I’ve been looking through my CDs, and noticed a distinct shortage of guitar rock (of any type). I have some GBH and DK on cassette, but apart from NOFX my cd collection is lacking in guitar rock- I don’t like metal and most rawk since the early nineties has struck me as being boring- even NOFX record the same four songs over and over but at least they have funny lyrics.
I really don’t like guitar solos, they kill the momentum of a song for me, and I prefer a tightly written song. I said I don’t like metal but I used to like early Metalica and Iron Maiden, because those bands were actually fairly musically innovative within their niche.
Most of the music I like falls into the category of post-rock, lounge-core, hip-hop and some techno. Can somebody recommend any bands that sound like Tortoise with guitars or Sigur Ros with a beat? Something with interesting song structures and atmospheric production values, that rocks.
Stevie Ray Vaughan used to play pretty good!
Nugent used to JAM back in the day.
Judas Priest…
KISS
Frampton
ZZ Top
Sammy Hagar
etc…Oh, some people say Clapton’s not bad.
“interesting song structures and atmospheric production values”
I don’t know what you’re looking for, but maybe one of these guys can help. If not, try a couple of CD’s w’ assorted guitar artists.
-think I’ll go fix me a Tequila Sunrise and listen to some Eagles, got me a couple of good Havana stogies stashed. Maybe I’ll fire up the Ol’ Fender…now ya’ got me thinkin’ bout it:cool:
Arg… I would really like to suggest some things, but I’ll be darned if I can figure out what it is you want.
What do you mean by “tight”? I’ve played the guitar for several years, and in my experience any guitar player with the talent to be “tight” (precise, skillful) is going to put a solo in there sooner or later. Do you dislike tasteless 80’s “look how fast I can play this arepeggio” solos, or just solos in general?
I don’t know how you conceptualize songs with “interesting structures and atmospheric production”, but it sounds like you, like many others, would either really enjoy or competely hate progressive rock.
Going out on a limb, but I’m going to suggest you try a little bit of And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead. Their song structures are varied and interesting, not much of a reliance of solos - I can’t think of any, though I could be wrong.
They’re quite loud and all, but the songs are well written. Give ‘How Near How Far’ or ‘Another Morning Stoner’ a listen - they’re pretty indicative of the band’s sound.
And if you like Sigur Ros and Tortoise, why aren’t you into Radiohead. You must have heard OK Computer, right?
Kenny Wayne Shepard-- awesome guitar talent!
here are some bands that aren’t so traditional:
Wilco
Blind Melon
Jayhawks
Ben Harper
Jeff Buckley
Since you are looking for interesting guitar based rock, I would strongly recommend Fugazi.
Really cool twin guitar interplay, tight songs, groovy bass lines, great lyrics and no aimless guitar noodling. The most innovative rock band still playing today in my humble opinion. You can’t go wrong with Fugazi.
I would also recommend Sleater Kinney, And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, Unwound, At The Drive-In and early Sonic Youth.
I think you might enjoy Lagwagon!
Get to a record store, and buy the following Tea Party albums: Triptych and The Edges of Twilight.
You might want to take a listen to the Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Some cool suggestions. I definitely liked early Sonic Youth. gex gex, to thouroughly kill any impression I might be cool I have to note that although I have OK Computer and enjoy several songs on it I actually prefer what I’ve heard from Coldplay to what I’ve heard from Radiohead.
P@cific, what I meant by tightly written songs was structurally solid songwriting- musicianship doesn’t impress me as much as composition.
What I meant by atmospheric production values is what “punkers” would call overproduced.
Some more indications of what interests me: although I hate nu-metal, what I’ve heard from incubus (their radio singles) is neatly divided between stuff I hate and stuff that would convince me to buy the record if I hadn’t heard their other songs. I’ve liked their slower songs like the current single.
The song Firesuite, by the Doves is on Dan the Automator’s mixtape album. It is a remix melded with the beat from Seneca, by Tortoise, and sounds like what I’m trying to describe but since I’ve only heard a remix of one song I don’t know if that’s what they sound like- washes of guitar noise over an intricate beat with a sense of melody.
Fugazi, I’ve liked what I’ve heard of theirs but the whole “straight-edge” thing kind of scares me off from actually getting into them.
Well it really depends on what kind of style you are looking for i.e. blues, rock, stadium rock, Brit pop, grunge.
I like guitar music a lot and listen to the following:
Pearl Jam (Mike McCready is a badass)
Alice In Chains (Jerry Cantrell freakin’ rocks)
Oasis (Say what you will, but Noel Gallagher has some loud guitar playing that rocks)
Grateful Dead (Jerry Garcia is one of the best ever, listen to some of his bluegrass stuff too)
Van Halen (David Lee Roth only)
The Who (Pete Townshend is full of himself but a great guitar player)
Soundgarden
Blind Melon
John Lee Hooker (I mean it’s the Hook, nuff said)
Jimi Hendrix
Robert Johnson (The Godfather of acoustic blues. If you haven’t ever heard him you need to)
Lynryd Skynyrd
Allman Brothers
Black Sabbath (When they had Ozzy, of course)
Led Zeppelin
That is just a partial list but should get you playin’ a little air guitar
Grendel, do you like Queen? Do you think Brian May’s playing in a song like, say, “We Are the Champions” is within bounds or is it too indulgent?
