And Who Is Over-Rated?

[R_of_G]

The thread for unsung guitar heroes has been very interesting so far. So who do you guys think are some over-rated guitar players.

My first vote goes to Trey Anastasio. Let me preface this by saying I loved Phish, and I saw them numerous times from 1992-2002. I think Trey is a great guitar player and a skilled composer of some very complex and interesting pieces of music. That said, he is hardly the end-all-be-all guitar player he is held up to be by a large number of people. I have heard many a bad performance, and I have heard many players do what he does better than he does it. No doubt Trey is amazing, but he's just not the second-coming of Jimi many of his fans believe he is.

 

[Spudman]

Slash.

 

[Robert]

Me.

 

[R_of_G]

Me.

Thanks for the free laugh Robert! You're certainly not over-rated in your own self-assessment.

 

[Big_Rob]

Heh, Where to begin.....

Jimmy Page, cause he was sloppy.
Tom Morello, cause I cant stand Rage Against The Machine and it seems like he is in all the guitar mags lately as some kind of guitar god.

 

[Iago]

Joe Bonamassa & Zakk Wylde.

 

[duhvoodooman]

Now, don't take this the wrong way....B.B. King. I love the guy as a fantastic overall artist and a blues icon, but when I saw that he turned up #3 on that Rolling Stone top 100 guitar players list, I about fell over. I love the sweetness of his tone, and his less-is-more style with fills and soloing--a skill that more than a few famous guitarists should learn! He's also one of those rare guitarists whose work can be identified after about three notes. But to place him that high up purely as a guitar player seems way out of line to me. I think you'd find that most hardcore blues guitar enthusiasts would probably place Albert King before B.B. as a guitar player, and Albert didn't even make that list. But as a blues artist--the total package--I consider B.B. right up there on a very short list of all-time greats.

 

[Tone2TheBone]

Iago - Joe Bonamassa.....WHAT!!!?

Voodoo - B.B. King.........WHAT!!!?

I can't believe you guys harping on these legends this place has gone to the gods. I mean dogs. No wonder people don't like this place anymore dang!

>><<



I have to agree with Spud. While Slash has good tastes in guitars and amps I think he was and is overrated. And Lord knows so was Axl.

 

[just strum]

Iago - Joe Bonamassa.....WHAT!!!?

Voodoo - B.B. King.........WHAT!!!?

I can't believe you guys harping on these legends this place has gone to the gods. I mean dogs. No wonder people don't like this place anymore dang!

>><<



I have to agree with Spud. While Slash has good tastes in guitars and amps I think he was and is overrated. And Lord knows so was Axl.

I agree, but together they could kick some a$$, unfortunately it was usually their own.

 

[jpfeifer]

Hmmm, ... I have to think about this one. I actually think that there are far more unsung heros in the guitar world than the over-rated guys. But here's a list of people that seem to show up as great players that shouldn't be on the list in my opinion ...

Richie Sambora (he is a decent rock player, but beyond that ... I don't get it?)

Esteban (this guy certainly knows how to market himself, so I have to give him credit for that, but I have never seen him play anything that impressed me, yet people rave about him ... sometimes image is more important than talent

Trey Anastasio (I am not that familiar with Phish's music, but this guy got a lot of press in the music magazines. I was looking forward to finally being able to see him play on a recent TV concert but after seeing him play I'm wondering what other people hear in his playing that I don't?)

-- Jim

 

[Robert]

I don't like to dish guitar players other than myself, so I'm staying out of this one! However, I have no problems mentioning Kenny G if you ask me about over-rated sax players....

 

[tunghaichuan]

You guys are going to hate me but:

SRV.

There, I said it.

I have and I like Texas Flood, but Soul to Soul and Couldn't Stand the Weather sound exactly alike; all the songs sound exactly the same to me.

While I like SRV (but think he's overrated), one of the downsides to his legacy is all the slavish clones he's inspired. It wasn't enought just to cop his licks, they had to cop his look as well.

I think Yngwie Malmsteen is also overrated. Sure he's fast, but I get bored listening to him after about 10 seconds of his playing. He also is guilty of inspiring many clones who were no where near as talented as him.

Forgot to add: Since I'm slaying sacred cows, I'll add Eric Clapton. Sure he was incredible with John Mayall and Cream, but what has he done for us lately? The turning point for me was when I listened to From the Cradle. If you don't believe me, contrast the song "Third Degree" with Johnny Winter's version (the title song from his album Third Degree). Winter's versions slays Clapton's (IMHO).

tung

 

[Lev]

+1 for Jimmy Page - he's one of the best Riff composers ever but his solos leave me cold. Would say the same for Richie Sambora.

