It's Alive!
Well, it's been a long week for me I've been under the weather almost the whole time and a trip to the doctor yesterday was of the mostly good news / some bad news variety. I started this post earlier this week but didn't get past the first sentence so I've decided to give it another go. I've always had one or two favorite guitar players but I haven't ranked a listing of them since about 9th Grade. And, being the mature person that I am, I'm doing it again! To my surprise, a lot of my picks aren't shredders and while I'll be explaining why I picked these people and logical reasoning for it and yada yada yada-it's really just based on my emotional reaction to their playing. Also, I'm not a guitar player so I can't get all technical with keys or what string was used so there won't be a lot of that here. Though it won't stop me from sounding like I do. Know stuff, that is. For some reason, I wanted to write this like they were criminals or outlaws from the 1930s, so I kinda did. Ooooh you dirty rat, look here see, disclaimer is done this is how it's goin' down now.
10. John Frusciante
In a Nutshell: That guy Dave Navarro tried to replace.
Known Affiliations: Red Hot Chili Peppers and Solo
The Rap Sheet: Frusciante can get down to scratch funk, rock out in that 90's Alterna way, strum acoustic guitar beautifully and adapt to a wide mix of beats with taste and energy.
The Skinny: When I first heard the Chili Peppers, the thing that stood out to me was the bass playing by Flea (a great bassist, I just recently found out he provided the bass line to Young MC's Bust A Move) and the guitar work seemed secondary (though I liked the guitar to Taste The Pain and later came to appreciate his work from the Mother's Milk (1989) album). When Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991) came out, I was more impressed with the meaty funk (Give It Away) and acoustic riffs (Breaking the Girl) Frusciante provided. Then he left.
Frusciante released a series of solo albums I've never heard, in reviews there were lots of mentions of being too "atmospheric" or "making the sound of water dripping slowly". Having not heard these albums I can't say if those critics were accurate or not. In any case, it seemed Frusciante went the opposite direction of RHCP by working on textures and experimenting with his sound while he was replaced with a revolving door of people in the Chili Peppers.
Based on this, Frusciante would not have made my list-it's what happened next that got him here. He rejoined the Chili Peppers for their 1999 release Californication and quickly spurred the artistic growth lacking in his absence. Californication found RHCP delving more into pop and quiet, atmospheric songs while still keeping the beat up on their funk rock jams. Frusciante's ability to move from jumpy blasts of rock to lyrical near acoustic passages attributed to Californication's success. The follow up, By The Way (2002), continued in this path but a little too much so for my taste (though I love his playing on Cabron). But Stadium Arcadium (2006) is a showcase for Frusciante as he adds electrifying rock guitar solos and even touches of Pink Floyd into the mix. And if that's not enough, he does a killer version of the Bee Gees How Deep Is Your Love except for the ending.
Favorite Album Performance: Californication gave Frusciante space to do his thang, ranging from classic RHCP funk rock (Around The World ) to midtempo lyricism with an awesome slide guitar lick (Scar Tissue ).
Favorite Air Guitar Moment: Frusciante delivers a flurry of fuzzed out Hendrixian notes at the end of Dani California (also see Number 7)
9. Brad Gillis / Jeff Watson
In a Nutshell: The Bay Area rockers tap and shred their way to glory.
Known Affiliations: Ozzy Osbourne (Gillis), Night Ranger and Solo
The Rap Sheet: Brad Gillis has to be the whammy bar champion of all time. Jeff Watson can shred like a speed demon but also holds notes at irregular lengths to make it stand out more. Together they're pure adrenalin.
The Skinny: The recently split tag team of Gillis and Watson gave what was termed "laser licks" (it was the 80's, lasers are fast man!) and some of the best non-metal twin guitar fury not seen since...I don't know when. No really, I just can't think of an example right now. Anyway, following a stint as Randy Rhoads initial replacement in Ozzy Osbourne's band (Over The Mountain ) Brad Gillis rejoined his original band Ranger that was then changed to Night Ranger to avoid a clash with another band of the same name. Brad Gillis' squalling and dive bombing whammy bar runs gave the group a distinct sound like on Don't Tell Me You Love Me or soaring through the clouds on Sister Christian as demonstrated on these instructional videos. I could listen to Gillis play all day, I think in high school I pretty much did.
But I can't downplay Jeff Watson's contributions which is why they're listed as a tag team. Watson handled a lot of the pastoral guitar parts they were known for like on Let Him Run and Goodbye while cruising on Four in the Morning or blazing through tracks like Can't Find Me A Thrill . His quicksilver riffing and fiery solos gave the perfect counterpoint to Gillis' whammy. Together, they were my favorite tag team on guitar. And on stage they ran around like a football team in two minute offense.
Favorite Album Performance: Can you top Dawn Patrol (1982)? I don't think so!
Favorite Air Guitar Moment: All of the guitars in (you Can Still) Rock in America is air guitar thunder baby!! And I think I recall Jeff Watson getting upset at people saying he got the finger tapping from Eddie Van Halen.
