Robin Trower and 2 VMs!!!!!!!!!!!!

[gtrman]

Ah yeah Zappa was a real badass on guitar and one of the all time best. I saw him a few times and once when he toured with Jean-Luc Ponty on violin. That was incredible. Don't eat the yellow snow!

I have a friend who Vai took on his last Europe tour with him to open up, Zack Wiessinger whose a new kind of Zappa in his own right. He blew Vai away and there's a pic of Vai sitting at Zack's feet with his jaw droped open watching him. http://www.guitarzack.com/video-page/ This kid is offthe hook. THere's some videos on his site. He came in 3rd place 2 years ago atthe Guitar Center competition but should have been first but he was too advanced for the blues purists. He didn't care because he was already set to tour with Vai.

Wow cool ...Zappa with Ponty .. must have been around 1973. Wish I could have seen that. I have a video from a concert around that time where Ponty is among the players.
Yes I have heard about Zack ... awesome player. Good to see that there is a young generation of amazing players ... that someday will be Marshall owners hehe

[gtrman]

Zappa...can't think of a single song other then "titties and beer" he did I liked, never thought of him as remotly good although his son Dwezil is a very good player. I mean I very strange music and never thought much talent at all in his work.

Vai, SRV, Vai is damm good but a he is a one trick pony, SRV is a legend.

Prince, actually seen him in Mankato Minnesota back in about 1981 at the collage, the show was pretty strange as it was the first time I had seen music mixed with porn live...yes porn his early shows were pretty over the top. He can play but unless he has gotten much better since then (sure he has) he wasn't anything special.

Holdsworth - Very special player and talent.

Zappa is a music genre by itself. I agree he's not a "good" guitar player in a technical sense, but I just love the way he plays solo's. It's so musical & innovative. He has released 2 double CD's all with guitar solos and nothing else.
No melodies/tunes .. just solos ... and I never get tired of listening to them.
Vai is damn good yes but I would say that he's a little broader then a one trick pony .. I think his years with Zappa has broadened his musicality & style.
SRV legend .... yes !
If you haven't heard Prince since 1981 well yes a lot has changed ... I truly believe he is very underrated as a guitar player. He's actually pretty bluesy... check out this clip:

Holdsworth once said that he's not really a guitar player .. he sees himself more as a saxophonist. He's playing guitar the way a saxophone player thinks ... odd.

Since you seem to be pretty knowledgeable about Trower why don't you recommend me one of his albums ... i'll check it out !

[surfnorthwest]

I would start with his early work with either of the CDs below

1973 Twice Removed from Yesterday
1974 Bridge of Sighs

I also really like
1976 Long Misty Days
1977 In City Dreams

But if you simply are going to get one then look for his CD live called
King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents: Robin Trower In Concert
Here is a link to it with sound clips



This Was Now '74-'98 is another that was recorded at a live show I got to attend at the Ballard Firehouse (Seattle) back in 97.

[gtrman]

Thanxs man !
I'll get on it !

[BNS]

That Prince solo was awful - sorry .

The guy doing the solos for the first half of the song was fantastic however, and he had a killer tone going. I always thought that was one of Clapton's best solos - so lyrical, almost a song in itself which I think is what a solo should be. That's probably my second favourite Clatpton solo after Crossroads. Another guy who's great at that is Larry Carlton (ie. all his Steely Dan solos).

Prince somehow is the only person I've ever seen NOT look cool playing a telecaster. However, to his credit, I will admit that some of the guitar bits on his early albums were terrific (although I always wondered whether he actually played them) and the hook on Purple Rain is great. Another thing about Prince - he has a house on the most exclusive street in Toronto which is about 10 minutes from where I live (his is MUCH nicer than mine!).

Been thinking about some of the others listed on this post:

Trower is great, but I also never really heard of him until I started visiting this forum (and I'm not a spring chicken). Glad to have been introduced to him. He reminds me a bit of Peter Frampton, but with a vibe pedal.

Steve Vai - very impressive player, but for me he's a lot like Eric Johson. I really admire his ability to do things I can't dream of doing, but I can't listen to his songs.

SRV - My favourite all time guitarist. Bold statement, I know, but that's my view.

[gtrman]

That Prince solo was awful - sorry .

The guy doing the solos for the first half of the song was fantastic however, and he had a killer tone going. I always thought that was one of Clapton's best solos - so lyrical, almost a song in itself which I think is what a solo should be. That's probably my second favourite Clatpton solo after Crossroads. Another guy who's great at that is Larry Carlton (ie. all his Steely Dan solos).

Prince somehow is the only person I've ever seen NOT look cool playing a telecaster. However, to his credit, I will admit that some of the guitar bits on his early albums were terrific (although I always wondered whether he actually played them) and the hook on Purple Rain is great. Another thing about Prince - he has a house on the most exclusive street in Toronto which is about 10 minutes from where I live (his is MUCH nicer than mine!).

Been thinking about some of the others listed on this post:

Trower is great, but I also never really heard of him until I started visiting this forum (and I'm not a spring chicken). Glad to have been introduced to him. He reminds me a bit of Peter Frampton, but with a vibe pedal.

