Most under-rated guitarist of all time?

[amirm]

With honorable mention to Derek Trucks, who IMO is and has been for years now the best slide guitarist going, the guitarist who can do it all and is the number 1 blues guitarist going is, to use Marty's word "unquestionably", Joe Bonamassa.

Boy, Derek is excellent too:

Any album recommendations Ron?

 

[amirm]

Must be great to be the president and listen to this session!

 

[DaveC]

Michael Houser (RIP) of Widespread Panic. He had a unique style that was very much missed after he died.

 

[BlueFox]

Great thread. This is why I read audio forums. Although the stupid arguments are also fun. I never heard of Melvin Taylor before, but am now buying a download or two. The CD quality (44/16) downloads on HD Tracks are less expensive than the Amazon CD. That is a rarity.

 

[853guy]

I’m not sure whether the following is a list of “under-rated” guitarists relative to those in similar genres who seem to gather more acclaim, or more of a reflection of my own tastes in music where the “genius” of each guitarist is somewhat “hidden” beneath the fact that they’re mostly part of a band in which the sum is often greater than the individual constituent parts.

Nevertheless, I think that each of them have in one way or other been instrumental (ha!) in influencing the shape of pop, rock and beyond in terms of stylistic departures from the norm, setting them apart from many of their contemporaries.

In no particular order, I give you:


The Edge (U2)
Alex Lifeson (Rush)
Tosin Abasi (Animals as Leaders)
Fredrik Thordendal (Meshuggah)
Brent Hinds (Mastodon)
Billy Duffy (The Cult)
Omar Rodríguez-López (Mars Volta)
Reeves Gabrels (David Bowie)
Kevin Shields (My Bloody Valentine)
Philip Manley (Trans Am)
Ian MacKaye (Fugazi)
Johnny Greenwood (Radiohead)
Nick McCabe (The Verve)
Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs)
David Pajo (Slint/Papa M/Aerial M)
Ian Williams (Battles/Don Caballero)
Kim Thayil (Soundgarden)
Page Hamilton (Helmet)
Aaron North (The Icarus Line)

Special mention also to:

David Torn
Daniel Lanois
Buddy Miller
Chris Whitley
Marc Ribot

 

[spiritofmusic]

This list starts and ends w/Alex Lifeson of Rush.
Just listen to the bootlegs of the '78 and '79 Hemispheres tours.
Like Pete Townshend, Alex has the magical ability to in effect be a lead instrument when in effect being rhythmn guitar.
He started off as a Jimmy Page clone, but was one of the few such guys who in effect reinvented himself to be radically different yet, retaining Page-isms in his sound.
How many guys could go from Cream/Led Zeppelin as a primary signature to venturing into Police/U2 territory so seamlessly?
Listening to those Hemispheres tour boots proves that Lifeson is one of the most unique guitarists of all time, somehow combining power chords, suspended harmonics, able to shred and be crystalline all within a few bars.
And any guy who can keep up w/the musical geniuses that are Geddy Lee and Neil Peart, and keep his head above water deserves total respect.
Some of the greatest, most concise and musical guitar solos of all time.
Check them out from "La Villa Strangiato", "Freewill", "Limelight", " The Analog Kid", "Between The Wheels". Etc x100

 

[blutto]

....Ernest Ranglin....no Ernest no reggae as we know it....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNToJfD7Dk0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UT3dGLLKw6o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Km1kkwhHbJE

...Mickey Baker...no Mickey no rock'n'roll as we know it...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rSIaNjmyp8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBRC6mGjRj8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB07ttq1cCs

Cheers

 

[caesar]

Great thread. This is why I read audio forums. Although the stupid arguments are also fun. I never heard of Melvin Taylor before, but am now buying a download or two. The CD quality (44/16) downloads on HD Tracks are less expensive than the Amazon CD. That is a rarity.

Bluefox,

FYI: some of my CDs are hdcd, so they are in effect 24 bit.

 

[Ron Party]

Amir, Susan Tedeschi is a lightweight. For the heavyweight cover of Etta James's tune:

 

[amirm]

Amir, Susan Tedeschi is a lightweight. For the heavyweight cover of Etta James's tune:

For sure she was the weak link in that trio. This one awesome. Any albums you recommend to buy?

 

[caesar]

No one seems to respect Hubert Sumlin. Keith Richards learned to play from this guy

Check this out:

With excellent harp work by Billy Branch

Fair to say that if you don't like this, you don't like the blues!

 

[caesar]

More Hubert:

 

[caesar]

And how about some Otis Rush...live!

Love the tone of his guitar here! Even better with tubes somewhere in your system!

 

[blutto]

.....ahhhh, the great and grand Mr Sumlin....equal parts angular, explosive and at home in the pocket....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4TXzF5tjm0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ri7TcukAJ8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nXlXU5ACqI

....and Otis, what a monster....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3hrVFvxTfk

Cheers

 

[Bso]

Back when I was a kid a friend of mine's older brother prowled the pawn shops of NYC for guitars. He sold them to Dion, Dylan (when he was just making a stir), Baez, Rev. Gary Davis, one of the Rascals, John Sebastian, - the 'Spoonful's manager lived around the corner and I think to JS on when they broke up, and others I can't remember who they were probably more. May he rest in peace, some of them too.

 

[Bso]

More Hubert:

The guitarist who Wolf called "my son." +1

 

[FLEMKE]

The king of under-rated.
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/16/opinion/naturally-jj-cale.html

 

[caesar]

Coming back to Roy Buchanan

 

[Elliot G.]

WOW Terry Kath maybe the best of all time not mentioned
Gary Moore- not underrated just dead

 

[assessor43]

Terry Kath