K.K. Slider is the biggest sell out ever. Goes from a lone drifter with no intention of selling his music to some hot shit who can’t so much as take one step on my island if it isn’t up to his specific standards
5:39 I'm not a big Van Halen fan but I find people who call musicians bad/overrated because it's easy to learn their songs very stupid. There is Nirvana for example. If you're an experienced guitar player, you can learn their whole discography in a 24 hour period. And there is nothing wrong with that, because it sounds awesome. It doesn't need to be complicated to sound awesome.
They're dumb for even saying Van Halen is easy, I want them to listen to Spanish Fly right now and tell me he's overrated. One of the stupidest takes I've ever heard.
Yep. And on top of that, Eruption is NOT easy. Sure, everyone can do the tapping part, but there's 50 seconds of face melting shred that conveniently get ignored by most covers because they don't want to embarrass themselves. I would bet my savings that the guy who wrote that couldn't play it himself.
Fun fact, Vai does a guitar camp every ~18 months or so with a couple hundred "campers", and the dude makes it a point to invite every single person to get up on stage to play with him for a few minutes. He & the band sit up there for 3+ hours every night so that everyone gets their chance to play. He's a cool dude.
Steve vai is a genius and a wonder if you enjoy guitar centered music. I get people not connecting with him, but that just exposes their lack guitar knowledge, which is fine, I don't care either about violinists. Not a single soul taking guitar somewhat seriously will ever tell you he is not a beast
@Bozz Dog tf you talking about, guthrie is one the most musically rich an interesting guitarists to ever live, man has toured even with hans zimmer. This is some of the dumbest bullshit I've heard in a while, I can understand the yngwie, vai or satriani argument, but this just shows you should take your ears out and put them in a drawer
Ed could swing and so could Alex. "Hot for Teacher" could have easily been a a big band song. They grew up in a big band home with clarinetist dad, Jan, as bandleader.
Hate when people discard talent because you can play what is considered a legendary solo like 'Eruption' when it's way easier to learn that instead of creating a solo like that yourself, especially in that era.
I think most people don't understand how much he changed the approach to guitar. When that first album dropped it was like an alien landed on the planet. Everyone was watching leave it to beaver , happy days and listening to folk music on the radio. Along comes the vastly different sounds that changed guitar forever. It's a shame young people will never experience this world changing sound again. Sure we had Led Zeppelin , Sabbath and even RUSH then but nothing sounded like VH , nothing , not one album , not one other guitarist did.
Blues is literally free stylin' it. Every now and then theres bound to be two solos that have bits that sound very similar or the ssme with how old the art is and how many guitarists there have been in the last sixty years.
I guess it becomes stealing when you act like you came up with it by your genius and basically just take black musician's innovations and reframe them for a white British audience.
@@alexanderkorte-stapff6824 First off, black people invented what's known as "proto-blues" in the 1860's, which was accapella working man's music. Blues as the genre we know today didn't appear until around 1902-03. W.C. Handy is credited as "the father of Blues", when, in actuality, Hart Wand notated and published Blues sheet music before Handy did. Thirdly, there are WAY more black people credited as the greats of Blues than white people. Regardless of who actually invented what genre, fact is that anyone can play it no matter their skin color an anyone can adapt said genre to fit whatever audience they want. If you truly believe in the concept of "stealing" inventions based on nothing but culture and skin color, I'd like to see you try to ban black people from using and/or manufacturing white inventions and see how well that turns out.
He was a wonderful musician. I love Jimi's work. But as a guitarist I find it hard to say his talent exceeds his art and influence. He wrote many beautiful pieces of guitar music. That is worth a lot. However on a level of guitar playing skill he's been long since passed by many a musician and that's where he is overrated to some degree. Obviously that doesn't matter much, who wouldn't cite Jimi as an influence? But it is what it is. He helped make guitar what it is today. Legends can have flaws
@@aesop2733 I wouldn't say that Jimi Hendrix was technically a very good player like Yngwie Malmsteen, Paul Gilbert, or Tim Henson. He could execute very well what he wanted to communicate and perform, and that's more important than the playing superclean. To me a good guitarist knows very well how to write a good riffs, write and perform a good solo and play with soul and communicate emotions quite well. Mark Speer (Khruangbin), Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jimi Hendrix, Tom Morello (RATM, Audioslave), Frederick Thordendal (Meshuggah) are definetly some of my most favourite guitarists because then can do that incredibly well.
@@aesop2733 Hendrix died at 27. I think his technical ability was almost exclusively limited by his lifespan and the fact that he taught himself and was more focused on composing music and writing songs. Definitely top 1 for me imo
@@aesop2733 One thing; Hendrix’s playing skill being surpassed is a inevitable, he’s been dead since 1970 and everyone has had his work to study. We can only imagine how else he would’ve continued to impact/evolve guitar playing had he lived longer.
Saying Thurston Moore (or Kevin Shields say) are overrated guitarists is a bit like saying Brian Eno is an overrated keyboard player. It misses the point. I'm not sure they'd even mind; since they probably rightly see themselves as artist musicians more than guitarists. And their influence was huge. Another list could be overrated musician artists. Steve Vai and Joe Satriani (amazing guitarists) could be on that list, but Jimi Hendrix could never be.
The Van Halen tweet was hilariously off. He's one of the most innovative and game changing guitarists of all time, shred didn't exist like that before and all the zoomer guitarists who love Polyphia type riffs wouldn't have that without him. I don't care about the band Van Halen much out of the bigger hits but to say overrated just comes off as a high school take.
I have a friend who's a big classic rock guy and listens to very little modern stuff, I'm the opposite. I love Polyphia's style so whenever he showed me a video of Van Halen shredding it was incredible to see the pioneer. Vice versa with him, I remember showing him Nasty and he was thoroughly entertained.
Yeah this video isn’t it bro, literally hating on EVH, and many others eddies rhythm and lead was top notch god level don’t think he understand guitarists at all, although I love melon
Hearing people discuss why various professional and talented guitarists are actually shit has taken me right back to my days in metal forums around age 14. It's crazy how much I don't miss it.
I have the same problem, from a different perspective. As somebody who always stood outside watching these arguments, I never found the words until I realized it wasn't just guitarists, it was most of western music and it's bullshit sense of supremacy. It actually hurts the art imo.
@@johncaccioppo1142 Yup. I’m always kinda astounded by the rude awakening people get when they realize that this is a problem when discussing music in general, not just metal.
I'm not the biggest EVH fan. But honestly, the guy not only was a great player- he really influenced the tone of guitar for decades. That brown sound was mind boggling great and it changed everything when everyone started hearing it. And I don't think you can really appreciate it if you weren't around at it's inception. He really got guitarists thinking outside the box as to what they could do with the instrument.
I’m not really a fan either but ignoring his creativity and skill is idiotic, the person in the video said “anyone can learn eruption in a few days of practice,” but not everyone could write eruption, especially back then. That style and sound with the use of tapping was very small before Eddie did it
He was a virtuoso. Everyone always talks about Eruption, but go ahead and try and learn the solo from Ice cream man or learn Top Jimmy. I'd be truly impressed if you could play it convincingly. Not just the notes, but the tone and rhythmic precision. By tone I don't just mean the "brown sound" he uses his picking technique to vary the tone of notes within phrases.
@III not sure what your problem with the term is, but hey- everyone's got an opinion, right? It's just too bad yours smacks of elitism. In other words- get bent.
FYI, The Edge didn't name himself "The Edge." It was a nickname given to him by the street gang/social circle he and Bono were involved with (they also gave Bono his nickname), and it stuck.
but people don't care, they go off with the shit they heard or read somewhere and continue to misinform people, knowingly or inadvertently. I like The Edge, that's enough,
"stealing blues licks" isn't a problem, blues soloing is totally based around "stealing" licks from other players, literally everybody did it, it's one of the core aspects of blues guitar lol.
Yeah, if you’ve ever been to a jazz clinic, the old jazz guys, especially the black players, will grill you for NOT stealing blues lick. A lot of those guys see the lack of blues in white jazz artists playing as a form of disrespect for the genre. That’s at least what I’ve noticed personally.
Thinking Eddie Van Halen's guitar playing can be reduced to Eruption just kinda shows an unfamiliarity with his playing. Dude was not just a beast on lead (and basically was the mold for hard rock guitar from the 80s onward hence all the tapping that came in his wake) but his rhythm playing was equally if not more ridiculous
Yeah that oversimplification is really fascinating, I think Rick beatto made whole video about how that band wasn’t just crazy soloing like they’re remembered, they made crazy good pop music
Eddie was both great as a shredder and as a riff guitarist that could drive the pace of the song perfectly. Ain’t Talkin Bout Love and Unchained are probably the two best examples of him doing both.
I personally cant stand Eddie Van Halens playing. Or any late 70s or 80s hard Rock for that matter. But i wouldnt question his ability. What he does with it is a matter of taste in the end.
@ghost mall Also where am i generalizing anything? I only said that i dont like it. Any categorical statement about quality of music is retarded in its nature.
No, but if a lot of people automatically view that as inherently better than other forms of guitar playing, which they often do, then that makes it overrated.
Agreed, but those things also don't make someone a god, and it's so common to see every fast flashy guitarist get praised just because of that it kinda gives a reason for people to consider them overrated. But of course, this is extremely subjective. I personally feel like many shredders just don't serve the music very well, but this isn't a rule at all. I think EVH, Vai and Satriani are great examples of technical, fast and flashy guitarists who are truly amazing at what they do and guys like Malmsteen and Michael Angelo Batio are just terrible artists who just want to show off like it's a competition
@JAY CHROM3 compare Tosin Abasi (Animals as Leaders) Yngwie Malmsteen. You can clearly hear there’s more fleshed out ideas, variety in techniques and sound profile. Care for structure. And you can differentiate the song way easier from another. If you’ve heard one Yngwie song you’ve heard them all.
I find a lot of younger guitar players call older players "overrated" because even though back then, their playing was an advancement, it is now common place by modern standards. Doesn't mean they weren't innovative or influential.
This ^ … people can easily forget to consider the context of when someone released art and pushed into a new boundary. If what they came up with is now commonplace it means they INFLUENCED the genre/style completely and that deserves major respect!
@@pahwraith youd be right but guitar is still very much used in modern songs. popular modern songs too. they dont use virtuosic qualities like metal or rock might at times but that doesnt mean its as niche as a fucking saxophone lol
I love Kurt Cobain. he's the reason I picked up a guitar back in 93. but man is he overrated by Nirvana fans who don't play guitar. the funny thing is Kurt himself would be the first person to tell you he wasn't really all that great at playing guitar. he just wrote good songs.
@Jacque he is though. Granted it's usually Nirvana fans that don't play guitar, but still. Sh*t, Kurt is the reason I started playing guitar. Nevermind came out when I was in 8th grade, and I wanted to "be as good as Kurt Cobain" one day lol.
@@hidden7249 I don't doubt he said something like that, but I'm sure he knew that much about guitar lol. Kurt clearly had a basic understanding of music theory, but he was no Steve Vai. Kurt could write good music though, and it doesn't have to be hard to play to be good.
@Jacque yeah, Kurt used mainly basic major and minor chords as well as a lot of power chords. He obviously had a working knowledge of music theory, stuff like 1-4-5 and 1-5-6-4 chord progressions (the most common progressions in rock/pop music). The cool thing about Kurt is he didn't really play common chord progressions. He used unique progressions you don't really hear a lot of, even though most of his songs were basically 4 or 5 chords. I also like the way he would use regular chords and power chords mixed together in the same song. Like Polly for instance. It's the regular E chord, then the G power chord, then the regular D, then finally the C power chord. Usually on acoustic most players would have used regular chords throughout, and use power (or barre) chords on electric. But Kurt always mixed them up. That's just one little part of his style.
@@cornpop1363 That means that hes an incredibly influential guitarist, but lets be honest, he wasnt great. His playing was very sloppy, but thats what also made it great cause of how intensely raw it sounded. I love Nirvana btw.
Zappa if anything was a very underrated guitarist. The majority of guitarists regurgitate the exact same solo for a song on stage night after night whereas Zappa would literally incorporate a completely improvised solo so as the crowd would hear something different every time he performed
Agree with everything you said, but beyond that I feel like he’d be the first to agree that he was an arranger and composer first and a guitarist second. But that only goes to show how great he was as a bandleader, because like the other person said, BLACK NAPKINS
Clapton discog isn't necessarily what makes him so great imo, like the influence of clapton upon artists of his time, his work on songs like "while my guitar gently weeps", the Yardbirs and the Bluesbreakers stuff is just so hughly important for the context that it's hard to disregard him as on of the greatest players of the 60s
I think Alex Lifeson from Rush is Criminally underrated. Dude's played so many great riffs, and added so much to arguably the most iconic prog rock bands of all time. Yet you never see people really talk about him that much on the same level as Neil Peart or Geddy Lee.
He’s a fantastic guitarist, and Rush fans know he’s great. But relative to other players on their respective instruments, Peart and Lee both stand out more than Lifeson. Maybe it’s partially a function of there being just so many guitar players out there. Lifeson is a big fish in a big pond. Peart and Lee and are big fish in slightly smaller ponds.
The Edge’s nickname was given to him before his music career began based on his pointy chin. By making it his stage name he poked fun at himself, it was far from cocky.
Mayer really let’s himself loose when he’s touring with Dead & Company. I’ve seen them six times and I’m always blown away by just how good he really is. I think if you just listen to his albums you’d never really get the impression that he’s an incredible player. It’s when he shares the stage with other artists and does his own live performances, that’s where I think he really allows himself to cut loose.
maybe Mayer also just likes to make pop music in the studio. partially to support himself monetarily so he can go tour with dead & co. whenever they come a-knockin', but maybe also because he just likes to make music like that in the studio. he said before sob rock, his most unabashedly pop rock output, that it was the only record he's actually listened to recreationally out of his ol' discog. perhaps that means he enjoys pop rock in the studio, but loves the stage chemistry with other awesome musicians when on tour/live. the whole live in l.a. record, dead & co., anything he does in support with other artists is always great because I think the guy just likes to have fun on stage. but can't translate that to a studio, which might be for the best.
I think he figured that out years ago. Playing less, gets more run than playing more. It's probably harder to play less, because you have to pick your spots, and have your best licks and riffs on the table at all times, as opposed to throwing all your notes and techniques into every song you do and exhausting the listener.
