The Allman Brothers actually had two sets of guitarists, both of which belonged on the list . In addition to Duane Allman and Dickie Betts, Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes were fantastic.
@@michaelrohde7743 Yes, I do, but they very often fell back on the „usual“ Lead and Rhythm Guitar Thing instead of their initial Twin Lead Guitar Concept. I once promoted a Cover Band of Wishbone Ash called Living Proof in a Pub in 1981. They played the Concept: Two Lead Guitars playing the real „Twin Guitar“ Thing that goes back to Texas Twin Fiddle Stuff of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys. When I saw the Wishbone Ash in the 80ties maybe around 10% of the Tunes were this Twin Guitar Sound the Rest was the Conventional Stuff. But I saw Ornette Colemans Prime Time in the 80ties, but there the Stuff was much more improvised and not as much „composed“. I think Wishbone Ash to often switched between a Progrock Band and a Hardrock Band to stay convincing in either Style.
No love for Joe Perry and Brad Whitford? Aerosmith were almost single handedly resonsible for an entire genre of guitar music and imitators in the 1980s. Some of whom are on the list but who were never game changers for guitarists like Joe and Brad were back then. Give a listen to Rocks on headphones for twin-guitar at finest.
Good that you came upp with Fripp & Belew Steve Hunter & Dick Wagner (Played on Lou Reed's Rock'n roll animal+ with Alice Cooper) Andy Powell & Ted Turner (Wishbone Ash) Louis Dambra & Joey Dambra (Sir Lord Baltimore, as far as I know, the phrase heavy metal was first used in association with this band) Jeff Beck & Jimmy Page (Yardbirds 1966) Keith Richards & Mick Taylor (were the perfect pair for Rolling Stones)
Allman Brothers Band Iconic and essential pair They defined what two guitarists should do to make music together: plus pioneered the long improvisation form
Mine are: Bob Weir, Jerry Garcia Jeff Hanneman, Kerry King Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew Scott Gorham, Brian Robertson James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett Andy Partridge, Dave Gregory Fredrik Thordendal, Mårten Hagström Glenn Tipton, K K Downing Edit: Angus and Malcolm Young, how could I forget them? That's all I can think of at the moment.
Weir and Garcia really are one of the best guitar duos. Nobody plays like Weir; he's perfectly complimentary to Jerry's lead work, but had no shortage of phrasing that stood out. His licks and phrases that he would play on China Cat Sunflower are so perfect and totally drive the song.
@@fmellish71 I guess the only real comparison would be the Dynamic that Coltrane and Tyner had. Bob even said in interviews that his guitar playing was greatly influenced by McCoy Tyner's pianowork.
Andy…. love your videos, you’re a true talent, but you’ve managed to make a grave mistake here by not mentioning Duane Allman and Dickie Betts!!! Please revise your list. Here’s a few other all time classic guitar duos: Peter Green and Danny Kirwan, Peter Frampton and Steve Marriot, Dick Wagner and Steve Hunter, what about guitar genius’s Larry Coryell and John McLaughlin epic ‘Spaces’ album? For that matter Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin??🤓🤔😊
Duane Allman and Dickey, dual lead guitar. That's it for me. Maybe I'm biased and from GA, but their blend of rock, blues, and jazz forms are absolutely incredible. Especially Dickey on In Memory of Elizabeth Reed among other instrumentals.
Top 10 you ignored; 1. Eagles, 2. Zappa/Vai, 3. Allman Brothers, 4. Grateful Dead, 5. Little Feat, 6. Original Fleetwood Mac, 7. Jefferson Airplane, 8. Quicksilver Messenger Service and 10. Tony Rice/Jerry Douglas.
The first two guitar combo song that knocked my socks off was Alice Coopers Halo Of Flies. I was 13 and had been brought up on Beetles and Stones music. Alice Coopers Killer album was a revelation for me!
A few more suggestions: 1. Smashing Pumpkins (James Iha is so underrated and has a distinctive sinuous sound - the only person I think who came close was Randy California from Spirit). 2. Santana circa the Santana III album (Carlos Santana and Neal Schon) - there's some great footage of them playing live in Ghana in 1971 in the 'Soul to Soul' film and you can hear a lot of Neal on the Carlos Santana and Buddy Miles Live album. 3. Funkadelic circa the Hardcore Jollies album (Michael Hampton and Gary Shider) - the album even says it is 'dedicated to the guitar players of the world'! 4. Miles Davis band on the Agharta and Pangea albums (Pete Cosey and Reggie Lucas). If you like this, it is also worth checking out the live Dark Magus album which contains THREE guitar players - Cosey, Lucas and the teenage Dominique Gaumont channelling the spirit of Jimi Hendrix. 5. Lou Reed circa the Berlin and Lou Reed Live albums (Steve Hunter and Dick Wagner bringing a bit of hard rock muscle to Lou's sound) 6. Lou Reed circa the Blue Mask album (Lou himself and Robert Quine developing a new type of guitar interplay influenced by NY punk and new wave) 7. Wishbone Ash 8. The Steve Miller Band circa their Sailor album (Steve Miller and Boz Scaggs) 9. The Byrds circa their Untitled album (1970) (Roger McGuinn and Clarence White) - on the live cuts in particular, Clarence White invents a type of psychedelic electrified country/bluegrass guitar 10. Hawkwind circa the Levitation album (Dave Brock and Huw Lloyd-Langton) - nothing flash but their playing suits the music so well.
