TOP 10 FASTEST GUITAR PLAYERS OF THE 70'S (Blackmore, Schenker, Mclaughlin, Uli, Gary Moore etc)
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.พ. 2025
- The Top 10 fastest guitarists of the 1970's...
Some amazing legends in this video such as Ritchie Blackmore and Michael Schenker but who was the fastest at guitar shredding in the 70's?
Please subscribe to the channel and thanks very much for watching @guitargodzunleashed
Blackmore is my favorite because he was such a good songwriter and riffer. And he knew when to play fast and when to play slow. But each of the guys on this list are fantastic
Yeah great songwriting and riffs I’ve got to agree but not the best at solos although light years in front of Page at that time
He played GREAT solos!@@silverarrowslk
@@silverarrowslk
Stargazer
Gates of Babylon
Burn
Snake charmer
Spotlight kid
Man on the silver mountain
Eyes of the world
Kentucky woman
Pictures of home
Lay down stay down
All are great solos, a lot of varied moods and styles as well, a very underrated quality of his lead playing.
Glad you included Jan Akkerman! The man is a speed demon, he should get his due!
Ritchie is such a versatile and nuanced guitarist. And very expressive too. He and Mikael Akerfeldt of Opeth are my favorites. I think he's the best of the his era. I'm also glad this list includes the great Michael Schenker.
Blackmore playing on Bilsen '69 is out of this world...so is Alvin Lee on the first TYA live album (very underrated guitarist).
I always tell doubters to go listen to that concert. That was the 60s and he was shredding and sweeping before anyone.
Very cool to see Allan Holdsworth. What an incredible player he was.
He really was incredible 🤘🎸
Yes I totally agree even though I’m not really a fan of jazz rock fusion. Malmsteen pays tribute to Alan and said he was an influence with his legato
@@GuitarGodzUnleashed people don’t honestly realize just how amazing of a player Allan Holdsworth really was.
Holdso rules this
Ya had ta stand about 15 ft in front of him at a shifty gig at the Knitting Factory to realize
Some fantastic players but where is Alvin Lee?
I was just getting ready to ask the same thing.
I came here to say the same!
@@TheEnigma64 Hear Hear!
3. fast players
2. very fast players
1. Alvin Lee
There are a lot of us on the same page. Alvin Lee tore it up.
When you listen to Ritchie, even if he plays very fast, you not only hear all the notes clearly, but also all the silences between the notes. That's why he's the boss !
Just a great player man, not sure why he started playing renaissance music, but I guess if he’s happy, then good for him!
@@GuitarGodzUnleashed of all these players Richie is by far my favorite, especially for the rock-hard rock genre. He decided to start playing renaissance music back in the late 90s simply because he always had a passion for that particular type of music. He explored some of it with Ronnie Dio on the first three Rainbow albums. But he always wanted to do the more folk rock Renaissance style. Richie grew tired of the hard rock guitar God thing for so many years. So this is what finally led him to do what he wanted to do later in his life. I read an interview about 20 years ago where Richie said: “In life we should do things that make us happy”.
@@GuitarGodzUnleashed Ritchie has apparently liked renaissance music since the days of Rainbow Rising.
Blackmore just had it. Absolutely the greatest to me.
Cool list. I don't know squat about guitarists and I've learned some things.
John McLaughlin has a rock god like presence on stage and I think he was probably the only jazz guitar player who had that quality. Just an extraordinary body of work too.
Uli was a madman with the whammy bar and wah wah pedal on "Polar Nights" from the Scorpions' _Virgin Killer_ album! 😮
Finally Michael Schenker gets mentioned on a guitar list
Agree ‘78 Obsession album better than VH1 imo
where are Glen Campbell on his 12 string, Roy clark, and Jerry Reed?
To me Ritchie was the best. Good music good songs!
For sure he had more feel than he gets credit for. But from that list technically there are couple better than him.
Ronnie Montrose should be on that list. He was a big influence in 70’s.
What a fantastic video have a wonderful day ❤❤❤❤❤❤😊😊😊😊😊😊
Thank you my friend 👍🎸🤘
Evh the greatest of all times
BLACKMORE CHITARRISTA FANTASTICO UNO DEI MIGLIORI AL MONDO, FORSE L'UNICO.
So many!
Steve Vai
Roy Buchanan
Alvin Lee
Neal Schon
Daryl Steurmer
Steve Morse
John Etheridge
Carlos!
