Most Overrated Guitarists

  • Thread starter Thread starter espskully
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Cyrokk said:
No, the fans "totally erased" the guitar solos from the public's perception of grunge. It was all a huge media hose.
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It's not real clear what you mean by the above sentence. But it should be pointed out that if we're talking about mainstream top 40 shit, EVERYTHING is a huge media hose - that's a given.

Hell, "Nevermind" has solos as well.
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You're definitely stretching there. Sure, there are still instrumental breaks in pop music. Always will be. But saying Nirvana was a band with guitar solos is kinda like saying Bon Jovi was metal. There's a superficial resemblance, but you'd have to kinda twist yourself in a pretzel to make it stick.:)

Cheers,
Chris
 
Nevermind did have more than just rhythm breaks though, he clearly tried to play leads on a lot of songs on that. Obviously they weren't the best solos ever, or even what we deem acceptable from ourselves, but he wasnt just playing power chords during these breaks, which is a lot different than what you see now in pop music. If i had to blame a specific genre of music for the lack of solos in pop music today, it would be punk. specifically green day.

p.s. Pearl Jam's Ten was one of the greatest rock albums of all time
 
ibanezrocks said:
Nevermind did have more than just rhythm breaks though, he clearly tried to play leads on a lot of songs on that. Obviously they weren't the best solos ever, or even what we deem acceptable from ourselves,
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Exactly. And they weren't *supposed* to be the "best solos ever", which is exactly my point.



If i had to blame a specific genre of music for the lack of solos in pop music today, it would be punk. specifically green day.
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Saying Green Day is punk is kinda like saying Bon Jovi...

Oh heck, I've said it already...:)

Chris
 
Well guys,

Kurt Cobain is WAYYYYYYY overrated, I agree. But, was anyone more overrated at the height of their popularity than CC DeVille of Poison. OUCH!! Don't get me wrong here, they were fun live, but man CC live just made me realize you could be absolutely horrible and still sell lots and lots of records....

If there is an underrated thread out there, I'd like to nominate the guys from Tesla. Those boys can play.
 
groucho said:
It's not real clear what you mean by the above sentence. But it should be pointed out that if we're talking about mainstream top 40 shit, EVERYTHING is a huge media hose - that's a given.
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When grunge became popular, almost every columnist and fan who wrote in almost every music magazine said shit along the lines of "thankfully, now that grunge is here, the guitar solo is now dead". But if that's the case, then there would be no wah drenched solos (many of which were in the top 40) in so much of the music that spawned the grunge scene. They may not be shred wank solos, but they are solos nonetheless. And for anyone, particularly in a music forum, to repeat the exact sentiment of the media, shows that they prefer to agree with that sentiment rather than see the truth: that grunge was responsible for SLOWING DOWN the solo, not demolishing it altogether, like you and so many others insist.

groucho said:
You're definitely stretching there. Sure, there are still instrumental breaks in pop music. Always will be. But saying Nirvana was a band with guitar solos is kinda like saying Bon Jovi was metal. There's a superficial resemblance, but you'd have to kinda twist yourself in a pretzel to make it stick.:)
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"Smells Like Teen Spirit" has a solo break. The guitar plays a line similar to the versus. It is not playing the rhythm. Therefore it is a solo, and therefore, Nirvana was a band that had at least one guitar solo. No stretch, I'm simply removing a generalization-a generalization as narrow-minded as saying that Kurt couldn't play a solo, because assuming he played that very line, then yes, he could and did play a solo.
 
Cyrokk said:
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" has a solo break. The guitar plays a line similar to the versus. It is not playing the rhythm. Therefore it is a solo, and therefore, Nirvana was a band that had at least one guitar solo. No stretch, I'm simply removing a generalization-a generalization as narrow-minded as saying that Kurt couldn't play a solo, because assuming he played that very line, then yes, he could and did play a solo.
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Dude, you're picking the heck out of those nits! I think you may not be understanding what I'm saying though. Um, yes... there is indeed a "guitar solo" in that particular song. I don't think that's being disputed. Nor am I making any judgements about the desirability of wanker guitar solos vs. cobain-esque solos (I actually like BOTH, if you can believe it).

A generalization is just that: speaking GENERALLY. It's actually the *opposite* of being narrow-minded.:) Yes, both Kurt and CC played "guitar solos" in the sense that they played lead lines that were intended to be melodic statements on their own.

I haven't read music mags since I was a teenager, so I'll take your word on whatever b.s. was being spewed out of them, but you didn't really need to be subscribed to Rolling Stone (shudder) to notice that the 80s shredder sensibility pretty much vanished with the onset of "grunge/alternative/whatchacallit".