Steve Vai - very impressive player, but for me he's a lot like Eric Johson. I really admire his ability to do things I can't dream of doing, but I can't listen to his songs.

SRV - My favourite all time guitarist. Bold statement, I know, but that's my view.

Well the Prince solo is pretty flashy, but I like it... he's blasting away hehe. He does pretty much ALL his guitars on the records.
Trower is new territory for me as well ... like u said nice vibe.
I have been a huge Vai all the way back since I heard him for the first time in 1981. I ordered his first LP (yes LP .. i'm no spring chicken as well) straight from him personally.
SRV ... nothing too bold can be said about him. Out of this world !

[frank9310]

Well like Frank Marino of Mahogany Rush who's another monster player and probably the closest ever to Jimi's skill said not too many players impress him and while Holdsworth is amazing, you forget what you heard 10 minutes later. However, nobody forgets how most Beatles songs sound because it's about the melody and to him there hasn't been a great, original player who's also a great melody maker since Jimi and I have to agree with that. It's not about technical speed and innovation as much as it is about melody from the heart and I feel that's something that's really been missing for so many years. Maybe it's just because society as a whole has gotten so far out of control and negative compared to those simpler times back in the 40s, 50s, & 60s where making music that touched the heart and soul was monumentally more important than making a hit that sells records.

As great as SRV was with a lot of catchy melodies, and even Trower who I love and has really expanded on making Jimi-esque type melodies and note voicings that are beyond even Jimi's capabilities before passing through to the other side, or Frank Marino who really took a lot of Jimi's wilder side to a whole new level, there's still something amiss since Jimi checked out.

Nobdody has truly smashed the mold like Jimi did and probably never will as rock seems to have hit it's peak back then. So anything after that is in some way no matter how small or large related to something Jimi already did. Some may argue that point but you can dissect almost any rock song today and find some root to Hendrix in it. Per the Bible Ecclesiastes 1:9-14: What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.

Don't get me wrong though. There are many of us who've seen the rainbow and never tire at looking at it! :dance

I would just love to see in my lifetime just one more Jimi come along with a whole new paradigm that rocks us all! He's callin!

[youtube][/youtube]

[spidey]

Big Marino fan here! There are just some blowing clips on YouTube of Frank. There are similarities between Frank and Robin IMO.
I bet Frank would like the VM if he'd check it out. He uses a self made preamp these days and power amp.
He's calling....... Indeed!

[Supernaught]

Seeing as how we're dropping in cool solos here, I thought Id contribute. Paul Gilbert is one of my all time favourite players, and is well known for his speed but not many people know how amazingly soulful his playing can be.

This clip is of a Beatles cover band he was in with Dream Theatre's Mike Pornoy, Matt Bissonette and Neal Morse called Yellow Matter Custard. The first solo is good, but the second (3m26s) is probably my all favourite:

[youtube][/youtube]

[gtrman]

+1 on Paul Gilbert.
He's a very good all round player. He is always fun to listen too. I hope Mr Big comes to Norway soon ... I'll be there !

[frank9310]

Yeah, funny thing about Marino is while he keeps a Marshall modded Plexi on hand, he's been using nothing but solid state power amps with a home made preamp through out his entire career! Hard to believe but true.

About Paul Gilbert, he's from Greensburg, PA where I lived for the past several years and now about 10 minutes from there. I'm not into shred but I do enjoy his monthly free Guitar World video lessons on Comcast cable video Guitar Lessons On Demand. Lots of cool little tricks he shares and another cool thing about him is he is a huge Trower fan! He called Guitar World magazine and begged them to let him do the last Trower interview so the one featured recently was done by Paul G! Small world eh?!

Tell me Frank's tube tone doesn't sound killer?! Click at 1:20 to begin the song past the intro. Here's a sad but beautiful song...
[youtube][/youtube]

[slowpokerhino]

...and another cool thing about him is he is a huge Trower fan! He called Guitar World magazine and begged them to let him do the last Trower interview so the one featured recently was done by Paul G! Small world eh?!

I was just about to say something about how far this thread has come. Guess it's a good thing I didn't. Thank you.

[frank9310]

Yep, it all comes around full circle. Tee hee!

[Samu]

Ah, no don't get me wrong SteveD. I know the amp must sound killer if he's using it. I just mean he seems to be able to conjure up his exact signature tone out of whatever amp he uses and it's something that is very different than any tone I've been able to conjure up using the same exact gear he says he's using. That's what makes me wonder if part of it is in his Fawn colored 4x12 cabs loaded with V30s (maybe being extremely well broken in-special flavor) he uses for whatever head he has because no amp or guitarist I've ever heard can get his signature tone spot on. Maybe on his earlier stuff I've heard people come close but for the last 5 years, he has some new and unique tone that is not duplicatable no matter what amp head he's using.

Check out this:)
http://www.box.net/shared/unrz73e6uv

[frank9310]

Man if I didn't know better, I'd swear that was RT.