Greatest Guitar Band


I thought just before Christmas I'd get a good thread going. IMHO,the greatest guitar band was the Yardbirds, not because E Clapton,or J Beck, or J Page was in it but because Chris Deja, and Paul Samwell-Smith were great rhythm and bass guitarists that could rock and keep up with the above. Plus Jim McCarty the drummer could keep the group in line and fine harmonica work from Keith Relf(ok not the greatest vocalist, more of a finesse singer).They had it all, I cannot think of another band that had three great guitarists in the band at one time(J Beck, C Deja, P Samwell-Smith). In 1967, when J Beck and J Page were in the band togther as co-lead guitars, they were the lead in band for the rolling stones, they just blow them away,ok, that is not a fair comparison considering the rolling stones still cannot play their instruments very well. But in comparison to say Led Zepplin, LZ did not have a rhthym guitarist(except J Page would overdub that part on recordings). That made them sound not as well rounded live as far as guitar work is concerned. I am not saying LZ was a bad band on the contrary,they put on probably the best show ever, but I do not consider them a guitar band per se. Besides, J Page stole vitually from his former band anyway. Remember "How Many More Times" is a repackaged version of the YBs "Smokestack Lightning", a Howlin Wolf tune. YBs version is in my mind the best rock song ever. So what do you think????
shubertmaniac
If you like the Dead and the Allman Brothers- you can download the Shn from futher.

Don't remember the exact date but 73 San Diego Dead Show 2nd set really rocks. They rip through the other one, big river, and eyes of the world. Highly recommended.
Although I didn't read every thread (and a lot of great bands have been mentioned), I noticed that the greatest R & R band--THE ROLLING STONES are absent!!! Also, the KINKS and BOSTON rank right up there!!
The Rockets, The Outlaws, Derick and the Dominoes, Marshall Tucker, The Great Guitars...
My favorite guitar bands are The Mission UK, Fields Of The Nephilim, and The Cure.

My vote is for the Dead. Garcia/Lesh had a synergy that was other worldly. "Hollywood" Bobby Weir filling in the spaces between Jerry and Phil.

The original New Riders of the Purple Sage with Dave Nelson, John "Marmaduke" Dawson and Buddy Cage, sometimes joined by Garcia, Lesh and Hart were an outrageous guitar band. Not everyone's cup of tea musically, but a boat load of talent.

The newer David Nelson Band is very enjoyable, with a lot of very proficient guitar interplay between Dave Nelson, Barry Sless and keyboards (w/ occasional guitar) of Mookie Siegel.

Duane Allman/Dicky Betts/Barry Oakley combo are right up there in my book as well.

Both Phil Lesh and Barry Oakley play(ed) with a style that turned the bass from a backbeat foundation to an upfront lead melody machine.

