Greatest Guitar Band

Yes the original FM was a great guitar band when Peter Green was lead guitar. I believe all three(J. McVie, M. Fleetwood, and P. Green) came from the John Mayall Blues Band. The Brits were a close knit group of musicians and it was not uncommon for them to sit in others recording studios and help out. Got to remember that J Page before he joined the Yardbirds was a sessions guitarist, it is a well founded fact that he was the sessions guitarist for the kinks and the rolling stones. Did you really think R.Davies could get that guitar lick out for "All Day and All Night" by himself?? Saw Savoy Brown good but not great:Wishbone Ash ok but nothing outstanding. J Beck if you ever get to see the man in action do so because he still does rock!! I want to see JPage and JBeck do an album and go on tour(without that godawful R Plant singing) together.Probably never happen but I can always wish. How about Alvin Lee??

It is kind of funny that you name LZ's House of the Holies as the first album of theirs you liked. Me too!! As I said before their first album was a rip-off of the 1968 version of the Yardbirds. After that it was pure stadium rock which could be fun once in awhile but I could not take in large doses. As far as the others you mention most of them I would individually call either great or very good. But to me a guitar band had to have a very energtic rhthym guitarist and a very involved bass player that is why the Yardbirds were great. Something was always happening whether upfront with J Beck or C Deja or Samwell Smith. J McCarty gave the best impression of a martial band drummer with K Relf wailing away on harmonica. From my username I am really a Schubert nut but the Yardbirds are the rock equals of the Emerson Quartet recording of a Schubert string quartet, always something happening musically. If you are remotely interested, most Yardbird records /CDs were recorded ok for the 60s. Lots of distortion intended or otherwise,lots of dynamic compression, some recorded mono. But to me there was nothing like them. Lots of people wonder why they are in the RnR Hall of Fame,maybe because the insiders knew of all the 60s groups the Yardbirds could play their guitars and play them well.

yo deadheads...The Dead cannot come close to the smoldering intensity of J Beck & crew.Have any of you deadheads every hear "Psycho Daisies" ?? Both JBeck and JPage were with the Yardbirds at the time(1967) as co-lead guitarists. Paul had left and Cris had taken over bass. If you want to see them rent the movie Blow Up where they do a rendition of "A train keeps a comin'." Both JPage and JBeck were in it.Awesome guitar work. The sounds JBeck could get out of his Stratocaster nobody can touch.

OK I like JJ Cale, I really like his version of "Cocaine", of course he wrote it. But again he is a just a great guitarist without a really good backup band. Same goes with E Clapton. Besides having just session players his music has been lacking in intensity and drive but still an awesome guitar player. I will repeat it again, the Yardbird's rendition of "Smokestack Lightning" with the hard driving lead guitar of E Clapton and the almost mythical bass and rhthym guitar playing of the rest of the band still makes it the greatest song ever. It is raw and exciting. With JBeck at the helm of the group it is different more stylish/even more bluesy but just as exciting. I never heard JBeck/JPage Yardbirds do the song but god I would love to hear that one!! Speaking of blues bands that were electric try any album or cd with Muddy Waters, Otis Spann,and Willie Dixon. Saw Muddy in 1969 awesome guitar work all finesse and grace and the rhythm section was superb;those guys do not waste a note. If you like to try something different try "Fathers and Sons" with M Bloomfield. P Butterfield, with Muddy Waters, Otis Spann and crew. Jimi Hendrix was technically great but his band did not share the spotlight ;it all was shown on Jimi. That is why this thread was on Guitar Bands not Guitar Players

To Ben: In order for a guitar band to play well it needs a drummer that keeps the group in order. The harmonica playing of Keith was just an added bonus. OK, I loved the Yardbirds maybe because they could play their instruments. Maybe I liked them because what ever came after them was a rip off of the group. Whether Eric, or Jeff, or Jimmy was lead guitar they were inventive,never took themselves seriously. An interviewer once asked Keith Relf why he played in a RnR band...his response :to meet chicks and get laid!!! After them things changed it went from being club rock (J Beck still likes performing in small clubs or venues) to stadium rock. Things change but not necessary for the better. Look J Page basically took the Yardbirds in 1968 changed their line up added a very strong vocalist and a very strong drummer and really created stadium rock. He took Yardbird type riffs spiffed it up with very long(boring?) guitar monologs PUFF LED ZEP. When E Clapton left the group because of the direction the band was heading, he went to John Mayall for awhile, but I think he was appalled the way John approached the blues. Next formed the power trio CREAM with J Bruce and G Baker. Awesome trio, J Bruce maybe is the greatest bass player of all time (Ben--he could also play a down and dirty harmonica too). Cream also went the way of stadium rock. Spoonful and Crossroads were perhaps their best songs, both blues songs. J Beck teamed up with R Stewart and R Woods and produced one fine album in Beckola. My point is whatever came after the Yardbirds was derived from their seminal lead guitarists. The Yardbirds were there from the beginning whetheryou wanted staight up rock, blues based rock psychodelic rock, even folk rock, Remember, the drummer and vocalist formed one of the finest folk rock groups Renaissance. They were creative and knew how to play their instruments(J Beck began experimenting with sitars well before G Harrison did for the Beatles,listen to the sitar version of Heart Full of Soul.) Probably the reason I liked them is they never never took themselves seriously.

Thanks for all replies. There were some great guitar bands through the years and thanks for bringing up some that I forgot about over the years including Savoy Brown(was "lonesome Dave" lead guitar of SB???)and QuickSilver Messenger Service. Dire Straits and the Allman Brothers were good choices(though they never hit me emotional like some of the others). I did notice a dirth of 1990s bands (does Nirvana qualify or not???). My last comment on the Yardbirds and then I will be silent. In an interview last year Guitar Magazine asked Jimmy Page if he would ever work with Jeff Beck...Jimmy laughed..."Jeff is so far out there musically that I would not know what to play" Jeff was doing that 35 years ago and is still doing it today. Enough. Now what is Schubert greatest String Quartet? Votes being taken now.

Just to let you know, the Yardbirds have reformed again. They are set to play in England soon with a real possibility of coming to States. No EC,JB,JP. Also Jeff Beck is coming out with a new album and will tour this summer. Now if you could get a double billing of Jeff Beck and the Yardbirds maybe they could jam on a few tunes together........... nice dreaming...........

Saw Cream and Blind Faith; Only the live album from wheels of fire and really only two cuts : Crossroads and Spoonful. Blind Faith album was an incredible bore and the concert was a waste of money. Clapton knew it was a waste of time; then worked with Delaney and Friends for another waste of his talent. For being Guitar God he has wasted so much time and talent. Should have stuck with the Yardbirds,of course, we may have never heard of J Beck and J Page;maybe things happen for the best.

Undertaker4(is that the name of your band or your profession?),your premise is not necessarily true. Yes
Jimi might be the greatest guitarist, but the thread was the greatest guitar BAND. Which in this case neither band
struck a chord(pun intended) with me. Jimi's bands showcased
his guitar licks but the rest of his band members either
were not equal to the task or not allowed to stretch their
talents. I appreciated his guitar playing( I saw him several times), and his concerts were frenetic but
they were never musically satisfying. At least he could play
his music in concert unlike most other bands like Jefferson
Airplane or the Rolling Stones or the Doors. Those were the
worst concerts of major artists I saw. The best guitar
player I personally saw with a superb guitar band as backup,
easily Muddy Waters, every note was played as if God made his fingers move. Second best, the Yarbirds with both JBeck and JPage as colead guitarists with CDreja on bass. They too
could play the music.