T&C Posted June 12, 2020 Posted June 12, 2020 Not sure what world the guitar world pollsters live in but it must be a small, tiny one. https://www.guitarworld.com/news/brian-may-nudges-out-jimi-hendrix-to-top-total-guitar-greatest-rock-guitarist-of-all-time-poll 1
stuvian Posted June 12, 2020 Posted June 12, 2020 No one touches Jimi. Jimi is God. Not that I'm critical of Brian May. I think he's an excellent and enduring guitarist but can anyone cite anything he's done that warrants him being on the same page as Jimi?
The Dean Posted June 12, 2020 Posted June 12, 2020 22 minutes ago, stuvian said: No one touches Jimi. Jimi is God. Not that I'm critical of Brian May. I think he's an excellent and enduring guitarist but can anyone cite anything he's done that warrants him being on the same page as Jimi? There are a veritable slew of guitarists May doesn't belong on the same page with. That's not to say he isn't very good. 1 1
T&C Posted June 12, 2020 Author Posted June 12, 2020 1 hour ago, Just Joshin' said: May is good but not in top 10 IMO. Not even the top 100 imo... must have been one of those polls where the "team" gets voted on from a fan base. 1
34-78-83 Posted June 12, 2020 Posted June 12, 2020 Guitarists cannot be compared like sports teams. There is art and artistry involved. Great ones are just great. Joe Pass? Great. Jimi Herring? Great. Bruce Cockburn? Great Alex Skolnick? Great How many average random humans have even heard of them? 1
T&C Posted June 12, 2020 Author Posted June 12, 2020 2 minutes ago, 34-78-83 said: Guitarists cannot be compared like sports teams. There is art and artistry involved. Great ones are just great. Joe Pass? Great. Jimi Herring? Great. Bruce Cockburn? Great Alex Skolnick? Great How many average random humans have even heard of them? I have heard of all of them... I think, but c'mon... Robert Fripp, Frank Zappa, Steve Howe, Al Dimeola, Jimmy Page, Clapton, Duane Allman... that poll is just what I mentioned, for a laugh.
Success Posted June 12, 2020 Posted June 12, 2020 Brian May is on my Mt. Rushmore. But Hendrix does stand alone. It's interesting w/ Hendrix. I never really thought his records captured the man's greatness. When you see the live clips, it's a whole other story.
Bferra13 Posted June 12, 2020 Posted June 12, 2020 (edited) As a ham and egger guitar player for 15 years or so, May is being severely overlooked in this thread, and I dont even like Queen. Love Jimi as a guitar player and his music, he was a natural talent, but lacked technical skill and a lot of his songs just use chord exaggerations and Jimi really stayed in his comfort zone with chord progressions and soloing. I'd personally take Jimmy Page over both of them if we are simply judging guitar playing. Jimi died way too young. The sky was the limit for him had he stayed alive and especially had he learned more about understanding music theory. With that being said, what he was doing in the 60's was totally revolutionary. I think his mark on music is more that than his technical skill on the axe. He accomplished so much in such a short time. Makes ya think how much brilliance we missed out on with his early passing. Edited June 12, 2020 by Bferra13 1
Ridgewaycynic2013 Posted June 12, 2020 Posted June 12, 2020 7 hours ago, stuvian said: No one touches Jimi. Jimi is God. Not that I'm critical of Brian May. I think he's an excellent and enduring guitarist but can anyone cite anything he's done that warrants him being on the same page as Jimi? Maybe the 5 boxcars of Guitar World magazine he agreed to purchase just before the poll closed? 1
ChevyVanMiller Posted June 12, 2020 Posted June 12, 2020 9 hours ago, T&C said: Not sure what world the guitar world pollsters live in but it must be a small, tiny one. https://www.guitarworld.com/news/brian-may-nudges-out-jimi-hendrix-to-top-total-guitar-greatest-rock-guitarist-of-all-time-poll I have a feeling that the Bohemian Rhapsody movie had a lot to do with it. Probably a lot of young voters that had no reference to the ‘60s-‘70s time period other than seeing that flick a dozen times. 2
Gugny Posted June 12, 2020 Posted June 12, 2020 6 hours ago, Bferra13 said: As a ham and egger guitar player for 15 years or so, May is being severely overlooked in this thread, and I dont even like Queen. Love Jimi as a guitar player and his music, he was a natural talent, but lacked technical skill and a lot of his songs just use chord exaggerations and Jimi really stayed in his comfort zone with chord progressions and soloing. I'd personally take Jimmy Page over both of them if we are simply judging guitar playing. Jimi died way too young. The sky was the limit for him had he stayed alive and especially had he learned more about understanding music theory. With that being said, what he was doing in the 60's was totally revolutionary. I think his mark on music is more that than his technical skill on the axe. He accomplished so much in such a short time. Makes ya think how much brilliance we missed out on with his early passing. With due respect, there is a ton of Jimi Hendrix material out there and my assumption is that you haven't listened to very much of it. These lists are always silly, but they generate discussion, so I'm cool with it. Brian May knows he's not even close to Hendrix. I am a Brian May/Queen fan, too. After decades of having these discussions, I've firmly nailed down my top 2: Hendrix and SRV. It's always been difficult for me to "lock in" my choice for the GOAT ... but it's usually Jimi. I do agree that we missed out on tons of brilliance due to his early passig. During the last Experience Hendrix tour, I was able to see Joe Satriani absolutely KILL (in a good way) some of Jimi's more rocking tunes. A buddy of mine didn't like it. Wondered why someone like Satriani was even there. I loved it. I think, had Hendrix lived, he'd have been Satriani before Satriani became Satriani. 1 1
Greg S Posted June 12, 2020 Posted June 12, 2020 9 hours ago, stuvian said: No one touches Jimi. Jimi is God. Not that I'm critical of Brian May. I think he's an excellent and enduring guitarist but can anyone cite anything he's done that warrants him being on the same page as Jimi? To me it's between Hendrix and SVR as the best. Honorable mention to Clapton.
34-78-83 Posted June 12, 2020 Posted June 12, 2020 1 hour ago, Greg S said: To me it's between Hendrix and SVR as the best. Honorable mention to Clapton. All great I agree but all largely blues based. There are worlds of other great players out there every bit as good as them. I'll reiterate that lists like these are stupid. There are no standings or W-L records. Great is Great. 10 hours ago, T&C said: I have heard of all of them... I think, but c'mon... Robert Fripp, Frank Zappa, Steve Howe, Al Dimeola, Jimmy Page, Clapton, Duane Allman... that poll is just what I mentioned, for a laugh. Also all great players! Exactly why there can't be rankings once you reach great.
Troll Toll Posted June 12, 2020 Posted June 12, 2020 EVH, Mick Ronson and Frank Gambale deserve some love.
Greg S Posted June 12, 2020 Posted June 12, 2020 Another great guitarist who should be mentioned is Lindsey Buckingham. 3
Seasons1992 Posted June 12, 2020 Posted June 12, 2020 This is preposterous. If there's ANYONE that should be above Jimi, it's either the other Jimmy (Page), or SRV. 1
Gugny Posted June 12, 2020 Posted June 12, 2020 2 hours ago, Greg S said: Another great guitarist who should be mentioned is Lindsey Buckingham. Great call. I'll add Mark Knopfler. 2
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