Mayer is absolutely a total master of the instrument, there really are no two ways about it. I'm not the biggest fan of his music at all really, but I absolutely love his improvisation in a jam situation. We all know he can write pop stuff good enough, and then whenever you see him with Dead & Co, he demonstrates that he is also an incredibly adept guitarist who knows every single inch of that fretboard and can conjure up any sound he wants at any time. As you said, when he lets loose like that, it is clear just how good he is at guitar. Not only is he an incredibly soulful and tasty blues player, he also tackles that jazzy jam band approach incredibly well. That man knows his way around a guitar for sure, no matter what you think of him.
As a guitar player I must say John Mayer is definitely one of the best guitar players from the last couple decades. And yes, his music doesn't necessarily truly represent his chops on the guitar. But one example of a song of his that is extremely difficult to play is "Neon". That song is not only extremely difficult to play, but also a great song that's stood the test of time. It is also one of the first few songs he wrote before he got major recognition which just shows how brilliant he actually can be at playing and writing songs on guitar.
That song is not difficult, there has just been a million different ways people have played it because he never officially said how he played it, but it’s pretty easy if you’re just average
I've seen and heard thousands of guitar players, whether it was live, live videos on TH-cam, or recorded studio music, and I still have yet to find someone that has brought me to an existential zone quite like gilmour has. His tonality, and tastefulness is unmatched, and I don't think it can ever be truly replicated. I have heard hundreds of live bootlegs from floyd, and I can honestly say I have never heard him make a sloppy mistake, or miss a note. Most of that is probably attributed to his bending skills.
K.K. slider is the most versatile musician of his generation, weaving through genres effortlessly. You dont hate him you're afraid melon of him. You're afraid.
I would have Buckethead more in the underrated column. He does have over 300 albums out. He's created different forms of tapping that are now used worldwide. And he is fast.
Yes I think that too.. What he did during Cream, John Mayall, Blind Faith, Derek is enough.. Yes there were other greats too but he was like the face of the guitar players.. and sure his stuff in the 70s & 80s are kinda lame but once in a while we do see his brilliance shine through in a song or two, or maybe in just a solo during a live video.. i personally think some of his albums from 90s to 2010s were really good (I Still Do, Sessions For Robert J, Unplugged, and a few others)..
I have heard a bunch "play Eddie", but dont quite have that vibrato, or tone. Mean Street, now that's a technical challenge (not that eruption is a breeze)
@@timorean320 I feel about "Mean Street" the same way I feel about The Stones and "Sympathy For The Devil". Two MONSTER, epic songs... then you hear the solo. And it's like: "REALLY?!? That's the one you want to KEEP?!?" The solo on Mean Street is disjointed and uninspiring... literally mailed in on the first take. And I adore the song.
Yea I've seen him and Ranaldo on a few lists, but SY was never about complexity and precision. It makes more sense when you look at what they did for the alternative rock genre and the amazing consistency of their records. They would fit much nicer on a "most influential guitarists list".
I see Kurt Cobain and Kevin Shields brought up on similar lists. They aren’t technical at all, but it’s hard to argue their influence on guitar-based music
If you’re gonna do an under rated guitar players, we need to bring up Peter Green from the original line up of fleetwood mac, if it wasn’t for him unfortunately becoming very sick I think he would be a lot more widely recognised, one of my favourite guitar players ever! Stevie Ray Vaughan another great player.
The fact that everyone from Kirk Hammett to David Gilmour cite his as inspiration speaks volume on his influence. That being said, I don't think he is underrated. Short catalog, and not very successful commercially compared to the later FWM is the reason the average audience may not know him, but any rock fan appreciate him, and he is always in top guitarist of all time.
really glad one of the top comments is about vaughan, he was one of my favourites growing up forsure, and still is! i just dont think many would even consider him overrated lol, hes that respected
Out of all players from that era green is def my favorite. I have a feeling fleetwood mac would have basicly became zepplin before zeppelin had they continued. Just listen to green manalishi or rattle snake shake you can hear they were moving towards way more experimental heavier sounds
Steve vai is certainly not overrated and most definitely should not be on this list. He has extreme technique ability which yes can lead to him being flashy. But he also has a deep knowledge in music theory and tends to use the Lydian mode in a beautiful way. He has shown time and time again he has the ability to create sweet and lush melody’s such as the one on for the love of god, and most of all he can actually play his instrument unlike Clapton and other guitar players on this list
I used to be in the Van Halen is all flash camp, but after actually listening to some VH overtime, if you listen to his work overall and not just his solos, he does a great job of bringing the song as a whole to life. There's more substance to EVH than people give him credit for.
Yes, this was surely not one of his smarter comments. Sort of like saying David Bowie was just about playing dress ups or the Beatles were just about Submarines and Octopi. He is young though so maybe he has never actually sat down and listened to the records because if he did I am pretty sure he would say the exact opposite.
Santana is a good example of a great guitarist who has turned incredibly lazy over time. Most of his modern material consists of the same pentatonic/minor harmonic phrases being played over and over again for like the past 20 years
That's why I just listen to his earlier stuff, commercial rock is just bad compared to actually good rock, it gets you the money but just not really great(not saying all commercial rock is bad).
Santana has always been not very good and way overrated. His technical facility and phrasing are amateurish, though I agree that his old stuff is better.
I really love Santana and agree with you. I hated Supernatural. To me, he just allowed pop artists-some of whom I can't stand) to use his name but it really wasn't a "Santana" album and not his best playing. If you look at his work from when he started to the 1980's, he was innovative, fiery, and played with passion. Now it seems like he is just playing the same lines, and phrases like you mentioned. I think he needs to go back to the blues base. I am still holding out hope he can come back from where he is now.
Gotta agree with you on that. Can’t think of anyone after Eddie who did so and I’m not like a VH head either. Prior to jimmy I’d say Chuck Berry. Those three impacted like no one else. Maybe Jimmi is in my top ten faves.
@@Childofbhaal chuck Berry and les Paul were ground breaking too. I agree. But your way off on EVH, he is so much more than the tapping, i could go on for days of how he kept evolving as a player.
Buckethead isn't overrated, saying you don't like some of his music means nothing with the sheer amount of music in varying styles he has made. And his live shows aren't just gimmicks. Buckethead is an amazing improviser. Though this is of course my opinion
I'm not even into his music and I still think Buckethead deserves all the praise he gets. The dude might be a bit out there but most creative types are. He's a great player.
2:04 that Santana solo was the musical equivalent of trying to tell a joke but forgetting the setup and skipping straight to the punchline to save a shred of dignity
I have a good deal of respect for him myself. He explored a lot of things in his long career. From Crunchy chord structures with epic solos that in a time of pentatonic overload he could bring tasty chromatic licks into a really sweet context. And he was really percussive with his abilities to add strokes that complimented the percussion in ways that the instruments couldn’t go tonally but not overshadow the drive of the song. Electric Fire in his solos. We are talking about Carlos Santana right? If it were not for him when I was a teenager I would have never discovered “Return to Forever “ and Chick Corea, Al di Meola, Stanley Clarke or their virtuoso sounds, Jean luc Ponty or many other progressive Rock/Jazz fusion. I am richer for it! The much later collaboration with Rob Thomas on “Smooth “. That is Carlos. Few albums of his are the same. From Latin to USA Hard Rock. he can do it!
@@notme810 He doesn’t really have much chromaticism in his playing nor are his chord progressions really that special. He has good music but nothing I would consider “crunchy”.
If you do an underrated guitarists video I really hope Robert Fripp is included; considering he arguably established Prog as a genre with King Crimson & played on iconic records by artists like David Bowie, Peter Gabriel and Brian Eno it’s CRIMINAL how under appreciated he is
I'd throw in Dickey Betts, he got overshadowed alot by being in the same band as Duane Allman but he could hold his own and he came up with some of the most iconic riffs in the band (mainly blue sky and jessica)
I never realized how great John Mayer was. I only knew him by his radio stuff which is ok but then I heard him at a blues festival a few years back and was like oh this guy can really jam.
@@bryonmollica Being able to improvise well is absolutely a skill. I know lots of players who are really skilled but can’t play a single thing off the top of their head. It has to be pre planned or pre written. One of my ex girlfriends was a brilliant violinist but take the sheet music away and she couldn’t play half as well
Damn, you mentioning watermelon in Easter hay by Zappa just blew my mind. It's a super slow song in 9/8 and his slow, expressive guitar playing is one of a kind. You are great at formulating arguments! I'm learning a lot from you. I remember when Continuum by John Mayer came out, I was like 15.
I think Dave Mustaine has some of the coolest and most interesting riff/song creations. He made the Major 3rd power chord cool and nobody could use it quite like he did specifically on Rust in Peace. I agree he is an asshole though. He’s still my guitar hero.
@@blackbeansmatter1280 It's so wonderful whenever I get reminded of this Marty Friedman quote: "Shredders are the guys in your friend's basement who play insanely fast, and it just looks so mind-blowing and amazingly cool with their fingers flying all around the neck, but if you close your eyes and actually listen, what you hear is a pile of shit."
Thank God that being a great person isn't a bar that guitarists have to clear. Mustaine is not only a great song writer, he's a PHENOMENAL rhythm player and more than decent on lead. I have met him and he was super cool but the anecdotal evidence is just too numerous. He's a jerk. So is Malmsteen...still love some of his stuff though.
It's weird to put musicians like the Edge and Thurston Moore in the list -- they were never interested in developing "chops" for better or worse. I also think it's weird someone went at Van Halen. He was incredibly influential and well ahead of the rock guitar pack in the late 70s.
Yeah, Edge isn't technically amazing or anything, but it's not like he's trying to come across as such lol. Him being called "The Edge" is a little strange though
The Edge is the usual target of hate from guitarists who spend their entire free time learning flashy solos and perfecting their advanced soloing techniques only to be met with complete disinterest from their peers. Superior technique does not equal superior music.
To anyone who still says that Steve Vai is overrated just go listen to his set in the G3 concert, live in Tokyo. I will not stand you guys disrespecting my man Vai like that.
Nobody is saying he isn't skilled, but I agree with Anthony that his playing is just kind of boring and samey. I think someone like Satriani, who has a similar style to Vai, has much more varied and interesting catalogue.
Vai's music is very diverse, wacky, and sometimes quite complex. It is probably over some people's heads, but it certainly doesn't lack "feel". Plus, as other people said, Vai is a cool guy.
The thing to remember about Zappa is that most of his solos, particularly when he was playing live, were 100% improvised, done entirely on the fly. They were done as spontaneous compositions in real time, so yeah, they weren't always perfectly polished. Also I think a lot of people get his playing mixed up with some of his hired guns over the years, e.g. Steve Vai (talk about overrated guitarists!), Warren Cuccurullo, Mike Keneally, etc.
@@ZiddersRooFurry Calm down, bunky. I like Steve Vai. I'm a huge fan of his even back during his time as "stunt guitar" when he was with Zappa. But he IS overrated.
The Frank Zappa mention here triggered me so hard I nearly had a heart attack. I like to think opinions on art and music are subjective and theres no right or wrong answer but jesus christ saying Frank Zappa is an OVER rated guitar player is objectively wrong.
Zappa never went in for shredding. Some of his albums are an acquired taste but his guitar playing is melodic. Perhaps people don't realise Steve Vai was in Zappa's band.
@@gonzadiazsola Watermelon in easter hay is probably the closest zappa came to creating an illusion of what people expect from music, most of the time he was just toying with us
That and he isn't even really *talked about* for his guitar playing. He *should be* , especially for his contributions and his influence on others, like Introducing Hendrix to the wah pedal and all kinds of things. He does not get that much recognition for his musicianship, he's more renowned for his composition. He's way underrated as a guitar player in my opinion.
@@Thirtle You should, check out Black Napkins, Zoot Allures, Watermelon in Easter Hay, or anything off of "guitar" or "shut up and play your guitar" two albums that are literally only guitar solos.
I hate these "overrated" topics. I usually ignore them at every point. They're inherently negative. I don't understand the need for people to put others down just because they don't personally get satisfaction from their art. The word "overrated" has got to be one of the most incorrectly used words in recent times, along with "masterpiece" and "literally". It rarely amounts to intelligent, insightful, open-minded discussion. It's mostly just shallow hatred.
Heavy on this. Saying something’s “overrated” is mostly just saying you didn’t like something but with the airs that that’s an objective fact. And it’s usually justified with either an overwrought take for why something is supposedly not good. Or based on the shallowest stereotypes about that something you dislike. We all have opinions. And it can be fun to compare artists. But yeah, it’s almost always an unconstructive conversation that’s mostly just shallowly negative that gets people on the defensive, instead of reconsidering their opinions.
@ghost mall also he played lead guitar on Roger Waters' The Pros and Cons of Hitchiking, and his contributions are really good. Obviously I prefer Roger with Dave Gilmour, but Clapton played some really lovely stuff on that album.
Crazy af.. Eddie was so much more than " Eruption " ...that was actually his warm up tune they decided to record . His chord movement , sense of timing etc was epic ...
Hi riffs!!! People like the solos but basically everyone around that time was shredding like crazy. To me the riffs that EVH got to the table were amazing!!!!
People who cynically connect EVH with only Eruption most likely haven’t listened to much of anything else from him and are probably just jealous and resentful of the fact that he’s so damn popular and well renowned as a musician.
Yeah. I have gone on this journey of EVH was amazing cause of his solos, so his solos are just fast no substance, to EVH is a genius because of his rhythm and fillers
Yeah I don't get this at all, lol. He's insanely musical, he's use of bends and expressiveness is insane. Excellent songwriter especially some later stuff. Weird.
Yep. Sweep picking is more of a Malmsteen thing. Vai, on the other hand, has more of a legato technique, with lots of slides and glissando in his playing.
Fr he's got a sweep lick that he likes to use but even then it's a 4 string unusual shape which he slides between positions. He's definitely not a "run scale exercises up and down as much as you can" flash player eg Malmsteen. Gonna seem like a shill here but the prog guitar sound of today would be very different were it not for Vai. He practically owns the lydian sound, I can't hear it without thinking "that sounds like Vai".
Listen to Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton and any Cream album. He's terrific. Especially on Disraeli Gears which is very innovative and is a hugely important part of that album's distinct sonic soundscape. Blind Faith is great, too. He's very melodic. I'm not a fanboy, but I certainly enjoy his work at all times. Bruce is an excellent bassist and vocalist indeed. Baker is an excellent drummer, too.
