Biggest American superband ever...

[LosMediasBlancas]

Here's one: The Velvet Underground. Thoughts?

[Rex Kickass]

Bowie is British and Redding is a solo artist, but yes good points.

 

 

I have a love for David Bowie. Quite possibly the best rock musician artist EVER.

 

But Golden Years (feat. Luther Vandross on backup) was written and recorded based on Philly Soul. That's all I was saying.

[LosMediasBlancas]

I have a love for David Bowie. Quite possibly the best rock musician artist EVER.

 

But Golden Years (feat. Luther Vandross on backup) was written and recorded based on Philly Soul. That's all I was saying.

 

I hear ya, I go through my Bowie phases too.

[SoxFan1]

Don't know if these have been mentioned but what about the Who? I'm not sure if they are American though...

[Kid Gleason]

Speaking of soul - three words.

 

Otis f***ing Redding.

 

How about Sam f***ing Cooke???

[Kid Gleason]

Don't know if these have been mentioned but what about the Who? I'm not sure if they are American though...

 

Mods out of the UK.

[Kid Gleason]

Kid, I respect your opinion on music, you know your s***, but we couldn't be more opposite in tastes, lol.

Eddie Van Halen better than Jimi ??!!...are you kidding me? Eddie was cold and mechanical, all fingers and brain and absolutely NO heart or soul. He's in the Satriani and Vai category, the original 'math rock'.  In terms of Van Halen the band being the best American band? No way, on top of Eddie's wanking, Roth was a f***in clown, with little singing or song writing ability.

 

Hey, I am purely saying on what he did for the music scene. Technically, yes, Eddie could run circles around Hendrix. It all comes down to taste after that, and what you are into. IN all honesty, I'll pass on both of them and bow at the alter of Eddie Cochran, Cliff Gallup, and Chet Atkins myself. Hendrix was also a wanking guitarist. The three men responsible for EVERYTHING that happened in the 80's Metal scene are Hendrix, Page, and Van Halen. Both Hendrix and Van Halen revolutionized the guitar. But there is no way you can listen to Van Halen 1 and 2 and tell me there is no heart on those albums, especially on guitar. "Somebody Get Me A Doctor" is easily one of the most bad assed songs ever played on guitar.

 

He's in the Satriani and Vai category, the original 'math rock'.

 

No sir, he isn't IN the category. He created it, the others took the heart out of what he created though. Like I said, I am not a fan of his style, and I don't own any Van Halen anymore, but there is no denying how important he was to the evolution of the guitar, both in play and the instrument itself. Plus how important he was to the 80's music scene in general. NOTHING would have been how it was in the 80's without Van Halen the band being the ULTIMATE party band.

 

Like I said though, I would take Cochran, Gallup, Atkins, Moore, Perkins, any of them, over every single band and guitarist mentioned here so far.

[FlaSoxxJim]

Let me catch my breath...

 

OK. First, as to the Hendrix qualification issue, I've decided we're in a pickle with the Experience, because Mitch and Noel were, of course, from England. Besides, Jimi transcended national boundaries, and terrestrial boundaries for that matter. He was the Voodo Chile of the Aquarian Age, and he was too bif to be just an American guitarist.

 

As for Hendrix/Van Halen... Kid, I have to disagree. Eddie was a technician. He played with gusto and heart, certainly moreso than Satriani and way more than posers like 'Wrongway' Malmsteen. Maybe better than Vai, although he is a personal favorite - he had an impish playfulness to his stuff that was really endeering, especially in the Flex-able days (is my Zappa band bias showing?). Eddie brought rock guitar to the next level, absolutely. But finger-tapping minor pentatonic warmup exercises album after album completely pales in comparison to the creative flood Jimi gave us with the fist three records, Are You Experienced, Axis, and Electric Ladyland. Jimi tamed feedback and bent it to his will; Eddie gave us fast minor triad runs across the fretboard. Jimi almost single-handedly put fuzz, wah-wah, and flanged guitar on the map; Eddie gave us faster finger tapping. Jimi gave us insane layers of multitracking, backtracked guitar, and a glimpse of the musical nexus of chit'lin circuit/delta blues, British Invasion, Flower Power, jazz, heavy metal, and R&B; Eddie gave us more of the same... and also broke my pre-teen heart when he married MY Valerie.

 

I don't think Jimi's musical legacy can be overstated. Besides, Eddie was never immortalized by the Plaster Casters, was he?

[Kid Gleason]

But you seem to be forgetting how much impact Eddie DID have. I can't believe how much this world has forgotten about him, to the point of him not even showing up on that Rolling Stone Top 100 Guitarists until number 71!!! NOBODY was doing what Eddie did when he came out.