8. Steve Lukather
In a Nutshell: If you record in L.A. and you need a guitar part done and if he's not already working for someone else then you can call in Steve Lukather.
Known affiliations: Toto and Solo. As a session player- Michael Jackson, Chicago, The Tubes, Boz Scaggs, Cheap Trick, Hall & Oates, Elton John, Aretha Franklin, Cher, George Benson, America, Don Henley, Manhattan Transfer, Christopher Cross, Stevie Nicks, Paul McCartney, Randy Newman, Quincy Jones and Alice Cooper just to name a few.
The Rap Sheet: Controlled and professional but definitely not lacking in emotion. As Toto's career went on, Lukather's playing seemed to take on a harder edge but let's face it - this guy can play anything he wants to and make it sound perfect.
The Skinny: In the days before Internet, I had a different image of Steve Lukather. Lukather was the balladeer of Toto, writing and singing sensitive hand wringing love songs like I Won't Hold You Back or How Does it Feel . So I had this idea that he was this sensitive dude that could play kick ass guitar. It was kind of a shock when the Internet hit and interviews like This became common place. It turns out Steve Lukather is a tough talkin' guy, nothing wrong with that, just a surprise compared to the image I had from his songs. But that's cool.
Lukather plays so many different styles that it's hard to categorize him (and musicians hate being categorized anyway) so I'll just run through some of his greatest riffs like the often sampled slide guitar lick from Toto's Georgy Porgy ( MC Lyte's Poor Georgie is the best example). When I saw them live, Lukather's rockin' solo on White Sister was amazing. And then he could turn all jazzy like on "These Chains" from The Seventh One (1988) album. The dude could do it all.
Favorite Album Performance: Toto's Isolation (1984) record was a model of perfect AOR guitar playing. One critic derisively called the record something like an advertisement for their 80's rock studio skills. If you like Toto and read rock critics, you always had to reverse the meaning of what was written to get to the point of view you agreed with.
Favorite Air Guitar Moment: The solo at the end of The Tubes Talk To Ya Later is an awesome piece of AOR craftsmanship. As a dorky teenager, I literally fell off a diving board air guitaring to this solo. And no, I didn't hit the water.
7. Prince
In a Nutshell: Yup, he's a nut alright. A nut but a singular and incredible talent.
Known Affiliations: Prince, The Artist Formerly Known As Prince, Christopher, Jamie Starr, The Time, The Family, Vanity 6, Apollonia, Jill Jones and a continuing list of protege's. (except for the ladies everyone named is pretty much him under different identites)
The Rap Sheet: Funky, funky, funky. Lots of James Brown style funk in there where the guitar kinda rides above the bass groove. And then some Jimi Hendrix thrown in. Prince is able to play any style in his own estimable Purple way. And it's just one of about a bazillion instruments he plays.
The Skinny: When he's not offending people at Super Bowls with his guitar posturing, Prince is a formidable performer on the fretboard. The guitar is usually in the middle of the mix of your usual Prince song but is no less important because of it. Memorable guitar parts include that opening bit with the gnarled intro into a twang on "When Doves Cry", the long solo at the end of "I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man" and even the slinky "Cream". Still, when he's just backing up the groove like on many a Prince jam ("Alphabet St." comes to mind) his playing is on the money and funk-ay. I also like how he uses stray hanging notes to show something slightly unhinged is happening ("Cream" is a good example but I'm sure he did it in other songs, I just can't remember right now). And to many an 80's kid, the Hendrix styled "Purple Rain" with it's drawn out coda is a near religious experience. Though he can't make any claim to one of the best known solos of his hit "Little Red Corvette", that was Dez Dickerson.
Favorite Album Performance: Are you kidding? Purple Rain (1984) of course!
Favorite Air Guitar Moment: The Hendrix styled spectacle at the close of "Let's Go Crazy" saw Prince move away from his R&B tag by out rocking just about every other guitarist around. So good it actually crossed over to Rock radio back in the day. Where's my puffy shirt and spotlight?
6. Lindsey Buckingham
In a Nutshell: Picking a winner.
Known Affiliations: Buckingham / Nicks, Fleetwood Mac, Fritz and solo
The Rap Sheet: Finger pickin' good. Buckingham's style is finger picked and light with an acoustic guitar feel. Very heavy on creating sound textures with his guitar. Though if he needs to rock hard, he can. Up to a mid 70's level, that is.
The Skinny: The first guitarist I ever really idolized, I thought all guitar players didn't use a pick and moved herky jerky on stage (some guitarists have referred to their playing as "making love to the audience", I bet they've never seen Buckingham in action during I'm So Afraid. With every note he gives a long pelvic thrust at the audience and then grimaces. So be afraid. Very afraid.) Known more for his skills as a Producer than a guitarist, I like his unique sound and his custom made sorta banjo guitar.
