Since my primary instrument is guitar, I tend to gravitate towards guitar oriented music. This typically includes music that I have the ability to play. I've always liked playing guitar more than singing because I've never been a huge fan of my voice. No matter how hard I work to get it to sound proficient, it always sounds disappointing. It's kind of like entering Michael Phelps in a home run derby, only to realize that Michael Phelps is a swimmer and this was an awful idea to begin with. I haven't felt this way about playing guitar because it feels so natural to me. I feel I can get significant emotion out of it, which is an acquired skill. This is something I had to learn to do by other guitarists and so for this list, I have decided to share guitarists that have inspired me. This isn't going to be one of those top ten guitarist lists that always include Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, and Eric Clapton in the top five spots. Yes, those are all amazingly talented musicians that can shred on the guitar like Hulk Hogan using a cheese grater. This list isn't so much about technical skill as it is guitarists getting a tone or sound that can convey emotion and create an atmosphere. These are, in no particular order really, my top ten guitarists.
1. Johnny Marr
Words cannot express the musical man crush I have on Johnny Marr of The Smiths. He is the main composer of all of their songs and is the sole guitarist. His playing is where I started to realize that rhythm guitar could also double as lead guitar. "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now", a joyously happy song, is the first song where I sat down and studied how to play by ear. All the tricky suspended chords, major sevens, and chord licks were confusing to learn, but once I did, it changed my understanding of the instrument. Chords were no longer strums to back up a singer, but a chorus in themselves. He possesses an almost scientific knowledge of the guitar, shaping his very own Fender Jaguar to have his own customizations. He treats his guitar and guitar pedals, while playing live on stage mind you, like a miniature recording studio where he can tweak the sounds and perfectly make the noise he needs to fill in any given space. There's few people I can compare him to that aren't an insult to him, so I'll just say that he sounds like himself. It's very unique is what I'm trying to say.
2. John Frusciante
The Red Hot Chili Peppers have had a few guitarists throughout their career, but I think the most prominent is John Frusciante. On average they had their best work with him and his guitar is part of the greatness. Songs like "Under the Bridge", "Can't Stop", "Snow" and "Californication" stand out to me as the best. In a lot of RHCP songs, the guitar has a gentler sound over Flea's emphatic bass playing and Chad Smith's energetic drumming. The guitar has power, but also brings the song musical relevance and breathes the song to life while holding the band together. The only thing I can't get out of my mind about them is a Youtube comment of one of their concerts I was watching that said the band looked like it had Draco Malfoy on vocals, Will Ferrel on drums, Jesus on guitar, and a naked guy on bass. I don't know about you, but I think that sounds like the greatest band of all time.
3. Scotty Moore
Perhaps the most important guitarist to modern music is Scotty Moore. He played guitar on all of Elvis Presley's songs until the late sixties. His guitar playing on Elvis' old records is accurately called "the guitar heard 'round the world" and with good reason. It was the first example of a lead guitarist playing separate from what the lead singer was doing. Moore's licks aren't terribly difficult for the most part, but are still very imaginative for the few notes he decided to use. The solo for "Mystery Train" is about four notes total but that total is totally awesome. He relied on a mixture of rhythm and lead for his work on these songs. "That's Alright Mama", arguably the most important song in the history of popular music, has my favorite guitar playing from Moore. Elvis later replaced him with James Burton (he wrote the riff to Susie Q), who was great in his own right, but he really didn't hold a candle to Scotty Moore. Sadly, Moore passed away not too long ago this year. Hopefully he and Elvis are enjoying peanut butter banana sandwiches and scrapple up in Heaven.
4. Mick Ronson
David Bowie's best guitarist is one of the most criminally underrated ones. Yes, he does get his spot on many lists, but he's always lower than he deserves to be. He played with Bowie on his 1969 Space Oddity album all the way until his 1973 Pinups album. Bowie then kicked him off because of wanting to escape the Ziggy Stardust thing, but I feel like he should have kept him for the Diamond Dogsalbum as it would have been even better with him. Ronson had an imaginative solo style. He was a composer on top of just a songwriter. He was responsible for helping Bowie write the string arrangements on the albums. Ronson had an effects pedal, but really didn't care much for learning how to use it as he'd just step on a random pedal, flick whatever switch he felt like, and just see what sound came out of it. He'd do this while performing in front of thousands of people. This would be dangerous for normal humans, but not Ronson. "Moonage Daydream" is probably Ronson's best solo, though he does a great job on live versions of "Width of a Circle" as well as all versions of "She Shook Me Cold". What I love the most is that Ronson actually hated wearing the makeup Bowie was famous for wearing and had to be heavily talked into wearing it on stage. He wanted "some respeck on his name".
