Underrated Guitarists
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Forum Name: Prog Music Lounge
Forum Description: General progressive music discussions
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1476
Printed Date: August 16 2025 at 02:40
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Topic: Underrated Guitarists
Posted By: The Owl
Subject: Underrated Guitarists
Date Posted: August 25 2004 at 17:33
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What are some you can think of that never really got the full recognition they deserve? I'll start with Gary Boyle Peter Banks Harvey Mandell Bill Connors Franco Mussida (PFM) John Etheredge Stanley Whittaker - (Happy the Man) Your turn-------------- ------------- People are puzzled why I don't dig the Stones, well, I listened to the Stones, I tried, and I tried, and I tried, and--I Can't Get No Satisfaction! www.myspace.com/theowlsmusic |
Replies:
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: August 25 2004 at 17:34
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Alex lifeson |
Posted By: The Prognaut
Date Posted: August 25 2004 at 17:37
------------- break the circle reset my head wake the sleepwalker and i'll wake the dead |
Posted By: James Lee
Date Posted: August 25 2004 at 17:37
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Greg Ginn ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/sollipsist/?chartstyle=kaonashi"> 
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Posted By: The Prognaut
Date Posted: August 25 2004 at 17:40
I say overrated!
------------- break the circle reset my head wake the sleepwalker and i'll wake the dead |
The Larger Bowl wrote:Posted By: The Owl
Date Posted: August 25 2004 at 17:40
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Also, have to add Philip Catherine, amazing versatile player from Belgium, played with Focus in their waning days in the late 70's. And of course, Jan Akkerman, SMOKED! ------------- People are puzzled why I don't dig the Stones, well, I listened to the Stones, I tried, and I tried, and I tried, and--I Can't Get No Satisfaction! www.myspace.com/theowlsmusic |
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: August 25 2004 at 17:40
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Posted By: flippedcanvas
Date Posted: August 25 2004 at 17:53
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ANTHONY PHILIPPS. ------------- all the knots get back to the comb. |
Posted By: Dan Bobrowski
Date Posted: August 25 2004 at 17:59
I wouldn't say Alex was overrated or underrated. He's a great guitarist, developed his own signature style and gets plenty of exposure in magazines, air-play on the radio and, I believe, sells a sh*t load of concert tickets.
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Posted By: Dan Bobrowski
Date Posted: August 25 2004 at 18:07
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Under recognized guitarists? Allan Holdsworth tops the list. He's one of the single most influencial guitarists of modern times, yet he does not get much credit outside the Fusion / Prog Rock circles. Most Jazz text books even include him outside of his playing with Tony Williams Lifetime. Darryl Stuermer - Check out "Enigmatic Oceans" from Jean Luc Ponty. Mick Rogers - Manfred Mann's Earthband, "Nightengales and Bombers." There is some exceptional string bending there. Carl Verheyan (the crowd yells, "who?") - He is probably the most recorded or heard guitarist, but the lest known as well. Check out "Garage Sale," Slang Justice" and "No Borders." |
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: August 25 2004 at 18:11
| I believe Lifeson is underrated because he is the best bar none.He has never recorded a single note that hasnt been crafted lovingly to mean something. I cant think of anything that sounded remotely like A Farewell To Kings, before it came out and the same goes for Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures. He invented a sound that has been copied by dozens of guitarists since and none of them has ever given him any credit. Vai, Malmsteen, Van Halen,Petrucci are all technically more gifted, but struggle to write anything different or meaningful,just faster and more florid. |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: August 25 2004 at 18:27
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Mike Holmes (IQ) Leslie West (Mountain) Bill Nelson (BeBop Deluxe) Stephen Caudel (Solo performer) Peter White (Al Stewart Band) And then there are those who are not thought of as lead guitarists but have stepped into the breach when needed and done a good job nevertheless: Edgar Froese (Tangerine Dream - brilliant on the 'Underwater Sunlight' album) Greg Lake ('Battlefield' sounds great to me!) Mike Rutherford - (took over from Steve Hackett,no easy task but did a solid job.)
