... what?
IBen Getiner
> I got this from Rolling Stone magazine. Here is the website:http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5937559/the_100_greatest_guita...
I see no Kim Simmonds. Why no Kim Simmonds...? How about Les Dudek..?
Or Justin Haward..? Or McCartney? Or Roy-fuckin'-Clark...? Or Terry
Kath..? Or Robin Trower..? They got fucking mediocre Joni Mitchell in
there alright, but none of these other real talents.. Shit, man...
David Peel plays better guitar than her. But I see it's from or
friends at Rolling Stone...!! "Oh, it's gotta be true..."..!!
IBen Getiner
IBen Getiner
What of Alvin <Ten Years After> Lee...? Or DAVE-FUCKING-MASON...?
LOL...!! What about Mick <Rolling Stone> Taylor...? Or Joe Bonamassa,
Peter Frampton, Billy <ZZ Top> Gibbons, Jeremy <Fleetwood Mac> Spencer
and Rick Derrenger..? What kind of survey can this possibly be without
Steve <Genesis> Hackett or Rod <Foghat> Price or Koko <John Mayall's
BluesBreakers> Montoya...? Or Randy <Spirit> California? Or Clem
<Humble Pie> Clemson?
You name Robert Johnson... You want the Blues...? Where then is Blind
Willie McTell? Or Blind Willie Johnson? Tampa Red, Son House or
Charley Patton...?
These people are WRONG. It's all about POPULARITY. Not about talent.
Some of the names on that list are 'strictly commercial....'. They
make me SICK, and they should make YOU sick, too. And some of you know
it, too...
More bullshit from one of the main funnels of bullshit reflecting the
so-called 'culture' today. That's all it is.... And some of you know
THAT, too...
IBen Getiner
IBen Getiner
Let us not forget Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Doc Watson, Merel Travis,
Willie Nelson, Tommy Bolin, Jessie Ed Davis, Jose Feliciano or Joe
Walsh (who Eric Clapton once said was better than he)... When you're
talking great guitarists, you've got to include some of these guys...
IBen Getiner
IBen Getiner
> Do you all agree with this list, should there have been more
> guitarists listed? What do you all think?
A good one third of them have no business being there, technically
speaking. But we got to throw some in there for the kiddies, now don't
we...? Got papers to sell....
IBen Getiner
Jeff
I don't know. Let's take a pole.
Jeff
> "Jeff" <yourimageunre...@sbcglobal.net> skrev i en meddelelsenews:1187734786.2...@r23g2000prd.googlegroups.com...
>
> > On Aug 21, 3:56 pm, Mackenzie <jade_...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> >> Do you all agree with this list, should there have been more
> >> guitarists listed? What do you all think?
>
> Jimi Hendrix was never the best guitarist who ever lived..and
>
> > even if he was..so what? Most of his songs are crap IMO. Eric Clapton
> > no 4? He was always a LOT more versatile than Hendrix.
>
> Whike I agree with you, and appearently everybody else, that these lists are
> boring and irrelevant, this staement is flat out wrong. Hendrix out-rocked,
> out-psycadelisized, out-bluesed and out-composed Clapton in every way, and
> EC would be the first to tell you that!
Ok, but what kind of style did he play besides this stuff? ( Mostly
the blues) He never played country music like Clapton did, to name one
example. And how did he out compose him
with his music? I'm talking about songwriting..not his guitar playing.
To my ears, once you've heard a Jimi song..you've heard them all. He
bores me.
>
> .who mostly
>
> > played three or 4 chord rock..with the same old blues progressions
>
> Do you know "Castles Made of Sand" or "1983...(A Merman I Should Turn To
> Be)/Moon Turn The Tides...gently gently away"
> You can not like them, your loss, but don't drop your pants in
> public..................
>
> So there.
I'm not saying Jimi wasn't a great guitarist. Lead Player. I'm saying
that Clapton was more versatile all around.
Jeff
McCarney's just an all around better musician. Can't judge him as a
guitarist from just "Taxman." :-)
joe b
<yourimag...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>McCartney's just an all around better musician. Can't judge him as a
>guitarist from just "Taxman." :-)
>
I didn't realize that "Taxman" was the only time Paul played guitar in
the last 50 years.
joe b
wrote:
>I got this from Rolling Stone magazine. Here is the website:
>http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5937559/the_100_greatest_guitarists_of_all_time
>
>1 Jimi Hendrix
I have no problem with Hendrix being at the top of any list of
guitarists, but the rest of the list is a "most popular" not a
"greatest" list. Are Kim Simmonds or Alvin Lee even on this list?
No, because they are not popular. Paul McCartney is not on this list
because he is more popular as a bass player, but he is a better
guitarist than 90% of this list.
