here's a laugh...David Fricke's Top 100 guitarist of all time, not that I go in for the who;e lists thing....more proof RS AND lists are for the birds...take a wild guess where he rates Townsend....
Understood and fair enough, Gaylord! I respect his right to his opinion...it's just that THAT one is a bit nebulous, for me at least! His argument for Pete's ranking would certainly make for an interesting debate, that's for sure! I think, if for no other reason, these kinds of "lists" at least get people discussing/debating Rock & Roll and music in general, which is good! : )
Regardless of an arbitrary 'ranking' I think Townsend's contribution is more for his 'construction' and showmanship, both extremely important contributions to rock and roll, than for his techincal skill. His invention is equally important, yet not entirely original. I'm not a muscian but am afraid those rankings mix apples and pears. It was mentioned in the documentary of drummer G. Baker, Beware of Mr. Baker, that Moon actually provided the space for Townsend to act.
@ V Priceless: The drummer often makes the guitarist. That applies to kit bashers like Keith, eccentrics like Ringo, and even the limited drummers you all know.
Isn't there even a persiflage of the Rolling Stone Guitarists chart from the NY accousic scene?
We had the guitarist ranking discussion elsewhere @ Frank O' Toole's comment board and we agreed that it is for the most part ridiculous. Depending on what music it is about, very different skills are in demand.
I liked Hendrix's statement "I'm the best gutarist sitting in this chair."
@V Priceless do you remember where Steve Winwood was placed on the list?
Ranking a complete artist (muscian) by isolating one part (guitar skill) is an irrevelant exercise but including all aspects of every mucisian would become too combersome. There are guitarist that are important vocalists, composers, arrangers, troublemakers, chance-takers, play multiple instruments beside guitar, etc. So the criteria must be either techincal skill on that instrument or for the complete package and applied equally to all contenders.
6:40pm
tomB:
Distance analysis of David Fricke's head: To list 100 guitarists by rank, take the best combination rhythm & lead, consider that skill as the perfect average, and assign to #50. Work above and below until you have thought of 99 others.
Aw, thanks, @Gaylord! Saw HJ at the Iridium years ago, probably 1999 or 2000. I bumped into him afterwards and wound up having a little conversation, he was a really nice guy. I think his solos on "Autumn Leaves" are my favorite bits of piano.
@Gaylord Fields: FWIW, the I respect the distraction part but there was one week where the transmitter was all nuts. And there was no easy way to tell folks “Hey, the transmitter is all nuts! What’s up with that?”
@Ken from Hyde Park: A few of the more persistent trolls are now gone it seems.
@Whooda - just a follow-up to your Q - I do not recall where Winwood was ranked. Lists being the subjective product of the creator that they are, not much we can do other than debate them. IMHO, few have done more to transform the "sound" (albeit by way of sheer volume & aggression) of the then-fledgling electric guitar in pop music than Townsend, even if he wasn't also a writer - Hendrix and Buddy Guy, without a doubt, and a handful of others, sure. What makes the RS list puzzling to me - and I mean no disrespect to any of these artists - but for instance, what is the criteria by which Garcia, Cobain, Johnny Ramone and Jack White rank higher than Townsend? I guess I'm missing the point of it. I suspect so-called "break through" moments in the fabric of "popular music" that resulted in totally new "sub genres" of Rock & Roll may enter into the equation to help justify such selections, but what do I know? And even knowing nothing, I find it difficult to justify PT being resigned to the middle of the 100 "most influential" guitarists! Great set going, GF!
V-Priceless I agree, as a basic gut-reaction, Townsend would be close to the top of my list. I use the "air-guitar" standard of who have I pretended to be most often: Clapton, Townsend, Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaugan.
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Eastern Standard Summer Time enables me to listen live for a change.
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We had the guitarist ranking discussion elsewhere @ Frank O' Toole's comment board and we agreed that it is for the most part ridiculous. Depending on what music it is about, very different skills are in demand.
I liked Hendrix's statement "I'm the best gutarist sitting in this chair."
Whooda:
Ranking a complete artist (muscian) by isolating one part (guitar skill) is an irrevelant exercise but including all aspects of every mucisian would become too combersome. There are guitarist that are important vocalists, composers, arrangers, troublemakers, chance-takers, play multiple instruments beside guitar, etc. So the criteria must be either techincal skill on that instrument or for the complete package and applied equally to all contenders.
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@Ken from Hyde Park: A few of the more persistent trolls are now gone it seems.
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