The Guitarists Recommendation Thread

[Buckethead]

Alright folks, this is the new mod of the guitar forum here. I love guitar music, and thats why I'm here. This thread is for recommending your favorite guitarists, well known or obscure ones so we call all listen and learn a thing or two. I'll try to make one rec a day, but the life of a mod can be hectic.

But a simple rule:

Don't just post the guitarists name, I want details about what kind of music he/she plays, what band their in, and a few songs to start off with.

So here we go with number 1. (taken from journal thread, so don't kill me but I don't want to retype it)


Buckethead

What a name huh? This guitarist known as Brain Carroll to his parents is one of the most eccentric players to ever master the six string. He covers every genre, creates his own genres, and is a master in every known genre! His music includes everything under the sun, most notably: Insane Shred, Beautiful melodys, jazz fusion, Ambient, Acoustic, ...everything!! Heres a little list of songs you have to listen too. I say little because Buckethead has released about 36 albums altogether.

1. Nottingham Lace- My absolute favorite guitar Instrumental of all time. This is truly Buckethead's best work. His emotional shredding and amazing melodys come together like no other in this piece. Please listen to this song if you will listen to but one of his songs. It will not disappoint.

2. Soothsayer- Another masterpeice, this shows Bucket's slow side in the first three minutes, then he goes into the main melody, followed by a solo that stumps the best players in the world. Don't think hes all shred, my friends, this is a beautiful song.

3. Padmasana- ...... A song with no fast parts at all. This acoustic ballad is heart wrenchingly beautiful and just as brillant as Mozart or Beethoven. (Yes, I went there) A song of trancedense to say the least.

4. Jordan-Here we go with Guitar Hero's craziest song... other than TTFAF. , this is a great little shred song made for that purpose exclusively. Try to play this song all the way through, I dare you.

5. Electric Tears- Name says it all folks, and it actually sounds like it too.

6. Hog ***** Stomp- A country chicken' pickin frenzy!!! This one will make you laugh, and then cry because its so hard to learn!!

7. For Mom- An Acoustic song for his mom... aww. Its really good for relaxing and I even sleep to it sometimes.

Heres another list of songs I don't want to go in detail about. but there still really good songs:

Wishing Well
Big Sur Moon
King James
Giant Robot Theme
The Way To Heaven
Too Many Humans
Welcome To Bucketheadland

Some good albums by him:

Colma
Acoustic Shards
Bucketheadland Volumes 1 and 2
Cuckoo Clocks Of Hell
Crime Slunk Scene
Enter The Chicken

and pretty much whatever else you can find.


So let's here your recs!!!

[Under]

John Petrucci

Guitarist of Dream Theater

If you haven't given him a listen, there's a DVD thats released anywhere that has him and Steve Vai and Joe Satrianni all three of them playing Smoke on the Water and a few other covers that they seem to do a very great job on.

He also has a solo album where he does instrumentals. He's truly a great guitarist.

Ever get the chance. check him out. Check out his band. check out Dream Theater. You'll simply enjoy the sound he promotes.

A few songs:

Forsaken
Constant Motion
In The Presence of Enemies Part 1 and 2
Prophets of War

All have great guitar solos performed by John Petrucci

[Lord Grendel]

I can't think of a better person to start a thread about guitarists Hero, imagine my shock at Buckethead being your first topic.

I will offer Al Di Meola, I discovered him in 1978 when I bought "Casino" on vinyl. I didn't realize that he was part of the jazz/fusion supergroup Return to Forever until doing some reading about his recording history. I am not the worlds biggest jazz fan I admit it, but I do dabble in some jazz/rock fusion once in a while and Al Di Meola's solo albums are very accessible to anyone who likes instrumental guitar music. He just finished a concert in my area a couple of months ago so he was a natural choice for my first post in this thread. Sadly Di Meola is losing his hearing, he did an article in our paper and he only has a few years left before he is almost completely deaf.(He did mention that all the i-pod owners in the world should be careful with their earbuds or they will end up like him, just passing along some good advice, once you damage your hearing it never recovers completely.)

Here is a song from the album Casino, Egyptian Danza.

YouTube - Al Di Meola - Egyptian Danza (Live)

I only own three of his albums but he is an amazing guitar player and has worked with some of the best guitarists in the world. If you want to check him out I suggest the following albums:

1. Land of the Midnight Sun

2. Elegant Gypsy

3. Casino

[Buckethead]

Fine choices by Grendal and Under, very nice guys!!

