Underrrated Keyboardists

gdub411 wrote: I like Hugh Banton

Good call! Hugh bought a unique set of aesthetics to VDGG, coming from an extensive backgroudn as a church/classical organist, plus having a pretty extensive natural talent at electronics as well. Nowadays, he enjoys a lucrative career building and designing church/theatre organs in Britain.

Dutch keyboards wizard Rick Van Der Linden (Ekseption, Trace) is the most underrated and forgotten, but he's a genious! I think he's better than Wakeman, Banks and the most famous prog keyboardists.

the geezers from Tangerine Dream (though they were all rubbish guitar players)

Johannes Schmoelling (1980-85) and [Johannes' replacement] Paul Haslinger (1986-1990) were the two best keyboardists that were ever in Tangerine Dream. Both were conservatory-trained and could play circles around Edgar Froese and the others, but that's not what Tangerine Dream was about. As far as guitar-playing goes, Paul only played some rhythm here & there, Edgar's son Jerome stunk (hammer-ons ad nauseum), and '90s hired guns Zlatko Perica and Gerald Gradwool could play but their lines were flashy and lifeless.

Now, when it comes to Edgar Froese's guitar playing, I liked his stuff a lot. Very earthy, Hendrixian/Hackettsian (less so of the former), and he could burn when he wanted to.

Jean Michel Jarre anyone (at least on oxygene and equinoxe)

A good composer, but on a technical level, he sucks.

Jens Johansson is probably better known as keyboard player with Yngwie Malmsteen and Stratovarious (sp). However, within a limited budget and therefore reliance on the secondhand CD market, I've yet to buy and then hear a stand out track featuring Johansson with these bands - any recommendations?

Ignore releases by Malmsteen and Stratovarius. I don't know why Jens wastes his time with the latter (to pay the bills, I reckon). For some real prog-metal, check out both of Mastermind's albums with Jens, namely the instrumental Excelsior! and its (song-oriented) follow-up, Angels Of The Apocalypse.

You also need to hear Jens in "fusion mode." Pick up Heavy Machinery by the Johansson Bros. (Jens & Anders) with Allan Holdsworth. A great, bassless album. Also get Jens' Fission. It's out of print and very hard to find, but if you can, score a copy of Jens' very first solo from 1987 called Fjaderlosa Tvafotingar ("featherless bipeds"). Just four long tracks that ride the median on the prog/fusion highway. Excellent stuff!

Vangelis albedo o.39!

He plays everything!

Amazing drummer too.