Guitar wise, he started off as a more traditional sounding Country rocker on cuts like Go Your Own Way, Blue Letter and Never Going Back Again. His finger picked style fit in well with the Country edge. But at the end of the 70's, Buckingham adapted to New Wave and that's when the herky jerky started on tracks like Not That Funny. His stiff, choppy sense of rhythm came to the fore while his solos got more spindly. For the 80's, the guitar work became more involved with creating textures like the raining sound on the live version of Everywhere. His playing eventually condensed down to both the Country rock and New Wave influences to make a unique sound.
Favorite Album Performance: His third solo album Out of the Cradle (1992) showed his distilled style of guitar work to its best effect. The light and bouncy Don't Look Down , the smooth Countdown and the riff heavy This is the Time are just some of the highlights here.
Favorite Air Guitar Moment: The 1982 live version of The Chain features one of the most dramatic arrangements of this well worn tune including a frantic guitar solo at the close. Yes I'm runnin, Yes I'm runnin'!
5. John Petrucci
In a Nutshell: The only thing better than a 30 second shred solo is a ten minute one.
Known Affiliations: Dream Theater, Liquid Tension Experiment, Solo
The Rap Sheet: A Prog Metal King, Petrucci can lay a heavy groove and then shred all over it. He's assimilated from the great ones (such as Steve Vai and Alex Lifeson) to come up with a sound that's distinct to him.
The Skinny: I haven't heard of any of his work except Dream Theater. Fast and precise doesn't begin to describe his playing which has adapted from the upbeat and fist pumping 80's riffage to the grinding nu metal modern era without missing a step. Of the first era check out the spellbinding solo on Under a Glass Moon and then chase it down with the escalating riff to Innocence Faded. For the modern era, take the mix a You Tuber put together combining multiple solos to Solo Medley. And then remember he's in a Prog band that plays ten to 40 minute epics with multiple movements.
Favorite Album Performance: Well, for me Images and Words (1992) is tough to top on any level. I think I've posted about this album a few times so I won't bother to elaborate further. .
Favorite Air Guitar Moment: The brilliant soaring solo to Another Day is dramatic, bombastic and moving. Even when unplugged, like it is in this version.
4. Eddie Van Halen
In a Nutshell: Eddie! Eddie! Eddie!
Known Affiliatons: Van Halen. He worked for Michael Jackson one time, too.
The Rap Sheet: The man who brought us finger tapping and made shredding an art form. He used to play with his back to the audience so people couldn't see his hands.
The Skinny: Often imitated but never truly duplicated, Van Halen added a new vocabulary to Rock music. I think he's the last guitarist to truly innovate the instrument (at least in Rock music) on a mass scale. What set him apart from his imitators was the sense of personality that came from his playing. Where many shred guitarists played in a tight and regimented style to show technical skill and dominance, EVH wove his guitar parts together so they flowed smoothly. The Roth era was more playful as reflected in songs like Bottoms Up or Panama where big riffs and charged solos added to the Party Hearty atmosphere. In the Hagar era, EVH dropped the "Brown" sound and some of the playfulness went away in favor of a more direct approach like Poundcake. But not all of it, as shown on Finish What Ya Started. And through it all, Eruption is often ranked as one of the greatest guitar solos of all time. Although I have a soft spot for Cathedral. All done with enough running scissor kicks to wear a hip out.
Favorite Album Performance: Fair Warning (1981) was the only Original Van Halen album where Roth took a back seat. EVH emptied his bag of tricks all over the disc, making it less accessible but no less impressive. Just listen to the mammoth guitars on Mean Streets or Unchained and I think you'll see what I mean.
Favorite Air Guitar Moment: No one from the "I Want My MTV!" era could forget Eddie Van Halen strolling across library tables in black and white to the tribal rhythms of Hot For Teacher. Or how EVH casually unspools one of his best solos filled with excitement and humor as brother Alex punctuates some parts with his snare. And who can forget that shudder to a stop followed by a loop the loop and crash bang ending?
3. Neal Schon
In A Nutshell: Randy Jackson (American Idol) once called Schon "The Rock Dawg".
Known Affiliatons: Santana, Journey, HSAS, Schon & Hammer, Bad English, Hardline, Paul Rodgers, Abraxas, Planet Us and Solo.
The Rap Sheet: Extremely fast and accurate while only occasionally resorting to shredding, Schon is known for his slick riffs and soaring guitar solos from Journey.