Re: Hardcore Jollies, the only 'guitar' track that features Shider and Hampton is the live Cosmic Slop. Eddie Hazel is the lead guitar on the title track, Comin' Around the Mountain, and Soul Mate.
@@carlos_herrera I stand corrected! Having looked at Wikipedia I can see that the personnel varies considerably from track to track, with 4 different guitar players featured in different combinations.
25:32 Scott and Robbo shared their solos pretty much 50/50. I think the reason for people thinking Robbo played lead and Scott rhythm is that Robbo didn’t like playing it, so tended to focus on power chords and improvised lead fills. Scott, on the other hand, was happy to add colour, interest and even subtlety (!) with his chord voicings. Gary Moore was the best guitarist Thin Lizzy ever had but Scott and Robbo were the best-matched pairing. 🎸🎸👍
Another great tangent inspired video Andy but when you spoke about the earliest guitar duos, Richards and Jones you overlooked ,love them or hate them, The Shadows Marvin and Welch, they may not be great guitarists but they were certainly iconic. Keep tangent-ing we love it.
Great Thin Lizzy story! Scott did most of the Bad Reputation album himself. And, he would write parts for Brian that he couldn’t really play early on. Such a great band befallen by the jinxes !
Thanks for this video. I mostly agree with your choices, although I would have liked to have seen the early Wishbone Ash included. In many places they are credited with having first introduced twin lead guitar to a greater audience, and personally agree with that.
Hi Andy. Great video as ever! I always believed that Ted Turner and Andy Powell of Wishbone Ash, developed the twin lead sound(around 1969/70). Theirs was more harmonic leads, rather than rhythm/lead. I know Thin Lizzy always nodded towards Ash, for their sound.
James Blood Ulmer and Ronny Drayton: Black Rock! Prince and Wendy Melvoin. Dickey Betts and Duane Allman. Elvin Bishop and Mike Bloomfield in the Paul Butterfield Bluesband. Many Muddy Waters Bands (Okay, they were often three). Eric Clapton and Albert Lee: Just one Night! David Fyuszinsky and Jef Lee Johnson with Ronald Shannon Jackson and the Decoding Society. Harald Härter with Phillip Schaufelberger or Flo Stoffner. John Scofield and Bill Frisell in Bass Desires. And for Concept: Wishbone Ash.
A pairing that is absolutely sublime for me and will always be in my top ten is Powell and Turner from Wishbone Ash, first time I ever heard them, I was about 17, blew my mind, Argus is still one of my all time favourite albums. Some honourable mentions would be Rossi/Parfitt of Status Quo and Noddy and Dave of Slade.
Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd’s interplay in Television deserves recognition in any list of rock twinkling guitarists. Their playing on Marquee Moon and Adventure is just exquisite
First off, when I saw the title of this video, within 3 minutes I had formulated about 7 choices. All of them lined up with yours. I was pleasantly surprised by Soundgarden (one of my favorites). I also loved your honorable mentions of Megadeth and Anthrax-the lead player you were trying to think of was Dave Spitz. I know a ton of people are screaming for Allman, and that was the one duo I did expect, although I am not a huge fan, and would have placed them toward the bottom. Lastly, the Malcom Young commentary- What made him a genius rhythm player was GROOVE. I have never heard a rhythm player with so much ability to lock into the bass and drums like he could. Dude, please keep doing these videos! You are a true student of Rock music, and I respect your incredible level of knowledge!!!
Andy - I met Phil and the band, when Snowy was playing, on the Renegade tour. We saw them play at the Birmingham Odeon and we were all staying at the Midland Hotel. Thus, the following morning we had breakfast together and went to see them do their sound and light check for that night's gig. Brian Downey said to me to have a go on his drums (a lovely chap). Now the rest of this story is divided between my euphoric amnesia and my mate's recollections. I was dying for the toilet but nevertheless knocked out some rhythms and accompanied Phil and Scott (no Snowy). All I can recall is a hazy sense of seeing Phil at the mic but mostly a Super Trooper diving in and out coming right up close to me. Phil was kind enough to say something complimentary about what I'd done, but I hadn't been playing long. I think we followed them up to Edinburgh after that. It was a long time ago mind. ;)
Hey Andy, fantastic episode with your thoughts and insights on 10 guitar duos. I read a lot of individual nominations of your commentators that most probably should be considered. But your choices in any of your ranking shows have coherence and you alway are able to enrich it with personnel experiences and thoughts. That makes the listening to your contributions always entertaining. The only thing I felt from your first posts on ... to keep a 30 minute limit would do good to your contributions in order to be consumable better.
That was a great list, Stone and Mike from Pearl jam, Phil and Steve from def leppard, slash and izzy, Jorma and Paul from the airplane, and Stills & Young, Anton and Jeff Davies from the Jonestown Massacre
Great stuff!😀 WISHBONE ASH must have been totally off your radar. Ted Turner and Andy Powell were sublime. Argus (Argos?) is as near perfect a twin guitar album/rock album as is possible. Throw down the sword 🔥 .. The king will come. 🔥 Ritchie Blackmore was so impressed he contacted what became their record label and said they would be crazy not to sign them.
