The Greatest Guitarist of All Time.

[hornytoad]

Al Dimeola on anyone's top 10 ?

 

 

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[clipper]

My favs:

- David Gilmour

- Mark Knopfler

- Jimi Hendrix

- Jimmy Page

- Carlos Santana

- Alex Scolnick

- Jeff Beck

 

 

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+1 on Mark Knopfler.

 

Here are 2 of my favorites that I haven't seen on the list:

 

Johnny Marr

Bert Jansch

[esimms86]

If you're talking influence then my list starts with Hendrix and also includes Chuck Berry, James Burton, Scotty Moore and Link Wray. George Harrison, though not the all time greatest, is incredibly influential when you think of all the players who picked up the guitar upon hearing the Beatles. I suppose then you'd have to give a nod to John Lennon given that so many players cite the Beatles(I.e, not specifically citing Harrison). For that matter, how many guitarists started their journey with an acoustic guitar after hearing Stephen Stills with CSN?

 

Otherwise, my additions to the list are Eric Johnson, Jorma Kaukonen and Waddy Wachtel(how many hits has he played on?). Peter Frampton can also kick some ass on guitar.

[sphinxsix]

To be a bit more clear, I do not mean Jimi H does not merit a place on this list/discussion, I just mean to say that perhaps he is not the most innovative rock guitarist of all time (although maybe he would have been had he lived beyond his "early period").

Kim Jong-un would probably not agree but I think the diversity of opinions is a very healthy thing! After all we agree as for 3 other guitarists.

[sphinxsix]

I beg to differ on Jimi Hendrix on two counts. First your statement that he was not the most innovatice rock guitarist of all time. And second, your statement that his career was too short to count.

 

Maybe you're not familiar with Hendrix's full discography, but Hendrix was a pioneer who broke new ground in a large scale way unlike any guitarist then or now.

 

From his early breakthrough pieces such as Purple Haze and Wild Thing, through his middle work with such incredible innovative pieces such All Along the Watchtower, The Wind Cries Mary, Hey Joe, My Friend and Voodo Chile, through his posthumously published work featuring multi-layered guitars and very forward thinking pieces such as Freedom, Night Bird Flying, My Friend, Ezy Rider, not to mention his unforgettable live concert performances including his enthralling and iconic performances at Woodstock and Monterrey Post Festival, Hendrix was a tour de force guitarist - a guitarist's guitarist.

 

His style encompassed, mastered and lay new paths for the guitar from blues, to ballads, to hard hitting rock, and even jazz-like improvisational multi-layered guitar works in a unparalleled blend of skill and soulful expression.

 

He pioneered the use of feedback, distortion and guitar effects, and made them an integral and melodic part of his music unlike any other guitarist. And in many ways, he was the first guitarist who combined rhythm and lead guitar in one fluid and melodic style.

 

His style and innovative technique have influenced numerous stellar guitarist and his influence can still be heard to this day.

 

Rolling Stone ranked him as the greatest guitarist of all time and the sixth greatest artist of all time.

 

His short lived career is a testament to his genius and the very reason he should be as highly regarded as he is; and not, quite the contrary as you suggest, a reason to not consider his impact as influential. We can only begin to imagine what his musical mastery and genius would be producing today if he hadn't passed at the such young age of 27 in 1970.

 

Hendrix without a doubt was the most innovative, soulful and skillful guitarist ever, especially and precisely when you consider the incredibly short time frame of basically four years (1967-70) in which he did it.

 

 

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I agree with you in 200%.

I'd add just one more thing. All he cared about was his music. He was totally devoted to it (and slept with his guitar ) Reminds me of John Coltrane in this regard. And both created music that IMO has a certain spiritual dimension if I may call it that way.

[sphinxsix]

I've been steering clear of this thread, but when you mentioned Vernon Reid, I took note. I'll bet a lot of folks don't know who he is. I saw a concert at a little supper club in Garwood, NJ, near where I live. The town is so small, that if you blink as you drive through, you'll miss it. But, there is a small venue there, and the owner knows a lot of people in the music biz. So, the show was Noel Redding and Vernon Reid with a drummer.

There's about 100 people in this tiny place with an eight foot ceiling, and they're up there with 100w Marshall amps cranked up to 11 playing Hendrix stuff I was sitting right up front, and felt like the guy in the old Maxell ad. I had tinnitus for days afterwards.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]31295[/ATTACH]

Unfortunately, Noel Redding passed away. But, if you can, read his book, "Are You Experienced - The Inside Story of the Jimi Hendrix Experience", by Noel Redding & Carol Appleby. It's a great book.

I'd give a lot to see a gig like that! This must have been something!