Can't believe Joe Bonamassa was mentioned! I think he's underrated if anthing, I also think he was a glaring omission from Clapton's Crossroads event.

 

[R_of_G]

Others have had the cajones to list Page and SRV, both of which I happen to agree with by the way. Page is a great riff-creator and has co-written some killer songs, but that's all he does for me, and SRV I like, but don't worship. Well, take out your flamethrowers because my second vote in this thread goes to .... Eddie Van Halen. I respect the speed, though I have heard and seen much faster. Other than speed, the guy does NOTHING at all for me. His tone is horrendous, and I was never a fan of VH's songs or sound. I once had a debate with a friend over whether or not EVH was an "inventive" player [his choice of words, not mine], but the friend couldn't quite pin down anything Eddie invented. Sorry VH fans, but Eddie def comes in #2 for me for over-rated guitarists.

 

[duhvoodooman]

FWIW, I did a little poking around on the net and came acoss a couple of web links for lists or discussions of overrated guitar players. Here are some names I kept seeing again and again. Just passing along; I agree with some, disagree with others, and have no freakin' idea for a couple!

Kurt Cobain (most frequently mentioned, from what I saw)
Slash
Tom Morello
Kirk Hammett
Yngwie Malmsteen
Zakk Wilde
Jimmie Page
Carlos Santana
Eddie Van Halen
Eric Clapton
The Edge
Billie Joe Armstrong
Noel Gallagher
Angus Young
Neil Young
Jimi Hendrix​

Yes, you read that last one correctly. There are people who think that Hendrix was an overblown hack who relied on sonic effects rather than real talent--at least, that's what they said!!

Clearly, there are no right or wrong answers to a question as subjective as this one....

 

[duhvoodooman]

You guys are going to hate me but:

SRV.

I hate you.

 

[tunghaichuan]

I hate you.

I sorta figured you would

If it makes you feel better you can say the Buckethead and/or David Lindley are overrated and I won't hold it against you :beer:

tung

 

[Spudman]

Aunt Jemima. There are so many better.

 

[marnold]

Is there a purpose to calling people "overrated"?

 

[R_of_G]

Is there a purpose to calling people "overrated"?

I posed the question, so I will take a shot at answering it... First, it was in response to the "unsung guitar heroes" thread. I thought since we were already giving some thought to who was under-rated or under-appreciated, the polar opposite was a natural jump.

In general, I think the purpose is in analyzing what we subjectively enjoy or don't and figuring out why. With this thread specifically, I wanted to explore guitarists each of us has heard or read [or both] a good deal of positive review, but don't personally agree with such. As with any thread like this, the answers are completely subjective [though everyone has been explaining their answers].

Basically it comes down to this... for years whenever someone finds out I am a guitar player the discussion always comes down to who I listen to, or who I think was the best, or some form of that question. There are guys names that get thrown at me all the time [usually after I go about 10 guitar players into my list and still haven't hit any of the names besides Jimi that they are thinking of]. So, I mean no disrespect to any of the players I mentioned, they just don't do it for me the way they seem to for others.

 

[duhvoodooman]

Is there a purpose to calling people "overrated"?

Since R_of_G gave a logical and well thought out answer, I'll take the wiseguy approach. Several possibilities:

1) It makes a bunch of third-rate hacks like us feel better about ourselves to denigrate players who are about 10 times better than we can ever hope to be.

2) Same basic purpose as slowing down to look at traffic accidents or watching those "reality" shows.

3) Needed some good argument fodder on a slow day at TheFret.

4) Calling them "overrated" is much more civil and genteel than saying that they "suck out loud".​

Seriously, you raise a good question, Marnold. I guess it's part of the human condition to rank our fellow man and then pick those rankings apart. But it's not one of our more admirable qualities, is it?

 

[R_of_G]

Since R_of_G gave a logical and well thought out answer, I'll take the wiseguy approach. Several possibilities:

1) It makes a bunch of third-rate hacks like us feel better about ourselves to denigrate players who are about 10 times better than we can ever hope to be.

2) Same basic purpose as slowing down to look at traffic accidents or watching those "reality" shows.

3) Needed some good argument fodder on a slow day at TheFret.

