underrated guitarists

[Stevo]

This is my response to a thread on another forum (tapecity) I had to come back and add in about 10 names after 5 minutes thought & still left quite a few out. But thought I'd post it as is and possibly come back later. So am wondering what other people here reckon are underrated guitairists

Jeff Buckley was pretty phenomenal. Not sure to what extent he was recognised as a guitarist as opposed to vocalist. I saw him in '94 doing a solo show at Whelan's in Dublin playing a telecaster and doing a really good job. Was surprised he'd use a guitar without a whammy bar for that purpose but he was great.

Lee Underwood his dad's sideman on the early stuff (up to starsailor band, though he's on Starsailor & I think he came back afterwards for a while).
really like his rolling tone. Not sure what I think of him personally
after reading Blue Melody where he doesn't come off as altogether
pleasant (bit egotistical).

Piece of Turkey Bones & The wild dogs
Rowland S Howard
Kid Congo
Blixa Bargeld
all of these are untutored guitarists who've invented a way around
formal technique reinventing the relationship with the electric
guitar. So tend not to be thinking of it as an electric version of an
acoustic I would think. & instead are using the tool itself for
effects that can be brought out of it.

Jorma Kaukonen
not sure how undersung he is cos I don't know level of recognition. I love his work anyway.
Paul Kantner's cat scratch guitar on post 68 material is great too.
Sat & listened to Bless Its pointed little Head when I got the cd
remaster & it stood out there. Had read about James Brown being one artist everybody was listening to at the time. Think this is evidence.

James Gurley the noisy stuff from BB&HC is very satisfying.

Ron Asheton is probably pretty recognised by a lot of people these days.
Broke away from standard need for blues progressions I guess. Being able to come back & dub in rhythm guitar on Funhouse shows him to have some level of mastery that's probably not that massively recognised.

Jim Duckworth the one early Gun Club guitarist who was really capable.
It's better to listen to him live than on the scanty studio material
from his year in the band. Dime circulated about 5 shows last year & he's on the Hacienda dvd.Ward Dotson's slide is great too.

Richard Lloyd doesn't get enough recognition for his input into
Television I don't think.

John Echols did great stuff with Love but vanished too soon. He
reappeared before Arthur died but has he stopped again?

The guitarist with Fishbone whose name I can't remember. amazing
fluidity for very stubby fingers. Unfortunately he joined a religious
cult and quit music.

Tom Herman of Pere Ubu. Great great stuff on first couple of studio
lps & the live stuff from that era. Somebody pointed out that he was playing pretty much delta blues which probably isn't the first
association you'd make with that band.

John Mclaughlin
Richard Thompson
Jerry Garcia
presumably none of these needs an introduction.

Fred Smith/Wayne Kramer
Curt Kirkwood
Greg Ginn
Caspar Brotzmann
Wendell from Osibisa
Steel Pulse's guitarist
Ernest Ranglin (esp on toots & The Maytals stuff)
Gary Duncan (QMS tends to recognise Cippolina to the expense of this
guy, C is great anyway but D shouldn't be ignored)
Clarence White
Phelps Collins
Funkadelic (always seemed to have great guitarists but my minds blank right now as to names)
Fuzz Silverfish (pure energy, think he actually had technique but
ignored it)
Fred frith
Tony Hill (Misunderstood/High Tide)
Ted Falconi (so far from conventional technique, watch the way he chords)
Kim Salmon/Tony Thewlis
Paul Burlison
Skip James
Mike Wilhelm (most psychedelic sounding effects free guitar I'm aware of)
Michael Karoli
Guy Kyser/whoever his foil was in Thin White Rope
Russ Tolman/? in True west
Sonic Youth's pair not sure who preferable.
Bert Jansch
John Renbourne
John fogerty
Bruce Licher
Tinariwen (still don't know names)
Zally Yanovsky
Steve Morgen of the s/t band (who incidentally sound quite a bit like
Wooden Shjips in places & pretty British in others despite being from NYC)
Gary Quackenbush in SRC?
Paul Leary

sorry, if I sit here and think about this the list will just continue
growing.
Stevo

[surfer]

Bert fuckin' Jansch

criminally unknown here in the states, esp among people who worship at the feet of Nick Drake, and even Richard Thompson (who is great, dont get me wrong . . . . .)