The Skinny: Schon's also a sort of performance addict in that he's repeatedly said thru his career that he can't stand not performing for longer than a few weeks resulting in a huge discography. That smooth yet biting approach that ruled cuts like Stone in Love or adding to the stratospheric climb of power balladry for Faithfully wrote the book for Arena Rock guitar. As polished and technical as his playing can be, there's always a sort of primal feeling to his performances that give it edge. In other bands Schon has shown an inclination to rock harder with meatier riffs like Hardline's Takin Me Down. He never dropped his Santana associations and would play with other early Santana members to revive the sound of the first three Santana albums. And as a solo artist he's branched out into different rhythms, like the pleasantly new agey Beyond the Thunder (1994) album. In the 70's, Schon had like a foot of hair on his head. You've gotta respect that! But if not, I think Schon has said the solo he gets the most compliments for is at the end of Who's Cryin' Now
Favorite Album Performance: Is Hagar Schon Arronson and Shrieve's Through the Fire (1984). It captures Schon in his Journey prime on holiday from his day job. Working with raspy meat and potatoes rocker Sammy Hagar instead of smooth tenor Steve Perry, Schon revs up his guitar of killer rockers like My Hometown and He Will Understand. But if you think he forgot his Journey roots, just listen to the dramatic Missing You. And then pump your fists in the air for the anthemic Top of the Rock. Yeah! Stay in School! (HSAS was formed for a series of benefit concerts for Bay Area schools, which was interesting because both Hagar and Schon were high school drop outs)
Favorite Air Guitar Moment: On the Raised in Radio (1986) record, Schon saw his creative involvement reduced but was given some lengthy solos in return. The solo at the end of their Top 10 hit Be Good To Yourself is feel great AOR bombast at its best.
2. Steve Howe
In a Nutshell: Play on Maestro!
Known Affiliations: Bodast, Tomorrow, Yes, GTR, Asia and Solo
The Rap Sheet: Heavily structured patterns that move like data thru fiberoptic cable.
The Skinny: Determined to come up with a Rock guitar style that was not based on the Blues, Howe pretty much threw everything else together. With Yes, Howe became the deciding factor in moving the British band's music forward from being a musicianly vocal group to an instrumentally based group with voice as a fifth instrument. Classic Yes material like the multi movement Starship Trooper, the outer space slide guitar on And You And I and the point/counterpoint riffage of Heart of the Sunrise relied heavily on Howe's abilities. With the end of Classic Yes, Howe adapted to the 80's by shortening his game and punching catchier guitar parts like on Asia's Heat of the Moment or GTR's When the Heart Rules the Mind. Throughout, Howe developed a solo career for his intricate noodlings and by the 90's had regrouped with Yes.
A special mention needs to be made about Howe's stage presence. He's one of the most committed musicians you can hear live and long ago he stopped worrying about holding back for the audience. So if you're not used to seeing Howe live, his guitar faces, awkward movements and at times crab like manuevers can seem a little goofy. But it's just an honest display of the man gettin' down. I got so much crap from friends after the MTV show Asia in Asia over Howe's antics.
Favorite Album Performance: For my money, his solo album Not Necessarily Acoustic (1994) put Maestro's best pieces in one place in live performance. Howe classics like Clap , Mood For A Day, Sketches in the Sun and "Excerpts from Tales For Topographic Oceans" get first class renditions with the focus all on Howe. Nous Sommes Du Soliel!
Favorite Air Guitar Moment: My sentimental favorite Howe song is Masquerade so I'm picking it as my favorite air guitar song for Maestro.
1. Stevie Ray Vaughan
In a Nutshell: Born to be Blue
Known Affiliations: David Bowie and solo
The Rap Sheet: Six string sting with the Blues and Hendrix.
The Skinny: The first time I ever heard of Stevie Ray Vaughan was in the late 80's, I had a friend who said he wasn't a fan but had to admit Vaughan was born to play the guitar. I wasn't into Blues so I never bothered to check SRV out and mostly heard about him via his untimely death. A few years back, I had a different friend who loved Blues and Blues Rock thru which we would trade CDs and videos to see various artists. I think he lent me the Live at El Mocambo video and I finally saw what the big deal was about. Vaughan played guitar like it was as natural as breathing, his thought and action seemed simultaneous. And what he played was emotional, profoundly sharp and skilled. On top of that, Vaughan would use a bag of stage tricks that he performed with ease, such as playing the guitar behind his back for like half a song.
So I delved into the SRV catalog and found a career packed with amazing performances. That he could play that much guitar and not recycle riffs or solos was really impressive to me. Favorite SRV tunes include the rollicking House is a Rockin' , the awesome Crossfire and the unlikely boogie Mary Had a Little Lamb. The Hank Ballard penned Look at Little Sister also gets repeat plays on my IPOD. And I really liked his team up with Jeff Beck for a dynamite Goin' Down. I got into his music about a decade after his passing, it all held up as honest heartfelt music.
Favorite Album Performance: The debut Texas Flood (1983) heralded Vaughan's arrival to the mainstream with a set of great songs like Love Struck Baby , Rude Mood and of course the Title Cut.
Favorite Air Guitar Moment: I think anyone who has played Guitar Hero 3 knows how great Texas Flood is from start to finish. But that solo at the end has more twists and turns than an M Night Shamalyan movie. And no fake ending!
And that's the list. So many other guitarists came close to making this list, but I had to go with my gut in making choices. Meaning I had a lot to go on. Ha ha. Say goodnight Gracie. Goodnight Gracie.
