Top Seven Underrated Guitar Players in Rock History

They might call it "useless knowledge" on their website, but it's nice to see Brian getting well-deserved recognition. Gotta read all the way to number one to see who is in the top spot. For cheaters, just scroll to the bottom!

Top Seven Underrated Guitar Players in Rock History:

7. Lenny Kravtiz (Solo Artist) – I know that it seems like a contradiction in terms to call a multiple time grammy winner underrated, but I don't think that Mr. Kravitz gets enough recognition for his abilities on the axe. With his classic rock and funk influenced, riff heavy tunes he holds his own with some of the guitar greats he grew up admiring. Tracks like "Always on the Run," "Rock and Roll is Dead," "Are You Gonna Go My Way?" and "Fly Away" are quickly becoming legendary riffs.

6. Scott Gorman (Thin Lizzy) – Even though we are nearly 30 years removed from their heyday, Thin Lizzy remains an undiscovered treasure for the most part. While overshadowed by bigger name acts like Zeppelin, Sabbath, and Deep Purple, Lizzy was a crucial band in the hard rock movement. Thin Lizzy generally used dual lead guitars, but Gorman was the only one to stay for the entire run of the band.

5. Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins) – While a lot of attention has been paid to the band as a whole during their career, including a lot of focus on Corgan as the front man, not much has been paid to the fantastic guitar parts that have created a host of signature songs for the band. On top of that, it has come to light that Corgan recorded most of, if not all of guitar and bass parts on all of the Pumpkins' albums.

4. John Fruscante (Red Hot Chili Peppers) – RHCP has had several different guitar players over the years, but none of them have defined the sound of the band the way that John has. Now in his second tour with the band after taking a break to battle addiction (he was replaced by Dave Navarro of Jane's Addiction) John's impact is felt more than ever. His touch on songs like "Californiacation" and "Dani California" has shaped them into the gems that they are.

3. Jerry Cantrell (Alice in Chains, Solo Artist) – The grunge era produced a great number of guitar players that are slowing assuming the throne as guitar legends. In my opinion, Cantrell deserves to be leading the pack in that regard. His blue influenced grunge riffs made Alice in Chains what they were just as much as Staley's vocals did.

2. Andy Summers (The Police) – The Police are a big name act, that much is sure. They raked in a fortune this last year out on the road, and while there are only three guys in the band, it always seems that Summers in the one taking the backseat, especially when it comes to Sting. Check out some of Summers' phenomenal work in some of The Police's hits like "Roxanne," "Next to You," and "Message in a Bottle."

1. Brian Setzer (Stray Cats, Brian Setzer Orchestra) – Setzer broke onto the scene in the 70's with his rockabilly band the Stray Cats where he began to show of his outstanding abilities. He has spent the last decade and a half or so working with his big band orchestra, The Brian Setzer Orchestra. He found a lot of popularity at the tail end of the 90's when swing music made a resurgance. The fad passed, but Setzer has still been hard at work with his band. My personal favorites are "Rock This Town," "Stray Cat Strut," and "Caravan." If you haven't heard any of his work in recent years, do yourself a favor and try it out.

Here is the link. Scroll down about half way or so to see the article:

http://www.411mania.com/music/columns/70410/Ask-411-Music-03.06.08:-Filling-You-With-Useless-Knowledge.htm

Thanks for posting this, it's always wound me up how far inferior guitarists to Brian are always up there rated as the best. I won't mention any names, but can think of a few players that don't come close in my opinion, but obviously it's an opinion & possibly biased in Brian's favor

jaybird wrote:

Thanks for posting this, it's always wound me up how far inferior guitarists to Brian are always up there rated as the best. I won't mention any names, but can think of a few players that don't come close in my opinion, but obviously it's an opinion & possibly biased in Brian's favor

Makes you wonder if the people compiling the data are listening to the same stuff that we are listening to.

Thanks for posting, Gloria.

We all know,how well deserved,that is. But then again we on the forum,already know,that Brian is top notch
Eh..............does Mr slow-hand have his own model guitar?

Oh the solo to drink that bottle down.

Mark.

wee mark wrote:

does Mr slow-hand have his own model guitar?

Of COURSE he does, Wee Man!!!

Clapton Relic
Clapton Signature

Not to mention the 5 different Martin Acoustic Clapton models...
Martin




The White Strat next to the Setzer Hot Rod is a Clapton model.

