You know it isn’t Jack White because the poster had to qualify “…of the White Stripes”.
The true greats stand alone.
If you’re talking about the greatest guitar players of all time, Jack White is not even part of the conversation. I’m a bick fan of the “less is more” theory of musical proficiency, but no.
I wouldn’t say he’s the best ever, but one very good guitarist who is rarely mentioned is Paul Simon. His playing is subtle and overshadowed by his songwriting, but he’s really an amazing guitarist. I’d also like to mention Doc Watson, since his name hasn’t been mentioned yet I don’t think. Again, maybe not “pick one, best ever,” but he’s an amazing guitarist who’s basically created a whole method of playing emulated by hundreds of musicians and transformed the genre of country guitar.
Er, big fan of course.
The solo from “Something” is, in my opinion, one of the greatest guitar solos of all time. The short eight-measure solo in “Nowhere Man” is also great: it’s almost ridiculously simple, but complements the song perfectly.
And upon reading some more of the posts in this thread, I have to second the nomination of Brian May. Gorgeous tone, and his solos are always surprising musically but never inappropriate for the songs.
Cardinal, also check out Harrison’s solo in the Beatles’ “Till There Was You.” Sparing yet gorgeous, just as Already In Use described.
For me, though, the greatest guitarist of all time is not going to be found in rock. I recognize Hendrix’s amazing talent, but I really didn’t care to hear his stuff, so it loses points for being annoying to listen to. Chet Atkins, Doc Watson, and Django Reinhart head the list. Mark Knopfler is close behind.
As others have said, “greatest” is a very subjective term. I’ll cast my vote for Pete Townshend. Though not as technically proficient as many of the other guitar gods, Pete’s live perfomances easily stand up to anyone’s. He plays a mean acoustic axe as well.
I’ll be the first to admit to being musically retarded, but I know what sounds good to me. I suspect almost everyone of note had been mentioned already, but I’d like to throw two names out there just to get some opinions.
Kaki King. I saw her on Conan O’Brien and she just blew me away. You can download a couple of her pieces off either her official website or her record company website. (Sorry, I don’t have the links offhand.)
Though I don’t actually own any Megadeth albums, I always thought Dave Mustaine was a great guitarist. I’m not particular to a lot of thrash metal stuff, but he’s good.
Unfortunately, I believe Mustaine’s career as a guitarist is basically over due to some sort of injury or disorder. Can anybody fill the rest of us in on the details of that situation? Hopefully something has changed in that regard.
Anyhoo…
I’ll second the Pete Townshend nomination.
And as for the guitarists that came out of the '90s, it is very tough to overlook the genius that is Warren Haynes. That guy kicks some serious ass on every level.
Somebody mentioned Danny Gatton above, and I felt ashamed for not mentioning him…though he played a style not much like rock…or anything else. He himself described his style as “redneck jazz”, and I think that pretty well sums it up.
I had the ironically good fortune to see him perform in an Arlington, VA club not long before he offed himself. Reading about his suicide in the Washington Post some time after that show simply baffled me, because he seemed to be having such a good time up on stage. At one point, after breaking a string, and during the short interval it took to replace it, he went into a little impromptu comedy sketch, which reached its high point when he put a cloth napkin on his head in a cone shape and hollered “Somebody say sumthin’ about a meetin’?”
Anyway, I never saw/heard anybody get sounds out of a Telecaster like he did. It was jaw-dropping. He did this cool thing where he finessed wild pitch-bends by pressing on the strings beyond the nut while picking away. Never a sour note during the whole stunt. It was like somebody playing slide and chickenpicking like a banjo player on speed, all at the same time, and I frankly couldn’t see how it was physically possible for a human being to get that variety of noises out of one guitar simultaneously. Then he’d go flick some switch, and I swear to gawd his guitar turned into an organ. I don’t know how the hell he did it, you could see all the effects boxes (it was a dinky club and trust me, I was looking at all the wires and where they went) and…well, there weren’t any, except some kind of echo or reverb. Truly super-human.
