Is there even a close second to Jimi Hendrix?

[wet work]

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Ok more more factoid: The last time I saw a Guitar Player magazine ranking of the 100 top guitar soloes, Page had the #1 spot. Food for thought.

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Dilz...you made a great argument until this part. lol.

Who cares who has the best solo? There is a lot of variance in that. And besides, Stairway isn't even Page's best solo, IMO. It's just revered as "quintessential".

The argument you put forth was good though.

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Actually I agree with you for the most part. But in an argument about best guitar players' actual guitar playing ability, it seemed relevant to point out that our guy, who wok is lumping in with everyone else who is not Hendrix, is considered to have performed the best recorded solo in rock and roll history. That doesn't prove he's the best, but I think it does help prove he deserves enough respect not be thrown in with "all the rest," as wet wok seems to believe he should be.

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I do still think with Hendrix it's the total package...Hendrix had some intangible quality that set him apart from everybody else.

I think Page could've spent the last 20-30 yrs. solidifying without question that he's the GOAT, it begs the question "why hasn't he? The fact that he kind of dropped off the map as an artist/performer IMO takes away something for me in considering him #1.


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Hendrix the total package..the guy barely touched the acoustic.

"Intangiable quality"...being from America (whereas all the best rock guitarists at the time were largely English), being black, and dying young. I think that is the intangiable quality you are looking for.

So Page gets deductions because the band broke up in respect for Bonham after 11 solid years of totally owning the rock world? His body of work is huge. Hendrix dies young yet his handful of years of work usurps Page's 11+ years? What if Hendrix were around 8 more years and put up a bunch of bricks?

Also, your usage of "begging the question" is not right.

Also, do you realize how huge it would be if Zep reunited and toured in N. America this year? I don't see why they have to to prove anything, but at the drop of a hat, they could steal a big chunk of the attention in rock music.

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No doubt on a Zep reunion, it would be incredible. And there's no doubt they owned rock music.

Hendrix didn't play as much acoustic as he should've, maybe if he had more time that would've changed, possibly? But when he did it was pure gold: web page

Hey man let's put it to rest, they're both great and I think we both know these lists and the arguments that ensue get almost nowhere. Cool?

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Nah man, I want to fistfight you.

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LOL. Did you check out that link though? I love that piece of film.

[Dilznoofus]

wet wok,

I hope I haven't failed to make clear that I think Hendrix is unbelievable and probably the greatest of all time if I am forced to rank them. It's just that I don't really like to rank them on a list, and I don't think Hendrix was so much better that all the other greats should be lumped together and placed in some second tier below him.

Anyway it's been fun. Definitely no hard feelings here.

[dizong]

I think ultimately people will vote for their respective favorites as the "best guitarist ever" which is all subjective of course. I'll just finish by saying that when I play a Hendrix tune on the guitar vs. SRV tune vs. Page tune, I'm blown away by all of them. But it's the Hendrix guitar playing that make me say, "wow, how the hell did he know to play THAT note at THAT time?" more often than the others. Maybe that's what makes me say Hendrix is "the best", I dunno; not exactly the best criterion I guess but it works for me. THAT'S the intangible for me, not being American, black, or dead which is pure rubbish and completely unfounded.

[prohornblower]

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when I play a Hendrix tune on the guitar vs. SRV tune vs. Page tune, I'm blown away by all of them.

[/ QUOTE ] Brag post? [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img] [ QUOTE ]
THAT'S the intangible for me, not being American, black, or dead which is pure rubbish and completely unfounded.

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So if you didn't know what either looked like, where they were from, or if they were dead or alive, and you heard each guitarists body of work for the first time, would that change how you felt about each? Maybe not for you, but I'm under the impression that, if taken out of context, people would gravitate more towards Page than Hendrix.

I think a lot of people are blinded by the fact that he was a black dude from America wailing away like that, and dying young added to his mystique. Hell, aside from guitar playing Page and Clapton (and Beck) are very similar people..typical white Brits, I think that's why they get lumped together moreso than they deserve to.

