Most influential electric guitarist

[MaxMaps]

[hbombgraphics]

This has been a good read and wicked informative, but I don't know that I have anything new to contribute to this list.

My only thought is that some of the old acoustic blues guitarists (Robert Johnson Style) might have just as much influence because they created guitar playing that had an edge and was pretty heavy.
You could probably make that same argument for a ton of other instruments as well. Saxophone comes to mind and for me some Banjo and Dulcimer stuff I grew up on.

I feel like alot of us on ILF really got into the fuzz and noise things not because we wanted to sound like another guy using fuzz but because we wanted to cultivate the darkness and buzz of another instrument or chainsaw motor.

I know that doesn't answer the development and influence of electric guitar thing but at some point the people who made this go had no electric guitarists to listen to.

[WeHuntKings]

fucking link wray.

power. chords.

[snipelfritz]

fucking link wray.

power. chords.

Damn, nice call. The dude used to slash his speakers before fuzz pedals existed.

Also, Iommi, I forgot Iommi. By accident he was so influential. He lost parts of his fingertips in an industrial accident and "invented" using drop D for "heavy" music.

[RR Bigman]

a lot of music is still recovering from this guy right here.
The real question is: More influential to whom? music nerds, or the general listening populace?

[phantasmagorovich]

I think if you narrowed this down to genre that would be easier.

Who said I wanted to make it easy?

Also, I'm not as concerned with specific genres as I am with overall influence.

Interesting responses so far, especially phantasmagorovich putting up a prepared guitarist as most influential, since many of the others are more or less rock guitarists.

Yeah that's what I meant. He was one of the first to expand the vocabulary that way. Also AMM was founded in '65, Branca didn't start playing in public until the early seventies.

Funny that I never got Fripp though. Can anyone recommend me some stuff? Like give me a choice of three different stages and I might like one and use that as a stepping stone.

I think influential in the broadest sense. Just influential. If you want to name someone that made delta blues popular to a new generation like Keith Richards noone is going to shout WRONG!

[dubkitty]

Funny that I never got Fripp though. Can anyone recommend me some stuff? Like give me a choice of three different stages and I might like one and use that as a stepping stone.

for his first-stage King Crimson work, the original lineup's seminal "21st Century Schizoid Man" is as good of an introduction to his style as any; it showcases his militarily-precise ensemble riffing, howling distortion/compression driven lead sound, and "modern" harmonic concepts. Red i think has the most remarkable playing; the live USA will also fuck you up. for his looping/Frippertronics stuff, try the Fripp/Eno collab Evening Star or the solo That Which Passes. i'm not a huge fan of the post-1981 King Crimson or the ProjeKts, so someone else will have to suggest there; i'd look to recordings later than the first two or three, which were hobbled to some extent by Belew's vocal and compositional David Byrne-isms. and don't neglect his mad-ass, coruscating session work, especially the leads on Eno's "St. Elmo's Fire" and Bowie's " 'Heroes'. "

[DarkAxel]

Funny that I never got Fripp though. Can anyone recommend me some stuff? Like give me a choice of three different stages and I might like one and use that as a stepping stone.

for his first-stage King Crimson work, the original lineup's seminal "21st Century Schizoid Man" is as good of an introduction to his style as any; it showcases his militarily-precise ensemble riffing, howling distortion/compression driven lead sound, and "modern" harmonic concepts. Red i think has the most remarkable playing; the live USA will also fuck you up. for his looping/Frippertronics stuff, try the Fripp/Eno collab Evening Star or the solo That Which Passes. i'm not a huge fan of the post-1981 King Crimson or the ProjeKts, so someone else will have to suggest there; i'd look to recordings later than the first two or three, which were hobbled to some extent by Belew's vocal and compositional David Byrne-isms. and don't neglect his mad-ass, coruscating session work, especially the leads on Eno's "St. Elmo's Fire" and Bowie's " 'Heroes'. "

wanted to recomend In The Court..., Red and Bowie's Heroes myself

[Rob Fossil]

Funny that I never got Fripp though. Can anyone recommend me some stuff? Like give me a choice of three different stages and I might like one and use that as a stepping stone.

I think DubKitty covered most of the bases, Red is amazing and a good place to start. For 80's King Crimson, I think Discipline is the standout of that era and pretty accessible. The Frippertronics-looping stuff with Eno is really groundbreaking in the ambient/noise genre, I prefer Evening Star just slightly over No Pussyfooting.

[dubkitty]

the live recording of Fripp/Eno from the Paris Olympia that's circulated forever among traders is now available as an official release/download from Fripp's site, and is a remarkable document, a full hour of Fripp improvising to Eno's loops complete with mid-piece announcement in French by the compere that everybody should please stop smoking because it bothers Mr. Fripp. a must.

[DarkAxel]

a distinguished english gentleman askingo the french to stop smoking

what a clash of stereotypes

[theavondon]

Also, Iommi, I forgot Iommi. By accident he was so influential. He lost parts of his fingertips in an industrial accident and "invented" using drop D for "heavy" music.

C# Standard, bro.