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Rolling Stone names Hendrix best guitarist ever

6K views 43 replies 16 participants last post by  starthrower 
#1 ·
#2 ·
Man, this is a very difficult one to answer and it shouldn't be as he was one of my main influences both on guitar and Mitch Mitchell on drums...wow,...they do this all the time, though, don't they? I mean, Jerry Garcia never got the props he deserved as he was extremely unique and influential in so many way to what is now the jam band scene.

I think that if you take Jimi's recordings and I'm talking about the studio ones...you can easily see why they would name him that. The solo on All Along The Watchtower...his beautiful clean tone from the Strat on Bold as Love, Little Wing, Wait Til Tomorrow...pretty much everything he laid down in a studio was revolutionary for the time and is still impossible to recreate because of the effect use and really because of the style itself. In these respects, sure...he deserves to be called the greatest guitarist.

That being said,...this list can easily change daily as there are so many fine contributors to the electric guitar since man first decided to put a pickup on it!
 
#5 ·
No arguments from me if the category is solely hard rock - Hendrix didn't just push the electric guitar itself to new limits but also the whammy-bar and amplifier, too. Until Eddie Van Halen came along in 1978 with a fresh approach (or should I say with a new box of tricks) all hard rock guitarists were eating Hendrix's dust - but after all this time Hendrix's legacy is the strongest and has aged the best. EVH on the other hand spawned a million hair-metal 'tapping'-obsessed fretw*ankers who painted his style right into the corner.
 
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#18 ·
Until Eddie Van Halen came along in 1978 with a fresh approach all hard rock guitarists were eating Hendrix's dust.
Now, let's not get carried away here. Jimmy Page? David Gilmore? I mean, right there you have two guys who were creating an entirely different kind of music at the same time who some would argue blew Jimi away both technically and creatively. I like all the three for how amazing they are. There's about as much need to compare these as there is to compare any classical musicians.

Unless you're talking GG or EW who have absolutely no one to compare to in any way.
 
#6 ·
These lists mean nothing. Hendrix and Segovia both played the guitar, but they inhabited very different musical worlds.

I like Rolling Stone for their investigative/political coverage. Their music coverage is of very little interest to anyone who is into modern/progressive music.
 
#7 ·
God bless Segovia, but what has he, or any other classical guitarist for that matter, got to do with Rock n roll?

THE VOTERS: Trey Anastasio, Dan Auerbach (The Black Keys), Brian Bell (Weezer), Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple), Carl Broemel (My Morning Jacket), James Burton, Jerry Cantrell (Alice in Chains), Gary Clark Jr., Billy Corgan, Steve Cropper, Dave Davies (The Kinks), Anthony DeCurtis (Contributing editor, Rolling Stone), Tom DeLonge (Blink-182), Rick Derringer, Luther Dickinson (North Mississippi Allstars), Elliot Easton (The Cars), Melissa Etheridge, Don Felder (The Eagles), David Fricke (Senior writer, Rolling Stone), Peter Guralnick (Author), Kirk Hammett (Metallica), Albert Hammond Jr. (The Strokes), Warren Haynes (The Allman Brothers Band), Brian Hiatt (Senior writer, Rolling Stone), David Hidalgo (Los Lobos), Jim James (My Morning Jacket), Lenny Kravitz, Robby Krieger (The Doors), Jon Landau (Manager), Alex Lifeson (Rush), Nils Lofgren (The E Street Band), Mick Mars (Mötley Crüe), Doug Martsch (Built to Spill), J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr.), Brian May, Mike McCready (Pearl Jam), Roger McGuinn (The Byrds), Scotty Moore, Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth), Tom Morello, Dave Mustaine (Megadeth), Brendan O'Brien (Producer), Joe Perry, Vernon Reid (Living Colour), Robbie Robertson, Rich Robinson (The Black Crowes), Carlos Santana, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Marnie Stern, Stephen Stills, Andy Summers, Mick Taylor, Susan Tedeschi, Vieux Farka Touré, Derek Trucks, Eddie Van Halen, Joe Walsh, Nancy Wilson (Heart)

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-greatest-guitarists-20111123
 
#8 ·
If we are talking of guitar in general (and we're including jazz, blues, classical, flamenco etc) definetely no. I don't think he is one of the best regarding deepness of expression. He was a great guitarist and a great innovator, but to me guitarists like robert pete williams, lenny breau, ed bickert, tisziji munoz (who is influenced by hendrix) just to name a few are a lot superior as musicians, though far lesser known.
But if we are talking only about the importance and the influence on rock guitar (and not just about "greatness") he is probably the most important rock guitarist ever for the use of distortion, feedback and effects like wah wah. Though i prefer listening to guitarists like Duane Allman, Peter Green, Jerry Garcia and others.
 
#12 ·
If we are talking of guitar in general (and we're including jazz, blues, classical, flamenco etc) definetely no. I don't think he is one of the best regarding deepness of expression. He was a great guitarist and a great innovator, but to me guitarists like robert pete williams, lenny breau, ed bickert, tisziji munoz (who is influenced by hendrix) just to name a few are a lot superior as musicians, though far lesser known.
But if we are talking only about the importance and the influence on rock guitar (and not just about "greatness") he is probably the most important rock guitarist ever for the use of distortion, feedback and effects like wah wah. Though i prefer listening to guitarists like Duane Allman, Peter Green, Jerry Garcia and others.
In terms of importance and influence he's as strong a contender as anyone, but let's not forget about Chuck Berry. Although he's technically not as great as Hendrix, Allman, Clapton, Page, Beck or the rest of 'em, he's the one that is the most responsible for making the guitar the most dominant instrument in rock and virtually every rocker after him played Chuck Berry licks. Keith Richards has practically made a career out of it.
 