Well, it's been a long week for me I've been under the weather almost the whole time and a trip to the doctor yesterday was of the mostly good news / some bad news variety. I started this post earlier this week but didn't get past the first sentence so I've decided to give it another go. I've always had one or two favorite guitar players but I haven't ranked a listing of them since about 9th Grade. And, being the mature person that I am, I'm doing it again! To my surprise, a lot of my picks aren't shredders and while I'll be explaining why I picked these people and logical reasoning for it and yada yada yada-it's really just based on my emotional reaction to their playing. Also, I'm not a guitar player so I can't get all technical with keys or what string was used so there won't be a lot of that here. Though it won't stop me from sounding like I do. Know stuff, that is. For some reason, I wanted to write this like they were criminals or outlaws from the 1930s, so I kinda did. Ooooh you dirty rat, look here see, disclaimer is done this is how it's goin' down now.
10. John Frusciante
In a Nutshell: That guy Dave Navarro tried to replace.
Known Affiliations: Red Hot Chili Peppers and Solo
The Rap Sheet: Frusciante can get down to scratch funk, rock out in that 90's Alterna way, strum acoustic guitar beautifully and adapt to a wide mix of beats with taste and energy.
The Skinny: When I first heard the Chili Peppers, the thing that stood out to me was the bass playing by Flea (a great bassist, I just recently found out he provided the bass line to Young MC's Bust A Move) and the guitar work seemed secondary (though I liked the guitar to Taste The Pain and later came to appreciate his work from the Mother's Milk (1989) album). When Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991) came out, I was more impressed with the meaty funk (Give It Away) and acoustic riffs (Breaking the Girl) Frusciante provided. Then he left.
Frusciante released a series of solo albums I've never heard, in reviews there were lots of mentions of being too "atmospheric" or "making the sound of water dripping slowly". Having not heard these albums I can't say if those critics were accurate or not. In any case, it seemed Frusciante went the opposite direction of RHCP by working on textures and experimenting with his sound while he was replaced with a revolving door of people in the Chili Peppers.
Based on this, Frusciante would not have made my list-it's what happened next that got him here. He rejoined the Chili Peppers for their 1999 release Californication and quickly spurred the artistic growth lacking in his absence. Californication found RHCP delving more into pop and quiet, atmospheric songs while still keeping the beat up on their funk rock jams. Frusciante's ability to move from jumpy blasts of rock to lyrical near acoustic passages attributed to Californication's success. The follow up, By The Way (2002), continued in this path but a little too much so for my taste (though I love his playing on Cabron). But Stadium Arcadium (2006) is a showcase for Frusciante as he adds electrifying rock guitar solos and even touches of Pink Floyd into the mix. And if that's not enough, he does a killer version of the Bee Gees How Deep Is Your Love except for the ending.
Favorite Album Performance: Californication gave Frusciante space to do his thang, ranging from classic RHCP funk rock (Around The World ) to midtempo lyricism with an awesome slide guitar lick (Scar Tissue ).
Favorite Air Guitar Moment: Frusciante delivers a flurry of fuzzed out Hendrixian notes at the end of Dani California (also see Number 7)
9. Brad Gillis / Jeff Watson
In a Nutshell: The Bay Area rockers tap and shred their way to glory.
Known Affiliations: Ozzy Osbourne (Gillis), Night Ranger and Solo
The Rap Sheet: Brad Gillis has to be the whammy bar champion of all time. Jeff Watson can shred like a speed demon but also holds notes at irregular lengths to make it stand out more. Together they're pure adrenalin.
The Skinny: The recently split tag team of Gillis and Watson gave what was termed "laser licks" (it was the 80's, lasers are fast man!) and some of the best non-metal twin guitar fury not seen since...I don't know when. No really, I just can't think of an example right now. Anyway, following a stint as Randy Rhoads initial replacement in Ozzy Osbourne's band (Over The Mountain ) Brad Gillis rejoined his original band Ranger that was then changed to Night Ranger to avoid a clash with another band of the same name. Brad Gillis' squalling and dive bombing whammy bar runs gave the group a distinct sound like on Don't Tell Me You Love Me or soaring through the clouds on Sister Christian as demonstrated on these instructional videos. I could listen to Gillis play all day, I think in high school I pretty much did.
But I can't downplay Jeff Watson's contributions which is why they're listed as a tag team. Watson handled a lot of the pastoral guitar parts they were known for like on Let Him Run and Goodbye while cruising on Four in the Morning or blazing through tracks like Can't Find Me A Thrill . His quicksilver riffing and fiery solos gave the perfect counterpoint to Gillis' whammy. Together, they were my favorite tag team on guitar. And on stage they ran around like a football team in two minute offense.
Favorite Album Performance: Can you top Dawn Patrol (1982)? I don't think so!
Favorite Air Guitar Moment: All of the guitars in (you Can Still) Rock in America is air guitar thunder baby!! And I think I recall Jeff Watson getting upset at people saying he got the finger tapping from Eddie Van Halen.