 

Let me set-up myself for complete ridicule and attacks.

 

I've played guitar for 30 years now, and IMO, along with Clapton and Page, there have never been three more overrated guitarists in this world that those two along with Hendrix. Without his fuzz and noise, Hendrix would have been lost. People who were NOT there in the day of Hendrix, who still follow him, do so out of a strange nostalgia that has been gained, even by those who were never there.

 

YOU can praise a guitarist for their "emotional" play, as I will often. But to deny a guitarists amazing ability just due to his "being too techinical" is absurd"! You may as well attack Joe Pass for being "too technical" then. I stand by it, Eddie could run circles around Hendrix any day of the week i nhis heyday. I can play Hendrix stuff, much of Eddie's stuff I just laugh about. To be as clean and as precise as he was, and then to think about the fact that he doesn't remember recording ANY of the first four albums due to being too drunk!?! The man was a freak of nature.

 

Hendrix was an acid experiment that worked. Overrated, without a doubt. I don't think Eddie was the best ever, hardly. But on list after friggin' list people place Hendrix on top for the best guitarist ever, and that makes me puke. That honor should go to Chet, Les Paul, Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery, and there has never been a greater innovator than Charlie Christian. Those men were all innovators, and to this day remain impressive to listen to. Technically brilliant, and 100% feeling.

[knightni]

Motley Crue and Poison

 

Ted Nugent's band is pretty American.

 

I heard that they killed (skinned and made jerky of) their fans at a show in Detroit last year.

[LosMediasBlancas]

Let me catch my breath...

 

OK.  First, as to the Hendrix qualification issue, I've decided we're in a pickle with the Experience, because Mitch and Noel were, of course, from England.  Besides, Jimi transcended national boundaries, and terrestrial boundaries for that matter.  He was the Voodo Chile of the Aquarian Age, and he was too bif to be just an American guitarist.

 

As for Hendrix/Van Halen... Kid, I have to disagree.  Eddie was a technician.  He played with gusto and heart, certainly moreso than Satriani and way more than posers like 'Wrongway' Malmsteen.  Maybe better than Vai, although he is a personal favorite - he had an impish playfulness to his stuff that was really endeering, especially in the Flex-able days (is my Zappa band bias showing?).  Eddie brought rock guitar to the next level, absolutely.  But finger-tapping minor pentatonic warmup exercises album after album completely pales in comparison to the creative flood Jimi gave us with the fist three records, Are You Experienced, Axis, and Electric Ladyland.  Jimi tamed feedback and bent it to his will; Eddie gave us fast minor triad runs across the fretboard.  Jimi almost single-handedly put fuzz, wah-wah, and flanged guitar on the map; Eddie gave us faster finger tapping.  Jimi gave us insane layers of multitracking, backtracked guitar, and a glimpse of the musical nexus of chit'lin circuit/delta blues, British Invasion, Flower Power, jazz, heavy metal, and R&B; Eddie gave us more of the same... and also broke my pre-teen heart when he married MY Valerie. 

 

I don't think Jimi's musical legacy can be overstated.  Besides, Eddie was never immortalized by the Plaster Casters, was he? 

 

Amen, Jimi revolutionized rock guitar playing. The original noise maker, fuzz monster, feedback genius.

...and yes, the Jimi Hendrix Experience has to count for this poll.

[Kid Gleason]

Amen, Jimi revolutionized rock guitar playing. The original noise maker, fuzz monster, feedback genius.

 

Hmmmm, I thought that was Dave Davies.

[LosMediasBlancas]

But you seem to be forgetting how much impact Eddie DID have. I can't believe how much this world has forgotten about him, to the point of him not even showing up on that Rolling Stone Top 100 Guitarists until number 71!!! NOBODY was doing what Eddie did when he came out.

 

Let me set-up myself for complete ridicule and attacks.

 

I've played guitar for 30 years now, and IMO, along with Clapton and Page, there have never been three more overrated guitarists in this world that those two along with Hendrix. Without his fuzz and noise, Hendrix would have been lost. People who were NOT there in the day of Hendrix, who still follow him, do so out of a strange nostalgia that has been gained, even by those who were never there.

 

YOU can praise a guitarist for their "emotional" play, as I will often. But to deny a guitarists amazing ability just due to his "being too techinical" is absurd"! You may as well attack Joe Pass for being "too technical" then. I stand by it, Eddie could run circles around Hendrix any day of the week i nhis heyday. I can play Hendrix stuff, much of Eddie's stuff I just laugh about. To be as clean and as precise as he was, and then to think about the fact that he doesn't remember recording ANY of the first four albums due to being too drunk!?! The man was a freak of nature.