Steve Hillage
Robert Fripp
Robin Trower
Ray Gomez
Kevin Borich
Uncle Frank
I loved 70 music.
Steve Vai is not a 70's player
@@itayshani3614 I stand corrected. I thought he started with FZ in the late 70s but it was 1980
You mean Carlos Rios? 🤔
Saw Jonny Winter many many times over forty plus years .As a blues player I never saw anyone better
Number 1 GARY MOORE
The way Blackmore used shredding in speed King is awesome.
Ritchie Blackmore #1, great list
Thank you for not defaulting to Page, Beck and Clapton like every other list. Though I think Beck could shred with the best of them.
Allan Holdsworth is the real #1. Good to see Jan Akkerman on the list too.
Agree.
Great list! Steve Howe and Frank Zappa could be the 11# & 12# of the list
Number 1 : Ritchie Blackmore!
Gary Moore for the win
No Alvin Lee and Steve Howe? They never were my favourites by any means, but they were pretty fast too.
Where is Frank Marino?
Frank Marino and Mahogany Rush was the group. Search it. He was a Hendrix lover.
Retired. Somewhere in Canada probably.
Blackmore #1
Ritchie Blackmore doesn't use to much effect cos his running fingers are fast and clear!👍👍👍㊗️
Schenker and Gary Moore. They're 1 and 2 in my book.
Di Miola, McGlaughlin and Holdsworth jazz fusion. The rest are just playing pentatonic licks and don’t even use their pinky. However Schenkers tone and melody are great although he’s not as fast as the aforementioned. Got to mention EVH here too as being so innovative
There’s a difference between a fast player or picker compared to a shredder. Example, Eric Clapton was and is a very good player and fast to a degree, however, in no way a shredder, that’s Eddie Van Halen or Randy Rhodes or Dimebag Abbott, Vai or Malmsteen etc…. Page isn’t a Shredder either. Doesn’t mean Shredder’s are better players in my opinion just different players. I hate debates on who’s the greatest, I don’t think anyone is, I love Hackett and Howe, Beck and Blackmore or Hammet and Hendrix. Especially feel guys like Iommi and Gilmour. There’s so many, and they all bring me joy🎸
Frank Zappa
Great comment
Amen brother. You like who you like with no apologies.
@@silverarrowslk+1 ……
They all bring joy….so true…..thanks to all…..
It took 20 years, 1968 to 1988, to go from Clapton, Beck and Page to Eddie and Yngwie. It has been nearly 40 years since the end of that stretch. No one has really come along with the same impact. It all stopped with Yngwie.
Agreed that nobody else has had the same impact. Thankfully there are players like Tosin Abasi, Tim Henson, Matteus Mancuso, Yvette Young, Guthrie Govan, and John Petrucci who continue to push virtuosity forward in their own way.
The fastest two guitarists of the 1970s I think would be John Mcglaughlin and Al Diemola. Holdsworth had not yet reached his peak virtuosity and speed by the 1970s
yes where's Alvin Lee ( Captain Speed Fingers)
Blackmore and Mclaughlin are my favourite with Clem Clempsom
Alan Holdsworth was an entirely different species than any other guitarist on this list or anywhere else. Having said that, the most tasteful and melodic rock shredding was done by Michael Schenker. Blackmore and Uli Roth are virtuosos, but the heavy classical flavor puts it in another category, to me. EVH is another guy who was in his own class. DiMeola and McLaughlin were pushing the bounds of lead guitar, but were more of a curiosity or a novelty to my group of rock guitarists back then. Michael Schenker is my favorite, and the most influential on my style of play.
Tutti super! Che musicisti! Incredibili!
Eddie però è il mio preferito 🎸🔥👍
Speed by speed has Always been at my last importance....
Akira Takasaki was already well known in Japan in the end of 70-th. He was the fastest, no doubt about it.
Rory Gallagher
Excellent guitarist and one of my all time fave's, but not necessarily a shredder thoe
Rory could "shred" at will. He did it very sparingly, but he most certainly could and did.
@@selwynpage4578 definitely not a shredder
To me EVH is another level....he started when the rock scene was almost dead bcos of the disco era.
...he made the guitar interesting again..