8. Steve Lukather
In a Nutshell: If you record in L.A. and you need a guitar part done and if he's not already working for someone else then you can call in Steve Lukather.
Known affiliations: Toto and Solo. As a session player- Michael Jackson, Chicago, The Tubes, Boz Scaggs, Cheap Trick, Hall & Oates, Elton John, Aretha Franklin, Cher, George Benson, America, Don Henley, Manhattan Transfer, Christopher Cross, Stevie Nicks, Paul McCartney, Randy Newman, Quincy Jones and Alice Cooper just to name a few.
The Rap Sheet: Controlled and professional but definitely not lacking in emotion. As Toto's career went on, Lukather's playing seemed to take on a harder edge but let's face it - this guy can play anything he wants to and make it sound perfect.
The Skinny: In the days before Internet, I had a different image of Steve Lukather. Lukather was the balladeer of Toto, writing and singing sensitive hand wringing love songs like I Won't Hold You Back or How Does it Feel . So I had this idea that he was this sensitive dude that could play kick ass guitar. It was kind of a shock when the Internet hit and interviews like This became common place. It turns out Steve Lukather is a tough talkin' guy, nothing wrong with that, just a surprise compared to the image I had from his songs. But that's cool.
Lukather plays so many different styles that it's hard to categorize him (and musicians hate being categorized anyway) so I'll just run through some of his greatest riffs like the often sampled slide guitar lick from Toto's Georgy Porgy ( MC Lyte's Poor Georgie is the best example). When I saw them live, Lukather's rockin' solo on White Sister was amazing. And then he could turn all jazzy like on "These Chains" from The Seventh One (1988) album. The dude could do it all.
Favorite Album Performance: Toto's Isolation (1984) record was a model of perfect AOR guitar playing. One critic derisively called the record something like an advertisement for their 80's rock studio skills. If you like Toto and read rock critics, you always had to reverse the meaning of what was written to get to the point of view you agreed with.
Favorite Air Guitar Moment: The solo at the end of The Tubes Talk To Ya Later is an awesome piece of AOR craftsmanship. As a dorky teenager, I literally fell off a diving board air guitaring to this solo. And no, I didn't hit the water.
7. Prince
In a Nutshell: Yup, he's a nut alright. A nut but a singular and incredible talent.
Known Affiliations: Prince, The Artist Formerly Known As Prince, Christopher, Jamie Starr, The Time, The Family, Vanity 6, Apollonia, Jill Jones and a continuing list of protege's. (except for the ladies everyone named is pretty much him under different identites)
The Rap Sheet: Funky, funky, funky. Lots of James Brown style funk in there where the guitar kinda rides above the bass groove. And then some Jimi Hendrix thrown in. Prince is able to play any style in his own estimable Purple way. And it's just one of about a bazillion instruments he plays.
The Skinny: When he's not offending people at Super Bowls with his guitar posturing, Prince is a formidable performer on the fretboard. The guitar is usually in the middle of the mix of your usual Prince song but is no less important because of it. Memorable guitar parts include that opening bit with the gnarled intro into a twang on "When Doves Cry", the long solo at the end of "I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man" and even the slinky "Cream". Still, when he's just backing up the groove like on many a Prince jam ("Alphabet St." comes to mind) his playing is on the money and funk-ay. I also like how he uses stray hanging notes to show something slightly unhinged is happening ("Cream" is a good example but I'm sure he did it in other songs, I just can't remember right now). And to many an 80's kid, the Hendrix styled "Purple Rain" with it's drawn out coda is a near religious experience. Though he can't make any claim to one of the best known solos of his hit "Little Red Corvette", that was Dez Dickerson.
Favorite Album Performance: Are you kidding? Purple Rain (1984) of course!
Favorite Air Guitar Moment: The Hendrix styled spectacle at the close of "Let's Go Crazy" saw Prince move away from his R&B tag by out rocking just about every other guitarist around. So good it actually crossed over to Rock radio back in the day. Where's my puffy shirt and spotlight?
6. Lindsey Buckingham
In a Nutshell: Picking a winner.
Known Affiliations: Buckingham / Nicks, Fleetwood Mac, Fritz and solo
The Rap Sheet: Finger pickin' good. Buckingham's style is finger picked and light with an acoustic guitar feel. Very heavy on creating sound textures with his guitar. Though if he needs to rock hard, he can. Up to a mid 70's level, that is.
The Skinny: The first guitarist I ever really idolized, I thought all guitar players didn't use a pick and moved herky jerky on stage (some guitarists have referred to their playing as "making love to the audience", I bet they've never seen Buckingham in action during I'm So Afraid. With every note he gives a long pelvic thrust at the audience and then grimaces. So be afraid. Very afraid.) Known more for his skills as a Producer than a guitarist, I like his unique sound and his custom made sorta banjo guitar.