Budgie is Good.

Thanks for posting this, Gloria.

my top guitar players are ;
1 brian setzer
1 bb king
1peter green
1 gary moore;

I stand corrected,thanks Budgie. Must say never seen them advertised.

sitting in dining room watching my cat (Levi) get chased by the 2 cats next door,what a softie!

Wee Mark.

Ps, is that your collection............WOW!

Here's my Top Seven

7. Brian Setzer

6. Brian Setzer

5. Brian Setzer

4. Brian Setzer

3. Brian Setzer

2. Brian Setzer

1. Brian Setzer

Ponczek007 wrote:

Here's my Top Seven

7. Brian Setzer

6. Brian Setzer

5. Brian Setzer

4. Brian Setzer

3. Brian Setzer

2. Brian Setzer

1. Brian Setzer

Hey Ponczek007, we have the SAME Top Seven! What a coincidence!

In no order I like these three too much to rank one ahead of the other.

Brian Setzer

Robben Ford

Larry Carlton

All three are TONE Monsters and have great technique also!!!!!! Those three are about all the music I need to keep me happy. I do listen to other stuff but those are the main things I listen to.

BTW HELLO FROM A NEWBIE!!!

1 Wilko Johnson - Dr Feelgood
2 Warner Hodges - Jason & the Scorchers
3 Jimmie Vaughan - solo & Fabulous Thunderbirds
4 Prince
5 Rory Gallagher
6 Billy Gibbons
7 Dave Alvin Solo & The Blasters
8 Dave Hill -Slade
9 Link Wray - for his work with Robert Gordon
10 Hound Dog Taylor - only a handful of licks but plays them with attitude!
11 Ry Cooder

A few curve balls in there!

I agree Brian Setzer is well under rated,another guitarist well under rated is Marco Dimaggio,this guy blew my mind when i saw him a few years ago.

13 posts and i cant find one of the best.. Albert Lee.

HANK GARLAND
GRADY MARTIN

Frank Zappa, Brian Setzer, Steve Cropper, George Harrison, Todd Rundgren, G.E. Smith, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter

Chad

Indeed Zappa is another way underrated guitarist. A true guitar virtuoso while still being a musician. It takes a hell of alot of talent.

Still Zappa gets mentioned alot more than Setzer. Brian is an incredible guitarist and while maybe not a Chet Atkins Brian's finger picking chops are some of the best I've seen. Point in case; Guitar Rag live in Japan.

Another highly underrated player; Django Reinhardt.

I was gonna say Django but was limited only to 7 spaces... can't forget Charlie Christian, Robben Ford, Larry Carlton and every guitarist to play on an Alan Jackson record.

Chad

I guess it depends on what is meant by "underrated."

I've never thought of Django Reinhardt or Charlie Christian as underrated. I've always thought of them as jazz legends who get a fair amount of recognition and respect in jazz circles. I'm not saying fans of Dimebag Darrell have heard of these guys, but they are usually given their due when jazz guitar is discussed. Since the height of their popularity was before rock-n-roll, I suppose they don't get enough play in the magazines and forums that cater more to rock guitarists.

I love the music of George Harrison and the sound of Steve Cropper (I'm a huge Stax Records and 60s Soul fan), but I'm not sure they have the flying fingers to keep up with other guitarists mentioned in this thread. Have you seen the Carl Perkins special from 1985? George looks like he's barely hanging on to keep up on the solo to "That's Alright Mama." Both Cropper and Harrison's guitar skills suit their music wonderfully, and their style of playing is so distinctive as to be instantly recognizable. But I don't think they possess the versatility or virtuosity of some of the other folks listed.

George, being a Beatle, probably gets quite a bit of recogntion as a guitarist. (That's Paul McCartney playing the guitar solo on Harrison's Taxman, by the way.) He's certainly the reason many people who were born in the 50s and early 60s picked up a guitar for the first time, and for that, he may get more recognition for his skill than he deserves. Whereas a guitarist like Brian Setzer can nail a solo in a couple of takes, George would sometimes have numerous takes to get just a few bars for a riff or solo. When George performed with his own band, he enlisted some mighty fine guitarists to handle the solo work, including Eric Clapton in 1991 and a young Robben Ford in 1974-75. I love Hari and Steve Cropper, though, and could listen to almost any recording they've made (minus some of the sitar numbers) with great joy. They are among my favorites, too. I just don't know that I would consider them underrated.

