With the BBC 4 “On Guitar… Lenny Kaye” programme showing tonight, I was thinking about guitarists whose work I admire. As a dabbling guitarist myself I am probably of the early Billy Bragg style, ie choppy and percussive rather than virtuoso, using just a handful of chords and making a little go a very long way. Being of the more late 1970’s and 80’s persuasion I probably veer much more towards the punk/new wave/indie style than anything else but there is the occasional (and possibly surprising) exception amongst those I admire. This is a list featuring some of my favs, in no particular order:
Steve Jones (Sex Pistols)
Gets a mighty sound every time and makes Never Mind The Bollocks the superb album it is. Good in The Professionals too.
Billy Bragg
Probably an unlikely candidate for a “guitar hero” to many but hey, I learned to play using Billy’s songbook from 1985 (I think.) It’s made me the “less is more” kind of guy I am now! I even found a green Burns Steer guitar which even makes me sound acceptable…
Johnny Marr
Personally I can never get near the magic that Johnny comes up with, but he sounded great in The (especially early) Smiths. A virtuoso who always remembers that he is there to serve the song, not the other way round.
Will Sergeant (Echo & The Bunnymen)
I’ve lost touch with the Bunnymen somewhat in more recent years but from 80-87, Will was a master of effects and transformed many of their songs from good to sublime. Again, he was never a virtuoso, but his style still sounds like he’s adding the finer detail to songs.
Bert Jansch
A real latecomer to Jansch, I heard something of his on a Mojo compilation CD and then read a superbly written biography. On further investigation I found real beauty there to admire amongst what I heard. I did manage to see him live just the once, at a Green Man Festival, and I will never be able to work out how he made those sounds.
Anyone baffled by these choices or happy to share yours?
I played at a Bert Jansch tribute event in Belfast last week, organised by my pal Steve McCann. Steve has learned loads of Bert’s songs – most of which he does really well, but there were two or three where he had the notes but not the feeling, or the groove or whatever it was that Bert had. It reinforced the notion that Bert simply had a unique guitar vocabulary and approach – there were simply things that came naturally to him that, to everyone else, are do-able but only with an effort, it doesn’t fall naturally under the fingers or seem like a sequence of chords and licks that should work; you’d never think of it yourself.
Nothing Bert did was ever meant to be flash – it was all just about music, and there was a wonderful, shambling imperfection about it, often. It made it more human. Here’s a great example – a performance with a couple of delightfully fluffed moments of his extraordinary arrangement of the Irish traditional song ‘Blackwater Side’, which dates to early 1965 (first recorded in 1966). No one else in the world could have come up with that arrangement, guitaristically brilliant – yet it’s only there to accompany the song, because that was the natural way for Bert to do that.
Great description there – that sums him up perfectly. I feel it’s what set him apart from John Renbourn, who is technically ‘better’, but off-puttingly so in his fussiness.
Colin, your description of Bert, ie “wonderful, shambling imperfection” completely sums up what I thought when I saw him at Green Man in (I think) 2006 or so, and I didn’t even know any of the songs that well at that point. It was spellbinding. He held a tent full of what I imagined to be mostly newcomers to his work in awe.
Thank you, Arthur and Nick… I’ve been largely away from Bert’s music from 2008 onwards, having been immersed in it from the mid 80s, eagerly discovering his records in second-hand shops as a teenager and then helping to see it made available on CD in the 90s and writing his biography at the end of the decade.
Being invited to do something at the tribute event had the effect of the muse tapping me on the shoulder, reflecting on the man and his influence. This song, ‘Make Your Own World’, in Bert’s style, came very quickly. I recorded a studio version a few days before the live thing, which will be a digital single with a couple of similar-style instrumentals very soon.
I’m not a performer, but the thing about Bert is that he opened music up to people without conventional voices or showbiz gloss. So, why not?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PoOG6HhRAI
Wow Colin, you wrote that Biography? “Dazzling Stranger”? A superb piece of work, easily one of the best music books I have ever read. I hadn’t really heard much at all of Bert’s before I read that, prompted to do so by a haunting and wintry sounding song on one of the free Mojo CDs. Your book did what all great music books do, which is to make you want to hear more. I imagine it’s a fantastic reference book for long term Bert followers as well as folk fans. I knew nothing whatsoever about folk before I read it and those sections made the scene seem vivid and real.
Thank you Nick – glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
I got the book too and I loved it for all the non Bert stuff (being where my interests lie). The background work is astonishing.
Get Jim McLean involved if you are ever doing that era again. He has a real historians eye and his involvement in the early days in both Glasgow and London was deep.
Thanks Jorro 🙂 I fought hard for the ‘non Bert stuff’ to remain in the book, even to the point of offering to repay the advance. A more linear narrative would have taken £5 off the hardback RRP, which some people seemed to think important at the time. But they were wrong.