“Frank Zappa playing more notes doesn’t make it sound better” dude if you don’t know what you’re talking about just don’t say anything it’s way less embarrassing for you
@@withnail-and-i that solo makes me forget how sus Laurel Canyon and the groupie freak MKUltra scene really was. What a beautiful expression on an otherwise goofy nihilistic record
Buckethead definitely underrated as a guitar player. He can totally jam in any genre on any instrument. Shredding is insane and can be tasteful. His emotional songs are some of my favourite songs ever. Machete, All in the waiting, Too many Humans, the light in the fog. Solos on Nottingham Lace, Soothsayer, Northern Lights and Pike 65 make me break out the air guitar
@UCmmRdjZPCz3UNTuozznO9xg Colma, Crime Slunk Scene, Population Override, Inbred Mountain, Pike 43, Pike 65, Pike 1, Pepper’s Ghost, Rise of the Blue Lotus...there are so many
@@federicoraho1270 colma, electric tears, electric sea, pike 13, or a real diamond in the rough is what id personally suggest, even with that many albums there are a few that stand out
@@movimentodoscacos Maggot Brain is the absolute tip of the iceberg of fantastic Eddie Hazel playing though; his rhythm-leads on California Dreamin' off his solo album is my personal favourite Hazel moment.
Eddie Hazel was a monster guitarist. Some of my favorite solos by him are on the Standing On The Verge Of Getting It On album - which was sort of supposed to be his masterpiece. Where most Funkadelic albums had more composition from Bernie Worrell and others - on SOTVOGIO, all of the music is Eddie's. And he only managed to be at the sessions for three of the songs, but his work on Red Hot Momma is scorching and Good Thoughts, Bad Thoughts is pure bliss. Imagine Maggot Brain on ecstasy. Epic.
From what I've heard of him, Hazel always struck me as kind of the perfect next step after Hendrix solo-wise. He's incredible and definitely underrated as a musician in general imo.
4:30 "stole blues licks" while playing the blues? Did that person not realise he's first and foremost a blues guitarist? Even Cream, his heaviest work, is heavily blues influenced and they did many blues covers. Eric Clapton and the blues are inseperable. Also, rock from that time was heavily blues based in general. Blues is the foundation of rock, and rock was still in its infancy.
@@newspapertaxis1 Do you not know what 'underrated' means? Molina's saying that Mayer doesn't get as much credit for his playing as his talent merits, and then cites his ability to do justice to the Dead œuvre as evidence (of said talent). What are you on about?
@@newspapertaxis1 Pretty sure you don't understand what underrated means. Say, if there was a band that was really great and I loved them, but they're not very popular. In that case, that case, I can say that band is underrated. I'm not the one 'underrating' them. I'm saying that they're underrated by the general masses
Zappa is overrated af, I tried getting into him and he doesn’t have even one good song. Anyone who acts like Zappa is good is one of those weirdos dying for attention for being different. Let me guess you read Finnegans Wake too and actually understood it?
The John Mayer v. Slash duel clip over ZZ Top’s la garange really shows how he’s able to mesh with a band and find the pocket. Not my fav guitarist but a crazy good session guitarist and a modern blues great.
Buckethead is in many ways underrated in my opinion, for every record or live performance that he has that are worthy of some critique, he always has hundreds of others that are not. A seriously well rounded and unique dude.
Yeah a lot of people think he's just one big shredding gimmick, but never actually look into his discography. He can play so many genres so well, and is also an incredible bass player.
I’m a bucket fan, but I don’t really think he’s underrated. He would never be mainstream, but he’s seen as a legend in music circles. You don’t need to be a household name to not be over/underrated
People still confused between hate and overrate. Clapton is still a great guitar player even though I think he's really overrated. He could made the guitar sing and I agreed on that, even though he's not in my Top 10.
@@martin2893 not in real time, honestly. i keep changing it based around my mood or experience. but, Clapton still couldn't fit in my top 10 imo at any time. lol
@@martin2893 1. John Frusciante/Jimi Hendrix 2. Jimmy Page 3. Eric Johnson 4. Eddie Van Halen 5. Frank Zappa 6. Jonny Greenwood 7. SRV 8. Mick Taylor 9. Tony Iommi 10. David Gilmour I'm in a mood for sloppy dudes who could slide it in without sound pretentious or horrible.
I think the great thing about The Edge is that he’s a more simple guitarist, he’s not the most technically advanced or skilled or the flashiest guitarist, but I feel his ability, but his ability to make some of his chord transitions sound so natural made some of his guitar loops and riffs stand out more than you would expect, especially on U2’s more experimental material
@@Juli_is_Online Soothsayer and Aunt Suzie Welcome to Bucketheadland and Jordan Edit: Watch the video titled “most emotional Soothsayer….” or something along those lines
I also recommend Maggot Dream, Sail on Soothsayer, Maguas Scalp, Whitewash, For Mom, and Nottingham Lace. A few lesser known songs with a couple of his other popular ones (Maggot Dream is under the name "Death Cube K")
Now that we’re talking about guitarist it’s a great time for me to engage in my Prince propaganda Prince is one of the greatest guitar players ever and is one of the few guitar players that is equally good at rhythm and lead. He had the greatest and probably most iconic power balleds of all time. He could play any genre: jazz, r&b, rock, funk, etc, and his live shows is what really separates him from the rest Note: John Mayer is an amazing fucking guitarist and songwriter. Anyone who knows anything about guitar knows how beautifully complicated Neon is. John could literally be a jazz guitarist but just decided to Settle for pop music
I’m mad I clicked on the vid to see if anyone would disrespect Prince and then I saw this post and I’m glad I’m not the only one on the Prince guitarist propaganda 😂
I would rather talk about underrated guitarists, and at the top of my list would be Joni Mitchell. She inspired so many, and she basically re-invented the way we thought about guitar playing. No one else at the time knew what she was doing, but she did. She truly understands music, and when she got into Jazz, my god her skill really shines through. Her style of playing is completely unique and inspired what Thurston Moore based his whole sound off of; open tunings and strange chords.
@@jamiemyers988 the unfortunate thing about joni was that she was overshadowed by Bob Dylan, even though he was no where near as talanted a writer or guitarist.
I love Joni Mitchell. She can play. Not the most underrated player especially compared to others more deserving but certainly underrated since she's known as a singer and songwriter. Definitely a better musician than Dylan and her music was more dynamic. But to say he wasn't as talented a writer is a little overboard. I'm not buying that.
I remember showing Richard Pryor to my younger brother once he was old enough and he didn’t laugh once. I then realized that he had heard some version of every Pryor trope on comic view. Richard Pryor, just like the EVH, Hendrix and Eric Johnson hopefully will never be overrated. They changed the game and Still sound fresh to THIS DAY. Love your channel
I remember 20 years ago thinking Carlos Santana might be over the hill. He was playing with BB King and I later realized it's not polite to try to play over your host. Then I saw Carlos on TV a few months later thinking he would suck. Carlos' solo started slow and ended up raising the hair on the back of my neck. LIVE, Carlos is one of the greatest, EVER!
Santana is under appreciated because the average person who listen to guitarists equate the number of notes you play each second to how much you are good as a player. Actually is the exact opposite, as a guitar player who hasn t a lot of technique i find easier to play fast because you don t have to think, you can play as many casual notes as you want as long as they are sufficiently close to each other so the only two notes that count are the first and the last of the lick u are playing. The reality is that playing slow in which every note you do must count is the most difficult thing.
As a saxophonist, Santana is slick as ice 🧊. When he did his jazz funk era in the mid to late seventies with Amigos with Dance Sister Dance and those live albums (Viva Santana & Lotus). That made me wanna step up my technique on the horn.
@@synapsy9291 playing slow requires even more techinque. If you play slow, all your notes must sound perfect, and that's why BB King is one of the goats.
Vai makes absolutely stellar music for film, where that kind of calculated, clean performance works better. His stuff for the Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey soundtrack slaps.
@@derHuckepackmann Yeah steve vai is the most literal example of too much of a good thing, his music is like a cup of tea with 6 spoons of sugar in it.
Eric Clapton is certainly a skilled guitarist and he does what he does really well. However, he stopped growing as a musician in the mid 70s and has basically relied on the same types of riffs and sounds ever since. If you ever see the footage of the tour he did with George Harrison in 1991, especially the song "Taxman" which originally has this Indian inspired solo played by Paul McCartney, Eric's take on it was to play the first few notes and then just go into his standard blues licks he always plays. The songs where George took the lead had far more interesting and intricate solos. That tour is a good highlight of an over rated guitarist (Eric Clapton) and 2 under rated guitarists (George Harrison and Andy Fairweather-Low). That's not saying that Eric isn't great, he is. I think a lot of the problems people have with him come more from his political views than his music. It's fairly well documented that he does have some very toxic ideas. But I think perhaps the whole "Clapton Is God" thing went to his head and he still hasn't really come down since.
Yeah I do think political views come into the dislike of Clapton. I don't mean that to downplay it, he said some pretty racist shit, but it's just not really related to how good he is at guitar.
The only artist(other than an opening act featuring two guys on cheap Casios) that has put me to sleep, and it happened TWICE! Once at his own show, and once during Appeal for ARMS, a benefit for Ronnie Lane.
On the point of Buckethead, I feel people miss out that he has released more albums than most artists have singles in their lifetimes, and he always managed to do something unique and interesting; regardless of whether it was particularly "great" or not. Even greater that his overall ability and technique is almost unmatched, in that I can't think of many guitarists who are as good based on their technique or style alone.
well, for starters, he actually can play guitar. people don't like that, because it's hard to make excuses for "masters" like frusciante, hammet and other mu-stain's
Buckethead is also virtually alone in having written beautiful, emotional guitar pieces in honor of his parents ("For Mom"; "I Love My Parents"). And he does it unapologetically and with real feeling, turning expressions that many would consider ridiculously uncool into something that makes people shed tears of love. Nothing about that could ever be considered underrated.
Even his mainstream stuff is top tier - edge of desire, don't trust myself, paper doll , etc etc, ... I'm really suprised that his "guitar fans" are so quick to discredit his own writing.
I see The Edge as a proto-Jonny Greenwood. He was excellent at using the guitar to create a particular atmosphere and soundscape within a song. Like he didn't limit himself to the traditional role the guitarist takes in a band, he was molding the sonics of the song itself. Try playing a guitar part from U2 in isolation, it's almost impossible to get the dynamics and harmonics right, so if you don't nail those, it might sound too simple but when played properly and integrated with the rest of the song it's perfect and adds an element that lesser guitarists would not be able to provide. Also everybody go watch the live version of Bullet the Blue Sky from the ZooTV, the solo is great and the riff is massive.
Saying The Edge is a bad guitarist based on technique or proficiency is like saying a carrot is orange in color. I bet The Edge himself would acknowledge that fact himself. He knows he is not good in traditional sense.
You could say John Fogerty wasn't the greatest guitar 🎸 players but his limited chord use make him an incredible talent for songwriting and guitar sound made him pure genius
You could say that, in fact you did. Summary: because John Fogerty has limited talent he is one of the best. C'mon CCR had great songs. Many great songs are simple and do not take immense talent to play. Just accept that CCR falls in that category.
I saw him a few years back, and BOY, can that guy play now. Just goes to show you what 5 hours a day practicing in self-imposed exile for a decade can do.
Clapton is kind of an interesting case to me. I love Cream and I like Derek and the Dominos, but the solo stuff (outside of a few songs, as well as 461 Ocean Boulevard, which is hands down the best album Clapton made under his own name) does little for me. I wouldn't call him the most overrated guitarist ever (I enjoy his playing, it's more the songs themselves that get in the way for me), but I can't argue with people who say that he gets far too much mileage out of two great bands and only some good solo material.
@@martin2893 well I don’t claim to know all the guitarists out there, but here’s a few off the top of my head who are greater IMO: - Stevie ray vaughan - Eddie van halen - Bb king - Chet atkins - Tony iommi - Brian may - Terry kath - Carlos santana - Ritchie blackmore - Jimi hendrix - Pete townshend - David gilmour - Tommy emmanuel - Gary moore - Wes montgomery
Love Zappa. The fierceness of Rat Tomago, the absurdity of one note guitar solos on a Coral Electric Sitar and the sublime in Watermelon on an Easter Hay.
To be fair, the Edge never claims to be a great guitarist. And regardless of how easy it is to play, his style was unique and innovative when it came out. Not to mention his sound has been copped by Christian Music bands for three damn decades now.
Why Christian music in particular? I don't ever listen to it myself but I'm somewhat exposed since I'm around a lot of people who do. Any specific examples? I'm curious.
@@IcyScythe You'll see a lot of "worship" songs use the reverbed-droning-minimalist style of guitar playing used by the Edge. One good example of that is I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For by U2.
Duane Allman is someone who although gets a lot of credit, he’s still underrated I feel. What this man did on the Allman Brothers Fillmore East live album is still mind blowing. RIP Skydog.
I think the overratedness lies in the music itself and not the technical skill. Dude's crazy good but he's definitely got a quantity over quality type of output.
@JAY CHROM3 I don’t think anyone is criticizing any technical guitarists for not writing “hit records” lmao. You can not try to write a hit and still write subpar music
I'll tell you one thing about The Edge. I've heard numerous guitarists cover U2 songs, and about 95% of the time they get the sound completely wrong. It's actually more difficult to sound like him than some might think
The Edge is one of the few guitarists whose sound is instantly recognisable - not many attain that status, his music is always about the song and not his own ego - maybe you could give us a shout when you reach the same heights
The whole "Edge relies too much on pedals" thing only actually began a few years ago because of people's now overt familiarity with his rig, but back when U2 were in thier prime and releasing masterworks every couple years, he sounded totally unique and was incredibly innovative. People act like those albums just came out last year and he is riding some train...well, he started the train lol
My take on Edge. He’s the guy who’s hamburgers tasted like shit, but he discovered that ketchup made them taste a lot better. Now he’s known as a grill master because he’s the guy who discovered that ketchup makes shitty hamburgers taste better.
@@paulkontz Ah yes, the old "he sucks cause he can't shred" argument. "He sucks without the effects".... *Yawn*....the effects are a part of his style that was, again, very innovative and original at the time. You don't even need to enjoy U2's music to notice or appreciate that. Oh, and ketchup will never save a shitty hamburger, what planet are you on lol
I think people shit on U2 and the edge because most alt rock/pop acts bite what they did and they don't want people going back and listening to find out (probably not, but it's a fun theory lol) I don't even care that much for U2 myself but it's hard to discredit what they've done w/ their career.
