| rove 07.11.2005 02:39 |
I was wondering how good you thought Brian May is compared to the all time greats. Most people would agree Jimi Hendrix is the best of all time. I personally think Jimi Page of Led Zeppelin is the next best, he was the original heavy riff player and some of his solos where great, not to mention Stairway to Heaven. From there it is all up for grabs. It might be Eric Clapton, Eddie Van Halen, Slash, David Gilmour, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Chuck Berry, Keith Richards, Ritchie Blackmore, Pete Townshend or our own Brian May. I tend to think that Eddie Van Halen is better then Brian May, and Eric Clapton is probably a technically better guitarist although it could be close. Also Angus Young, although isn't technically as great as the others is the most energetic and entertaining of them all if you ask me. What does everyone on hear think? how good is Brian May at guitar compared to the all time greats? |
| kagezan1313 07.11.2005 16:10 |
Number One! May created his own guitar and invented a couple of new concepts while at it. The Red Special is like no other guitar ever made, and there's nothing Brian can't do with it. All of this may be BS, but as a Queen fan on a Queen board, I have the right to make such allegations. Besides, no one else was going to. |
| Farlander 07.11.2005 16:15 |
For my money Brian is the best overall. None of the others have his artistry, though their technical skills may be better. |
| teleman 07.11.2005 17:46 |
Brian May is respected by his peers. His artistry speaks for itself. You can't measure who the best is because music is not measured by objective means (we can all tell the worst LOL). For my money I'll listen to him any day even though my favourite guitarist is Jeff Beck. |
| brENsKi 07.11.2005 18:29 |
1. randy rhoads (listen to Blizzard - and you'll see) 2. jimmy page 3. tom scholtz 4. ritchie blackmore 5. eddie van halen 6. pete townsend 7. brian may oh. and hendrix....? do me a favour...being stoned out of you head doesn't make you great...if yu;re stoned then everything WILL sound different |
| killer queen11 07.11.2005 19:07 |
I don't recall where I saw the list but I saw one where Brian appeared at #5... ahead of people like Eddie Van Halen and Angus Young. |
| rockyracoon 07.11.2005 20:34 |
To answer this question as a group, we would have to agree on what makes a guitarist "great". Is it technical skills? The ability to play the widest variety of music(blues, rock, country, flamenco, classical, etc.)? Is it the ability to convey emotion thru the instrument? Does it include the ability to blend/mesh/complement the band as a whole? Is it the ability to lead other musicians? Or, it is something that should be measured by popularity with the fans? (One could easily make the argument that the best guitarist is the one preferred by the most fans.) Most of my favorite guitarists have already been named in various postings on this thread. But for me, the greatest guitarist is Brian May. Not because he has the best technical skills or can play the widest range of music. Rather, my vote goes to Brian because I love his music, because I prefer to listen to his music and playing over all other artists, and because he never ceases to be amaze me at how well he plays his guitar. The man is a master in his musical genre. I admit to being biased on this topic, as I love Queen's music. And I have very high regard for Brian May as a human being, where he stands head and shoulders above most other artists. |
| kdj2hot 07.11.2005 20:39 |
<font color=green>Bren<font color=orange>ski wrote: oh. and hendrix....? do me a favour...being stoned out of you head doesn't make you great...if yu;re stoned then everything WILL sound differentYou're entitled to your stupid opinion I guess... lol |
| deleted user 08.11.2005 08:56 |
I don't know what poll it was, some top 100 anyway... and he was placed at 34! How can that be?! Listen to him for heaven's sake! The man should be right up there at the top. 34 is just out of the question, really... |
| Drummer imense! 08.11.2005 13:12 |
i would say...... 1: david gilmour 2: brian may 3: stevie ray vaughn 4: Slash 5: jimi Hendrix thats just my weird oppinion however :P althoguh i think its acurate for my tastes lol! |
| deleted user 08.11.2005 14:24 |
lol coz hes the best. |
| deleted user 08.11.2005 14:59 |
Brian May is one of the best, though i think Jimi Hendrix is. |
| rove 10.11.2005 01:33 |