And I remember this Maxell add, I always liked it. Although today I'd advice the guy in the photo to use speaker stands!

Thx for the book recommendation. I'll check it out.

 

 

And BTW maybe it's a good moment to mention Dr Know of Bad Brains - the band who influenced lots of American rock musicians (from Rollins Band to Red Hot Chilli Peppers) and was probably the first group to fuse heavy guitar sound with funk (and reggae from time to time).

[sphinxsix]

Ps. For those not familiar with the two names.

 

Vernon Reid with Living Colour

 

[video=youtube;Kir-ca1CdSs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kir-ca1CdSs

 

Bad Brains 1990

 

[musicman59]

I am surprised nobody has mention Lindsay Buckingham.....

 

 

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[witchdoctor]

Hendrix didn't just play the guitar, he composed on the guitar.

 

Hendrix didn't just compose on the guitar, he redefined the guitar.

 

all the above are xlnt, but who else can meet the 2 criteria just above?

 

Hendrix wrote great songs but I wouldn't call writing for a power trio "composing".

 

Frank Zappa is an example of someone who "composed" on the guitar. I would say Zappa did much more than redefine the guitar, he redefined the rock genre. Here is an interesting story about the guitar Hendrix gave Frank:

 

[witchdoctor]

Don't forget the ladies:

 

[Jud]

Hendrix wrote great songs but I wouldn't call writing for a power trio "composing".

Interesting. I'll say these two things:

 

(1) Miles Davis wanted to record with Jimi but demanded too much money up front for it to happen before Jimi died. Good enough for Miles, good enough for me.

 

(2) I was in junior high school when Are You Experienced? came out. Neither I nor any of my friends had heard anything like those songs Jimi composed before. Listen to the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Stones, Dylan, the Who - see if you hear anything that sounded like Jimi.

Frank Zappa is an example of someone who "composed" on the guitar. I would say Zappa did much more than redefine the guitar, he redefined the rock genre. Here is an interesting story about the guitar Hendrix gave Frank:

 

 

Frank, though I love him, was simply not popular enough to redefine the genre. The Beatles did by writing their own songs and getting to a place of honesty in presentation no one had gone to before. Dylan did by writing the kind of lyrics no one had put in popular music since perhaps Elizabethan minstrel songs. Hendrix did by bringing rock into the instrumental era. Listen to production before and after Hendrix. Before him it's heavy on the vocal. After him you'd be hard pressed to find a rock album without the instruments way up in the mix. (Early Beatles songs have Ringo playing "percussion" by slapping his thighs or tapping on a matchbox. Imagine any popular rock band today with a top radio hit mixed quietly enough to hear that!)

[witchdoctor]

Interesting. I'll say these two things:

 

(1) Miles Davis wanted to record with Jimi but demanded too much money up front for it to happen before Jimi died. Good enough for Miles, good enough for me.

 

(2) I was in junior high school when Are You Experienced? came out. Neither I nor any of my friends had heard anything like those songs Jimi composed before. Listen to the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Stones, Dylan, the Who - see if you hear anything that sounded like Jimi.

 

 

Frank, though I love him, was simply not popular enough to redefine the genre. The Beatles did by writing their own songs and getting to a place of honesty in presentation no one had gone to before. Dylan did by writing the kind of lyrics no one had put in popular music since perhaps Elizabethan minstrel songs. Hendrix did by bringing rock into the instrumental era. Listen to production before and after Hendrix. Before him it's heavy on the vocal. After him you'd be hard pressed to find a rock album without the instruments way up in the mix. (Early Beatles songs have Ringo playing "percussion" by slapping his thighs or tapping on a matchbox. Imagine any popular rock band today with a top radio hit mixed quietly enough to hear that!)

 

Have you ever seen Frank's charts? Just listen to an album like Apostrophe and the creativity and complexity of the music. He composed and arranged all the music, surrounded himself with astounding musicians and over 30 years produced almost 60 albums. How can you say he wasn't "popular"? I think what you meant to say is he wasn't "pop 40", which wasn't his market. He is even better live, PLEASE check out this performance:

 

http://www.concertvault.com/frank-zappa/palladium-october-31-1981-set-2.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Zappa

[witchdoctor]

My top JAZZ guitarists:

 

George Benson

Al Dimeola

John Mclaughlin

Pat Metheny

Stanley Jordan

Larry Coryell

[witchdoctor]

Interesting. I'll say these two things:

 

(1) Miles Davis wanted to record with Jimi but demanded too much money up front for it to happen before Jimi died. Good enough for Miles, good enough for me.

 

(2) I was in junior high school when Are You Experienced? came out. Neither I nor any of my friends had heard anything like those songs Jimi composed before. Listen to the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Stones, Dylan, the Who - see if you hear anything that sounded like Jimi.

