Alex Lifeson...why is he not looked upon as a god?
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Topic: Alex Lifeson...why is he not looked upon as a god?
Posted By: W.A.S.P
Subject: Alex Lifeson...why is he not looked upon as a god?
Date Posted: April 18 2009 at 15:26
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Well, Alex Lifeson has to be one of the best guitarist in history !, He is way better than slash etc, so why is he not looked upon as a guitar god ! ?, Nowadays everone thinks to be good at guitar you have to have Speed, Speed, Speed and Nothing else, Sure Alex is fast, but listen to his amazing style of playing, his relaxed playing, and how amazing he sounds live, and on the albums.
I Better not be the only person that thinks this
 W.A.S.P
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Replies:
Posted By: The Quiet One
Date Posted: April 18 2009 at 15:30
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Are you reffering that why non-prog fans don't consider Alex a god guitarist? or why don't prog fans consider him as a god guitarist? |
Posted By: WalterDigsTunes
Date Posted: April 18 2009 at 15:38
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He's alright, I s'pose. Better than Slash (Slash? Really? Utterly random namedrop, I'd say) ? Well, he does more than play bluesy riffs. But, then, can you really see Lifeson's work fitting in with GnR? Or Slash with Rush? Slash smokes and wears a top hat and dark shades. He was in GnR. He oozes cool. Lifeson is Canadian and plays in Rush. Worlds apart. |
Posted By: W.A.S.P
Date Posted: April 18 2009 at 15:44
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Well, i mean, People in general, So Prog Fans and non-prog fans. |
Posted By: lucas
Date Posted: April 18 2009 at 15:45
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Lifeson is not that underrated, as he was invited to perform a rendition of christmas carol on one of the axemas compilation. Rush is often cited among the younger generations of prog bands.
Just for his soloings on la villa strangiato and yyz he should be regarded as one of the most important guitarists on the general rock scene.
Oddly, in France, I never heard a single song of Rush on the radio, while their career spanned 30 years, and they sold a huge amount of cds, placing them among the best record sellers in the world.
------------- "Magma was the very first gothic rock band" (Didier Lockwood) |
Posted By: W.A.S.P
Date Posted: April 18 2009 at 15:52
But it does not matter what he looks like, that is not what makes people a good guitarist ! Just because he wears A Top hat and Shades, does not mean immediately that he is the best guitarist in the whole world, Sure he is one of the best, But i would not say he is the best, like some people think.
W.A.S.P
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WalterDigsTunes wrote:Posted By: WalterDigsTunes
Date Posted: April 18 2009 at 15:55
Image makes Slash memorable. Riffs make Slash memorable. Specially among people in general. Skill makes Lifeson a technically astute guitarist. |
Posted By: The Quiet One
Date Posted: April 18 2009 at 15:57
In that case, Prog fans in general wouldn't consider Alex a guitar god, mainly because Rush is more on the Rock side of Prog, and much more Alex himself. For non-prog fans, well, there must be a very high porcentage of people who don't even know Rush, so, that's one of the main reasons... |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: April 18 2009 at 16:04
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Alex Lifeson is good, but is he more godlike than other Prog guitarists such as John McLaughlin, Al di Meola, Robert Fripp, Fred Frith, Allan Holdsworth, Roger Wootton, Jan Akkerman etc.?
------------- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXcp9fYc6K4IKuxIZkenfvukL_Y8VBqzK" rel="nofollow - Duos for fave acts |
Posted By: Moatilliatta
Date Posted: April 18 2009 at 17:48
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I don't think I've heard one Lifeson solo that has made my jaw drop. His solos just aren't that memorable. At least not to me. ------------- www.last.fm/user/ThisCenotaph  
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Posted By: Padraic
Date Posted: April 18 2009 at 20:07
| Great guitarist - but not worthy of deification, I think. |
Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: April 18 2009 at 20:13
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what's this doing in the Proto-Prog & Prog Related lounge?
