Greatest Guitarist Ever

Subg to the tune "you're so vain".

Credit this to Pinkert and Bowden.

You walked into your bedroom, like you were walking into a fog

Your hand strategically wrapped around your gun, you were emotionally sick as a dog

You had one thumb on the trigger as you gazed into the bore

Now all the band knows that they’ll need a partner, they’ll need a partner, and

(chorus): Kurt Cobain, they’ll probably do the next one without you

Kurt Cobain (Co-bain), I’ll bet they do the next one without you, don’t shoot, don’t shoot!

You could have tried this several years ago, when you were still in your teens

Oh, but NOOOO, you had to go and bore us all with your flannels and worn-out jeans

But you gave up way too soon my friend, you could have learned how to sing

You had some dreams, now there’s brains in your cornflakes, brains in your cornflakes, and

(chorus)

Well, I heard you would shoot up with heroin, I guess you were naturally dumb

And you drank yourself into a coma, cause you were totally sick of the grunge

But your mom said, “Son, don’t join that club, with Hendrix and all the rest”

But you had the nerve and a round in the chamber, round in the chamber, and

(chorus)

Who’s gonna clean up the couch and the carpet, couch and the carpet?, and

(chorus)

that doesn't mean that Cobain was a good guitar player. His songs styles, lyrical style, and tones were original to a degree, but he was still playing standard chords in very standard progressions (G,C,D type stuff), just like most rythm guitarists in all genre's up to that point in musical history. If he was revolting against the standard guitar stylings in the pop world, why did he decide to throw out technical virtuosity, but decide to keep all the standard chords and chord progressions that most songs have? Could it be that he just WASN'T CAPABLE of playing incredibly fast, technical solos?

Krupa went to jail for his art! some session guys that get no props****Jim Kelner

Hal Blaine

Micky Waller

Barnyard Purdie

Earl Palmer (He just owned every track that came out of New Orleans in the Fifties)

Dr John had a great drummer with him early on but I have no idea what his name was but I saw them on Bleeker St. NYC and was wowed!

Ben Cartwright sang(?) "Ringo" does any one think this Mophead belongs on a greatest list?

I naysay.

Matt Freeman is lord of the bass.

i'm astonished that nobody has brought up johnny marr. granted, he probably can't fly through all of those useless solo-type bullshit riffs like malmstein/van halen/satriani etc... but let's face it... that kind of playing is basically jacking off and is geared towards 15 year old pimple-faced science club dipshits (or the adult equivalent)...

if you want a guitarist who's chord arrangements and textures can bring tears to a grown man's eyes... look no further than johnny marr.

and as far as the best PUNK drummer ever goes: bill stevenson...

For the neophyte, I'd recommend The Sun Medley for an appetizer. Not on the website anymore, Song of India and Ode to Billie Joe are outstanding.

Steve Vai on Gatton:

"Danny Gatton was a players' guitar player, hailed by both Rolling Stone and Guitar Player as the greatest unknown guitarist anywhere. His legend has only grown since his untimely suicide in 1994, along with appreciation for his blinding speed, effortless genre-hopping, flawless technique, and never-ending appetite for tinkering and problem-solving. Drawing from first-hand interviews with dozens of friends, family members and fellow musicians, Unfinished Business places Gatton's musical contributions into context, and documents his influence on those peers who admired him most, including Albert Lee, Vince Gill, Arlen Roth and Lou Reed. Danny Gatton comes closer than anyone else to being the best guitar player that ever lived."

'Nuff said.

Johnny Marr is truly delicious. In the same vein, I don't think anyone has given David Gregory and Andy Partridge of XTC their due either.

bootsey wrote:

i'm astonished that nobody has brought up johnny marr. granted, he probably can't fly through all of those useless solo-type bullshit riffs like malmstein/van halen/satriani etc... but let's face it... that kind of playing is basically jacking off and is geared towards 15 year old pimple-faced science club dipshits (or the adult equivalent)...

if you want a guitarist who's chord arrangements and textures can bring tears to a grown man's eyes... look no further than johnny marr.

and as far as the best PUNK drummer ever goes: bill stevenson...

dudeness wrote:

wait a minute wrote:

What do you think of Paco de Lucia?

no opinion - I know little about flamenco. sounds great; don't understand it technically, but thanks for asking. In this country, if you're an afficianado of guitar, you have to have at least heard some of joe or steve. it's impossible not to.

- there's a lack of jazz guitarists mentioned, as well as blues. - the abundance of van halen, young, page(!), mentions, is a dead giveaway most on here are listeners, not players, of guitar, and of the commercial rock variety. wouldn't you say?

so your turn. what do you think of wes montgomery

LOL, I was wondering which guitarist to name in answer to your post, and Wes Montgomery was one of the names I thought of. I once had a wonderful bootleg tape of WM playing live, but someone borrowed(stole) it. It was much better than the Creed Taylor produced mush that he recorded.

Yeah Johnny Marr has to be on the top ten greatest - he fuses so many different styles over the span of the Smiths four albums. And playing his stuff isn't trivial, he has got great technique but makes it seem so easy.

I'll put in a nod to the guitarist of Les Savy Fav. That guy has some great innovative riffs. The part on "Sweat Descends" is awesome. I wouldn't put him in the top ten, or twenty, but someone to keep an eye out for...

malmo, how is your own progress to Rock God status going?

Well I'm no rock god, for sure, but here are my thoughts:

David Gilmour: don't like his solo style but his Floyd days rock (in my opinion all these "technical" guitarists have great skills but no style)

Dave Grohl: should be nominated for one-man-band but his skills on the drums are great (one by one is tremendous)

Sting: do people here not listen to The Police?

Andy Summers: see above

Hendrix: this guy had mad style. Stevie Ray mad have had more skill but not any thing close to Hendrix's orignality.

"Hendrix: this guy had mad style. Stevie Ray mad have had more skill but not any thing close to Hendrix's orignality."

That's very true. SRV's version of Voodoo Chile Slight return is vastly inferior to Hendrix's original version. SRV was brilliant but I always have to skip that track.

Explain why sting should be considered one of the best bassists ever.

redmeansdead wrote:

Explain why sting should be considered one of the best bassists ever.

"do people here not listen to The Police?"

To me, taking jazz and reggae and transforming these styles into a post-punk, pre-new wave type of "rock" so unique that we only know classify it as "pop" because of its immense popularity... well that's a start.

And Sting is pretty good, by the way.

All three Cops were pretty tight. Stewart Copeland is what Neil Peart could have been if he had some restraint.

Respectable Street wrote:

Johnny Marr is truly delicious.

What CDs should we listen to?

anythign by the smiths - albums queen is dead and the first one are good place to start. how soon is now, bigmouth strikes again, this charming man are songs that come to mind.

Al DiMeola

Charlie Hunter

Chris Whitley

all great.

From the bluegrass world there are: Tony Rice, Doc Watson, Norman Blake, Sam Bush, and plenty of others. In the modern era of the genre Chris Thile and Sean Watkins from Nickle Creek are almost untouchable as master's of their instrument. David Rawlings is a very creative and masterful player as well.