 

Hendrix was an acid experiment that worked. Overrated, without a doubt. I don't think Eddie was the best ever, hardly. But on list after friggin' list people place Hendrix on top for the best guitarist ever, and that makes me puke. That honor should go to Chet, Les Paul, Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery, and there has never been a greater innovator than Charlie Christian. Those men were all innovators, and to this day remain impressive to listen to. Technically brilliant, and 100% feeling.

 

 

Kid, when I listen to E. Van Halen, Vai, Satrianni etc, do I hear technical prowess? Of course. Do I feel anything? No.

On the other hand, when I listen to SRV, Page, J. Mascis etc....I feel it.

It all just comes down to personal taste.

To make a sports analogy, it's like watching John Stockton and Michael Jordan each pump in 35 pts. in the same game. Which one is gonna make you jump otta your chair? Not the best analogy, but you get my point.

[LosMediasBlancas]

Hmmmm, I thought that was Dave Davies.

 

Not to that level, nope.

[Kid Gleason]

To make a sports analogy, it's like watching John Stockton and Michael Jordan each pump in 35 pts. in the same game. Which one is gonna make you jump otta your chair?  Not the best analogy, but you get my point.

 

Actually, aside from baseball, I know NOTHING about sports and couldn't tell you a single thing about Stockton. Is he the other part of Malone? Why do I know Malone? He looks Freddie Mercury.

 

I know SOME of the superstars of sports, but truth be told, if I saw Brett Favre on the streets, I would have no idea who he was.

[Kid Gleason]

Not to that level, nope.

 

Well, matter of opinion. Dave tamed down BIG TIME. But Dave was first with the noise. Hendrix just abused the hell out of it to turn it into official noise to cover up his slop.

[JUGGERNAUT]

Another thread morphing into something it was never intended to be :rolly

 

There are technical guitarists that are masters with few equals & then there are "soulfull" guitarists. I think the top 3 soulfull guitarists would be Hendrix, Page, & Clapton. Now maybe it's not just the music they generated alone that explains this. Maybe it's the man & the music. If you just listen to their music having never seen them life you've been cheated. When you see them live it's an experience you will never forget.

 

I was too young to ever see Page live in his hey day with Zeppelin.

But I did get to see him live with the Firm. Those concerts featued the best of the Zeppelin songs & the hits they generated & I was in awe in front of Jimmy.

 

I can only imagine what he was like live with Zeppelin in the 70's.

I do have all the video's of some of those concerts but it's not the same thing. I don't think there was ever a better image of a man & guitar than Jmmy Page.

[FlaSoxxJim]

That honor should go to Chet, Les Paul, Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery, and there has never been a greater innovator than Charlie Christian. Those men were all innovators, and to this day remain impressive to listen to. Technically brilliant, and 100% feeling.

 

On that we are in complete agreement, especially Montgomery and Charlie Christian. Jimi absolutely loved Christian, btw.

 

For me, Eddie Van Halen just got to monotonous after he exploded on the scene and took playing where he did. He even got tired of his own style by the time 1984 came out, and had to start doing keyboard stuff to even keep himself interested it seemed.

 

And I also admit that my elevating Jimi to where I do has as much to do with his compositions, his lyricism, and his recording studio skills (Eddie Kramer had a lot to do with that too). That's also why I'll cut Page some slack, he was a brilliant producer, Even if everything he ever "wrote" he ripped off of old blues guys. But that's all part of what made him great. It was not just the guitar prowess (which I do think you are selling short).

 

Point me to the Eddie Van Halen composition that can make you cry like Castles Made of Sand and maybe I'll come around.

[The Critic]

if I saw Brett Favre on the streets, I would have no idea who he was.

He looks like Geoff Jenkins of the Brewers, you can't miss him....

....sorry, I just wanted to re-create the blank stare you gave me when I told you that in April at Miller Park....

[The Critic]

On that we are in complete agreement, especially Montgomery and Charlie Christian.  Jimi absolutely loved Christian, btw.

 

For me, Eddie Van Halen just got to monotonous after he exploded on the scene and took playing where he did.  He even got tired of his own style by the time 1984 came out, and had to start doing keyboard stuff to even keep himself interested it seemed.

 

And I also admit that my elevating Jimi to where I do has as much to do with his compositions, his lyricism, and his recording studio skills (Eddie Kramer had a lot to do with that too).  That's also why I'll cut Page some slack, he was a brilliant producer,  Even if everything he ever "wrote" he ripped off of old blues guys.  But that's all part of what made him great.  It was not just the guitar prowess (which I do think you are selling short).