Yes Al Dimeola had to be on htis list. Maybe seeign him again in November in Budapest with his electric band
IMHO in these clips he was probably the most musical, as well as possibly being the fastest. I'm not saying the others couldn't be really musical too, but these clips tended to capture them in extreme fretwank mode, which was probably really cool in the context of that moment in the live gig, but in isolation not so much.
Who ever made this list obviously hasn't heard Jimi Hendrix solo on Spanish Castle Magic at Atlanta Festival in 1970. Totally inspired by Mitch Mitchell's double tempo interplay. What a team!
I love Jimi as much as anyone else, but this video is 10 Fastest Shredders of the 70's - Jimi was not a shredder.
@@stopthehate1749 he wasn't but on that particular performance he kind of did. I guess as I'm not a guitarist I may not be understanding the full essence of shredding! Is it defined by a certain type of lead playing?
@@christschinwonwell as it applies to this list, we are talking about the fastest players of the 70's. If it was a list of the greatest or most influential, Hendrix is definitely on there imho. But if we are talking speedy chops, then it's guys like Dimeola, McLaughlin, Holdsworth, Blackmore, Uli Roth, Michael Schenker, etc. Also Hendrix died in 1970, so by the decades end guitar playing had evolved very far beyond what players like him and Clapton were doing in the late 60's.
Ritchie no 1
Need to divide the list between rock players and jazz players
Michael schenker is the best shredder in 70's.pure rock n roll..
Uli Jon Roth and Michael Schenker the best ones!
Great players 🤘🎸
I fortunately got to see Uli Jon Roth live about 10 years ago. Awesome show.
Schenker is my favorite player from the 70s and 80s.
Schenker on Obsession is Great in ‘78 in fact I’d put that album over VH 1
@emanuelefasanofasano3814 That album is so good! That's my favorite of the studio UFO with Schenker albums. Actually, one of my top ten albums of all time.
Many thanks for this! This whole "fastest" thing is a bit of a laugh isn't it? All these 70s guys could rip it up anytime but they're all still interesting, melodic and listenable, and having fun too. The last great "game changer" was Yngwie (80s I know) and now it's all just a robotic drone. I think Allan was the most musically advanced, John and Jan were the best pickers, and Michael (still) has the best sound. Great to see Johnny Winter always, and Gary tearing it up on a Les Paul Junior, fantastic!👍
Thanks dude yes you’re right, cheers 🙏🎸🤘👍
Alot of this Stuff is just mindless Horrible Noodling and Far from Melodic. Shenker progressed Only on the MSG albums and that's Not Blackmores finest Moment as He was way ahead of Most of these Hillbillies. He Did way way More than that. Holdsworth, Mclaughlin were speed demons but Unlistenable. It's an uneven list!!!
@@highwaystar3780 Listen to Shakti and then ask yourself if McLaughlin is really unlistenable (especially Lotus Feet)
Alvin Lee..lejos el 1 de los 70s...
Seconded. To see Alvin Lee's set at Woodstock, around 2am at damn near freezing temp. It was no wonder he was called the fastest by many.
Alvin was a gift from god. Cheers.
I've never been that impressed by tapping; I'll take a blistering alternate-picking run over tapping any day. Gary Moore excelled in that regard.
Frank Marino, Alvin Lee and Blackmore 👍
Blackmore was the best of all time !😊
💯🙏👍🏻and that's by far Not His Best moment...He Did Much Much..MUCH MORE !
One bloke I would add to this list is Steve Hackett who was playing fast runs, tapping and hammering on in 1972-1973. These are all great, soulful musicians who tempered technical virtuosity with great musical empathy. Not like😮 the you tube imitators of today…
Even though Richie Blackmore footage was ‘69/70 I’d put him at 1 in front of EVH
If you really think about it, Blackmore invented what would become known as shredding. Back in the early 70s some guys were playing faster but nothing like Blackmore. EVH clearly borrowed that from Blackmore.
Agree just look at that footage still good today
If only Richie knew how to tune his guitar? Tone deaf!
? He was able to tune his guitar WHILE playing, what are you talking about?
I love Blackmore’s playing, however, Eddie copied nobody, and he grabbed the mold, smashed it to pieces and blazed a trail that nobody since Hendrix could speak of. After Eddie showed up, nobody wanted to play like Hendrix or Beck or Page or Allman or Clapton or Blackmore. Hundreds of thousands wanted to play like Eddie and many tried to copy him but were mostly unsuccessful because they never really listened to the details of his playing. They just thought if they could play fast, it would be enough and it never was. People who don’t understand this, haven’t acquired an ear for guitar or music in general 🎸
To see and hear Gary Moore doing some serious shredding, check out Colosseum II.
