Conference napalm::guitar

    Re: versatility
    
    I think EJ is just as versatile as Satriani.  From their all-out
    rockers to their acoustic numbers to EJ's jazzy or country stuff to
    Satch's R&B stuff ("Strange").
    
    Mike

    >  Greg ... are you sh!ttin' me? Fercrissakes I can't think of any other
    >  guitar player who has the versatility that Eric showed in the Ah
    >  Musica Viacom 
    
    I can't help but think that you've never heard ANY Steve Morse album.
    
    	db - who LOVES EJ, but gives Morse that particular nod

re: .-1

>     	db - who LOVES EJ, but gives Morse that particular nod

  ... And that nod, and THAT nod, and _that_ nod, and *that* nod, and...

   :-)

   -- Sam

    I think that's a good example, Steve Morse is much more versatile.
    
    Greg

    I like EJ's playing better than Morse's.  I don't know why, maybe it's
    his super-fluid tone??

    Is this gonna degrade to "my hero vs. your hero" ?  Morse and EJ are
    underrated in my book, but that dosn't mean everyone reads my book.
    
    EJ can burn, he just doesn't do it that often.  Many other guitar
    whizzes are know for speed, which doesn't impress me like it used to.
    
    Jerry

    re: Pat...
    >          	In my biased opinion, Eric Johnson is not only a perfectionist, 
    >	but the most underrated, versatile electric guitarist on planet 
    >	Earth.  And how can you be overrated by a guitar playing community?
    >	To me, that's like saying too many NBA players voted you as MVP.

    >	-pat

    Excellent point!
    
    >	p.s.  AND ALL YOU METALLICA PUFFHEADS GET OUTTA THE EJ NOTE!

    Odie,
    
    you crack me up, you always have....as you say....yuk, yuk! 8^)
    
    Steve
    

    > I can't help but think that you've never heard ANY Steve Morse album.
    
    Actually, I have heard one album that I bought and just don't
    particularly care for - I think its titled "Night of the Living Dregs".
    I know enough about SM to know that I'd like to hear more, and I have no
    trouble believing that he is a picker in every sense of the word. You
    might be right that by comparison, SM is ahead of EJ when it comes to
    versatility. But the same might be said of Roy Clark. Whether Steve,
    Roy, Satch, Stevey Vai, Stevie Ray ...ad infinitum nauseum, I simply
    like EJ, his tone, his style, and his work better than anyone else.
    Combine that with what I feel is his versatility, this guy is the top
    of the heap. JMVHO
    
    "sakman"

    And in the final analysis,. its all a matter of taste,.. and you
    already know there's no accounting for taste.
    
    							/Bill
    

    It's one thing to make absolute statements about two guitar players.
    
    You would not catch me saying "Morse is better" than EJ, or ANYONE.
    
    We were talking about "versatility". "Versatility" seems a less
    subjective comparison even if it's not "objective.
    
    And even so, I did not say "Morse is more versatile".  
    
    He said:
    
    	I can't think of any other guitar player who has the versatility
    	that Eric showed in the Ah Musica Viacom.
    
    My statement was essentially that "I could think of a player who
    has that versatility" and that if you had heard any of Steve's albums,
    I'd expect that you'd agree.
    
    My answer was not that Morse was "more" versatile.  
    
    	db
    
    p.s. FWIW "Night of the Living Dregs" would be my last choice of ALL
    	 Morse's albums either to demonstrate his "versatility" or as a 
    	 representative sample of his playing.
    
    	 Almost any Dregs album since that might do fine however, and maybe
    	 even ANY solo album.  
    
    	 My recommendations: "Dregs of the Earth", "UnSung Heroes", "What
    	If".
    
    	 When you walk into a record store, you never know where to find
    	 the Morse albums.  I've seen them in rock bins, jazz bins, 
    	 country bins, instrumental bins, "Guitar" bins.
    
    	 That says a lot just by itself.

    RE: -1
    
    I think it's a given that Morse is one of your heroes.  Eric Johnson is
    one of mine.  
    
    Though I've only heard aa small amount of Morse's stuff (High Tension
    Wires, and a few other single cuts), I think he's one hell of a player.
    Not exactly my cup o' tea, but I give him his fair amount of credit.
    
    Sine EJ's one of my favorite players, yeah, I'm apt to think everything
    he does is gold.  So, by default, I think he's more versatile,
    creative, and probably a good dancer.  8^)  We all have our heroes, and
    once you get past technical ability (which both have mastered) it's
    impossible to judge 2 players against eachother.  That's where the
    "prefference factor" comes in, and I think that's where we should get
    out.  I smell rat breath.
    