My user name is taken from one of my favorite Dead tunes: Slipknot!
usually put in as part of Help On The Way>Slipknot!>Franklin's Tower trilogy in live shows. Probably explains my vote for the GD as the greatest guitar band ;)
Add "Thin Lizzy" to previous good suggestions. Maybe not the best, but well up there.
Hey Piezo, maybe I shouldn't have ditched those Hellecasters discs so soon (seemed way too ordinary, kinda like Chet Atkins meets the Ventures). Anyway, it wouldn't be the first time I screwed up on a discard. Was lucky enough to have caught the Charlie Hunter Trio once at the Music recital hall (CSUS). You almost never see a working electric band in that kind of environment. Also saw TJ Kirk live a couple of times. I agree w/ Piezo's assessment of Hunter, but C.H. often assumes a bass player or keyboard role (w/ his guitar). John Schott and especially Will Bernard administered most of the flamethrowing fretboard attack in T.J. Kirk.
After Shylock split up their guitarist formed Philharmonie. Some of their stuff is pretty good, sort of like the Crafty League of Guitarists but less robotic.
Has anyone who mentioned Coryell been able to find a cd version of the live Fairyland record?
Al Dimeola from "Return to Forever". John McLaughlin. Lary Coryell. Eric Clapton vs. Robbie Robertson in "The Last Waltz".
Duanegoosen mentioned TJ kirk...you want to hear one guy sound like 3 check out solo stuff by one of their guitarists charlie hunter. Shylock eh?, been a looonnnng time since anyone mentioned them. some body asked for guys you never hear of much. By far the most jaw dropping guitar fireworks...The hellecasters hands down and i have heard a ton of killer guitarists, you may not like the music but th eplaying is unreal. If you like surf check out the straight jackets. The original Tubes with Roger Steen and Spooner
Allman Brothers Band, past and present line ups. Have y'all heard Warren Haynes? Incrediable guitar player. Dereck Trucks is the other guitar player, he is no slough either!
Cornfed is on the mark. Great guitar bands (and guitarists) with a wide range of attributes are still coming out of the woodwork. Using one yardstick to measure who is the greatest is.... Anyway, here a few I haven't seen listed yet:
Arcana (1st w/ Derek Bailey, 2nd w/Buckethead)
Attention Deficit
Automatic Fine Tuning (if you have this please email me)
Be Bop Deluxe
Alex Candeleria Trio
Nels Cline
Coeure Magique
Miles Davis (Agharta band)
Dysrhythmia
Fermata
Fire Merchants
Gambale/Smith/Hamm (Jeff Beck could have made a record like their 1st one if he'd have kept growing and worked his ass off)
Garybaldi
Groon
Groundhogs
Guru Guru (Dance of the Flames/Kanguru)
Harriet Tubman (Prototype)
Judas Priest (Saw them clobber the piss out of anything they've done on record).
Kraan (Live 74)
T.J.Kirk (3 guitars 1 drummer)
Loch Ness (Mexican Sabbath/Crimson instumental, crude but very effective)
Fiuczynski's Headless Torsos
Melvins
Mermen
Nekropsi (brilliant Turkish instrumental dual guitar smokers)
New Trolls(UT/Concerto Grosso pt.1)
Nova (Blink)
Osanna
Patto
P.O.N.
Rinneysa
Shylock
Thin Lizzy
Trettioariga Kriget (a catalog described their 1st as "astoundingly complex guitar dominated rock) that was a big understatment.
There are lots of great 80s/90's hair farmers left out that desreve mention too.
Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" from the album "One More From The Road" has got to be up there! Van Halen, who's gonna argue with Eddie Van Halen! I also like queen, what a unique guitar sound they had, you could tell it was Queen just from the sound of the guitar!
They are not the typical guitar band, but my favorite guitar band is the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet. In particular playing Peter Warlock's Capriol Suite on the Delose label. Stop laughing if you have never heard them before, give it a try and I am sure that you will not regret it, IMO. GREAT sound stage and timbre is as close to perfect as it can get. Enjoy!
I won't argue regarding Muddy Waters (his later lineup with Johnny Winter smoked as well, what a band). I had the fortune of seeing Albert King live before he died, he was awesome (when asked about Eddie Van Halen, Joe Walsh said Albert King "would blow him off the stage with one note"). Still unclear on the "Guitar Band" label; is it a band that features guitar, but is good all around? Or that has the most quality people playing fretted instruments? With regard to the Yardbirds, they were very good, no doubt. Led Zep I was mostly YB material, some of which hadn't made it to record yet (dazed and confused, etc., maybe called "I'm Confused"?) Personally, as far as guitarists go, I preferred the pre "For Your Love" YB's w/Clapton. Page has never really done it for me as far as his lead playing; he either sounds lost or like he's trying to play as fast as possible. Beck was the better player, IMO. I still say that Hendrix is head and shoulders above any of them, Noel Redding was definitely no slouch on bass, and Mitchell was excellent as well. Right now, I've been listening to more of the Band of Gypsies, which probably is the more solid rhythm section. As far as live performances, I was too young to see JHE or Yardbirds (both broke up when I was about 2), so I'll take your word for it. I still enjoy JHE recordings much more than the Yardbirds (live or studio). Opinions vary. However, due to your posts, I will (asap) go back and review my Yardbird recordings and get back to you.
