Loudwire: Vote Adrian Smith for Greatest Guitarist

With some of the things Gilbert has done in his solo records, I don't think it's meant to sound impressive so much as him having fun ;)

 
Satch is definitely really good at playing with feeling, he plays very lyrically. Petrucci can do that too when he wants to, I guess it depends on the song for him. He actually has a very similar approach to Adrian when soloing, which is kinda interesting.
 
I kind of agree with the analysis over the past few posts. While I get all guitar-geeky about listening to & watching shredding (I know nobody particularly mentioned this, but...) the reality is I find most real guitar-orientated music (by that I mean, bands/set-ups around one songwriting & performing guitarist; as opposed to bands generally), especially rock/metal orientated ones, really hit & miss. I mean, Vai & Satriani are fantastic guitar players, but I've just never been able to get into any of their stuff; especially Vai. I just don't think it's that good. A guy who's probably pretty chalk & cheese (I don't really know) but who I don't see mentioned much on this forum is Buckethead. Anyone listened to much of his stuff? His output is all over the place, but the guy's a stupidly good guitar player.

Anyway, I can really see why people gravitate to the far more nuanced playing of a guy like Adrian.
 
I've heard a bunch of Buckethead's albums, the scary thing is I probably haven't even made a dent in his discography. My thoughts about him really depend on the album, Giant Robot, for example, is a classic. Some of his recent material has gotten a bit paint by numbers. Probably has a lot to do with him releasing albums seemingly every month lately.

I did dress like him for Halloween once though. :D
 
I'm myself heavily into Satch (as is Adrian). It's not particularly because of his fast soloing, although I love his style and solos in their own right, but it's not why I'm a fan. It's because he composes pretty damn killer guitar rock songs. They are not shred showoff pieces, but very catchy and engaging rock songs. He's got taste, eloquence and chops. I'm first and foremost a fan of the songs themselves, not the solos. His guitar parts are basically like a lead vocal, just with a few licks and runs, followed by the more shred-ish solos.
 
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There is something about solo/lead guitar, & I'm not quite sure how to express exactly what I like or think about it. For me Maiden, for example, work --because Maiden have good rock/metal tunes to begin with, then add some lovely lead work. The lead work, on its own, just doesn't work for me. So, although I'm not a massive vocal, or drum, or bass fan --memorable lead work needs to be housed/framed within a nice piece of music. I know most people would probably agree, but, sometimes, when guitarists cut to the chase & just play blistering lead & solo stuff, it just doesn't really work for me. There's probably quite a lot of stuff out there that I could listen to that would change my mind in this respect; but I probably just don't listen to enough music. I listened (with the aim of learning) to a fair amount of Satriani & Vai stuff way back, but it never really appealed to me beyond some licks & leads. I probably need to re-visit...

Right now I'm listening to Buckethead & thinking: he needs to do more stuff with Claypool! :D
 
CriedWhenBrucieLeft said:
I listened (with the aim of learning) to a fair amount of Satriani & Vai stuff way back, but it never really appealed to me beyond some licks & leads. I probably need to re-visit...

Right now I'm listening to Buckethead & thinking: he needs to do more stuff with Claypool! :D
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I'm quite partial to modern Satch. There's more to Satch beyond the Surfing With The Alien, The Extremist and Flying in A Blue Dream albums, which are his most critically acclaimed. Recommended later Satch work: Is there love in space and Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards. He's got a new album out too, but to be honest I haven't really allowed myself time to get into it. But what I heard is very good. I expected no less.

Here's a cool song btw.
 
Oh, no. All those damn squeaking right-hand pinch harmonics; too many man. He totally over does those. I don't know, this is sort of what I mean by lead/solo work needing, for me, to be "housed" in something which is, in itself, already damn good. I mean, seriously, that was just okay for me. I'm going to my bed now Yax (it's past midnight in the UK & I have work to go to tomorrow), but when I get back on here I want you to have posted something better! :D
 
Yax said:
I'm myself heavily into Satch (as is Adrian). It's not particularly because of his fast soloing, although I love his style and solos in their own right, but it's not why I'm a fan. It's because he composes pretty damn killer guitar rock songs. They are not shred showoff pieces, but very catchy and engaging rock songs. He's got taste, eloquence and chops. I'm first and foremost a fan of the songs themselves, not the solos. His guitar parts are basically like a lead vocal, just with a few licks and runs, followed by the more shred-ish solos.
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Absolutely. I am a huge Satriani fan and he has had a huge influence on both my guitar playing (lead and rhythm) and my structuring of melody. He has an incredibly sense of melody and a great ear for hooks (like Adrian), something most lead guitarists do not have.

mckindog said:
And this is why Satch and Adrian are two of my faves, and Vai, not so much.
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Vai doesn't have the same level songwriting chops as H or Satch, IMO. No doubt he's a great player, and composes good solos, and sometimes writes good songs, but overall, his feel for music does not seem as natural or emotional.

Yax said:
I'm quite partial to modern Satch. There's more to Satch beyond the Surfing With The Alien, The Extremist and Flying in A Blue Dream albums, which are his most critically acclaimed. Recommended later Satch work: Is there love in space and Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards. He's got a new album out too, but to be honest I haven't really allowed myself time to get into it. But what I heard is very good. I expected no less.
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Personally, I think FIABD is incredibly overrated. Not much stands out on that album and it's ridiculously full of filler (especially the terrible vocal tracks). His newer stuff is much more consistent, but sometimes less memorable. Personally, I think Crystal Planet and Strange Beautiful Music are his two best albums, hands down. The newest album, Unstoppable Momentum, is very good and an improvement over the last two (though moreso Prof. Satchifunkilus, which was a combination of muddled ideas and sheer brilliance).

For songs that aren't built around wankery, try these, @CriedWhenBrucieLeft :



And one of my personal favorites for its subdued vibe:


PS - Satriani thread...?
 
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Mosh said:
I've heard a bunch of Buckethead's albums, the scary thing is I probably haven't even made a dent in his discography [...]
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Seen this Mosh? He's actually done it quite a few times live; you know how he seems to like just playing whatever the hell he likes sometimes. Not too much shredding either! :D
 
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Haven't seen that, though to be honest I haven't checked out much of his live stuff.

On a related note, I have Colma on right now. Would be cool if he did more stuff like that.
 
Indeed. Although, it's hard to tell either way with so much material to plow through! The live footage out there is just bizarre though, for the most part. It's sort of like watching a genius practising; then again he is categorised as avant-garde. And that's literally what half the live stuff looks like --just him fucking about (on his own) on guitar, jumping from TV/film theme tunes to, apparently, Maiden covers. It's doesn't really look like it works that well; although him jamming with Claypool looks highly entertaining. His studio material is something else entirely though: 50+ albums; albums that you could only buy on tour; in 2007 he released a thirteen album box set of original material; the Buckethead Pike Series (which are all albums) is up to twenty odd releases & he only started that in 2011; etc etc. The guys output is quite incredible. The GN'R involvement (& the Ozzy quote on Wiki) is also pretty amusing, along with the image generally & that fact that there are barely more than two or three photographs of him "unmasked"...
 
I've heard a bit of the Pikes series, most of the earlier albums from when he had just started. It's not very good, seems rushed. I can only imagine that the newer ones are even worse, with him releasing them even more rapidly. I like his more varied material, the Pikes stuff just seems generic.
 
Probably for the best. Sometimes I wish he'd take his time and put something really great.
 
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