Guthrie Govan is so good.......

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GearHaven":iugx75ov said:
If that was basically improvised, I must say that... sometimes, I don't know whether some people are simply too good at jamming or I suck so big time that I find those licks jaw-dropping. :D


yep.

same here!
 
Ventura":1cqgxepl said:
I love the fact I can hear a LOT of Zappa in his playing.

Lots :yes:

I love Zappa......and the one thing I appriciate about him is that he is imperfect. Govan is amazing but its almost too good and clean for me to fully love. Maybe im jealous? I could never play with Govans precision, but the guys I have always gravitated to were always a bit sloppy, but great none the less. Zappa's improv is beyond reproach in a rock context IMO. This guy is amazing tho, no doubt. :yes:
 
Just saw The Aristocrats last night at Reggies in Chicago. Afterward, came home and burned all of my gear. Mahogany burns quite nicely. The amps, not so much. Quite toxic (cough cough)......
 
Rezamatix":ozik4ffa said:
Very stiff, very controlled, lacks a lot of soul. No fire and definitely super sterile.
Give me something that ROCKS man.
All this clinical playing is just boring.

Although he shreds and I Love that he is super good, he never throws down, it's always this super controlled kind of thing. Gets boring...

While Gutherie does play a little whiter than most, his ability/technique/precision/speed is an expression of emotion. There is ferocity in his playing.

I do agree that most of shred type music could use a drummer doing everything but keeping time to give some "life" to the backing tracks.

Derek
 
Rezamatix":2kyin17w said:
Very stiff, very controlled, lacks a lot of soul. No fire and definitely super sterile.
Give me something that ROCKS man.
All this clinical playing is just boring.

Although he shreds and I Love that he is super good, he never throws down, it's always this super controlled kind of thing. Gets boring...


I feel the exact opposite. He attacks the instrument. While maintaining total control. The aristocrats stuff is anything but sterile. That initial video is just not that particular side of his playing.
 
For me, Guthrie's soul and emotion is in his precision. I don't find it to be boring - I find it mesmerizing. The ease with which he plays exactly what he wants is nothing short of amazing. He may not focus on the genre of music that I prefer, but his skill and ability are certainly not lost to me because of that...
 
Lot of soul here. Not to be confused with contentment as opposed to anger!
 
sah5150":3e38glto said:
Zachman":3e38glto said:
The only thing I could say that was a negative, would be in terms of some of the "songs" longevity
I dunno... I think he's a great songwriter in addition to his dazzling ability on guitar.

Most of the things of Guthrie's on YouTube are just jam tracks he's playing over (including the OP's vid), not real songs, so I wouldn't judge them. I'm not a huge fan of the compositions on the first Aristocrats album (although they are growing on me), but, damn, I think the songs on "Erotic Cakes" are incredible. Definitely memorable stuff to me that I go back to and listen to again and again. Of course... YYMV. :)

From the first time I saw this guy play live years ago during NAMM at the old Tone Merchants, I've been a fan. Really, I'd say he's the first player I'd consider a "guitar hero" of mine since EVH. Of course, I love a lot of other players who came before and after Eddie, but Guthrie is the first one that really caught my ear as someone that I wanted to try and figure out what he was doing. It is really his phrasing that blows me away - very un-guitarlike at times, especially when he really gets flying. Love that stuff - can't and will never be able to play it, but love it! :D

Steve

I was thinking more along the lines of the Beatles (in terms of great song longevity). I think that is the level of talent he has in his playing, I wish it was matched by his writing. :thumbsup:

Make no mistake about it, I am a fan and like Guthrie as a person, a lot. He and I sat at Tone Merchants in Anaheim for nearly an hour (just the 2 of us) on the floor cross-legged in the iso room, jamming and having a great old time, drinking Heineken. He showed me stuff, that I'll never be able to do, and we talked gear and players (Holdsworth etc...).
 
Zachman":3v6v1vrs said:
I was thinking more along the lines of the Beatles (in terms of great song longevity). I think that is the level of talent he has in his playing, I wish it was matched by his writing. :thumbsup:
I think his guitar playing is matched by his songwriting (at least Erotic Cakes), personally and his songs are more interesting to me than any Beatles music. He is not in the genre of pop music, so to me, comparing his compositions to Beatles songs doesn't make any sense. Song "longevity" is not relevant in his genre of music as, really, there is a very limited audience for what he does. There isn't enough of a mass of people to care... The Beatles have song longevity because they are great songwriters (to many anyway) in the genre of pop rock-n-roll music, which appeals to the masses...

Steve
 
Agree with Steve, I think Erotic Cakes is amazing and a perfect balance of technique with "accessible" songwriting. I really need to get me a copy of that. Still don't have it. Did they ever re-release it after the ridiculousness of how it was sold only through Cornford records? Need to look...
 