You may not quite be able to stomach the central character, but I see ‘Bathed in Lightning’ as a complementary volume to ‘Dazzling Stranger’ – it also has an opening two-thirds that’s as much about London in the 60s, the context and fellow travellers, as it is about the central figure. Give it a go 🙂
For guitar hero, it has always been Roddy Frame for me. He just makes it all seem so effortless and has consistently produced absolutely beautiful guitar music. When I started playing I was equally influenced by the sound of Young Scotland and the heavy chorus of the Cure and the Banshees. My Goth-Funk movement never took off. Check out the Banshees “Supernatural Thing”, for a successful hybrid. I still regard Robert Smith as a remarkably versatile and very underrated guitarist.
Also underrated and long term favourites of mine are the O’Neill brothers of the Undertones and later That Petrol Emotion. So many brilliant riffs and also always a great sound.
Last but not least Talking Heads David Byrne especially when Adrian Belew was on board. Byrne is no great guitarist but again he has created so many memorable riffs in a variety of styles.
Roddy Frame was amazing, even at 18 and 19. And as for the O’Neill brothers in That Petrol Emotion, well what a band. Saw them many times around London in 86-88, often in some fairly small venues like the Oval in Kennington and the Sir George Robey. .
Saw Roddy Frame last year for the first time in 30:years …ulp. He does make it seem effortless.
Richard Thompson usually doesn’t make it seem effortless but I do like it.
Prince was just Prince. He could make you laugh at the preposterous brilliance of his playing.
No women players? I’ll put in a vote for Kristin Hersh, both acoustic and electric.
Is it stating the obvious to say Paul Simon? I don’t think so. His songwriting and singing have (rightfully) overshadowed his guitar playing. But listen closer and he is just magical. He has an unshowy neatness, very much like Ralph McTell, whether he is playing clockwork patterns (The Boxer) or more relaxed finger-style stuff (American Tune).
In fact, Ralph McTell is another one! Even though his songs can be twee, it’s just pure joy to hear his chiming finger picking. His instrumentals are always good.
Both the Incredible String Band guys are amazing guitarists, especially Robin. I’d apply Colin’s description of Jansch to Robin Williamson! Shambolic, but always dancing, light as air, and always serving the song. Painting Box and First Girl I Loved are two deceptively simple songs, lifted by the guitar accompaniment.
To get back to the OP, I’m afraid Johnnny Marr just brings me out in a rash! Ugh. I hate that widdly, jangly stuff with no bottom end. I think he’s been a solidly bad influence on every ‘indie’ guitarist ever since, from Bernard Butler to Noel Gallagher. ALTHOUGH I only recently discovered that’s Mr Marr playing the African sounding lead guitar on Talking Heads’ Nothing But Flowers, and I love that…. so go figure.
Interesting point about Johnny Marr’s influence Arthur…I think you have a point about him being a bad influence on many inferior players who just don’t have his dexterity or know how. Lots have tried-many have failed!
Me a guitar dabbler too – I can play some chords (almost tunefully) but that’s about it – no widdly widdly solo shredding from my fingers.
Steve Jones ranks highly on my list too – big chunky sound
Other choices would be:
Mick Jones – solid
Pete Townsend – big power chords
Wilko Johnson – lead and rhythm all in one
Mark Knopfler – the sound he can get is like the plan talking – properly distinctive.
I would be happy if I could get somewhere near the sound of thise 5 combined.
For now, I will return to playing tinny, slightly out of tune, ham-fisted AC/DC riffs
Top of my list is the late, great Mick Green – the man Wilko credits with inspiring him and teaching him just about everything he knows about guitar playing. I stood no more than 2 feet away from Mick on many occasions, and could never get the slightest clue about how he created the sound he did. An astonishingly modest and thoroughly decent bloke to boot.
George Harrison, Neil Young, Lou Reed, Nils Lofgren, Keith Richards. None can play a dozen notes a second (except Nils maybe), but I like the sounds they make. Oh and Nels Cline, superlative at everything he does.
@dai agree re Nils. Vastly underrated guitarist. His version of Keith don’t go on Acoustic live is amazing.I have seen him play it a couple of times and it is definitely just him doing it.
A few obvious choices. Knopfler for me too – the solo on Sultans, the opening of Romeo & juliet, just wonderful both. Gilmour – I find him so tasteful; not so much the wanky Comfortably Numb stuff, more the understated stuff, like Shine On, or his slide on Great Gig, Pillow Of Winds or Ben Watt’s The Levels. Johnny Marr too. John Squire is probably my favourite of all – the riff and solo on Waterfall, rthe spidery intro to I Wanna Be Adored, the live performance of Fool’s Gold. But aside from the already celebrated, a guitarist I really like who doesn’t get much of a mench would be Mark Bolan. Like all the best guitarists, he found his own instantly recognisable voice.
I love John Squire up to 1990 and the Roses hiatus. Weirdly he then seemed to go from having his own voice to becoming a classic rock wannabe – technically very impressive but indistinguishable from many other blues rock players. But when I saw him at Heaton Park he was amazing, all sorts of liquid sounds coming out – he obviously needs Mani and Reni to bring the best out of him.