The issue with Steve Vai is that he's not afraid to explore uncommon scales and chords, often exotic, and he has a deep knowledge of music from other cultures. I sometimes get bored with his stuff as well, but it is because we're so used to hear only minor and major scales that any other pattern sounds odd for us. If there's anything for me to do is to try to listen to him more. The more I get used to hear strange patterns, the more aware my musical sensitivity gets and the wider my musical taste becomes.
buckethead is just something else. he has just a passion for guitar and is incredibly talented, he is also consistent in all his albums. which is awesome, i dont think hes overrated because he has so much more than all his popular stuff. hes my favorite guitar player and imo one of the greatest. hes also just a great character on stage, his whole outfit is actually raw as hell
@Ryan Kiesow okay cool will do! I play a little banjo too so I can only imagine the insanity that’s awaiting me. He really is a maestro and seems like a dude who just wants to play guitar. Love that the fame and celebrity just doesn’t matter, guy just wants to shred.
indeed.. its the whole package..All he does,it seems,is create music( 350 studio albums ),which btw he sells direct to his fans bypassing the record companies.. hands out toys to his fans at his shows..He is a remarkable, unique and,it seems, genuine person..
Funny enough, John Mayer’s main goal entering college was to be the known as the best guitarist in the world. For songwriting class his first semester, he had to write songs. The songs he wrote that week are the first half of “Room for Squares” which went number 1 in the charts. He only sang his own songs because he didn’t want Brittney Spears singing his lyrics. He talks about it in his Berklee master class
I think people who want to see John Mayer go to his fullest abilities need to at least try and listen to him play with Dead and Company. I know the dead are not everyone’s cup of tea, but that being said listen to almost any performance of “sugaree” and you will see John’s full spectrum of playing shine.
John has played with countless blues and jazz legends. He can absolutely hang with the best of them. I agree with Anthony, if anything John is underrated
I agree with the take that Mayer is a good guitarist but a crappy song writer. A lot of his original songs are boring to me. I was wary when I heard he was going to play with Dead and Company because I am a huge Dead head, but Mayer actually fits pretty well with the band. He's probably the best singer they've ever had so at least he adds that. I have a lot more respect for him ever since he joined Dead.
@@mimiccave totally agree, I’m a lifelong deadhead (although I’m only 23 lol, both my parents are darkheads) and I was very weary of him joining in but seeing him 15 or so times now has me thinking there may not be another player that could have joined the dead and done such a good job so quickly
Yes, I agree, he had one of the worst tones, it was watery and had no bite, he had moments with In Rock and Made in Japan but other than that...........
My personal favorite guitarist has always been Synester Gates. I love how much personality his style has and how it has develop over time. He also has great jazz chops
I half agree with the Dave Mustaine takes. I think he's a good guitarist. Yeah his solos are a lil bit samey but his riffs are amazing. I rarely look at Mustaine and think about his solo because there's Friedman, Poland and Loureiro in Megadeth, but only Mustaine can write phenomenal riffs like Tornado Of Souls and Lucretia.
My problem with mustaine is that people love to claim that if Mustaine stayed in Metallica, they would hace got better songs and albums. Meanwhile his songs are good their solos aren't as good as Kirk Hammett ones.
He's a great riff creator, but he's not a good songwriter anymore... his solos are trash and, more than anything, he is a horrible human being... completely agree with the melon
Buckethead's thing goes a wee bit beyond a gimmick for me. Feels like it's almost a performance art type thing, you know, where he's created this bizarre character and just really embodies it
Exactly. He has actually said that playing this “monster freak” character makes him feel more like himself because he has no pressure (and he has a lot of social anxiety). It’s liberating and helps him express himself and do what he loves. He even said he has out of body experiences when playing live because his eyes are covered and it’s almost like he’s playing for himself. It’s no gimmick. I honestly admire him so much. I am just as socially awkward as him and I wish I could do the same thing for playing music(but people would just call me a wannabe)
@@Johnnysmithy24 Nice one, always got that impression that part of keeping his confidence up for those insane guitar lines was actually sort of 'becoming' Buckethead
Steve Vai doesn’t even sweep pick that much. He’s actually very creative in his playing/writing. For the love of god, Whispering a prayer, The moon and I, Book of the seven seals, and little green men, are all great songs that are worth checking out, Anthony Wrongtano.
Vai’s phrasing and tone is what pulls me in. Vai is able to make the lead guitar a lead singer for his songs. If he said Michael Angelo Batio, then I can agree that sweep picking is something he does a lot. But Batio is not overrated IMO either. It’s fine to say you just can’t listen to more than a song or two by Batio or Yngwie, or even Vai. But Vai stands out IMO because he doesn’t reproduce the same sound with every song and he is constantly stretching himself and exploring where the guitar can go. He is an innovator of the highest order.
I will give you a quote from the late great Frank Zappa: "Rating guitarists is a really boring hobby."
Yeah he said that writing about music was like dancing to architecture. Good point.
I have to disagree about Frank Zappa being overrated, if anything, he’s underrated…
That’s a brilliant quote, and I would agree. However, I clicked on this link
The actual quote is "rating guitarists is a stupid hobby."
He’s right art doesn't fit in a box unless they don't fucking get It
"I enjoy some cream myself"
-Anthony fantano
"especially with berries"
-Mr. bean
yooo tell us bout that vegan cream boi
Gross
Sus
Giggity
idk about overrated but the most underrated guitarist of all-time is whoever played guitar for the power rangers
buckethead I think
Ron Wasserman! Such a legend
@@christineantal5045really?
@@jakecompton9699 Nah Buckethead wrote a solo for the Mighty Morphing power rangers movie theme but not the Original TV score. That was Ron Waserman
Bucket head IS a legend tho
if you want to take him out of context 5:04
I came looking for this comment (if you know what I mean)
When your girlfriend asks you to partake after sex
K. K. Slider is definitely a more impressive vocalist than guitarist. Nobody does an ohnahminaha better then him.
His guitar playing is nothing technical, but his ability to communicate emotion is unmatched. No one does it better for me.
I’d have to disagree. The dude can play virtually any genre in existence and can also perform acoustic arrangements of his recordings.
I disagree because both people above me did
That that sound eddie made when he tried to wack double d w that head volcano?
K.K. Slider is the biggest sell out ever. Goes from a lone drifter with no intention of selling his music to some hot shit who can’t so much as take one step on my island if it isn’t up to his specific standards
5:39 I'm not a big Van Halen fan but I find people who call musicians bad/overrated because it's easy to learn their songs very stupid. There is Nirvana for example. If you're an experienced guitar player, you can learn their whole discography in a 24 hour period. And there is nothing wrong with that, because it sounds awesome. It doesn't need to be complicated to sound awesome.
They're dumb for even saying Van Halen is easy, I want them to listen to Spanish Fly right now and tell me he's overrated. One of the stupidest takes I've ever heard.
another thing is, it may be easy to learn on guitar but only kurt can come up with riffs that aren't by the book or generic and make something unique
@@dan182v It's definitely not easy to come up with original riffs.
Yep. And on top of that, Eruption is NOT easy. Sure, everyone can do the tapping part, but there's 50 seconds of face melting shred that conveniently get ignored by most covers because they don't want to embarrass themselves. I would bet my savings that the guy who wrote that couldn't play it himself.
Easy to learn doesn’t equal Easy to write
Fun fact, Vai does a guitar camp every ~18 months or so with a couple hundred "campers", and the dude makes it a point to invite every single person to get up on stage to play with him for a few minutes. He & the band sit up there for 3+ hours every night so that everyone gets their chance to play. He's a cool dude.
That and he's super into promoting, working with, and endorsing new artists and seems to always be on the look out for them
Steve vai is a genius and a wonder if you enjoy guitar centered music. I get people not connecting with him, but that just exposes their lack guitar knowledge, which is fine, I don't care either about violinists. Not a single soul taking guitar somewhat seriously will ever tell you he is not a beast
Frank Zappa knew how to pick em. Whether you like his music or not he’s a virtuoso no doubt.
@Bozz Dog tf you talking about, guthrie is one the most musically rich an interesting guitarists to ever live, man has toured even with hans zimmer. This is some of the dumbest bullshit I've heard in a while, I can understand the yngwie, vai or satriani argument, but this just shows you should take your ears out and put them in a drawer
@Bozz Dog how did u recognize me
EVH wasn't just speed and flash. His rhythm playing was sublime.
Hell ya. Jimi's rhythm was good like his leads as well.
I'm not a VH fan, but you'd be a fool to say he didn't change guitar playing for the next 25 years. Insanely talented.
I agree completely. He wrote some killer riffs and his sense of timing and groove are impeccable.
Ed could swing and so could Alex. "Hot for Teacher" could have easily been a a big band song. They grew up in a big band home with clarinetist dad, Jan, as bandleader.
Yes! And his song composition was extraordinary too
Hate when people discard talent because you can play what is considered a legendary solo like 'Eruption' when it's way easier to learn that instead of creating a solo like that yourself, especially in that era.
Yes, thats the biggest difference, some miss the point that they had to create those riffs to begin with,
I think most people don't understand how much he changed the approach to guitar. When that first album dropped it was like an alien landed on the planet.
Everyone was watching leave it to beaver , happy days and listening to folk music on the radio.
Along comes the vastly different sounds that changed guitar forever.
It's a shame young people will never experience this world changing sound again. Sure we had Led Zeppelin , Sabbath and even RUSH then but nothing sounded like VH , nothing , not one album , not one other guitarist did.
And also, to play it and PERFORM aka entertain in front of thousands of people.
@TheAgentAssassin Yeah Van Halen is actually a musical genius and I'm not even really the biggest fan of his.
99.99999999999 percent of those that attempt Eruption can't play it well at all. That's nearly everyone who attempts it.
"stealing blues riffs"
Literally every single guitarist does that in every solo wtf
Blues is literally free stylin' it. Every now and then theres bound to be two solos that have bits that sound very similar or the ssme with how old the art is and how many guitarists there have been in the last sixty years.
I guess it becomes stealing when you act like you came up with it by your genius and basically just take black musician's innovations and reframe them for a white British audience.
@@alexanderkorte-stapff6824 yeah and then being a racist on top of it too
@@alexanderkorte-stapff6824 First off, black people invented what's known as "proto-blues" in the 1860's, which was accapella working man's music. Blues as the genre we know today didn't appear until around 1902-03. W.C. Handy is credited as "the father of Blues", when, in actuality, Hart Wand notated and published Blues sheet music before Handy did. Thirdly, there are WAY more black people credited as the greats of Blues than white people.
Regardless of who actually invented what genre, fact is that anyone can play it no matter their skin color an anyone can adapt said genre to fit whatever audience they want. If you truly believe in the concept of "stealing" inventions based on nothing but culture and skin color, I'd like to see you try to ban black people from using and/or manufacturing white inventions and see how well that turns out.
Aint much blues riffin on Diary of a Madman.
I’m just glad someone didn’t actually think hendrix, that would’ve hurt me physically
He was a wonderful musician. I love Jimi's work. But as a guitarist I find it hard to say his talent exceeds his art and influence. He wrote many beautiful pieces of guitar music. That is worth a lot. However on a level of guitar playing skill he's been long since passed by many a musician and that's where he is overrated to some degree. Obviously that doesn't matter much, who wouldn't cite Jimi as an influence? But it is what it is. He helped make guitar what it is today. Legends can have flaws
@@aesop2733 I wouldn't say that Jimi Hendrix was technically a very good player like Yngwie Malmsteen, Paul Gilbert, or Tim Henson. He could execute very well what he wanted to communicate and perform, and that's more important than the playing superclean.
To me a good guitarist knows very well how to write a good riffs, write and perform a good solo and play with soul and communicate emotions quite well.
Mark Speer (Khruangbin), Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jimi Hendrix, Tom Morello (RATM, Audioslave), Frederick Thordendal (Meshuggah) are definetly some of my most favourite guitarists because then can do that incredibly well.
because no one can deny liking a jiminhendrix solo
@@aesop2733 Hendrix died at 27. I think his technical ability was almost exclusively limited by his lifespan and the fact that he taught himself and was more focused on composing music and writing songs. Definitely top 1 for me imo
@@aesop2733 One thing; Hendrix’s playing skill being surpassed is a inevitable, he’s been dead since 1970 and everyone has had his work to study. We can only imagine how else he would’ve continued to impact/evolve guitar playing had he lived longer.
Saying Thurston Moore (or Kevin Shields say) are overrated guitarists is a bit like saying Brian Eno is an overrated keyboard player. It misses the point. I'm not sure they'd even mind; since they probably rightly see themselves as artist musicians more than guitarists. And their influence was huge. Another list could be overrated musician artists. Steve Vai and Joe Satriani (amazing guitarists) could be on that list, but Jimi Hendrix could never be.
I will say that MBV are quite overrated.
And he totally missed the opportunity to mention Thurston Moore's "sound" was directly "liberated" from Glenn Branca.
The Van Halen tweet was hilariously off. He's one of the most innovative and game changing guitarists of all time, shred didn't exist like that before and all the zoomer guitarists who love Polyphia type riffs wouldn't have that without him. I don't care about the band Van Halen much out of the bigger hits but to say overrated just comes off as a high school take.
Yes exactly. Im surprised melon didn’t defend EVH harder against that tweet
@@hyhy4430 yeah man Anthony doesn't seem to understand/care about the historical significance of these guitarists. Same with Clapton.
I have a friend who's a big classic rock guy and listens to very little modern stuff, I'm the opposite. I love Polyphia's style so whenever he showed me a video of Van Halen shredding it was incredible to see the pioneer. Vice versa with him, I remember showing him Nasty and he was thoroughly entertained.
Yeah this video isn’t it bro, literally hating on EVH, and many others eddies rhythm and lead was top notch god level don’t think he understand guitarists at all, although I love melon
Plus eruption isnt THAT easy you need at least a year of technique to play it well
Hearing people discuss why various professional and talented guitarists are actually shit has taken me right back to my days in metal forums around age 14. It's crazy how much I don't miss it.
I have the same problem, from a different perspective. As somebody who always stood outside watching these arguments, I never found the words until I realized it wasn't just guitarists, it was most of western music and it's bullshit sense of supremacy. It actually hurts the art imo.
Well put.
