It is right to give thanks and praise to the rhythm guitarist who is not concerned with making it “cry or sing,” as Mark Knopfler sang about the guitarist in “The Sultan of Swing”, but should we identify and consider lead guitarists who, although skilled in making it cry and sing, do not display much in the way of holding down the rhythm?
Everyone who professes to care about the guy says B.B. King doesn’t play chords. I have always found his music uninteresting, so I can’t be bothered worrying too much about him. But he seems to be an example of a lead guitarist who doesn’t hold down the rhythm. I can’t say whether his lead playing displays much rhythm; I don’t stick around long when his songs come on the radio.
I think of Jeff Beck, though, when I think of this subject. In the Yardbirds, Beck had that knack of soloing and riffing like there was an M-80 stuck up his butt, but his playing always had a choppy feel that didn’t seem too concerned with swinging along with the rhythm. Can’t say I’ve ever spent enough time judging his guitar-synth solo albums with Jan Hammer. Perhaps some of you can fill me in there.
James Williamson, from Raw Power-era Stooges, played with little sense of a song’s rhythm. He was another guy with an M-80 stuck where the sun don’t shine. What about Mick Ronson? Pretty great lead fills on those Bowie songs, but pretty choppy during his rare rhythm parts, no?
Guitarheads, does this make any sense? Does anyone come to mind for you? It’s not necessarily a bad trait, mind you, but it’s counter to the values so often expressed regarding the merits of the “dual rhythmic lead guitars” of The Rolling Stones, Televison, and other bands typically favored by lovers of “cool” music. Feel free to be mystified.
these are great examples. with all of the guys you name, it’s a matter of having a grip on the gear. when you’re done playing lead, you’ve gotta turn the eff down!!! there’s nothin wrong with sloppin’ it up back there, just don’t do it at the same volume as your brain searing guitar solo!
i’ve been listening to “the jimi hendrix concerts” and on a good night, my GOD, the man was a master of dynamics, tone, and volume.
However, if his career was, instead, a string of those BAD nights we’ve all seen by him on Youtube and heard by him on other “off” releases, when the drugs and cosmos conspired against him, then he’d be on this list.
he could play melodies while still playing “rhythm” chords and on a good night it’s unbelievable. but on a bad night it’s cluttered.
BB’s excuse is that he says he can’t sing and play the guitar at the same time. So he sings … and then he solos. It’s not like he’s bringing the band down by playing rhythm badly, since he’s got a full band covering the rhythm while he’s singing.
How about that Wilko guy in Dr Feelgood who plays solos using rhythm-type chords? Pete Townshend is also good at walking the line between lead and rhythm. Andy Gill as well.
I suspect Yngwie is a bad rhythm player, but I’m not going to actually listen to his music and find out.
Sure, Townshend, Gill, and the Wilko Johnson are good at walking the line. I was thinking of the lead players who can’t do much on rhythm. To tell the truth, I actually got thinking about this silly topic with interleague play beginning in baseball. Jeff Beck could be rock’s first Designated Soloist, if you think of rhythm guitar as playing the field.
I generally agree with this post, except for the inclusion of Mick Ronson. “Queen Bitch,” “Suffragette City,” “Watch That Man,” “Cracked Actor.” Who do you think was playing those riffs, Reeves Gabrels?
I love the way Ronson plays those riffs in the Bowie songs you cite, Oats, but to my ears, Ronson has an edgy, ahead-of-the-beat quality. He doesn’t strike me as a real rhythm guitar guy. In fact, isn’t most of the best rhythm playing on Ronson-era Bowie songs the work of Bowie on his acoustic?