Yes, there will always be guitar solos of various length and complexity. But the *emphasis* on soloing is what vanished with Cobain and Co. I wouldn't have thought THAT would be a particularly contraversial thing to say. Seems rather obvious.:)

All in good fun,
Chris
 
When Wierd Al covered it with "Smells Like Nirvana", he removed the guitar solo and opted for a "gurgling water" solo.

;)

heh heh heh

H2H
 
Sorry man, I didn't mean to nickpick.. It's just that when you said

groucho said:
And that wave of musicians completely and totally erased the guitar solo from top 40 pop/rock.
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I inferred that you meant the musicians totally erased the guitar solo from top 40 rock as opposed to the fact that they simply played a different style of solo. I hear lots of people make that generalization and 99% of the time they don't exactly know what they are talking about, not to mention that musicians didn't stop playing solos so much as the focus of attention in rock simply shifted from one style to another.
 
Fair enough - I was being a tad cheeky with that original side comment about the guitar solos, but I tend to forget how literally everthing is taken on the internet.:)

Anyway, this little detour reminded me of what is, by far, the most overrated entity in music today:

the music *press*. :D

(specially that bloated corporate asskissing whore of a assrag, Rolling Stone)

Okay, holiday time...
have a Merry one,
Chris
 
You too :)

I haven't decided whether I think Kirk Hammet is overrated. Everyone thought he was the greatest at one point, but I highly suspect that the solos he played on Metallica's first album were originally Dave Mustaine's, as his style drastically changed after the debut from blazing pentatonics to bad drivel that is only one step ahead of Alex Lifeson and Vernon Reid. He was addicted to the wah, and his wah sounded dreadful with his guitar. And although not necessarily part of the criteria, he had much less impact on their writing than the other members.

Then again, he DID play those solos on Metallica's first album and they were fantastic. And he was responsible for Exodus.

Hmmm....
 
As an 'anti' Malmsteen guy...

Lastly, the anti-Malmsteen crowd always seems to post the same old garbage then name their favorite guitarist that EVERYONE should listen to who is "better" than Malmsteen. This guitarist is always a "shredder", came around AFTER Malmsteen opened the door for them, and was influenced by Malmsteen in some way..if only a little. Yet Malmsteen sucks and is Overrated.
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...allow me to elaborate. Yngwie is stunningly accomplished and I couldn't agree more that he alone deserves the most credit for introducing shredding into the popular venacular. Hell, the guys first big public appearance was on the Tonight show!!! People who couldn't care less about rock guitar were treated to jaw dropping, undeniable talent and skill.

I don't think Yngwies playing sucks per se. The weakness, to me, is his songs, that's what always bored me, then comes the leads that just don't interest me. I also freely admit that I am no were near accomplished enough to even 'get' alot of what he is doing. It's mostly over, way over, my head.

The guitar world is a better place with Yngwie. There's just parts of that world I appreciate but don't enjoy.

Like dentists.
 
Kirk Hammett is great. He's certainly not the fastest or whatever - but he's a musical dude. The leads on the Justice record were what made me want to learn to play guitar - and they still kick my ass. I always thought he did a great job of writing leads over Hetfields intricate changes. I'm a big Hammett fan.
 
I think BB King is a great blues singer but ALWAYS thought he was very overrated at the guitar. It sounds like he plays the same 2 notes for every fill he does. It gets old. I think he gets a lot of respect just because he's BB King. He sounds like a beginner to me. Just compare his playing to SRV. You cant.

Clapton is another one. He is a solid player (obviously) and way more technically profficient than BB but nothing special and definitely not godlike.

Vai is a virtuoso plain and simple. Satriani is boring to me.

I actually think Jimi Page is underrated. His sloppiness is just part of his style.
 
timboZ said:
I'll prolly get slammed for this one, but I've always thought Esteban was overrated.. :D :D :D
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Did you see the Behind the Music on Esteban???

:D
 
Rickson Gracie said:
I think BB King is a great blues singer but ALWAYS thought he was very overrated at the guitar. It sounds like he plays the same 2 notes for every fill he does. It gets old. I think he gets a lot of respect just because he's BB King. He sounds like a beginner to me. Just compare his playing to SRV. You cant.
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And we have our first disqualified contestant...

BLEEEEP!!!

Thank you for playing, Mr. Gracie!

Now, class, can anyone tell us where Mr. Gracie first blundered into the land of the ignorant and ridiculous?

HINT: Someone who altered the entire course of guitar history...
a) cannot be considered "overrated".
b) isn't so hot because Stevie could shred him, dude.
c) huh? who?

Just a little holiday fun,

Chris (full of egg nog)
 
Steve Vai, everyone bums him but I've never heard him play a song
 
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