Ya know, among names I never expected to see when I opened this thread, that one’s way up the list. I sometimes think I’m the only person around who even knows who he is.
I’m also surprised no one’s mentioned Link Wray yet.
i was going to post my usual reply of Peter Green (such soulful solos) but then considered that the best would have to be an all rounder.
So i would have to agree that ,yes, Pete Townsend fits the bill.
(and following that idea, i’d also throw in Keith Richards)
Don’t know nothin’ about guitar (other than what I like), but as a dinosaur, may I suggest the OP rent Woodstock. Might’ve been the guitar summit of the rock era: Hendrix, Townshend, Santana, Alvin Lee (Ten Years After – probably the fastest of the group); even Steven Stills was pretty darn good. Pity that Clapton wasn’t there, too.
BILLY DUFFY of THE CULT. Far and away the best electric guitarist ever. He can do it all.
I don’t have much else to add in terms of all time, but plenty of good guitarists have come around in the nineties and aughts - you just don’t hear about them because they aren’t big. Doug Martsch is my favorite.
Well, if you’re looking for an all-rounder, Roy Clark’s yer man. He’s a virtuoso on a half dozen instruments including violin, mandolin, banjo, guitar. He has played everything from blugrass to classical and latin. Electric or acoustic. Slide or fingerpicking. I’ll bet if you gave the old guy a distortion box and an amp that goes up to 11 he’d be able to do some kickass rock ‘n’ roll, too. And, he sang - well enough that at one time he was known as much for his voice as for his instruments.
I noticed nobody has mentioned Johnny Winter. His music may not be the greatest, but he deserves a mention. Here is a link to some real audio stuff.
Oh goody another impossible who’s best thread…
Instead of answering the OP I’ll list what I actually listen to most often and maybe why. Just rock guys. I am not saying these chaps (all blokes) are the even who I think are thebest just who I actually listen to.
**Frank Zappa ** - hours and hours of solos that should be unlistenable but are full of little hooks and themes. He’s pretty limited technically but who cares.
David Gilmore. Animals rather than the usual you-know-what. Gilmore sounds like he’s in slow motion all the time, but again who cares?
Joe Satriani. More soulfull (for the most part) than…
Steve Vai. Impossible guitar, you guys heard The Dangerous Kitchen?
Jimmy Page. Still after all these years. And yeah he can be scrappy, the solo in Heartbreaker is horrendous.
Jimi You need a reason?
Looks like I’m too shallow to get stuck into Charlie Christian and other worthy players though maybe I’ve just not heard a decent recording.
And who I don’t listen to:
SRV Dunno why just doesn’t grab me (tho’ I’m trying to learn Rude Mood, it is so damn flash)
Yngwie (tho’ he is hilarious)
Jeff Beck - too damn tasteful same goes for Eric Johnson/Pat Metheny and their ilk.
Eddie Van Halen - can’t stand the context, American metal urk!
I never really liked Hendrix all that much. Maybe it’s just a bias that was instilled in me by my old guitar teacher, who found Hendrix extraordinarily overrated. He threw around the name of Jeff Beck a lot as a counterexample to somebody who played Hendrix a lot better than Hendrix, though I was more interested in classical stuff to really pay attention to the fellow’s rock tastes. I really wish I hadn’t ever stopped taking lessons.
My favorite? I dunno. I like Steve Howe a lot, but he’s not that great a player. Each of Steve Vai’s fingers is a technical god, but his newer stuff just makes me yawn. I’m a big fan of John Williams.
(How could someone even mention Kurt Cobain in a thread like this? I mean, c’mon … I could teach my tone deaf mother to play as well as Kurt Cobain in a week and a half, and I haven’t picked up an electric guitar in years. Even if he was a good songwriter, he doesn’t belong on anybody’s list of “greatest guitar players.” Sorry. Kurt Cobain in general is a big pet peeve of mine.)