Guitar wise, he started off as a more traditional sounding Country rocker on cuts like Go Your Own Way, Blue Letter and Never Going Back Again. His finger picked style fit in well with the Country edge. But at the end of the 70's, Buckingham adapted to New Wave and that's when the herky jerky started on tracks like Not That Funny. His stiff, choppy sense of rhythm came to the fore while his solos got more spindly. For the 80's, the guitar work became more involved with creating textures like the raining sound on the live version of Everywhere. His playing eventually condensed down to both the Country rock and New Wave influences to make a unique sound.
Favorite Album Performance: His third solo album Out of the Cradle (1992) showed his distilled style of guitar work to its best effect. The light and bouncy Don't Look Down , the smooth Countdown and the riff heavy This is the Time are just some of the highlights here.
Favorite Air Guitar Moment: The 1982 live version of The Chain features one of the most dramatic arrangements of this well worn tune including a frantic guitar solo at the close. Yes I'm runnin, Yes I'm runnin'!
5. John Petrucci
In a Nutshell: The only thing better than a 30 second shred solo is a ten minute one.
Known Affiliations: Dream Theater, Liquid Tension Experiment, Solo
The Rap Sheet: A Prog Metal King, Petrucci can lay a heavy groove and then shred all over it. He's assimilated from the great ones (such as Steve Vai and Alex Lifeson) to come up with a sound that's distinct to him.
The Skinny: I haven't heard of any of his work except Dream Theater. Fast and precise doesn't begin to describe his playing which has adapted from the upbeat and fist pumping 80's riffage to the grinding nu metal modern era without missing a step. Of the first era check out the spellbinding solo on Under a Glass Moon and then chase it down with the escalating riff to Innocence Faded. For the modern era, take the mix a You Tuber put together combining multiple solos to Solo Medley. And then remember he's in a Prog band that plays ten to 40 minute epics with multiple movements.
Favorite Album Performance: Well, for me Images and Words (1992) is tough to top on any level. I think I've posted about this album a few times so I won't bother to elaborate further. .
Favorite Air Guitar Moment: The brilliant soaring solo to Another Day is dramatic, bombastic and moving. Even when unplugged, like it is in this version.
4. Eddie Van Halen
In a Nutshell: Eddie! Eddie! Eddie!
Known Affiliatons: Van Halen. He worked for Michael Jackson one time, too.
The Rap Sheet: The man who brought us finger tapping and made shredding an art form. He used to play with his back to the audience so people couldn't see his hands.
The Skinny: Often imitated but never truly duplicated, Van Halen added a new vocabulary to Rock music. I think he's the last guitarist to truly innovate the instrument (at least in Rock music) on a mass scale. What set him apart from his imitators was the sense of personality that came from his playing. Where many shred guitarists played in a tight and regimented style to show technical skill and dominance, EVH wove his guitar parts together so they flowed smoothly. The Roth era was more playful as reflected in songs like Bottoms Up or Panama where big riffs and charged solos added to the Party Hearty atmosphere. In the Hagar era, EVH dropped the "Brown" sound and some of the playfulness went away in favor of a more direct approach like Poundcake. But not all of it, as shown on Finish What Ya Started. And through it all, Eruption is often ranked as one of the greatest guitar solos of all time. Although I have a soft spot for Cathedral. All done with enough running scissor kicks to wear a hip out.
Favorite Album Performance: Fair Warning (1981) was the only Original Van Halen album where Roth took a back seat. EVH emptied his bag of tricks all over the disc, making it less accessible but no less impressive. Just listen to the mammoth guitars on Mean Streets or Unchained and I think you'll see what I mean.
Favorite Air Guitar Moment: No one from the "I Want My MTV!" era could forget Eddie Van Halen strolling across library tables in black and white to the tribal rhythms of Hot For Teacher. Or how EVH casually unspools one of his best solos filled with excitement and humor as brother Alex punctuates some parts with his snare. And who can forget that shudder to a stop followed by a loop the loop and crash bang ending?
3. Neal Schon
In A Nutshell: Randy Jackson (American Idol) once called Schon "The Rock Dawg".
Known Affiliatons: Santana, Journey, HSAS, Schon & Hammer, Bad English, Hardline, Paul Rodgers, Abraxas, Planet Us and Solo.
The Rap Sheet: Extremely fast and accurate while only occasionally resorting to shredding, Schon is known for his slick riffs and soaring guitar solos from Journey.