Steve Vai

A breathtakingly talented guitarist, Steve Vai is among the world's elite guitars today. Having played guitar for Frank Zappa and other musicians, Steve developed a style all his own. Heres a few must have songs:

Building The Church
For The Love Of God
Blue Powder
K'm Pee Du Wee
I know Your Here
Passion And Warfare

And anything else you can find with his brand on it.

[cfmrtn66]

I'll add Tony Rice to this.............

Tony Rice is one of bluegrass' most inventive flatpicking guitar players. Although he's displayed a mastery of the genre's traditions, Rice set the standard for more contemporary styles. A former member of the Bluegrass Alliance, the David Grisman Quintet, J.D. Crowe's New South, and the Bluegrass Album Band, Rice has continued to reflect his eclectic approach on solo recordings, two albums with flatpicking guitar ace Norman Blake, and two albums, recorded with his brothers Larry, Ron, and Wyatt, as the Rice Brothers. In 1996, Rice joined with Chris Hillman, Herb Pedersen, and his brother Larry to record a tradition-rooted album, Out of the Woodwork.

Raised in Southern California, Rice inherited his musical skill from his father, who played with several West Coast bluegrass bands and was heavily influenced by California-based bluegrass groups, including the Dillards and the Kentucky Colonels, which featured influential guitar picker Clarence White. Moving temporarily to Kentucky in 1970, Rice became a charter member of the Bluegrass Alliance, one of the earliest contemporary bluegrass groups. As a member of J.D. Crowe's New South in the early '70s, along with Ricky Skaggs and Jerry Douglas, he continued to promote a new approach to the music of the hill country. After meeting imaginative mandolin player David Grisman during a jam session in 1975, Rice returned to California and helped to form the David Grisman Quintet. During the five years that he played with the group, Rice helped to lay the foundation for the "new grass" style that Grisman dubbed "Dawg Music."

Leaving the Grisman Quintet, Rice formed a bluegrass supergroup, the Bluegrass Album Band, with J.D. Crowe, Bobby Hicks, Doyle Lawson, and Todd Phillips. Although only a part-time venture, the group produced five memorable albums.

Rice's albums as a soloist and with his band, the Tony Rice Unit, have ranged from the jazz-tinged Mar West, which included bluegrass-style treatments of tunes by Miles Davis and John Coltrane, to singer/songwriter-oriented albums, including Cold on the Shoulder, Native American, and Me & My Guitar, which featured his virtuosic guitar picking and soulful vocalizing of songs by Ian Tyson, Phil Ochs, and Gordon Lightfoot. Rice released an album-length collection of Lightfoot's songs, Sings Gordon Lightfoot, in 1996. Rice has continued to interpret the traditional bluegrass repertoire as well, releasing an album of old chestnuts, Plays and Sings Bluegrass, the same year.

Although he's recently experienced vocal problems that have prevented him from singing, Rice continues to amaze audiences with his masterful guitar playing.

I'll also add that i don't know of another guitarist that is so identified by his guitar. Tony plays a 1932 MartinD-28.
YouTube - Tony Rice - Church Street Blues

YouTube - Peter Rowan-Tony Rice & Friends 4-8-00-Blackberry Blossom

[Lord Grendel]

You know I feel so ignorant cfmrtn66 I honestly have never heard of Tony Price until reading your post. I'm not a bluegrass expert but after checking out your Youtube vids yeah this guy is amazing. I hope he recovers from his health issues and continues performing for many more years to come.

[Buckethead]

Slash

Band: Guns N Roses

Style: Blues with a Hard Rock Edge.

We all know GNR and a few of their songs, and Slash is regarded as a great guitarist, and rightfully so, so this is just a friendly reminder to pay respect to him.

Songs to Start With:
1. Welcome To The Jungle
2. Sweet Child O Mine
3. Civil War
4. Night Train
5. Patience
6. Paradise City

Like I said we all pretty much know these songs, but it never hurts to go back and relisten to them, you never know what you'll learn...

[Buckethead]

Eric Johnson

Hes not all Cliffs Of Dover people, so I suggest you check out the Strat man's whole arsenal of savage tunes...

Style: Interesting style, he combines a lot of styles such as country, blues, and rock into a unique sound, and his tone is....awww..... heavenly...

Songs To Start With:
1. Cliffs Of Dover (Duh)
2. Camel's Night Out
3. Manhattan
4. SRV (A tribute to SRV)
5. Zap
6. Steve's Boogie ( A great little country twang shuffle!)

So check him out!!!

[Lord Grendel]

Sorry I missed these today, better get my eyes checked, lol. Slash I know pretty well and he is good, but I know almost nothing about Eric Johnson, maybe a best album recommend would help me to get started Hero.

[Buckethead]

Ah Via Musicom is his best work IMO.