Maybe if Page was Asian, from like Brazil, and he played the way he did, and died young, he'd be more revered.

[dizong]

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when I play a Hendrix tune on the guitar vs. SRV tune vs. Page tune, I'm blown away by all of them.

[/ QUOTE ] Brag post? [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img] [ QUOTE ]
THAT'S the intangible for me, not being American, black, or dead which is pure rubbish and completely unfounded.

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So if you didn't know what either looked like, where they were from, or if they were dead or alive, and you heard each guitarists body of work for the first time, would that change how you felt about each? Maybe not for you, but I'm under the impression that, if taken out of context, people would gravitate more towards Page than Hendrix.

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Maybe so but I think that would likely be a function of Page's riff-mastery (i.e., coming up with amazing hooks such as Whole Lotta Love, Immigrant Song, etc.) which is UNPARALLELED. But that's only one aspect of guitar playing. While important, it can't be the sole criterion. Hell, Tony Iommi came up with some amazing riffs also (see Iron Man, Paranoid, Hole in the Sky) but he's often not considered a "best guitarist" candidate.

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I think a lot of people are blinded by the fact that he was a black dude from America wailing away like that, and dying young added to his mystique. Hell, aside from guitar playing Page and Clapton (and Beck) are very similar people..typical white Brits, I think that's why they get lumped together moreso than they deserve to.

Maybe if Page was Asian, from like Brazil, and he played the way he did, and died young, he'd be more revered.

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Okay okay, dying young helps but remember that he was as respected when he was alive. Death inflates but others such as Cobain, Joplin, and Morrison probably benefited more from death than Hendrix proportional to their talents... that's another argument for another time i guess. But to say death and being black tricks people into acknowledging Hendrix's greatness is, as I've said multiple times before, preposterous. But then again, these same characteristics may very well be having the direct opposite effects on your perception.

[cognito20]

Both underrated and top 5 all-time: Frank Zappa. Also the best and most prolific -songwriter- of anyone on this list.

[WhoIam]

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Both underrated and top 5 all-time: Frank Zappa. Also the best and most prolific -songwriter- of anyone on this list.

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Zappa's amazing. Supposedly he and Hendrix jammed a few times--I'd give anything to hear that. It might even top the Hendrix/Morrison collaboration.

The only three jam bands I like are Led Zeppelin, Zappa, and Hendrix. They're not usually considered "jam bands," but they fit the description pretty well.

[gwhiz_612]

I'm a huge Hendrix fan to the point of doing some of the same drugs he did just because HE did them. Plus I went about 2 years where I did not listen to anything but Zepplin,Hendrix,Floyd and the Doors period. Just saying I think the power of Hendrix lies in his creativity. He was sort of a pioneer in the electric guitar department.Using everything from his teeth, a ring on his finger or just banging it on an amplifier he would take you on a ride. The sounds he would produce with the feedback or the wah-wah were intense. Making that strat moan and speak in a way that seemed almost alien. He basicly took rock music of the day added his blues influence, combined them with his gift of pure imagination sprinkled with some LSD and transfomed it. He took it beyond the music scales to the realm of sound. Abstract, ancient, real sound that would captivate a lucid audience and take them on one hell of an experience. In this way I agree with the OP. Do I think he was the most raw talented musician? not really, but the way he came on to the scene was unprecedented at the time. Just would like to add that if you haven't done LSD and listened to Jimi then you have done neither LSD or listened to Jimi.

[LVcardjunkie]

Stevie Ray Vaughn OBV

[Mi_T_Sharp]

I just saw Jimi's performance from Woodstock last night on TV. I've seen it before, but man, it is sooooooo sick. Everyone in the audience looks absolutely in awe of his performance. I mean, the are obviously all FUBARed, but you can tell that just watching him puts them all into a trance.