moved. ------------- What? |
Posted By: Alberto Muńoz
Date Posted: April 18 2009 at 23:12
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Alex Lifeson is really great. No guitarrist can be looked as a God. -------------  |
Posted By: Statutory-Mike
Date Posted: April 18 2009 at 23:35
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He simply isn't as good as others. Neither is Slash, Jimmy Page, Randy Roads, etc. they're all looked upon as "gods" in the mainstream music world. Listen to Jason Becker, sure you might say I'm just saying he's a god because of his speed, but his music is very...musical too, it's not just random playing. ------------- 
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Posted By: Statutory-Mike
Date Posted: April 18 2009 at 23:36
 Well put.-------------
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Posted By: rogerthat
Date Posted: April 18 2009 at 23:54
| It's not so much that Lifeson is not being deified but that the other two are when there definitely were better bassists and drummers from that time. Lifeson is a good guitarist and very important to the Rush sound, actually his getting sidelined in the 80s with their synthesizer craze is the main reason I don't like their 80s albums much. Godly? Never, there were and are better guitarists both in prog and non-prog. |
Posted By: Atavachron
Date Posted: April 18 2009 at 23:58
treading on thin ice there, I can understand Page due to sloppiness but Rhoads? Yyyeaahh, don't think so, especially considering his mastery of classical guitar, limitless vocabulary, remarkable self-recording abilities, I could go on for days... |
Posted By: topofsm
Date Posted: April 19 2009 at 02:16
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Am I the only one that thinks Alex Lifeson sounds terribly sloppy live? I've heard several live versions of "The Spirit of Radio" and it sounds like he's struggling to get the opening licks in time. With respect to him, since my guitarist friends say it's a rather hard opening part to play.
Though I adore his guitar work in La Villa Strangiato. ------------- 
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Posted By: Atavachron
Date Posted: April 19 2009 at 02:24
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I think Alex's playing improved immensely round about Signals when he stopped trying to prove something and developed his leaner, cleaner selection of phrases and accents |
Posted By: progrules
Date Posted: April 19 2009 at 02:52
Really ??? Did you hear his solos on The Necromancer ? Especially the last one is VERY memorable.
To me Alex is a half god. ------------- A day without prog is a wasted day |
Posted By: Blacksword
Date Posted: April 19 2009 at 03:02
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Lifeson is recognised as an excellent guitarist by his peers, and by those who understand music, beyond shredding and heroics. Those who understand composition, and have an ear for originality and sensitivity in playing, know the score with Lifeson.
The fact that 'joe public' may not think he is as good as Slash (for example) is because he is in Rush, who are by definition not as cool as G'n'R et al, and have prpobaly had considerbaly less MTV and 'Rolling Stone' coverage. If Rush pumped out hit singles, and were all a bunch of smackheads, they'd be widely acknowledged as geniuses. It's just the way things work. |
Posted By: Negoba
Date Posted: April 19 2009 at 07:44
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As perhaps the biggest guitar nerd on this board not named Hughes, Lifeson is much more respected than Slash in the guitarist community. His solo on "Limelight" is so simple and so perfect. He had many great bits. I've seen him live twice in the 90's and he's never been sloppy. The part of Spirit of Radio is not hard at all for anyone who has any kind of chops. The problem is I've heard lots of version where they're really rushing the song. People think that part should be faster than it is. It's just straight sixteenths....well anyway. There are guitarists out there who just blow everyone away in terms of talent and the general public knows none of them. Shawn Lane, John McLaughlin, Tommy Emmanuel.
IMO the guy who combines unbelievable tone, expression, and chops that are as good as anyone besides the top tier of shredders is Chris Poland. And his expressive ability is pretty much unsurpassed ever. The first Ohm: album is a must have for guitar lovers. I'll be reviewing it soon.
Rhoads was probably the best for his time on the big stage. He was not a savant like Lane but worked and worked and kept working to where he probably was the best rock guitarist out there at the time of his death. Eddie was ahead of him in the 70's but Randy understood music so much more.
Lane is the only one who deserves demigod status, IMO. He was just wired different than other men. ------------- You are quite a fine person, and I am very fond of you. But you are only quite a little fellow, in a wide world, after all. |
Posted By: crimson87
Date Posted: April 19 2009 at 09:13
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Posted By: SgtPepper67
Date Posted: April 19 2009 at 10:03
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I think he's very underrated too. I can't even remember hearing his name before I got into Rush last year.
------------- 
In the end the love you take is equal to the love you made... |
Posted By: mr.cub
Date Posted: April 19 2009 at 12:04
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His name isn't Clapton...that's why. And the fact that Rush isn't all that popular outside of certain circles ------------- 
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: April 19 2009 at 12:46
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Rush isn't very popular inside certain circles either. ------------- 
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Posted By: The Pessimist
Date Posted: April 19 2009 at 13:05
Because he isn't Mikael Akerfeldt? 
