BillWelcome Home Studios Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 I was pretty dismayed with the state of guitar during the 80s... all that techno keyboard/midi stuff was so popular, and most typical guitar band music was that pretty/hair band stuff, wherein pointy headstock generic guitars with no tone and rats ass distortion ruled. But I was listening to bobfm today, and I was reminded by Patti Smythe's "Warrior" that there were indeed a few session/band guys out there who were rocking. Neil Geraldo comes to mind, and Johnny Lyon (from Eddie Money), and Duran Duran's guitarist.... a bunch of others. So, who from the 80s floated your boat in terms of guitar? Bill "I believe that entertainment can aspire to be art, and can become art, but if you set out to make art you're an idiot." Steve Martin Show business: we're all here because we're not all there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bear Jew Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Big Country, baby... Seriously. Check out "In A Big Country" again sometime. Great vibe and seriously tasty playing... The harmonizer pedal gets old after a while, but still... \m/ Erik "To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting." --Sun Tzu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluesape Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Neil Schon SRV - not 80's music, but that decade Robben Ford - also doin' his own thing Steve Morse - "" "" "" " "" "" Never a DUH! moment! Well, almost never. OK, OK! Sometimes never! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Maiden's Piece of Mind had outstanding tone as guitars went. Murray and Smith both used Strats with Duncan JB's. Too bad just three years later they started playing with guitar synths - Somewhere in Time sounded like absolute crap. A bunch of loud, obnoxious music I USED to make with friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billster Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Then somewhere the pendulum swung too far in the other direction and we breezed past the fleeting moment of glory that gave us Surfing With the Alien, Appetite for Destruction, and a few other goodies, and then we had "Hair Metal", which promptly sent the pendulum back the other way towards grunge and anti-technique chic. Buy my CD on CD Baby! Bill Hartzell - the website MySpace?!?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarzan Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 British Steel was almost glued to my turntable. and Highway to hell i had to wait till 1990 for the masterpice Rust in Peace. http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=193274 rock it, i will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudcat Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 There is a definite southeastern US regional flavor to my list. I was HEAVILY influenced by Hodges and Roberts in particular. Donnie was a personal friend and I had the opportunity to jam with Warner at one of my gigs: Warner Hodges of Jason and the Nashville Scorchers. Donnie Roberts of Webb Wilder and the Beatnecks. Jeff Walls of Guadal Canal Diary. Kenny Greenberg - Nashville session ace/producer and local hero. Jeff Carlisi of 38 Special. Mudcat's music on Soundclick "Work hard. Rock hard. Eat hard. Sleep hard. Grow big. Wear glasses if you need 'em."-The Webb Wilder Credo- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danzilla Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Ahhh, the '80's. I was just starting to play guitar in 1981, and discovering great classics throughout that time. Sure, I liked some of the metal scene (Dokken, Gary Moore, some Judas Priest & Iron Maiden), even the 1st Ratt album (sue me); but I was also listening to '70's music like Genesis, Led Zep, Boston, Jethro Tull... All of the synth music of the decade made it so that any band with a guitar player/guitar solo was suddenly a heavy metal band. I used to get a kick out of KERRANG magazine; seeing Marillion's "He Knows, You Know" lumped in on one of their metal video collection. Ah yes, and Dora Pesch! (spelling?) Favorites from the '80's? Steve Hackett. "Highly Strung", "Until We Have Faces", "Bay Of Kings" were great albums. And flame away, but I actually liked the GTR project; still do! so there! Steve Morse. I saw him open for Rush on the Power Windows tour; started a love for his work, both solo and with the Dregs and Kansas. And now Deep Purple. Steve Rothery. What can I say? I'm a big Marillion fan. I had heard "Assassing" at one point ('84); but when "Kayleigh" came out and got airplay in '85, I was hooked and got the back catalog; hearing "Assassing" again when I got the "FUGAZI" album rang a bell! I was also into Steve Howe, though only partly due to Asia, mostly die to older Yes (though "Drama" came out in 1980 so that counts, right? Tempus Fugit kicks!); Pat Metheny, George Benson & Earl Klugh, Al DiMeola (especially the trio albums w/De Lucia & McLaughlin), John Scofield, Lee Ritenour, Allen Holdworth. And Whitesnake. And the Who. "It's Hard" is a great album, despite the single "Athena". The '80's weren't too kind to Alex