I'm a little older than you so I'm another that would put Allman Bros at No. 1. Fripp/Belew would be my No. 2. Another band not mentioned--maybe for good reason, I don't know--is Boston. But none of those I mentioned are lead/rhythm pairs. Maybe not iconic, but Blue Oyster Cult could be in there. One of my favorite concert going experiences was an encore at a BOC concert--Fire of Unknown Origin Tour. Rick Derringer opened for them and Todd Rundgren had been playing at another venue in town (Dallas). So Rundgren and Derringer came onstage on an encore and three of BOC's guitarists, so five on guitar altogether, jammed on "Roadhouse Blues". When it came time for that great guitar break no one knew who was going to jump in so was an awkward moment until Rundgren went ahead and soloed--then he would point to the next guy so he kind of directed who would solo when. I discovered that night that Rundgren is a very under-rated guitarist.
Now , if the title would have been , the 10 greatest guitar pairings in a fixed group ...that would be ok . But now , I can throw in Steve Hunter with Dick Wagner who kicked a** on Lou Reed Live & Rock'n'roll Animal & worked with The Coop.
Love most of your content, but you’re a bit myopic on this one. Duane Allman/Dickie Betts belong near the top of this list. Also missing are Jerry Garcia/ Bob Weir and Steven Stills/Neil Young. Not necessarily your style of music, but each of those pairs had a bigger impact than many of the pairs you chose.
One of the most iconic dual leads was the intro to Sweet Jane by Lou Reed. Steve Hunter and Dick Wagner raised the bar and set the level at a new high for two rock guitarists. Steve was also Jason Becker's teacher. Such a great player, he also did the solos on Aerosmith's version of Train kept a rollin.
the people who lead the way were the Beatles (George and John are under rated as guitarists); Stones (particularly when Taylor joined); Humble Pie (Marriot and Frampton); Blind Faith (Clapton and Winwood); The most influential were Wishbone Ash (Powell and Turner) - most of the bands you refer to who came later such as Judas Priest and Thin Lizzy were influenced by WA !! ; Derek & The Dominos (Clapton and Allman); Santana (Carlos and Schon); totally agree about Soundgarden.
Not as easy as you'd think, even to confine it to your own favourites... not who's better or best. Moginie/Rotsey - Midnight Oil Powell/Turner & Powell/Wisefield - Wishbone Ash Fripp/Belew - King Crimson Perry/Whitford - Aerosmith Robertson/Gorham - Thin Lizzy Buxton/Bruce - Alice Cooper Wagner/Hunter - Lou Reed, Alice Cooper & Peter Gabriel Spooner/Steen - Tubes Cocks/Wells - Rose Tattoo DeGarmo/Wilton - Queensryche
Two more pairings to consider. The first is Martin Belmont and Brinsley Schwarz in the Rumour - great, great rhythm guitarists working together. The second is Stuart Adamson and Bruce Watson from Big Country - very distinctive interactions.
Alan Holdsworth and Ollie Halsall, but only one bbc gig exists. Steve Kahn and Larry Coryell. This topic could really expand into twin guitar bands (e.g. Thin Lizzy), classical duets (e.g. Presti-Lagoya), old jazz duets (e.g. Karl Kress & George Barnes), electric jazz duos (Herb Ellis & Cal Collins), etc. For progressive, AFT (Automatic Fine Tuning, on Charisma) mops the floor with most of the shred metal mentioned here. Jukka Tolonen also had a fantastic twin-guitar lineup in fusion style.
I hadn't heard anything by Ollie Halsall until around a year ago. I don't get why he's so highly rated. Holdsworth I do get. OK, I can't play guitar, but why should I be impressed by a player whose stuff might be technically very proficient but is dull?
I recommend Patto (e g. Hold Your Fire or debut albums) for Ollie Halsall. Indeed, you could listen to the Tempest BBC gig, songs like Gorgon, with Holdsworth. (Many folks believe it's Holdsworth playing when it's actually Halsall.)
@@Itelkner Herb Ellis played lots of gigs with Barney Kessel and also did a great duo album with Joe Pass. I think he did most of his twin guitar albums, either with bass and drums or duets, with Cal Collins.
I'm sure many people will point this out, and indeed you mention at the very end (as I'm typing this in fact) regarding other guitar pairings that could have ben included . Duane Allman and Dickie Betts in the original lineup of the Allman Brothers Band definitely deserve a place on this list (IMO). Both were great guitarists and blended wonderfully; and they were very influential on many bands to follow. But it's your list, not mine, and you're a fan of a lot of rock bands that I frankly don't listen to, so what do I know? It's hard for me to have an informed opinion about that with which I am uninformed. I just have to mention an early Rock and Roll song that is a tremendous example of two guitar interplay: "Jo Jo Gunne" by Chuck Berry from 1958. Some sources indicate that the 2nd guitar part was likely played by Chess label-mate Bo Diddley and some say it was actually Chuck overdubbing the 2nd guitar. Either way, there are some very cool, short two-guitar breaks between each verse, each different from the others. The song's imaginative and funny lyrics are Chuck's retelling of the famous "Signifying Monkey" story, which is told in various other songs and raps called "Signifying Monkey" as well in Cab Calloway's 1947 recording called "The Jungle King".