Yes. The term for them is "ultracrepidarians"
@@johncaccioppo1142
Yup. I’m always kinda astounded by the rude awakening people get when they realize that this is a problem when discussing music in general, not just metal.
😂😂
I'm not the biggest EVH fan. But honestly, the guy not only was a great player- he really influenced the tone of guitar for decades. That brown sound was mind boggling great and it changed everything when everyone started hearing it. And I don't think you can really appreciate it if you weren't around at it's inception. He really got guitarists thinking outside the box as to what they could do with the instrument.
I’m not really a fan either but ignoring his creativity and skill is idiotic, the person in the video said “anyone can learn eruption in a few days of practice,” but not everyone could write eruption, especially back then. That style and sound with the use of tapping was very small before Eddie did it
He was a virtuoso. Everyone always talks about Eruption, but go ahead and try and learn the solo from Ice cream man or learn Top Jimmy. I'd be truly impressed if you could play it convincingly. Not just the notes, but the tone and rhythmic precision. By tone I don't just mean the "brown sound" he uses his picking technique to vary the tone of notes within phrases.
I agree. He's one of very few people who can't possibly be overrated. You can't change the world and then be deemed overrated.
@III Blind, huh? I don't know, seems like image meant a lot to them.
@III not sure what your problem with the term is, but hey- everyone's got an opinion, right? It's just too bad yours smacks of elitism. In other words- get bent.
FYI, The Edge didn't name himself "The Edge." It was a nickname given to him by the street gang/social circle he and Bono were involved with (they also gave Bono his nickname), and it stuck.
but people don't care, they go off with the shit they heard or read somewhere and continue to misinform people, knowingly or inadvertently. I like The Edge, that's enough,
social circle.........only their social circle ............ imagine bono whipping out a knife on ya.... yeah..... street gang my ass
bro just lied to everyone hoping no one would actually know the real story.
"stealing blues licks" isn't a problem, blues soloing is totally based around "stealing" licks from other players, literally everybody did it, it's one of the core aspects of blues guitar lol.
Yeah, if you’ve ever been to a jazz clinic, the old jazz guys, especially the black players, will grill you for NOT stealing blues lick. A lot of those guys see the lack of blues in white jazz artists playing as a form of disrespect for the genre. That’s at least what I’ve noticed personally.
@@kevinlittrell3407 based hard bop elitists
clapton is still lame AF though
@@niceguy909 him as a person or as a guitarists?
THANK YOUUUU
Thinking Eddie Van Halen's guitar playing can be reduced to Eruption just kinda shows an unfamiliarity with his playing. Dude was not just a beast on lead (and basically was the mold for hard rock guitar from the 80s onward hence all the tapping that came in his wake) but his rhythm playing was equally if not more ridiculous
Yeah that oversimplification is really fascinating, I think Rick beatto made whole video about how that band wasn’t just crazy soloing like they’re remembered, they made crazy good pop music
Eddie was both great as a shredder and as a riff guitarist that could drive the pace of the song perfectly. Ain’t Talkin Bout Love and Unchained are probably the two best examples of him doing both.
I personally cant stand Eddie Van Halens playing. Or any late 70s or 80s hard Rock for that matter. But i wouldnt question his ability. What he does with it is a matter of taste in the end.
Eruption isnt even his best solo
@ghost mall Also where am i generalizing anything? I only said that i dont like it. Any categorical statement about quality of music is retarded in its nature.
Technicality, speed and flashiness doesn't make a guitarrist automatically overrated.
No, but if a lot of people automatically view that as inherently better than other forms of guitar playing, which they often do, then that makes it overrated.
They do if it's all he or she's got.
It does make them unlikeable, when you put ego and patting yourself on the back over song writing I’m out
Agreed, but those things also don't make someone a god, and it's so common to see every fast flashy guitarist get praised just because of that it kinda gives a reason for people to consider them overrated.
But of course, this is extremely subjective. I personally feel like many shredders just don't serve the music very well, but this isn't a rule at all. I think EVH, Vai and Satriani are great examples of technical, fast and flashy guitarists who are truly amazing at what they do and guys like Malmsteen and Michael Angelo Batio are just terrible artists who just want to show off like it's a competition
@JAY CHROM3 compare Tosin Abasi (Animals as Leaders) Yngwie Malmsteen. You can clearly hear there’s more fleshed out ideas, variety in techniques and sound profile. Care for structure. And you can differentiate the song way easier from another. If you’ve heard one Yngwie song you’ve heard them all.
8:30
bruh really summed up Steve Vai as "sweep picking"
lmao
Vai doesn't even sweep that much
@@theharvardyard2356yeah exactly. Another bullshit take by someone who never bothered to listen
@@deadforeverMore like a non guitar player who has no idea what he's listening to.
I find a lot of younger guitar players call older players "overrated" because even though back then, their playing was an advancement, it is now common place by modern standards. Doesn't mean they weren't innovative or influential.
And now
Guitar is a niche nerd hobby like playing trumpet or saxophone.
We sit next to the jazz geeks now in the cool meter.
This ^ … people can easily forget to consider the context of when someone released art and pushed into a new boundary. If what they came up with is now commonplace it means they INFLUENCED the genre/style completely and that deserves major respect!
Artists aren’t noted for being hard to play. Mozart is played by children. He was a timeless genius, hands down.
@@pahwraith youd be right but guitar is still very much used in modern songs. popular modern songs too. they dont use virtuosic qualities like metal or rock might at times but that doesnt mean its as niche as a fucking saxophone lol
Even that chick, Tim Henson will be snubbed one day. Right now all the kids love him and defend him like Britney Spears.
I love Kurt Cobain. he's the reason I picked up a guitar back in 93. but man is he overrated by Nirvana fans who don't play guitar. the funny thing is Kurt himself would be the first person to tell you he wasn't really all that great at playing guitar. he just wrote good songs.
@Jacque he is though. Granted it's usually Nirvana fans that don't play guitar, but still. Sh*t, Kurt is the reason I started playing guitar. Nevermind came out when I was in 8th grade, and I wanted to "be as good as Kurt Cobain" one day lol.
"I don't even know how to play major and minor chords"-kurt
@@hidden7249 I don't doubt he said something like that, but I'm sure he knew that much about guitar lol. Kurt clearly had a basic understanding of music theory, but he was no Steve Vai. Kurt could write good music though, and it doesn't have to be hard to play to be good.
@Jacque yeah, Kurt used mainly basic major and minor chords as well as a lot of power chords. He obviously had a working knowledge of music theory, stuff like 1-4-5 and 1-5-6-4 chord progressions (the most common progressions in rock/pop music). The cool thing about Kurt is he didn't really play common chord progressions. He used unique progressions you don't really hear a lot of, even though most of his songs were basically 4 or 5 chords. I also like the way he would use regular chords and power chords mixed together in the same song. Like Polly for instance. It's the regular E chord, then the G power chord, then the regular D, then finally the C power chord. Usually on acoustic most players would have used regular chords throughout, and use power (or barre) chords on electric. But Kurt always mixed them up. That's just one little part of his style.
@@cornpop1363 That means that hes an incredibly influential guitarist, but lets be honest, he wasnt great. His playing was very sloppy, but thats what also made it great cause of how intensely raw it sounded. I love Nirvana btw.
Zappa if anything was a very underrated guitarist. The majority of guitarists regurgitate the exact same solo for a song on stage night after night whereas
Zappa would literally incorporate a completely improvised solo so as the crowd would hear something different every time he performed
All I'm gonna say is Black Napkins. BLACK NAPKINS!!!
A real genius. Whoever made that comment doesn't deserve to have ears and opinions
Agree with everything you said, but beyond that I feel like he’d be the first to agree that he was an arranger and composer first and a guitarist second. But that only goes to show how great he was as a bandleader, because like the other person said, BLACK NAPKINS
Agree, and most prog rock bands in the 70's did that, it was unbelievable
Zappa was insane. You can never overrate him because he was simply too good. As a player and as a composer.
Clapton discog isn't necessarily what makes him so great imo, like the influence of clapton upon artists of his time, his work on songs like "while my guitar gently weeps", the Yardbirs and the Bluesbreakers stuff is just so hughly important for the context that it's hard to disregard him as on of the greatest players of the 60s
I think Alex Lifeson from Rush is Criminally underrated. Dude's played so many great riffs, and added so much to arguably the most iconic prog rock bands of all time. Yet you never see people really talk about him that much on the same level as Neil Peart or Geddy Lee.
i love lifeson's guitar work, famous guitarist is a saturated profession(?) but lifeson (and david gilmour) are some of my absolute favorites
Alex is awesome. My favorite member of Rush. La Villa Strangiato is amazing.
I guess we'll find out just how good in 2112. Only 91 years to go!!! 🤘🤘
@@MrRezRising Hell yeahhhhhh
He’s a fantastic guitarist, and Rush fans know he’s great. But relative to other players on their respective instruments, Peart and Lee both stand out more than Lifeson. Maybe it’s partially a function of there being just so many guitar players out there. Lifeson is a big fish in a big pond. Peart and Lee and are big fish in slightly smaller ponds.
The Edge’s nickname was given to him before his music career began based on his pointy chin. By making it his stage name he poked fun at himself, it was far from cocky.
Mayer really let’s himself loose when he’s touring with Dead & Company. I’ve seen them six times and I’m always blown away by just how good he really is. I think if you just listen to his albums you’d never really get the impression that he’s an incredible player. It’s when he shares the stage with other artists and does his own live performances, that’s where I think he really allows himself to cut loose.
maybe Mayer also just likes to make pop music in the studio. partially to support himself monetarily so he can go tour with dead & co. whenever they come a-knockin', but maybe also because he just likes to make music like that in the studio. he said before sob rock, his most unabashedly pop rock output, that it was the only record he's actually listened to recreationally out of his ol' discog. perhaps that means he enjoys pop rock in the studio, but loves the stage chemistry with other awesome musicians when on tour/live. the whole live in l.a. record, dead & co., anything he does in support with other artists is always great because I think the guy just likes to have fun on stage. but can't translate that to a studio, which might be for the best.
I think he figured that out years ago. Playing less, gets more run than playing more. It's probably harder to play less, because you have to pick your spots, and have your best licks and riffs on the table at all times, as opposed to throwing all your notes and techniques into every song you do and exhausting the listener.
Mayer is absolutely a total master of the instrument, there really are no two ways about it. I'm not the biggest fan of his music at all really, but I absolutely love his improvisation in a jam situation. We all know he can write pop stuff good enough, and then whenever you see him with Dead & Co, he demonstrates that he is also an incredibly adept guitarist who knows every single inch of that fretboard and can conjure up any sound he wants at any time. As you said, when he lets loose like that, it is clear just how good he is at guitar. Not only is he an incredibly soulful and tasty blues player, he also tackles that jazzy jam band approach incredibly well. That man knows his way around a guitar for sure, no matter what you think of him.
@300Thieves Mayer is boring.
And his john mayer trio live is also awesome, with pino on bass and Steve Jordan on drum. Their performance of blues is incredible.
As a guitar player I must say John Mayer is definitely one of the best guitar players from the last couple decades. And yes, his music doesn't necessarily truly represent his chops on the guitar. But one example of a song of his that is extremely difficult to play is "Neon". That song is not only extremely difficult to play, but also a great song that's stood the test of time. It is also one of the first few songs he wrote before he got major recognition which just shows how brilliant he actually can be at playing and writing songs on guitar.
That song is not difficult, there has just been a million different ways people have played it because he never officially said how he played it, but it’s pretty easy if you’re just average
But yes he’s talented it’s just he’s not a “shredder and god” like ppl make him out to me b
@@ДжонГиллtrppin bro
@@ДжонГиллhis work with the John Mayer trio is still something amazing…
@@ДжонГилл if you think that neon is an average song to play, i do not think you have any idea what you are talking about
making sure theres no David Gilmour slander here
Big Surprise that he wasnt mentioned. He is the most enigmatic guitarist because his stuff shouldnt really be as good as it is.
I've seen and heard thousands of guitar players, whether it was live, live videos on TH-cam, or recorded studio music, and I still have yet to find someone that has brought me to an existential zone quite like gilmour has. His tonality, and tastefulness is unmatched, and I don't think it can ever be truly replicated. I have heard hundreds of live bootlegs from floyd, and I can honestly say I have never heard him make a sloppy mistake, or miss a note.
Most of that is probably attributed to his bending skills.
@@dylanwesley3964 wow lol
Thank you sir, you are doing god's work
Or jimmy page
K.K. slider is the most versatile musician of his generation, weaving through genres effortlessly. You dont hate him you're afraid melon of him. You're afraid.
☠️❄️
If you do an “underrated guitarists” video, Dean Ween needs to be there. It’s about time for him to be rightfully recognized as one of the greats.
Weener and Homme for sure
Dean had one of the best bits of advice I’ve ever heard from a guitarist: Learn to play Maggot Brain and then steal all of the riffs.
@@spraynard9529 i watch his guitar moves episode once a week
eric gales is pretty great too
Deaner is underrated only amongst those who don't know him. Anyone who knows Ween knows what a guitar god Deaner is.
I would have Buckethead more in the underrated column. He does have over 300 albums out. He's created different forms of tapping that are now used worldwide. And he is fast.
Eddie Van Halen's rhythm is underrated and his swing/shuffle is untouchable. Also, if someone says Eruption is easy to play, they're doing it wrong.
Even if someone can learn to play Eruption, they didn't write it.
Yes I think that too.. What he did during Cream, John Mayall, Blind Faith, Derek is enough.. Yes there were other greats too but he was like the face of the guitar players.. and sure his stuff in the 70s & 80s are kinda lame but once in a while we do see his brilliance shine through in a song or two, or maybe in just a solo during a live video.. i personally think some of his albums from 90s to 2010s were really good (I Still Do, Sessions For Robert J, Unplugged, and a few others)..
I have heard a bunch "play Eddie", but dont quite have that vibrato, or tone. Mean Street, now that's a technical challenge (not that eruption is a breeze)
@@timorean320 I feel about "Mean Street" the same way I feel about The Stones and "Sympathy For The Devil". Two MONSTER, epic songs... then you hear the solo. And it's like: "REALLY?!? That's the one you want to KEEP?!?" The solo on Mean Street is disjointed and uninspiring... literally mailed in on the first take. And I adore the song.
