Who was the most Overrated guitarists of 70s

[X–Ray]

Yeah, I am pretty familiar with that lick – very obvious "Quote" from Beck by Hendrix in, "In From the Storm" – their way of saying, "hello" to each other?
Thanks!

File under OT Trivia:

Seems Hendrix and Beck had some mutual admiration for the other...

"Jeff has been an icon since 1965. When I was around Jimi Hendrix in 1968, Jeff was all Hendrix talked to me about. Several years ago at Jeff Beck's wedding Paul McCartney walked up to me and said I hear you worked with Jimi Hendrix. Paul said to me, Jeff Beck was Jimi Hendrix before Jimi Hendrix thought of being Jimi Hendrix, he knew as Jeff and the Yardbirds opened on the first Beatles tour."

Quote from Robert M. Knight's: "Rock Gods: Forty Years of Rock Photography"

 

[X–Ray]

Our Sacred Cows...
(do you have one?)

​

"Sacred Cow" –

A person or thing immune to criticism or questioning

One that is immune from criticism, often unreasonably so

An individual, organization, institution, etc., considered to be exempt from criticism or questioning

Figuratively, anything that is beyond criticism

**************************************************

"Opinion" –

A belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty

A personal view, attitude, or appraisal

**************************************************

Suggestion:

Not everybody has to have the same opinion about being a vegetarian, but let's not forget our table manners when we are guests in each others' homes...

Otherwise, we might not get invited back and then what fun is that?


Oh yeah, what was the thread topic again? "Who was the most Overrated guitarists of 70s?"


(Definitely the self–generated myth of my own abilities back in the 1970s – embarrassingly ludicrous now)

 

[Rev.BG Moore]

oh man, that whole Games, Dames and Guitar Thangs album is priceless. he's a genius with a delay and phase pedal. His version of "I want You (shes go heavy)" is great too. But when i hear "Red Hot Mama"/"Vital Juices" i hear someone who could have been the hendrix of the 70s, its a shame he had the personal problems he did

RedHot Mama From Louisiana She been cooped up to long.....!Simply awesome player who left us far to early.

 

[mattymel]

overall a pretty lame thread. i would have ignored the whole thing if there werent so many people saying neil young is overrated. my vote is definitely for jimmy page. i would say that he is the quintessential overplayer. he plays almost incessantly above his ability and rarely in time. almost always rushing, it doesnt groove, and he has no idea of the use of space. of his entire body of work (of which there is a guitar solo on almost every song) about 3 solos sound interesting and actually do something for the song. for me his strength lies in the the fact that he wrote great riffs and was a amazing engineer/producer. neil on the other hand, plays like he is about to lose control any moment and it works in all the ways that jimmy doesnt. not to mention he is one of the greatest and most prolific songwriters in american music. both great players really, but page definitely gets alot more credit than he should in my opinion. and oh yeah, clapton is by far the most overrated of all time, not just the 70s.

 

[AngryHatter]

Robin Trower.

 

[Benjammin]

Robin Trower.

ive got nothing against him but i dont get him either

 

[Mike's_LP]

overall a pretty lame thread. i would have ignored the whole thing if there werent so many people saying neil young is overrated. my vote is definitely for jimmy page. i would say that he is the quintessential overplayer. he plays almost incessantly above his ability and rarely in time. almost always rushing, it doesnt groove, and he has no idea of the use of space. of his entire body of work (of which there is a guitar solo on almost every song) about 3 solos sound interesting and actually do something for the song. for me his strength lies in the the fact that he wrote great riffs and was a amazing engineer/producer. neil on the other hand, plays like he is about to lose control any moment and it works in all the ways that jimmy doesnt. not to mention he is one of the greatest and most prolific songwriters in american music. both great players really, but page definitely gets alot more credit than he should in my opinion. and oh yeah, clapton is by far the most overrated of all time, not just the 70s.

I'm with you on Neil Young & Clapton. Page is an old hero of mine, but to each his own. I'll also add that Ace Frehely has never done much for me.