BlackMonk
"Jeff" <yourimag...@sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
news:1187784121....@z24g2000prh.googlegroups.com...
>> Do you know "Castles Made of Sand" or "1983...(A Merman I Should Turn To
>> Be)/Moon Turn The Tides...gently gently away"
>> You can not like them, your loss, but don't drop your pants in
>> public..................
>>
>> So there.
>
> I'm not saying Jimi wasn't a great guitarist. Lead Player. I'm saying
> that Clapton was more versatile all around.
>
He's talking about songwriting, not guitar playing. Jimi was not only a more
interesting guitarist than Claption (going from blues to country is hardly a
demonstration of versatility, and hardly overshadows Hendrix's exploring of
jazz and psychedelia), but he was also a much more interesting songwriter. A
large percentage of Clapton's best known songs were actually written by
other people and those that weren't can often be generic sounding or
nondescript.
iarwain
very "Rolling Stone" type of list, if you know what I mean. These are
mostly the types of artists that magazine is attracted to. I agree
The Edge at #24 is an absolute joke. Probably the most glaring
omission is Steve Vai.
Hendrix is a good choice for number one - not because he's the best
guitarist ever necessarily but because he seems to be the guy most
everybody can agree on. There are a lot of people who swear by
Clapton, for instance, but there is also a pretty large contingent who
aren't impressed by him at all. Jimmy Page is my personal favorite -
a lot of people criticize him for sloppiness, but he WAS drunk a
lot.
It's also interesting to me how few people in the world are actually
famous for just playing guitar. A lot of these guys probably wouldn't
have been noticed if they didn't sing also - you have to get down to
#8 on the list before you start seeing guys who didn't front their
band by singing lead, and just played guitar.
O'Leary III
>>>I don't agree with any of the lists written in this group. It just
>>>depends who responded to this "Pole"
>>
>>OK. Quick one.
>>
>>Which is better? The North Pole, or the South Pole?
>
>
> I don't know. Let's take a pole.
Which one?
O'Leary III
> To my ears, once you've heard a Jimi song..you've heard them all. He
> bores me.
Wow. There's a lot you haven't heard.
rfor...@msn.com
> Do you all agree with this list, should there have been more
> guitarists listed? What do you all think?
No, I think that listing more guitarists would have ruined the whole
"top 100" aspect of it.
Anyway, I guess Pat Metheny, Wes Montgomery, Django Reinhart, John
Mclaughlin, Al Dimeola, Alan Holdsworth, Robert Fripp, John Scofield,
and Larry Coryell can't hold a candle to Lou Reed and Joni Mitchell as
guitarists.
richforman
rfor...@msn.com
> "Jeff" <yourimageunre...@sbcglobal.net> skrev i en meddelelsenews:1187734786.2...@r23g2000prd.googlegroups.com...
Yup, Hendrix was great and so was Terry Kath (Jimi thought he, Kath,
was better than him, Hendrix), if the list is supposed to be strictly
rock (and that would explain why none of the jazz guitar giants I
mentioned made the list), then Terry Kath deserves a spot IMO and also
I Hendrix's O.
richforman
BlackMonk
"iarwain" <iarw...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1187797015....@j4g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
>I remember this list when it came out. It really does look like a
> very "Rolling Stone" type of list, if you know what I mean. These are
> mostly the types of artists that magazine is attracted to. I agree
> The Edge at #24 is an absolute joke. Probably the most glaring
> omission is Steve Vai.
>
Far from probably. Leaving aside all the jazz, classical, and blues
guitarists who they could have included, there are plenty of rock guitarists
who could be listed with as much justification as Vai.
I would have said the most glaring omission is Ollie Halsall, but I'm sure
someone else has a different suggestion.
BlackMonk
<rfor...@msn.com> wrote in message
news:1187798119.8...@q4g2000prc.googlegroups.com...
Apples and oranges. Guitarists aren't interchangable and the skill set that
you seem to think most important doesn't necessarily mean a guitarist is
going to be the best choice for every situation.
Since the list covers a lot of ground, rather than just the "100 best
jazz-rock guitarists," you're going to get guitarists who were great in
different ways.
rfor...@msn.com
> <rforma...@msn.com> wrote in message
Sorry, I can't quite make sense of your reply.
So Chuck Berry (who I dig, don't get me wrong) is great in more ways,
or the best choice for more different situations, than any of the guys
I mentioned? And in fact NO jazz musicians are "great in enough ways"
to make the cut for a best-guitarists list?
I don't really get it - maybe if the intended idea of the list is, the
100 Greatest Non-Jazz Guitarists.
richforman
abe slaney
have to comment on #2: Duane Allman? Talk about a one-trick pony. I
still don't get the guitar superhero status that has been afforded him.
BlackMonk
<rfor...@msn.com> wrote in message
news:1187804915.0...@q4g2000prc.googlegroups.com...
