Mike Einziger from Incubus (and other pet projects that are more expirimental )

Warren DeMartini might be under-publicized but guitar players know him and respect him.

Vai reveres Zappa for a number of reasons. I think most people just couldn't wrap their heads around what Zappa was doing.

Froppe said:

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Tommy Tedesco.

Who? He played with The Wrecking Crew, the legendary group of session players who played on most of the great recordings in the 60s, but usually weren't credited on the albums. That cat could play anything, usually on the first take.

Glen Campbell also played with that group before he began his solo career.

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Definitely.

Tedesco is the guitar you hear on a lot of the biggest hit songs ever and few know his name.

Not only a skilled player, but able to create riffs on the spot that made the songs better.

Jeff Daniel's (I'm not joking)

gggmann said:

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Know Your Enemy said:

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Warren Haynes
Uli Jon Roth
Mike McCready
Marcus King
Warren DeMartini
Frank Zappa
Marc Ford
Freddie King

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When I was in high school i used to get so frustrated trying to play the opening riff of Lay it Down with that next to impossible pinky stretch.

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I played bass and sang in a band that did this song in high school. In this much later stage of life I'm learning guitar.

Someday I hope to be as good as our 16 year-old guitar players from my high school band that played this and Round and Round and Back For More and You Think You're Tough.

Ratt loved some D-tuning.

Cromagnum said:

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Jeff Daniel's (I'm not joking)

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His recent appearance on the Kelly Clarkson Show (which I didn't know was a thing) has been getting shared a lot. The love song he wrote to his guitar is special.

gggmann said:

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A couple that come to mind:

Mike Campbell
Elliot Easton

Neither are flashy or would be considered virtuosos, but they had good chops and always played exactly what the song needed.

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In his visit with Rick Beato, Nuno talked about Elliott Easton. He said what I've always thought, that Easton always had the perfect solo for any song he played on.

maroon barchetta said:

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His recent appearance on the Kelly Clarkson Show (which I didn't know was a thing) has been getting shared a lot. The love song he wrote to his guitar is special.

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Oh man, Kelly Clarkson's "Kellyoke" segments on her show are epic. She covers songs from every genre of music, usually better than the original.

Mark Knopfler and the late Michael Houser of Widespread Panic.

TX AG 88 said:

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maroon barchetta said:

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I think we have some confusion on underrated and under-publicized or recognized.

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Yeah, I was thinking "Glen Campbell" but he was extremely highly regarded by everyone with an inkling. It's just that most folks had no inkling and just recognized him as "the Rhinestone Cowboy singer." Still, he should be on more lists.

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I had always heard that Glenn was this amazing guitarist but only knew him from his softer stuff.

Went down a rabbit hole on YouTube one night after hearing Alice Cooper talk about him. Holy crap. Campbell was incredible!

Another vote for Elliot Easton. So melodic and rhythmic. Listen to the solos from It's All I Can Do and Shake It Up. Love that guy - still hoping Rick Beato does an interview with him.

Jerry Reed was on a bunch of those Glenn Campbell videos I watched. I didn't know he played. I just knew him as the guy that was in all those Burt Reynolds movies.

Good Lord. The notes just flowed out and he made it look so easy.

My instructor claims that Chet Atkins said that Reed is the only guitarist that ever intimidated him.

From the country side - Steve Wariner.

Bradley Nowell can play the guitar like a mother ****ing riot.

Jan Akkerman

A really underrated person is when you say the name and everyone says who??

Sponge said:

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Jan Akkerman

A really underrated person is when you say the name and everyone says who??

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Who?

maroon barchetta said:

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TX AG 88 said:

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maroon barchetta said:

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I think we have some confusion on underrated and under-publicized or recognized.

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Yeah, I was thinking "Glen Campbell" but he was extremely highly regarded by everyone with an inkling. It's just that most folks had no inkling and just recognized him as "the Rhinestone Cowboy singer." Still, he should be on more lists.

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I had always heard that Glenn was this amazing guitarist but only knew him from his softer stuff.

Went down a rabbit hole on YouTube one night after hearing Alice Cooper talk about him. Holy crap. Campbell was incredible!

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Glenn Campbell played on Sinatra's "Strangers in the Night."

In the Wrecking Crew book, there's a funny story where Campbell was so in awe of Sinatra he kept looking at him.

After the session, Sinatra asked the producer or someone who that guy was that was staring at him, using a common (at the time) slur.

This is fun

Merle Haggard & Waylon Jennings

John Frusciante from RHCP

I'll throw out a really underrated guitarist -- Dan Fogelberg.

He's mostly known for his schmaltzy love songs but he was an accomplished guitarist who could play all styles -- rock, jazz, blues, bluegrass, classical, Spanish-style, etc. If you dig into his album cuts, he recorded songs in all those genres and often played all the guitar and keyboard parts.

He recorded two full albums dedicated to jazz and one to bluegrass.

Because he was pigeonholed as "sensitive artist," his rock songs never got radio play so few people outside of his fans knew about his instrumental skills.

Frank Marino

Vivian Campbell seems to be everywhere:
- Dio (Rainbow In The Dark)
- Whitesnake (Here I Go Again)
- Currently with Def Leppard

maroon barchetta said:

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Warren DeMartini might be under-publicized but guitar players know him and respect him.

Vai reveres Zappa for a number of reasons. I think most people just couldn't wrap their heads around what Zappa was doing.

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You criticize my DeMartini pick but you put Alex ****ing Lifeson as underrated? And I think anyone on this thread is going to be respected by other guitar players so that criteria doesn't make any sense.

Know Your Enemy said:

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maroon barchetta said:

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Warren DeMartini might be under-publicized but guitar players know him and respect him.

Vai reveres Zappa for a number of reasons. I think most people just couldn't wrap their heads around what Zappa was doing.

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You criticize my DeMartini pick but you put Alex ****ing Lifeson as underrated? And I think anyone on this thread is going to be respected by other guitar players so that criteria doesn't make any sense.

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Yes.

Geddy says he's underrated. He's an expert.

Steve Hackett of Genesis......sorry EVH, he beat you to the guitar tapping....
Jim Wilson of Mother Superior/The Rollins Band....guy could shred the blues and hard rock
Bob Weir of The Grateful Dead.....phenomenal rhythm guitarist that unfortunately had to spend too much time in the shadow of Jerry.....
Peter Buck of REM.....an "incompetent genius"....

Ooh, I should have thought of Peter Buck. One of those guys who just plays the right thing for the song.

For me, it's not just the "chops" but the ability to compose that makes a musician truly great. Plenty of people have the ability and talent to play some of the most legendary songs of all time, but very few were able to actually compose those same songs from scratch.

I do agree Lindsey Buckingham is not usually listed as high as I would put him. Do you know how hard it is to play and sing Never Going Back Again?



I also have to second John Frusciante. Other than Page, Gilmour, and Hendrix, Frusciante may have composed more of my favorite guitar parts than any other guitarist. In my opinion, the Chili Peppers go from a decent band to a great band when he joins the lineup (and that's not even taking his falsetto backing vocals into account). As a true guitar tone enthusiast, Frusciante's feel and tone is peak.

maroon barchetta said:

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Jerry Reed was on a bunch of those Glenn Campbell videos I watched. I didn't know he played. I just knew him as the guy that was in all those Burt Reynolds movies.

Good Lord. The notes just flowed out and he made it look so easy.

My instructor claims that Chet Atkins said that Reed is the only guitarist that ever intimidated him.

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Not sure I'd admit that in public. Thought about including him (figured everyone new how good he was and therefore properly rated) but glad to see him get love on this thread.