How can you distinguish between good and bad guitarists/solos?

JCorre
Thank you for posting those Jack White videos!
I saw the White Stripes last summer–“on fire” pretty much covers it. :slight_smile:
What about John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers? Seems to me he’s feeling the music he plays. He and Jack White sort of give this aging hippie hope for the future of music.
Also–Neil Young? Yeah, maybe his technique is neither subtle nor especially complicated, but that raw, assertive style of his is just so, well, so unmistakably Neil. Cinnamon Girl. Powderfinger. Cowgirl in the Sand.

Neither of those solos did much for me, to tell you the truth. Ball and Biscuit was better, but they were both very noisy. The thing that really won me over for the Stripes was seeing them break off from Seven Nation Army and go into Death Letter at the Grammys a few years ago.

That was just awesome. The energy level those two display on stage is incredible. I remember after it was over the camera panned around the audience and you could people staring wide-eyed, others stomping and cheering, and yet others talking to the people beside them in that, “Holy cow, did you see that?” way.

Here’s a link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZLixpduRQU&search=white%20stripes%20grammy

and if you like that, the “Under Blackpool Lights” DVD is an example of one of the best live Rock and Roll performaces I’ve ever seen.