------------- "Market value is irrelevant to intrinsic value." Arnold Schoenberg |
Posted By: mr.cub
Date Posted: April 19 2009 at 13:06
Good point. Touche -------------
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Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: April 19 2009 at 13:51
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Because he isn't Robert Fripp. I'm not saying Fripp is the best, I usually have voted for John McLaughlin in polls, but in Prog circles, Fripp is more likely to be given godlike status. Outside of Prog, in rock circles, Jimi Hendrix, or Eddie Van Halen etc. In classical guitar, Andres Segovia, John WIlliams, Julian Bream etc. Anyway, Alex Lifeson is pretty much a household name amongst my generation where I live, in my experience, unlike Aleksandar Živojinović. People like David Glmour, Carlos Santana, Eric Clapton, and David Glilmour are better-known still. Lifeson makes many best lists (especially Prog lists, along with Hackett etc.), and though he has the reputation as a very good guitarist, he doesn't seem to have the reputation as a very innovative/ groundbreaking guitarist. ------------- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXcp9fYc6K4IKuxIZkenfvukL_Y8VBqzK" rel="nofollow - Duos for fave acts |
Posted By: Tony R
Date Posted: April 19 2009 at 14:38
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Aleksandar Živojinović was always compared unfavourably to his friend Gary Weinrib. |
Posted By: Abstrakt
Date Posted: April 19 2009 at 14:41
| Because Jimmy Page is better |
Posted By: someone_else
Date Posted: April 19 2009 at 14:46
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Alex Lifeson is a great guitar player indeed, Not my favourite, but definitely in my top 5. But I don't think that any guitar player or anybody else with extraordinary skills should be worshipped or even looked upon as a god or half-god.
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Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: April 19 2009 at 14:47
 True, and his friend, erm, Mr. N. Ellwood P. who was well respected despite not having snazzed his name up for living in the limelight.------------- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXcp9fYc6K4IKuxIZkenfvukL_Y8VBqzK" rel="nofollow - Duos for fave acts |
Posted By: Zargus
Date Posted: April 19 2009 at 14:52
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I dont think hes anything special, sure his good but there are alot of great guitarists... ------------- 
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Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: April 19 2009 at 14:53
And because Jeff Beck is better than Jimmy Page. ;) ------------- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXcp9fYc6K4IKuxIZkenfvukL_Y8VBqzK" rel="nofollow - Duos for fave acts |
Posted By: Abstrakt
Date Posted: April 19 2009 at 14:54
Liar! |
Posted By: Raff
Date Posted: April 19 2009 at 14:59
Quoted for truth  . Anyway, Lifeson may not be as technically gifted as other guitarists mentioned in this thread, but his contribution to the Rush sound as part of a whole (as opposed to a self-centred soloist) is invaluable. He puts his skills at the service of his band, and not the other way round - as too many shredders are prone to doing. |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: April 19 2009 at 15:02
At least I hold them both over that other famed Yardbirds guitarist, Eric Clapton. Anyway, Nigel Tufnel is the only true guitar god. ------------- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXcp9fYc6K4IKuxIZkenfvukL_Y8VBqzK" rel="nofollow - Duos for fave acts |
Posted By: lucas
Date Posted: April 19 2009 at 15:03
Becker is a "shredder", like many others who signed on Mike Varney's Shrapnel label. He is of course a very talented guitarist (well, was because now he can't move a single finger of his hands) but one cannot expect some excessive originality in his music.