@@phoenixmichaels Yea, I always figured he put all effort in opening, innovative, then you can skimp on lead
As a (passive) Sonic Youth fan, I've never heard Thurston in the conversation for "best guitarist" lol
Yeah. Only in Pitchfork, I believe.
Him and Lee are insanely underrated.
Yea I've seen him and Ranaldo on a few lists, but SY was never about complexity and precision. It makes more sense when you look at what they did for the alternative rock genre and the amazing consistency of their records. They would fit much nicer on a "most influential guitarists list".
I see Kurt Cobain and Kevin Shields brought up on similar lists. They aren’t technical at all, but it’s hard to argue their influence on guitar-based music
@@franciscoduran4618 I think I prefer Lee overall but they are both hugely influential. Its hard to tell who's doing what on most SY tracks anyway!
SY was the shit and incredible live. Shame they kept it fresh by thieving from their influenced.
If you’re gonna do an under rated guitar players, we need to bring up Peter Green from the original line up of fleetwood mac, if it wasn’t for him unfortunately becoming very sick I think he would be a lot more widely recognised, one of my favourite guitar players ever!
Stevie Ray Vaughan another great player.
Love his album The End of the Game
The fact that everyone from Kirk Hammett to David Gilmour cite his as inspiration speaks volume on his influence. That being said, I don't think he is underrated. Short catalog, and not very successful commercially compared to the later FWM is the reason the average audience may not know him, but any rock fan appreciate him, and he is always in top guitarist of all time.
really glad one of the top comments is about vaughan, he was one of my favourites growing up forsure, and still is! i just dont think many would even consider him overrated lol, hes that respected
Out of all players from that era green is def my favorite. I have a feeling fleetwood mac would have basicly became zepplin before zeppelin had they continued. Just listen to green manalishi or rattle snake shake you can hear they were moving towards way more experimental heavier sounds
@@TheErikjsm green manilishi is one of my favourite rock songs ever!
Steve vai is certainly not overrated and most definitely should not be on this list. He has extreme technique ability which yes can lead to him being flashy. But he also has a deep knowledge in music theory and tends to use the Lydian mode in a beautiful way. He has shown time and time again he has the ability to create sweet and lush melody’s such as the one on for the love of god, and most of all he can actually play his instrument unlike Clapton and other guitar players on this list
Boring.
Fantano is a hack TH-camr who dislikes most actual competent musicians
Did you just say that everyone else on this list cant actually play? That Steve Vai is the only guitarist among these people?
@@NowhereMan7 I wasn't thinking that but you kind of talked me in to it, yeah Vai is the only guitarist in this list. Suck it.
If you actually studied music theory you arent a real musician
I used to be in the Van Halen is all flash camp, but after actually listening to some VH overtime, if you listen to his work overall and not just his solos, he does a great job of bringing the song as a whole to life. There's more substance to EVH than people give him credit for.
Lol evh inspired a generation of guitar players with more than just solos
Eddie’s rhythm playing was amazing. He could do anything.
EVH was an awesome rhythm player, so innovative! He completely changed the game
Yes, this was surely not one of his smarter comments.
Sort of like saying David Bowie was just about playing dress ups or the Beatles were just about Submarines and Octopi.
He is young though so maybe he has never actually sat down and listened to the records because if he did I am pretty sure he would say the exact opposite.
Yeah he was much more than just finger tapping. He could do it all.
Santana is a good example of a great guitarist who has turned incredibly lazy over time. Most of his modern material consists of the same pentatonic/minor harmonic phrases being played over and over again for like the past 20 years
That's why I just listen to his earlier stuff, commercial rock is just bad compared to actually good rock, it gets you the money but just not really great(not saying all commercial rock is bad).
Same with David Gilmour
Santana has always been not very good and way overrated. His technical facility and phrasing are amateurish, though I agree that his old stuff is better.
@@petedevriese His "technical facility and phrasing" lmao, you are like the party pooper of music.
I really love Santana and agree with you. I hated Supernatural. To me, he just allowed pop artists-some of whom I can't stand) to use his name but it really wasn't a "Santana" album and not his best playing. If you look at his work from when he started to the 1980's, he was innovative, fiery, and played with passion. Now it seems like he is just playing the same lines, and phrases like you mentioned. I think he needs to go back to the blues base. I am still holding out hope he can come back from where he is now.
In my lifetime two people changed the game of rock guitar, Eddie Van Halen and Jimi Hendrix. They can’t be overrated, they changed the game.
Gotta agree with you on that. Can’t think of anyone after Eddie who did so and I’m not like a VH head either. Prior to jimmy I’d say Chuck Berry. Those three impacted like no one else. Maybe Jimmi is in my top ten faves.
I mean what about Chuck Berry? Les Paul? EVH didn’t even invent tapping he only brought it to the mainstream.
@@Childofbhaal chuck Berry and les Paul were ground breaking too. I agree. But your way off on EVH, he is so much more than the tapping, i could go on for days of how he kept evolving as a player.
In my lifetime it was Fredrik and Marten from Meshuggah.
@@Childofbhaal he didn't invent tapping but he defined and mastered it.
Buckethead isn't overrated, saying you don't like some of his music means nothing with the sheer amount of music in varying styles he has made. And his live shows aren't just gimmicks. Buckethead is an amazing improviser. Though this is of course my opinion
I'm not even into his music and I still think Buckethead deserves all the praise he gets. The dude might be a bit out there but most creative types are. He's a great player.
Meh
2:04 that Santana solo was the musical equivalent of trying to tell a joke but forgetting the setup and skipping straight to the punchline to save a shred of dignity
Oh my God I can't believe how accurate this is.
Then following it up with a shit tier pentatonic updown like "haha you shoulda been there"
That one note though…
@@ShadowDrake102 yeah dude it was way funnier when it happened
I have a good deal of respect for him myself. He explored a lot of things in his long career. From Crunchy chord structures with epic solos that in a time of pentatonic overload he could bring tasty chromatic licks into a really sweet context. And he was really percussive with his abilities to add strokes that complimented the percussion in ways that the instruments couldn’t go tonally but not overshadow the drive of the song. Electric Fire in his solos. We are talking about Carlos Santana right? If it were not for him when I was a teenager I would have never discovered “Return to Forever “ and Chick Corea, Al di Meola, Stanley Clarke or their virtuoso sounds, Jean luc Ponty or many other progressive Rock/Jazz fusion. I am richer for it! The much later collaboration with Rob Thomas on “Smooth “. That is Carlos. Few albums of his are the same. From Latin to USA Hard Rock. he can do it!
@@notme810 He doesn’t really have much chromaticism in his playing nor are his chord progressions really that special. He has good music but nothing I would consider “crunchy”.
If you do an underrated guitarists video I really hope Robert Fripp is included; considering he arguably established Prog as a genre with King Crimson & played on iconic records by artists like David Bowie, Peter Gabriel and Brian Eno it’s CRIMINAL how under appreciated he is
*THIS* and Andy Summers! Also would Alex Lifeson count?
I'd throw in Dickey Betts, he got overshadowed alot by being in the same band as Duane Allman but he could hold his own and he came up with some of the most iconic riffs in the band (mainly blue sky and jessica)
@@IAmInfinitus208 I would say Lifeson gets a fair amount of recognition now, but definitely Andy Summers
As a huge King Crimson fan I agree.
@@Threeducksisperfect Dickey also wrote a lot of their hits but is seldom recognized cus he didn’t get along with others apparently.
I never realized how great John Mayer was. I only knew him by his radio stuff which is ok but then I heard him at a blues festival a few years back and was like oh this guy can really jam.
yes but so can 1 million other guitarists...and lots of them are way better
@@algorithm007ify lol no. Watch Mayer perform Crossroads with Clapton. He outplays him. His improving is ridiculous
Jamming is not an indicator of skill
Usually mindless noodling
@@bryonmollica Being able to improvise well is absolutely a skill. I know lots of players who are really skilled but can’t play a single thing off the top of their head. It has to be pre planned or pre written. One of my ex girlfriends was a brilliant violinist but take the sheet music away and she couldn’t play half as well
@@algorithm007ify John Mayer is ridiculous with his sense of Rythm and knowledge ab guitar he’s top 10 guitar player of all time
Damn, you mentioning watermelon in Easter hay by Zappa just blew my mind. It's a super slow song in 9/8 and his slow, expressive guitar playing is one of a kind. You are great at formulating arguments! I'm learning a lot from you. I remember when Continuum by John Mayer came out, I was like 15.
Yes calling Dave a total idiot for not having the same political views is a great argument. Learned a lot from that
I think Dave Mustaine has some of the coolest and most interesting riff/song creations. He made the Major 3rd power chord cool and nobody could use it quite like he did specifically on Rust in Peace. I agree he is an asshole though. He’s still my guitar hero.
Marty Friedman is also a beast.
@@blackbeansmatter1280 It's so wonderful whenever I get reminded of this Marty Friedman quote: "Shredders are the guys in your friend's basement who play insanely fast, and it just looks so mind-blowing and amazingly cool with their fingers flying all around the neck, but if you close your eyes and actually listen, what you hear is a pile of shit."
Mustaine's an awesome rhythm and really good lead guitarist. Great songwriter too. Dave and Marty Friedman were an amazing guitar duo.
Nah..... Dave's not an asshole....Hetfield and Ulrich are assholes
Thank God that being a great person isn't a bar that guitarists have to clear. Mustaine is not only a great song writer, he's a PHENOMENAL rhythm player and more than decent on lead. I have met him and he was super cool but the anecdotal evidence is just too numerous. He's a jerk. So is Malmsteen...still love some of his stuff though.
It's weird to put musicians like the Edge and Thurston Moore in the list -- they were never interested in developing "chops" for better or worse. I also think it's weird someone went at Van Halen. He was incredibly influential and well ahead of the rock guitar pack in the late 70s.
glad someone else was thinking this.
Yeah, Edge isn't technically amazing or anything, but it's not like he's trying to come across as such lol. Him being called "The Edge" is a little strange though
The Edge is the usual target of hate from guitarists who spend their entire free time learning flashy solos and perfecting their advanced soloing techniques only to be met with complete disinterest from their peers. Superior technique does not equal superior music.
@@rickygforce4217 iirc “The Edge” was a nickname he had because he had a big nose. It predates U2
@@rickygforce4217 supposedly its a joke about the shape of his head and has nothing to do with his musical career
To anyone who still says that Steve Vai is overrated just go listen to his set in the G3 concert, live in Tokyo. I will not stand you guys disrespecting my man Vai like that.
Nobody is saying he isn't skilled, but I agree with Anthony that his playing is just kind of boring and samey. I think someone like Satriani, who has a similar style to Vai, has much more varied and interesting catalogue.
@@FixtaFernback Even satrianis music gets to be a bit repetitive after a while.
@@FixtaFernback go listen to candle power by vai
@@FixtaFernback Satriani is the soulless, less interesting Vai, not the other way around.
Vai's music is very diverse, wacky, and sometimes quite complex. It is probably over some people's heads, but it certainly doesn't lack "feel". Plus, as other people said, Vai is a cool guy.
The thing to remember about Zappa is that most of his solos, particularly when he was playing live, were 100% improvised, done entirely on the fly. They were done as spontaneous compositions in real time, so yeah, they weren't always perfectly polished. Also I think a lot of people get his playing mixed up with some of his hired guns over the years, e.g. Steve Vai (talk about overrated guitarists!), Warren Cuccurullo, Mike Keneally, etc.
Vai isn't overrated. If you think that you have issues.
@@ZiddersRooFurry Calm down, bunky. I like Steve Vai. I'm a huge fan of his even back during his time as "stunt guitar" when he was with Zappa. But he IS overrated.
The Frank Zappa mention here triggered me so hard I nearly had a heart attack. I like to think opinions on art and music are subjective and theres no right or wrong answer but jesus christ saying Frank Zappa is an OVER rated guitar player is objectively wrong.
Zappa never went in for shredding. Some of his albums are an acquired taste but his guitar playing is melodic. Perhaps people don't realise Steve Vai was in Zappa's band.
Zappa is a sloppy songwriter but amazing guitarist. Maybe people confuse the two.
@@lonelycake4114 how can he be a sloppy songwriter? He would write every part for every instrument.
@@gonzadiazsola
Watermelon in easter hay is probably the closest zappa came to creating an illusion of what people expect from music, most of the time he was just toying with us
😂😂 Yeah can't put him in this category.
Whoever mentioned Frank Zappa probably has never listened to much Zappa. He was an amazing guitarist.
I have never had this much fun since my last flash dance festival
I haven't listened to his music
That and he isn't even really *talked about* for his guitar playing. He *should be* , especially for his contributions and his influence on others, like Introducing Hendrix to the wah pedal and all kinds of things. He does not get that much recognition for his musicianship, he's more renowned for his composition. He's way underrated as a guitar player in my opinion.
@@Thirtle You should, check out Black Napkins, Zoot Allures, Watermelon in Easter Hay, or anything off of "guitar" or "shut up and play your guitar" two albums that are literally only guitar solos.
My pick for the G.O.A.T, he never played the same solo twice either!
DJ Khalid is by the far most underrated guitarist of all time.
That title goes to lil Wayne
Now that he has bob marley's guitar. There is no stopping him.
I hate these "overrated" topics. I usually ignore them at every point. They're inherently negative. I don't understand the need for people to put others down just because they don't personally get satisfaction from their art. The word "overrated" has got to be one of the most incorrectly used words in recent times, along with "masterpiece" and "literally". It rarely amounts to intelligent, insightful, open-minded discussion. It's mostly just shallow hatred.
Heavy on this. Saying something’s “overrated” is mostly just saying you didn’t like something but with the airs that that’s an objective fact.
And it’s usually justified with either an overwrought take for why something is supposedly not good. Or based on the shallowest stereotypes about that something you dislike.
We all have opinions. And it can be fun to compare artists. But yeah, it’s almost always an unconstructive conversation that’s mostly just shallowly negative that gets people on the defensive, instead of reconsidering their opinions.
I feel you but this is human nature at work
The solo in While My Guitar Gently Weeps is pretty awesome though
@ghost mall also he played lead guitar on Roger Waters' The Pros and Cons of Hitchiking, and his contributions are really good. Obviously I prefer Roger with Dave Gilmour, but Clapton played some really lovely stuff on that album.
Clapton had to ride Georges coat tail
Crazy af.. Eddie was so much more than " Eruption " ...that was actually his warm up tune they decided to record . His chord movement , sense of timing etc was epic ...