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Posted By: Dan Bobrowski
Date Posted: August 25 2004 at 19:21
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How can he be underrated if he achieved both technique and world-wide acclaim? Alex has achieved what any burgeoning guitarist could ever hope for. I don't understand your claim? |
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: August 25 2004 at 19:28
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How can he be underrated if he achieved both technique and world-wide acclaim? Alex has achieved what any burgeoning guitarist could ever hope for. I don't understand your claim? I mean that he is the best but not recognised as the best... 's obvious old bean |
Posted By: Dan Bobrowski
Date Posted: August 25 2004 at 19:42
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He's your favorite, then....... |
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: August 25 2004 at 19:46
Err...sorry no. Steve Howe would be my favourite! Now I'm going to lie down in the shade with my Batman colouring book. |
Posted By: James Lee
Date Posted: August 25 2004 at 20:12
Is that the best Batman colouring book or your favorite Batman colouring book? ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/sollipsist/?chartstyle=kaonashi">
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Posted By: Dan Bobrowski
Date Posted: August 25 2004 at 20:18
Superman's my favorite, ol' melon... It's just not recognized as the best! |
Posted By: greenback
Date Posted: August 25 2004 at 22:02
Have you heard him on Pergamon? Go get it!
underrated: VINNIE MOORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
Posted By: Blacksword
Date Posted: August 26 2004 at 03:50
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I dont think Alex Lifeson is overrated or underrated. As has been pointed out here, he is acclaimed the world over, and so he should be he is very talented and original, as a writer and as a soloist. I think we've had this discussion already, though. It's all down to taste. It could probably be proven that he is technically better than, say Jimmy Page, but if you like blues more than prog then your going to prefer Page to Lifeson. Rush as musicians have been accused of being to clinical, too precise and lacking emotion at times. I respect this point of view, but dont share it, as my tastes mean I find their music very emotional. Underated guitarists in my book are: Huw Lloyd Langton Andy Latimer Trevor Rabin ------------- Ultimately bored by endless ecstasy! |
Posted By: philippe
Date Posted: August 26 2004 at 05:37
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Without any doubts MANUEL GOTTSCHING despite that he brought a new paradigm in composition for guitar. ------------- 
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Posted By: JrKASperov
Date Posted: August 26 2004 at 15:38
Ritchie Blackmore. Sure, he's famous, but I don't think he gets the credit he's due. His work on In Rock alone is amazing. ------------- Epic. |
Posted By: Certif1ed
Date Posted: August 26 2004 at 16:12
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I don't think Vinnie Moore is overrated - he's over-talented and quite the virtuouso, that's true, but not overrated (IMO!). His music doesn't really "shine", or carry the magic of, e.g. Joe Satriani's "Surfing With The Alien". Steve Vai, OTOH, even if you said he was the best guitarist in the known universe that had ever lived, would still be underrated. Others (much less virtuosic, and criminally underrated because of it); Andy Latimer Steve Rothery Keep your "noodlers" any day - these guys can wrench out the most gorgeous music and the deepest emotions with a single note; Now that's class! |
Posted By: Ivan_Melgar_M
Date Posted: August 26 2004 at 22:34
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There are some very underrated guitar players not mentioned here: Rich Williams: After Robbie Steindhardt violin, Rich's guitar riffs are probably the sound that identifies Kansas, the guy sure kicks a$$. Steve Hackett: Has anybody ever seen his name in a guitar poll? The guy was one of the key members of Genesis but the fans only discovered his importance after he left, more than 16 albums, most of them masterpieces and he's always forgotten. Anthony Phillips: If the guy wouldn't had that terrible stage panic, Steve Hackett would had never joined Genesis. Mick Box: Uriah Heep changed 30 members, but the only one present in every album (almost sure) is Mick Box, a guitar player that defined Prog/metal genre for the first time. Iván |
Posted By: threefates
Date Posted: August 26 2004 at 22:37
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Steve Wilson Brian Josh ------------- THIS IS ELP 
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Posted By: Man Erg
Date Posted: August 27 2004 at 05:14
Manuel Gottsching - Absolutely! E2-E4 was/is a revoultionary piece of work.pre-empting ambient dance music by 15 years. |
Posted By: 5 minute solo
Date Posted: August 27 2004 at 06:47
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omar rodriguez - mars volta some very good jazz impro. on de-loused in the comatorium ------------- You want the spoon? You can't handle the spoon! |
Posted By: onslo
Date Posted: August 27 2004 at 11:46
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yes, Peter Banks. but also Steve hillage and Steve Howe. yeah, i know
people already love Howe but i think he still deserves more praise in
the guitar world.
