Am I the only one who knows what a Guitar God is anymore? A few years ago Rolling Stone compiled a list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time and it was terrible. Some low lights were placing Keith Richards at #10, Kurt Cobain at #11 and somehow placing Stephen Stills and John Fogerty (among others) in front of Frank Zappa. Needless to say, there is some serious confusion about what makes a Great Guitarist and what makes a Great Songwriter over at Rolling Stone. I thought my outrage on the issue subsided, but it recently came to my attention that Jimmy Page, the Edge, and Jack Black are featured in a new film titled It Might Get Loud. A documentary directed by Davis Guggenheim that explores the history of the rock-based electric guitar.
Instead of bashing the movie, I thought I would use the space in my overly biased blog to explore my overly biased opinions. As always, there are a few ground rules I must follow:
1) The guitarist must be alive. We need to film them, right? Creepy John, just creepy...
2) Note, the 3 guitarists in the movie chronologically depict the time frame of the 1960s to the present. Page= 60s & 70s, Edge= 80s and early 90s, Jack White= Late 90s to present. See how neat that is?
3) Another pattern in the selection is variation in rock style of the players filmed. Perhaps to make the documentary more interesting or to sell more tickets to a wider demographic? You decide.
With no further ado ...........Let the Opinions Fly!!!
Best (Living) Guitarist of the 1960s + 1970s
Jimmy Page
This is the only guitarist I would have picked for the film. Page is a monster. There were rock stars before Page, but he was the first Rock God. Every rock guitarist has a Page lick in their repertoire and supercharged R&B style defined arena hard rock in the 70s. And Page was no one trick pony, he could put down his electric to settle into some spine tingling acoustic folk (with the help of Robert Plant, of course). He did it in the face of confused critics who didn't know what to say about the songwriters wide range of styles. Page approached the guitar like a force of nature until drugs grounded Led Zeppelin down to mortal status. Page wrote classic after classic riff in the 70s and there is not a bad song on their first 6 albums, which is no easy feat. On top of that, Page's songwriting dominated the entire decade, something that is unmatched in the history of rock and roll.
Honorable Mention:
Eric Clapton
Many believe that Hendrix revolutionized the electric guitar. They are wrong. Hendrix idolized Clapton's playing. After blowing every rock guitarist away with delta blues licks and self expression, Clapton would go onto to confuse more listeners than John Mayer (more on him later). Clapton's drug use made him an inconsistent songwriter. A friend of mine once joked that if he died after "Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs" he would have gone down as the greatest guitarist of all time. Although he would have been DQ'd for my Honorable mention category per rule #1!
1980s
Best (Living) Guitarist of the 1980s and early 90s
Eddie Van Halen
Ummm, I guess he was in rehab in 2008 so that made him unavailable? Van Halen should have just been called Eddie Van Halen and the less talented coattail riders. Diamond Dave was entertaining, but everybody in the 80s was baffled by Eddie's talent. Including the greatest entertainer of the 1980s, Michael Jackson. Eddie took what Clapton, Hendrix, and Page did before him and brought it to another level. Another universe. His precision, technique, tone, and flash are unmatched. Listen to any Van Halen album, particularly the DLR era, and prepare to be floored by at least one track on each album. If anything Eddie is a victim of his time. Everything in the 80s was flashy and over the top, especially in LA. Every metal band was trying to be a caricature of Led Zeppelin at that point and in retrospect it was disgusting. The fact remains, the guy can flat out play.
Also of Note:
Angus Young, Alex Lifeson, Gary Pihl, Mark Knofler, Slash (i ran out of names)
1990s
Trey Ananstasio
You thought I wouldn't pick this guy? Even bigger than his guitar playing is the incredible grassroots success of his band Phish. In 1995 they sold out the Madison Square Garden without the aid of Rolling Stone, MTV (when they used to play videos), or radio! Trey combines Frank Zappa's composition, Jimmy Page's blues riffing, and Jerry Garcia's rock based improv to create a fusion of awesome. He can be a bluegrass flat picker, a speed jazz shredder and a rocker all in one night. His tone is unmistakable. And the way he can slowly sweep your cognitive thought away on a carpet of imaginative licks is astounding. He went completely against the grain in the mountains of Vermont during the late 80s and early 90s. The band emerged on the scene just in time to carry the jam band torch from the Dead. What everybody didn't know is that Trey had been rocking the Northeast for years at that point.
Honorable Mention:
Tom Morello
The guy can DJ on his guitar. It's nuts.
Also of Note: Mike Eizenger, Tim Mahoney, Jerry Cantrell, Vernon Reid, Jake Cinninger, Mike McCready, John Frusciante, Derek Trucks, John Mayer
Look at that list, I can't believe John Mayer is on it. He is good, but it only confirms to me that the guitar god is dead. Or just lost in the world of Heavy Metal. More on my confusion with John Mayer to come....