To be excellent at guitar is a thing, to be original is another one. Unfortunately, Mr Becker possesses only one of those two qualities. ------------- "Magma was the very first gothic rock band" (Didier Lockwood) |
Posted By: Petrovsk Mizinski
Date Posted: April 20 2009 at 02:41
And as too many blues guitarists, rock guitarists and jazz guitarists are prone to doing as well. It's not exclusive to shred, I'm sorry, but I've heard blues guitarists w**king away with the some mediocre pentatonic box shape and bend-up-the-same-note licks for way too long when they should have realized they have said everything they can say with the guitar in about 30 seconds, but they feel the need to drag on for 10 minute solos. There are jazz guitarists that have no idea when to stop and let other members show their potential. Jimi Hendrix himself was even prone to just mindless pentatonic w**king away when clearly he should have just stopped and gave the song a chance to breath. I can't sit through the whole performance of Voodoo Child (Slight Return) because he just keeps going and going and going and going and going for ages jamming away and he seems to forget he's even playing a song, and my god, it's just goddamn boring. People that don't play guitar seem to have this thing were shredders are an evil force or something and are worse than other kind of guitarist. Hell, the only people that always know when to stop are classical guitarists because they have a set piece which means they aren't going to endlessly jam out with streams of boring licks. It doesn't matter what genre of music you play, you can suck ass at it, or you can kick ass at it. ------------- 
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Posted By: Trademark
Date Posted: April 20 2009 at 08:08
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"People that don't play guitar seem to have this thing were shredders are an evil force or something and are worse than other kind of guitarist." Not just people who don't play guitar. I've played for 40 years, designed, built and repaired guitars for 20 years and I wholeheartedly believe this to be true. It has nothing to do with playing or not playing, and everything to do with music one enjoys or does not enjoy. Alex is a fine player and one I can almost always find something to enjoy in his work.
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Posted By: MrEdifus
Date Posted: April 20 2009 at 08:58
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Alex Lifeson is a great guitarist, but he is overshadowed my many better or more well-known guitarists. Hell, he's even overshadowed by his own band: Neil Peart the lyricist and drum virtuoso, and Geddy Lee the lead singer, bassist, AND keyboardists. ------------- 
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Posted By: Petrovsk Mizinski
Date Posted: April 21 2009 at 02:10
No one is totally original though, no guitarist from the 20/21ist century is. Jason Becker and Marty Friedman practically brought counterpoint and true polyphony to electric guitar playing and truly beginning electric guitar based music that bit closer to a more classical sound when other contemporaries such as Malmsteen were content to use the most simple and almost superficial devices like those same pedal point motifs without bothering to explore the more complex devices that truly make classical music like Becker and Friedman did. Those 2 did quite a lot for the guitar world, whether one wants to accept it or not. -------------
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Posted By: Petrovsk Mizinski
Date Posted: April 21 2009 at 02:12
k -------------
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Posted By: Slartibartfast
Date Posted: April 21 2009 at 18:22
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Not that I don't like Alex's playing, but back in the '70's a guitar playing friend of mine described his style as a little sloppy.
------------- Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened... 
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Posted By: himtroy
Date Posted: April 21 2009 at 20:14
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I don't really like him. He always seems to do the same thing in his solo's, he has it going, it's goin alright, then he completely loses it and i lose interest. Look at Tom Sawyer for example, it fades out out of nowhere and just dies...what is that?
However, Hemispheres is a nice album, and Viva la Strangiato (or whatever), is awesome, espeically live.
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Posted By: Drew
Date Posted: April 21 2009 at 20:41
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http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=57168 - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=57168 make sure you've voted in my Alex Poll  ------------- |
Posted By: progvortex
Date Posted: April 22 2009 at 19:21
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Yeah but I could say that about Flavio Premoli, Michael Giles, Gil Evans, Peter Hammill, Steve Hackett, Phil Collins as a drummer. That was a completely stream-of-consciousness list, but you see my point. It's because Rush is a prog band and prog isn't as accessible to the masses as GNR. Sure, some people might know Limelight and Tom Sawyer, but they don't know anything deeper than that, including all the things that really showcase Alex's talent. Not to mention even if they did hear The Necromacer people aren't after talent, they're after spoon-fed power chords and cool licks.
------------- Life is like a beanstalk... isn't it? |
Posted By: progrules
Date Posted: April 25 2009 at 01:17
But then you have to know where I'm coming from. I have played the guitar myself in my younger days so I know how hard it is (well ok, I'm simply without any talent you know) and then when you hear a guy like Alex play .... Nowadays I'm just playing the air guitar !  oops sorry, I meant  .------------- A day without prog is a wasted day |
Posted By: Avantgardehead
Date Posted: April 25 2009 at 05:07
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His riffs were decent enough back in Rush's prime. Never cared for his solos, though...