 

[AngryHatter]

Neil Young is NOT a guiratist - any more than Springsteen is.
A minstral that plays guitar.
Like Bob Dylan.

Clapton? Overrated?
Wow - what passes for good guitar where you live?

Play any John McLaughlin at half speed and you'll hear Clapton.
Vice versa. Play Clapton at double speed and you'll hear McLaughlin - they both excel at using chords, rhythms, arpeggios and dissecting them on the fly.

Frampton was considered a guitarist. Trower was given God like status after Jimi died.

 

[analogsystem]

Neil Young is NOT a guiratist - any more than Springsteen is.
A minstral that plays guitar.
Like Bob Dylan.

Clapton? Overrated?
Wow - what passes for good guitar where you live?

Play any John McLaughlin at half speed and you'll hear Clapton.
Vice versa. Play Clapton at double speed and you'll hear McLaughlin - they both excel at using chords, rhythms, arpeggios and dissecting them on the fly.

Frampton was considered a guitarist. Trower was given God like status after Jimi died.

Neil Young is one of the greatest guitarists of all time. Ever hear another band try to cover "Cortez the Killer"? It's utter garbage every time because no-one can control space and build intensity like Neil.

Also Springsteen is a fabulous guitar player. Ever hear the solo in "Adam Raised a Cain"?

Clapton IS overrated because his playing is so generic and easily digestible.

I was a Page disciple for a long time but I DO think he's overrated. His band rules though.

 

[AngryHatter]

Neil Young is one of the greatest guitarists of all time. Ever hear another band try to cover "Cortez the Killer"? It's utter garbage every time because no-one can control space and build intensity like Neil.

Also Springsteen is a fabulous guitar player. Ever hear the solo in "Adam Raised a Cain"?

Clapton IS overrated because his playing is so generic and easily digestible.

I was a Page disciple for a long time but I DO think he's overrated. His band rules though.

Okay - we agree to disagree.

 

[mattymel]

"Play any John McLaughlin at half speed and you'll hear Clapton.
Vice versa. Play Clapton at double speed and you'll hear McLaughlin - they both excel at using chords, rhythms, arpeggios and dissecting them on the fly."

This is possibly the most absurd comparison i have ever heard. They sound absolutely NOTHING alike. mclaughlin plays pentatonics (from time to time, but always in interesting melodic patterns/rhythms/intervals). clapton plays pentatonics (with cheesy vibrato and the same licks every guitarist in the world plays). there the similarity ends. mclaughlin could play clapton in his sleep, but there is a difference between that and slowing him down to half speed. i should know, i actually enjoyed LIVE EVIL at 33 1/3 back in college. i would imagine that clapton at double speed WOULD be better though, since it would be over more quickly.

 

[AngryHatter]

"Play any John McLaughlin at half speed and you'll hear Clapton.
Vice versa. Play Clapton at double speed and you'll hear McLaughlin - they both excel at using chords, rhythms, arpeggios and dissecting them on the fly."

This is possibly the most absurd comparison i have ever heard. They sound absolutely NOTHING alike. mclaughlin plays pentatonics (from time to time, but always in interesting melodic patterns/rhythms/intervals). clapton plays pentatonics (with cheesy vibrato and the same licks every guitarist in the world plays). there the similarity ends. mclaughlin could play clapton in his sleep, but there is a difference between that and slowing him down to half speed. i should know, i actually enjoyed LIVE EVIL at 33 1/3 back in college. i would imagine that clapton at double speed WOULD be better though, since it would be over more quickly.

All I can say is - in my humble opinion you are mistaken.
Larry Coryell developed 'position' playing and the three modes most often used are Dorian, Ionian and Myxolydian.
The first lends a minor flavor, the second a major and the third a diminished.

John McLaughlin, Al DiMeola and Carlos Santana are the other students of Larry's expertise.