>> Apples and oranges. Guitarists aren't interchangable and the
>> skill set that you seem to think most important doesn't
>> necessarily mean a guitarist is going to be the best choice for
>> every situation.
>>
>> Since the list covers a lot of ground, rather than just the "100 > best
>> jazz-rock guitarists," you're going to get guitarists who
>> were great in different ways.
>
> Sorry, I can't quite make sense of your reply.
>
> So Chuck Berry (who I dig, don't get me wrong) is great in more ways,
> or the best choice for more different situations, than any of the guys
> I mentioned?
Where did I say it was a matter of counting up how many ways in which a
guitarist was great? You seem to want a way to measure greatness, but it
doesn't work like that. The fact is that Lou Reed would probably have been
lost if he'd tried to play like Wes Montgomery, but it's just as probable
that Montgomery would have been lost on "Sister Ray."
Now, if you want to ask about Chuck Berry, specifically? Yeah. He is. Not
only did he draw from blues, jazz and country influences to create his own
style, but he pretty much invented Rock and Roll guitar playing and created
the vocabulary for everyone who came after him.
rfor...@msn.com
> <rforma...@msn.com> wrote in message
>
> news:1187804915.0...@q4g2000prc.googlegroups.com...
>
> >> Apples and oranges. Guitarists aren't interchangable and the
> >> skill set that you seem to think most important doesn't
> >> necessarily mean a guitarist is going to be the best choice for
> >> every situation.
>
> >> Since the list covers a lot of ground, rather than just the "100 > best
> >> jazz-rock guitarists," you're going to get guitarists who
> >> were great in different ways.
>
> > Sorry, I can't quite make sense of your reply.
>
> > So Chuck Berry (who I dig, don't get me wrong) is great in more ways,
> > or the best choice for more different situations, than any of the guys
> > I mentioned?
>
> Where did I say it was a matter of counting up how many ways in which a
> guitarist was great?
> You seem to want a way to measure greatness, but it
> doesn't work like that.
Wouldn't it have to work like that in order to compile a list of the
greatest guitarists?
> The fact is that Lou Reed would probably have been
> lost if he'd tried to play like Wes Montgomery, but it's just as probable
> that Montgomery would have been lost on "Sister Ray."
>
> Now, if you want to ask about Chuck Berry, specifically? Yeah. He is. Not
> only did he draw from blues, jazz and country influences to create his own
> style, but he pretty much invented Rock and Roll guitar playing and created
> the vocabulary for everyone who came after him.
Maybe I'm wrong but I don't get the sense that you know much about, or
are at all interested in jazz. (For instance, you sound like you
think jazz is just "one thing" and that a master of it isn't likely to
draw from a very wide and rich history of influences of different
styles like a rock'n'roll musician. In fact, I submit that a master
jazz player has likely studied and absorbed a wider and deeper range
of styles and influences - and blues to a much deeper degree - than a
strictly rock or blues player.) Didn't Django Reinhardt and Wes
Montgomery
(and others, those are two of the huge giants) "pretty much invent"
jazz guitar playing and also create a vocabulary that has been built
upon by the many generations of musicians who came after them?
And if you yourself say that Chuck Berry "drew on jazz," then wouldn't
some of the giants and innovators of that genre who influenced his
influences....make the cut?
I still have no idea why you seem to be saying that no jazz musician
should be expected to be on a list of greatest guitar players, it
seems to me that it must be because you don't like jazz and don't know
much or anything about it.
richforman
Dave The Rave
> PS I also think it's a given that the list will not encompass much
> ground outside of pop/rock. This is *Rolling Stone*.
>
> If Rolling Stone did a "greatest keyboardists" list, would you
> demand that the list be dominated by classical virtuosos (as it
> should be, strictly speaking)?
Chopin and Rachmaninov get my vote.
Dave The Rave
Lookingglass
"Dave The Rave" <daves...@safe-mail.net> wrote in message
news:1187812953....@e9g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
>
> Chopin and Rachmaninov get my vote.
>
> Dave The Rave
What...?!? No Lizst on your list?
keithw...@yahoo.com
Methinks he'd better replace "21" with "2" and "1" with John Lennon.
As John himself admits he wasn't good technically (not until Yoko
anyways) but he could play the thing...and make it howl! Best darned
rhythm guitarist who ever lived. Hendrix was fine...but did he put
the first feedback on vinyl? Did he pluck those unforgettable notes
of "I Feel Fine"? Did he play those majestic chords of "Norweigian
Wood"?
BlackMonk
<rfor...@msn.com> wrote in message
news:1187809795....@l22g2000prc.googlegroups.com...
> On Aug 22, 2:14 pm, "BlackMonk" <BlackM...@email.msn.com> wrote:
>> <rforma...@msn.com> wrote in message
>>
>> news:1187804915.0...@q4g2000prc.googlegroups.com...