    BTW - a tone bro of mine in Austin TX gave me some tapes of "Local
    Licks Live" CD's, which feature acts that have come to some local
    clubs.  EJ has a cut on there from 1990 - pretty good, no vocals.  And
    the recording quality on these CD is great !
    
    Jerry

    Well All,
    
    some of you guys KNOW my all time hero is Eric.....
    
    
    CLAPTON, that is!
    
    Steve (who replays in his head the live "Crossroads" solo to get rid of
    stress)  8^)

    re: 282 jerrywhite
    
>    Sine EJ's one of my favorite players, yeah, I'm apt to think everything
>    he does is gold.  So, by default, I think he's more versatile,
>    creative, and probably a good dancer.  
    
    I may be a Morse fanatic, but I don't think everything he does is
    gold and unlike you, I don't "by default" consider my heroes
    "more" anything than anyone else.
    
    "More creative" is a much more subjective claim than "more versatile".
    
    What can I say, I don't think it takes a Steve Morse fan to claim that
    Morse is at least "as versatile" as EJ which you've stated you think
    "by default" he is not.

    Let's all pi$$, shall we ?
    
    It's all a matter of opinion, bottom line.  There is *NO* way to prove
    which player has more of anything (unless of course you weigh them).
    
    I just happen to really REALLY like Eric Johnson's playing, cover to
    cover.  That *is* what this topic is about isn't it ... Eric Johnson ?
    
    Whether you admit your own defaults is your problem .... I admit mine,
    and no, I'm not in recovery.  8^)
    
    A line from VanHalen's "Unchained" comes to mind ....
    
    
    	"C'mon Dave, gimme a break ..."
    
    
    Jerry

    This has gone beyond ridiculous.
    
    You have not heard ME say "Morse is better".  All I've basically said
    was that if you can't think of anyone as versatile as EJ, perhaps
    you should listen more to a guy who dominated the  Guitar Player Magazine 
    "Best Overall" category, which is the category for versatility.
    
    I would consider that a fair indication that there are many other
    players around who think Morse's versatility is worthy of
    comparison to EJ's.  
    
    Whether or not I'm biased, my opinion is rather widely shared.
    ;-)
    

    OK, I guess if "Guitar Player" magazine rates your hero as Best
    Overall, how can I argue with that ?  
    
    We agree on one point though ... this *has* gone past ridiculous.
    
    Eric Johnson *is* my favorite player right now.  He is no better than
    *anyone* in any way shape or form.  I just happen to like the way he
    plays notes on the guitar.
    
    Jerry

    
    Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to GUITAR DOWNS PARK.
    This afternoon's program features a wide variety of talent, and a 
    special diversity trifector, featuring Steve Morse, Eric Johnson,
    and former champion, Steve Howe.
    
    And they're off.  Morse and Johnson leap out to a commanding lead. 
    Howe seems inebriated and falls back into the pack.  
    
    Going into the first turn, it's Johnson, followed by Morse, and, what's
    this?  A real dark horse in the diversity finals, Roy Clark, is right
    up with the front runners.  Ladies and gentlemen, he's also playing
    banjo and violin. But he's such a dark horse, and so old, no one can
    see him.
    
    Okay, they're in the back stretch now.  Front runners Morse and Johnson
    fight off mini-skirmishes from Vai, Satriani, and Vai.  The
    one-style-only ponies are bringing up the middle and crowd-pleasers
    Neil Young and Jerry Garcia bring up the rear, however Garcia is
    just walking!
    
    Morse still leads by a neck but Johnson is selling, er, setting more
    records.  Joe Walsh, the gum-chewing horse, is running the
    race backward.  Van Halen, the horse that eliminated the blonde mane
    several years ago, is now wearing grandpa glasses and has the word 
    F*** spray-painted on his side.  It appears that he is not a contender
    today, and he may resume stud duties and sire more German-named ponies
    from here on in.
    
    Tragedy, ladies and gentlemen!  SRV is down. Clapton holds steady and
    Cray fails to move SRV's vacant spot.  Beck could be a contender, but
    only runs this track three times a decade, and just twice in the 80's.
    Johnny Winter, another contender, has hurt his own chances by running
    around and around in a furious circle, but his jockey just cried "Let
    Me In" and he shows some signs of straightening out.
    
    They're entering the final turn...Morse and Johnson are running neck
    and neck.  Slash tries to break out of the pack but his mane is in
    his eyes and falls right back.  Howe shows some "turbulence" and moves
    forward.  Knopfler was in this race, but he's been set out to graze
    in the country with Chet Atkins.
    
    Ladies and gentlemen, people have been asking for Ted Nugent, but
    track authorities have forbid him to run in GUTIAR DOWNS races because
    of his tendency to kill the other horses and eat them.  People have
    also been asking for Y. Malmsteem, the horse no once can tell which
    end is the head, however he is busy running as fast as he can in
    the parking lot, while criticizing the horses in the park.
    
