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3 Most Underrated of All Time?


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This is a discussion I love to have with my local guitarist friends, so I thought I'd kick it open. For my money:

 

1) Neal Schon of Journey. Perhaps because he's in such a pop type band or perhaps because he's not doing the shredder thing, he doesn't get the attention of some other guys of that era, For me, though, he taught me about being lyrical and making memorable leads in songs that have such highly emotional content. He knows how to build parts from beginning to middle to end and he's got chops too, when he chooses to stretch out.

 

2) Gary Moore. Going back to the 80s era again here, he's a guy hardcore guitarists know about, but never got the kind of attention many of his peers did. His version of Shapes of Things is freaking brilliant. He could combine shred with emotional playing somehow and it just worked for me.

 

3) John Mayer. I think that because he's such a pop star that serious guitarists overlook him. The dude has fantastic skills and he's really a student of the instrument who keeps pushing his limits. I've picked up quite a few tasteful tricks from him on his IG feed.

 

What ya'll got for me on your lists?

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Well, I'm not sure sure any of these well known artists are considered 'underrated'. To me , one quantifier would be of someone kinda unknown and not talked about much.

Who hasn't heard of Neil Schon , ( Santana understudy) Gary Moore ( Thin Lizzy), and Mayer?

 

Plus, the song / solo would have to be something that pretty much everyone has heard, but not keen on who the guitar player was ; like for example Grant Geissman

He did the solo on Chuck Mangione's "Feel So Good" - a National and International hit. If you've ever listened to that song and that solo , it just gives me chills up and down my spine every time I hear it.

 

It's hard to consider an artist underrated if they are always on the top of ones topics or players most talked about.

 

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Well, I'm not sure sure any of these well known artists are considered 'underrated'. To me , one quantifier would be of someone kinda unknown and not talked about much.

Who hasn't heard of Neil Schon , ( Santana understudy) Gary Moore ( Thin Lizzy), and Mayer?

 

Plus, the song / solo would have to be something that pretty much everyone has heard, but not keen on who the guitar player was ; like for example Grant Geissman

He did the solo on Chuck Mangione's "Feel So Good" - a National and International hit. If you've ever listened to that song and that solo , it just gives me chills up and down my spine every time I hear it.

 

It's hard to consider an artist underrated if they are always on the top of ones topics or players most talked about.

 

Fair enough. I suppose my assessment has to do with which guitarists come up in the conversations about all time greats or get attention as lead players non-stop. In the "old days" I'd quantify it by appearances in the magazines. The Van Halens, Vais, Yngwies, et. Al. I feel as though the guys I mentioned don't get that same level of respect, but I certainly understand your point.

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I always admired all three of those guys in the initial thread starter above. I do not think they are underrated at all. In fact I listened to all three a bunch.

 

I do think Steve Morse from back in the Dixie Dregs days was always overlooked by the mainstream. The Dregs as a whole were underrated until you had the fortune to listen to them. I never heard of them until after they broke up. On a lark, I bought Industry Standard, and some of those songs just slay me for the ineradicable technique and arrangements, the whole band were master musicians.

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3 painfully shy introverted dudes who are obsessed with guitar that no one has ever heard of.

"It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne

 

"A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!!

So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt

 

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I will leave it to the curious to pursue my picks on their own.

 

Freddie King - Jimi Hendrix is not under rated. In my mind and the minds of many, there is "Pre-Hendrix Guitar" and "Post-Hendrix Guitar". Freddie King was a HUGE influence on Jimi Hendrix and therefore he is indirectly a huge influence on all modern guitarists.

 

David Lindley - Modern slide guitarist like Derek Trucks and Sonny Landreth are the red-deaded step-children of David (and Ry Cooder, who is probably not so under rated). I saw David at the Mt. Baker Blues Festival, he had a custom laptop steel guitar based on a Wiesenborn but larger. It had a bass string or two or something that allowed him to play bass. He had spots he could hit with his right hand and get kick and snare. He started playing. A friend of mine came over the hill, walked up to me and said "I heard a reggae band playing and now I see it's him!" Great show, he played a tribute to John Lee Hooker on an oud among the many displays of absurd virtuosity and versatility.