Uli simple the rest our good but uli on a different level
Just my opinion, but, fastest will never equate to the best.
Frank Marino..
Neil Schon
Jeff Beck
Martin Barre
Todd Rundgren
your top 10 list is excellent very happy Jan Akkerman Gary Moore Uli Jon Roth Michael Schenker Al Di Meola are included, these guy's aren't usually included
I like Barre, but he was/is not really a shredder. Replace him on the list with Steve Howe, and you’ve got something. Also, Dave Edmunds could and did shred.
@@Gk2003m yes Dave Edmunds sabre dance, Steve Howe sound chacer &close to the edge brilliant stuff, like most of the 70's guitarist's Larry Carlton was a great shredder especially point it up
Sabre Dance 1968 by Love Sculpture (Dave Edmunds) love that version 🤘🎸👍
@@GuitarGodzUnleashed almost forgot about Steve Morse dixie dregs
I worked with Robbie Jones the drummer from love sculpture ages ago he was such a good guy & very funny
Neal's pre perry stuff still holds up well.
Where’s Shawn Lane? He played at impossible speeds. Your clip of Holdsworth, Moore & Maclaughlin isn’t anywhere as fast as some of their other material. No Scott Henderson ? Speed actually means nothing. It’s all about phrasing, sound and emotion
Was looking for frank marino
❤Al&Allan are in a different class altogether;Bill Connors&Frank Marino should be on there❤
On this list you’ve got it right 👍🏻
Agreed
I love the way you closed the show
Cheers 🎸🤘
It's hard to come up with a top ten fastest player list for the 1970s, but some to consider for a part 2 would be George Benson, Jimmy Page, Alvin Lee, Roy Buchanan, Alex Lifeson, Randy Rhoads (he was in Quiet Riot in the late 1970s), Glen Tipton, K. K. Downing, Leslie West, Jim McCarty of Cactus, Steve Howe, Steve Hackett, Frank Zappa, Rick Derringer, Ted Nugent, Harvey Mandel and Randy Resnick. Even Tony Iommi could play fast when he wanted to.
Jimmy Page ?
Malmstein ?!.....apa de ploaie,ca sa se afle in treaba !....IRELEVANT!
@@davidmontgomery5047 Yes, Jimmy Page.
@@Frodojack Thank you. Honestly I don't get the anti-Jimmy Page sentiment going around. He's arguably one of the most influential and copied guitar players right up there with EVH and Hendrix. Is he a shredder? No. Is he fast? Hell yeah.
@@cc352 I was reading the opinions of different guitar players and the consensus is that the first modern shred song is "Hot on Your Heels" by Steeler (played by Yngwie Malmsteen), but the fast-playing old school shred songs go all the way back to Les Paul's "How High the Moon" from 1951 and Dick Dale's "Miserlou" from 1962. Modern shredding didn't come out of nowhere and a lot of people don't know the history. Jimmy Page was a very fast player for his time. His speed on "Communication Breakdown" and "Heartbreaker" blew people away in 1969 and both songs influenced a lot of players.
Watch out BLACKMORE!!!!
So real good ones in here. For Uli Jon Roth, the clip to watch is " The Sails of Charon - Scorpions 1977 Uli Jon Roth Klaus Meine" Uli shreds in the intro to that like I didn't know existed back then.
Catch Your Train from the Virgin Killer album is amazing as well - every song on that album is killer.
from this list: McLauphlin, Holdsworth, DiMeola were not rock but jazz (where those tiny innocent mistakes are .. accepted), from the rest in the list, there are two Gods of rock guitar : EVH and Uli Roth . Gary Moore was nice but nowhere to the excellence of those two. Ritchie ? Really ?
Absolutely 💯
Some cool footage and a fun watch, but no way should Frank Marino or Alvin Lee miss the cut. Maybe a part 2 is in order and you could add Jim McCarthy, Ted Nugent, Rik Emmett and the guitar player for Budgie whose name escapes me at the moment.
Shred guitar in my opinion is the most pure musical art form, guitarist that hate on it are just lazy. Great content keep it coming. Great intro shred too 🔥🔥🔥
Cool man, thank you for your comment 🤘🎸👍
What a very immature statement. I guess some people like to project their inferiority complexes in public.