His guitar work on Blackwater Side is jaw dropping (to me, I'm not a huge guitar chops guy)

[surfer]

Funkadelic (always seemed to have great guitarists but my minds blank right now as to names)

Eddie Hazel on Maggot Brain!

[Dohol]

Glenn Phillips.

Davey Williams.

Pete Cosey.

[user_5275]

Ian Brighton
Phil Lee
Monnette Sudler
Ray Russell
G.F. Fitzgerald
William Ackerman (underrated in the young, hip circles anyway)

And I second Lee Underwood and Bert Jansch.

[user_5275]

And yes, Russ Tolman is really great. True West were something else!

Steve Wynn is pretty underrated now, at least among the young'uns who weren't "there" (myself included, I was an amusical twerp during the Paisley Underground's heyday).

I wouldn't say that Thurston and Lee are at all, though. They're exactly where they should be. Those guys get an unbelievable amount of props.

[catastrophuck]

Bert fuckin' Jansch

criminally unknown here in the states, esp among people who worship at the feet of Nick Drake, and even Richard Thompson (who is great, dont get me wrong . . . . .)

His guitar work on Blackwater Side is jaw dropping (to me, I'm not a huge guitar chops guy)

Damn, I was hoping you guys would miss this one so I could drop it in and feel like a big shot. I've been listening to his first album obsessively over the last week. His live shows are fantastic too. Saw him last year and he blew me away.

Totally laid back, just on a stool with his acoustic guitar and a pint - he plays the most unbelievablely complex songs without breaking a sweat.

[user_4664]

Charlie Whitney(Family,Chapman-Whitney Streetwalkers)
Joey Santiago(Pixies)
Michael Rother
Richard Pinhas
Sarnie Garrett
Michael Gregory Jackson

[gerf wachoob]

terry kath

[carlos]

Guy Kyser/whoever his foil was in Thin White Rope

yes- i don't think i remembered Kyser's name until you posted this- but i still have Exploring The Axis and there's some great guitar playing / feedback things on there. and some great songs too.

i would add Paul Rudolph to the list- of Deviants, Twink, Pink Fairies. I looked up his bio and i didn't even know he played on Here Come the Warm Jets too.

and Larry Wallis, another Pink Fairies guitarist. on Kings of Oblivion

but there's a lot of names on that list that are rated well enough

[surfer]

His live shows are fantastic too. Saw him last year and he blew me away.

Totally laid back, just on a stool with his acoustic guitar and a pint - he plays the most unbelievablely complex songs without breaking a sweat.

Yes, I saw him last year too in Ben Lomond in the Santa Cruz Mountains, in this hillbilly lodge with maybe a 100 other people. Paid $10. It was fantastic. Did a version of Bonnie Portmore (Ornament Tree) that would bring tears to your eyes.

Meanwhile Richard Thompson is packing Montalvo for a 3 night stand and scalpers are getting $80 a ticket.

Again, nothing against RT (huge fan here). They're comtemporaries so it seems logical to compare the two, especially when they are playing in this area.

[user_5275]

Michael Gregory Jackson

I'd love to hear recordings of the heavy-rock power trio he had in the mid-'80s.

[fearandpanic]

Michael Gregory Jackson

Definitely excellent on Oliver Lake's Zaki! Didn't he abandon his spiky style for something smoother?

[user_1026]

fyi richard thompson was voted one of the top 20 guitarists of all time by rolling stone.

also, for any jansch & or renbourne fans who haven't already, have a listen to some of their work in the pentangle. their interplay combined with the double bass wizardry of danny thompson and whatever their drummer was called is something pretty special.

[MRS]

Ray Russell

[MRS]

oh, and Magic Sam and Duane Denison

[fearandpanic]

Magic Sam is amazing (especially live).

[MRS]

In my opinion no one matched his fingerstyle attack and screaming wail. Add to that he used to take naps before gigs. That live split disc (Ann Arbor & Chicago) may have the worst sound quality imaginable but it just doesn't matter.

[MRS]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xoXI1zZbGIc

2nd track being key (actually called "Easy Baby")

died way, way too young

[bedouin]

There is a lot of brazilian guitarists that should be giga-names. Baden Powell is one of my favorites for Os Afro Sambas, Solitude, Canto and Tristeza.

I also like Howie Gelb (if nothing else, for occasionally trying thin lizzy solos out of context)

Did someone mentioned McLaughlin? binky's beam is essential listening.