Lifeson; I thought that most of his playing during that era was subdued and more rhythmic than bold and memorable. That said, I can go back now and listen to some of Grace Under Pressure (like "Between The Wheels") and "Hold Your Fire" and hear that he did some interesting things; just different from how he played before. Clapton sounded better, to me, in the '80's than he did in the '70's. Maybe it's a matter of tone; I really don't like the thin Strat tone he had in a lot of the '70's albums, including Slowhand. Yes, it was a beer commercial, but the remake of "After Midnight" was better than the original to me. The solo on "Miss You" is not a multi-note, melodic masterpiece; but the emotion wrenched out of each bent note hit with me. The return of YES-While Trevor Rabin was not Steve Howe (something that took me a while to get over), he was not just a pretty boy making them some hits. The guy could play! Still can, though it's mostly on soundtracks now. The guitar synth was a major breakthrough for the 80's, too. Remember seeing guys like Ritenour, Holdsworth, even Gary Moore playing the Synthaxe? Hackett & Fripp had been working with synths since their early incarnations in the 70's, and took full advantage of them in the 80's. (Oh yeah- the Fripp/Belew/Levin/Bruford lineup of King Crimson from the 80's- quirky but great) And another one that just hit me- in the early 80's I was into the Jefferson Airplane & Jefferson Starship. Craig Chaquico was an early influence, "Winds Of Change", "Freedom At Point Zero".. good stuff. "Nuclear Furniture" got a little bit weird for me, and I wasn't thrilled at all with Starship; "We Built This City" is just lame. Oh- and Prince- When he was playing good stuff it was really good; when it wasn't well... "Rasperry Berret" and all that. He was the guy that you dind't admit that you liked, unless the girl you were hitting on liked him. NOw that were past that stage, yeah, he's talented! Ok, so there was more to like from that decade than I thought! Sure, most of it didn't get airplay... "Am I enough of a freak to be worth paying to see?"- Separated Out (Marillion) NEW band Old band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy The Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Mark Knopfler. I realize Dire Straits released their first album in 1978, but they were definitely a force well into the '80's, and Knopfler is unquestionably one of the best and most unique guitar stylists of the decade. Music is sound for its own sake. Gibson S1; Roland Cube60, Peavey Deuce, Marshall Lead 12; Cubase SX3, Yamaha X15, Proteus 2000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy The Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 I would also like to mention two other excellent guitarist who did a lot of work in the '80's: Adrian Belew (Zappa, King Crimson), and Dave Gregory (XTC) Music is sound for its own sake. Gibson S1; Roland Cube60, Peavey Deuce, Marshall Lead 12; Cubase SX3, Yamaha X15, Proteus 2000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strategery Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Neil, Pat Benetar's husband DOES rock. Saw them live back in the early 90's in Panama City Beach, Fl in a beach side night club and they/he ROCKED. Hey, AC/DC was rockin' back then! Angus & Malcomb take no prisoners. Stevie Ray Vaughn was kicin' butt as well. Good question. I'll give this more that and see what I can add to the list. Randy S. "Just play!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Iverson Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 And Eric Johnson's "Tones" came out in 1986 - still my favorite by him. The Police did some very creative things, and I still like Toto IV - Steve Lukather's solo on the album version of "Rosanna" still sounds awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Big G Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Well I think this is a great question!!!! 80's mmmmh ok Paul Weller / Jam / style Council, U2, Simple Minds (mix of guitar keys) Clash, SRV, REM. G Love life, some twists and turns are more painful than others, but love life..... http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=592101 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gifthorse Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Robbie Blunt, Warren D'martini, Neil Schon, Rik Emmett http://flagshipmile.dmusic.com/ http://www.myspace.com/gifthorse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danzilla Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Ahhh- how could I forget Rik Emmett & Triumph?!?!?!? (Actually it's cool to see the ad in GP for the Dean Rik Emmett Flying V) And who could forget the HSAS project? Hagar, Schon Aaronson & Schrieve... Ok. so lots of people forgot that. And the Schon & Hammer albums... I also liked Neil's guitars that he was building/commissioned. "Am I enough of a freak to be worth paying to see?"