Post 1980 guitarists poll

[mattc]

It seems like, ooh, weeks, since we were arguing about Hendrix vs Green etc. So this should give us something new to rant about:

BBC - 6Music - The Axe Factor

(1980 is quite a good cutoff; when I first heard about this I really struggled to think of any well-known axe-men.)

[rogerzilla]

I went for Johnny Marr, but I imagine Slash will attract the grebo vote.

[Woofage]

Before looking at the list my first thought was Johnny Marr. But then there's Bernard Butler, John Squire and PJ Harvey to consider...

[Pneumant]

Obviously compiled by some numpty R6 researcher  .
Seems to be missing loads of obvious (post 1980) good guitarists such as Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Eric Johnson, John Petrucci, Jerry Cantrell, Ywingie J. Malmsteen, Marty Friedman, Joe Bonamassa, Bob Brozman to name a few.

[mattc]

Obviously compiled by some numpty R6 researcher  .
Seems to be missing loads of obvious (post 1980) good guitarists such as Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Eric Johnson, John Petrucci, Jerry Cantrell, Ywingie J. Malmsteen, Marty Friedman, Joe Bonamassa, Bob Brozman to name a few.

I should have posted the other page ...
BBC - BBC Music Blog: 6 Music Searches For The Axe Factor

... Also the guitarists had to be regular to the type of music 6 Music plays - so no Steve Vai or Joe Bonamasso. And influence mattered more than technical ability, hence the presence of The Edge. Love him or hate his band, you cannot deny that you know a U2 song as soon as you hear his guitar.

(I think this is a lot more interesting than arguing about obscure virtuosos that play 70 notes a second but have no songs. Does anyone actually choose to listen to Malmsteen?    </troll> )

[Seineseeker]

Obviously compiled by some numpty R6 researcher  .
Seems to be missing loads of obvious (post 1980) good guitarists such as Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Eric Johnson, John Petrucci, Jerry Cantrell, Ywingie J. Malmsteen, Marty Friedman, Joe Bonamassa, Bob Brozman to name a few.

I should have posted the other page ...
BBC - BBC Music Blog: 6 Music Searches For The Axe Factor

... Also the guitarists had to be regular to the type of music 6 Music plays - so no Steve Vai or Joe Bonamasso. And influence mattered more than technical ability, hence the presence of The Edge. Love him or hate his band, you cannot deny that you know a U2 song as soon as you hear his guitar.

(I think this is a lot more interesting than arguing about obscure virtuosos that play 70 notes a second but have no songs. Does anyone actually choose to listen to Malmsteen?    </troll> )

Hence the whole thing is even more pointless! Some of those choices were quite frankly laughable. Billy Corgan for example, might as well been Steve Coogan!

[Gruff]

John Squire gets it, hands down.

Only need to consider the two Stone Roses albums, nothing beyond those is needed to seal the deal.

[MercuryKev]

I went for  Kevin Shields. What made me laugh was the inclusion of Thurston Moore - I love Sonic Youth but everyone knows that it's Lee Ranaldo who plays the fancy stuff 

[pcolbeck]

Hmm difficult. Can't choose between Johnny Marr, The Edge or Jack White.

[alecstilleyedye]

Slash will attract the grebo vote.

grebo? don't think so…

[alecstilleyedye]

went for tom morello, just pipping joey santiago…

[Aidan]

Hmm difficult. Can't choose between Johnny Marr, The Edge or Jack White.

You'd be interested in this!

IT MIGHT GET LOUD | Sony Pictures Classics


And I didnt vote. Mainly because I couldnt choose about 1/3 of the guitarists listed, all great in their own way

[clarion]

There's a lot of TFZs on that list.  Johnny Marr is a real talent, as is Squire, but no one I can really think of as great.

[geoff]

Odd list..no Bill Frisell...or is this a genre thing.

Seems like a list of top "rock" musicians who play the guitar, rather than guitar specialists. And several that I like for other reasons. Including one or perhaps two utter geniuses,  in His Purpleness and Jeff Buckley, tho' not simply as guitarists.

[Rhys W]

Some of those are rudimentary guitarists but can write good songs and make a nice racket (PJ Harvey, Billy Corgan, Carrie Brownstein), some are one-hit wonders (John Squire, Bernard Butler) or uninspired journeymen (Simon Tong, Charlotte Hatherley). Being such a Smiths fanatic I'd have to go for Johnny Marr, as at least he's still involving himself with different musicians all the time.

[Seineseeker]

I can't believe you are all voting on such a pointless poll!?

[Jaded]

BBC - 6Music - The Axe Factor

Oh, it is for guitarists, I thought it was about Axing R6Music 

[Seineseeker]

BBC - 6Music - The Axe Factor

Oh, it is for guitarists, I thought it was about Axing R6Music 

 

[fred the great]

As a life long amateur I don't see any decent guitarists mentioned

Sorry, I see you're talking in riddles. R6Music? Never heard of it

[Jakob]

Odd list..no Bill Frisell...or is this a genre thing.

Saw Bill Frisell with Russel Malone last year. Absolutely awesome.
His 'Unspeakable' album is still one of my favourite.

The list should also include Pat Metheny & John Scofield.

[Frenchie]

Obviously compiled by some numpty R6 researcher  .
Seems to be missing loads of obvious (post 1980) good guitarists such as Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Eric Johnson, John Petrucci, Jerry Cantrell, Ywingie J. Malmsteen, Marty Friedman, Joe Bonamassa, Bob Brozman to name a few.

 

Yes, I thought just that. I don't know who did the research work... Kirk Hammett got my vote by default.

[clarion]

Robert Cray and Bob Brozman are the greatest guitarists I have worked with, though the stripped down simple complexity of Boubacar Traore comes close.

However, Slash wears a top hat and drinks a lot, so will probably come top.

[pcolbeck]

I think to be a great guitarist as opposed to just  a virtuoso you have to have a good ear for a tune and the ability to produce a new or unique sound that's immediately identifiable as your own. Hence Steve Vai et all are brilliant technicians but in the end are never going to win a poll like this unless all the respondents are either heavy metal guitarists themselves or huge fans of the genre.
Someone like The Edge isn't as technically accomplished as say Vai but knows how to carve out a unique sound of his own. He does a lot of it with effects (he admits to being obsessed with them) but that snot the point as after all this is electric guitar we are talking about here.
You get the same thing with acoustic guitar. Martin  Simpson is probably the most technically accomplished folk guitarists in the world but there is just too much cleverness and two many notes when he plays, someone like Richard Thompson just does it better with less technique (though you could argue that learning to leave space and be more minimal is a technique).

[Mr Larrington]

Slash will attract the grebo vote.

grebo? don't think so…

"Grebo" was an accepted term for hairy metallers long before anyone except Goon Show fans had ever heard of Ned's Atomic Dustbin...

[Mr Larrington]

(Goes to vote)

Robyn Hitchcock?

(Boggles)

Mr. Sunshine was singing his praises as a guitarist the other night, while we were listening to The Soft Boys.  In vain did I protest that the tricksy bits were more than likely being played by Kimberley Rew.