Any excuse to post this, one of my favourite things ever on the whole of the internet (not that I’ve looked at everything on there yet):
I watch the whole movie a couple of times a year. I know there are some Roses doubters on here and the film is squarely aimed at existing fans but Jesus, what incredible chemistry the band has on stage. I love this clip:
I love the rehearsal footage of waterfall from Made of Stone. Probably my favourite bit of Roses
Goosebumps. F*ck that is brilliant.
I’ve always considered my ability to be somewhere just below that of Richey Edwards. For the purpose of the tape though, my favourites are the kind of guitarists that I wouldn’t mind swapping places with – whether it’s because they look cool, or because I like the sound they make.
Jonny Greenwood
Bill Ryder-Jones
Alex Turner
Johnny Marr
Dave Gilmour
Keith Richards.
Never been bothered about those who can play a million notes at once. Less is more.
Steve Cropper – the absolute master of serving the song.
Nile Rodgers – what he plays is often extremely complex, but his genius is making it sound effortless and simple (and funky as heck).
…and my favourite? Obvious choice, but Jimi Hendrix for me. The only guitar-hero that can make the flashy stuff sound cool, relevant to the song and timeless, to my ears.
I was going to say Hendrix but didn’t want to be too obvious! He’s just unbeatable, isn’t he? I love guitarists who make it all appear effortless.
Yeah, exactly. I think his genius is in having complete mastery of the guitar, yet making it sound spontaneous and wild at the same time.
Who is the Blur guitarist? Forgotten his name. He’s good- very overlooked.
Graham Coxon.
That’s the fellow.
An excellent choice. I’d like to add him to my list.
As a Hull lad, I must carry a torch for the great Mick Ronson, who along with Bolan was the architect of glam, and of course had many more, er, strings to his bow.
And someone who amazingly often gets overlooked (as is evident from the comments above) as a phenomenal guitarist…Prince. He can literally do it all – great bass player, great rhythm guitarist, subtle and sensitive acoustic, and all-out rock god.
Oh yes, Prince. Good choice.
Well ….. conscious as I am that the venn diagram of how my tastes connect with others here barely touches anyone else here goes
Eddie Van Halen – one of few guitarists whose technique and tone (in rock circles anyway) was unique until others figured it out
Jeff Healey – not bad on jazz trumpet either but a great blues rock player
Gary Moore – I can hear the groans already but he could do it all – full on jazz rock fusion, heavy rock, even a great Peter Green imitation. His in your face blues works best for me
Slash – close to EVH in terms of having a very individual style
Warren Haynes – the hardest working man in the business and a sublime player
Tommy Bolin – just listen to Quadrant 4 on Billy Cobham’s Spectrum. And there is so much more
Rory Gallagher – a great example of how one man can fill out a 3 piece sound
Jan Akkerman – in Focus. Less so elsewhere
Eric Johnson – Mr Tone.
Joe Bonamassa – the second hardest working man. Not much love for white man blues rock here but I think he’s one of the very best
Duane Allman – not heard a better slide guitar
Frank Zappa – one size really does fit all. Dweezil is pretty handy too.
Steve Marriott – a monster guitar player as well as the voice. I think Steve Jones got a few ideas here
Adrian Legg – truly one of a kind
I think that’s enough ….
We can overlap at Steve Marriott Fortuneight… and you’re right about Steve Jones being influenced by him. I saw him play one of his pub gigs with whatever band he had at the time…Packet Of Three maybe? He was excellent, as was the voice.
I’m envious as I never saw him live – he played as SM and the Packet of Three or SM and The Official Receivers. There are some good live recordings (and a heap of dodgy ones) that illustrate just how powerful his guitar work was, which was also in evidence in Humble Pie or even the Small Faces which is where Steve Jones picked up some tips.
SM and the Packet of Three was one of the best gigs I’ve ever been to, in Leeds around 1989. They were a last-minute replacement (for Wilko IIRC) and completely blew me away. (Returning for their own scheduled gig a few weeks later they played the same set, and the impact wasn’t quite the same simply because I’d seen it before.)
Great list F8. Rory and Lowell are better slide players!
Reading your list I see forgot Johnny Winter and Koss as well as BB and Freddie King (never been an Albert fan). Pondered Joe Satriani, Walter Trout and Ritchie Blackmore but decided against, and now reckon I should have include SRV and Buck Dharma of BOC. And then there’s Tony Iommi, Brian May (another unloved in these parts, can’t fathom why), Carlos Santana, Jimmy Page, The Edge and so on ….
Double bollocks – forgot Ronnie Montrose as well. Fantastic wall of sound on the first album.
Too late now, alas. The single biggest regret of my life so far is that I left Lindsey Buckingham off my list.
You’re a hard man Gary. (Moose much missed)
You clearly prefer wit over beauty. A choice not without merit.
You get both in my house. Apart from when my wife is out.
