Underrated guitar players

Stunning guitar player. I was lucky enough to see him live three times - blown away each time. The first time we were literally center stage about 10 feet back. Amazing to watch. And that night he did something that still makes me laugh, and I've never seen video of it (oh, the days of no phone cameras at shows) - they did a round of solos through the band, with Frank first and last. His first solo? All guitar faces. Didn't play a note. And he tore it up when it came back around to him.
So your saying he played "Face Guitar"? Sounds about right! Where/when were the 3 shows you got to see? I only was able to see him once in 1984!!
 
And Zappa, killer guitar player, but I think many just know of his humous lyrics, not his guitar prowess...which was incredible!!!
I tend to refer to him as "the greatest composer of the 20th century", as his compositional skills are also overshadowed by the humor in the lyrics of some of his material! Thanks for giving Frank some props here!! You know there have been a couple of new releases this year if you are not up to date on his posthumous releases!!!
 
So your saying he played "Face Guitar"? Sounds about right! Where/when were the 3 shows you got to see? I only was able to see him once in 1984!!

1984 was the first time. We got tix at the door, and there was some confusion as to where the seats actually were. First they put us in one spot, then someone with those tix showed up. They moved us, same thing. Finally, an usher took us to the lobby and said to wait for a minute. Came back and took us to three seats in the center aisle in front of the stage. Glorious!

The other two were the 1988 tour. He came here twice about three weeks apart. Tix for the second show were on sale before the first show happened (and I'd already bought mine), but he said if you hadn't bought tix for the second show not to worry, it would be a different set list. I think there were some repeats, but not a ton.

I tend to refer to him as "the greatest composer of the 20th century", as his compositional skills are also overshadowed by the humor in the lyrics of some of his material! Thanks for giving Frank some props here!! You know there have been a couple of new releases this year if you are not up to date on his posthumous releases!!!

And one more coming before the end of the year!
 
Steve Hackett

Underrated? Wow, I'm sorry to hear this, if it's true. He's certainly not underrated among my friends and acquaintances; but if he is elsewhere I've got some serious work to do.

He's one of the main reasons I became a musician: having gone to school at 13 as a burgeoning hi-fi nut, only to find out that Genesis had (mostly) gone to the same place nearly a decade earlier, I picked up a bass and then a guitar........ and a billion years later, here I am :)

As a closely related aside, I'd like to nominate both Mike Rutherford and Anthony Phillips as great 12-string players too. I spent a happy half-hour talking to Ant a few weeks ago, and music didn't get mentioned even once. School and dreadful housemasters, on the other hand......
 
Emil Werstler

I seen his Anchor demo during PRS clinics and he blown my mind. Such a talented musician. Switching hats so easily. I became a massive Dååth fan overnight
 
So a quick revisit to this thread, and an observation...
I'm gonna throw out there that there's a big difference b/w underrated and unknown. As being discussed now.
I saw Scott Henderson listed very early on, and I'd venture to say those that know of him, know of his incredible talents.
There are a bunch more like this, already mentioned on here.

Oh, and as far as Alex Lifeson...in the 90's on Rolling Stone Magazine's top 100...just plain silly!!!!
THAT'S UNDERRATED!!!
And Zappa, killer guitar player, but I think many just know of his humous lyrics, not his guitar prowess...which was incredible!!!
I echo these sentiments. I am a huge Zappa and and my wife is a huge Prince fan. They are both well known and both killer players but as guitarist they do not get the recognition that they deserve because their playing is overshadowed by other aspects of their work.

I think John McLaughlin is a good case. I know a lot of be-boppers hate his playing and I mean really hate it. As a guitarist John is held in high regard but I feel that in the overall scheme of things he is been far more influential than most people realise so in that respect you could argue a case that he is underrated. Ask your average person on the street who George Benson is and they are more likely to mention his vocal work rather than his genius guitar chops.

I read an interview with Phillip Stark where he discuss the difference between important design and popular design...
 
Stunning guitar player. I was lucky enough to see him live three times - blown away each time. The first time we were literally center stage about 10 feet back. Amazing to watch. And that night he did something that still makes me laugh, and I've never seen video of it (oh, the days of no phone cameras at shows) - they did a round of solos through the band, with Frank first and last. His first solo? All guitar faces. Didn't play a note. And he tore it up when it came back around to him.
Sadly I did not get to see Frank live but i did get to see Dweezil on the original Zappa plays Zappa tourin Manchester in the UK. DZ was incredible, the way he assimilated his Father's feel and touch was breath taking. It was a really cool gig with Vai, Bozzio, N M Brock etc. Things did go a bit Spinal tap at one point as there was a big intermission as something had happened to DZ's rig and there was a mains current running through his string!

I rank DZ as being underrated. I would have not thought it was possible for anyone to nail FZ's playing in the manner in which DZ acheived.
 
Sadly I did not get to see Frank live but i did get to see Dweezil on the original Zappa plays Zappa tourin Manchester in the UK. DZ was incredible, the way he assimilated his Father's feel and touch was breath taking. It was a really cool gig with Vai, Bozzio, N M Brock etc. Things did go a bit Spinal tap at one point as there was a big intermission as something had happened to DZ's rig and there was a mains current running through his string!

I rank DZ as being underrated. I would have not thought it was possible for anyone to nail FZ's playing in the manner in which DZ acheived.

I saw one of the early ZPZ performances, and it felt a little rigid to me - it lacked what Frank called the “eyebrows”. DZ’s performance at Experience PRS in 2009 was completely different. The band seemed much more comfortable and we’re having fun with the music. And he’s gotten better.

DZ’s transformation, especially if you’re familiar with his pre-ZPZ stuff, is astounding.
 
DZ’s transformation, especially if you’re familiar with his pre-ZPZ stuff, is astounding.
I can't argue with that. I was a fan of DZ long before ZPZ. I met my wife because of Shampoo Horn.
 
I just got turned on to Julian Lage. Phenomenal. Others are prob familiar with him. Wild he's been around for so long.
 
underrated from other guitar players or mass appeal?

if it is mass appeal I would say my all time favorite player , Michael Schenker. Otherwise, every guitar player worth their salt knows who he is and would have him somewhere on their all time greatest list.
 
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