60. Angus Young
Angus was neither innovative or original. What he did was what countless other rock guitarist had been doing for over a decade, but the difference was, he fucking owned it. A madman on stage, with his trademark school boy uniform (and occasional bare ass), he played like a bat out of hell and ripped some of the tastiest classic rock solos of all time. Straight out of the Jimmy Page, Ace Frehley school or basic blues based pentatonics, Angus wore his influences on his sleeve and made no apologies. One of the hardest rocking little men in all of music history, innovation be damned, it’s hard not to love what this guy did.
59. Frank Zappa
Zappa’s lead style might have been “step on the wah pedal and try and play some combination of notes no one has ever heard before really fast” but there was a bit of genius to it. His greatest gift was clearly in his composing, and his constant “stunt guitar” parts reserved for more freakishly gifted players. Trying to figure out what the hell he was doing on “riffs” like “Zombie Woof” or “Peaches en Regalia” is enough to make your brain explode. His lead playing can get tedious, and sometimes I thought Zappa might be in on the joke, as evidenced by a song title like “The Torture Never Stops”, but when it comes to one-of-a-kind players, Zappa certainly comes to mind.
58. Dave Navarro
When hair metal was on it’s last legs and the new wave of alternative music took it’s place a few people seemed to be under the impression that none of these guys could play. That this new generation abandoned chops to play noisy grunge. Dave Navarro proved that not only were there some sick players in this new generation, but some of them might even be better than the countless spandex wearing clowns with hair spray. Navarro remains my favorite of the many guitarists to pass through the Red Hot Chili Peppers and it’s a damn shame his perfectionism didn’t sit well with the rest of the band because One Hot Minute was an amazing album, and the band never had better lead playing.
57. Mark Knopfler
Another guitarist to emerge in the “new wave” era although no one ever confused Dire Straits with The Sex Pistols. Knopfler was a finger picking freak with a voice like Dylan. Although the band would go onto become one of the biggest in the world in the mid-80s I still dare anyone to find a better clean solo than “Sultans of Swing”. One of the best rock guitarists to never use a pick, the man is an unquestioned legend.
56. Alvin Lee
Back in 1994 there was a director’s cut of Woodstock released. After waiting for what seemed like months for it to make it to the local Blockbuster, it finally arrived and we sat through four hours of hippy nonsense with occasional musical interludes. Late in the film appeared a sweaty English man name Alvin Lee from a band called Ten Years After. I never heard of him or the band, but when he launched into the intro to “I’m Going Home” my jaw hit the floor. He was at least a decade ahead of his time, and was perhaps the first shredder in blues based rock. Simply faster than anyone of his generation, I always felt he was a little too overlooked, perhaps because Ten Years After wasn’t exactly the best known band of it’s generation. Lee however could rip it up better than anyone in the 60s.
55. Ron Thal
Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal is another in my “who the hell is this guy?” list of recent discoveries. He replaced Buckethead in the new incarnation of Guns ‘n’ Roses, but his work with his own band is some of the most ridiculous instrumental music ever. His style is uniquely his, playing with a thimble on his index finger that allows him to do insanely accurate tapping far beyond the limited 24 frets on his guitar. Jaw-droppingly fast, I’m not sure any guitarist blends tapping so seamlessly into his playing. Make no mistake this guy is as big of a shredder as Kevin Nash in Secret of the Ooze. The man is usually on stage with his trademark double necked guitar which features a fretless axe that he’s no slouch on. He is also capable of playing ridiculous bluegrass runs and is a better finger-picker than all of us even if his main weapon is a regular pick. Master of many styles, yeah he’s better than you.
54. Pete Hamm
Badfinger’s resident musical genius is known primarily as a tragic figure, and then a great singer. A distant third on that list seems to be what a great guitarist he was. Definitely of the blues based jam school common of his era, Hamm had a killer lead tone, excellent improvisational skills, and was more than adept at playing to the song. Whether it’s the BBC rendition of “Suitcase” or the opening leads in “Lonely You” the man was a tremendous guitarist. Point is listen to more Badfinger.
53. Pat O’Brien
Cannibal Corpse might be so chaotic that it’s sometimes easy to miss just what Pat O’Brien is doing. When you watch the man play un-accompanied there might not be another death metal guitarist better. Not just about playing fast, or making noise (ala Slayer), O’Brien can scale the fretboard with melodic intensity in the span of about 2 seconds. He also knows a thing or two about abusing his fretboard, and ripping some ear piercing pinch harmonics, dive bombs, and arpeggios so fast you’ll want to quit playing. He also got his start playing for the same band as my next entry.
52. Jeff Loomis
I’ll be honest, I’ve never been a fan of Nevermore. That said you’d have to be deaf not to notice how incredible Jeff Loomis is on the axe. Perhaps in spite of not being a huge power metal fan, the style does lend itself to Loomis’ own particular brand of melodic shredding. The fact that the man attempted to cover Jason Becker’s “Perpetual Burn” let alone pulled it off is enough to include him amongst the best shredders period.
51. Herb Ellis
A member of Oscar Peterson’s trio for a time, Herb Ellis was one of the fastest, sickest, jazz guitarists ever. All but completely forgotten when listing the great jazz musicians his solo albums are a wonderful showcase of his incredible gifts. The man had runs for days and his southern upbringing helped merge country styles to his blues and bop styles. Faster than pretty much any guitarist before him, he could play sweet beautiful blues to sooth your soul and without a moments notice scale every fret in the blink of an eye. The man would have been a legend if he were born two decades later.
