Dueling Guitarists...

[Mark4583]

Let me throw another name in that no one has mentioned, Chet Atkins, you dont hear much from him anymore but he's one of the finist Guitar players there is.

[BinFrog]

My favorites:
Alex Lifeson
Mike McCready
Joe Satriani
David Gilmour
Trey Anastasio
Dave Navarro
Larry LaLonde
John MacLaughlin
Nick Drake
Tommy Emmanuel
Wes Montgomery

Who I think the greatest players are (in terms of skill):
Al Di Meola
John MacLaughlin
Django Reinhardt
Segovia
Joe Satriani
Eric Johnson
Trey Anastasio
Tommy Emmanuel
Allan Holdsworth
Don Ross
Wes Montgomery
Michael Hedges
Mike Stern
Scott Henderson
Frank Gambale
Pat Martino
Buckethead
Steve Vai
Adrian Legg
John Fahey
Leo Kottke



Wow, I went way beyond the limit.

[Chrisgnat]

Me faves :

Allan Holdsworth
Micheal Hedges
Scott Henderson
Nels Cline
Fred Frith
Mike Johnson
Wayne Krantz
Steve Vai
Frank Zappa
John Scofield
Wes Montgomery
John McLaughlin

[Chrisgnat]

my favorite guitarist (not 'best' guitarist but my favorite for the style of playing he employed. I think it's called "finger picking". )

Michael Hedges

Does anyone recommend another artist with a sound similar to Hedges? I would love to find one. Very sadly, he died in a car accident in SF several years ago.

Yes! Check out - Don Ross! Passion Session is very nice!
He was to record with Hedges before his untimely death.

Chris

[umapet97]

Dimebag Darryl...
Edge
CC DeVille(kidding)
Steve Vai
Gurrg(mudvayne)
Joe Perry
Kirk Hammett

[Mr MidFi]

I can't believe no one has mentioned the twin-guitar attack of Steve Hunter and Dick Wagner from Lou Reed's Rock 'n Roll Animal album. At least, until now. If you haven't heard this one, you really need to. Trust me.

[dean_martin]

I see this thread's still goin'. Anyone listed Nigel Tufnel yet?

[BinFrog]

Does anyone recommend another artist with a sound similar to Hedges? I would love to find one. Very sadly, he died in a car accident in SF several years ago.

Don Ross (favorite album: Passion Session)
Tommy Emmanuel (favorite album: Only)
Adrian Legg (favorite album: Guitars and Other Cathedrals)
Billy MacLaughlin (favorite album: Fingerdance)
John Fahey (favorite album: Return of the Repressed: The John Fahey Anthology)

Be careful w/ Billy MacLaughlin. Some of his stuff has vocals and he gets really into religious crap that I can't stand. Hie album "Finally! Live." is horrible. He's not in the forefront w/ his guitar, and half the songs are about jesus and baptisms. Ugh.

[Hyfi]

my favorite guitarist (not 'best' guitarist but my favorite for the style of playing he employed. I think it's called "finger picking". )

Michael Hedges

Does anyone recommend another artist with a sound similar to Hedges? I would love to find one. Very sadly, he died in a car accident in SF several years ago.

Man I love Hedges. Saw him in Philly at the waterfront shortly before his demise. I would recomend Phil Keaggy with Glass Harp. His early work before he became a Christian performer is way cool. I saw him a few years ago at a church and was real impressed. Along with the picking, strumming and everything at the same time, He likes to use an echo box. He starts out with a bass loop, then slaps the crap out of his guitar for a drum line. Next he adds some rythm and then jams away with all of it.

[musicoverall]

Neil is rad. Can't believe I didn't mention him before. As far as duo work is concerned, when Ol' Shakey was paired up with Danny Whitten (R.I.P.) on Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere they pulled off some awesome stuff. "Cowgirl In The Sand" still blows my mind. Neil's more recent guitar workouts on Weld and Ragged Glory also rule.

I forgot to mention Frank Zappa too. Some may blame him for having a part in the whole "solo guitar hero/wanky shredfest" movement (he tutored Steve Vai and also released a 3-disc album made up of mostly solo guitar) though I liken Zappa more to Hendrix in that he was just a fountain of raw talent, and similar in that he wasn't traditionally schooled. He was also a helluva composer, one of the greats of the 20th century in my opinion.

Moore/Renaldo are awesome. They really attack their guitars. Sonic Youth has been on my "Must See Live" list for a long time now.

Joey Santiago is wild. Not much in the way of technical ability, but he manages one of the most creative and psycho guitar sounds ever. Like Spanish guitar on amphetamines, or something. Greg Ginn of Black Flag and Fred "Sonic" Smith and Wayne Kramer of The MC5 were pretty rad too.

Two more words: Dick Dale. 'Nuff said. Okay, one more word: "Miserlou."

Never liked King and Hanneman, though. Their solos sound like a couple of novices screwing around, just obnoxious. Part of the reason why I think Slayer is phenomenally overrated. I realize mine is a minority opinion.




Damn straight.