5. Peter Buck
This REM guitarist has a very simple style that influences me a lot. It's very jangle pop rock inspired, drawing obvious influences from The Byrds and Big Star. His skill isn't in soloing. I watched REM do a live duet with Bruce Springsteen and Bruce tore Buck up on the solo of "Man on the Moon". His skill is using arpeggios to create almost an illusion of lead guitar. While he does have his share of licks, such as on "Begin the Begin" and "The One I Love" he mostly relies on arpeggiating open chords in different rhythms to create a full and satisfying guitar sound. Still the coolest thing is when he got drunk on a plane and started brashly shouting "I am REM!". You're not a rockstar until you can do things that make no sense whatsoever and get away with it.
6. Bradley Nowell
Okay, so the guitarist from Sublime isn't a glorious and shining guitar talent. I know. He has a tendency to play bum notes on stage and doesn't care about it, but that's what makes him so great. He obviously has the ability to play even better. He just doesn't care. Nowell was a normal guy having fun. Adding to this, Nowell was the sole guitarist and lead vocalist, so he had double the challenging duties to play live. The solo on "Santeria," one of my favorite songs ever, has to be one of the greatest solos ever molded into a song. It's just so effortless. The one on "What I Got" also is very smooth and relaxed. Sublime are one of the bands I listen to to practice rhythm. Nowell's reggae strumming on top of unique chord styles make them opportune for practice. Sadly, he died of a heroin overdose shortly after the big Sublime breakthrough album was released, so he never really became as famous as he should have been. Despite this, he and his dalmatian Lou Dog live on in the music.
7. Marc Bolan
Another guitarist who doesn't get enough "respeck on his name". The only guitarist and vocalist for the band T-Rex is kind of a controversial pick for a list. Some argue that he is one of the greatest guitarists ever while some argue that the guitar is just some poorly chosen prop for him. Regardless, his guitar method has always been important to me. He made heavy use of riffs in the E position, such as "Bang a Gong (Get it On)", "20th Century Boy", "Hang Ups", "Shock Rock" and "Midnight". These were the first licks that I really learned how to play and they aided me on my mastery of the instrument. His guitar soloing was quite limited at it's basis, in that he really only knew parts of certain scales. When he plays live, he'll run out of notes he knows in one scale and jump to a whole different scale in the middle of that scale. It sure made life confusing for his bassist. Bolan was on an astronomical amount of drugs; however, as he was certain that his drug dealer was an actual wizard and that he would change his name to Zinc Alloy at the highest point in his career. Also, he was certain that he would die in a car crash when someone named Gloria was around, which totally didn't happen. Okay, that did happen and it was sad and unfortunate, but interesting none the less.
8. Don Rich
Probably my favorite country guitarist, Don Rich was the guitarist for the country singer Buck Owens. Don Rich had a distinctive guitar style synonymous with what was called "The Bakersfield Sound", named for Bakersfield, California. It's a very upbeat and jumpy sound. The guitar on it is no different. Rich utilizes a large range of country as well as blues tricks to create his own unique playing style. The song "Who's Gonna Mow Your Grass" was the first use of fuzz tone in country music, which gave the song an ominous almost hard rock feel, and was very ahead of its time for country in the mid sixties. Also, Rich was always in a state of perpetual smiling while on stage, so I find joy in picturing him playing for bands like AC/DC, Rage Against the Machine, and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. It's just kind of humorous. Only for his appearance, because his guitar playing could probably outmatch Angus Young, Tom Morello, and John Frusciante respectively if he tried.
9. Steve Jones
No band is known for their concise and subtle musical talent and nuances like.... The Sex Pistols.... wait what? Okay, so the Pistols really didn't have an immense arsenal of precision musicianship, but they really are underrated as a band. Namely the guitarist Steve Jones. Jones actually has his share of good riffs, like the intro to "Bodies" and the entirety of "God Save the Queen" and "Anarchy in the UK". Steve Jones taught me how to play with power and confidence. Some of my favorite guitar licks I have learned from their one album. So what if Jones stole the guitar that would make him famous, he still used it better than whoever had it originally. That's how morals work, right?
10. Matt Slocum
This guitarist for Sixpence None the Richer is an under appreciated genius. His guitar work is imaginative and stylistic and aims for album quality over album sales whenever he can. "Kiss Me" is beautifully composed and the intricacies of the guitar pile on nicely in layers. "Breathe Your Name" is a fine example of a unique chord progression over a complex rhythm. Much of Slocum's skill lies in his strumming hand. His style is attainable yet wondrous at the same time. He's also true to his faith, as he takes his faith more seriously than some people take their egos.