>>
>> >> Apples and oranges. Guitarists aren't interchangable and the
>> >> skill set that you seem to think most important doesn't
>> >> necessarily mean a guitarist is going to be the best choice for
>> >> every situation.
>>
>> >> Since the list covers a lot of ground, rather than just the "100 >
>> >> best
>> >> jazz-rock guitarists," you're going to get guitarists who
>> >> were great in different ways.
>>
>> > Sorry, I can't quite make sense of your reply.
>>
>> > So Chuck Berry (who I dig, don't get me wrong) is great in more ways,
>> > or the best choice for more different situations, than any of the guys
>> > I mentioned?
>>
>> Where did I say it was a matter of counting up how many ways in which a
>> guitarist was great?
>
>
>> You seem to want a way to measure greatness, but it
>> doesn't work like that.
>
> Wouldn't it have to work like that in order to compile a list of the
> greatest guitarists?
>
No. There's no way to compare the greatness of Al DiMeola to the greatness
of Lou Reed, so you don't try. Instead, you try to make a list that
represents the spectrum of ways in which a guitarist can be great as well
as possible.
Otherwise, you'd end up saying "well, this guitarist has a great sound, but
this one is more versatile so he goes first. Wait, look how many notes this
one can play in a measure."
>> The fact is that Lou Reed would probably have been
>> lost if he'd tried to play like Wes Montgomery, but it's just as probable
>> that Montgomery would have been lost on "Sister Ray."
>>
>> Now, if you want to ask about Chuck Berry, specifically? Yeah. He is. Not
>> only did he draw from blues, jazz and country influences to create his
>> own
>> style, but he pretty much invented Rock and Roll guitar playing and
>> created
>> the vocabulary for everyone who came after him.
>
> Maybe I'm wrong but I don't get the sense that you know much about, or
> are at all interested in jazz.
Yeah, you're wrong.
(For instance, you sound like you
> think jazz is just "one thing" and that a master of it isn't likely to
> draw from a very wide and rich history of influences of different
> styles like a rock'n'roll musician. In fact, I submit that a master
> jazz player has likely studied and absorbed a wider and deeper range
> of styles and influences - and blues to a much deeper degree - than a
> strictly rock or blues player.) Didn't Django Reinhardt and Wes
> Montgomery
> (and others, those are two of the huge giants) "pretty much invent"
> jazz guitar playing and also create a vocabulary that has been built
> upon by the many generations of musicians who came after them?
>
That's the point You can say Django and Wes invented jazz guitar playing. I
might say Eddie Lang and Charlie Christian. No one player was as important
as Chuck Berry to rock playing.
> And if you yourself say that Chuck Berry "drew on jazz," then wouldn't
> some of the giants and innovators of that genre who influenced his
> influences....make the cut?
Not necessarily. And how many of the people you listed predated Chuck Berry?
Your list was mainly of jazz-rock fusion musicians. John Scofield? A
talented guitarist, but why him and not Mike Stern, for example. For that
matter, why Mike Stern and not Leni Stern? She didn't have MONSTER FUSION
CHOPS, but I loved her sound on her early records. But to go back to MONSTER
FUSION CHOPS, why not Wayne Krantz?
>
> I still have no idea why you seem to be saying that no jazz musician
> should be expected to be on a list of greatest guitar players,
Because you don't read very carefully?
I'm saying that you're basing your idea that they SHOULD be on a list of
greatest guitar players on a very limited set of criteria.
it
> seems to me that it must be because you don't like jazz and don't know
> much or anything about it.
>
Get over yourself.
BlackMonk
"poisoned rose" <captainv...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:Ne%yi.7397$4w7....@newssvr22.news.prodigy.net...
> joe b <j...@blow.com> wrote:
>
>> I have no problem with Hendrix being at the top of any list of
>> guitarists, but the rest of the list is a "most popular" not a
>> "greatest" list. Are Kim Simmonds or Alvin Lee even on this list?
>> No, because they are not popular.
>
> nominations do not take this into account. There are factors of
> taste, style and creative vision. For instance, Lee was a
> notoriously tasteless guitarist, and his music has aged horribly.
>
I wouldn't say he was any more tasteful than, say, Johnny Ramone, but guys
who could play blues licks really fast with a distorted tone weren't exactly
a rarity. The list probably has Hendrix, Clapton, Page, Beck, Bloomfield,
Peter Green and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Would Alvin Lee and Kim Simmonds add
anything?
O'Leary III
> I agree that it's a silly list with no bearing on anything, but I still
> have to comment on #2: Duane Allman? Talk about a one-trick pony. I
> still don't get the guitar superhero status that has been afforded him.
He takes me to another place.