Hi riffs!!! People like the solos but basically everyone around that time was shredding like crazy. To me the riffs that EVH got to the table were amazing!!!!
Eddie's rythym playing is underrated
People who cynically connect EVH with only Eruption most likely haven’t listened to much of anything else from him and are probably just jealous and resentful of the fact that he’s so damn popular and well renowned as a musician.
Yeah. I have gone on this journey of EVH was amazing cause of his solos, so his solos are just fast no substance, to EVH is a genius because of his rhythm and fillers
@Sleezy_Q Eddie attended jazz music lessons in college - he knew theory.
Steve Vai doesn't even sweep pick that much.
Yeah I don't get this at all, lol. He's insanely musical, he's use of bends and expressiveness is insane. Excellent songwriter especially some later stuff. Weird.
Yep. Sweep picking is more of a Malmsteen thing. Vai, on the other hand, has more of a legato technique, with lots of slides and glissando in his playing.
Yeah I was pretty fuckin confused by that.
Fr he's got a sweep lick that he likes to use but even then it's a 4 string unusual shape which he slides between positions. He's definitely not a "run scale exercises up and down as much as you can" flash player eg Malmsteen. Gonna seem like a shill here but the prog guitar sound of today would be very different were it not for Vai. He practically owns the lydian sound, I can't hear it without thinking "that sounds like Vai".
Listen to Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton and any Cream album. He's terrific. Especially on Disraeli Gears which is very innovative and is a hugely important part of that album's distinct sonic soundscape. Blind Faith is great, too. He's very melodic. I'm not a fanboy, but I certainly enjoy his work at all times.
Bruce is an excellent bassist and vocalist indeed. Baker is an excellent drummer, too.
There's a reason it's called the first "supergroup"
“Frank Zappa playing more notes doesn’t make it sound better” dude if you don’t know what you’re talking about just don’t say anything it’s way less embarrassing for you
Person that hasn't listened to Watermelon in Easter Hay
@@withnail-and-i that solo makes me forget how sus Laurel Canyon and the groupie freak MKUltra scene really was. What a beautiful expression on an otherwise goofy nihilistic record
Right. Not even a Zappa fan but that was a garbage take
playing more notes.... I would have thought would lead to Yngwie Malmsteen. Surprised he wasn't on this list.
Buckethead definitely underrated as a guitar player. He can totally jam in any genre on any instrument. Shredding is insane and can be tasteful. His emotional songs are some of my favourite songs ever. Machete, All in the waiting, Too many Humans, the light in the fog. Solos on Nottingham Lace, Soothsayer, Northern Lights and Pike 65 make me break out the air guitar
Buckethead is my favorite artist period. Cant say enough about him.
Bucketheads emotional stuff is my favorite
@UCmmRdjZPCz3UNTuozznO9xg Colma, Crime Slunk Scene, Population Override, Inbred Mountain, Pike 43, Pike 65, Pike 1, Pepper’s Ghost, Rise of the Blue Lotus...there are so many
How do you guys listen to him? Honestly i wouldn't even know where to start with that many albums
@@federicoraho1270 colma, electric tears, electric sea, pike 13, or a real diamond in the rough is what id personally suggest, even with that many albums there are a few that stand out
Eddie Hazel is the most underrated guitar player
maybe in non-guitarrist circles, yeah. But every guitarrist I know loves and worships Maggot Brain
@@movimentodoscacos Maggot Brain is the absolute tip of the iceberg of fantastic Eddie Hazel playing though; his rhythm-leads on California Dreamin' off his solo album is my personal favourite Hazel moment.
Eddie Hazel was a monster guitarist. Some of my favorite solos by him are on the Standing On The Verge Of Getting It On album - which was sort of supposed to be his masterpiece. Where most Funkadelic albums had more composition from Bernie Worrell and others - on SOTVOGIO, all of the music is Eddie's. And he only managed to be at the sessions for three of the songs, but his work on Red Hot Momma is scorching and Good Thoughts, Bad Thoughts is pure bliss. Imagine Maggot Brain on ecstasy. Epic.
From what I've heard of him, Hazel always struck me as kind of the perfect next step after Hendrix solo-wise. He's incredible and definitely underrated as a musician in general imo.
Doug Martsch is the most underrated guitar player
4:30 "stole blues licks" while playing the blues? Did that person not realise he's first and foremost a blues guitarist? Even Cream, his heaviest work, is heavily blues influenced and they did many blues covers. Eric Clapton and the blues are inseperable.
Also, rock from that time was heavily blues based in general. Blues is the foundation of rock, and rock was still in its infancy.
Clapton wasn’t even the best guitar player in the Yardbirds
/thread
He was the most influential however!
He was third best.
@@cle9146 Next to Page maybe
Not being better than Jimmy Page or Jeff Beck describes almost every rock guitar player alive.
Mayer is underrated IMO. The Grateful Dead catalog is a monster to take on and he's done an impressive job at it.
@@newspapertaxis1 Do you not know what 'underrated' means? Molina's saying that Mayer doesn't get as much credit for his playing as his talent merits, and then cites his ability to do justice to the Dead œuvre as evidence (of said talent). What are you on about?
@@newspapertaxis1 that’s…. not how it works. you can think he’s great and still think he’s underrated, you’re just not the one underrating him
Mayer is extremely overrated..
@@newspapertaxis1 Pretty sure you don't understand what underrated means.
Say, if there was a band that was really great and I loved them, but they're not very popular. In that case, that case, I can say that band is underrated. I'm not the one 'underrating' them. I'm saying that they're underrated by the general masses
@@newspapertaxis1 You're a dumb guy? Yeah, I 'got it'
Guy who called Zappa overrated is actually a lunatic
Seriously. Zappa was a beast.
Watermelon in Easter Hay
@Tyrone Biggun Zomby Woof
Zappa is overrated af, I tried getting into him and he doesn’t have even one good song. Anyone who acts like Zappa is good is one of those weirdos dying for attention for being different. Let me guess you read Finnegans Wake too and actually understood it?
@Tyrone Biggun Muffin Man
The John Mayer v. Slash duel clip over ZZ Top’s la garange really shows how he’s able to mesh with a band and find the pocket. Not my fav guitarist but a crazy good session guitarist and a modern blues great.
Buckethead is in many ways underrated in my opinion, for every record or live performance that he has that are worthy of some critique, he always has hundreds of others that are not. A seriously well rounded and unique dude.
Yeah a lot of people think he's just one big shredding gimmick, but never actually look into his discography. He can play so many genres so well, and is also an incredible bass player.
I’m a bucket fan, but I don’t really think he’s underrated. He would never be mainstream, but he’s seen as a legend in music circles. You don’t need to be a household name to not be over/underrated
I think you mean worthy of criticism?
He doesnt even look at his fucking guitar. Bad assss
Born in a coop, raised in a cage
He was even in a dub group called Ben Wa "Devil Dub" it's sick
People still confused between hate and overrate. Clapton is still a great guitar player even though I think he's really overrated. He could made the guitar sing and I agreed on that, even though he's not in my Top 10.
name your top 10
@@martin2893 not in real time, honestly. i keep changing it based around my mood or experience. but, Clapton still couldn't fit in my top 10 imo at any time. lol
@@zackzallie8735 just name ten based on ur current mood
@@zackzallie8735 would santana be in your top 10?
@@martin2893 1. John Frusciante/Jimi Hendrix
2. Jimmy Page
3. Eric Johnson
4. Eddie Van Halen
5. Frank Zappa
6. Jonny Greenwood
7. SRV
8. Mick Taylor
9. Tony Iommi
10. David Gilmour
I'm in a mood for sloppy dudes who could slide it in without sound pretentious or horrible.
I think the great thing about The Edge is that he’s a more simple guitarist, he’s not the most technically advanced or skilled or the flashiest guitarist, but I feel his ability, but his ability to make some of his chord transitions sound so natural made some of his guitar loops and riffs stand out more than you would expect, especially on U2’s more experimental material
he's more of a ''actually make a good song'' rather ''make a good solo" type of guitarist IMO
Van Halen's rhythm playing is second to none. He's *underrated* not overrated.
Agreed. Those isolated guitar tracks on TH-cam are a hidden treasure
@DEA-I-H FVCK DES-I-ROYER Jesus. I don't think I knew this. Thanks for the info!
He's not remotely close to being underrated this just made me LoL
Overrated? No, he's not.
_Underrated?_ He's literally one of the most beloved guitarists of all time, he most DEFINITELY is not.
@@DTheAustralian seriously what is this guy talking about🤣 Van Halen UNDERrated? Bahahahahahahahaa
Bucket head is incredible if you look in the right corners of his massive and overwhelming discography
You got any suggestions of where to start?
@@Juli_is_Online
Soothsayer and Aunt Suzie
Welcome to Bucketheadland and Jordan
Edit: Watch the video titled “most emotional Soothsayer….” or something along those lines
I also recommend Maggot Dream, Sail on Soothsayer, Maguas Scalp, Whitewash, For Mom, and Nottingham Lace. A few lesser known songs with a couple of his other popular ones
(Maggot Dream is under the name "Death Cube K")
@@-.-6900 soothsayer is the most boring, basic b answer you could have given lmao. soothsayer sucks
@@goldenboy140 Very interesting
Funny how nobody asked you though
Now that we’re talking about guitarist it’s a great time for me to engage in my Prince propaganda
Prince is one of the greatest guitar players ever and is one of the few guitar players that is equally good at rhythm and lead. He had the greatest and probably most iconic power balleds of all time. He could play any genre: jazz, r&b, rock, funk, etc, and his live shows is what really separates him from the rest
Note: John Mayer is an amazing fucking guitarist and songwriter. Anyone who knows anything about guitar knows how beautifully complicated Neon is. John could literally be a jazz guitarist but just decided to Settle for pop music
Prince on Bambi is still some of cleaneast shit I have ever heard. Dude was a straight up menace
I’m mad I clicked on the vid to see if anyone would disrespect Prince and then I saw this post and I’m glad I’m not the only one on the Prince guitarist propaganda 😂
Extra funny if you say it after you do the dramatic duck face! I can just imagine people going, "What the..."
I don't think anyone who knows anything about music would ever discredit Prince as a guitar player.
His solo in “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was heavenly. Just straight up ate that track.
I would rather talk about underrated guitarists, and at the top of my list would be Joni Mitchell. She inspired so many, and she basically re-invented the way we thought about guitar playing. No one else at the time knew what she was doing, but she did. She truly understands music, and when she got into Jazz, my god her skill really shines through. Her style of playing is completely unique and inspired what Thurston Moore based his whole sound off of; open tunings and strange chords.
Totally agree. Nick Drake is similarly underrated imo. He uses alternate tunings in a different way than Joni but to just as great of an effect
Absolutely!....I wish I could like this comment more than once
@@jamiemyers988 the unfortunate thing about joni was that she was overshadowed by Bob Dylan, even though he was no where near as talanted a writer or guitarist.
I love Joni Mitchell. She can play. Not the most underrated player especially compared to others more deserving but certainly underrated since she's known as a singer and songwriter. Definitely a better musician than Dylan and her music was more dynamic. But to say he wasn't as talented a writer is a little overboard. I'm not buying that.
Rory Gallagher, nuff said.
I remember showing Richard Pryor to my younger brother once he was old enough and he didn’t laugh once. I then realized that he had heard some version of every Pryor trope on comic view. Richard Pryor, just like the EVH, Hendrix and Eric Johnson hopefully will never be overrated. They changed the game and Still sound fresh to THIS DAY. Love your channel
I remember 20 years ago thinking Carlos Santana might be over the hill. He was playing with BB King and I later realized it's not polite to try to play over your host. Then I saw Carlos on TV a few months later thinking he would suck. Carlos' solo started slow and ended up raising the hair on the back of my neck. LIVE, Carlos is one of the greatest, EVER!
Santana is amazing
Santana is under appreciated because the average person who listen to guitarists equate the number of notes you play each second to how much you are good as a player.
Actually is the exact opposite, as a guitar player who hasn t a lot of technique i find easier to play fast because you don t have to think, you can play as many casual notes as you want as long as they are sufficiently close to each other so the only two notes that count are the first and the last of the lick u are playing. The reality is that playing slow in which every note you do must count is the most difficult thing.
Technique is just a shield to hide behind for players who don t know what they are doing
As a saxophonist, Santana is slick as ice 🧊.
When he did his jazz funk era in the mid to late seventies with Amigos with Dance Sister Dance and those live albums (Viva Santana & Lotus).
That made me wanna step up my technique on the horn.
@@synapsy9291 playing slow requires even more techinque.
If you play slow, all your notes must sound perfect, and that's why BB King is one of the goats.
Vai makes absolutely stellar music for film, where that kind of calculated, clean performance works better. His stuff for the Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey soundtrack slaps.
To me Steve Vai is a bit too eccentric on his guitar. I greatly appreciate his contribution to the guitar community but his music can be a bit much.
@@derHuckepackmann Yeah steve vai is the most literal example of too much of a good thing, his music is like a cup of tea with 6 spoons of sugar in it.
I get the complaint, the dude is technically talented, but doesn't leave a whole lot to the imagination.
His playing on David Lee Roth's solo albums is fucking incredible as well
He did good with the Halo soundtrack. Still my favorite video game soundtrack ever.
Eric Clapton is certainly a skilled guitarist and he does what he does really well. However, he stopped growing as a musician in the mid 70s and has basically relied on the same types of riffs and sounds ever since. If you ever see the footage of the tour he did with George Harrison in 1991, especially the song "Taxman" which originally has this Indian inspired solo played by Paul McCartney, Eric's take on it was to play the first few notes and then just go into his standard blues licks he always plays. The songs where George took the lead had far more interesting and intricate solos. That tour is a good highlight of an over rated guitarist (Eric Clapton) and 2 under rated guitarists (George Harrison and Andy Fairweather-Low). That's not saying that Eric isn't great, he is. I think a lot of the problems people have with him come more from his political views than his music. It's fairly well documented that he does have some very toxic ideas. But I think perhaps the whole "Clapton Is God" thing went to his head and he still hasn't really come down since.
Yeah I do think political views come into the dislike of Clapton. I don't mean that to downplay it, he said some pretty racist shit, but it's just not really related to how good he is at guitar.
The only artist(other than an opening act featuring two guys on cheap Casios) that has put me to sleep, and it happened TWICE! Once at his own show, and once during Appeal for ARMS, a benefit for Ronnie Lane.