 

Keith Richards - I have friends who think they are really good, and Keith Richards is sort of OK. I think they've overestimated themselves and underestimated Keith. Listen to Midnight Rambler on the Get Yer Ya Yas Out album. The interplay between Keith and Charlie Watts is symphonic, flawless build and release of tension, tight grooves that effortlessly shift tempo. It sounds easy. If y'all can play it live with your drummer, I will bow to you. Will be few and far between. There is more to music than fast guitar licks, I can play those myself. Big whoop.

 

Honorable mentions must go to Muddy Waters for his slide work, Ritchie Blackmore for being the most overlooked of the British guitarist (how Eric Clapton is in the Top Three with Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page is beyond me!).

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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Underrated by who? General public? Or Guitarists? Public don"t know who the great players are: Louie Shelton, Brent Mason, Paco DeLucia( well the Spaniards know good guitar ) John Williams etc....

 

Louie Shelton is an absolute monster player and you all have heard him play on lots of recordings.

"It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne

 

"A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!!

So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt

 

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I've seen guitar magazine covers with Neal Schon's picture and the headline "Is he the greatest guitarist ever?" So I don't think he can fall into an underrated category. By the way, the answer is no. In the early Eighties, a lot of heavy metal guitarists were saying that Gary Moore was the best guitarist out there. At that time, I had never heard of Gary Moore, and neither did anyone else that I knew. So the late great Gary Moore certainly deserves a spot among the most underrated guitarists. As far as Keith Richards goes, he's Keith Richards. Of The Rolling Stones. He is a living legend. It is not possible to call him underrated. He's Keith Richards, for God's sake.
I rock; therefore, I am.
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Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed...gone but not forgotten. And their young devotee to keep their legacy going, Tommy Emmanuel. These three are underrated because they just can't be surpassed (but that's just my humble opinion LOL!). :cool:
Take care, Larryz
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Gonna change the subject a little.... recently on FB I posted about the Edge and U2. As expected I got very polarized responses. He's no satriani, but I think made good use of effects and had his own sound and did something unique. Does that make him a great guitar player? Not technically, but maybe creatively. Which brings to question the measurement criteria.

Dan

 

Acoustic/Electric stringed instruments ranging from 4 to 230 strings, hammered, picked, fingered, slapped, and plucked. Analog and Digital Electronic instruments, reeds, and throat/mouth.

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I think most of whom I want to post would be readily recognized, maybe not as 'best', but highly regarded and not underrated. And I agree with many of the suggestions so far...

 

Still, Warren Cuccurullo would be one I"d have to pick as being below the radar of most. Played in Mothers of Invention, Missing Persons, and Duran Duran to name a few.

 

Michael Hedges is one of those guys who most people who know him learn of him through those whom he inspired.

 

Andy Timmons is consistently mentioned under guys like SRV and Eric Johnson, but his body of work stands up to both. I"m a big fan of all three. (Actually, I"ve seen all three in concert!)

Sturgeon's 2nd Law, a.k.a. Sturgeon's Revelation: âNinety percent of everything is crapâ

 

My FLMS- Murphy's Music in Irving, Tx

 

http://murphysmusictx.com/

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Michael Hedges is one of those guys who most people who know him learn of him through those whom he inspired.

 

Have you ever checked out Candyrat Records on YouTube? Those guys took what Michael was doing and have gone steps forward with it. Awesome stuff!

Music With Marky - A YouTube Channel For Guitarists Who Want To Make Better Music
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Another trio to consider:

 

Ronnie Montrose: the pre-Joe Satriani Joe Satriani. Also, unleashed Sammy Hagar.

 

Helios Creed: his voice and guitar putting forth a progressive/punk/metal wall of sound generated by a pedalboard including echoes, phase shifters, flangers, guitar synthesizers, fuzz, and octave dividers so big and convoluted, it is probably outlawed in several countries.