LB. Do me a favour. He’s a faker. 😁
That first album is a bit good. Personally not so enamoured with Kate albums though
The Edge? Nooooooooooo !!
When I first heard Robbie Robertson’s Sweet Fire Of Love I didn’t know it was The Edge playing on it. As soon as I first heard the opening chords I remember saying “that sounds like The Edge”. There are few guitarists who have an instantly recognisable sound they can call their own.
Yeah he has a sound and boy does he inflict it on every song.
Nope, I’m gonna negate your premise. He doesn’t. He’s used it a few times, I’ll grant, and I’ll be first to admit that his last worthwhile contribution to recorded music was over 20 years ago, and his singer is widely considered a prize pillock, but… “he inflicts it on every song” doesn’t stand up in court. Not on my watch. Although if you can name more than ten examples from U2’s entire catalogue of 14 albums I’ll be willing to concede that your point had a certain validity, albeit of a limited nature.
Given that would involve someone having to listen to 10 U2 tracks, I’m sure your point will stand unchallenged.
Ooh loads…Mick Green, Roy Buchanan, Link Wray, Chet Atkins, Duane Allman, Tommy Emmanuel, Danny Gatton, James Burton, Ry Cooder…and pretty much every jazz guitarist who ever lived.
Is it allowed to mention Hank Marvin and golden age Eric Clapton?
*edit* forgot the Hellecaster blokes.
Re: “…and pretty much every jazz guitarist who ever lived.”
Oh yes …. we can start off with Charlie Christian, Grant Green, Wes Montgomery, Emily Remler, John Abercrombie…
Kenny Burrell, Joe Pass, Bill Frisell, Martin Taylor, Barney Kessel (who also doubled as a member of the Wrecking Crew, impressively), Tal Farlow…
And the elephant in the room is…
Ah, Mr H, we’ve been expecting you…
Ooh I know this one. Is it Jack Black?
Bert Weedon?
Yep, that’s the guy…
Um……is this still the afterword? Tallish fella, beard, a balmoral hat, can’t remember his name.
When I was but a lad, he was my favourite guitarist and probably still is, but I also love the sounds Neil Young extracts, especially when it sounds he is playing with the dexterity of someone wearing boxing gloves. Alabama and Southern man are good examples, where the notes sound so clumsy they’re great.
Of the fast guys I think Albert Lee is the best, as it still makes melodic sense.
I used to love Albert but familiarity breeds not contempt but a certain boredom….I’m convinced he plays the same 4 licks all the time.
Mmm, great question. My faves, amongst many…
Jimi!
Blues rock – Rory Gallagher, Paul Kossoff, Gary Moore, Johnny Winter, Robben Ford
Blues – BB King, Albert and Freddie, Clapton, Jimmy Vaughan
Fusion – Al Di Meola, Larry Carlton, Jay Graydon, john Etheridge
Rock – Guthrie Govan, Angus Young, Martin Barre, Andy Latimer, Rick Derringer, Joe Satriani, Dave Gilmour, Neil Young
Folk – Richard Thompson, Bert Jansch, Paul Simon, Will Akerman, Leo Kotke
Country – Brent Mason, Tony Rice, Clarence White, David Lindley
Jazz – Django, Grant Green, Kenny Burrell, Wes Montgomery
Argh F8 reminds me…
Slide – Lowell George, Rory, Lindley, Duane
Derek? Bonnie? Megan (Lovell of Larkin Poe)?
Reggie Young!!
My usual top 5 list when this question comes up is….
Peter Green
Steve Cropper
Mark Knopfler
David Gilmour
Lindsey Buckingham
Although there are many many others that give me great pleasure.
Steve Cropper – legend. Has he ever played on anything bad?
(He might’ve and I’ve wiped it from memory, but I don’t think so)
His With a Little Help from My Friends album didn’t really come off as I recall. Top musicians of course, but instrumental versions of things like In the Midnight Hour and Land of 1000 Dances don’t really work as instrumentals.
Any excuse to post this from the BBC Proms / Stax a couple of years ago – just Steve Cropper and Tom Jones doing Dock Of The Bay – with very very subtle organ from Booker T.
Fabulous.
Top 5 in no particular order
Roger Mcguinn
Lee Ranaldo
Johnny Marr
Ira Kaplan
Jimi Hendrix
Nobody going to mention Chuck Prophet?
The Balinese Dancer gets a thumbs up from me!
I was just about to. Never made a bad record… at least not that I’ve heard.
Also, always on the money in a live setting. Fantastic writer too.
My proper, real choices, not the ones I feel I ought to brandish, would be:
Frank Zappa – just love how he ad-libbed on the guitar. Seemed to be trying to make it a different instrument.
Jimi – the maestro really. Always trying for something just out of reach – extraordinary
Jimmy Page – beautiful tone, wonderful melodic improvising and some masterful ideas.
Jeff Beck – so single-minded, a lesson in what can be achieved with just the instrument. And about a million hours of practice.