"oh. and hendrix....? do me a favour...being stoned out of you head doesn't make you great...if yu;re stoned then everything WILL sound different" I don't care if he was stoned or not, listen to Hendrix, the man was a freak, i mean people still trying to figure out how he did some of that stuff. Also i heard (might not be true) that he could play the guitar upside down as well ie. left hand plays right hand and vice versa. I've seen Eric clapton do this too so this for me puts these two along with Jimi Page right at the top of the list. |
| Knute 10.11.2005 02:14 |
Yeah Cmon man. Hendrix deserves every bit of the legendry status he's attained. For just three years he was around the scene, and he single handedly re-wrote the rules as far as electric guitar is concered. To me, Hendrix was fundamentally a blues player, and a great blues player at that. I had a live "Hear My Train A Comin" on an LP years ago that was just absolutley brilliant! The name of the LP escapes me now. It was a live album released in the 80's. |
| Yood-Queen 10.11.2005 13:59 |
eatch one of them have his own kind of playing and his own music whick he know to play we cant say that this one is better than this one |
| deleted user 10.11.2005 14:32 |
brian should be quite high up, but there are other guitarists we must think of. personally, i think that mark knopfler of dire straits is the best guitarist of all time, its just the unusual way he plays, not like many other guitarists we see before us. also i believe eric clapton is an extroainary guitar player, i love the high pitched solo on "layla". from guns n roses, slash with the brilliant sweet child o mine riff, i love it, it is very emotive and i really begin to feel the song and the rythm. i also love steve vai, keith richards, pete townsend (particularly my generation) toni iommi, jeff beck, francis rossi, joe perry, brian watson and vivian campbell. but alas i still have faith in brian, he puts his all into his playing, he gives off a certain energy when he is on stage, not in freddies way but in a rather mysterious light of guitar playing, his fingers look so soft and sensitive but yet he plays like a god, he is truly a great guitarist who deserves respect as this, not as a member of queen ect but as a well rounded experienced and excellent guitarist. |
| NOTWMEDDLE 11.11.2005 00:50 |
Hendrix unfortunately burned out and his playing deteriorated after 1968 due to drugs(namely LSD and heroin) and eventually drugs would kill him. Clapton is a legend and luckily got sobered up in 1973 or so after Townshend masterminded his return from drug addiction. Jimmy Page rocked but then after Presence, he started using heroin and his guitar work became somewhat sloppy in live performance and he barely was functional on the ITTOD album as Page and John Bonham were strung out and drunk respectively. Then, Page got sober in the early 1980s and his playing slowly came back to pre-drug abuse levels. My favorite guitarists are the ones who got better and were not heavily or didn't take drugs and alcohol and got better with age. 1) (tie)David Gilmour and Brian May(both guitarists got better as they got older and Gilmour picked up the Strat mantle when Hendrix died IMHO and May goes without saying) 2) Jimmy Page(he is a genius and a killer player) 3) Alex Lifeson 4) Steve Hackett 5) Steve Howe 6) Eric Clapton 7) Ace Frehley 8) Rik Emmett 9) Stevie Ray Vaughan 10) Jimi Hendrix |
| kdj2hot 11.11.2005 00:54 |
NOTWMEDDLE wrote: Hendrix unfortunately burned out and his playing deteriorated after 1968 due to drugs(namely LSD and heroin) and eventually drugs would kill him.Do you think it makes you sound smart to say such stupidity? Hendrix wasn't close to peaking when he died. |
| gem27 13.11.2005 12:42 |
I think Brian is a guitar genius but I would just like to put a case for Mick Ronson as I think he deserves to be on any "great guitarists" discussion. I see people with their lists and no mension of Mick so i better had. |
| latina 13.11.2005 14:23 |
Considering how dificult it is to play their stuff i'd say... Brian May is solid like Mark Knopfler, Richie Blackmore, The Edge, Angus Young (though very different style), a little better than Slash, David Gilmour, more better than Bruce Springsteen, Keith Richards, Kurt Cobain or Peter Buck but not as good as Eric Clapton, Nuno Bettencourt, Phil Collen, Kirk Hammett, and maybe Eddie van Halen, Jimmy Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Steve Vai, Steve Morse,... (I cannot judge the last few well, 'cause I'm not familiar enough with their Music) Considering how it sounds over all... Brian May is top like David Gilmour, Keith Richards, Mark Knopfler, Angus Young, Richie Blackmore followed by Kirk Hammett, Phil Collen, Slash, Eric Clapton, then Edge, Bettencourt ...then Kurt Cobain and Peter Buck |