I couldn't agree more about Albert Lee. He's a great picker. And the number of people reading this that say "who?" definitely confirms the underrated part of the equation.

I think Tommy Emmanuel has, like Brian, a lot of fiercely loyal fans, but I don't see his name mentioned nearly enough, either. He's an incredibly skilled player as well. If you've ever seen him perform live, I think you'll agree. But I would guess a lot of people have never heard of him. Check him out if you get the chance.

I love pickers like Jerry Reed and James Burton, but I think they probably get a little too much recognition to be considered underrated.

Subjective-billy

Great find Gloria. Glad you posted it!

The thing with music polls and the so called 'top whatever guitarists' is that it is all to do with only 2 aspects. 1) Flavour of the day - whoever is in the charts or on the scene at the moment, coupled with heroes we can't deny. Like Clapton's, hendrix, etc.

I agree that, over the years, it has frustrated me how often Brian gets passed by. you hear that guitar Player has the best 100 guitarists of all time, and you look in there to find that Brian isn't even listed... But, someone like, I dunno, Westlifes guitarist or some dude who played on a west end show are like 98 or 99.... but no Brian.

On the plus side though, it's great when you get little snippets like this one (referring to the thread that Gloria posted).

I wonder exactly how many famous or well respected guitarists today are influenced by Brian? I read an article with Flea, who claimed Brian was the reason he picked up a guitar. - i know he plays bass but...

The thing i seem to find with Brian is that, he never gets credited. Is it coincidence that a whole swing revolution hits the states (and UK) yet, Brian is hardly ever played or even recognised. Praise only goes to Phil Collins, who credited Brian with the new swing revolution on his Radio 2 show. In england, even though Shakin' Stevens and the Matchbox were around before the Stray Cats, it took Brian (and Jim & Lee) to push it forward and show how Rockabilly should be approached in the 'modern' age. The Polecats were brilliant, but remained underground until the Cats crept in.

Y'know, when Brian gets his Polka Oompah songs written, f****n' Robbie Williams will end up taking credit for it, and Westlife will take it in to the charts... Let Me Be Frank - ha ha!!!

Polka faced Mikey x

I'm detecting a definite anti-Robbie Williams thing here, Mikey... I think.

EskimoPie wrote:

I'm detecting a definite anti-Robbie Williams thing here, Mikey... I think.

well, when i say i don't hate him, what Ireally mean is, he should have his eyeballs sewn into his scrotum and his vocal cords should be ripped out one by one with a meat cleaver, then his testicle should be slowoly roasted over a high flame whilst still attached to his body.

Other than that, he's a great bloke and one of englands finest vocalists.

Mikey 'The Gallows' Strafford

rickabilly wrote:

I've never thought of Django Reinhardt or Charlie Christian as underrated. I've always thought of them as jazz legends who get a fair amount of recognition and respect in jazz circles. I'm not saying fans of Dimebag Darrell have heard of these guys, but they are usually given their due when jazz guitar is discussed. Since the height of their popularity was before rock-n-roll, I suppose they don't get enough play in the magazines and forums that cater more to rock guitarists.

Totally Agree with you there man. However I see parallels between Brian and Django in that their recognition lies soley within their circles. They get their due among the people that know about their music, but outside of it, in places they've influenced or are equally as proficient they don't seem to get mentioned at all.

However while I was writing this, I recalled seeing Django in a list of Rolling Stones Top 100 some years ago.

Weird.

scatcatcnut wrote:

1 Wilko Johnson - Dr Feelgood
2 Warner Hodges - Jason & the Scorchers
3 Jimmie Vaughan - solo & Fabulous Thunderbirds
4 Prince
5 Rory Gallagher
6 Billy Gibbons
7 Dave Alvin Solo & The Blasters
8 Dave Hill -Slade
9 Link Wray - for his work with Robert Gordon
10 Hound Dog Taylor - only a handful of licks but plays them with attitude!
11 Ry Cooder

A few curve balls in there!

You got some good taste there my friend. I'm always happy to see Jimmie Vaughan and Hound Dog Taylor get some shout outs. Brewer Phillips, Taylor's sideman is just as good as well when he gets a chance to shine.

When St. Peter asks me to cronicle the higlights of my time down here on earth, Ill be able to say ( with pride if thats allowed ) That for a while i played rhytm guitar in a band with Albert Lee.

Written by Emmylou Harris