Guitarists you just don't understand

[Zado]

Gary Moore, though might not be for you, will always go down as one of the greatest. He changed my life, and enhanced my desire to play guitar. You have to put his blues albums aside, and listen to Victims Of The Future, Corridors Of Power, and Live in Detroit. And absolute monster shredder back in the day, and, quite frankly, ahead of his time.

Every single word of this. Gary Moore will always be a GREAT guitarist, no matter what personal preference says.

 

[Monkey Man]

Clapton- Zzzzzzzzz. Boring

Same for me, BB.

Others mentioned here that I don't get:

Vernon Reid
John Mayer

 

[SpiderWars]

Yngwie is simultaneously amazing and awful. Many people fit into this category, like Michael Angelo Batio.

Buckethead, on the other hand, is just flat out fantastic. He plays a wide variety of material that does not shred that is creatively interesting. If you don't like what you hear, try another release- he released a full album a week for like 7 years!! He is an alien.

Well put on the first part. And I'm an Yngwie fan.
Buckethead is one I don't get. Skilled yes but the music never flowed for me. Could you suggest something?

 

[Thunkful]

Tosin Abasi, Misha Mansoor etc.

 

[abrackas]

Yngwie is simultaneously amazing and awful. Many people fit into this category, like Michael Angelo Batio.

Buckethead, on the other hand, is just flat out fantastic. He plays a wide variety of material that does not shred that is creatively interesting. If you don't like what you hear, try another release- he released a full album a week for like 7 years!! He is an alien.

Well put on the first part. And I'm an Yngwie fan.
Buckethead is one I don't get. Skilled yes but the music never flowed for me. Could you suggest something?

 

[ClintN667]

Yeah I don't get Misha or Tobin. I got all excited to hear them then 30 seconds in I turned it off. Apparently that's what's in. Give me Josh Middleton, Bill Kelliher/Brent Hinds, the dudes in Pelican, Wata from Boris.

SRV always gets all the blues love but give me Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker.

Rush is a band I hate and that's completely due to Geddy Lee's vocals. I've jammed around to some of their songs and had a blast.


Bruce Springsteen? Yeah never got that. I was like 7-8 when Born in the USA came out. I didn't get it as a kid or as a teenager all the way to my current old age.

Joe Jackson though? Amazing stuff. Every time I find out a song I like is Joe Jackson I'm pleasantly surprised.

George Benson is also getting my attention lately. Breezin came up in my YouTube feed the other day and I want to check out more.

 

[turboblues]

Yngwie is simultaneously amazing and awful. Many people fit into this category, like Michael Angelo Batio.

Buckethead, on the other hand, is just flat out fantastic. He plays a wide variety of material that does not shred that is creatively interesting. If you don't like what you hear, try another release- he released a full album a week for like 7 years!! He is an alien.

I onced bought an album called "Colma" ; the most boring stuff I ever heard....
Rehearsals with my band sound way more interesting than this.
And when you release a full album every week...I think that explains it...

Edit : I listened to those 2 Vids; yup , now you convinced me that all his other stuff is boring as well!

 

[alan67]

^ Yeah Alan. I should like that song by Gary but I don't. Hard to explain. Almost like he's trying too hard. I'm more into the Scotti Hill, Warren DeMartini, Reb Beach, EVH swing thing. Feels more natural to me and more fun to listen to. Sorry.

No explanation necessary -

 

[controlled_voltage]

allan holdworth - is on such a high level of improvisational genius that i can understand rock dudes not getting it, chances are the same guys don't listen to jazz and don't like miles davis ,monk, ornette coleman, bill evans ,debussy aaron copeland etc etc.