| Bobby_brown 13.11.2005 15:35 |
C'mon people, to include the EDGE on the list is worst than including the solo of Nirvana's "Smell like teen spirit" on the top 100. Everyone has a right to an opinion, but can you really have a sober opinion without that fan criteria? For the posts i read so far you don't, because you can talk about whathever makes a guitar player great but to get Brian at number 1 you have to be a fan. The question here is : Who's the greatest, not Who's your favourite. OK, my favourite is Brian May, but i tend to be a guitar freak and i could never ever say that he's number 1, because it is too disrespectfull for guitarplayers that have dedicated so much time in developing the instrument technique as a way of expression. In no order, here it goes: Eddie Van Halen Satriani Steve Vai (I saw this guy last week i even took a pic with him. He played for 3 hours). Uli Jon Roth´ Yngwie Malmsteen Allan Holdsworth Michael Angelo Batio Paul gilbert Shawn Lane - Probably the most amazing guitar player ever. Frank Gambale Jason Becker etc And even though i don't like the music i have to include John Petrucci. Get the idea? You have to be a little literate on this matter, otherwise it's just an opinion without basis at all! Take care |
| latina 13.11.2005 15:47 |
Ok ...i have to apologize for overrating The Edge. It was in my mind that the Tab for "Sunday Bloody Sunday" was quite tricky...but i haven't watched them for a long time now... And to your list... As I wrote before... I m not very interested in Touch-Tapping Freaks... |
| Rompez 13.11.2005 15:55 |
Oh that fucking ranks again! For me, this endless lists the most embracing thing in rock music. There CAN'T be best group or guitarist or vocalist or whatever. This is only matter of somebody's tastes. Tastes can't be objective. That's why I try to keep it to myself and not to make any statements... ...Or wait Let's start another list. What is the best fruit? 1. Apples 2. Oranges 3. Peaches 5. ....... 6......... .......... .......... .......... 100. Avocado Stop this endless bulshit. |
| AmeriQueen 13.11.2005 20:58 |
Brian May is the greatest guitarist to me by far! He built his GODLIKE guitar, he is the master of solos, he uses wah pedals incredibly, he is a master song architect. my list: 1. Brian May 2. Jimmy Page 3. Marco Pirroni 4. George Harrison 5. Jimi Hendrix 6. Edge 7. Steve Clark 8. Vernon Reid 9. Steve Vai 10. Eddie Van Halen |
| inthelapofthegods 13.11.2005 21:44 |
Didn't 'Q' magazine just put out something like this? And Brian was at #34, which is pretty damn good. |
| teleman 13.11.2005 23:48 |
Rompez wrote: Oh that fucking ranks again! For me, this endless lists the most embracing thing in rock music. There CAN'T be best group or guitarist or vocalist or whatever. This is only matter of somebody's tastes. Tastes can't be objective. That's why I try to keep it to myself and not to make any statements... ...Or wait Let's start another list. What is the best fruit? 1. Apples 2. Oranges 3. Peaches 5. ....... 6......... .......... .......... .......... 100. Avocado Stop this endless bulshit.How can you sat Peaches at #3? I've seen peaches and I would say Peaches should be #2 Seriously though, ranking guitarists is a joke. |
| kudilja 14.11.2005 11:06 |
Yngwie Malmsteen is the best, but Brian- my favourite.... |
| Sportzfan76 14.11.2005 12:22 |
NOTWMEDDLE wrote: Hendrix unfortunately burned out and his playing deteriorated after 1968 due to drugs(namely LSD and heroin) and eventually drugs would kill him. Clapton is a legend and luckily got sobered up in 1973 or so after Townshend masterminded his return from drug addiction. Jimmy Page rocked but then after Presence, he started using heroin and his guitar work became somewhat sloppy in live performance and he barely was functional on the ITTOD album as Page and John Bonham were strung out and drunk respectively. Then, Page got sober in the early 1980s and his playing slowly came back to pre-drug abuse levels. My favorite guitarists are the ones who got better and were not heavily or didn't take drugs and alcohol and got better with age. 1) (tie)David Gilmour and Brian May(both guitarists got better as they got older and Gilmour picked up the Strat mantle when Hendrix died IMHO and May goes without saying) 2) Jimmy Page(he is a genius and a killer player) 3) Alex Lifeson 4) Steve Hackett 5) Steve Howe 6) Eric Clapton 7) Ace Frehley 8) Rik Emmett 9) Stevie Ray Vaughan 10) Jimi HendrixExcellent post. Not only do I agree with your inclusion of Alex Lifeson but I share your admiration of both RUSH and The Red Sox. (although I would eliminate Ace F. and replace with Stevie Ray-Vaughn. |