Top 11

Have you ever seen this?

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/_/id/5937559

Really, an abomination of a list. First off – you can’t compare Jimi Hendrix to Andres Segovia. You can’t compare Eddie Van Halen to Robert Johnson. You can’t. They don’t all belong on the same list, and if they do, the order is certainly screwed up. I just realized Segovia isn’t on the list, but even as the list stands, it’s too much of a mixed bag. Also, is it “Best” or “Most Important” or “Most Influential”? How exactly do they compare greatness? Eddie Van Halen plays “better” than Chuck Berry. But he’s not as important. He may be as influential by now, but without Chuck Berry, the point is moot. Ry Cooder plays guitar maybe a hundred million times “better” than Johnny Ramone. How many Ry Cooder songs can you name? Outside of the movie “Crossroads” I’m not aware of his work. Not that I haven’t heard it, I’m just not aware of it. It’s usually on other people’s records. (No disrespect to Ry. I just checked on Amazon and he has a ton of records under his own name, more than I realized. But I think you get my point. I hope you get my point. I hope I know what my point was.) And really, how can you say ANYBODY is better than B.B. King? And where the hell is Albert King?!?

This thing made me compile my own list – serial compiler of lists, that I am. With a nod to Nigel Tufnel, it goes to 11. After the first 5, the order is kind of arbitrary, depending on my mood.

1. Jimi Hendrix
1. Jeff Beck
3. Peter Green
4. Eric Clapton (pre-1975)
5. Jimmy Page (I-IV only)
6. Tommy Bolin
7. Ritchie Blackmore
8. Michael Schenker
9. Gary Moore
10. Brian May
11. Carlos Santana

I tried to limit it to rock guitarists. This means guys who were first and foremost rock guitarists, even if they played blues-rock or jazz-rock. This eliminated a number of people who I love, but who fell outside the limitations I set for myself. Most importantly Larry Carlton and Roy Buchanan. When my friend Andy compiled his list at my request, he left off SRV for the same reason, considering him a blues player. This list is certainly indicative of my age, but I try to be open minded. A few words on my selections.

You’ll notice two number ones. Jimi and Jeff or Jeff and Jimi. Jimi gets the nod and gets to be listed first only because his legend is so large. Such is the benefit of dying young. If Beck had had a similarly unfortunate story, he would be revered far more than he is now. Beck was probably there first, with almost everything. Feedback, psychedelia – plus he went places Jimi didn’t live long enough to get to – jazz-rock, electronica. He really took whammy bar manipulation to new levels, crafting whole melodies from a single sustained tone. In fact, he should be the only guitarist allowed to have a whammy bar. Period. No one can compare to either of these two. That’s why they top the list.

Peter Green is a recent obsession of mine. I now understand why B.B. said he was the only white guitar player to give him chills. His best playing is his blues playing, early with Mayall and the Mac, but since they became more of a rock band under his leadership, and since he’s part of that 60’s British blues-into-rock generation, he qualifies.

Clapton was for long stretches of my life my favorite guitarist. That said, he suffers from longevity. Unlike Beck, who hibernates when he has nothing interesting to say, Clapton had put out some really gawd awful music. But his work with Mayall and Cream are tops. Oh yeah, “Layla” is a pretty good record, too. After “E.C. Was Here” there’s nothing really essential. Nothing that I’ve heard, anyway. His playing is never bad, it’s just too much more of the same.

Page I never really liked very much, but I’m smart enough to understand how good what he did was. It’s not really just LZ I-IV, probably up through “Houses” and “Physical Graffiti”. But he too suffers from having played some just awful stuff. Unlike Clapton, who would still play well on crappy songs, Page played some crappy stuff.

Here’s where the list gets personal. Bolin is a personal favorite. He’s part American Indian, so he gets points for that. Plus, when he was good, he was great. He could also go through the motions (I have an awful live Deep Purple thing), but he’s responsible for some of the most important music to me personally. The stuff he plays on Billy Cobham’s “Spectrum” is hard to overvalue in terms of it’s importance – he was the first rock guy to make headway playing with jazz players in terms of big time fusion. Some of the guys in Miles post-DeJohnnette/Holland electric bands may have been more rock than jazz, but their approach was more jazz. Bolin was rock, through and through. And I love his two solo records. There’s hard rock, fusion, reggae, 70’s pop ballads, bossa/samba. A very open musician.

Blackmore spawned a whole school. Plus, he played some fierce shit. “Made In Japan” and “Rainbow Rising” are classics. Earth shattering.

Schenker – best phrasing I’ve ever heard from a rock player. Melodically far superior to anyone else I’ve ever heard in the genre.

Moore – his blues playing is way over the top for me, but the records he made with Collosseun II, “Black Rose” (Lizzy), “Back On The Street”, and the records he did with Cozy Powell all earn him a spot. Another rock guy who was able to bring jazz sophistication and fusion excess/chops into rock, and not dilute it.

Brian May – nobody else could do what he has done. An updated Les Paul, in terms of layering, overdubbing, and an orchestral approach to using the guitar. I always think he gets overlooked because you can’t play his stuff in a garage band.

Santana should probably be higher on the list. His first few records, and “Lotus” and “Moonflower” are all classics. He’s a beautiful soul, and you can hear that. A very genuine musician. You can’t fake what he does.

Ommissions? Van Halen is the obvious one. Why? Because if you only listen to the first VH record, you hear everything you need to hear from him. Plus, he loses points for all the demon children he spawned. Chuck Berry and George Harrison would certainly top the list in terms of influence. But this is my list of “best”, not importance or influential. Andy Summers would deserve a passing thought. Without him, we wouldn’t have The Edge. But he actually knew chords to go along with the cool effects. “Murder By Numbers” is one of the hippest rock songs harmonically that I’ve ever heard. Pete Townshend. Again, personal preference. If the list went up to 15, he’d be on there without question. I thought it was nice that they had Angus Young on the RS list - his guitar playing is really good, and often overlooked. Iommi? Nah. David Gilmour? Maybe, but Floyd was never my cup of tea. I didn’t smoke pot. Uli Roth should get a spot – he made Andy’s list. Sort of Hendrix/Blackmore composite with monster chops. The father of neo-classical shred guitar. But he was good. He doesn’t get blamed for his demon children. Pat Travers, Pat Thrall and Gary Richrath were all favorites, along with Brian Robertson and Scott Gorham of Thin Lizzy. But they don’t quite get a spot on the list. Travers would , if anyone of them. Especially for the chords he was able to get into his tunes. Amazing.

The one guy who is earning a spot on the list is Derek Trucks. Best slide player I’ve heard. Better by far than Duane Allman. (#2??? They listed Allman at #2???)

There are so many things to pick apart on the list – it’s hard to know where to start. I won’t bother with it all, but how do you put Joe Perry above John McLaughlin, who in turn is above Pete Townshend? If you could compare those three, in any meaningful way, Perry is at the bottom of the list. No matter what criteria you used (except maybe record sales). Really, the more I look at that list, the more my head spins. They must have just picked the names out of a hat.

Of course, this is all subjective, and could change on a whim. But for now, that’s my list. I’ll probably tackle jazz albums next, that’s been floating around in my head for a few days. Then classical pieces. I do love making lists.