Earworm

Published on 16/08/2024.

A good friend postured to me the other day about some of his top-ten guitar legends, and it is fair to say that I had some strong opinions on the matter. Some of the characters that caused controversy included Slash, Angus Young, and Santana. I have nothing against these fretboard wizards – and I was very privileged to see the AC/DC rock monster in action in New Zealand in 2015 as part of their Rock or Bust tour – but to put any of them in the top ten? I had to disagree. This story may at least clarify my case when it comes to Slash.

I remember humble open mic nights in my local village when I was 16 years old. My best friend from the town was a true guitar prodigy, and I can still picture him ripping through the solos of Welcome to the Jungle and Paradise City like a hot knife through butter as if it were the easiest thing in the world. I’m not trying to take away anything from the guitar god that is Slash, but when my mate could play the songs near note-perfect and with the same soul, I think I was never destined to worship him in the same way that many of my peers did.

I suppose the question that arises, if I am denouncing some big names from my top-ten list, is who are the guitar players that I would rate the highest? In no particular order, here are my picks:

• Peter Green
• Eric Clapton
• Jimi Hendrix
• Jimmy Page
• BB King
• Albert King
• Mark Knopfler
• Stevie Ray Vaughan
• Randy Rhoads
• Alvin Lee

Why have I picked these over others? I believe no other players have managed to capture the same je ne sais quoi that they brought to the music world. Each, at least in my opinion, is irreplicable and forged the inspirations they had into incredible paths to follow for the guitarists that came after them. Whether you consider their original songs or ones they covered, they are immense in their playing, their sound, and pure emotion.

Take Eric Clapton as an example: his playing on The Beatles’ While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Cream’s Crossroads, or even his cover of Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door at the Royal Albert Hall are all masterpieces that transcend the ephemeral nature of each track. His precision with note choice alongside his insight into when to dazzle with the fast licks and when to leave the crowd simmering on the slow notes make him one of a kind, and his music begs repeat listening.

That’s not to say that my friend that sparked this debate was wrong with his picks – and I still fondly remember pretending to be Slash when I was knocking back medium-difficulty levels on Guitar Hero 3 back in the day – but I think there are so many guitar heroes out there that are worthy of greater acknowledgement and deserve a bit more of a listen before we declare the more mainstream mentions the supreme overlords of rock and roll music. The lovely thing that I learned from all of this, however, is that at least mine and my friend’s dichotomy of preferences will lead me to give another go to some of the artists I know I love but perhaps have neglected for a while.

That being said, my dark horse to steal a top-ten slot at the moment would be Jeff Healey rather than everyone’s favourite top-hat-toting Les Paul fiend. Let’s see if my mind changes in the future.

Written by Lewis Brown.