 

Nicky Skopelitis: the OTHER guitarist Bill Laswell frequently collaborates with. Eastern tones and chord progressions, trancelike textures, and occasional contrasting shreds.

Sturgeon's 2nd Law, a.k.a. Sturgeon's Revelation: âNinety percent of everything is crapâ

 

My FLMS- Murphy's Music in Irving, Tx

 

http://murphysmusictx.com/

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Another trio to consider:

 

Ronnie Montrose: the pre-Joe Satriani Joe Satriani. Also, unleashed Sammy Hagar.

 

Helios Creed: his voice and guitar putting forth a progressive/punk/metal wall of sound generated by a pedalboard including echoes, phase shifters, flangers, guitar synthesizers, fuzz, and octave dividers so big and convoluted, it is probably outlawed in several countries.

 

Nicky Skopelitis: the OTHER guitarist Bill Laswell frequently collaborates with. Eastern tones and chord progressions, trancelike textures, and occasional contrasting shreds.

 

I like that list!

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Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed...gone but not forgotten. And their young devotee to keep their legacy going, Tommy Emmanuel. These three are underrated because they just can't be surpassed (but that's just my humble opinion LOL!). :cool:

+1 Absolutely on Chet and Jerry. Those guys were the most amazing players. The only fan club I ever joined was the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society. He just floored me with his playing. Jerry Reed also, one smokin picker.

 

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As a non-fan of C&W, I know a lot of their best get overlooked in conversations like this. Still, you listen to ANY amount of Johnny Hiland or Junior Brown to know how skilled they are.

 

And then there"s multi-instrumentalist, Roy Clark.

[video:youtube]

 

Sturgeon's 2nd Law, a.k.a. Sturgeon's Revelation: âNinety percent of everything is crapâ

 

My FLMS- Murphy's Music in Irving, Tx

 

http://murphysmusictx.com/

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These may not be under-rated as much as forgotten or neglected.

 

[1] Brian Jones

The original blues-rock slide gtr cat.

Also a master player of multiple instruments & the unrecognized creator of much music credited to others.

[video:youtube]

 

Rock sitar ?

Take THAT , Mr George Harrison !

[video:youtube]

 

[2] Eliot Ingber

An original guitarist w/Zappa, then his own band the Fraternity of Man & later Capt Beefheart

[video:youtube]

 

A free-form solo exhibition of Hendrixian styleria

[video:youtube]

 

 

[3] Bill Harkleroad

Known for his long-term membership in Beefhart's bands

The most manic slide gtr solo the John Dawson Winter never played {1:50)

[video:youtube]

 

& to show a different side of things

some contrapuntal improv

[video:youtube]

 

Bonus

just to show ya don't know me completely

Tuck Andress, inheritor of the George Van Eps legacy

[video:youtube]

 

d=halfnote
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Lots of categories to chose from - Rock, Fusion, Jazz, Country, Flamenco, Classical.

 

One of my underrated choice for Jazz, (maybe not years ago, but long forgotten), imo is Tal Farlow - he's just an amazing player:

 

 

I met Tal one day at Phil Petillo's guitar repair shop in when it was in Brick Township New Jersey, later Phil moved his shop and home to Ocean NJ. This was probably in the late 80's. Anyways I asked Tal if his fingers ever caught up to his head, and it took a moment, then he got the drift as to what I was asking, and he said no. That he could not really reach everything he imagined. So I thanked him and shook hands with him, and he had the biggest hands and the longest fingers I ever saw on a guitar player, that is probably how he could spread 6 frets down low to get those strange and original sounding chords he used and was famous for.

 

He actually made his living painting art work and names on yachts. He lived somewhere near Sea Bright, N.J. I think his wife was wealthy in her own right as well, at least I seem to recall Phil telling me that.

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Yep, me again...

[1] John Lennon

Never got credit for his part in directing George Harrison

(what---you thought GH wrote the solo in Hard Daze Nite ?)