- Separated Out (Marillion) NEW band Old band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 And who could forget the HSAS project? Hagar, Schon Aaronson & Schrieve... Man, I finally had purged that from my mind, and you have to go and bring it back! A bunch of loud, obnoxious music I USED to make with friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhino Madness Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 80's? Why, but Yngwie of course! He had a sound and style that were nothing like what everybody else was doing, using classic gear. And Satch: while his tone was mediocre on his first few albums his playing was fun (but that falls into the bad tone-pointy-headstock-generic-guitars). EVH had some cool albums in that decade, too, and his tone was still great. Neil Geraldo has always played with gusto and great tone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 I couldn't stand Yngwie's tone - so thoroughly drenched in reverb, it sounded like he was playing from the back of a frickin' cave! A bunch of loud, obnoxious music I USED to make with friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardtail Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Hmmm.. I think most of the 80s guitarists I can think of were carry overs from the 70s.... like EVH, Alex Lifeson, Neal Schon, ... etc. I did like Neil Geraldo though. Excellent guitarist! Very underrated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhino Madness Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 I couldn't stand Yngwie's tone - so thoroughly drenched in reverb, it sounded like he was playing from the back of a frickin' cave! ??? The reverb level varied along the tunes and often increased at the end of certain phrases or passages (where it could indeed be dripping wet with 'verb) but I didn't find that to be his main and only tone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 I dunno - I seem to recall just about every Yngwie track I ever listened to, his leads were echo-chamber washed out. Drove me nuts. Granted, I probably haven't heard his entire catalog. Right now, strains of "Black Star" are running through the back of my head as I type this, and I can hear it in there, grating my nerves. A bunch of loud, obnoxious music I USED to make with friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhino Madness Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Right now, strains of "Black Star" are running through the back of my head as I type this, and I can hear it in there, grating my nerves. Sorry Griff, I didn't want to induce that . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paully Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 I did like Neil Geraldo though. Excellent guitarist! Very underrated! >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Saw him a couple times when he played with Derringer. My jaw wouldn't close for a month. Paul WUDAYAKNOW.. For the first time in my life, I'm wrong again!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Red 67 Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Ahhh- how could I forget Rik Emmett & Triumph?!?!?!? (Actually it's cool to see the ad in GP for the Dean Rik Emmett Flying V) And who could forget the HSAS project? Hagar, Schon Aaronson & Schrieve... Ok. so lots of people forgot that. And the Schon & Hammer albums... I also liked Neil's guitars that he was building/commissioned. Yeah that was a great album! I need to find that one again. +1 on Adrian Belew too. Didn't the Honey Drippers come out in the 80's too? Big Red's Ride Blog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudcat Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 +1 on Eric Johnson, the Edge, Neil Geraldo and Adrian Belew. I can't say that I was that influenced by these guys but they are definitely four of my favorites from the 80s. Mudcat's music on Soundclick "Work hard. Rock hard. Eat hard. Sleep hard. Grow big. Wear glasses if you need 'em."-The Webb Wilder Credo- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfgangsta Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 I always thought the guitarist that played for Bryan Adams (his name has slipped my mind) was talented and always seemed to play just what a song called for when he soloed. Very tasteful playing. As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil W Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Can't say I listen back to any 80s music with relish. At the time I was listening to James Blood Ulmer, Sonny Sharrock, Vernon Reid, Steve Vai, Robben Ford and lots of John Scofield. http://philwbass.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiac82 Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Johnny Marr of The Smiths is my favorite guitar player of the 80's. Peter Buck of R.E.M. is up there too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antimatter Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Vivian Campbell with Dio Brian Setzer- though he's even better today Billy Gibbons- still going Gary Moore before the Blues The guys in Accept (Fast as a Shark!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antimatter Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 and Johnny Lyon (from Eddie Money Bill The solo on 'Two tickets to Paradise' is probably my all time pop favorite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.