Joe Bonamassa's father basically bought him his career.
I cringe when i see the billboards for this brat playing at FUCKING CARNEGIE HALL FOR 5 NIGHTS
WTF????
his father owned [owns's ?] a music store and he was a silver spoon fed twat right out of the gate.
he can play but the amount of hype and celebration dude gets is disgusting as there are guys on this very forum that are just as good if not better

I know people will hate me for this
Doug Aldrich
great look, seems like the nicest guy [peter fonda] 6 pack abs, great by the numbers pentatonic player and a complete rock cliche adding absolutely NOTHING new to the lexicon of hard rock guitar.
he's average at best and super over hyped.

ola englund - funny guy, great videos and really average player

tobin abasi and all of his pals - cool slapping techniques but other than that i don't get the hype

hating on kirk hammet is like beating up the retarded red headed step child with a lisp in the sandbox
one of the only major arena guitar players that got incrementally worse as his bank account exploded - right place right time - what a lucky fucker and a lazy hack

i also used to think clapton was boring but for me his work with cream eternally saves him.
hard to fuck with those live cream records.
if you put him into perspective as others have said he and jeff beck and page were the first to do a lot of new things very early in the game.
the other thing is that he will play with anyone anytime.
he recently JAMMED WITH FUCKING HAWKWIND FOR THREE HOURS in a small club in london
WHAT?
slowhand redeemed!
the other thing with EC is that he is a zen master and while he might not be very flash he always plays the perfect set of notes, bends are always in key, perfect pitch and just right for whatever and whoever he is playing with and he can sing,
he is a study in subtlety and maturity where less really is more.

 

[Pearly Gates]

Steve Stevens
John Mayer
Buckethead

 

[7 Stringer]

Steve Stevens
John Mayer
Buckethead

Have you listened to Exposed with Vince Neil?

That one changed my mind. I did not get him with Billie. But with Vince, all hell broke loose and i was hooked.

 

[ewill52]

Allan Holdsworth

He surely can play stuff I never will, and he has influenced many guitar greats. I even saw him live once hoping that when I see it, I'll have an aha moment or something.. I just did not understand him.

Same. Maybe my old rocker brain was too simple to appreciate him, but it was always so outside that i felt like I was missing something.

 

[Rex Rocker]

John Frusciante.

All that talent wasted on radio-friendly pop rock.

 

[DiezelMonster]

Keith Richards, Pete Townshend, Joe Perry, Joe Bonnamasshole, Ace Frehley and I both love and hate John Petrucci....so there is that.

someone that for a long time that would have been on the list for me is David Gilmour but I've since seen the light on him,

There are more but I'm sure I'll get beat up for the ones above hahaha

 

[DiezelMonster]

John Frusciante.

All that talent wasted on radio-friendly pop rock.

I'm assuming time and time again it's what pays his bills. He does leave and do his own solo stuff and then comes back. But RHCP needs to be fired into the sun along with U2

 

[311boogieman]

Glad to see we can like different things without getting into a pissing match.

Gary Moore is a perfect example of someone I 'should' like. He is an extremely good guitar player. No doubt. Blues, Hard Rock, Progressive. Boom. What's not to like right? I see now there is a thread dedicated to him. I'm glad you guys are so passionate about him. He just plays too ahead of the beat or something and a little to frantic at times. Reminds me of Yngwie I guess in that regard - whom I also don't care for. It's not that I don't recognize their ability or influence on the guitar world -it's just not something I'd throw in the truck if I'm going for a long drive. It doesn't mean I don't like the blues, or jazz, or technical playing, or the like.

 

[aside]

Eric Johnson - he's awesome, but I hate listening to him.

 

[Goat]

I'm suppose to think Prince was one of the greats, but I don't.

 

[ClintN667]

Prince was an amazing guitarists BUT he rarely showed it. The guitar was just a tool he had to use. I think most of his albums with the Revolution was just him playing all the instruments. I saw him live and that changed my whole perspective. He never really went all out on the guitar but he could. To get a perspective that little weird lick at the start of when doves cry, you ever see anyone play it. I seemed to remember seeing a tab for it a long time ago and the transcriber had to do some tuning tricks to have it playable.

 

[LCW]

Yngwie... by far