1:58 “this really come out of two bands doesn’t it…The Beatles and The Rolling Stones”. I’m not saying they belong on this list but, there were a hundred bands using two guitarists before the Beatles and the Stones! Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters often recorded and performed with a lead and rhythm (Buddy Guy and Jimmy Rogers among others). Lots of country bands from 1945-65 used two guitars as well. What about Bill Haley & His Comets, Buddy Holly and The Crickets, Gene Vincent and The Blue Caps, Johnny Cash and The Tennessee Three, The Ventures, The Beach Boys, etc. etc. etc. The Beatles and The Rolling Stones were just following the model that had been well established before them.
I'd recommend Gary Shider and Michael Hampton from Funkadelic (Cosmic Slop in particular), sort of post-Eddie Hazel. Also, Marriott/Frampton in Humble Pie. There is also Fripp/Summers. In jazz, two ECM albums by Ralph Towner and John Abercrombie. Thanks.
The Allman Brothers actually had two sets of guitarists, both of which belonged on the list . In addition to Duane Allman and Dickie Betts, Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes were fantastic.
I would add that one of the Allman Brothers innovations was the Dual Lead guitar.
Duane and Dickie.
Exactly!!!!!
Absolutely
For sure!
How did he over look these guys. They define the way two guitars should be performed.
Yea they are the primo guitar duos. I’d like to add weir n garcia who did mind boggling things together
Wake up and smell the coffee. It's Duane Allman and Dickie Betts
I was just going to say the same thing, not even close
Peter Green and Danny Kirwan made quite a pair in early Fleetwood Mac.
They actually had 3 if you include Jeremy Spencer.
Nobody seems to remember WISHBONE Ash!
yes not a mention of any pioneers
Wishbone Ash never got their proper due.
Agree
There's The Rub personal favourite. Also very fond of New England.
@@michaelrohde7743 Yes, I do, but they very often fell back on the „usual“ Lead and Rhythm Guitar Thing instead of their initial Twin Lead Guitar Concept.
I once promoted a Cover Band of Wishbone Ash called Living Proof in a Pub in 1981. They played the Concept: Two Lead Guitars playing the real „Twin Guitar“ Thing that goes back to Texas Twin Fiddle Stuff of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys.
When I saw the Wishbone Ash in the 80ties maybe around 10% of the Tunes were this Twin Guitar Sound the Rest was the Conventional Stuff.
But I saw Ornette Colemans Prime Time in the 80ties, but there the Stuff was much more improvised and not as much „composed“.
I think Wishbone Ash to often switched between a Progrock Band and a Hardrock Band to stay convincing in either Style.
Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd.
Beat me to it
Yes!
Verlaine and Lloyd always seem to be overlooked. But their playing on Marquee Moon and Adventure is exquisite and deserves more kudos than it receives
Yup
Just what I was thinking.
Allman - Betts is sublime.
When people talk about bands with twin guitars, many seem to overlook Wishbone Ash.
You beat me to it. 👍
@@WhizzRichardThompson pioneers
No love for Joe Perry and Brad Whitford? Aerosmith were almost single handedly resonsible for an entire genre of guitar music and imitators in the 1980s. Some of whom are on the list but who were never game changers for guitarists like Joe and Brad were back then. Give a listen to Rocks on headphones for twin-guitar at finest.
Winter and Derringer.....
Yes!
No doubt Johnny Winter and Ricky Derringer was a great Duo
I went and saw them in 75 and they just rock the house was still alive and well and now it's 68 I can say that's probably still my personal theme song
Steven Stills and Neil Young with Buffalo Springfield/CSNY
Beat me to it
Stephen
And Stills/Young on CSNY -- check out "Four Way Street" their live album.
Their styles really compliment eachother
@@StratsRUsNeil.
Good that you came upp with Fripp & Belew
Steve Hunter & Dick Wagner
(Played on Lou Reed's Rock'n roll animal+
with Alice Cooper)
Andy Powell & Ted Turner
(Wishbone Ash)
Louis Dambra & Joey Dambra
(Sir Lord Baltimore, as far as I know, the phrase heavy metal was first used in association with this band)
Jeff Beck & Jimmy Page
(Yardbirds 1966)
Keith Richards & Mick Taylor
(were the perfect pair for Rolling Stones)
Steve Hunter & Dick Wagner
Allman Brothers Band
Iconic and essential pair
They defined what two guitarists should do to make music together: plus pioneered the long improvisation form
The omission of Duane and Dickie is a massive oversight 😢
XTC Andy Partridge and Dave Gregory especially on “Drums and Wires”
Absolutely
Mine are:
Bob Weir, Jerry Garcia
Jeff Hanneman, Kerry King
Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew
Scott Gorham, Brian Robertson
James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett
Andy Partridge, Dave Gregory
Fredrik Thordendal, Mårten Hagström
Glenn Tipton, K K Downing
Edit: Angus and Malcolm Young, how could I forget them?
That's all I can think of at the moment.
Did you even watch the video? Angus and Malcolm are his #1 pairing. Sheesh. 32:01
Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd. 'Marquee Moon' is the greatest 2-guitar album ever made.
@@wmg5852 my vinyl copy sounds amazeballs
Weir and Garcia made so much magic happen with their guitars it was unreal! Cippolina and Duncan, Betts and Allman also worth a mention.
