The Circle of Love

In Guitar World’s 30 on 30, 30 great guitarists pick their favourite axemen.

All the cats you’d expect to see are there:  Green, Clapton, Blackmore, Beck, Hendrix, May, van Halen, B.B., Rhoads, Malmsteen …

As are, thankfully, a few guys you worry might be all but forgotten, like Leslie West, Alvin Lee and Mick Taylor.  And there are a few names you might not expect to be the idols of guitar wizards, for example Neil Young or Pete Townshend or George Harrison.  Not that they weren’t/aren’t amazing guitarists, but you don’t realize the hotshots feel the same way as you do.  So that’s cool.

But what’s really interesting is to see who the guys on the list like.  So:

• Tom Morello likes Steve Vai, and Steve Vai likes Brian May.
• Joe Perry likes Angus Young, but Angus likes Chuck Berry.
• Ron Thal likes Zakk Wylde, whereas Zakk Wylde likes the Judas Priest duo of Tipton and Downing.
• Richie Kotzen digs Eddie van Halen, who in turn thought Clapton was the man.

Sometimes you can clearly hear a guitarist’s influences in his work; other times, not so much.  So it’s instructive to see what they actually think.  And sometimes surprising.

Solo Stars

Guitar World’s 40 Most Influential Solos In Rock is quite possibly the list that’s come closest to what I would have expected.

All the early rockers are there: Scotty Moore, James Burton, Eddie Cochrane –and Chuck Berry, who’s Johnny B. Goode GW correctly notes is “the most important rock guitar part ever recorded.”

All the Classic Rockers are there: Clapton, Beck, Hendrix, Blackmore, Allman, Fripp, Page, Gilmour, Knopfler, Young and West.

The blues influencers are there: Elmore James, and the 3 Kings.

The list is chronological, so until it got to the 80’s my reaction was consistently, “yep, influenced me alright.”

The latter-day guitar heroes are there too: SRV, Zakk Wylde, Randy Rhoads, Malmsteen, Satriani and, the cat with the coolest handle: Dimebag Darrell.

One or two guitarists I wouldn’t have included myself, but fully expected to see.  And given GW limited itself to one solo per guitarist, I think they did a pretty good job of coming up with the most representative tune.  No easy feat with most of these guys.

Not sure how Heartbreaker gets to be Jimmy Page’s most important solo, but that’s just me.  I certainly remember being floored when I first heard it, but later on I kinda felt it wrecked the song, because it interrupted such a powerful groove.

Nice to see Europa chosen for Santana so they could make room for Peter Green and the original Black Magic Woman.  Peter Green is usually under-rated and overlooked.  Speaking of overlooked: no Highway 61 Revisited by Johnny Winter?

Wring That Neck

Ritchie Blackmore is probably the best guitarist to never top a best-ever list, and I confess I’m just as guilty as the next person.

I was a huge fan, of course.  From Shades of through Burn, a period of almost seven years, Deep Purple would have been in my Top Three Bands list.  And I was always amazed, astonished, over-awed by Blackmore’s playing – but he never dented my favourite guitarists list.

I’m still not sure why.  Too much shredding (albeit before the term came into use)?  Really weird notes?  Impenetrable, unapproachably angry persona?  (Slightly) inferior songs to solo?

All of the above, probably, but it still doesn’t excuse the implied lack of respect.  His wow factor can top Hendrix, his that-was-surprising-but-those-were-just-the-right-notes ability could rival Clapton’s, and his duets with John Lord were pure magic.

It’s a mystery.  He’s a mystery, one as big as his choice of notes.  It’s got me chasing shadows.

Defining Moments

If you look at the Guitar Player 40 Most Influential Rock Guitar Solos, as a guitarist, you get the depressing feeling that it's all been done, so why bother?

I mean, take Chuck Berry's Johnny B. Goode, for example. It has the quintessential licks that fit in almost every rock song.

Well almost. To fill up your bag of tricks you can borrow from the songs listed by the Three Kings: Freddie, Albert and B.B.: Hideaway, Born Under A Bad Sign, and The Thrill Is Gone. You don't need much else. Don't believe me? Listen to Clapton's Crossroads. (Yes I know Crossroads preceded The Thrill Is Gone but I'm making a point.)

As a guitarist, I'm always searching for new ways to express myself, but those five solos give you a pretty large playing field.

This is a list of influential solos, not necessarily best or favourite solos. So for sure Duanne Allman's Statesboro Blues belongs there, and, sadly, Eddie Van Halen's Eruption belongs. But some seem arbitrary to me. Is Heartbreaker really Jimmy Page's most influential solo? Is Comfortably Numb David Gilmour's? Pride and Joy is Stevie Ray Vaughan's most definitive solo, and All Along The Watchtower is one of Hendrix's most amazing, but ...

At some point it feels like we've crossed the line where the best, most admired guitarists simply get an arbitrary pick. Fair enough. I wouldn't want to see a list that didn't include Mark Knopfler, Peter Green, Angus Young, Jimmy Page, David Gilmour or Ritchie Blackmore either.

My favourite thing about this list is that most of the solos are very musical. Happily, there isn't much mindless wankarama. Thank you, Guitar Player.