50. Ihsahn
The lone guitarist known for black metal on my list, Ihsahn is a man of many styles. With Emperor Ihsahn became skilled at contrasting and complimentary guitar parts, multi tracking everything and rarely ever even playing the same thing as his rhythm guitarist Samoth. A ridiculously fast trem picker from the earliest Emperor days, he has since expanded his musical repertoire to include everything from folk to techno. Along the way picking up some pretty incredible lead chops. He is one of those musicians I’m pretty sure can probably do anything.
49. Carlos Santana
The unquestioned lord and master of the two note bend. Few guitarists ever played with as much soul as Santana. Sure his recent musical adventures are an embarrassment, but can’t blame the man for getting paid. Hell even as bad as his Supernatural-era recordings have been, his playing has diminished a bit. Arguably the first great lead guitarist to fuse jazz, latin, and blues styles together, Santana played like no one else. The man had vibrato for days and could make one note melt your soul like no one else can. “Europa” is still one of the most incredible instrumental tracks ever recorded.
48. John Mayer
I’ll probably catch a little bit of shit for this, but god damn have you heard this man play? I knew he had some blues chops, if from nothing else his brief stint in a Dave Chapelle skit, but hearing some live recordings really opened my ears and eyes. The man is probably the best white blues guitarist since Stevie Ray Vaughn. He even went out with his own trio to play nothing but blues music, and pulled it off in spectacular fashion. As a result he’s got a chance to hold his own against blues legends like B.B. King and Buddy Guy to name a few. Perhaps not the most original player, but what he does, he does damn well.
47. Prince
Another on the list of guys who can do anything musically, Prince is a guitarist whose so good he got bored with his greatness and didn’t bother picking up his axe for damn near a decade. Just as sick of a player as always, his reworking of "Let’s Go Crazy" turns his pop jam into a stoner song complete with an extended jam session. When he wants to though few people can rip up the frets quite like him, and when inspired the man is a sight to behold. Every so often you’ll get a performance like his on “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to remind everyone, if he wanted, he could play better than you.
46. Bruce Kullick
Kiss’s fourth lead guitarist was in my opinion the perfect blend of his predecessors. Able to play Frehley licks without copying him, capable of turning up the speed ala Mark St. John, and occasionally venturing into new and exotic musical territory like Vinnie Vincent, Kullick was probably Kiss’s best guitarist. He contributed a slew of iconic solos and was responsible for writing most of Carnival of Souls, the last great Kiss album. On “No, No, No” he was as 80s as they got, but he could certainly roll with the times as evident by his awesome solo in “Domino” from the Revenge album.
45. Dweezil Zappa
If we’re talking innovation and influence, Dweezil could never hold a candle to his old man, if we’re talking pure talent, then there’s no contest. Dweezil seems to have inherited all of his father’s musical abilities and then some. He can probably play anything, and has recently taken to adapting his dad’s music heading the Zappa Plays Zappa band. Dweezil spent many a year forging his own style, and doing his own thing. Proving in the process that he was as freakishly gifted at guitar as anyone.
44. Duane Allman
If I were to make a list of the most overrated guitarists of all time, Duane Allman would probably pop up there. Granted being in the top 50 for me is saying something. When it comes to slide guitar there probably was no one better. The Allman Brothers have had some great players come and go over the years, but no one ever had quite the impact as the man who was the band’s namesake. He could certainly hold his own against Clapton on the Derek and the Dominoes album, but perhaps his most memorable work could be found on the legendary Fillmore recordings.
43. Erik Mongrain
I have no idea how I found this guy, but whoever first sent me a link to his televised performance of “Air Tap” I retroactively thank you. This guy simply finds a unique open tuning and proceeds to slap, poke, and tap his guitar until it makes sweet beautiful music. I have no idea how he does what he does and his concept of harmonies, and tap harmonics are unmatched anywhere in music. A one-man band who uses his own percussive tapping to create layers of sound without the use of any over dubs. Definitely in the harder than it looks category, Mongrain is as unique as any player to emerge in the 21st century.
42. Rodrigo Sanchez
The male half of Rodrigo y Gabriella, Rodrigo Sanchez is a god damn beast. Part metal, part flamenco, part latin, and fast as holy hell. His partner certainly deserves some credit here, but considering this is a list of my favorite lead guitarists, I had to omit her half. They also represent perhaps the only band that every single person on earth likes. Seriously I have never met a single person who has heard this band and disliked them. It’s impossible not to, and those sweet, sexy Rodrigo solos can turn any song into a RyG jam.
41. Tosin Abasi
You might not know the name, but the man behind Animals as Leaders needs no introduction. Taking parts of fusion, death metal, and prog, Abasi has created some of the most memorable instrumental music in decades. At the heart is his technical wizardry, whether ripping through a 7 or 8 string guitar. No matter the time signature, or style he can play it. The man’s leads flow in and out of the song that it never feels like “now it’s time for the solo”. He just jumps in, jumps out, and drops a few measures of the sickest runs you ever heard while played over some incomprehensible time signature. Of the new wave of technical freaks this guy is the total package.
No comments:
Post a Comment