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.
The greatest guitar band would have the greatest guitarist, which would be Jimi Hendrix. The only question: JHE or Band of Gypsies?
One of my favorite guitar tracks is "astronomy" on the "some enchanted evenings" CD. It has a great solo and to me the guitar comes alive.
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...........
Well everyone has given their take on the rockers and blues guys and I would give a ditto on most of the above, particularly the Dead and Allman Brothers prior to the untimely death of Dwayne of course. Saw them both before and the very first concert they did after his death. And so far as Country Rock who could forget Poco in their early incarnation. With Jim Messina, Ritchie Furay and Rusty Young on steel pedal they could rock the house down and electrify a crowd with the best of them and they could really harmonize, great group. Seatrain is another great concert group from that era (1968-1972, their albums unfortunately never translated as well as their live performances. But the greatest guitar assemblage (not band) I've EVER heard (I'm talking pure talent and the performance of a lifetime) is the "live" San Francisco concert of John McLaughlin, Al DiMeola and Paco DeLuca. The moon lined up with the stars on that night. Oh no I wasn't there but can hear it anytime because it is available on CD. The recording is as spectacular as the performance.
Steely Dan ought to be on this list. I'd say they're among the giants of post-60's rock. Maybe Royal Scam is their best in terms of being a guitar band, but they've done lots of excellent guitar stuff. Walter Becker with studio compatriots like Denny Dias, Jeff Baxter, Larry Carlton -- wow!
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.
Sirvette, if you like Wheels of Fire by the Cream, which is a great album (Cd). Try the Album "Blind Faith" by Blind Faith (track "Do What You Like") cut from the same mold. I noticed alot of favorite albums suggested above were recorded LIVE at the Filmore East in NYC (Village). Which i believe has alot to do with the accoustics of the Filmore East and recording equipment used. Many great Live albums were recorded at Billy Grahm's Filmore East, long gone. P.S. Dekay, Garfish turned me on to the CJs a while back.
Hey guys To me, the greatest guitar band is the CREAM. Play Wheels of Fire esp. the Live CD (double album) & you will see. I never tire of this great album. Great is an overused word which I have a hard time using - not in this case. Robin Trower did 1 great song - Bridge of Sighs. Metallica has 1 great - Enter the Sandman. Some great recent guitarists are Joe Satriani & Yngwie Malmsteen.
I'll vote for the Allman brothers due to their length of time they've been on the map. I sure wish the Black Crowes and Jimmy Page would have gotten together earlier and put out a few albums. Those guys are tight.
I just picked up "The Best of Pete Townshend, Cool walking, smooth talking, straight smoking, firestoking" today. These are modern renditions of some of his older songs. They do not have the wild resonance of concerts played at race tracks, stadiums or in large auditoriums in Pigsville, they are more intimate recordings. No Roger on vocals Townshend sings them all. There are even a few tiny solos, I have never considered much of Townsend's rythmic offerings to be solos as such. There was a music series on television called "Story Tellers." If anyone has seen some of the small concerts on the series, this is what the CD is like. One song on the CD "Uneasystreet" was previously unreleased. Kind of interesting to hear what an old guitar wildman is doing (sounds like) recently ,released in 1996. I also finally got a copy of The Eagles "Hell Freezes Over" CD that someone mentioned a while back in another thread. A lot of their old giutar work, but not as drugged out as before. Really good playing IMO.
Can't argue with some of the above named bands, but let's not forget Jr. Wells Blues Band (Buddy & Phil Guy); the original Quicksilver Messenger Service (John Cipollina & Gary Duncan); Santana (Carlos & Neal Schon); Miles Davis (Pete Cosey & Reggie Lucas); plus, Herbie Mann's Memphis Underground (Larry Coryell & Sonny Sharrock).
Mikec: If you have not yet, check out the Cowboy Junkies. They will change your mind about one new band, theirs anyway. The one thing that I find missing in most modern popular songs is the guitar solo. Where is it?
