Adam Jones just isn't that good...

[CaseyCor]

Ironically, I'm listeing to Swamp Song (my new favorite Tool tune) as I post this.

I think Adam is one hell of a guitar player. His style is VERY unique. He does a lot of stuff that isn't the "norm" for guitar players, that makes it quite interesting. I agree 100% with the touring vs. writing comment above. NO ONE could replace him in Tool and have it be the same. That's not to say he/she wouldn't be good, but it wouldn't be Adam. He is just too unique.

 

[Hua and a tele]

I agree that Aenima was the high point. I didn't care for lateralus and I hated 10,000 days and this is coming from a tool fanboy. I think the biggest problem is what can Adam Jones really do in the context of the music. The drums and the bass are covering so much ground the playing anything other than what he is playing really wouldn't fit. I agree that it's getting a little tedious to hear the constant stacato riding of the open E(D) for three to four minutes every song, but it's what fits. If he started busting out solos it would just ruin the overall song. I think Tool lost it when they stopped being angry. Take a song like hooker with a penis, awesome lyrics aggresive as shit and maynard snarling his head off and compare to the pot. Maynards voice to me has just gotten a lot less dynamic.

 

[Bob Savage]

I agree that Aenima was the high point.

The first Tool CD I bought was Enema and it ended up in the trash can (literally). I listened to it somewhere between 5-10 times and in the end, despite there being a couple tunes I thought were excellent, the CD as a whole turned me off enough that I didn't even bring the CD to my local store that buys CD's.

When 10k days was released I heard some clips of it online, bought the CD, and now have a great appreciation of Tool, although I still can't get through Enema...

All that is to say this is obviously a very subjective topic we're discussing here. I think Adam Jones is a kickin' guitar player. I don't care that he doesn't do leads...

 

[Xabiche]

It is absolutely subjective. Another example is me liking Metallica Black and later and not really being able to listen to the older stuff. Get slagged hard for that, too.

 

[Bob Savage]

It is absolutely subjective. Another example is me liking Metallica Black and later and not really being able to listen to the older stuff. Get slagged hard for that, too.

Don't feel bad, I think the Black album is good stuff.

 

[stephen sawall]

OGT

 

[cibyl]

I agree that Aenima was the high point.

The first Tool CD I bought was Enema and it ended up in the trash can (literally). I listened to it somewhere between 5-10 times and in the end, despite there being a couple tunes I thought were excellent, the CD as a whole turned me off enough that I didn't even bring the CD to my local store that buys CD's.

When 10k days was released I heard some clips of it online, bought the CD, and now have a great appreciation of Tool, although I still can't get through Enema...

All that is to say this is obviously a very subjective topic we're discussing here. I think Adam Jones is a kickin' guitar player. I don't care that he doesn't do leads...

I had a similar reaction to Enema when it first came out,...but my first Tool record was "Undertow". I loved that record so much,...it's a lot more raw and stripped down sounding, so it took me a while to appreciate it Enema as a record. I really like Lateralus -- 10K days has high and low points for me but overall I dig it. I completely agree with your take on Adam too -- his style is perfect for the type of music Tool writes, so it's almost absurd to compare him to more technical lead/shred players.

 

[vchizzle]

I don't see him as a weak link at all. solos? I think what he does is great in Tool. any complex soloing would be unfitting IMO. I also think he has evolved as a player quite a bit since the opiate and undertow days. he creates alot more soundscapes and ambient stuff in the newer songs. particularly the longer tracks on 10K days that most people skip over. I did the same thing for awhile when I first got the album. I gained some appeciation for those tracks when I heard them live last time. I think some of his heavy rhythms have gotten a little more complex as far as the polyrhythm stuff goes, more timing and what beats are placed where.

 

[j666]

don't like jones. don't like tool. he's def the weak link of the band...oddly enough, one of my fave bands ever, faith no more...'s weakest link was their guitarist (imo) yet i still love them. nothin wrong with rhythm guys but i'm biased cuz i don't play leads. i just don't like the style of the group...or the group itself...i'm speaking of tool now...wow, i juss talked myself into a circle...i think i'm gonna be sick...