Norman Blake particularly during his time with The Rising Fawn Ensemble. I loved John Fahey. Jeff Hannah is a favorite. This list could go on forever. I've played harmonica for 35 years. I stumbled into bars where I played with Jimmy Buffett and Alabama in the mid to late 70's before anybody heard of them. Some of the best pickers I've seen are still unknown but are living room and boat dock musicians who just do it for the love of it.
I`ve listened to all those guys and theres no denying they are all great...
I listen mainly to rock and metal though, Joe Satriani, early Van Halen, and Yngvie Malmesteen, all those long haired geetar heroes.!
My biggest influence though is probably Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top. The style and sound is unmistakable, the guy just rocks.
OOh, yeah I second that, he`s one of those guitarists that can make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, I always remember listening to solos of his on the likes of Comfortably Numb etc and thinking wow I want to play like that....some hope!
Ummm its a tie...Jorma Kaukonen or Leo Kottke. Nobody else makes my jaw drop like that...and I'm more an acoustic guy, really... A gardening themed song called Bean Time by Kottke is my favorite guitar song (by which I mean no vocals, just guitar). Simply amazing...
Satriani is a machine (as is Eddie VH) , and I saw Stevie Ray right before he passed; top of his game and really fantastic. Jerry had his nights, but he was also the worst guitarist I've seen some nights... his fav was Django Rheinhardt (sp.?); his stuff with Stephan Grapelli is too cool, despite its age... Electrically the guy I like to listen to most (maybe not the most technical; like Satriani is hugely technical, but a little soulless) is Jeff Beck. Listen to Air Blower off of Wired, and tell me he ain't the complete package...
Pepper, I hate to break this to ya, but Geddy is the bassist. Alex Lifeson is the guitarist, and he's really good, but we are talking virtuosos here and he's not quite there...
But Geddy would make the list for best bassists for sure...
smokensqueal, you are defintely on the right track; cut my teeth to Carlos. My first instrument was bongos and I played along with Abraxas and the first album Santana when I was 8 yrs. old. Don't know the new stuff well, but I know Carlos can play. With soul and fire, too...
Jim Croce was a singer/songwriter and in that context an amazing man, but a singer first and guitarist second. If acoustic guitar is what floats yer boat, try the two guys I mentioned. A whole 'nother level, really.
Somebody that just popped into my head is Pat Metheny; sort of soft jazz, but really interesting stuff and pretty talented... Love New Chattaqua...
Oh. and Steve Howe from Yes needs mentioning. Mood For a Day is a great guitar piece and his rock stuff is pretty amazing too...
Oh and not many newer guys impress me, but Trey Anastasio from Phish is VERY talented...
I`m not overly keen on the band MUSE but I do like some of the tracks and I think the guitarist / singer is extremely talented. Saw them a few years back perform live on the Brits absolutely blew me away with their performance that night.
Some of the stuff he plays whilst singing is amazing....if you`ve ever tried singing and playing guitar at the same time you know what I mean!
My daughter and I discuss his playing now and then. His guitar can say as much and sometimes more than Robert Plant's singing. It really does speak. I'm not a musician or an expert, just a layman, but his guitar style has a way of communicating the soul of a song.
I'm a fan of Hooky the bassist from Joy Division and New Order, especially his work on Joy Division.
Bass is an important part of Joy Division and I've always been drawn to bands that feature good bassists with something to say.
Good call Rog; for example, I feel Adam Clayton of U2 has never gotten the recognition he deserves for their sound, and he's an awful big part of it...
Favorite bassists?
Jaco Pastorius, Stanley Clarke, and Chris Squire, in that order. Jaco was a monster, far beyond what anyone had thought of doing with the instrument, but like many geniuses, he was crazy and it killed him. A tragic loss for music...
Check out The Fish by Chris Squire...HUGE!
And plopstar, I DO try, but it scares the cats and makes the wife mad...
If we're going to talk about bassists how about Victor Wooten? I saw him do the best guitar solo I have ever seen when he was touring with the Flectones. It still gives me chills...
I have seen where the wolf has slept by the silver stream.
I can tell by the mark he left you were in his dream.
Death metal's just not my thing; I need a melody to enjoy music, and much of the "guitar fury" I hear in that style is just masturbatory and not really linked to a musical theme. S'why I didn't pick Eddie V. H. first breath; much as he does keep a coherent thought when soloing, it tends to be more mechanical than melodic; same with Satriani. I am far more wowed by an Al Di Meola or Paco De Lucia than by some speed demon, heavy on the demon...one man's opinion...
Here's a bit from what was the night after Friday Night in San Francisco, one of the greatest guitar albums of all times; three true masters having fun...
Just being fast is one thing; within the confines of a musical idea is when it is genius. I can appreciate fast, but I like to listen to happy, not angry music...
The first two were well known to me, but Eric Johnson was new . Listening to Cliffs of Dover as I write this, and this is what I'm talking about; great speed and technical skills , but the guy rocks out as well. A little soul to the machine; NICE!
re: the death metal mentioned last page...karl sanders (of nile) mixes a lot of old egyptian modes into what he's doing, some of it's actually quite pretty...but those bits ARE buried in less stomach-able (for non-fans, anyway) ugliness, heh.
always been more interested in flavor and style than technical prowess myself...if i was to mention one player that i've been loving recently (and is remotely likely to have been heard of here), i'd have to say david rawlings. his work with gillian welch is phenomenal.
well, him, leadbelly, and mississippi fred mcdowell.
Can't believe no one's mentioned Ry Cooder. He's not only really great, but has grown and learned throughout his career, experimenting with all different styles of music from different countries.
Patsy
In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.
--Margaret Atwood
Buena Vista Social Club still gets regular rotation in this household... lovely stuff, but we're more talking technicians and Ry isn't that...
You know who doesn't get credit but is really nasty is Prince. That purple leprechaun can play a blue streak...check out the intro on [url=https://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5792204981326161348]When Doves Cry[/url] or the ending solo in [url=https://www.imeem.com/groups/yJPt_x2Q/video/3Zgn31rz/prince-and-the-revolution-purple-rain-music-video/]Purple Rain[/url]. Monster!
HG
Last edited by The Helpful Gardener on Tue Jun 16, 2009 9:21 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Lots of good ones. I noticed you posted earlier that you liked Django Rhinehart, too. I love his sound--if you like him, I bet you'd like 'Hot Club of Detroit'. They're great and of course their name is an homage to Rhinehart's 'Hot Club of Paris'.
Patsy
In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.
--Margaret Atwood