------------- 
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Posted By: Dan Bobrowski
Date Posted: August 27 2004 at 12:40
I have always considered Vai a "noodler." A "really really good noodler." |
Posted By: Easy Livin
Date Posted: August 27 2004 at 14:08
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Ken Hensley is a much better guitarist than he recieves credit for. He spends much of his time on keyboards, and when in Uriah Heep of course, Mick Box was the "lead guitarist". Hensley though provided a number of the guitar solos, the most noteable being the slide guitar on "Paradise/the Spell" from "Demons and Wizards".
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Posted By: Certif1ed
Date Posted: August 27 2004 at 15:22
You're damn right he noodles, and usually, when he noodles, it's (incredibly) all intentional rather than lucky - but he does the other stuff too - you know, tunes! And then there's the other stuff he does that isn't tunes and isn't noodle... |
Posted By: Blacksword
Date Posted: August 27 2004 at 15:49
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Vai does noodle very well indeed! I saw him with Dave Lee Roth yearsago, and he was the best thing about the gig, well him and the great Mr Sheehan on bass. I once saw some footage of Steve Vai duelling live with Franka Zappa, and that was a sight and sound to behold!! ------------- Ultimately bored by endless ecstasy! |
Posted By: Certif1ed
Date Posted: August 27 2004 at 17:28
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Have you ever seen the somewhat dodgy film "Crossroads" - not the Britney Spears saccharine-saturated autobiography, but the one where the "blues guy" does a deal with the devil? Vai plays the devil's guitarist and the "blues guy"'s parts in the final duel - and frankly, I always thought that (like in real life) the devil had the best tunes! If you haven't seen it, it's worth seeing just for Stevie in the duel at the end. Smokin'!!! |
Posted By: Dan Bobrowski
Date Posted: August 27 2004 at 18:15
| What about the strange switch to classical scales to beat the devil in a blues guitar battle.... Strange? |
Posted By: James Lee
Date Posted: August 27 2004 at 20:22
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traditionally the devil has been a violinist...it wasn't until he heard Fripp that Satan decided to concentrate on the six-string oh yeah, and it was the great Ry Cooder who did the blues parts for the 'cutting heads' segment- for all Vai's proficiency, delta blues really isn't his forte. Arlen Roth, ubiquitous guitar trainer and Ralph Maccio's coach for the film, explained that the final sequence was originally supposed to be solely a blues showdown rather than what he termed "this heavy metal nonsense". Originally it was just Roth and Cooder providing the guitar work for the film, but Cooder was replaced by Vai as the demon guitarist (well, to his credit Steve does look more like a demon) whose tracks were actually sped up to accentuate the tension (hard to believe Vai wasn't fast enough- speedy fretwork being a major part of his appeal). Unsung master Bill Kanengiser did the classical guitar work. Despite the fact that the narrative and dialogue are ridiculously banal, Crossroads is a pretty unique film- besides being required viewing for any budding blues guitarist (especially young white boys like I used to be) it gave Robert Johnson and the blues in general a more-than-deserved boost in popularity. Too bad that people almost always get the actual guitar credits wrong. ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/sollipsist/?chartstyle=kaonashi">
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Posted By: threefates
Date Posted: August 27 2004 at 20:58
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Underrated guitarists... just not prog
------------- THIS IS ELP
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Posted By: James Lee
Date Posted: August 27 2004 at 21:35
