| 3rd December 2006 06:47 PM |
|
|
| Ten Thousand Motels |
Posted on Sun, Dec. 03, 2006
GUITAR GODS
The top 25 players in Bay Area history
By JIM HARRINGTON and TONY HICKS
Media News-Monterey County Herald
What is it about the guitar that holds the public's fascination above all other instruments?
More than anything, we like to think it has something to do with the sheer power and expressiveness of the instrument.
Whatever the reason, the guitar hasn't lost one iota of its appeal in the decades since Robert Johnson allegedly made a deal with the devil down at the "Crossroads." Correspondingly, there definitely hasn't been a shortage of lists ranking the best guitarists of all time. Some have been scribbled on napkins by fans and others have been published in magazines.
In a likable twist, Guitar One magazine recently rated the "101 Greatest Guitar Solos." It's a great list, and we couldn't agree more with the high ranking of David Gilmour's string-bender in Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb" (No. 2, behind Jimi Hendrix's "Machine Gun"). But we take issue with the Top 10 selections of the Eagles' "Hotel California" and Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" because they are both actually duets, not true solos.
Now, we provide our own twist on the topic and take a gander at the top 25 guitarists in San Francisco Bay Area history.
We judged our fret men based on four basic criteria. The first was sheer virtuosity. The second was the quality (and, to some degree, quantity) of their overall bodies of work. Third, we looked at whether a person was a stylistic pioneer who influenced other guitarists. Lastly, and most importantly, we made some tough judgment calls based on our own likes and dislikes.
To be eligible for consideration, rock musicians had to record a significant part of their best-known works while they were Bay Area residents.
We also stuck with major artists, with due respect to the killer guitarist who plays on Tuesday nights at the pub down the street.
1. Carlos Santana
Santana possesses the most instantly recognizable sound and style of any rock guitarist in the Bay Area -- if not the entire globe. He's also proven to be as relevant in the 21st century as he was in the '60s. His fingers haven't lost an ounce of their potency.
2. Lowell Fulsom
During his time in Oakland starting in the late 1940s, Fulsom pioneered what would become known as the West Coast Blues sound. He was also a versatile player, comfortable with R&B, funk and pop. He had an eye for young talent, stocking his bands with such promising rookies as Ray Charles.
3. Kirk Hammett
His guitar playing in Metallica anchored a rock revolution. His tone and ability make him the template for thrash lead guitar players, whether he's showcasing his dramatic neo-classical finger-picking or making like an overheating power tool in what was once one of the fastest bands in the land.
4. Jerry Garcia
One doesn't have to be a Deadhead to appreciate Garcia. Captain Trips boasted one of the truly signature sounds in all of rock, often recognizable with a single note, and was capable of producing utterly mesmerizing leads.
5. Dave Meniketti
Meniketti is an oft-overlooked master of blues-rock who seems always to play exactly what a song needs. He's almost out of place working in hard rock. He's more of a throwback to the old blues players who used both voice and guitar to convey an array of feelings.
6. Jorma Kaukonen
As a member of Jefferson Airplane, Kaukonen defined psychedelic rock for an entire generation with his electric work on "White Rabbit" and "Somebody to Love." He's also a sensational acoustic guitarist, comfortable with folk, country and blues.
7. Neal Schon
Who suffered the most when Journey went from guitar rock to syrupy ballad band? Probably Schon, who came up as a teenager trading progressive, Latin-fused riffs with Carlos Santana. He simply adjusted and became the master of the weepy solos that made girls cry at the junior prom.
8. Joe Satriani
An incredibly influential guitarist, Satriani helped usher in a new era of instrumental prog-rock and opened the door for other greats such as Eric Johnson and Steve Vai. He also taught guitar to three other guys on this list (Hammett, Charlie Hunter and Alex Skolnick).
9. Charlie Hunter
Hunter's work on his custom-built eight-string guitar, which allows him to pick both bass notes and guitar chords, truly has to be seen to be believed. Listening to the Berkeley High grad on record just isn't the same.
10. Brad Gillis/Jeff Watson
If Night Ranger had not focused on mass market material, these guys could've been America's answer to English metal. But like NFL All-Pros who happen to be teammates, Gillis and Watson could play with anyone in the game -- because they first had to deal with each other.
11. Bonnie Raitt
While splitting her time between Southern California and Mill Valley during the last 16 years, this stellar slide player released some of the best works of her career, including 1994's "Longing in their Hearts" and 2005's "Souls Alike."
12. Freddie Stone
Stone may seem a bit high on the list, just because of the shadow cast by big brother and musical genius Sly. Freddie Stone nonetheless helped develop the chunky-funk that fueled bands such as the Commodores and P-Funk in the '70s.
13. Neil Young
The Woodside rocker's style, especially as witnessed on electric, is hardly textbook. Yet, he puts more soul into his playing than basically anyone in the business.
14. Ronnie Montrose
Montrose was a giant in both sound and influence on subsequent hard rock players. If not for band turbulence, he could've been one of the greats of American rock. There's no greater air-jamming guilty pleasure than "Bad Motor Scooter."
15. John Lee Hooker
Although he recorded his signature work while living in the Midwest, "The Hook" had a renaissance period during his later years living in the Bay Area and released such fine efforts as "The Healer" and "Mr. Lucky."