I lived in the town next to Al DiMeola and he was my teacher from 1973 through 1975 when he went back to berklee and then join RTF. (Mainly while he was playing with Barry Miles - I have a tape of them at Richards Lounge - Lakewood NJ on 1/1/73 doing Fusion Suite)
One of the things Al showed me was the similarity between Clapton's 'blues' and McLaughlins fusion.
Claptons "pentatonics" are more often than not first and second position playing and where he takes arpeggios and dissects them on the fly is very similar to McLaughlin - albeit at half the speed.
Slow Hand, indeed.

 

[MapleLeaf97]

I might get my head chopped off, but..

Slash
David Gilmour
Santana

Undoubtedly, they all had soul and skill. But to me, I could never really connect with their styles of playing. So, to me, these 3 guys are overrated

 

[AngryHatter]

There seems to be some confusion in terms - it's not which guitarist is not to your liking.

It's...Which guitarist was rated as very good but was merely ok?
Id Est - overrated.

I dislike metal or country but can appreciate the talent - that doesn't mean Iommi was overrated in my eyes.

Frank Zappa - excellent composer - average guitarist - but he was considered very good - overrated.

 

[Benjammin]

Frank Zappa - excellent composer - average guitarist - but he was considered very good - overrated.

beauty is in the eye of the beholder

 

[AngryHatter]

beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Always.
What was so good about his playing?

I use myself when I make comparisons.
I cannot do what Jimmy Page did, nor what Hendrix did, but I can do what Zappa did, hence my rating.

Too much noise, hammering, slurring et cetera.

 

[muddywinter]

Alot of people think SRV sounds got alot from jimi but I'd say he got a hell of lot more from Albert King.

 

[Benjammin]

Always.
What was so good about his playing?

I use myself when I make comparisons.
I cannot do what Jimmy Page did, nor what Hendrix did, but I can do what Zappa did, hence my rating.

Too much noise, hammering, slurring et cetera.

zappa had a different approach to guitar. he reminds me of coltrane on a guitar. its not his technical proficiency as much as his creativity that is compelling. i could cite examples all day, but i dont expect to change anyones mind (this whole thread is subjective. one mans overrated is another mans hero)

 

[X–Ray]

zappa had a different approach to guitar. he reminds me of coltrane on a guitar. its not his technical proficiency as much as his creativity that is compelling. i could cite examples all day, but i dont expect to change anyones mind (this whole thread is subjective. one mans overrated is another mans hero)

For what it is worth, thought I would throw my two cents in... I am quoting myself from another thread:

I can think of at least six times seeing Frank play at the Hollywood Palace where he would throughout the set stand at the edge of the stage and I would muscle my way up front and literally be standing right beneath FZ watching him typically play his SG or Strat through a red vinyl covered Marshall half-stack, also at the edge of the stage, turned sideways aimed at FZ. No doubt he could hear himself.

I was so close to Frank I remember being able to see his nose-hairs when I was not watching his fingers... What great guitar lessons...

Almost always I would leave the concert with my right ear blown-out from being not that much further from Frank's amp than he was... A good kind of hurt though!

Live, FZ such an excellent soloist and wah wah player - even his solos were akin to little compositions which ran five or six minutes long.

That was some great playing, and, The Mothers fantastic as well.

Since I am headed down memory lane, when I wasn't going to see FZ, I would go to the Troubadour to see Captain Beefheart when my band was not playing there...

FZ and Captain Beefheart always paired associations in my mind.

Don, a real nice fellow, easy to talk to, always wore a fedora, super soft hands and handshake which I thought was pretty strange at the time... Never mind.

Two creative giants.

Nonetheless, Frank is one of those unsung guitar heroes like James Honeyman–Scott who really have not received their fair share of appreciation outside of a small circle IMO which they earned through the mastery of their instruments...

 

[AngryHatter]

How could you stand so close?
Wow
I saw Zappa on Halloween night in 1978 and it was without a doubt the loudest show I ever saw.
Louder than Led Zeppelin in the Winter Garden - and that was LOUD.


Don't get me wrong - I love his stuff.
I just think his composition skills far outweighed his technical skills.

Apostrophe
Why Does It Hurt When I Pee?
Bobby Brown
Kosmik Debris

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