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Dickey Betts- what a great call. He and Duane together were pure magic- I especially love their work on "Elizabeth Reed" on the "Filmore East" album. ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/sollipsist/?chartstyle=kaonashi">
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Posted By: Dan Bobrowski
Date Posted: August 27 2004 at 22:40
| Brings to mind Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks (Butchs son).... Hmmmm good blues! |
Posted By: Dan Bobrowski
Date Posted: August 27 2004 at 22:46
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Dick, How did we miss: Bon Lozaga? He smokes. Not original, but he can tear it up. |
Posted By: threefates
Date Posted: August 27 2004 at 23:15
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and on Jessica... but my favorite song by the Allman Bros.. Midnight Rider... ------------- THIS IS ELP
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Posted By: The Prognaut
Date Posted: August 27 2004 at 23:22
Big fan of his RATM phase. He's certainly unexploited his skills on "Audioslave"
------------- break the circle reset my head wake the sleepwalker and i'll wake the dead |
Posted By: greenback
Date Posted: August 28 2004 at 02:20
I have to disagree: Morello is one of the most overrated guitarist ever! |
Posted By: James Lee
Date Posted: August 28 2004 at 10:55
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I'm not a big fan of Morello. When RATM first came out, all the guitar mags were raving about his creative approach, unique sounds, etc. until I expected him to be of Belew caliber. When I actually heard him, it was good stuff but nothing all that revolutionary. I remember thinking that he used an awful lot of electronic effects for a band with such a fervent anti-technology pose. That was over a decade ago and I don't hear him getting any better. ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/sollipsist/?chartstyle=kaonashi">
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Posted By: threefates
Date Posted: August 28 2004 at 11:34
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I don't know.. I saw him a couple of times in RATM.. and he put on a great show.. and I'm usually really picky about guitarist.. And I like Audioslave. ------------- THIS IS ELP
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Posted By: James Lee
Date Posted: August 29 2004 at 04:11
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I'm not saying he's bad...just not underrated by any means. ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/sollipsist/?chartstyle=kaonashi">
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Posted By: zappa123
Date Posted: August 29 2004 at 04:53
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Posted By: goose
Date Posted: August 29 2004 at 17:52
| http://guitargeek.com/rigview/124/ - http://guitargeek.com/rigview/124/ shows Morello using only 5 different effects. I think he was pretty inventive in what he did with them, but yeah, more overrated than underrated... |
Posted By: Reed Lover
Date Posted: August 30 2004 at 15:22
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Are you on about when Morello lost his cherry? |
Posted By: helmi
Date Posted: August 30 2004 at 23:30
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1.Alan Holdsworth 2.Dave Mustaine 3.Marty Friedman 4.Vernon reid 5.Andy Summers 6.Thurston Moore |
Posted By: Man Erg
Date Posted: August 31 2004 at 06:37
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Bill Harkleroad - AKA Zoot Horn Rollo
Paul Rudolph - Pink Fairies et al Martin Barre |
Posted By: Pr@gmatic
Date Posted: October 08 2005 at 15:49
| Gary Green is so underrated it hurts. |
Posted By: DeadGhost
Date Posted: October 08 2005 at 16:00
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* Andy Latimer * Steven Wilson * Mikael Akerfeldt (he writes beautiful riffs!!!) |
Posted By: Pr@gmatic
Date Posted: October 08 2005 at 16:04
Agreed.