Weir and Garcia really are one of the best guitar duos. Nobody plays like Weir; he's perfectly complimentary to Jerry's lead work, but had no shortage of phrasing that stood out. His licks and phrases that he would play on China Cat Sunflower are so perfect and totally drive the song.
@@fmellish71 I guess the only real comparison would be the Dynamic that Coltrane and Tyner had. Bob even said in interviews that his guitar playing was greatly influenced by McCoy Tyner's pianowork.
CIA agents
@@aod7284 That's right, he did. Guitar players often get their uniqueness through being inspired by players of different instruments.
Tipton and Downing spring instantly to mind.
You didn’t watch the video.
Fripp and Belew will forever be my favorite
Television, Verlaine and Lloyd, in my pantheon.
Massive fan of Moore, but for me the great & classic line-up for Thin Lizzy will always be Brian & Scott. Both have gorgeous style & tone.
Me too...visual aswell
Bob Mothersbaugh and Bob Casale from Devo, together a tight rhythmic machine
Dick Wagner and Steve Hunter, Dick Wagner was my next door neighbor for years.
Killer players!
Andy…. love your videos, you’re a true talent, but you’ve managed to make a grave mistake here by not mentioning Duane Allman and Dickie Betts!!! Please revise your list. Here’s a few other all time classic guitar duos: Peter Green and Danny Kirwan, Peter Frampton and Steve Marriot, Dick Wagner and Steve Hunter, what about guitar genius’s Larry Coryell and John McLaughlin epic ‘Spaces’ album? For that matter Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin??🤓🤔😊
That you didn’t have Duane and Dickie at either #1 or no lower than #2 is unconscionable.
Tom Verlaine & Richard Lloyd
Duane Allman and Dickey, dual lead guitar. That's it for me. Maybe I'm biased and from GA, but their blend of rock, blues, and jazz forms are absolutely incredible. Especially Dickey on In Memory of Elizabeth Reed among other instrumentals.
Wishbone Ash, the yellow live album is just spot on from beginning to end
no mention of them
1st album....classic
Top 10 you ignored;
1. Eagles, 2. Zappa/Vai, 3. Allman Brothers, 4. Grateful Dead, 5. Little Feat, 6. Original Fleetwood Mac, 7. Jefferson Airplane, 8. Quicksilver Messenger Service and 10. Tony Rice/Jerry Douglas.
Yeah, Quicksilver gets overlooked a lot. They were a great band and both guitar players, Cippolina and Duncan, were lights out great. Good call!
@@jppagetoo "Both guitar players"? I think you've forgotten Dino Valenti!
@@AssociationAdmirerOK, he also played guitar with the band. He was more known for singing than as a guitar slinger though.
Eagles, Zappa, and original Fleetwood Mac all had 3 guitarists. Subject at hand was guitar DUOS.
That's actually a much better list.
Rossi/Parfitt in the first half of the 70's. That Intro to "Caroline", simple and great
First band I listened to and loved.
The first two guitar combo song that knocked my socks off was Alice Coopers Halo Of Flies. I was 13 and had been brought up on Beetles and Stones music. Alice Coopers Killer album was a revelation for me!
I’ll put a shout out for Black Francis and Joey Santiago.
A few more suggestions:
1. Smashing Pumpkins (James Iha is so underrated and has a distinctive sinuous sound - the only person I think who came close was Randy California from Spirit).
2. Santana circa the Santana III album (Carlos Santana and Neal Schon) - there's some great footage of them playing live in Ghana in 1971 in the 'Soul to Soul' film and you can hear a lot of Neal on the Carlos Santana and Buddy Miles Live album.
3. Funkadelic circa the Hardcore Jollies album (Michael Hampton and Gary Shider) - the album even says it is 'dedicated to the guitar players of the world'!
4. Miles Davis band on the Agharta and Pangea albums (Pete Cosey and Reggie Lucas). If you like this, it is also worth checking out the live Dark Magus album which contains THREE guitar players - Cosey, Lucas and the teenage Dominique Gaumont channelling the spirit of Jimi Hendrix.
5. Lou Reed circa the Berlin and Lou Reed Live albums (Steve Hunter and Dick Wagner bringing a bit of hard rock muscle to Lou's sound)
6. Lou Reed circa the Blue Mask album (Lou himself and Robert Quine developing a new type of guitar interplay influenced by NY punk and new wave)
7. Wishbone Ash
8. The Steve Miller Band circa their Sailor album (Steve Miller and Boz Scaggs)
9. The Byrds circa their Untitled album (1970) (Roger McGuinn and Clarence White) - on the live cuts in particular, Clarence White invents a type of psychedelic electrified country/bluegrass guitar
10. Hawkwind circa the Levitation album (Dave Brock and Huw Lloyd-Langton) - nothing flash but their playing suits the music so well.
Re: Hardcore Jollies, the only 'guitar' track that features Shider and Hampton is the live Cosmic Slop. Eddie Hazel is the lead guitar on the title track, Comin' Around the Mountain, and Soul Mate.
@@carlos_herrera I stand corrected! Having looked at Wikipedia I can see that the personnel varies considerably from track to track, with 4 different guitar players featured in different combinations.
@@DarkSideOfTheMoule it's a great album, whoever is playing.