16. Alex Skolnick
While in Dublin's Testament, he was possibly the greatest thrash player in terms of pure ability and technical mastery. He has since gone on to make a name in jazz-fusion and has played with Les Claypool, New Age pianist Dave Eggar and progressive holiday outfit Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
17. John Cipollina
The Berkeley native, who died at 45 from emphysema, was as important as either Garcia or Kaukonen in defining the San Francisco Sound in the '60s. Cipollina's guitar work, more than anything else, was what made Quicksilver Messenger Service's first two albums so great.
18. John Fogerty
One of those guitarists who uniquely carved a niche with his own sound: bluesy, chunky Southern swamp rock that stood out like a midnight spotlight in the psychedelic '60s. Rolling Stone named Fogerty the 40th greatest guitarist of all-time; no arguments here.
19. East Bay Ray
Jello Biafra got all the press. But it was the guy beside him in the Dead Kennedys -- East Bay Ray -- who had the bigger hand in drawing up the blueprint for the second wave of American punk.
20. Larry LaLonde
It can't be easy being second fiddle to Les Claypool, a man who certainly ranks as one of the top five bassists in Bay Area history. LaLonde, however, was a prime contributor in Primus' demanding prog-funk music.
21. Elvin Bishop
Bishop is a sneaky-great blues and slide player who lives the genre and understands the emotions that prompt the playing. He received his early education in the Chicago blues scene, moved on to the Bay Area after a stint in the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and played with everyone from B.B. King to Clapton to Hendrix.
22. Mimi Fox
In a four-star review of Fox's "She's the Woman," Down Beat magazine exclaimed that the CD is "everything jazz guitar is supposed to be." To that we'd like to add that Fox is everything a jazz guitarist should be.
23. Billie Joe Armstrong
The aggressively catchy riffs of Billie Joe Armstrong were the most important thing to happen to '90s rock next to Kurt Cobain. A thousand pop-punk bands owe him their chops. Though not the most technically gifted player, Armstrong is still pretty darned good. And it's what he chose to do with his playing that made such a difference.
24. Steve Miller
By the time Miller was 12, he was getting pointers from family friend Les Paul. Though his success in the '70s was of the radio rock variety, Miller started as a blues player in the '60s and knows his way up, down and around a guitar. He's responsible for some of the most famous riffs of the time.
25. Bob Weir
One astute critic (probably Bill Walton) once referred to Weir as the Scottie Pippen to Garcia's Michael Jordan. And the Dead have the championship rings to prove it.
|
| 3rd December 2006 06:52 PM |
|
|
| sirmoonie |
Interesting. The guys in Night Ranger and Neal Schon are better Bay Area guitarists than Neil Young. That is almost an impossible fact to even invent. |
| 3rd December 2006 07:11 PM |
|
|
| Joey |
quote:
sirmoonie wrote:
Interesting. The guys in Night Ranger and Neal Schon are better Bay Area guitarists than Neil Young. That is almost an impossible fact to even invent.
Xcel Baby !!!!!!!!
Friday Night --- The " Post Show Bar " is already Pre - Owned.
Kins ! |
| 3rd December 2006 07:20 PM |
|
|
| mojoman |
honorable mentions should include
gary duncan
greg chaquico
peter lewis
jerry miller |
| 3rd December 2006 08:17 PM |
|
|
| VoodooChileInWOnderl |
Love your avatar Mr. Motels LOL Are you going up to Frisco to join a sike-ay-delic band? |
| 3rd December 2006 08:24 PM |
|
|
| VoodooChileInWOnderl |
Before going to San Francisco Santana used to play in Tijuana, BC in Mexico, his teacher and leader was Javier Bαtiz, his drummer back then was Fito de la Parra who also moved to the USA as there was no future for a rock musician here other than playing small bars and "funky holes"
I have plans to upload an improv jam of Bαtiz and Santana in Mexico when Santana played and recorded here in 1993. |
| 3rd December 2006 08:26 PM |
|
|
| sirmoonie |
quote:
Joey wrote:
Xcel Baby !!!!!!!!
Friday Night --- The " Post Show Bar " is already Pre - Owned.
Kins !
This goes down.
Hey Joe Loe, I'm bringing the little lady and two of her friends - I got the female dealie going too, promises to be a spectacular night. |
| 3rd December 2006 08:26 PM |
|
|
| Ten Thousand Motels |
quote:
VoodooChileInWOnderl wrote:
Are you going up to Frisco to join a sike-ay-delic band?
Only if they're looking for a kazoo player.
[Edited by Ten Thousand Motels] |
| 4th December 2006 08:04 PM |
|
|
| sweetcharmedlife |
Ronnie Montrose should easily be higher on that list. As far neil schon, not only was an outstanding player as a teenager with Santana,listen to the early Journey stuff before Steve (puke) Perry. Outstanding work. |
| 4th December 2006 08:17 PM |
|
|
| mojoman |
quote:
sweetcharmedlife wrote:
Ronnie Montrose should easily be higher on that list. As far neil schon, not only was an outstanding player as a teenager with Santana,listen to the early Journey stuff before Steve (puke) Perry. Outstanding work.
first three lps with gregg rolie lead vocal before the chicken man.
|
| 4th December 2006 08:18 PM |
|
|
| mojoman |
tom johnston didn't make the list |
| 4th December 2006 09:07 PM |
|
|
| nappyrags |
what???? no wayne the harp???? |
| 4th December 2006 09:30 PM |
|
|
| sweetcharmedlife |
quote:
mojoman wrote:
first three lps with gregg rolie lead vocal before the chicken man.
hat
Chicken man, that's funny! Forgot about the Doobies. Does Jeff "skunk" Baxter, count as bay area? |
|
