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Ok, now I have time. I have to admit that a lot of people mentioned here I haven't heard (well, not a LOT, but too many), and a lot of it has to do with music that's only made to showcase the guitar... can't stand it. Fretboard gymnastics hold my attention for about 45 seconds, tops. The difference is, say, SRV vs Yngwie Malmsteen (sp?!). Stevie wrote decent songs, sometimes GOOD songs, and pulled them off well, knowing when to stay out of their way. Guitar wasn't all that he did. But enough of that. My favorite three, maybe, in no particular order, but with explanations:
Billy Corgan: Reading this month's Spin reminded me of something I figured out watching them play 2 shows, in 92/93, right before and right after Siamese came out. When he's on it, when he's up and running, when he's pissed off, he wants to absolutely kill you with that guitar. He has the gear and the gumption, and he knows it. Just watching his face back then, he had this evil sorta snarl, like "wait til I fucking unload This on you," and brother he wasn't bluffing. He's unhappy, moody, prone to bouts of the Suck, but he knows how to use that guitar (and equally, it must be said, his gear) as a weapon. And he didn't do it by going "chugga chugga chugga" like all the metalheads had to do. Hell, even Today had some balls to it... imagine I guess that somebody screaming their lungs out could be done in a pretty way. He forever changed how I play and what I aspire to, guitar-wise.
Eddie Van Halen: I think he gets dismissed in these kinds of circles for 2 reasons... he's obvious, and he's kinda hair metal. And I fully understand those complaints - I remember the tight, striped pants. But they don't erase the fact that he figured out how to make guitar Fun again. Sorry, it's true. Look where it was in 1978... punk guitar is not fun. Post-Zep rock guitar is only remotely fun once in a while, and mostly took itself so goddam seriously. Enter Van Halen, 1978... Running With The Devil? Ain't Talkin Bout Love? Are you f'in kidding me?! Listening to that guitar as a guitarist is disgusting, in a way. He makes it sound like a liesurely stroll in the park. Everything is flippant, playful, yet aggressive. NOBODY sounded like that, and to be fair, only a handful have been able to imitate it successfully since then. There are very few people who are single-handedly responsible for that big of a chunk of progress, but because the songs all got tons of radio play, people get blase about it. But that guy Told that guitar what to do, and dammit it Did it. I mean, the guy's setup was a chopped-up Kramer guitar and a marshall 50watt 2x12 combo with a fucking 120-volt wall dimmer wired in ahead of the speakers, so he could crank the volume to 10 and then back the overall sound down. Jesus bubba.
Junior Brown: If you can watch him live and not be humbled, your name had better already be in this thread (and not as an author). Double-neck instrument, half guitar half lap steel, switches on the fly mid-song, while singing, and any of those 3 things he's doing are better than just about anybody else could do them. He's got a great baritone voice for country, his slide playing is phenominal, and his guitar work is nothing short of jaw-dropping. You get the impression within the first song of his show that he could really do any damn thing he wanted to, and the rest of the show does nothing to diminish that impression. Two pristine, early 70's, silverface Fender Twins behind him (100 watts each), both turned up to about 8, which is loud enough to ripple his jeans at 3 paces away. He can and will go from Cumparasita to Voodoo Chile in the same song, and you WILL be impressed by it.
Honorable Mentions: The scary, mousy guitarist from the Two Dollar Pistols... either John Prince or Greg Hawks? Help me, Bloor, I know you know his name. The rest of you, you've never heard of him, probably never will. They're a honkeytonk outfit, and he's just some dude. But holy shit, does he have amazingly good taste. Jaw slightly slack, eyes glazed over and pointing down towards the floor, shoulders hunched, looks like he'd run if you yelled BOO. But in the 5 or 6 times I've seen them, I have been unable to remove myself from his immediate presence. He doesn't showboat, ever. He never looks like what he's doing even gets him excited. But brother, that guy brings it. He just does it so... quietly. If I had that kinda talent, I would at least have a grin on my face... it's like having a 10-inch package and not having the courage to ask any girl on a date. But as the ladies will point out, there's more to it than just the package, dammit. You have to know how to use it, and for once this guy does. (we're still talking about talent, right?) I've seen people who were faster and flashier, but for my money, having the taste to know when to shut up is infinitely more important.
My longest post ever?
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[quote="Bloor"]He's either done too much and should stay out of the economy, done too little because unemployment isn't 0%, is a dumb ingrate who wasn't ready for the job or a brilliant mastermind who has taken over all aspects of our lives and is transforming us into a Stalinist style penal economy where Christian Whites are fed into meat grinders. Very confusing[/quote]
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