25:32 Scott and Robbo shared their solos pretty much 50/50. I think the reason for people thinking Robbo played lead and Scott rhythm is that Robbo didn’t like playing it, so tended to focus on power chords and improvised lead fills. Scott, on the other hand, was happy to add colour, interest and even subtlety (!) with his chord voicings. Gary Moore was the best guitarist Thin Lizzy ever had but Scott and Robbo were the best-matched pairing. 🎸🎸👍
Steve Hackett & Mike Rutherford.... Mike played a *lot* of electric 12 string.
By the way.... Everyone loves your tangents...
No one needs to go to rock school. Your videos are the answer.
- Jeff Beck & Jimmy Page of The Yardbirds (1966)
- Andy Powell & Ted Turner of Wishbone Ash (1970)
- Don Wilson & Bob Bogle of The Ventures (1960)
The Allman Brothers Band, (Duane Allman, Dickey Betts) ???
Peter Koppes and Marty Willson-Piper from the Church were the greatest pairing I ever witnessed live.
Agree they never get the credit, Live in the 80s did some superb jamming and interplay. Very original.
Another great tangent inspired video Andy but when you spoke about the earliest guitar duos, Richards and Jones you overlooked ,love them or hate them, The Shadows Marvin and Welch, they may not be great guitarists but they were certainly iconic. Keep tangent-ing we love it.
For creative guitar playing, Andy Partridge and Dave Gregory.
The Ventures
Honourable mention to the first Tempest album, with Alan Holdsworth and Ollie Halsall. A nifty one-off.
Incredible. "Grey and Black" should be a classic rock staple now but alas was not to be.
I love it when you go off on a tangent.
You get a like just for the Cardiacs T-shirt. Another great video!
Great Thin Lizzy story! Scott did most of the Bad Reputation album himself. And, he would write parts for Brian that he couldn’t really play early on.
Such a great band befallen by the jinxes !
Thanks for this video. I mostly agree with your choices, although I would have liked to have seen the early Wishbone Ash included. In many places they are credited with having first introduced twin lead guitar to a greater audience, and personally agree with that.
Robin Zander and Rick Nielson Cheap Trick. Jeff Watson and Brad Gillis of Nightranger
Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth. David Bowie said it: the two most important bands of the 80s were The Pixies and Sonic Youth.
Hi Andy. Great video as ever! I always believed that Ted Turner and Andy Powell of Wishbone Ash, developed the twin lead sound(around 1969/70). Theirs was more harmonic leads, rather than rhythm/lead. I know Thin Lizzy always nodded towards Ash, for their sound.
The Cars maybe?
Ocasek not nearly at the same level as Easton, but good enough.
@@countdebleauchamp fair enough 😉
Rossi Parfitt, no contest.
thanks for the reply Andy. keep on with your amazing music blogs. the best by far. Deano
‘We all know who it’s going to be right’
Yes it’s Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd right?
Oh…
Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo better be on this list! And Brad Gillis and Jeff Watson...
James Blood Ulmer and Ronny Drayton: Black Rock!
Prince and Wendy Melvoin.
Dickey Betts and Duane Allman.
Elvin Bishop and Mike Bloomfield in the Paul Butterfield Bluesband.
Many Muddy Waters Bands (Okay, they were often three).
Eric Clapton and Albert Lee:
Just one Night!
David Fyuszinsky and Jef Lee Johnson with Ronald Shannon Jackson and the Decoding Society.
Harald Härter with Phillip Schaufelberger or Flo Stoffner.
John Scofield and Bill Frisell in Bass Desires.
And for Concept:
Wishbone Ash.
Wow what a listing. !
@@jedtulman46 Thanks!
Schofield and Frisell is a great shout.
Another great video, Andy. 😊
A pairing that is absolutely sublime for me and will always be in my top ten is Powell and Turner from Wishbone Ash, first time I ever heard them, I was about 17, blew my mind, Argus is still one of my all time favourite albums.
Some honourable mentions would be Rossi/Parfitt of Status Quo and Noddy and Dave of Slade.
Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd’s interplay in Television deserves recognition in any list of rock twinkling guitarists. Their playing on Marquee Moon and Adventure is just exquisite
First off, when I saw the title of this video, within 3 minutes I had formulated about 7 choices. All of them lined up with yours. I was pleasantly surprised by Soundgarden (one of my favorites). I also loved your honorable mentions of Megadeth and Anthrax-the lead player you were trying to think of was Dave Spitz. I know a ton of people are screaming for Allman, and that was the one duo I did expect, although I am not a huge fan, and would have placed them toward the bottom. Lastly, the Malcom Young commentary- What made him a genius rhythm player was GROOVE. I have never heard a rhythm player with so much ability to lock into the bass and drums like he could. Dude, please keep doing these videos! You are a true student of Rock music, and I respect your incredible level of knowledge!!!
I love your stuff Andy, but Allman and Betts should be in there. I don't care where, but somewhere in there.
Andy Powell & Ted Turner / Laurie Wisefield of Wishbone Ash. Argus is an absolute classic.
Andy - I met Phil and the band, when Snowy was playing, on the Renegade tour. We saw them play at the Birmingham Odeon and we were all staying at the Midland Hotel. Thus, the following morning we had breakfast together and went to see them do their sound and light check for that night's gig. Brian Downey said to me to have a go on his drums (a lovely chap). Now the rest of this story is divided between my euphoric amnesia and my mate's recollections. I was dying for the toilet but nevertheless knocked out some rhythms and accompanied Phil and Scott (no Snowy). All I can recall is a hazy sense of seeing Phil at the mic but mostly a Super Trooper diving in and out coming right up close to me. Phil was kind enough to say something complimentary about what I'd done, but I hadn't been playing long. I think we followed them up to Edinburgh after that. It was a long time ago mind. ;)
Roger Steen and Bill Spooner.