Alex Lifeson – lyrical, ambitious playing, dipping into Eastern scales, never taking himself very seriously. A lovely bloke and such a melodic player.
Tony Iommi – if I thought I’d invent a new genre after losing the tops of two fingers, I’d probably give it a go. And whoever gave him a Django record deserves a medal – his jazz chops are succulent.
Robert Smith – sonic textures, melodic simplicity and a huge Jimi nut – very underrated.
Ritchie Blackmore – when he gave a shit, the finger dexterity and yearning for early classical music wrought some magical moments.
Angus Young – so much natural melodic talent and feel.
Steve Howe – progtastic!
But not far behind, there’s Robbie Krieger, Wilco, Clapton, Knopfler, Mick Taylor, Peter Green, BB King, Lowell George, Stephen Stills, Koss, John Platania, Randy Rhoads, Dave Gilmour, James Burton, Ry Cooder, the Radiohead duo, Brian May, Johnny Marr, Adrian Belew, Andy Partridge, John Frusciante, Joe Walsh, Bernie Marsden, Pete Townsend and Roger Hodgson.
Plus acoustic honours for John Martyn, Nick Drake, Ian Anderson, Joni, Roy Harper, Ben Howard, Martin Stephenson, Neil Young and Bill Withers.
Should be a good program.
Good shout for Steve Howe. Technically proficient, adaptable AND imaginative. Yes soared when he joined, and are not the same band without him.
Indeed. Although whether it should be called Yes without JA is also moot. Silly buggers.
Glad you mentioned Alex Lifeson and Randy Rhoads. Saves me doing so.
Ian Anderson plays guitar? Well I never knew that. Not up on my Tull clearly.
God yes. Check out Nursie, Thick as a Brick, Life’s a Long Song, Dun Ringill, Mother Goose, Slipstream, Up the Pool, My God, One White Duck… Gorgeous.
Here’s my favourite, Cheap Day Return:
https://youtu.be/4U247FyOWpU
Will do. This is the one of two albums or theirs I actually own (courtesy of Lando Cakes). The other being Songs from the Wood.
Cheers
Very good call Barty. How could i forget IA on acoustic. He occasionally played electric too – on Benefit he plays harmony lead guitar with Martin B.
Is that on To Cry You a Song?
I find him so inventive on acoustic – taught me so much. I also love his tone – studio and live. And the sequencing, for example on Aqualung, allowed him to slip as much acoustic stuff as Led Zep III without any of the brickbats that that got for being too folky.
I realise I’ve gone full bore at this point.
That’s the one (CMAS). There’s great acoustic playing on everything from Aqulung on – TAAB has terrific stuff, Minstrel especially. Even Passion Play, renowned for its denseness, has lots of acoustic guitar.
I’d like to nominate M Ward for this alone, if nothing more.
Medley: Rag/Duet for Guitars #3
To flip this round, are there any guitarists you hate? I mentioned Noel Gallagher before up there, but it bears repeating. He’s one of the worst guitarists I’ve ever heard (I mean, as far as actual professional musicians go). Horrible, lumpen, unimaginative stuff.
I quite like his lumpen, unimaginitive style. It is a style I aspire to and brliebe I can achieve.
He may not be technically proficient, but he has the best Oasis/Noel G solo style
Completely agree with that Rigid. While I wouldn’t call myself the world’s biggest Oasis fan, his strummy style does give others like me hope. I’m never going to get to sell the records he does but its nice to think I might be as good as an international rock star!
For gob smacking WTF?ness, it has to be Jeff Beck for me.
I was lucky enough to catch him with the band that did the Ronnie Scotts shows a few years back. Mind blowing.
I would like to nominate Keith Levene (PiL) and John McGeogh (Banshees)…
Great choices. However, when McGeoch was in Magazine, John McKay would make a third in trio of players in 1978 who were revolutionising the guitar, making it jagged, threatening and funky. The debuts of PiL, Banshees & Magazine are astonishing and mainly for the guitar playing.
Jigsaw Feeling
Robert Fripp for the Bowie and Eno collaborations.
Earl Slick and Carlos Alomar for what they did with Bowie’s band.
Adrian Belew for his work with Talking Heads.
Zappa – shut up and play indeed.
Mick Taylor for some of my all-time favourite guitar moments like Sway, Time Waits For No One, the live Sympathy on Get Yer Ya Yas.
Keith for his fired up economy and monumental acoustic on Street Fighting Man.
Phil Manzanera for Roxy and 801.
Santana, Jeff Beck, Clapton for live Derek and the Dominos work outs and Badge live on Whistle Test, Neil Young for Cortez and more.
John McGeogh for Magazine and The Banshees.
Hendrix for Voodoo Chile slight return.
There’s more of course…
I think Keith does live Sympathy solo?
http://www.timrobson.eu/blog/2016/12/12/sympathy-for-the-devil
Phil Manzenera is often forgotten when the nominations for Guitar Hero are out.
