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Jimmy Page #3 Greatest Guitarist according to Rolling Stone


ZosofanCMR

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Even though he often shows up in these polls, Jerry Garcia is a very understated guitarist. I remember a friend asking me about him a few years ago, wondering why he's always mentioned along with the greats such as Page, Clapton, Duane, Beck, Hendrix, etc. I replied by saying how Garcia wasn't flashy, didn't really jump around on stage, play with his teeth or behind his neck, etc. but he still stood toe to toe with the very best of 'em. Several years ago, I saw Kenny Wayne Shepherd backed by Stevie Ray Vaughan's rhythm section (aka Double Trouble). Kenny spent the majority of his set posturing which I thought greatly detracted from his show. Great player but the showmanship aspect was way over the top.

I've heard that Garcia gave Page some tips on pedal steel guitar back in the day.

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I've heard that Garcia gave Page some tips on pedal steel guitar back in the day.

I remember reading the same thing. Not sure where now but I've definitely read that somewhere. Thing is, Garcia was a relative novice at the time but was apparently more familiar with the instrument than Page during that era.

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I know these are all opinions and therefore subjective, but does anyone else think that Pat Metheny should have hit this list? And I mean in the top half too. They do not say rock guitarists only and Willie Nelson is on the list. I am very disappointed that Rolling Stone would overlook someone of Pat Metheny's skill and artistic expression where he excels. For any not familiar, here is a sample of his early work and he is just as good on acoustic, imo. .....missy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSnmh-Jj1fI

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For the love of god, it's sloppy, S-L-O-P-P-Y, not sloopy. We're not discussing posture here.

Although maybe we should...because most of you are forgetting one major component to Jimmy's playing in concert. Unlike Eric Clapton, Duane Allman, Mick Taylor, and many other great guitarists, Jimmy Page wasn't just standing still with his guitar at the proper height.

The fact is, considering the average rock musician of that era, Jimmy's technique was off the charts. Only a handful of players (Jimi, Eric, John McLaughlin, Duane, Jeff) were in Jimmy's class. That's why if you read any number of contemporary accounts of Led Zeppelin at that time, most made mention of Jimmy's superlative technique. Nobody complained about Jimmy being sloppy on the records, where Jimmy could concentrate on the playing alone.

On stage, Jimmy struck a balance between musicianship and showmanship. Hence, the low-slung guitar and his zig-zagging and pirouetting around the stage. Was he going to strike every note pure while swerving and lurching this way and that, arching his back to the point of being horizontal to the stage? Hell no...but he hit enough of them and he was a helluva lot more fun to watch than the others, to boot!

So when you're listening to a boot and hear a flub, keep in mind you're missing the visual component to Jimmy Page's live playing. It's likely that flub you heard was executed while doing deep knee bends and moonwalking across the stage on one foot with a heavy doubleneck strapped to his slender frame.

Excellent post, you never hear this aspect of his playing mentioned when people jump on the "sloppy" bandwagon!

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I remember reading the same thing. Not sure where now but I've definitely read that somewhere. Thing is, Garcia was a relative novice at the time but was apparently more familiar with the instrument than Page during that era.

I thought Jerry's pedal steel on "Teach Your Children" by CSNY was superlative, really excellent. And I'm not a big Deadhead or anything...

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I know these are all opinions and therefore subjective, but does anyone else think that Pat Metheny should have hit this list? And I mean in the top half too. They do not say rock guitarists only and Willie Nelson is on the list. I am very disappointed that Rolling Stone would overlook someone of Pat Metheny's skill and artistic expression where he excels. For any not familiar, here is a sample of his early work and he is just as good on acoustic, imo. .....missy

Good post Missy. I agree, Metheny should be on any best of list. The problem is RS's knowledge of jazz music is just as bad as most people.

It's a pity these lists are so narrow.

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I thought Jerry's pedal steel on "Teach Your Children" by CSNY was superlative, really excellent. And I'm not a big Deadhead or anything...

I agreed. I also love his pedal steel work on the first New Riders of the Purple Sage record. I've posted this clip before but this one doesn't seem to be of the same quality. At any rate, it's still worth a looksee. It's a clip of Garcia on pedal steel with the New Riders from the movie Last Days of the Fillmore.

Good post Missy. I agree, Metheny should be on any best of list. The problem is RS's knowledge of jazz music is just as bad as most people.

It's a pity these lists are so narrow.

Considering the list of musicians that contributed to this list I wouldn't say their knowledge of jazz is bad at all. That said, I'm not sure why it wasn't more representative of jazz.

In regards to Metheny, he came on my radar thanks to album rock radio back in the 70s. In those days, our local AOR station featured jazz fairly frequently, especially on a program called Triple Z Jazz which I guess was another word for Jazz Fusion.

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For a list that so many supposedly hate so much it's more than a bit telling that it's generated 11 pages of responses and that's just at this board. Do an internet search for Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitarists and see just how many results you get. I think the main purpose of these lists (whether they're done by Rolling Stone or not) is to create discussion and debate. If so, they've certainly succeeded in that.

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^ Nowhere.

But on that basis, Keef has no more claim to being in the top 10 than Steve Jones or Johnny Thunders, IMO.

Steve Jones or Johnny Thunders would have a hard time trying to play with Mick Taylor like this

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This topic generated some interest, so I saw Time Magazine had a list of the ten best guitarists....let's see what they came up with:

1. Hendrix

2. Slash from GNR

3. B.B. King

4. Keith Richards

5. Clapton

6. Pagey

7. Chuck Berry

8. Les Paul

9. Malmsteen

10. Prince

I have to say having Slash at 2 is interesting. His style was amazing when GNR first broke out. I like the inclusion of Les Paul and even Malmsteen.

It's all relative i guess!

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