Hot Fingers by Eddie Lang and Lonnie Johnson is jaw-droppingly good, especially considering it was recorded around 1930.
How about an honorable mention for Blue Oyster Cult?
What exactly was "stun guitar"?
Hey Andy, fantastic episode with your thoughts and insights on 10 guitar duos. I read a lot of individual nominations of your commentators that most probably should be considered. But your choices in any of your ranking shows have coherence and you alway are able to enrich it with personnel experiences and thoughts. That makes the listening to your contributions always entertaining. The only thing I felt from your first posts on ... to keep a 30 minute limit would do good to your contributions in order to be consumable better.
Fripp & Belew. Good call, huge Crimson fan and I would have overlooked thier three 80’s records
Wishbone Ash!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That was a great list, Stone and Mike from Pearl jam, Phil and Steve from def leppard, slash and izzy, Jorma and Paul from the airplane, and Stills & Young, Anton and Jeff Davies from the Jonestown Massacre
I was literally about to say the first three of these pairings then I saw your comment ❤
Great stuff!😀
WISHBONE ASH must have been totally off your radar. Ted Turner and Andy Powell were sublime. Argus (Argos?) is as near perfect a twin guitar album/rock album as is possible.
Throw down the sword 🔥 .. The king will come. 🔥
Ritchie Blackmore was so impressed he contacted what became their record label and said they would be crazy not to sign them.
I'm a little older than you so I'm another that would put Allman Bros at No. 1. Fripp/Belew would be my No. 2. Another band not mentioned--maybe for good reason, I don't know--is Boston. But none of those I mentioned are lead/rhythm pairs. Maybe not iconic, but Blue Oyster Cult could be in there. One of my favorite concert going experiences was an encore at a BOC concert--Fire of Unknown Origin Tour. Rick Derringer opened for them and Todd Rundgren had been playing at another venue in town (Dallas). So Rundgren and Derringer came onstage on an encore and three of BOC's guitarists, so five on guitar altogether, jammed on "Roadhouse Blues". When it came time for that great guitar break no one knew who was going to jump in so was an awkward moment until Rundgren went ahead and soloed--then he would point to the next guy so he kind of directed who would solo when. I discovered that night that Rundgren is a very under-rated guitarist.
Well done with the EWF call out Andy. Terrific
But Brian Jones is barely on Let it Bleed , which has Gimme Shelter.
#1 Nigel Tufnel and David St. Hubbins
David St. Hubbins and Janine playing the tambourine (in Nigel's brief absence)
Los Lobos: David Hidalgo & Cesar Rosas. Not as well known, but an amazing guitar pairing.
No Wishbone Ash?
Many bands not mentioned but Wishbone Ash surely! And they even have the English aesthetic.
Andy Powell and Ted Turner, or Pat Travers and Pat Thrall...or even Rick Derringer and Johnny Winter 🙂 Enjoyed that.
Love the album Heat in the Street. Way uner appreciated.
Now , if the title would have been , the 10 greatest guitar pairings in a fixed group ...that would be ok .
But now , I can throw in Steve Hunter with Dick Wagner who kicked a** on Lou Reed Live & Rock'n'roll Animal & worked with The Coop.
Also Peter Gabriel's first solo album.
Andy Powell and Ted Turner of Wishbone Ash has my vote. I can hear their influence in Thin Lizzy and black album era Metallica.
Dorothy "Dot" Wiggin and Betty Wiggin (The Shaggs)
They were the worst...but they do belong😅
You made the right choice with
Robertson and Gorham of Thin
Lizzy. The classic line up. The live album "Live and Dangerous" is all the proof you need.
I was worried when getting down the countdown, but you brought it home with #2 and #1
Love most of your content, but you’re a bit myopic on this one. Duane Allman/Dickie Betts belong near the top of this list. Also missing are Jerry Garcia/ Bob Weir and Steven Stills/Neil Young. Not necessarily your style of music, but each of those pairs had a bigger impact than many of the pairs you chose.
You got that right.
One of the most iconic dual leads was the intro to Sweet Jane by Lou Reed.
Steve Hunter and Dick Wagner raised the bar and set the level at a new high for two rock guitarists.
Steve was also Jason Becker's teacher.
Such a great player, he also did the solos on Aerosmith's version of Train kept a rollin.
the people who lead the way were the Beatles (George and John are under rated as guitarists); Stones (particularly when Taylor joined); Humble Pie (Marriot and Frampton); Blind Faith (Clapton and Winwood); The most influential were Wishbone Ash (Powell and Turner) - most of the bands you refer to who came later such as Judas Priest and Thin Lizzy were influenced by WA !! ; Derek & The Dominos (Clapton and Allman); Santana (Carlos and Schon); totally agree about Soundgarden.
Not as easy as you'd think, even to confine it to your own favourites... not who's better or best.