A great player of the plank
Should have added Verlaine and Lloyd plus Pete Townsend for Live At Leeds esp. My Generation.
The first music to grab me was the rockier end of Metal with its ‘more is more’ philosphy of guitar playing. I still love the combination of Malcolm Young’s riffs with Angus’ soloing. My favourite of all of that school was Michael Schenker, and listening to One Night at Budokan recently I was truck by how his lyricism and ability to take a tune in an unexpected direction reminded me of my adult favourite, Richard Thompson. There are a great many players I love, and the guitar is fundamental to pretty much all of the pop and rock I enjoy, but absolutely nothing thrills me, reaches the very core of what moves me in music, than Richard cutting loose on ellectric guitar.
So many great players listed so far and a great number of them definitely my cup of tea, but I’d like to mention someone who just got the sweetest sounds from his guitar and never seeing him live was a huge personal regret. JJ Cale.
We got this far and no one has mentioned Glenn Tilbrook. Perhaps not obvious but he is an exceptional guitarist.
Great shout on Glenn Tilbrook. I didn’t fully appreciate how good he is until I saw him solo and acoustic. His ability to sing while playing very complex riffs is extraordinary and his acoustic Hendrix covers were a revelation.
Absolutely. I think he’s on record as acknowledging the Richie Blackmore influence.
Ah. I did. 1996 at the Hammersmith Odeon.
Was that the last time he gigged in the UK? He was aces.
66 posts, and still no mention of Television’s duelling titans of lead guitar, Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd? For shame!
No call out for Harvey Mandel either! Shocking behaviour.
The late, great Micky Jones – responsible for my Bigsby obsession
John Cippolina – see above
Phil Manzanera – for all the Roxy and for Quiet Sun
Zal Cleminson – for all the SAHB
Steve Howe – obvious
Steve Hillage – for Gong and Fish Rising, in particular
Mike Oldfield – for guest lead spot on David Bedford’s Stars End; and also with The Whole World….
Phil Miller, RIP….
…and Fripp, for everything he’s ever played, more or less….
Sheesh, how could I have forgotten to mention Mike Oldfield?? I probably love his acoustic playing more than his electric playing.
I think his best playing is for Robert Wyatt on Rock Bottom. The jazzy feel gives him the room to widdle.
The solo on Whatevershebringswesing also springs to mind…..
…and how, in the name of the wee man, did I forget…
Charlie Whitney, Skipton’s Finest….?
I think Johnny and Santo deserve a mention for this brilliant track (Tear Drop) which was a big influence for Mick Green’s Albatross…
Lovely. And because you can never have too much Santo and Johnny…. https://youtu.be/2rwfqsjimRM
Mark Knopfler – yep all those ultra melodic trills and fills, but what about all those funky spaces he left in things like ‘Lions’ and ‘Follow me Home’. A guy who can play anything but prefers to serve the song (see all his solo work since 1996)
JJ Cale – another shout for this lad who, again, like the above left loads of cool spaces in his playing. Not afraid to boogie away over just one or two chords either.
Stevie Ray Vaughan – Massive and almost frenzied blues playing (;Rude Mood’, ‘Scuttle Buttin’) that overwhelms but still a stone cold groove machine. Unfortunately spawned a steady flow of mediocre soundalikes who just don’t got it. One was enough.
One of my favourite Mark Knopfler guitar performances is The Man’s Too Strong.
One of mine is the outro that he played on Joan Armatrading’s “The Shouting Stage”…….
From about 4 mins in.
Single Handed Sailor
I love the way his guitar in Wild West End (my favourite song about London) seems to be used as musical punctuation.
it’s followed on the album by my favourite London song! The above mentioned Lions.
Here’s the studio version. The drop into a trippy groove at 3:51. Oh yeah.
I have always loved Knopfler and have seen him many times both solo and with Dire Straits.
I don’t play DS very often these days but I was whining away some time in HMM recently and they were playing his compilation. Easy to forget how good he was and is. Have ticket for his latest tour in May.
Looking forward to it.
Rory Gallagher for being my first guitar hero and for the sheer unbridled joy of his playing
B. B. King for the ringing clarity of his sound
Eric Clapton for his melodic fluidity
Jimi Hendrix for his inventiveness and changing everything
Ry Cooder for his slide guitar, his space, and his perfect judgement
Richard Thompson for the angularity and distinctiveness of his playing
Chuck Berry for the riffs
Bill Frisell and Greg Leisz for their gorgeous twin guitars on recent records by Lucinda Williams, Charles Lloyd and others
Tony Peluso for THAT Carpenters guitar solo.
Its all about the tone, and nobody, nowhere, nohow has topped Eddie Van Halen.
Having just watched the prog can i say not clipping your strings looks wank.
They sell cheap wire clippers in poundshops.
No love for Pat Metheny? Sat about 10 feet from him just over a year ago and marvelled that the instrument he played and the one I’ve been trying to wrestle with for over 35 years aren’t in fact one and the same. I mean .. same number of strings, looks similar .. he just gets a completely different sets of sounds out of his. And boy can he improvise.
