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LinkedMusicians posted in the group Open Mic (Open Discussion)
Name a guitarist you think is greatly underrated.
11 Comments-
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Agreed of course, since you know how I love his work especially on that song. That song and copping a bunch of his techniques was a good part of how I got into the music school of my dreams… Ah to be that 17 year old again…
Sorry I didn’t realize hitting enter would submit, duh. I know this is the question of a different day already but I think Alex Lifeson is underrated.
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Okay, side note, I only intended the title “Question of the Day” to be kind of a silly theme about me coming up with a question — not even on a daily basis. I hope people will respond to them whenever they see them. So I suppose maybe I should rename it. Suggestions? Question of the Week??? I’m open. My goal is just to create something fun that gets everyone talking.
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Only underrated by “young me”. When I was growing up on the Great Plains I was a cultural snob and hated country music, probably because that genre was most popular there. I personally didn’t appreciate guys like Jerry Reed and Roy Clark at the time (remember Hee-Haw?). Both great talents.
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He is massively rated on the English folk scene (despite now living in the US 😉 ) but Richard Thompson has never acquired the wider recognition he so Rich(ly) deserves. I must admit the first time I saw him playing acoustic I didn’t get it but then I saw him electric with a full band and I very much did! An astonishing player whom I have seen many times
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If it weren’t for a certain other guitar player in his band, I think Pat Sansone would get a bit more credit.
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I love Wilco. I even did a cover of “Radio Cure” and considered “On and On.” But your mentioning one of the band members name caused me to realize that I’ve never really thought of the guitar on a critical level in the band, and that’s super rare for me. I have to go back and listen more critically. Any songs that you think stand out as really fine examples, @magicruss?
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Obviously “Impossible Germany”. I should point out that Pat Sansone does most of the lead work during the verses, which is overshadowed by Nels Cline’s Solo, most of which is improvised on any given night. I’d also recommend looking for a live version of “Bird Without a Tail/Base of My Skull” which features those two trading licks. Also look up the version of “California Stars” where Jason Isbell joins them.
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Thanks, I will be doing that. I’m driving my son back to college tomorrow or Weds. and will listen to my Wilco playlist on the ride back.
On a Wilco related note, I got turned on to the music of @reidjamiesonmusic because some of the Wilco guys are fans and got one of his songs played on a Chicago radio station back in the 00s (WXRT, if you are from Chicago). It was pretty wild when he (well his musical partner, really) found LinkedMusicians and I was like — wait, I’m a huge fan!!!!
As a lifelong Chicagoan. I was playing the Chicago circuit back when Wilco was doing the same. I’d see their names at clubs I was playing at, but was always so busy playing and, very candidly, the alt-country label didn’t appeal to me (don’t get me wrong, I’m pretty open-minded, but between my tastes being more rock, blues, R&B, funk, and classical based, and my friends not liking country at all, well, I never got to see them). It took them getting played on a — at the time (before CBS bought them) locally owned rock radio station that played them that I took notice. Then they were playing bigger clubs. But I still take a special pride in seeing Chicago bands make it. The Chicago scene really never got the credit it deserved, IMO. Back then, The Pumpkins, Liz Phair, Material Issue, and Veruca Salt (which I had a chance to play drums for on their debut tour, which I declined) and Wilco were about all that got noticed.
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I am from Chicago originally so I am familiar with “Chicago’s Finest Rock”, although I was more of a Loop fan in high school during the 80s. I was aware of a lot of the alt-country artists, liked a few tracks here and there, but didn’t follow any of them. One day I heard “Box Full of Letters” on the air and had to pick it up. Of course at that time, they were more of a St. Louis band. I lost track of them for a while, until YHF came out. It’s crazy, though, how I managed not to see them until two years ago and then again two nights ago. I had seen a few good concerts post COVID, but seeing Wilco for the first time felt like the type of show that I needed to see.
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The Loop and Johnny B! I listened to The Loop too (unfortunately, they’re long gone and WXRT is more about playing oldies and classic rock, not what made them great). But back in the 80s and 90s XRT was great and exposed me to a lot of off-the-beaten-path rock bands as well as jazz, fusion, and blues on the weekends when they had shows that would play those genres.
Here I grew up in a great blues town, but didn’t come to appreciate the blues until after I was a huge Zeppelin fan!
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I know that @peter-ik have discussed this one before (not in social media, but privately). The late Terry Kath of Chicago. His studio version of “25 or 6 to 4” is a masterpiece. I realize that some of you will say that I’m biased (because Chicago is my hometown), but I have been in love with this guitar work since I was a kid. Hey, even Jimi Hendrix was a fan of Terry’s playing.
On a personal side note, long ago, I played drums in a band with a bunch of college music major horn players where we covered a bunch of Chicago songs — and I loved it!