My Top 5 guitarists ever list: First lets think about what made the Best Guitarists truly The Best. I believe it had ZERO to do with how fast they were or how flashy they were with their fingers. Or how many freakin notes they could hit. Thats why no shredders are considered legends of guitar. They may be legends of speed and shred, but not in the same league as true legends of Guitar. So, heres my top 5 list and reasoning behind each. And its no coincidence that they were all Blues-based players. *This list is STRICTLY based on the feeling and emotion channeled from the heart, through the fingers, into the guitar, and out the amp. The stuff that really matters in a guitar hero, not speed, fame, technique, flashiness, or what band they were in. 1) JIMI HENDRIX - Jimi Hendrix is the only guitarist to date who did things that still no guitar player on earth can figure out how he did them. He made many mistakes while playing and instantly and effortlessly could bend strings to make it sound amazing. He couldnt read music. The only guitar player ever whos mistakes have been imitated. An imagination that far exceeded the average human mind. He picked up a guitar after the death of his mother, Lucille and never stopped playing. Which may explain the emotion behind his playing. When you listen to him and realize HE HAD NO PREDECESSOR. He understood the feeling aspect of music more than any artist you can listen to except Mozart and Mozart didnt play guitar. No one from Clapton to Page to Malmsteen to Vai or Van Halen can match the sheer power and feeling that Hendrix brought to the guitar. He was beyond perfection Theres no real need to write any more of a novel on this, because every guitar player will admit without even thinking, that no one can do what he did. Personally I dont think that there ever will be another guitarist, neither on the face of the planet nor in extraterrestrial life to come even close to Jimi, his hands were the hands of god. He WAS music. He experienced the deepest meaning of music in its entirety and I believe that he was the only person so far who truly experienced music as music. 2) STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN- the man who saved the blues. Watching/listening to SRV play guitar live is the equivalent of witnessing a spiritual experience first hand. He wore a huge black hat to cover up his face while he played. Because sometimes he was known to have tears rolling down his face while he played the blues. Also known for having to super glue his fingers half way through a set to stop the bleeding. Eric Clapton said that as he was backstage listening to Vaughan, he asked himself if he would ever reach that level. He described Vaughan’s playing as a “palpable, emotional… oneness.” He called him a “master of everything, with no room for improvement” Stevie Ray had been sober for three years and was at his peak. When he played that night, the night he died. he had all of us standing there with our jaws dropped. I mean, Robert Cray and Jimmie Vaughan and Buddy Guy were just watching in awe. There was no one better than him on this planet. Really unbelievable -Eric Clapton 3) DAVID GILMOUR- David Gilmour could play an entire story with one note. No one writes better solos than David Gilmour. (Comfortably Numb, Marooned, High Hopes, Echoes, Shine On You Crazy Diamond). His tone and solos will live forever. While having a minimalist approach. The man could rip or shred, but instead it seemed like he decided to give each note a little more attention, passion, and emotion. No other guitarist could make you envision a time or place just by listening to their music as well as he could. The cleanest and most melodic player I have ever heard, with the possible exception of Santana. 4) ROY BUCHANAN- Purely outside the box player and possibly the most explosive and unpredictable. Roy was quoted by Les Paul as doing hendrix sounds with his 1953 Telecaster and fender vibrolux amp before Hendrix was famous. And yes he did these things with no effects, only a guitar and amp. He could envoke and transmit beauty and terror in the same measure. Like most other electric guitarists, I always thought that it couldnt get as soulful as Hendrix, but not so sure in this case. Buchanan practically melted his soul into his guitar. If youll listen his song The Messiah Will Come Again or Sweet Dreams and it does not touch you deep inside, then you probably dont have a soul. 5) Carlos Santana- What other guitar player do you know that can play one single note and you know exactly who it is by hearing it? I cant think of any. Santana can hold a note in sustain without using vibrato or bending the string unlike any guitarist ever. At exactly the right time. His guitar is clearly an extension of the his feelings and dreams. Thanks to him theres been someone around in the past 10 years to throw good guitar work into these shitty pop songs.
Posted on: Mon, 04 Aug 2014 02:09:00 +0000
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