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Posted By: Forgotten Son
Date Posted: October 08 2005 at 16:35
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Andy Latimer Eric Johnson Buckethead Mark Knopfler |
Posted By: ldlanberg
Date Posted: October 08 2005 at 21:05
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Anthony Phillips, from the earliest Genesis days. But I also think Phillips underrated himself - he didn't really play any more guitar after he left Genesis in 1970. His style was more mainstream than the creative Steve Hackett, who replaced him, but his lead solos on electric were some really sharp ones. I think in a lot of ways, he was the better-half of the band during those first three years. I've always felt that Phillips' guitar work on Genesis Trespass was far better than, say, the stuff that Martin Barre did for Jethro Tull and also much better than what I've heard of Procol Harum's Robin Trower. ------------- LDL |
Posted By: TheProgtologist
Date Posted: October 08 2005 at 21:07
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Anyone here ever hear of Shawn Lane? -------------  |
Posted By: Pr@gmatic
Date Posted: October 08 2005 at 21:27
Hell yeah! He's a mean jazzy-shredder. I love his work with the, also wicked, jazz bassist Jonas Hellborg. Though, I don't own any of his stuff. Do you? |
Posted By: el böthy
Date Posted: October 08 2005 at 21:57
hehhe, funny, I thought this forum was about underated guitarist not over the top overrated...hmm, will have to read titles better... ------------- "You want me to play what, Robert?" 
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Posted By: Mr. Krinkle
Date Posted: October 08 2005 at 22:07
| Larry "Ler" Lalonde from Primus, very underrated, almost forgotten. |
Posted By: Angeldust
Date Posted: October 08 2005 at 22:39
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Andy Latimer Steve Hillage Ed Wynne (from ozric !nobody mentions him.he's an incredible player)
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Posted By: Angeldust
Date Posted: October 08 2005 at 22:40
Oh and i forgot Tommy Bolin  -------------
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Posted By: TheProgtologist
Date Posted: October 08 2005 at 22:53
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I have Jonas Hellborg's Abstract Logic,Good People in Times of Evil and Zenhouse(all with Lane on guitar) Also Shawn Lane's solo albums Powers of Ten and The Tri-Tone Fascination. ------------- |
Posted By: Cygnus X-2
Date Posted: October 08 2005 at 22:57
Adrian Belew. ------------- 
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Posted By: Pr@gmatic
Date Posted: October 08 2005 at 22:58
Cool! You're an eclectic prog fan. I thought you were all about prog metal, sorry Jody. 
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Posted By: TheProgtologist
Date Posted: October 08 2005 at 23:05
Thank you and no need to apologize. Prog metal is my favorite genre,but I love all prog and lots of different kinds of music. ------------- |
Posted By: Dalezilla
Date Posted: October 09 2005 at 08:59
| Jim Matheos |
Posted By: Don Quito
Date Posted: October 09 2005 at 12:29
I don't believe that Vai, Malmsteen, Van Halen and/or Petrucci, to site just a few, are technically more gifted than Alex Lifeson. Lifeson deserves all the credit as a Master of the guitar and one who possess technical powers and plays with virtuosity. The fact that these other guitar players uses shredding as a guitar technique in their plays, doesn't make them technically more gifted than any other guitar player. That's only a guitar technique that any gifted guitar player can do... The real trick is playing melodies and well structured songs with instinct... I will give more credit on that! ------------- KEEP THE PROMISE YOU MADE |
Posted By: alan_pfeifer
Date Posted: October 09 2005 at 12:32
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Not exactly a prog guitarist, but Andy Summers of The Police immediatly sprigns to mind. Heavily Influenced by Fripp, if you listen closely enough. |
Posted By: Kotro
Date Posted: October 09 2005 at 12:39
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Martin Barre Alvin Lee Peter Green |
Posted By: sleeper
Date Posted: October 09 2005 at 18:51
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Suprised no ones mentioned Arjen A Lucassen his solos on universal migrater 1 & 2 are great ------------- Spending more than I should on Prog since 2005 
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Posted By: pero
Date Posted: October 10 2005 at 05:23
Also he was fantastic in Gong ("Gazeuse", Expresso II") Mick Taylor is one of underrated guitarists. He was playing with John Mayall, Rolling stones, Gong, in their best periods. |