G
#13 ·
Jimi utterly revolutionized guitar playing and music in general, so even if today's kids can play more notes per second, which is absolutely meaningless, no can touch Jimi on the electric guitar in my opinion. I'm so thankful I got to see him just a few months before he died. Here's a picture from the concert:

 
#19 ·
Gilmour (David Gilmore is a jazz/fusion guitarist) Page, Hendrix, all blues based guitarists. I wouldn't say the first two were superior technically or creatively. Page borrowed heavily from folk and blues music, he even ripped off another song for Dazed And Confused. But hey, they all made some good music.

If you want to hear something truly innovative from that era, listen to what Zoot Horn Rollo and Elliott Ingber were doing with Captain Beefheart. It's much more sophisticated than blues/rock.
 
#21 ·
Sadly naming anyone or anything as the 'Best' is a futile exercise. I bought his first album and was blown away. After that it became a bit of a mess all wah wah, feedback and distortion. My own preferences always tended towards articulation, hence among my faves would be Mike Bloomfield, Peter Green, Alvin Lee, Mick Taylor etc.
 
G
#22 ·
Let's not forget Ritchie Blackmore from Deep Purple...he was one of the first neo-classical shredders. Yngwie Malmsteen basically copied his playing (albeit a little faster but with one-half the finesse), choice of guitars, amps, clothing, jewelry, and stage moves!
 
#27 · (Edited)
There is only a "best" for a particular time. Babe Ruth was so much better than his contemporaries, it was ridiculous. But he probably would strike out every time against today's pitchers. Hendrix was the best during his time - as Pete Townshend never ceases to relate - but Blind Lemon Jefferson, T-Bone Walker and B.B. King were quite innovative for their times. And lets not forget Les Paul. Also, I wouldn't be too quick to dismiss Zappa as a guitarist. He seems at home with many genres, unlike those who cannot expand beyond jazz, blues or rock and roll.
 
#33 · (Edited)
Wasn't it G.E. Smith who played on Rain Dogs? He anchored a tight band that backed Bob Dylan in 1988, which was some of Dylan's best live work. Some guitarists are superb at backing others, knowing just how to play to accompany the particular artist (presumably by having an excellent sense of the accompanied artist's flaws and strenghts). I would put Larry Campbell in this category, as well. He also performed with distinction with Dylan in the late 1990s and very early 2000s. I had the pleasure of seeing both perform in a Hank Williams tribute a few years back, along with some guy named Jorma Kaukonen who founded Blind Lemon Airplane or Tuna Melt or some such group.
 
#34 ·
Both of these solos are from live performances of the tune Inca Roads.
This first one was edited and used on a tune from Joe's Garage. Here's
the full length version. Disregard the accompanying video which is un-
related to the audio track.



This one was used for the Shut Up album. Probably my most listened to Zappa guitar solo. Beautiful melodic playing with great continuity throughout the solo. Both solos are medium tempo with nice phrasing.

 
#35 ·
There were some other tasty solos on Joe's Garage as well, as I recall - Watermelon in Easter Hay? Wasn't On The Bus originally titled Toad-O Line?
 
#36 ·
Watermelon seems to be a favorite of Zappa fans. There's another one based on a repeated scale that I like better. It's called The Deathless Horsie. The fact that these solos can be taken out of context and listened to as separate musical pieces says a lot for me. They are spontaneous melodic compositions within another compositional framework.
 
#37 ·
I love the Zappa solos on Dirty Love and My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama. I've always rated him as a pretty great player from the stuff I've heard, he is unique and some of his ideas are pretty brilliant. I love the different 'spliced sections' thrown into 'My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama' ideas like that are so creative and just awesome. I've mostly only listened to his album 'Strictly Commercial', but I also own 'You Are What You Is', and have heard a bit of 'Hot Rats' as well, which I thought sounded amazing and I plan to pick that album up soon.
 
#40 ·
Dirty Love has a great little screamin' solo! Kill Your Mama is kind of unusual. It's a groovin' rock tune with a sort of classical style guitar solo.

You Are What You Is is heavy on the vocals which are amazing, but there's some incredible guitar solos on tunes like Sinister III, If Only She Woulda, and a few others.

Hot Rats is a classic. Half extended jammers, and half composition pieces. I'd also recommend Roxy & Elsewhere, One Size Fits All, and The Grand Wazoo.

If you like modern composition and musique concrete with a bit of rock n roll and doo- wop, get the Uncle Meat album. It's filled with a ton of great music.
 
#39 ·
I don't find Holdsworth's music cold at all. In fact, he plays very soulfully to my ears. Listen to the two beautiful solos on The Unmerry Go Round from Metal Fatigue. It's very lyrical, beautiful playing. Same for his acoustic solo on Home. Sometimes it's a matter of just spending more time with the music. It can sound fairly abstract at first. He plays chord progressions very fast sometimes, and it's hard to absorb at first. But as you say, the average listener probably wouldn't be interested in this advanced guitar technique.
 
#42 ·
I don't find Holdsworth's music cold at all. In fact, he plays very soulfully to my ears. Listen to the two beautiful solos on The Unmerry Go Round from Metal Fatigue. It's very lyrical, beautiful playing. Same for his acoustic solo on Home. Sometimes it's a matter of just spending more time with the music.
frankly i don't think i have that problem, i've not discovered his music exactly yesterday.
Sometimes i wonder what Philip Larkin (who notoriously hated Coltrane's playing, a player a lot more warm than Holdsworth) could have said of him. :rolleyes:
 
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