The Skinny: Schon's also a sort of performance addict in that he's repeatedly said thru his career that he can't stand not performing for longer than a few weeks resulting in a huge discography. That smooth yet biting approach that ruled cuts like Stone in Love or adding to the stratospheric climb of power balladry for Faithfully wrote the book for Arena Rock guitar. As polished and technical as his playing can be, there's always a sort of primal feeling to his performances that give it edge. In other bands Schon has shown an inclination to rock harder with meatier riffs like Hardline's Takin Me Down. He never dropped his Santana associations and would play with other early Santana members to revive the sound of the first three Santana albums. And as a solo artist he's branched out into different rhythms, like the pleasantly new agey Beyond the Thunder (1994) album. In the 70's, Schon had like a foot of hair on his head. You've gotta respect that! But if not, I think Schon has said the solo he gets the most compliments for is at the end of Who's Cryin' Now
Favorite Album Performance: Is Hagar Schon Arronson and Shrieve's Through the Fire (1984). It captures Schon in his Journey prime on holiday from his day job. Working with raspy meat and potatoes rocker Sammy Hagar instead of smooth tenor Steve Perry, Schon revs up his guitar of killer rockers like My Hometown and He Will Understand. But if you think he forgot his Journey roots, just listen to the dramatic Missing You. And then pump your fists in the air for the anthemic Top of the Rock. Yeah! Stay in School! (HSAS was formed for a series of benefit concerts for Bay Area schools, which was interesting because both Hagar and Schon were high school drop outs)
Favorite Air Guitar Moment: On the Raised in Radio (1986) record, Schon saw his creative involvement reduced but was given some lengthy solos in return. The solo at the end of their Top 10 hit Be Good To Yourself is feel great AOR bombast at its best.
2. Steve Howe
In a Nutshell: Play on Maestro!
Known Affiliations: Bodast, Tomorrow, Yes, GTR, Asia and Solo
The Rap Sheet: Heavily structured patterns that move like data thru fiberoptic cable.
The Skinny: Determined to come up with a Rock guitar style that was not based on the Blues, Howe pretty much threw everything else together. With Yes, Howe became the deciding factor in moving the British band's music forward from being a musicianly vocal group to an instrumentally based group with voice as a fifth instrument. Classic Yes material like the multi movement Starship Trooper, the outer space slide guitar on And You And I and the point/counterpoint riffage of Heart of the Sunrise relied heavily on Howe's abilities. With the end of Classic Yes, Howe adapted to the 80's by shortening his game and punching catchier guitar parts like on Asia's Heat of the Moment or GTR's When the Heart Rules the Mind. Throughout, Howe developed a solo career for his intricate noodlings and by the 90's had regrouped with Yes.
A special mention needs to be made about Howe's stage presence. He's one of the most committed musicians you can hear live and long ago he stopped worrying about holding back for the audience. So if you're not used to seeing Howe live, his guitar faces, awkward movements and at times crab like manuevers can seem a little goofy. But it's just an honest display of the man gettin' down. I got so much crap from friends after the MTV show Asia in Asia over Howe's antics.
Favorite Album Performance: For my money, his solo album Not Necessarily Acoustic (1994) put Maestro's best pieces in one place in live performance. Howe classics like Clap , Mood For A Day, Sketches in the Sun and "Excerpts from Tales For Topographic Oceans" get first class renditions with the focus all on Howe. Nous Sommes Du Soliel!
Favorite Air Guitar Moment: My sentimental favorite Howe song is Masquerade so I'm picking it as my favorite air guitar song for Maestro.
1. Stevie Ray Vaughan
In a Nutshell: Born to be Blue
Known Affiliations: David Bowie and solo
The Rap Sheet: Six string sting with the Blues and Hendrix.
The Skinny: The first time I ever heard of Stevie Ray Vaughan was in the late 80's, I had a friend who said he wasn't a fan but had to admit Vaughan was born to play the guitar. I wasn't into Blues so I never bothered to check SRV out and mostly heard about him via his untimely death. A few years back, I had a different friend who loved Blues and Blues Rock thru which we would trade CDs and videos to see various artists. I think he lent me the Live at El Mocambo video and I finally saw what the big deal was about. Vaughan played guitar like it was as natural as breathing, his thought and action seemed simultaneous. And what he played was emotional, profoundly sharp and skilled. On top of that, Vaughan would use a bag of stage tricks that he performed with ease, such as playing the guitar behind his back for like half a song.
So I delved into the SRV catalog and found a career packed with amazing performances. That he could play that much guitar and not recycle riffs or solos was really impressive to me. Favorite SRV tunes include the rollicking House is a Rockin' , the awesome Crossfire and the unlikely boogie Mary Had a Little Lamb. The Hank Ballard penned Look at Little Sister also gets repeat plays on my IPOD. And I really liked his team up with Jeff Beck for a dynamite Goin' Down. I got into his music about a decade after his passing, it all held up as honest heartfelt music.
Favorite Album Performance: The debut Texas Flood (1983) heralded Vaughan's arrival to the mainstream with a set of great songs like Love Struck Baby , Rude Mood and of course the Title Cut.
Favorite Air Guitar Moment: I think anyone who has played Guitar Hero 3 knows how great Texas Flood is from start to finish. But that solo at the end has more twists and turns than an M Night Shamalyan movie. And no fake ending!
And that's the list. So many other guitarists came close to making this list, but I had to go with my gut in making choices. Meaning I had a lot to go on. Ha ha. Say goodnight Gracie. Goodnight Gracie.