    And we're about to have a winner....ladies and gentlemen, the winner
    is...           

    That's great !  I needed that today.
    
    Jerry

    RE: .288
    
    Hilarious.
    
    RE: last few...
    
    I be happy to have half the chops of either Steve Morse OR Eric
    Johnson.
    
    RE: GP readers' poll as evidence for versatility...
    
    Weren't Liona Boyd and Y. Malmsteen #2 and #3 in the classical guitar
    category?  I wouldn't use GP's readers' poll as evidence to support
    any player's abilities.
    
    No offense intended to Ms. Boyd (she does have nice hair) or
    Mr. Malmsteen (he does play a lot of notes), but neither of them 
    qualify as the cream of the crop of classical guitarists.  And didn't
    EJ place in "best new talent" this year after winning it the last
    TWO years???
    
    Jim 

    Yo Brian-Meat! Good one partner!
    
    "sakman"  

    re .288
    
    	Give up the guitar dood,.. and start writing some comedy. That
    was great,.. relly funny . A great parody of the real world I might add.
    
    
    							/Bill
    

    RE: .288
    
    Excellent! I enjoyed that....8^)....so, THAT's how you put out a
    p*ssing contest!  ;^)
    
    Steve

    Sigh... let me remind people (once again) that *I* have not made any
    claims that Morse is "more versatile".  Others have made that claim
    about EJ.
    
    I may have been involved in a pissing contest, but I kept MY fly
    zipped.  ;-)

    
    
    
    Thats OK db,.. but now the front of your pants are all warm and wet,..
    and kind of smelly too....
    
    :-)
    
    						/Bill_who_would_be_happy
    						to_never_read_another_reply
    						_on_the_subject
    

>                -< Next time,. maybe you should unzip :-) :-) >-
    
>    Thats OK db,.. but now the front of your pants are all warm and wet,..
>    and kind of smelly too....
    
    The front, yes, but the inside is still dry.  ;-)

    I would never accept a magazine poll as proof of a player's
    versatility.  Some of the most talented guitarists I've ever heard
    never receive a single sentence of recognition in any of those mags.
    
    Besides, someone that plays an electric like Larry Carlton and an
    acoustic like Michael Hedges, has to be the most versatile ;-)
    
    Mike

FWIW I find Eric Johnson to be much more listenable than Morse but have major
criticisms of both.

Morse is just too country for me. Other than "High Tension Wires" I can't listen
to him. And that album is starting to cloy also. I recognize his technical 
ability. Technical ability does not make music.

Johnson is like cotton candy. tastes great but gets old before too long. Since
I cut my heavy guitar teeth on Electric Ladyland when it first came out I find
his constant regurgitation of Hendrix licks verbatim to be distracting after
a while. He really drew heavily from Ladyland for Ah Vai Musicom, if Hendrix
was still alive it would be interesting to see if he'd sue or just accept the
homage. EJ still needs to prove he's in the game for real, two albums in roughly 
10 years is not exactly high on the creativity scale.

Guitar player polls are just so much nonesense. As I recally prior to Steve
Morse they were dominated by another technical giant, Steve Howe, prior to 
that Eric Claption was it off and on, intermixed with long standing giants
like the guy from Mahogany Rush and other non-entities. (this stuff fades in
the mists of my imperfect memory) Guitar player or any other music comix poll 
has as much relevance as a cub scout election. Neither has anything to do with 
music.

dbii

    re: dbII  "finding EJ in the cutout bins in 2 years"
    
    I got my copy of "Tones" from a cutout bin last year...  Four smackers!
    
    re: Versatility
    
    Is versatility such a great thing?  The most versatile players that I
    can think of don't seem to develop a tangible style of their own.  Look
    at the studio people, like Steve Lukather (sp).  I like his playing and
    all, but he doesn't have an identifiable style of his own to my ear. 
    
    I'd venture to say that most of my favorite guitar players are about
    zippo on the versatility scale.  Look at people like Jeff Beck, SRV,
    (some would say) Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, and people like that.  They
    play what they play and it always sounds like *them*.  Even though some
    can play in different styles (to some degree), they always have that
    personal sound of their own.
    
    gh

    Good point Greg.  I'd classify EJ as more "poppish" due to the fact
    that he's playing a little of something for almost everyone.  Vai's
    work is truly for a select few.
    
    BTW, if you find another copy of "Tones" for $4, grab it for me.
    
    
    Jerry

I tend to see a path after reading Gregs comments in .28.

I recall seeing Blues Saraceno with Greg, and the one thing that
I remember him saying  is to develop your style.  I think style is 
more important than versatility...  FWIW - I could hear Jerry White
play his guitar and know instantly who it was...  Because he's got 
a style of his own.