By the way, I get the influence of Elmore James for Dust My Broom, but it's Robert Johnson's, 100%.

Top Guitar Riffs of All Time

Now here's a list that's not from Rolling Stone.  Gibson's Top 50 Guitar Riffs of All Time

It's a good list, a can't-dispute-it list.  Here's the Top 10:

 1. Satisfaction.  Easily the most recognizable riff in rock.
 2. Smoke On The Water.  The second most recognized riff.
 3. Whole Lotta Love.  See?  This is a pretty good list!
 4. Iron Man.  OK, well it is very recognizable - if just a tad lame.
 5. Back In Black.  You bet.
 6. Smells Like Teen Spirit.  Relentless and powerful.
 7. You Really Got Me.  Way ahead of its time.
 8. Day Tripper.  Trippy.  Bluesy.  Perfect rock 'n' roll.
 9. Walk This Way.  Not a huge Aerosmith fan, but it's kinda funky, eh?
10. Sunshine Of Your Love.  One of those I-don't-care-I-still-think-it's-cool songs.

I like this list!

Rolling Stone Top 100 Guitarists

Rolling Stone has this list of The 100 Greatest Guitarists.  Interesting, even if it's, like, way wrong.

OK, maybe not totally wrong.  Here's the Top 25:
 1. Hendrix.  Hard to argue, but his brilliance was inconsistent.
 2. Duanne Allman.  I've had this lifelong challenge to understand the big fuss.  Sorry.
 3. B.B. King.  Sure.
 4. Eric Clapton.  No problem.  Well, yes, actually.  Number 1.
 5. Robert Johnson.  Yes.
 6. Chuck Berry.  Definitely.
 7. Stevie Ray Vaughan.  OK.  Should be higher, but at least they put him in the top 10.
 8. Ry Cooder.  Pleasant surprise.
 9. Jimmy Page.  I guess so.  I mean, he's important and all that.
10. Keith Richards.  Amen.
11. Kirk Hammett.  Whatever.
12. Kurt Colbain.  Seriously?  Like, is skill not a criterion?
13. Jerry Garcia.  Another of life's great mysteries.
14. Jeff Beck.  To be expected, I guess.
15. Santana.  Could have been worse.  Could have been higher.
16. Johnny Ramone.  Come on!  If you're talking about influence, then where is T-Bone Walker?
17. Jack White.  OK.
18. John Frusciante.  Yes.
19. Richard Thompson.  Whatever.
20. James Burton.  Yes.
21. George Harrison.  I rank him much higher, but am relieved he made the top 25.
22. Mike Bloomfield.  For sure.
23. Warren Haynes.
24. The Edge.  Interesting.  One unique cat, that's for sure.
25. Freddy King.  Yes.  Hugely influential.  But him and T-Bone lower than Ramone?

Overall it could have been worse.  But ...
Mark Knopfler only at #27?  Stephen Stills on the list at all?  For electric?  The write up specifically mentioned electric.  I thought the list was meant to be taken seriously.

Steve Cropper, Bo Diddley, Peter Green and Scotty Moore are all too far down the list.  Ritchie Blackmore is obscenely far down the list.  Ditto Johnny Winter.  And David Gilmour at #82 and Angus Young at #96?  Forget it.  That's just wrong.

Where is Bonnie Raitt?  Where is Mike Campbell?  Where the hell is Albert King?

It could have been worse.  At least Tony Iommi and Van Halen are in the bottom half of the list.  I'll count my blessings.

Now, about Jimi versus Eric ...More  

Where The Shadows Run From Themselves

Back, as they say, in the day, the great who's-the-best-guitarist debate centred around Clapton, Hendrix, Page and Beck.  Similarly, the who's-the-best-band debate centred around Cream, Hendrix, and Led Zeppelin (no one seriously considered Beck in the band category, now did they?).

The Beatles, by the way, where not part of the discussion.  You either set them above such trivial discussion (as I did), or you discounted them as has-been pop artists - which is hilarious.

By the way #2, many people included Ritchie Blackmore and Deep Purple in the debates, but not enough, sadly.

Anyway, I chose Clapton and Cream.  I've already covered that in my mind Clapton was more versatile and way more musical than his rivals.

With Cream, though, it's a different story.  To be sure, the guitar work was a big part of it, as was the fact that Hendrix's bizarreness sometimes neutralized his flashes of astonishing genius.  And Page's questionable taste sometimes took away from his unparalleled talent for both riffs / hooks and production.  While Clapton was #1 primarily because of his work, he was also the last man standing.

But it was more than the guitars.  Plant was arguably a better singer than Jack Bruce, and Hendrix was probably a better songwriter, but there was something about Cream's sound, it's feel, it's impact that was more appealing to me.

The balanced talent was part of it, the constant jousting, the co-operative competition, yes.

Maybe it was the heavier blues influence.  In these heady days before we were overtaken by labels, all three bands could be trippy in a psychedelic way.  All three could do hard driving rock.  All three contributed to the births of heavy metal and classic rock.  And all did the blues just fine, thank you very much.

But Cream was darker, more soulful, maybe more vulnerable.  They touched a deeper nerve, a raw spot, a menacing feeling that could not be named  ...

Oh, I don't know.  I just liked them better.  Too bad they lasted the shortest length of time.