On another note, I think Clapton's overrated in the extreme. Oh sure, he's talented enough, but he doesn't capture that the blues essence is about feeling and not simply technique. SRV, Hendrix, and the Allmans all understood that. Clapton on the other hand approaches the blues with clinical precision and doesn't play with nearly enough grit or emotion. And if I hear that goddamn "Tears In Heaven" treacle one more time I'm gonna be sick. About the only stuff I can stand of his is his Bluesbreakers material with John Mayall and also Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs, though Duane Allman and Bobby Whitlock are the real draw for me in regards to that album. Cream hasn't aged well, and the post-Layla stuff I couldn't care less about. Probably a controversial opinion but I'm sticking to it.

All apologies for rambling. Hey, this thread's got like 23 replies, huh? Not bad. ; P

Excellent post - and it captures my feelings exactly, right down to the Hanneman/King opinion and the assessment of Clapton.

Definitely go see Sonic Youth live. You won't be disappointed!

[dean_martin]

Definitely go see Sonic Youth live. You won't be disappointed!

I second that. Saw them in the early 90's when they head-lined Lalapalooza. The feedback/distortion/dissonance was more creative and delirious than the studio stuff - if you can imagine.

To hold you over (or make you more anxious), check out 1991: The Year Punk Broke and Screaming Fields of Sonic Love on video. The Year Punk Broke features Sonic Youth on a European festival tour. It also includes performances by Nirvana, Babes in Toyland, Dinosaur jr, and others. Geffen released the Screaming Fields video soon after signing Sonic Youth and in conjunction with a compilation of pre-Geffen songs on cd. The video contains a couple of live performances - the most memorable for me is a live performance of Silver Rocket on a late night tv show hosted by David Sanborn. (Sanborn joins them at the end for a rousing rendition of the Stooge's I wanna be Your Dog.) The Death Valley '69 video is pretty cool too. I have a couple of bootleg videos, but if I remember correctly they're practically unwatchable. I have some bootleg cds of much better quality.

Unfortunately, I don't believe either of these has been realeased on dvd. Corporate Ghost is a more recent release and is on dvd, but I don't think it has much live footage or pre-Geffen stuff.

[musicoverall]

To hold you over (or make you more anxious), check out 1991: The Year Punk Broke and Screaming Fields of Sonic Love on video. The Year Punk Broke features Sonic Youth on a European festival tour. It also includes performances by Nirvana, Babes in Toyland, Dinosaur jr, and others. Geffen released the Screaming Fields video soon after signing Sonic Youth and in conjunction with a compilation of pre-Geffen songs on cd. The video contains a couple of live performances - the most memorable for me is a live performance of Silver Rocket on a late night tv show hosted by David Sanborn. (Sanborn joins them at the end for a rousing rendition of the Stooge's I wanna be Your Dog.) The Death Valley '69 video is pretty cool too. I have a couple of bootleg videos, but if I remember correctly they're practically unwatchable. I have some bootleg cds of much better quality..

That sounds awesome! It's funny that most people think of Sanborn as a nice, friendly, no offense, pop saxophonist (which he is!) but they forget he played in a kickass version of the Butterfield Blues Band and the man can play! I'll check that out.

I've seen Sonic Youth about 4 times - shortly after Daydream Nation was just incredible and is the most memorable. But they've never let me down, either live or on record.

[dean_martin]

That sounds awesome! It's funny that most people think of Sanborn as a nice, friendly, no offense, pop saxophonist (which he is!) but they forget he played in a kickass version of the Butterfield Blues Band and the man can play! I'll check that out.

I've seen Sonic Youth about 4 times - shortly after Daydream Nation was just incredible and is the most memorable. But they've never let me down, either live or on record.

Here are a couple of links to the videos:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...glance&s=video

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...glance&s=video

I agree with some of the amazon reviewers that the video and sound of the live performances is not optimal, but I don't think the point was to make a concert video. I think what you have is Dave Markey's vision for his film not lining up with what the fans of the bands want to see. I wouldn't call The Year Punk Broke a let down, but it left me wanting more. I haven't pulled this out of the box it's been in since 2 moves ago, but I don't remember Thurston Moore being as obnoxious as some of the amazon reviewers say. I do remember J. Mascis coming across as a little whiny about his relationships though.

BTW, I haven't kept up with Sonic Youth since "Washing Machine". (I have just about everything up til then including bootlegs, the Whitey Album, the soundtrack for Made in the USA and some live shows on cd from Sonic Death - the Sonic Youth fan club - I guess I got burned out on them.) I understand Murray Street and Sonic Nurse are supposed to be pretty good. Have you heard these albums?

[jamison]

my favorite guitar players:
1. Jimmy Page
2. David Gilmour
3. Alex Lifeson
4. The Edge
5. Eric Clapton
6. Eddie Van Halen - past his prime but i loved watching him in the early 80's

as far as guitar dueling combos:
1. Judas Priest - Tipton/Downing
2. Iron Maiden - Murray/smith
3. Scorpions - Schenker/Jabs