Moginie/Rotsey - Midnight Oil
Powell/Turner & Powell/Wisefield - Wishbone Ash
Fripp/Belew - King Crimson
Perry/Whitford - Aerosmith
Robertson/Gorham - Thin Lizzy
Buxton/Bruce - Alice Cooper
Wagner/Hunter - Lou Reed, Alice Cooper & Peter Gabriel
Spooner/Steen - Tubes
Cocks/Wells - Rose Tattoo
DeGarmo/Wilton - Queensryche
steve harris always cites whishbone ash as the inspiration for the duel lead guitars
Not mentioned too often but... Bill Spooner and Roger Steen.
Ah, the Tubes...
Hell Yeah!!!
Oh yes, awesome duo !!
I came here to write just that!
Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed
Good one..not on my list though
@@AndyEdwardsDrummer what about Chet and Knopfler on Neck and Neck?
@@AndyEdwardsDrummer You need a better list.
Wishbone Ash? Powell and Turner.
Andy! The two guitars of Wishbone Ash shoud be in the top five easy...listen to Argus. Deano
Two more pairings to consider. The first is Martin Belmont and Brinsley Schwarz in the Rumour - great, great rhythm guitarists working together. The second is Stuart Adamson and Bruce Watson from Big Country - very distinctive interactions.
Alan Holdsworth and Ollie Halsall, but only one bbc gig exists. Steve Kahn and Larry Coryell. This topic could really expand into twin guitar bands (e.g. Thin Lizzy), classical duets (e.g. Presti-Lagoya), old jazz duets (e.g. Karl Kress & George Barnes), electric jazz duos (Herb Ellis & Cal Collins), etc. For progressive, AFT (Automatic Fine Tuning, on Charisma) mops the floor with most of the shred metal mentioned here. Jukka Tolonen also had a fantastic twin-guitar lineup in fusion style.
I hadn't heard anything by Ollie Halsall until around a year ago.
I don't get why he's so highly rated. Holdsworth I do get.
OK, I can't play guitar, but why should I be impressed by a player whose stuff might be technically very proficient but is dull?
I recommend Patto (e g. Hold Your Fire or debut albums) for Ollie Halsall. Indeed, you could listen to the Tempest BBC gig, songs like Gorgon, with Holdsworth. (Many folks believe it's Holdsworth playing when it's actually Halsall.)
Herb Ellis sounded great with Barney Kessel
@@Itelkner Herb Ellis played lots of gigs with Barney Kessel and also did a great duo album with Joe Pass. I think he did most of his twin guitar albums, either with bass and drums or duets, with Cal Collins.
@@guitarchannel5676 Good info! Yeah Joe was incredible
I really enjoyed this video and your personal stories! Other dual guitar bands that come to mind are Aerosmith, and The MC5.
Joe Perry and Brad Whitford.
Gary Rossington and Allen Collins.
The biggest miss on this is Turner/Powell and Wisefield/Powell of Wishbone Ash. They should be number one on the list.
I'm sure many people will point this out, and indeed you mention at the very end (as I'm typing this in fact) regarding other guitar pairings that could have ben included . Duane Allman and Dickie Betts in the original lineup of the Allman Brothers Band definitely deserve a place on this list (IMO). Both were great guitarists and blended wonderfully; and they were very influential on many bands to follow. But it's your list, not mine, and you're a fan of a lot of rock bands that I frankly don't listen to, so what do I know? It's hard for me to have an informed opinion about that with which I am uninformed.
I just have to mention an early Rock and Roll song that is a tremendous example of two guitar interplay: "Jo Jo Gunne" by Chuck Berry from 1958. Some sources indicate that the 2nd guitar part was likely played by Chess label-mate Bo Diddley and some say it was actually Chuck overdubbing the 2nd guitar. Either way, there are some very cool, short two-guitar breaks between each verse, each different from the others. The song's imaginative and funny lyrics are Chuck's retelling of the famous "Signifying Monkey" story, which is told in various other songs and raps called "Signifying Monkey" as well in Cab Calloway's 1947 recording called "The Jungle King".
Allmans, Wishbone Ash, Fleetwood Mac, Eagles, Aerosmith, Anathema, Black Crows, Humble Pie, Kinks...
1:58 “this really come out of two bands doesn’t it…The Beatles and The Rolling Stones”. I’m not saying they belong on this list but, there were a hundred bands using two guitarists before the Beatles and the Stones! Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters often recorded and performed with a lead and rhythm (Buddy Guy and Jimmy Rogers among others). Lots of country bands from 1945-65 used two guitars as well. What about Bill Haley & His Comets, Buddy Holly and The Crickets, Gene Vincent and The Blue Caps, Johnny Cash and The Tennessee Three, The Ventures, The Beach Boys, etc. etc. etc. The Beatles and The Rolling Stones were just following the model that had been well established before them.
Good point. Very obviously, Elvis and Scottie Moore too.
On the punk tip: Johnny Thunders and Syl Sylvain. Ron Asheton and James Williamson briefly together on guitar in the Stooges before Ron moved to bass.
I'd recommend Gary Shider and Michael Hampton from Funkadelic (Cosmic Slop in particular), sort of post-Eddie Hazel. Also, Marriott/Frampton in Humble Pie.
There is also Fripp/Summers.
In jazz, two ECM albums by Ralph Towner and John Abercrombie. Thanks.
Such a pity Andy is not into P-Funk, a genre he unfortunately doesn't seem to understand.