These aren't guitar armies, but I'll submit them for your consideration anyway. Neil Young's guitar albums are my favorites: Reactor (late 70's), is a howling distortion epic. Rust Never Sleeps. Mirror Ball. I love the sound of overdriven tubes. Also Dick Dale--King of the Surf Guitar. e.g. Primal Thunder. He has basically one sound but it's a good one.
Dekay i remember playing ELL by JH for the first time back in 68 on one of those old huge cabinet console TT and was just blown away listening to what Jimi was doing with that guitar. The bands were excellent at that time and were coming out fast. How bout The Doors even today still great sound, timeless. As far as i'm concerned that was by far the Golden Age of Music and the crap thats out now isn't even concidered music. Pitiful- the best music has to offer now is far and rare. I guess all around its modern jazz for most of anything new. Find myself keep playing the Classics for the real thing and the tuner for any new crap. Sorry but my feelings about most new material.
Thanks Mikec: Little Wing is one of my favorite's done by JH. The only time that I have heard SRV was on a TV special that showed concert footage a couple years back, and I was very impressed. He did a Hendrix tune then but I think that it was different from the two mentioned, can't remember what it was though, maybe the one that Robin Trower did (blank on that one too, I'm happy to say:-). Funny, I just picked up a copy of "Electric Ladyland" this past week at a junk store, the stereo effects really got the cats ears going. My wife said "it's hurting their ears" and I said "no, they're just tripping."
since we are talking guitar bands, the original three guitarists of Lynyrd Skynyrd were quite the trio, who can forget the amazing solo by Gary Rossington on Call Me The Breeze. Nothing like their double lead.
Dekay SRV's recordings are all so good you can pick anyone but if you want to get to meet his music start with his "greatest hits", it has a great retake of Hendrix's Little Wing or try "Live Alive" and listen to his take on Hendrix's Voodoo Chile. Another great artist we lost long before his time. All his material is good. Bet if you try anyone you will be back for more. Mike
Garfish: Since you mentioned the Thunderbirds, I may as well through in the Fab. Rhinestones, Electric Flag and (barf) Spooky Tooth. I have never really listened to SRV and wonder if he ever did a cover of the song "Trouble"? I searched the record clubs and never came up with it on an album. Any suggestions for the best SRV to own if you are only going to have one? I just picked up a live Pink Floyd double CD (in weird packaging) to cover PF.
Wsmatau: Sorry, no I do not. I just happened to see it one Sunday evening when I was a teenager. It was not pleasant to watch as Chet was somewhat hurt and embarrassed. I suspect that if there was any kind of a rehearsal, that Clapton held back a little during it. I also remember that Jimi Hendrix was on the Johnny Carson Show and Janis Joplin was on Dick Cavets show at around the same time. Hendrix was all smacked out and Janis was sober and shy. Strange TV times.
Dekay, do you know of any publishings (video or audio)of that episode of Eric vs Chet on the Ed Sullivan show? It sounds like something I'd be interested in seeing/hearing not to mention purchasing for my collection.
Don't mean to be rude but it would actually be a really good thread if it threw up a few names we've never heard of ..otherwise it's just back-slapping.. as much as a lot of the music mentioned is good....respect to S for this thread and his respect for Beck...a true original but as I said further back it is hard to define... I enjoy 70's Genesis with Rutherford/Hackett and also late 70's Talking Heads (a great guitar band) and Television...Johnny Marr with The Smiths..John Squire The Stone Roses..Westerberg..The Replacements..the Young brothers AC/DC..the list is endless...no "best" only constant enjoyment,re-discovery... and personal opinions..keep them coming.... Regards, Ben H
Hi Craig, yes so so many and yes the Yardbirds are one of my special favorites Shubert. I've spent over 40k just to make this music come alive in my livingroom and boy do i enjoy the music. Thanks all
Mikec, re: SRV, brings to mind the early Fabuluous Thunderbirds, also one of the greats. Craig
George Thorogood is the greatest guitar player in the world! Hey, it's the silly season isn't it? I play the guitar better than GT, but along with his Delaware Destroyers band, I really enjoy their music and have all their CDs. Why? GT is a blues rocker "throwback" to simpler times with a purist approach to R&R. And his style of rock is just fine with an old coot like me. Chuck Berry, throughout his career, used studio musicians. More seriously, I've seen Buddy Guy live (with at least 3 guitars), and IMO he is the greatest, and if he uses "merely studio muscians", his choices are excellent 'cuz they were great too. I've got to agree with Dire Straits, when Mark Knoppfler was with them. And also The Allman Brothers in their day. Good thread Schubertmaniac. Happy Holidays. Craig