Greatest Guitarists of All Time (Part 1 of ?)
Tuesday, February 1, 2011 at 9:57AM My 20 Favorite Guitarists, by Colin Gawel Part 1 I realize that Facebook is the preferred method for rating our favorite music, movies and farm animals, but in the moment, I never seem to have the time/energy to respond to those lists as interesting as they may occasionally (rarely) be.
It’s not that I am trying to be rude, but I just don’t enjoy sitting in front of a computer for longer than 10 minutes and when combined with my fear of robot overlords from the future stealing personal information and enslaving me, I am loath to open up any sort of list or game out of concern I could be attacked and hacked.
Typically, I believe these sort of conversations used to be held by actual humans in bars and coffee shops, but alas, the quaint old days we ain’t anymore.
Oh, and one more reason I have never rated my favorite guitar players, I don’t really like guitar solos. In the interest of disclosure I thought I should note this before people get all pissy when they realize that Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix aren’t on my list but Gary Richrath (REO Speedwagon) is.
“Ok, jack-ass, how do you decide on your favorite pickers?” you say? A tough question but a fair one. I ask myself a simple question “is that crushing?” Usually my gut knows the answer, but sometimes I need to do a bit of soul searching to find the thread.
An example of a “crushing” solo would be this: humbly titled “The Greatest Guitar solo ever” by PRINCE
An example of “not crushing” would be this by Yngwie Malmsteen oddly enough also titled “Best Solo Ever”
It is important to note that “crushing” doesn’t have to be loud or crunchy to crush. It is a subjective phrase open to interpretation. (By me)
For example, take the band Bread for instance. They are such total pussies that they actually crush.
Whereas Def Leppard thinks they are crushing but actually are pussy rock.
Bread = crushing Def Leppard =not crushing. Does this make sense to everybody?
Ok, let’s proceed. Angus Young and Willie Nelson are the best two guitar players I have ever seen with my own eyes. Both made me gasp, grab the person next to me, scream “sweet Jesus” and drink 50 beers. Angus is just a sonic onslaught. (Malcom is on the list too)
Whereas Willie makes it look so easy but his phrasing is other worldly
To be continued….Part 2- Willie Phoenix/ Space Ace Frehley / "I don't think I really have the blues"/ "Why isn't Joe Perry on my list?"
Reader Comments (1)