 

 

Frank, though I love him, was simply not popular enough to redefine the genre. The Beatles did by writing their own songs and getting to a place of honesty in presentation no one had gone to before. Dylan did by writing the kind of lyrics no one had put in popular music since perhaps Elizabethan minstrel songs. Hendrix did by bringing rock into the instrumental era. Listen to production before and after Hendrix. Before him it's heavy on the vocal. After him you'd be hard pressed to find a rock album without the instruments way up in the mix. (Early Beatles songs have Ringo playing "percussion" by slapping his thighs or tapping on a matchbox. Imagine any popular rock band today with a top radio hit mixed quietly enough to hear that!)

 

I think Chuck Berry brought rock into the instrumental era way before Hendrix did. I would even say that without Chuck Berry we wouldn't have a lot of the music we have today. As for redefining the rock genre I would say the same about Santana as I would for Frank.

[witchdoctor]

The Hendrix BEFORE Hendrix, the Beatles BEFORE the Beatles:

 

[witchdoctor]

What else needs to be said? Are you kidding me?

 

[YashN]

Al Dimeola on anyone's top 10 ?

 

Al Di Meola for me.

 

An John McLaughlin, Larry Coryell (his Bolero on vinyl at my Uncle's place was great). Paco de Lucia for Flamenco.

 

Steve Stevens for Rock.

[Jud]

The Hendrix BEFORE Hendrix, the Beatles BEFORE the Beatles:

 

 

There's no doubt Chuck Berry was great, and as you say, responsible for the sound of a lot of what came after. Have you seen the documentary where Keith Richard does a concert with him? Keith's a tremendous admirer, but at one point (where he's sure Chuck isn't listening) he gives a lot of the credit for Chuck's sound and the origins of rock 'n' roll to Chuck's piano player, Johnnie Johnson.

[Jud]

Have you ever seen Frank's charts? Just listen to an album like Apostrophe and the creativity and complexity of the music. He composed and arranged all the music, surrounded himself with astounding musicians and over 30 years produced almost 60 albums. How can you say he wasn't "popular"? I think what you meant to say is he wasn't "pop 40", which wasn't his market. He is even better live, PLEASE check out this performance:

 

Frank Zappa Palladium New York, NY Oct 31, 1981 Set 2

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Zappa

There is absolutely no doubt about Frank's musicianship, his compositional creativity, etc. (Great story about Zappa getting the LA Philharmonic, then led by Zubin Mehta, to record some of his orchestral compositions: He told Mehta when to bring in the orchestra on a track by simply saying, "Hit it, Zubin.")

 

But what I mean by "popular" is that you don't redefine a genre unless the other folks in the genre follow you. When the Beatles hit, it completely changed the sound of *all* popular music, and you can hear it in the recordings of the era. Same with Jimi - after him, Cream, Led Zeppelin, the mid-to-late Who, the Allman Brothers, even the Stones, and pretty much every guitar hero/arena rock band ever, brought the instruments, especially the lead guitar(s), way up in the mix.

 

Frank was fabulous, but he was also fairly unique. You don't find other bands of the era composing like he did or, for the most part, copying his sound. The thing he did contribute to the sound of a tremendous amount of rock guitar that came after him was the use of the wah wah pedal. Hendrix and then pretty much every rock guitarist heard Frank using wah wah and got pedals of their own.

[barrows]

I beg to differ on Jimi Hendrix on two counts. First your statement that he was not the most innovatice rock guitarist of all time. And second, your statement that his career was too short to count.

 

Maybe you're not familiar with Hendrix's full discography, but Hendrix was a pioneer who broke new ground in a large scale way unlike any guitarist then or now.

 

From his early breakthrough pieces such as Purple Haze and Wild Thing, through his middle work with such incredible innovative pieces such All Along the Watchtower, The Wind Cries Mary, Hey Joe, My Friend and Voodo Chile, through his posthumously published work featuring multi-layered guitars and very forward thinking pieces such as Freedom, Night Bird Flying, My Friend, Ezy Rider, not to mention his unforgettable live concert performances including his enthralling and iconic performances at Woodstock and Monterrey Post Festival, Hendrix was a tour de force guitarist - a guitarist's guitarist.

 

His style encompassed, mastered and lay new paths for the guitar from blues, to ballads, to hard hitting rock, and even jazz-like improvisational multi-layered guitar works in a unparalleled blend of skill and soulful expression.

 

He pioneered the use of feedback, distortion and guitar effects, and made them an integral and melodic part of his music unlike any other guitarist. And in many ways, he was the first guitarist who combined rhythm and lead guitar in one fluid and melodic style.