 

Point me to the Eddie Van Halen composition that can make you cry like Castles Made of Sand and maybe I'll come around.

I don't want to cry when I'm listening to music. Musically speaking, REO Speedwagon made me want to cry....

Never got into Jimi Hendrix - the only song of his I kinda like is a Bob Dylan song.

[Kid Gleason]

On that we are in complete agreement, especially Montgomery and Charlie Christian.  Jimi absolutely loved Christian, btw.

 

For me, Eddie Van Halen just got to monotonous after he exploded on the scene and took playing where he did.  He even got tired of his own style by the time 1984 came out, and had to start doing keyboard stuff to even keep himself interested it seemed.

 

And I also admit that my elevating Jimi to where I do has as much to do with his compositions, his lyricism, and his recording studio skills (Eddie Kramer had a lot to do with that too).  That's also why I'll cut Page some slack, he was a brilliant producer,  Even if everything he ever "wrote" he ripped off of old blues guys.  But that's all part of what made him great.  It was not just the guitar prowess (which I do think you are selling short).

 

Point me to the Eddie Van Halen composition that can make you cry like Castles Made of Sand and maybe I'll come around.

 

Few songs have ever made me cry...so that is a REAL tough one. I also am NOT saying I am a fan of Van Halen's, I just find it sad that so many are forgetting what he did contribute to music. It's not just here, but everywhere. Because of what the 80's became, and he being largely responsible for it, his name has now become something to shun.

 

Jim, you claimed your love of Zappa, and you know as well as I do that Zappa would have LOVED to have had EVH in the studio with him for a little bit of time. I will agree that the spawn of EVH are all heartless, souless players, but he himself was a monster who played the stuff with heart and soul, and that is why none of the spawn were able to do what he did. It was his own style, so yes, there was a ton of passion there.

 

I also am not going to attack somebody for basing what the do on old blues guys. Hell, all of the old Blues guys ripped themselves off. Listen to Fred McDowell doing "Done Left Here" on his self-titled album, and then listen to the song that immediatley follows it up called "All The Way From East St. Louis" and tell me there was no ripping off of the stuff. Heck listen to "Kokomo Me Baby" and then listen to "Sweet Home Chicago". Heck, I could spend all day doing this one. Now I know this goes back to the BC ripping of Faces, but there is just something different about doing that. These Blues guys always said they did it, and they always were excited to hear a new spin on their stuff. It was a different menatlity. But again, I respect them.

 

I also respect Zep, Page, Hendrix, Van Halen, Dave Davies, Clapton, BB King, Albert King, Cochran, Atkins, Les Paul...etc. I may not be fans of all of their music, but what they did for the one thing I love more than anything else in this world (family aside...duh) gains them undying respect and admiration for me. They are synonymous with that thing called the guitar. Though I have a thread on beer making you believe in a God, that is sarcasm, but my belief in the guitar being the closest proof of God (aside from my kids...again...duh), that is all truth. To me, it is a major key to life.

 

But I stand by Van Halen being almost as important to this country as Led Zep was to the UK.

[Kid Gleason]

He looks like Geoff Jenkins of the Brewers, you can't miss him....

....sorry, I just wanted to re-create the blank stare you gave me when I told you that in April at Miller Park....

 

I will go along again then:

 

[The Critic]

I will go along again then:

 

That's the one!!

Thanks!!!

[FlaSoxxJim]

I don't want to cry when I'm listening to music. Musically speaking, REO Speedwagon made me want to cry....

Never got into Jimi Hendrix - the only song of his I kinda like is a Bob Dylan song.

Watchtower, Like A Rolling Stone, or Drifter's Escape?

[FlaSoxxJim]

Oh, hell yeah Zappa would have loved to have Eddie's chops to throw into the mix. He had a thing for the virtuosi guitarists – he credited them on records as playing "stunt guitar."

 

This is less for Kid (who knows his s***e) and more for the uninitiated, but the list of stunt guitarists who cut their teeth with Frank is ampressive. It included Steve Vai (immortalized in all his purple-haired glory by Frank in the song 'Stevie's Spanking), Adrian Belew (probably my favorite guitar acrobat), and Dweezil on rare occassion, and another awesome (if unknown) player named Mike Keneally. Also need to include Warren Cuccurullo, who went on to be about the only redeeming quality in Duran Duran. Not a stunt guitarist but still no slouch, Lowell George of Little Feat fame also woodshedded with Zappa early on.