Guitarists everyone else loves, but you think, "meh."

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dcm_guitar

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This is not meant to be a "bash" fest. Music, like all art, is a matter of personal choice; it moves you or it doesn't move you. So, this is not about trying to make others agree with my (or your) opinion!!

This is more about whether others are in a similar boat. There are many almost universally beloved rock/blues (and all other sub-genres) guitarists that I am just indifferent to.

For example, I don't care for Eric Clapton's playing or music. I can name one Clapton song I like and the rest of the catalog doesn't excite me.

I don't care for Joe Bonnamassa's playing (although I think he's fun to watch talking about gear on Youtube), I don't really get into John Mayer, I don't get The Edge (from U2), etc.

Don't get me wrong, these guys can all "play me into the ground". I'd kill for 1/100th of their success. I appreciate their hard earned skills and acknowledge their work and talent and accomplishments. Their music doesn't resonate with me.

It feels almost like heresy to say, "I don't really like Clapton". Are there others out there who just don't resonate with guitarists that the rest of the world seems to be in love with?
 
Same here. Not a Clapton fan - except for Cream. Bonnamassa, meh. I like the Edge, but he's more of a computer programmer - he definitely has his own sound, though. Always enjoyed the earlier U2 stuff, but as they say, if you've heard one U2 song, you've heard them all.

Sorry, but I would add Jeff Beck to this - meh.

And of course +1 on your caveat - not questioning their talent, just that their recordings leave me unfulfilled.
 
EVH, Leifson, DeMeola, Howe, etc. They're all amazing technically, and I'd say EVH was even really influential, but I just never really dug their music. People like Neil Young and BB King who play very little but all of it counts really work for me. And people who are great technically but who I also really relate to like Jimi, Scofield, Clapton. Richard Thompson, Jerry.

-Ray
 
Shannon Curfman - at 16 she was touted to be a Clapton level guitar phenom. Although her first album was worth the listen, I don't think she was all that.
 
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Lifeson - great technically, but not very musical for me.

Not a big Clapton fan but I he can do some tasty blues stuff.

I have a love hate relationship with Gary Moore's stuff. When I liked a song it was genius, when I didn't, I really didn't. Same with Santana.
 
Funny you happen to mention Bonnamassa. I was at his show this Fri. Two day show. My buddy there told me the first night (I was there the second) half the audience walked out since they were not there to see country western music twangn'. I am not against any type music but I did go to see blues/rock Joe style. After an hour of this fans were yelling for him to play the blues. For his sake I hope he doesn't keep wandering too far from his wheelhouse. Then he announced "now I will play some of our songs". I felt like wtf I really did not come here to see a Paisley show either. He did an ok rendition of Hendrix but other than that nothing impressive. I really just went since I was a guest of friends that work for him but I would have been pissed to have paid the $140 seat fee.
 
Rockmark said:
Funny you happen to mention Bonnamassa. I was at his show this Fri. Two day show. My buddy there told me the first night (I was there the second) half the audience walked out since they were not there to see country western music twangn'. I am not against any type music but I did go to see blues/rock Joe style. After an hour of this fans were yelling for him to play the blues. For his sake I hope he doesn't keep wandering too far from his wheelhouse. Then he announced "now I will play some of our songs". I felt like wtf I really did not come here to see a Paisley show either. He did an ok rendition of Hendrix but other than that nothing impressive. I really just went since I was a guest of friends that work for him but I would have been pissed to have paid the $140 seat fee.
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Joe grew up about 2 blocks from where I lived in Utica, NY. At 16 he was already showing the signs of arrogance you would expect from a seasoned veteran. Now he's a seasoned veteran, and he is exactly as I expected he would be. His blues skills are top notch, but is lacking in other areas. As you saw first hand.
 
Huggy B....... ........... except everybody doesn't love me....... ....... I just think I'm "meh".:oops:
 
Wakester said:
Joe grew up about 2 blocks from where I lived in Utica, NY. At 16 he was already showing the signs of arrogance you would expect from a seasoned veteran. Now he's a seasoned veteran, and he is exactly as I expected he would be. His blues skills are top notch, but is lacking in other areas. As you saw first hand.
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Wakester you nailed it. He did seem to be full of himself and even exhibited little smart ass smercks at the crowd when he did something he though they should have particularly appreciated. Like, look at this solo I did to please you. He also made a weird comment about swimming around and planting explosives on boats in the harbor in the afternoon that were watching the show from docks or moorings that eve. Folks kinda diid a double take at each other at the supposedly funny comment. Strange guy.
 
I kinda agree about Joe Bonamassa. I love videos where he talks about music history and guitars, but in spite of his proficiency, he just doesn’t really seem to have his own signature sound or playing style to my ear. I like his playing better in BCC, he seems to support the songs better in a band environment.

Back in the day, I didn’t get Steve Stevens’ appeal, for similar reasons. He seemed like Neil Giraldo with a thinner tone and a fluffier coiffure.
 
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Hmmm....lets see, Keef would be at the top of my list. While I like Joe Perry, Brad Whitford deserves more attention than Joe gets. I know that Jeff Beck is amazing, but honestly, I never got into him.
 
11top said:
I’ve never understood the god-like status for Clapton. Good player-no question. And, I’m a fan. However, I think there are a bunch of guys who are more skillful players. I feel much the same about Santana.
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If you just think about him in today's context, compared to everyone who's come since, I can understand that. But if you think of him in the context of the early and mid 60s and think about what guitar music was like then, and think about what he managed to popularize that nobody else had brought to a vast white audience before, it makes a LOT more sense. I mean, if you listen to the Beano album with Mayall in the context of ANYTHING that had been widely heard before that, it was pretty mind-blowing. And then Cream was the first of the great power-trios as well. Nobody was reaching any sort of audience with that stuff when he did it, and then everyone was doing it. I mean, he paled next to Hendrix, but so does everyone, and he knew it better than most. But Clapton kicked a lot of that stuff off...

-Ray
 
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