Originally Posted by Robbie (Post 20353579)

Never heard him before. But just went to Youtube and watched a live video of the band featuring him doing a guitar solo.

From that vid...I would say he's not even in the same league as a real good rock guitarist like Steve Stevens...much less anywhere close to the skill, playing, soul, and creativity of Jimi Hendrix.

He's proficient enough...about the same as me and a thousand other guitarists playing the big clubs in the 1980's were. But honestly..I didn't see anything closely resembling the level of Hendrix or Page in the live video I just witnessed.

It looked like a common "paint by the numbers" guitar solo (basically musical masturbation) that a million guitarists have done.

I don't know man...I just don't see that kind of talent out there.

Every once in a while I hear someone that seems really good. But nobody earth-shaking like the giants that came before them.

That's what I'm saying is missing..musicians/artists that are out-of-this-world talented and have the "total package" of creativity, skills, charisma, and a message.

Don't get me wrong...I like "fluff" music too. I definitely find an appreciation for new music when I'm at a club watching girls twerking their ass on the dance floor.
I'm just saying that in the midst of the fluff and bubblegum shit...there aren't any musicians who will define this era as a great one for music, at least not yet.

Originally Posted by Bryan G (Post 20353584)

Lol so you have decided after one youtube vid? I'll post some more later when i get home. He is a talented mofo.

Originally Posted by Far-L (Post 20353880)

Hendrix was a charismatic person and great player but he freely admitted to borrowing heavily from Buddy Guy and other bluesmen. Hendrix was mostly a blues player and an amazing improvisationist but he didn't write a lot of the songs he is best known for. He had a few but he is probably best known for his covers of Dylan, etc. His pop success was in the way he made black blues palatable to white kids by playing the hippie soul brother hipster.

Page is another guy that is kind of mythologized and sort of overrated in my humblest opinion. Looking at the music he has done post Zep vs Plant I get the impression that Plant was really the brain trust for the song writing and Page for the arrangements and studio production. In my opinion, his genius is as a producer because listening to him live he was not that interesting - compare his Yardbirds work to Clapton or Beck, Not saying he wasn't influential but all the Indian influence was being done by Brian Jones before Zep did it. Great in the studio (he started as a full time session guitarist) but sort of blah live in my opinion.

Good seems to happen ever five to ten years. Great happens every fifty to hundred. Genius comes along about every four or five hundred I think. :2 cents:

Originally Posted by Robbie (Post 20353523)

Name ONE band with the talent level of a band like Queen. Just one.

Originally Posted by jimmycooper (Post 20355559)

Radiohead. I can name a few more but you only asked for one.

Originally Posted by Robbie (Post 20353895)

I can agree with that.
Of course all blues/rock players like Page & Hendrix were heavily, heavily influenced by Buddy Guy, Robert Johnson, the 2 Kings, Muddy Waters, etc.

Page's genius was in alt tunings, guitar arrangements on the albums (pure symphonies of parts) and songwriting genius with the music (along with John Paul Jones).

Hendrix is Hendrix. Just from another planet.

The Stones, The Who, The Beatles, Janis Joplin, The Doors...those were some great bands. Some good ones came along a little later: Aerosmith, Queen, Heart, etc.

What I'm saying is...I don't think that today's musicians are able to perform at those levels.
Of course the bands of that time came up playing clubs every night and honing their skills. Today's bands not only don't have any record company or radio support...but there isn't a circuit for them to be able to play and build audiences and learn the art of entertaining people like there used to be.

Originally Posted by Robbie (Post 20355591)

I like Radiohead. No fucking way that they could write and perform a song like "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen. Or "Sweet Madam Blue" by Styxx.
They just don't have the vocals or musical chops to pull that kind of thing off.

I think they are a great band...I loved The Stones and they can't pull that kind of thing off either. Nor could The Ramones, Sex Pistols, The Kinks, and a lot of other bands I really like and think are great.

But my question was where are all the great musicians and singers these days? And keep in mind that Radiohead ain't exactly a new band. They are a bunch of old guys in a band that was formed 30 years ago. :)

Originally Posted by ITraffic (Post 20355487)

thurston moore is the contemporary version of the guitarists you mentioned. but i doubt anyone here has the ears to hear.