People love to hate clapton lately because they are deranged and cant wait to line up for booster shots the rest of their lives
@@huelerhuelin3334 cry about it
@@movimentodoscacos Not crying, laughing at poor fools like yourself
On the point of Buckethead, I feel people miss out that he has released more albums than most artists have singles in their lifetimes, and he always managed to do something unique and interesting; regardless of whether it was particularly "great" or not.
Even greater that his overall ability and technique is almost unmatched, in that I can't think of many guitarists who are as good based on their technique or style alone.
He really does take it to another level, it’s not just constant guitar solos
well, for starters, he actually can play guitar. people don't like that, because it's hard to make excuses for "masters" like frusciante, hammet and other mu-stain's
Buckethead is also virtually alone in having written beautiful, emotional guitar pieces in honor of his parents ("For Mom"; "I Love My Parents"). And he does it unapologetically and with real feeling, turning expressions that many would consider ridiculously uncool into something that makes people shed tears of love. Nothing about that could ever be considered underrated.
Glad you gave Mayer his props as a guitarist. Dudes crazy talented if you’ve ever seen his live work and less mainstream pieces.
Same I saw John in the thumbnail and came here to defend him lololololol good on ya anthony
It makes me happy seeing Mayer get credit across the spectrum nowadays.
@@joeyk4658 i also came to defend my bro lol, glad we out here and shout out to anthony for not letting twitter block John's flowers.
Even his mainstream stuff is top tier - edge of desire, don't trust myself, paper doll , etc etc, ... I'm really suprised that his "guitar fans" are so quick to discredit his own writing.
one of most vanilla bland boring musicians i can think of .
I see The Edge as a proto-Jonny Greenwood. He was excellent at using the guitar to create a particular atmosphere and soundscape within a song. Like he didn't limit himself to the traditional role the guitarist takes in a band, he was molding the sonics of the song itself. Try playing a guitar part from U2 in isolation, it's almost impossible to get the dynamics and harmonics right, so if you don't nail those, it might sound too simple but when played properly and integrated with the rest of the song it's perfect and adds an element that lesser guitarists would not be able to provide.
Also everybody go watch the live version of Bullet the Blue Sky from the ZooTV, the solo is great and the riff is massive.
Like Syd Barrett on Pink Floyd.
Very well said.
Saying The Edge is a bad guitarist based on technique or proficiency is like saying a carrot is orange in color. I bet The Edge himself would acknowledge that fact himself. He knows he is not good in traditional sense.
Thank you so much for defending John Mayer, his skill on the guitar is actually insane
@ghost mall yeah he regularly shoots himself in the foot
@ghost mall he’s pretty pretentious but extremely talented nonetheless
I think he very capable but I don't like his guitar tone and his vibrato can be very annoying.
@ghost mall he’s not as douchey or pretentious now. He’s gotten better.
I think a lot of hate mayer gets isnt because he's not talented, but rather because he's pretentious and annoying lol
You could say John Fogerty wasn't the greatest guitar 🎸 players but his limited chord use make him an incredible talent for songwriting and guitar sound made him pure genius
You could say that, in fact you did. Summary: because John Fogerty has limited talent he is one of the best.
C'mon CCR had great songs. Many great songs are simple and do not take immense talent to play. Just accept that CCR falls in that category.
Like Neil Young. Great songwriter, not the best guitarist though.
@@walkawaycat431 love Neil Young's guitar work in Dead Man (1994)
Neil Young and John Fogharty both light years better than Ted Nugent who is considered a guitar "hero".
I saw him a few years back, and BOY, can that guy play now.
Just goes to show you what 5 hours a day practicing in self-imposed exile for a decade can do.
Clapton is kind of an interesting case to me. I love Cream and I like Derek and the Dominos, but the solo stuff (outside of a few songs, as well as 461 Ocean Boulevard, which is hands down the best album Clapton made under his own name) does little for me. I wouldn't call him the most overrated guitarist ever (I enjoy his playing, it's more the songs themselves that get in the way for me), but I can't argue with people who say that he gets far too much mileage out of two great bands and only some good solo material.
Blind faith and the bluesbreakers were good too!!
5 years of greatness (but not even that great IMO) followed by 50 years of mediocrity = overrated
When I saw the video notification, the first name that popped into my head was Clapton.
@@mrlalalaelmo7454 name your top 10 guitarists
@@martin2893 well I don’t claim to know all the guitarists out there, but here’s
a few off the top of my head who are greater IMO:
- Stevie ray vaughan
- Eddie van halen
- Bb king
- Chet atkins
- Tony iommi
- Brian may
- Terry kath
- Carlos santana
- Ritchie blackmore
- Jimi hendrix
- Pete townshend
- David gilmour
- Tommy emmanuel
- Gary moore
- Wes montgomery
Love Zappa. The fierceness of Rat Tomago, the absurdity of one note guitar solos on a Coral Electric Sitar and the sublime in Watermelon on an Easter Hay.
To be fair, the Edge never claims to be a great guitarist. And regardless of how easy it is to play, his style was unique and innovative when it came out. Not to mention his sound has been copped by Christian Music bands for three damn decades now.
Why Christian music in particular? I don't ever listen to it myself but I'm somewhat exposed since I'm around a lot of people who do.
Any specific examples? I'm curious.
@@IcyScythe You'll see a lot of "worship" songs use the reverbed-droning-minimalist style of guitar playing used by the Edge. One good example of that is I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For by U2.
I feel like you were talking about Steve Vai when you meant to say those things about Yngvie Malmsteen
The John Mayer trio album is where John Mayer really shows off his guitar skills
Duane Allman is someone who although gets a lot of credit, he’s still underrated I feel. What this man did on the Allman Brothers Fillmore East live album is still mind blowing. RIP Skydog.
Totally totally agree! But let's not forget Dickie Betts too, while we're on topic!
“Layla” was mainly Duane’s doing.
Some say Duane was or would have been among the best of all.
In Memory of Elizabeth Reed from that performance
Totally agree. An amazing body of work for someone a mere 24 years old at his death
Ain't no way people are saying Buckethead is one of the most overrated guitarists of all time
He is though. He's a very good guitar player just nowhere near as good of a guitarist as his fans claim him to be.
@@EzraTheEpic I don't know I still think he's pretty good
I think the overratedness lies in the music itself and not the technical skill. Dude's crazy good but he's definitely got a quantity over quality type of output.
@JAY CHROM3 I don’t think anyone is criticizing any technical guitarists for not writing “hit records” lmao. You can not try to write a hit and still write subpar music
I'll tell you one thing about The Edge.
I've heard numerous guitarists cover U2 songs, and about 95% of the time they get the sound completely wrong. It's actually more difficult to sound like him than some might think
Those guitar players dont have a room full of computer like Mr. Evans ! Give me a shout when he plays a solo !
The Edge is one of the few guitarists whose sound is instantly recognisable - not many attain that status, his music is always about the song and not his own ego - maybe you could give us a shout when you reach the same heights
The whole "Edge relies too much on pedals" thing only actually began a few years ago because of people's now overt familiarity with his rig, but back when U2 were in thier prime and releasing masterworks every couple years, he sounded totally unique and was incredibly innovative. People act like those albums just came out last year and he is riding some train...well, he started the train lol
My take on Edge. He’s the guy who’s hamburgers tasted like shit, but he discovered that ketchup made them taste a lot better. Now he’s known as a grill master because he’s the guy who discovered that ketchup makes shitty hamburgers taste better.
@@paulkontz Ah yes, the old "he sucks cause he can't shred" argument. "He sucks without the effects".... *Yawn*....the effects are a part of his style that was, again, very innovative and original at the time. You don't even need to enjoy U2's music to notice or appreciate that.
Oh, and ketchup will never save a shitty hamburger, what planet are you on lol
I think people shit on U2 and the edge because most alt rock/pop acts bite what they did and they don't want people going back and listening to find out (probably not, but it's a fun theory lol) I don't even care that much for U2 myself but it's hard to discredit what they've done w/ their career.
It’s not his fault his guitar style found it’s way into college mission/vision video productions lol
The sound mostly comes from Brian Eno though
The issue with Steve Vai is that he's not afraid to explore uncommon scales and chords, often exotic, and he has a deep knowledge of music from other cultures. I sometimes get bored with his stuff as well, but it is because we're so used to hear only minor and major scales that any other pattern sounds odd for us. If there's anything for me to do is to try to listen to him more. The more I get used to hear strange patterns, the more aware my musical sensitivity gets and the wider my musical taste becomes.
Best response to this hack's take, man, for sure. Someone needed to say it
Yes. All flash and no substance was a truly ignorant utterance, as was EVH has Eruption and nothing else.
I won't be back here.
This was just a long way of saying "listening to new stuff makes you find new music to like"
He didn’t have Michael Melchiondo Jr. on this list.
@@mss11235 Steve Vai is not a good guitarist.
buckethead is just something else. he has just a passion for guitar and is incredibly talented, he is also consistent in all his albums. which is awesome, i dont think hes overrated because he has so much more than all his popular stuff. hes my favorite guitar player and imo one of the greatest. hes also just a great character on stage, his whole outfit is actually raw as hell
I’m new to the bucket head train, the guy is insane and the whole outfit makes him one thousand times cooler for remaining anonymous.
Buckethead is on another level. Just because you don't relate to his music doesn't make him overrated.
@Ryan Kiesow okay cool will do! I play a little banjo too so I can only imagine the insanity that’s awaiting me. He really is a maestro and seems like a dude who just wants to play guitar. Love that the fame and celebrity just doesn’t matter, guy just wants to shred.
indeed.. its the whole package..All he does,it seems,is create music( 350 studio albums ),which btw he sells direct to his fans bypassing the record companies..
hands out toys to his fans at his shows..He is a remarkable, unique and,it seems, genuine person..
He did music for a video game recently called Sigil, it's pretty good.
Funny enough, John Mayer’s main goal entering college was to be the known as the best guitarist in the world. For songwriting class his first semester, he had to write songs. The songs he wrote that week are the first half of “Room for Squares” which went number 1 in the charts. He only sang his own songs because he didn’t want Brittney Spears singing his lyrics. He talks about it in his Berklee master class
Anthony is a vegan - says he enjoys some cream himself. Literally shaking rn.
I think people who want to see John Mayer go to his fullest abilities need to at least try and listen to him play with Dead and Company. I know the dead are not everyone’s cup of tea, but that being said listen to almost any performance of “sugaree” and you will see John’s full spectrum of playing shine.
Hell yeah 👍
John has played with countless blues and jazz legends. He can absolutely hang with the best of them. I agree with Anthony, if anything John is underrated
Or even checking out his blues trio stuff too. He blows over every tune
I agree with the take that Mayer is a good guitarist but a crappy song writer. A lot of his original songs are boring to me. I was wary when I heard he was going to play with Dead and Company because I am a huge Dead head, but Mayer actually fits pretty well with the band. He's probably the best singer they've ever had so at least he adds that. I have a lot more respect for him ever since he joined Dead.
@@mimiccave totally agree, I’m a lifelong deadhead (although I’m only 23 lol, both my parents are darkheads) and I was very weary of him joining in but seeing him 15 or so times now has me thinking there may not be another player that could have joined the dead and done such a good job so quickly
Blackmore has earned the title of worst best guitarrist of all time after how much he consistently makes the bottom of best guitarrist lists
yet he should be near the top smh
Yes, I agree, he had one of the worst tones, it was watery and had no bite, he had moments with In Rock and Made in Japan but other than that...........
My personal favorite guitarist has always been Synester Gates. I love how much personality his style has and how it has develop over time. He also has great jazz chops
Syns great
I half agree with the Dave Mustaine takes. I think he's a good guitarist. Yeah his solos are a lil bit samey but his riffs are amazing. I rarely look at Mustaine and think about his solo because there's Friedman, Poland and Loureiro in Megadeth, but only Mustaine can write phenomenal riffs like Tornado Of Souls and Lucretia.
lucretia riff is god tier
My problem with mustaine is that people love to claim that if Mustaine stayed in Metallica, they would hace got better songs and albums. Meanwhile his songs are good their solos aren't as good as Kirk Hammett ones.
@@joaquinlezcano2372megadeths solos are miles better than Metallica's?!!
He's a great riff creator, but he's not a good songwriter anymore... his solos are trash and, more than anything, he is a horrible human being... completely agree with the melon
@@CamiloSalvadorMP hey, i'm just ill informed and curious. why is dave mustaine an asshole?
Buckethead's thing goes a wee bit beyond a gimmick for me. Feels like it's almost a performance art type thing, you know, where he's created this bizarre character and just really embodies it
Exactly. A top hat is a gimmick. Buckethead is a complete character. The person under the mask and wig is irrelevant
Like unknown hinson
Exactly. He has actually said that playing this “monster freak” character makes him feel more like himself because he has no pressure (and he has a lot of social anxiety). It’s liberating and helps him express himself and do what he loves. He even said he has out of body experiences when playing live because his eyes are covered and it’s almost like he’s playing for himself. It’s no gimmick. I honestly admire him so much. I am just as socially awkward as him and I wish I could do the same thing for playing music(but people would just call me a wannabe)
@@PestilentPope agree
@@Johnnysmithy24 Nice one, always got that impression that part of keeping his confidence up for those insane guitar lines was actually sort of 'becoming' Buckethead
Steve Vai doesn’t even sweep pick that much. He’s actually very creative in his playing/writing. For the love of god, Whispering a prayer, The moon and I, Book of the seven seals, and little green men, are all great songs that are worth checking out, Anthony Wrongtano.
Facts
That's what i was thinking. Like i don't remember him doing all that much sweeping.
I would never consider Vai a "Sweep picker". He has quite the range of styles under his belt.
Right. Bendy yes... but sweepy?
Vai’s phrasing and tone is what pulls me in. Vai is able to make the lead guitar a lead singer for his songs. If he said Michael Angelo Batio, then I can agree that sweep picking is something he does a lot. But Batio is not overrated IMO either. It’s fine to say you just can’t listen to more than a song or two by Batio or Yngwie, or even Vai. But Vai stands out IMO because he doesn’t reproduce the same sound with every song and he is constantly stretching himself and exploring where the guitar can go. He is an innovator of the highest order.
first time I've EVER heard Anthony mention Frank Zappa, which is crazy he should cover him more
9 or 10 years ago he reviewed Hot Rats but other than that and his mention of FZ in this video I think that's it
What more can be said
@@zaneramsey plenty