Yes, and for the same reasons you state.
No mentioned Bo Diddley yet…? 😀
Didn’t see an obvious one – Buddy Guy. I have found him to be a pain in the arse for the last 15 or so years spending far too much time in shows demonstrating how much is owed to his guitar style, including Hendrix. But he has a point.
His playing in the late fifties and sixties with Muddy waters, then with my namesake and his own albums, electric, acoustic – just a stunning player. Could sing too.
They’re both knocking it over the boundary here.
And here’s that lovely man Rory Gallagher with his take on the same song
https://youtu.be/uJCUKh-IToo
Marc Ribot
Eivind Aarset
Terje Rypdal
Oscar Alemán
Baden Powell
Django Reinhardt
Elizabeth Cotten
Doc Watson
Merle Watson
Merle Travis
Lonnie Johnson
Eddie Lang
Carl Kress
T-Bone Walker
Gatemouth Brown
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Memphis Minnie
Joni Mitchell
Les Paul
Mary Ford
Barry Galbraith
Mary Osborne
George Barnes
Irving Ashby
Oscar Moore
Al Casey
Tal Farlow
Greg Allman
Hedvig Mollestad
Deirdre Cartwright
Jim Mullen
Maciek Pysz
Gwenifer Raymond
John Fahey
Walter Becker
Etc.
Someone I forgot to mention. Johnny “Guitar” Watson.
.
A couple not yet mentioned
Michael Chapman, may his indian summer never end.
And the King of Dieselbilly himself, Bill Kirchen.
Here is his showstopper which, when I saw him play live a couple of years back, I think he has become a bit embarrassed by, throwing it out swiftly in the first set.
Michael Chapman. I came upon this a while ago. Pachyderm.
Quite remarkable.
Recommend travelling far to see Bill Kirchen, if the opportunity arises.
It was Commander Cody & The Lost Planet Airmen that made me realise that there really was something to Country music.
He is doing a tiny tour next month, tiny for the UK, 3 minor dates, ahead of a rather bigger jaunt thru’ Sweden.
I also note he has hooked up as guitarist for someone or other, as reported in Unshod and or Boho, if anyone can recall.
Whitstable, Cardiff and London (Borderline).
Very tempted by the Borderline gig, but I’ve just forked out over £600 for car repairs to get the beast through it’s MOT. Have to check my bank balance (once I get my new Secure Key thingummy. The old one died on me this morning).
Ah.. Hang the expense.
Borderline ticket booked!
Paul Simon.
Lennon/Harrison.
Curtis Mayfield.
Robbie Robertson.
John Lee Hooker.
Young/Whitten.
Jimmy Page.
Jack White.
Ossler.
Nels Cline.
Oh, I forgot to mention David Rawlings. And Mike Campbell. And and and…
Stephen Stills? Even better with Neil.
James Honeyman Scott – sublime especially the solo on Kid
Enjoyed the program. What did others think? Was more about techniques and technology than I expected. Classic rock and metal seemed to be the obviously casualties in a program that couldn’t exceed 60 minutes. But that’s fine – all covered elsewhere. I’d be a little aggreived if I was Dave Davies, Johnny Marr or Tony Iommi, but I loved the Duane Eddy, Bo Diddley and Les Paul dues.
I thought it was enjoyable but inevitably pretty superficial given the sheer breadth of ground it had to cover. Was most surprised that there was no acknowledgement at all of the great blues guitarists who in some cases such as Robert Johnson, Elmore James, BB King and many others were both brilliant players and deeply influential on many who came after them.
That the programmes focused on the evolution of the instruments themselves, with a few examples of musicians as illustration, made things much more interesting. I think trying to do an A-Z of important guitarists would have been impossible – and impossibly dull – so it was a good format.
“impossibly dull”? Are you mad? Next you’ll be claiming that having sex with someone you’re in love with is preferable to reading lists of strangers’ favourite records online!
Soz, forgot where I was for a minute.
I suppose it ticked some of the boxes, especially from the 50’s and 60’s, but Seasick Steve and KT Tunstall instead of Johnny Marr? Really?? The “Later with Jools” influence must be bigger than I realised. Post punk was completely overlooked as well, so no John McGeoch etc. Each to their own I suppose.
It’s the same department and indeed same person Exec Producing – Mark Cooper, Mr Later.
Many of the names already mentioned aren’t really from the kind of music I’ve listened to very much, and I cannot play the guitar myself, so the guitarists I admire the most might not actually be technically that impressive compared to the choices above, but my requirement for music doesn’t go much further than ‘does it sound good?’, and I like the sound these make.