Bob Savage":1gs7764k said:
Agree with Steve, I think Erotic Cakes is amazing and a perfect balance of technique with "accessible" songwriting. I really need to get me a copy of that. Still don't have it. Did they ever re-release it after the ridiculousness of how it was sold only through Cornford records? Need to look...
Somebody stole my CD or I'd just give it to you. I think I lent it to a guy at my last company and he never returned it. He did give me a guitar though, so I guess I did ok on that one. :D
 
Rezamatix":16ps24ff said:
Very stiff, very controlled, lacks a lot of soul. No fire and definitely super sterile.
Give me something that ROCKS man.
All this clinical playing is just boring.

Although he shreds and I Love that he is super good, he never throws down, it's always this super controlled kind of thing. Gets boring...
I find an incredible amount of passion and soul in his playing on things like "Fives" off Erotic Cakes. If the solos on that tune are not "throwing down", I don't know what is. Of course, this is just my subjective opinion and you've stated yours. That's the great thing about music. There is something for everyone and at times we'll agree and at times we won't...

Steve
 
sah5150":1i9q1h7r said:
Zachman":1i9q1h7r said:
I was thinking more along the lines of the Beatles (in terms of great song longevity). I think that is the level of talent he has in his playing, I wish it was matched by his writing. :thumbsup:
I think his guitar playing is matched by his songwriting (at least Erotic Cakes), personally and his songs are more interesting to me than any Beatles music. He is not in the genre of pop music, so to me, comparing his compositions to Beatles songs doesn't make any sense. Song "longevity" is not relevant in his genre of music as, really, there is a very limited audience for what he does. There isn't enough of a mass of people to care... The Beatles have song longevity because they are great songwriters (to many anyway) in the genre of pop rock-n-roll music, which appeals to the masses...

Steve

No worries... We are allowed to like him or not for differing reasons. If you are hung up on my concept because I used a pop reference, how about Miles Davis then? I have a feeling that won't matter either... but that's okay too. I'm a Guthrie fan, just likely not for (all) the same reasons you are. :cheers:
 
Fives is such a great tune...melody, technique and style. Reminded me of songs one might find on those CDs that sometimes came with an issue of GFTPM in the early 90s. Lesser known dudes like Blues Saraceno or Shawn Lane... ;)
 
Zachman":34bpencl said:
sah5150":34bpencl said:
Zachman":34bpencl said:
I was thinking more along the lines of the Beatles (in terms of great song longevity). I think that is the level of talent he has in his playing, I wish it was matched by his writing. :thumbsup:
I think his guitar playing is matched by his songwriting (at least Erotic Cakes), personally and his songs are more interesting to me than any Beatles music. He is not in the genre of pop music, so to me, comparing his compositions to Beatles songs doesn't make any sense. Song "longevity" is not relevant in his genre of music as, really, there is a very limited audience for what he does. There isn't enough of a mass of people to care... The Beatles have song longevity because they are great songwriters (to many anyway) in the genre of pop rock-n-roll music, which appeals to the masses...

Steve

No worries... We are allowed to like him or not for differing reasons. If you are hung up on my concept because I used a pop reference, how about Miles Davis then? I have a feeling that won't matter either... but that's okay too. I'm a Guthrie fan, just likely not for (all) the same reasons you are. :cheers:
Listen, I'm not arguing with you at all, just giving my thoughts in the interest of conversation, which I'm sure you'd agree is what we're here for. I'm not trying to convince you of anything with regards to Guthrie and It's fine with me that you dig him for different reasons then me. Liking someone's music is completely subjective, why would I be offended if you don't dig his tunes or try to convince you otherwise?

However, the song longevity concept you bring up is meaningless. It's entirely based on what the masses dig - doesn't make Guthrie's songwriting any better or worse than the Beatles or Miles Davis.

It's funny you bring up Miles Davis. 99% of people you walk up to on the street could not name a Miles Davis song or even tell you what instrument he played - not much song longevity there because the masses don't give a rat's ass about Miles Davis. More people could name a Poison song. The Beatles - 99% of people could tell you a song, name every member and tell you what instrument they played because they appeal to the mass audience. Big difference.

If you want to compare song longevity between Miles Davis and Guthrie Govan, the difference is nearly negligible. 99% of people couldn't name or hum a song by either one of them.

If you dig Miles Davis' compositions more than Guthrie's, that is your subjective opinion, to which you are entitled.

Steve
 
sah5150":2cssvxjm said:
Zachman":2cssvxjm said:
sah5150":2cssvxjm said:
Zachman":2cssvxjm said:
I was thinking more along the lines of the Beatles (in terms of great song longevity). I think that is the level of talent he has in his playing, I wish it was matched by his writing. :thumbsup:
I think his guitar playing is matched by his songwriting (at least Erotic Cakes), personally and his songs are more interesting to me than any Beatles music. He is not in the genre of pop music, so to me, comparing his compositions to Beatles songs doesn't make any sense. Song "longevity" is not relevant in his genre of music as, really, there is a very limited audience for what he does. There isn't enough of a mass of people to care... The Beatles have song longevity because they are great songwriters (to many anyway) in the genre of pop rock-n-roll music, which appeals to the masses...