Jethro Tull? I know they’re best known for Ian Anderson’s flute-playing, but Martin Barre’s bluesy axe-work is worth seeking out, too. Listen especially to songs such as “Teacher” and “Cross Eyed Mary”.
What do you think of Heart’s '70s music, like from Dreamboat Annie?
Just trying to get a feel for what you’d be into – “guitar rock” is a pretty wide field.
How about some Gary Moore, he has a ton of styles to choose from and a hell of a player. Some of the stuff can get hard but most is straight rock. Try something like Wild Frontiers or Blood of Emeralds.
Yeah, I know guitar rock is a wide field. That’s one reason I asked for recommendations- I like to consider my tastes eclectic, but I have a rather large blind spot in my record collection.
I like a lot of Queen’s stuff, but most of what I like is their less guitar driven stuff- Bohemian Rhapsody, Bycicle Race, etc…
I don’t really know a lot of Tull, just that they stole Metallica’s grammy. 
I do enjoy Hendrix, once again his less hard driving stuff- 1983 (a merman I should turn to be) is my favorite Hendrix song of what I’ve heard.
I can describe what I dislike about most guitar rock better than I can describe what I’m looking for: the “cock rock” style, guys that act like Christopher Guest in Spinal Tap except they aren’t joking. That’s what turns me off about a lot of hard rock.
Bands like Radiohead is what I guess I’m looking for, brainier than usual rock.
grendel - i’ll forgive this coolness transgression, this time. but hey, i can work with that. i’ll second skewbald and coldfire’s suggestions, and add that if you’re into coldplay and doves, you might try mercury rev, who are often lumped in with the whole brit-indie rock thing.
And while you may probably have heard of them, and though I may be just repeating stuff you already knew, how about you follow the Dan The Automator route through Gorillaz and end up vid Damon Albarn at Blur? While their older stuff is fairly standard (but high quality) bouncy Brit pop, their album 13 is well written, well produced and well worth listening to. Don’t dismiss Blur as the woo-hoo guys from the radio five years ago.
Stepping back in time, you have The Smiths and Joy Division. I feel silly recommending these, since they’re so highly acclaimed and all, but I really don’t know how much rock history you have. So, any suggestions that are just ‘oh, duh!’, ignore, ok?
And finally, just to even things up for the other side of the atlantic, in the wonderful world of indie rock, America can be proud to be represented by Eels, Modest Mouse, Built To Spill and Death Cab For Cutie.
And yeah, take a listen to Red Hot Chili Peppers. They do the Incubus thing a thousand times better (when they do the Incubus thing, anyway).
I’ll definitely look into Tea Party.
What I know of Blur is once again the radio singles as well as listening to a friend’s copy of Parklife which was catchy but not all that great IMHO.
I’m a bit of an oldster, actually, so my impression of The Smiths is colored by the fact that the first song I heard of theirs was Girlfriend in a Coma- no matter how cool some of their other stuff was I know they were capable of sucking hard. Likewise my impression of RHCP is colored by their “rock out with your cock out” era.
I’ve heard some Eels and **Built to Spill, which I liked and I’ll look further into those bands.
Thanks, y’all.
It’s hard to get a handle on just what you’re looking for, but here’s a few suggestions.
Try some Danny Gatton and Roy Buchanan. Both extreme virtuosos on the guitar, much admired by guitar players everywhere, but never achieved any commercial success. Both were eventual suicides (although Roy’s suicide in jail has some doubters.)
Phil Manzanera has some very cool solo stuff and 801 was also pretty tasty.
Bill Nelson is worth a listen.
Peter Green and early Fleetwood Mac have a lot to offer.
Can’t forget Jeff Beck.
Savoy Brown up until about “Hellbound Train”. “Blue Matter” and “Looking In” especially.
Currently, I really like the Johnny A album.
I’m sure there’s more I can give you, but listen to some of the suggestions everyone has given you, report back, and we can refine your search further.
Enjoy!
oh yeah, i forgot to mention the Black Crowes!
they do have guitar solos though 
I’d recommend:
Jane’s Addiction - Nothing’s Shocking
The Pixies - Death to the Pixies is a best-of and a good place to start if you don’t have any…
Just about anything with Bob Mould…for instance:
Husker Du* - *Warehouse: Songs and Stories * or Candy Apple Grey if you want something with glossier production…New Day Rising or Zen Arcade if you just want to hurt yourself.
Bob Mould - Workbook and Black Sheets of Rain are my favorites.
Sugar - Copper Blue and Beaster are fun.
Early Butthole Surfers are brilliantly twisted and ugly, but you might want to start with their last good album * - Independent Worm Saloon*.
Concrete Blonde - featuring my all-time favorite female rock singer, Johnette Napolitano. Bloodletting is a good choice.
*How the hell do I do umlauts with this thing?