 

His style and innovative technique have influenced numerous stellar guitarist and his influence can still be heard to this day.

 

Rolling Stone ranked him as the greatest guitarist of all time and the sixth greatest artist of all time.

 

His short lived career is a testament to his genius and the very reason he should be as highly regarded as he is; and not, quite the contrary as you suggest, a reason to not consider his impact as influential. We can only begin to imagine what his musical mastery and genius would be producing today if he hadn't passed at the such young age of 27 in 1970.

 

Hendrix without a doubt was the most innovative, soulful and skillful guitarist ever, especially and precisely when you consider the incredibly short time frame of basically four years (1967-70) in which he did it.

 

 

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Again: I am quite familiar with the full scope of JH's work, and indeed I am a huge fan of his playing as well. And by no means do i mean to suggest that he should not be in this discussion (and if we have to "rank" players, certainly he should be in the top ten)..

What I am trying to say is that his career was too short to fully evaluate what could have been. He died at 27, a baby by any measure, especially for a serious musician. I would say he is not the most innovative because his innovations were only over a short period, he did not have the opportunity to show how far he could go; that is, could he keep innovating over a thirty or forty year career? Unfortunately, we will never know.

Personally, I get quite sad knowing we were never able to hear the inevitable Miles/Jimi collaboration...

[cmarin]

Again: I am quite familiar with the full scope of JH's work, and indeed I am a huge fan of his playing as well. And by no means do i mean to suggest that he should not be in this discussion (and if we have to "rank" players, certainly he should be in the top ten)..

What I am trying to say is that his career was too short to fully evaluate what could have been. He died at 27, a baby by any measure, especially for a serious musician. I would say he is not the most innovative because his innovations were only over a short period, he did not have the opportunity to show how far he could go; that is, could he keep innovating over a thirty or forty year career? Unfortunately, we will never know.

Personally, I get quite sad knowing we were never able to hear the inevitable Miles/Jimi collaboration...

 

Appreciate your points Barrows and the opportunity to discuss and even disagree in a respectful way.

 

 

 

 

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[barrows]

Appreciate your points Barrows and the opportunity to discuss and even disagree in a respectful way.

 

 

 

 

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Of course. I am loving this discussion, and we do not need the thread to turn into an argument about who is "better" or "more important"!

[BlueDog]

I can't believe

hasn't had a mention yet.

[witchdoctor]

There's no doubt Chuck Berry was great, and as you say, responsible for the sound of a lot of what came after. Have you seen the documentary where Keith Richard does a concert with him? Keith's a tremendous admirer, but at one point (where he's sure Chuck isn't listening) he gives a lot of the credit for Chuck's sound and the origins of rock 'n' roll to Chuck's piano player, Johnnie Johnson.

 

I saw it, Bruce Springsteen saying that a lot of the keys are written in keys more typical for the piano. I don't know how musically literate Chuck was, maybe the piano player had to score his ideas.

[witchdoctor]

There is absolutely no doubt about Frank's musicianship, his compositional creativity, etc. (Great story about Zappa getting the LA Philharmonic, then led by Zubin Mehta, to record some of his orchestral compositions: He told Mehta when to bring in the orchestra on a track by simply saying, "Hit it, Zubin.")But what I mean by "popular" is that you don't redefine a genre unless the other folks in the genre follow you. When the Beatles hit, it completely changed the sound of *all* popular music, and you can hear it in the recordings of the era. Same with Jimi - after him, Cream, Led Zeppelin, the mid-to-late Who, the Allman Brothers, even the Stones, and pretty much every guitar hero/arena rock band ever, brought the instruments, especially the lead guitar(s), way up in the mix.

 

Frank was fabulous, but he was also fairly unique. You don't find other bands of the era composing like he did or, for the most part, copying his sound. The thing he did contribute to the sound of a tremendous amount of rock guitar that came after him was the use of the wah wah pedal. Hendrix and then pretty much every rock guitarist heard Frank using wah wah and got pedals of their own.

 

I am talking in terms of composing and influence, not just guitar virtuosity. If you were to point in music spinoffs from the Hendrix style I would point to metal rather than hard rock. I see a LOT more bands trying to emulate the hard rock sound of Led Zeppelin rather than Hendrix. In terms of Zappa I think fusion jazz was more of a spinoff from his music than rock. Look at George Duke and Jean Luc Ponty's music before and after they played with Frank. I think Frank's music also influended electronic music ( I don't think this genre even existed before Frank) and he even influenced hip hop. Look at all the musicians that have sampled his music on their tracks:

Frank Zappa | WhoSampled

 

In all fairness Frank was around a lot longer than Hendrix so we will never know what Hendrix would have evolved into.