MovieChat Forums > General Discussion > Great Guitarists In Bad Bands?

Great Guitarists In Bad Bands?


If you can't think of a great guitar player, pick a drummer, pianist, or a bassist.

reply

Les Claypool is a great bassist, but Primus is mediocre.

Brian May is a good guitarist, but I personally hate Queen.

reply

I find a lot of Queen's music to be gimmicky. The one where they sing about how they like to ride their bike, Bohemian Rhapsody and many others. I can't take Queen seriously.

reply

I find that they try too hard to be some operatic rock band. They're really trying to sound more poetic that way.

reply

Yes and they come off more like a parody.

reply

Totally! Too cheesy.

reply

I don't hate Queen - I quite like a lot of their material - but they don't grab me like some other groups do. Personal taste, of course, but they aren't top of the heap for me. I love Under Pressure, but I'm a big Bowie fan, so for me he's the big star there.

reply

Everyone in the Eagles is a good musician but the band is terrible.

reply

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1WJqKWqUHQ

reply

As usual, the Dude and I are in agreement.

reply

The Dude abides.

reply

I say this wins the thread, we can pack up now.....

reply

As much as it pains me to say it... Dire Straits. Knofler is an amazing guitarist/songwriter. The rest of the band could be full of "session" musicians and he would still make them sound good.

reply

I know what you mean. I'm a HUGE fan of Knopfler's work, but musically, a lot of what Dire Straits does is great because of his guitar work. If he had found his way into a Cream-esque power trio...that could have been epic stuff.

Still, thank goodness for Sultans of Swing.

reply

Van Halen. Yeah, I'm lobbing that grenade.

Eddie is a virtuoso guitar player but I've never heard a song by that group that was well above average. Jump? Runnin' with the Devil? Panama? Give Eddie something real to play on that isn't just an excuse to show off his guitar skills.

reply

Van Halen is one of the most overrated bands of all time. They sound like a bad hair metal band to me. Them, Kiss, Poison and Mötley Crüe are all the same shitty bands.

reply

Yeah, that's basically how I feel. I don't think Poison or Van Halen are crummy, they're just not as big as their hype, Van Halen especially so. They're quite mediocre and they all sound similar to me. KISS would be my least favourite of that group.

reply

You’re probably not the only who thought it (guaranteed....I pondered it)....but yes, you said it first!

reply

I just know there are a LOT of really, really gung-ho Van Halen fans who would hate my stinking guts for saying it, but yeah, to me they either sound like a generic hair metal band or a generic hair metal band with synths.

reply

I find the Hager era to have better songwriting but in general I do agree that a lot of VH was just Eddie riffing. Hot for Teacher is a great example of that, just one extended riff.

reply

Yup. And having a couple badass riff songs is good stuff, but for me to really think a band is one of the greats, they've got to have a couple home-run songs. Something pithy, engaging, zen, emotional - something for me to hold on to a little bit after my ears have stopped ringing. Or get clever with the music (classical, jazz, etc.).

reply

Wow! I can’t stand idly by and allow that one! Lol.

Van Halen is awesome! Go listen to “Hot For Teacher” and come back and spew that blasphemy. I’ll listen to Van Halen over ANYTHING popular today.

reply

I've heard it. It's good, but it's not great, and it's certainly not maximizing the potential Eddie Van Halen brought to the instrument.

Look, I don't think Van Halen sucks, but they're just not that brilliant to me.

As for blasphemy, well, that's only applicable to gods.

reply

👍

reply

100% agree, and it doesn't matter who they had as a singer.

reply

I like Van Halen, but not Van Hagar.

I'm not a big fan of Eddie's squealing and tapping, though.

reply

Interesting...so you actually think it's a better band than the guitarist?

reply

How about a bad guitarist in a good band

Bruce Springsteen. The weakest musician in the E Street Band.
John Lennon. Not a particularly great guitarist.

reply

That's why he surrounded himself with a large, super-talented group of musicians, I think. He doesn't have to be an ironclad guitar player because he's got Van Zandt & Co.

reply

nyctc7, do you really believe that Bruce is a bad guitarist???

For the record, the first time I saw Springsteen and the E Street Band in concert was back in 1974 during The Wild, The Innocent and The E Street Shuffle tour. I was absolutely blown away by that show.
Since then I have seen Bruce in concert over 200 times, and I HAVE NEVER BEEN DISAPPOINTED!!! (the preceding five words are brought to you by Kowalski, who owns the patent for capitalization here at moviechat)

Speaking of capitalization, one of the many highlights of those shows was back in 1978 at the Capitol Theater in Passaic, N.J. during the Darkness On the Edge of Town tour.
I ask that you watch/listen to this rendition of Prove It All Night, for I hope that it will change your mind regarding Bruce's guitar work.
https://youtu.be/N8FOucOak24

reply

Well...that was pretty darn great. I am used to his halting, strumming style that I don't care for. That may be my first seeing him really wail on lead.

The Capitol theater was a great venue, I attended a couple of times.

reply

Wes from limp bizkit

reply

Lee Ritenour but Fourplay makes me sleep.

reply

I always remember a buddy in high school telling me had a cousin he didn't know but was a big deal guitarist in LA named Lee Ritenour, same last name as his. I had no idea who Lee Ritenour was at the time, but I kinda shined it on like "whatever."

reply

One of the best jazz guitarist in the world of all time. Of. All. Time.

reply

Thanks for the response, and yes, I was surprised a few years later I started seeing "Lee Ritenour" popping up in different places, like album credits and his own records.
But man, there are SO MANY great jazz guitarists. I have a sentimental fondness for Larry Coryell, but I also remember seeing a crap ton of Joe Pass albums with glorious B&W photos on the Pablo label.
Jim Hall was such a nimble player, and Pete Townshend loved Barney Kessel.
John McLaughlin, John Scofield, Pat Metheny There's no shortage of jazz guitarists to admire.

reply

Yeah, jazz is like when you're super talented and worked real hard but don't want to be filthy rich. Competition is through the roof but it doesn't matter. I think jazz musicians enjoy playing more than pop or rock musicians, instead of worriying about Billboard lists.

reply

Joe Pass! Yes! Have you seen the concert where it's just him an Ella Fitzgerald? It's beautiful. The stripped-down simplicity of it, and it's so clear, you can focus on just Joe, musically, and just Ella, vocally.

reply

No I haven't but I can imagine.
I love Ella and have a small collection of my favorite vocals by her.
I can't express my admiration for Ella w/o gushing so I'll leave it at that.

reply

Don't have to imagine...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2olBE4C5_Gk

reply

guitar - Mark Tremonti in Creed
drums - Daniel Adair in Nickelback

reply