JL could rock it up (here he takes a solo)

[video:youtube]

 

& lay it back

The only totally solo Lennon track by The Beatles

[video:youtube]

 

[2] Jerry Miller, Moby Grape

A little-known blues-rock master

[video:youtube]

 

Be careful, listening to this track, esp the climax, may cause dizziness &/or swooning

That's Miller on both lead tracks

[video:youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xEbbyKJ0mk

 

 

[3] Mick Jagger demonstrates K Richards non-essentialness

[video:youtube]

 

 

d=halfnote
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Some younger gunslingers to consider:

 

Kaki King: Well known around these parts, but still largely under the radar. I still have to tell people on other guitar sites who she is. It"s almost criminal.

 

Scott Holiday: axe-master for Rival Sons. It seems as if there"s a classic rock tone or riffing style, he"s got it in his bag of tricks.

 

Nick Zinner: the guitarist for The Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs. Looks like alt-rock God Beck hiding behind a guitar; sounds like the standard bearer for the current state of new wave guitar playing. In a very real sense, kind of the Scott Holiday of alternative music.

Sturgeon's 2nd Law, a.k.a. Sturgeon's Revelation: âNinety percent of everything is crapâ

 

My FLMS- Murphy's Music in Irving, Tx

 

http://murphysmusictx.com/

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Richard Thompson tops my list of underrated guitarists. He is respected, especially by his peers but in reality he is relatively unknown. He is equally brilliant on both acoustic and electric guitars. I think the last Rolling Stone list of 100 greatest guitarists of all time he finished in 69th place! Damn, Angus Young finished higher than him!
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Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed...gone but not forgotten. And their young devotee to keep their legacy going, Tommy Emmanuel. These three are underrated because they just can't be surpassed (but that's just my humble opinion LOL!). :cool:

+1 Absolutely on Chet and Jerry. Those guys were the most amazing players. The only fan club I ever joined was the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society. He just floored me with his playing. Jerry Reed also, one smokin picker.

 

:cheers:

Take care, Larryz
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As a non-fan of C&W, I know a lot of their best get overlooked in conversations like this. Still, you listen to ANY amount of Johnny Hiland or Junior Brown to know how skilled they are.

 

And then there"s multi-instrumentalist, Roy Clark.

 

I forgot about him. So good!

 

Music With Marky - A YouTube Channel For Guitarists Who Want To Make Better Music
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Kamran Alan Shikoh - formerly of Glass Hammer (also did some tracks with Samurai of Prog discs). You want Steve Howe stylings? Check. Alex Lifeson? Check. Classical interludes? Check. And someone who can pull of Allan Holdsworth like playing? Check!

 

[video:youtube]

 

[video:youtube]

 

Last Sunday I saw Paul Bielatowicz (Carl Palmer Band) and Dave Bainbridge (Iona, Celestial Fire, The Strawbs). I've loved Bainbridge's playing for years; but Paul is a recent discovery to me.

 

[video:youtube]

 

And of course another of my personal favorites, Steve Rothery of Marillion.

 

[video:youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlX7Mj8FsG0

 

 

 

 

"Am I enough of a freak to be worth paying to see?"- Separated Out (Marillion)

NEW band Old band

 

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"As a non-fan of C&W, I know a lot of their best get overlooked in conversations like this. Still, you listen to ANY amount of Johnny Hiland or Junior Brown to know how skilled they are."

 

Here's a few more. Vince Gill is more known as a singer. So is Glen Campbell. Albert Lee got some attention but not his due. I saw him a couple of years ago, amazing.

 

Vince Gill, Albert Lee, Danny Gatton and Mark O'Connor

 

Glen Campbell - really kicks in around 2:15 or so.

 

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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+1 Kuru, I too could add Junior Brown, Glenn Campbell and Danny Gatton to my 3 most underrated! I'll throw in another kudo to Roy Clark too! :cool:

 

Here's a little Junior Brown:

 

[video:youtube]

 

And, Here's a little Roy and Glenn:

 

[video:youtube]

 

And, Here's Danny and his buds horsing around on stage:

 

[video:youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dRbvnvySO8

 

 

:cool:

Take care, Larryz
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