------------- http://www.last.fm/user/Avantgardian |
Posted By: A B Negative
Date Posted: May 05 2009 at 15:42
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He is worshipped as a god by me and my friends every May 24th, as are Geddy and Neil. ------------- "The disgusting stink of a too-loud electric guitar.... Now, that's my idea of a good time." |
Posted By: SgtPepper67
Date Posted: May 05 2009 at 20:22
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He's became one of my favourite guitarris. I don't know why so many people don't appreciate his playing, probably one of the most underrated guitarrists out there. -------------
In the end the love you take is equal to the love you made... |
Posted By: Petrovsk Mizinski
Date Posted: May 06 2009 at 02:23
Looks like someone didn't read the rest of the thread before posting. -------------
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Posted By: someone_else
Date Posted: May 06 2009 at 03:12
Then I guess we come from the same country . I used to play guitar in my younger days too. Back in '81 I dreamed about how to play Xanadu and it actually worked out quite well (but this was an exceptional situation because I used to play my own songs). La Villa Strangiato has always been, and will always be, beyond my skills, which have fallen into decline after I became a family man.------------- 
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Posted By: AlanOB
Date Posted: May 06 2009 at 06:40
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He's a god to me! One of the select group of guitarists with an immediately identifiable signature sound. Love how playful and relaxed he is on stage aswell. A man who loves playing music. |
Posted By: thanos_2112
Date Posted: May 06 2009 at 06:49
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because he isn't a shredder! unfortunately most people think that only the solos matter.the fast solos... ------------- www.myspace.com/quadratheband |
Posted By: Petrovsk Mizinski
Date Posted: May 06 2009 at 06:54
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^That has nothing to do with anything. Most shredders have absolutely no recognition beyond other guitarists. David Gilmour isn't a shredder is and widely revered on this site, far more so than Lifeson. |
Posted By: thanos_2112
Date Posted: May 06 2009 at 06:57
------------- www.myspace.com/quadratheband |
Posted By: Petrovsk Mizinski
Date Posted: May 06 2009 at 06:59
| ^So you agree it has nothing to do with him not being a shredder then? |
Posted By: cobb2
Date Posted: May 06 2009 at 07:23
| Alex has created a unique sound and that sound is Rush (no matter how highly regarded the other two may be) |
Posted By: johnobvious
Date Posted: July 17 2009 at 08:25
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I now believe him and the other two to be gods after what I saw last night. I was in the music store where my daughter was having her piano recital. They were looking for sheet music afterward and I saw a little display with odds and ends. A Rolling Stones puzzle caught my eye but then I saw it. A deck of Rush playing cards. Each card had a different picture of the boys. You know you have made it when you have your own playing cards.
------------- Biggles was in rehab last Saturday |
Posted By: StyLaZyn
Date Posted: July 17 2009 at 08:31
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Love Rush...that's no surprise. But Alex, I just don't see him as a guitar god. He writes some great stuff, but it is due to Ged and Neil that Rush's music is as good as it is. Alex, though, is one of the funniest musicians I have ever heard. ------------- 
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Posted By: Slartibartfast
Date Posted: July 17 2009 at 11:35
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If you prick him does he not bleed?
------------- Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...
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Posted By: Conor Fynes
Date Posted: July 17 2009 at 14:12
| A good guitarist sure, but not a god. I find his solos a bit w**ky and sloppy (with the exception of La villa Strangiato, which is pristine). He is a very tasteful rhythm man though. |
Posted By: rdtprog
Date Posted: July 17 2009 at 14:23
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I don't think any musicians is god and i don't believe in god, bu i know what people say when they can't describe a great experience listening to music. It's not the technique and skills of musician that impress me but the great inspiration showed by some musicians in the way they created theirs songs. Is that a natural gift or someting develop over the years? Who knows
------------- Music is the refuge of souls ulcerated by happiness. Emile M. Cioran |
Posted By: himtroy
Date Posted: July 17 2009 at 20:12
| I remain unimpressed by him. He writes some nice riffs though |
Posted By: J-Man
Date Posted: July 17 2009 at 21:06
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He's not THAT bad. A god? No. An excellent songwriter and guitarist? yes
------------- 
Check out my YouTube channel! http://www.youtube.com/user/demiseoftime" rel="nofollow - http://www.youtube.com/user/demiseoftime |
Posted By: JLocke
Date Posted: July 17 2009 at 21:14
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Something I like about Lifeson is that he is able to play stuff that sounds more complicated than it is to play, if you know what I mean. Deceptively simple, I guess you could say. He is able to play a entire range of styles and notes without all the mumbo-jumbo too many shredders these days use. Maybe it's just me who recognizes this about him, but I found myself quite shocked at how straightforward his playing style actually is, if you watch him play live, yet the intricacy he can still pull off is phenominal. |
Posted By: esky
Date Posted: July 18 2009 at 13:26
Lifeson is primarily a very talented strummer with well-placed chops thrown in here and there to accent his style. He's no Andy Latimer.