Evh will always be #1
I'm not criticizing, I think the list is perfect. Brian May would be the next guy in waiting to make such a list though.
Not really a shredder but a wonderful player
Personal favorite guitarist: Alex Lifeson.
Technically for this list...you could put Terry Kath and Roy Clark in here.
But EVH clearly leads the pack imo.
If they had the stuff we have today, they wouldve been better players
I agree… Blackmore #1!!!
Schenker, is the king of Melody and tone, wauw.. but Allan Holdsworth is above and one of a kind in scaling...
Love the list but, you forgot good ol Randy Rhodes.
WTF? No Jimmy Page? Terry Kath? Both could shred anytime they wanted. Just cuz they didn't shred on every song does not disqualify them!
Alvin Lee, Duane Allman, Dickie Betts, Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Scofield, Trey Kat, Jeff Beck, the quitarist from Lenard Skynrd and Chicago, Stanley Jordan, Lee Ritenour, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Santana..No blues or jazz oriented guitarists other then Van Halen, Johnny Winter, Ritchie Blackmore, Al Dimeola.. no mention of BB King, Muddy Waters, George Benson..the topic was guitar shredding or riffs..heavy metal came from rock and roll.. rock and roll came from the blues.. before distortion, pedals and electricity.. blues men created distortion on a acoustic guitar using a slide..all the guitarists on this topic are masters.. yet so many other master guitarists were forgotten Parliament Funkadelic Maggot Brain, Blood Sweat and Tears Maiden Voyage .. Chicago’s 25, 6 to 4 and Terry Kath’s free form guitar “solo guitar”
Too much name droppings, many of them are not from the 70's, so it doesn't count for this video
I agree... Terry Kath....25 or 6 to 4
Uli Jon Roth!!!
Honorable mentions, Frank Zappa, Jeff Beck...
AL Di Meola
Steve Morse needed to be on the list.
That guy can play anything
NO.
@@MrMaynardWR And do it poorly, annoyingly.
@@nickspinner2479 I'm guessing you are a Richie Blackmore fan. I think Deep Purple was never a good fit for Steve Morse, but if you get a chance check out the Dixie Dregs and I think it might change your opinion of Steve Morse. Also I saw Steve Morse play with the guitar trio of McLaughlin, DiMeola, and DeLucia and he held his own against those virtuosos brilliantly.
@@MrMaynardWR I saw Morse back in the day with Deep Purple at the House of Blues in West Hollywood. Just not my cup of tea. His playing has no edge, it's really clinical and antiseptic, and the tone is really whiny. Just not good, and it's really annoying.
Steve Morse?
Yep ,probably faster than anyone on the list.
NO.
@@SiloguyRidiculous.
NO.
If not mentioned before, Ollie Halsall. Alvin Lee's idol. Also inspired Holdsworth.
I would definitely add Hackett to the list...
Check out Daryl Stuermer playing Hackett's solo in Firth of Firth, Rome 2007 on TH-cam too.
I love Hackett but not on this list
Frank Marino, anyone?
No Tommy Bolin?
Probably not quite in the era but I thought that Adrian Gurvitz should be on the list along with Fast Eddie Clarke
Gary Moore and Eddie Van Halen are/were very talented men. Would Carlos Santana count in this list or do I not understand the definition of shredding properly?
And along come the "what about ... " crowd.
There's always the missing.
It's only a list folks.
Nothing's perfect.
Alvin Lee and Frank Moreno should be on this list.
Tommy Bolin.
Al Di Meola :)
Bill Nelson of Be Bop Deluxe.
Good and often overlooked guitarist.
Frank Morino!!
Eddie was obviously good BUT he used a lot of effects and did a LOT of tapping different shred styles but Blackmore more blues based but the beginning of what we now see in a lot of shred players let’s say the forefather
You missed out Zappa, Frank could tear it up with the best of them.
😂😂😂
I like Frank but he wasn't a shredder
WHAT!?!?!? Alvin Lee of the band Ten Years After didn't make your list?!?!? I suggest you give him a listen while he and his band play "Going Home" at Woodstock!!!
That was 1969 not 70’s, although I did forget to include him in the list! 🙈 Look out for the “Top 10 fastest 1960’s guitar players” video coming soon, he will be in that for sure.🎸🤘
He continued into the 70's, my friend.