4) Calling them "overrated" is much more civil and genteel than saying that they "suck out loud".​

Seriously, you raise a good question, Marnold. I guess it's part of the human condition to rank our fellow man and then pick those rankings apart. But it's not one of our more admirable qualities, is it?

Excellent answer DVM, way to read through the lines of my dipomacy! Actually, I am, admittedly, overly analytical about most things I am into, music moreso than anything else. However, the more I develop as a player, the more I realize how much of an asset that anyaltical approach is to my playing. Like I said in my prev post, the "over-rated" thing was a way of looking about which players are widely considered "great" and analyzing whether this is something we agree with, and why. Knowing why I do and don't like certain tones or styles or techniques has been a huge influence on how I approach my own playing.

In fairness, I also admittedly like making fun of that which I don't like [or even what I do for that matter]. I used to want to be a comedy writer so I can't really help myself.

 

[Spudman]

It's a bit like the joke:

How many guitarists does it take to change a light bulb?


6 - one to change the bulb and 5 to say how much better they could have done it.

 

[Justaguyin_nc]

Hendrix definate overblown... Guitar Johnny blows him away...
SRV... again.. it's just a memory.. a good one but thats it..

Both..had great songs... both unfortunately died young.. and leave those few tunes behind.. that we all cherrish.. but what if they lived...

Randy Roads.. I like Crazy train.. but thats it..


Robert Johnson... I want to play all his songs..but I dont know why?

Robert Renman..sure he plays a few licks.. but does he ever join in on a jam on thefret.net?

Ok, I kinda heated this up... best get out of dodge now..

:beer:

 

[duhvoodooman]

It's a bit like the joke:

How many guitarists does it take to change a light bulb?

6 - one to change the bulb and 5 to say how much better they could have done it.

That joke sucked. I could have told it much better than that! :whatever:

 

[Spudman]

That joke sucked. I could have told it much better than that! :whatever:

Now hold my ladder steady.:whatever:

 

[ted s]

Interesting stuff here. Myself, I listen to what I like and haven't thought about over-rated before. Many players mentioned that I am somewhat surprised to see listed, others that I have never really grown to appreciate.
What if... (take Jimi or Stevie or Eric for example) the question was posed at the "top" of these guys' careers, would they possibly still be considered over-rated, or ground breaking ? Maybe we see the old dogs as over-rated because we have seen/heard so many other fantastic players come along in the past 30 years ?

Just thinking out loud.

 

[just strum]

FWIW, I did a little poking around on the net and came acoss a couple of web links for lists or discussions of overrated guitar players. Here are some names I kept seeing again and again. Just passing along; I agree with some, disagree with others, and have no freakin' idea for a couple!

Kurt Cobain (most frequently mentioned, from what I saw)
Slash
Tom Morello
Kirk Hammett
Yngwie Malmsteen
Zakk Wilde
Jimmie Page
Carlos Santana
Eddie Van Halen
Eric Clapton
The Edge
Billie Joe Armstrong
Noel Gallagher
Angus Young
Neil Young
Jimi Hendrix​

Yes, you read that last one correctly. There are people who think that Hendrix was an overblown hack who relied on sonic effects rather than real talent--at least, that's what they said!!

Clearly, there are no right or wrong answers to a question as subjective as this one....

Some of those mentioned I wouldn't think of as guitarist in the sense that their playing is the main focus of what they released. I don't recall ever hearing anyone say they purchased a CD because of the playing by any of those noted below. I think of their playing more as background, whereas someone like Hendrix CD's are purchased primarily for his playing.

Kurt Cobain (most frequently mentioned, from what I saw)
Slash
The Edge
Billie Joe Armstrong
Neil Young

 

[LagrangeCalvert]

I hate most of you now < ---- on a level that cannot be described :bootyshake:

Your "overrated" list is mostly the guys I look up to.

I don't have an overrated list as I HATE to bash other players no matter how much more A** they get than me...how much more money or hit songs they write.

BUT everyone is entitled to an opinion AND you know what they say..

opinions are like buttholes...everyone has one and they all stink!

I agree that there are some guitarists that "suck out loud"...but I'm deff. NOT slinging names around! just my .02 cents.

 

[duhvoodooman]

Some of those mentioned I wouldn't think of as guitarist in the sense that their playing is the main focus of what they released.

And that's the gist of much of the "pushback" I saw for some of those players, with the exception of Slash and the Edge.