Is this worthy of discussion in this topic also ?? 
jc

    Jack of all trades, master of none
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
           Beck is *my* favorite player, but no one player covers all
      the bases well enough.
    
             Gonzo

    Speaking of versatility, I heard two songs on the radio this morning. 
    Consider:
    
    Crossroads
    Tears in Heaven
    
    As we used to say in the military  "dddhhhhhhhhaayyyaamm!!!  'innashit chu
    talkin bout?!
    
    "sakman"

Gotta put a vote in on this topic for my hero........

......Joe Walsh

I loved him in the James Gang (got most of their lps)

He blew PT off the stage when they supported the WHO

Hotel California has got to be up there with the best solo's

He has done so much session work (and his diary is probably full)

You want a versatile/tasteful/bluesy/funky/humorous/original player ??

.....look no further !!

Dave Litten

    re: -1
    
    I second that....
    
    Steve

    RE:- 
    I 3rd that...now if he would just take the cloths pin off his nose and
    learn how to sing. Sorry, was never to crazy about his vocals, but his
    slide guitar makes up for it.
    
    Dave' 
    

    Got any gum?

    Re .28
    	the guy from Mahogany Rush is Frank Marino. He was doing twohanded
    tapping 10 years before EVH hit the scene. He's from Montreal but I
    don't think you'll see another US tour for quite a while, seems he got
    busted about 4 years ago in the US with a substantial quantity of a
    controller substance. He cleaned up since then and went back to
    building dragsters and the occasional album and tour.
    
    						FJE

    Did Frank Marino actually do tapping on a record that came out 10 years
    before Van Halen or did you just read him claim that in a mag.
    
    I read an/one interview with him and his obnoxiousness was rivaled
    only by Yngwie J. Malmsteen.
    
    In it, he basically claimed to have invented anything and everything
    anyone else ever became popular for.
    
    My recollection of him was that he was an undistinguished guitarist who
    seemed to make his name mostly on playing undistinguished Hendrix
    covers.

     Frank Marino...Hmmmmm...isn't that the guy that (according to RnR
    Legend) went into a coma , with no previous musical ability, and
    somehow became a medium for the spirit of Jimi Hendrix to play guitar
     when he came out of it ( the coma) ? Then went on to play really 
     bad covers of Hendrix songs ?  With Mahogany Rush..Thats the guy !

    Coma???... I seem to recall hearing that his abilities were the 
    result of LSD. (If this works, then how come there aren't a whole
    legion of bad-*ssed-mind-bending-watch-melting-guitar-gods crusading
    for world peace, etc...?!!). 
    I'll have to agree with .39  ..-< One of the best.....*NOT*!!!>-
    
    Scotty

    Urban legends...gotta love em.
    
    
    Buck, who also heard the coma story

    I was in a coma once and when I came out of it I was channeling the
    spirit of Dennis Dunaway .  Every time I take a solo, I get this wild
    urge to break into "Return of the Spiders".
    
    						Brian

    re .42
    
    	somebody check that man's coffee :-) :-)
    
    						/Bill
    

    I didn't think Frank Marino was so bad.  I mean, as a guitar player he
    wasn't anything terribly special (IMO), but he had some cool music with
    Mahogany Rush.  I seem to remember something that sounded like tapping
    from the MR Live album, which as I recall came out about '77.  Not that
    it really matters, there were people tapping back in the 50's.
    
    Greg

    I thought "tapping" was a classical technique, which would REALLY throw
    some years on it.
    
    I like the MR live album too ...
    
    
    Jerry

    re Frank Marino
    
    	1. Get copies of Power of Rock and Roll and Jugernaut
    
    
    	2. Listen!!! (better flame proof the ears though)
    
    If you think he burns on those, live is something else!!

    You know I used to play exactly like Hendrix.....then I went into a
    coma........now I dont play like Hendrix anymore.......8^)
    
    Speaking of urban myths did you ever hear the one about the couple
    who's car broke down.  The husband walks of to get help(they were in
    the middle of nowhere) and later the wife hears banging on the roof
    and it is an escaped lunatic who had decapitated the husband.
    	I must have heard 50 versions of that one.
    
    P.K.

     A bit off the subject but.....
    
     Or the one about a Corvette that someone committed suicide in and
     they couldn't get the smell of death out of it, so it was put up
     for sale for $50 and no one has bought it yet......B*)
    
     Urban Legends...gotta' love 'em ! Would you believe that there are
     no notes in all notesland on this topic (at least that I could find)

        ...    
>     Urban Legends...gotta' love 'em ! Would you believe that there are
>     no notes in all notesland on this topic (at least that I could find)

        Check out  alt.folklore.urban  for  all  the  urban legends you
        could ever want.
        
        Andy