David Gilmour is my favourite
Prince isn’t far behind
James Walbourne is the best guitarist I’ve watched up close and he tends to steal any show he’s part of, even when he isn’t trying to
George Harrison is the one that’s probably given me the most pleasure, although James Burton pushes him close
And I do like Clarence White. I dismissed the later Byrd’s stuff for years, until I finally listened to it properly
And Johnny Marr is ace
I once saw JW having an acoustic guitar dual with his father-in-law (and coming out of it well) when the Rails supported RT. Brave lad.
He is indeed very good, whether with Edwin Collins, the Pretenders or the Rails. I think he possibly hooked up with his missus to get closer to her Dad, such is his stylistic debt, at least on the 2nd and better of the 2 Rails albums.
Loads of my faves are mentioned already, but I will also chuck in nominations for Stevie Ray Vaughan and Chris Whitley.
Someone up thread mentions an atonal quality. Saw Whitley at the Basement Sydney, and as one song started I was convinced his Dobro was miles out of tune, but he strangled the song out if it beautifully.
Not Planker Spankers but may have been overlooked WHY ???
Leo Kottke
John Fahey (saw he got listed at the bottom of Mike_H list.)
Michael Bloomfield – Elvin Bishop (Butterfield Blues Band)
Nick Soloman (Bevis Frond)
James Blackshaw
Leo Kottke and John Fahey? Oh yes. LOVE the American Primitive school.
So lets have a shout-out to their campadres …
Sandy Bull
Peter Walker (not the former Tory politician)
Robbie Basho
… as well as the younger generation of guitarists that are now following in their footsteps…
Glenn Jones
Nathan Salsburg
James Elkington
Sean Smith
… and one guy who was taken from us much too early, the great Jack Rose
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW3mgjqwHiM
That was lovely. Bit early in the day for a Campadre tho.
American Primitive guitarists with eyeliner?
I had Leo in fact.
Having Just Loaded up some of my David Sylvian CDs with Robert Fripp & Holger – went back thru’ these listings & seen your “Leo” – in your Folk genre, To me Leo’s more Old Americana Roots style, could be termed as folk?
Some more not Mentioned ?? – Dick Dale -great surf stuff – Phil Emmanuel (RIP) the rockier of the 2 Emmanuels – Johnny Diesel(Mark Lazotte-I think)-very good rock’n’blues player, an expat Yank married to one of Jimmy Barnes in-laws.
And still the elephant in the room is…
No,Colin,please just this once I’m begging you
Looks like noone wants to say McLaughlin so I’ll say he’s in that rarified pantheon also featuring Hendrix and Zappa. Younger greats would include Marr and McGeoch, mentioned. Don’t forget double act Cosey and Lucas from Miles’ great 1974-ish septet, and their involvement in the thickest groove ever. Now we’ve even got a woman great: Mary Halvorson.
PS @Dai, nothing wrong with The Edge (20 years ago), right Gary.
“Even”? Can I suggest another, before the flood gates open? The mighty Helvig Mollestad….
😀
I personally wouldn’t know which end of a guitar to blow down but I love
Grady Martin
Hank Garland
Cliff Gallup
Glen Campbell
Jimmy Bryant
Chet Atkins
Joe Brown
I’d like to mention some African guitarists whose work I love:
Barthélémy Attisso (Orchestra Baobab) – Togo/Senegal
Djelimady Tounkara (Super Rail Band) – Mali
John Chibadura – Zimbabwe
Diblo Dibala – DR Congo
As an acoustic player, with a penchant for 12-string, my guitar heroes include people like Ralph Towner, John Fahey and Leo Kottke. I’m also partial to Bert J and Davy Graham, John Martyn’s echo and looping work (way before the Hedge, KT and Ed Sheeran) and Nick Drake’s open tunings.
If you like that sort of thing, I highly recommend getting hold of the recent Mojo that Led Zep on the cover. The accompanying CD almost had me writing to the magazine to commend them.
Towner, yes, good call. First appeared on I Sing The Body Electric, never bettered by him (nor Weather Report for that matter). Don’t forget Michael Hedges either.
I have several of Ralph Towner’s ECM albums. My favourites are Solo Concert, Diary and Solstice.
How could I forget Michael hedges… as I’ve said here before, saw him solo and it sounded like there was 3 or 4 people.
Same jaw-dropping quality for Pat Metheny, till I saw the Metheny band I didn’t realise how much of the wierd and wacky noise on the records was him using an acoustic and not Lyle Mays on synths.
How has this thread got so big without any mention of dear old Bill Nelson? As The Afterword’s resident BN correspondent I don’t know how I allowed that to happen.
And as one of the Afterword’s resident Deadheads, I can’t help feeling that this thread is missing a certain guitarist who occasionally went by the name of Captain Trips…
So many good plank-spankers and box-ticklers around.
There are bound to be omissions.
But does anyone want to buy any of David Gilmour’s guitars …. ?
https://www.christies.com/features/David-Gilmour-legendary-Black-Strat-comes-to-auction-9637-3.aspx?PID=en_hp_carousel_1
Serial no. 00001 Stratocaster! Stroll on.
I suspect the guide prices will be beaten heftily.