Steve

No worries... We are allowed to like him or not for differing reasons. If you are hung up on my concept because I used a pop reference, how about Miles Davis then? I have a feeling that won't matter either... but that's okay too. I'm a Guthrie fan, just likely not for (all) the same reasons you are. :cheers:
Listen, I'm not arguing with you at all, just giving my thoughts in the interest of conversation, which I'm sure you'd agree is what we're here for. I'm not trying to convince you of anything with regards to Guthrie and It's fine with me that you dig him for different reasons then me. Liking someone's music is completely subjective, why would I be offended if you don't dig his tunes or try to convince you otherwise?

However, the song longevity concept you bring up is meaningless. It's entirely based on what the masses dig - doesn't make Guthrie's songwriting any better or worse than the Beatles or Miles Davis.

It's funny you bring up Miles Davis. 99% of people you walk up to on the street could not name a Miles Davis song or even tell you what instrument he played - not much song longevity there because the masses don't give a rat's ass about Miles Davis. More people could name a Poison song. The Beatles - 99% of people could tell you a song, name every member and tell you what instrument they played because they appeal to the mass audience. Big difference.

If you want to compare song longevity between Miles Davis and Guthrie Govan, the difference is nearly negligible. 99% of people couldn't name or hum a song by either one of them.

If you dig Miles Davis' compositions more than Guthrie's, that is your subjective opinion, to which you are entitled.

Steve

Right on, the fact that perhaps 1% of the guitar playing public would recognize a Guthrie tune, not to mention the overall public-- leads me to the same desire, that Guthrie becomes more recognized across the board, and benefits as a result. No negativity involved in my comments, I assure you.
 
sah5150":16917ejp said:
Zachman":16917ejp said:
sah5150":16917ejp said:
Zachman":16917ejp said:
I was thinking more along the lines of the Beatles (in terms of great song longevity). I think that is the level of talent he has in his playing, I wish it was matched by his writing. :thumbsup:
I think his guitar playing is matched by his songwriting (at least Erotic Cakes), personally and his songs are more interesting to me than any Beatles music. He is not in the genre of pop music, so to me, comparing his compositions to Beatles songs doesn't make any sense. Song "longevity" is not relevant in his genre of music as, really, there is a very limited audience for what he does. There isn't enough of a mass of people to care... The Beatles have song longevity because they are great songwriters (to many anyway) in the genre of pop rock-n-roll music, which appeals to the masses...

Steve

No worries... We are allowed to like him or not for differing reasons. If you are hung up on my concept because I used a pop reference, how about Miles Davis then? I have a feeling that won't matter either... but that's okay too. I'm a Guthrie fan, just likely not for (all) the same reasons you are. :cheers:
Listen, I'm not arguing with you at all, just giving my thoughts in the interest of conversation, which I'm sure you'd agree is what we're here for. I'm not trying to convince you of anything with regards to Guthrie and It's fine with me that you dig him for different reasons then me. Liking someone's music is completely subjective, why would I be offended if you don't dig his tunes or try to convince you otherwise?

However, the song longevity concept you bring up is meaningless. It's entirely based on what the masses dig - doesn't make Guthrie's songwriting any better or worse than the Beatles or Miles Davis.

It's funny you bring up Miles Davis. 99% of people you walk up to on the street could not name a Miles Davis song or even tell you what instrument he played - not much song longevity there because the masses don't give a rat's ass about Miles Davis. More people could name a Poison song. The Beatles - 99% of people could tell you a song, name every member and tell you what instrument they played because they appeal to the mass audience. Big difference.

If you want to compare song longevity between Miles Davis and Guthrie Govan, the difference is nearly negligible. 99% of people couldn't name or hum a song by either one of them.

If you dig Miles Davis' compositions more than Guthrie's, that is your subjective opinion, to which you are entitled.

Steve


Wow, that's over the top regarding Miles Davis. There is a HUGE market for jazz and Miles Davis is a superstar, a master and a Legend. To compare the two is ridiculous man. You couldn't be more wrong. You lost me BIG TIME there.
 
When God sits down to play guitar he wishes he could play like Guthrie.

I cannot criticize a note this man plays. Music just flows out of him and he never, ever sounds cliche. I honestly cannot understand how a musician never runs out of things to say and never repeats himself.

The only thing I cannot stand about Guthrie is that he makes it look so easy. Sometimes I watch youtube videos and he almost makes me believe I can pull off some of what he is doing. The inspiration sets in and I feel overwhelmed with musical power........and then I pick up a guitar and reality smacks me in the face that I will never be a hair on this mans ass.
 
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