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Posted By: Conor Fynes
Date Posted: July 18 2009 at 13:57
| when i think 'god' i think of someone that tops the genre, OR does something very innovative and DIFFERENT |
Posted By: TheLastBaron
Date Posted: July 18 2009 at 14:00
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I think he is very talented and definetly should be looked upon as a masterful musician, but this whole notion of a god is a little ridiculous, not because its him, its just a little odd to hold any musician in that high of a regard. I would say he is under-rated though, both in the mainstream and in prog. He has a very unique and distinct style. I'd say he's just as good as petrucci or may, just in a different way. ------------- " Men are not prisoners of fate, but prisoners of their own minds." - FDR |
Posted By: JROCHA
Date Posted: July 18 2009 at 14:12
| Lifeson is a excellent guitarist, i would never call any musician god like though. He is up their with Hackett, Fripp, Howe and Di Meola. |
Posted By: johnobvious
Date Posted: July 18 2009 at 17:55
I resurected this thread from death to talk about Rush having their own playing cards, not about Alex's guitar playing. CARDS, people. NASCAR drivers have their own cards, not prog bands. You should be telling me what a fool I am for not buying them for $5.95. They only had one deck in stock if you can believe it. And no other band was carried, prog or not. Only Rush.Your own cards. That's how you become a god. ------------- Biggles was in rehab last Saturday |
Posted By: micky
Date Posted: July 18 2009 at 18:22
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Lifeson??? he is no god... but I find it refreshing that is isn't considered one. Geddy and Peart get worship enough as it is. they are great musicians... but are merely great musicians in a world (not to mention a genre) full of them. but their strength is as a team. There are far better individual guitars, bassists, and yes.. even drummers. What makes them so great, sets them apart, are how they work together for as long as they have. ------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: StyLaZyn
Date Posted: July 18 2009 at 20:56
You mean bubblegum cards make you a god.... -------------
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Posted By: Lodij van der Graaf
Date Posted: July 21 2009 at 04:17
| He play too cleanly and less originality, I think... Compare him with Steve Hackett! See why I don't like him a little... |
Posted By: esky
Date Posted: July 21 2009 at 11:31
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Woah - slow down a bit. Lifeson's in a different league of guitarists than Fripp, Hackett, and Howe (don't know much about DiMeola). He's much more in the vein of a rock guitarist than prog guitarist, and the comparison falls flat because of it.
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Posted By: StyLaZyn
Date Posted: July 21 2009 at 11:54
He did start out as a Jimmy Page fan. Over the years with Rush, he listened to more Hackett, thus you get the heavy Prog years. Over time he just developed into his own player. When I heard his solo in PT's Anesthetize, it said, "that's classic Lifeson". -------------
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Posted By: Lodij van der Graaf
Date Posted: July 21 2009 at 14:55
Alex Lifeson too is nowhere on most of Top Rock Guitarist listings. (note: I ain't a listing-maniac, I hate it really. But it could be placed on esky's argument, I think) |
Posted By: AtlantisAgony
Date Posted: July 24 2009 at 08:10
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I agree with most here. Lifeson is great, but not godlike or anything. I like his late 70s playing best, especially on the Hemispheres album. Just listen to the first five minutes of the title track, the depth and breadth of is sound, in combination with great riffs. Some say he deteriorated after this, but I'd say his 80s playing is just as great, just in a different way. Not many riffs to speak of. Instead he's more like a soundscape guy. His echoed, clean playing accents the otherwise synth-dominated music brilliantly ("The Weapon" from the Signals album is a great example). In this period I'd say he's fully comparable to, say, Andy Summers. A high point is his solo in "Red Sector A". So simple, yet beautiful! ------------- proggity prog prog |
Posted By: franticfish
Date Posted: July 27 2009 at 14:05
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The reason he's not looked upon as a god is because within mainstream circles he simply isn't as cool or flashy and he plays prog. Simple. Not many prog guitarists are "guitar gods" within mainstrem circles. The reason he's not a god within prog circles is because the proggers know of John McLaughlin, Al Di Meola, Fripp, Hackett and Howe who are just generally better players. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McLaughlin_%28musician%29 - |