Could The Edge be one of the 5 greatest guitarists of all time?

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Oh I also think it's worth mentioning that Edge can play 30 minute solos...but he simply chooses not to. :up:

seriously though....I haven't heard one Van Halen solo that grabs me...it's just a bunch of fast, meaningless, random fucking notes that don't do shit for the listener, and many other guitarists fall into this category, not just Van Halen....Edge is definitely in my top 5. He's a genius, and as someone said, every note counts...brilliant melody after brilliant melody...:applaud:
 
The John Tree said:
Though, I do have to admit, and this will most likely make you completely disregard any opinion I have, but I've never been a huge Pink Floyd fan. I like some of their stuff okay, but as a whole, I never really got into the band. Not my style.

.
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same here. on an objective list (though how objective can you be with guitar, unless you judge by something purely objective like number of notes per second or albums sold?) Gilmour would certainly place but he's not on mine because I simply don't like Floyd that much, while Edge would definitely place on mine because U2 is my favourite band and the solo to New Year's Day is the most perfect fucking thing I've ever heard

my top 5 would be
1. The Edge
2. Thomas Erak (The Fall of Troy)
3. Jimi Hendrix
4. Dave Knudson (Minus the Bear, Botch)
5. Tom Morello

probably Hendrix is the only one that would make most "objective" top 5. I like each guitarist for different reasons. They've all mastered the guitar in a completely different way and influenced the way I play.
 
Rob33 said:
Oh I also think it's worth mentioning that Edge can play 30 minute solos...but he simply chooses not to. :up:
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Zootlesque said:
Oh really? You know this how? lol.
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Yeh, I think its worth mentioning that anyone could doodle around on a guitar for 30 mins and claim it as a solo - the reality is that bearly anyone actually gets away with it; even Jimmy Page never went on for that long.

The thing is, non-U2 fans who are guitarists and are into the more typical 'guitar hero' thing that features on that list; are generally astounded by how highly The Edge is held in hysteria. But, my view is that he transformed a not entirely new sound, into one that worked for him and U2 and the stadiums that subsequently went on to hear it; and continued to expand that sound into all the different genres that U2 as a band explored.
 
MikeyJB said:
The thing is, non-U2 fans who are guitarists and are into the more typical 'guitar hero' thing that features on that list; are generally astounded by how highly The Edge is held in hysteria. But, my view is that he transformed a not entirely new sound, into one that worked for him and U2 and the stadiums that subsequently went on to hear it; and continued to expand that sound into all the different genres that U2 as a band explored.
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:up:

Absolutely. And I'm a fan of rocking-the-fuck-out-technically-amazing guitarists (ever listen to the mathcore genre? That's some crazy shit), but The Edge is still my #1. And he is DEFINITELY influential. Was he influenced first by other guitarists? Of course. That's how it goes. But he has since influenced many other guitarists.
 
Screwtape2 said:
In my opinion, no. Edge is not in the same league as these guys.

Best Guitarists:
1. Todd Rundgren
2. Steve Hackett
3. David Gilmour
4. John McLaughlin
5. Pete Townsend
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Oh dear....someone that doesn't have Jimi Hendrix as the greatest guitarist that ever walked this planet surely has no idea about what makes a great guitarist. If you asked all these guitarists in this list they would say Hendrix was from a different planet. If there ever was such a thing as god then Jimi hendrix was it!

As for The Edge, for innovation and creating his own sound and style then you would have to say he was a top 20. His solos, though, have been disapointing. Especially HTDAAB era where his solos in Vertigo, Crumbs, ABOY lack any idea of imagination. The Edge has never reached the peaks he did on Achtung Baby, (The Fly, EBTTRT, UTEOTW etc. Whether he ever can remains to be seen.
 
rjhbonovox said:
Oh dear....someone that doesn't have Jimi Hendrix as the greatest guitarist that ever walked this planet surely has no idea about what makes a great guitarist. If you asked all these guitarists in this list they would say Hendrix was from a different planet. If there ever was such a thing as god then Jimi hendrix was it!
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:lol: If you listen to the top four guys you'd see they run circles around Jimi Hendrix.
 
Screwtape2 said:
:lol: If you listen to the top four guys you'd see they run circles around Jimi Hendrix.
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I disagree, and I've seen Todd Rundgren live. That's why it's subjective. You can't really have a "Greatest Guitarist" list without some specific criteria, as Headache said. It's just a "Favourite Guitarist" list otherwise. I suppose one method (though still subjective, at least it would represent the opinions of many) would be to take a poll of many people's top guitarists and average the results of that...B&C project anyone? :wink:
 
There is only one guitarist that comes top in all "guitarist" polls and that is Hendrix. Can anyone say there has been a more influential guitarist, no not only guitarist but musician, in the history of popular music. The guy litterally re-invented the bloody instrument. Not only that but he was a fantastic song writer as well. Check Voodoo Chile (slight return) from Electric Ladyland and you need not hear any other guitar songs for the rest of your life as this is probably the finest example of guitar playing that was ever recorded. The sound of it is mind blowing! He also was the first to use a wah wah effects pedal and feedback and distortion.
 
Screwtape2 said:
Todd Rundgren, Steve Hackett and David Gilmour's solo's serve the song and are gorgeous. John McLaughlin songs are essentially just a long solo. These guys serve the song with their solo's while Edge's while great don't always feel like the natural progression of the song. Do yourself a favor and listen to Mahavishnu Orchestra's Birds of Fire and Inner Mounting Flame. Listen to Selling England By The Pound. Listen to Dark Side of The Moon and Animals. Then listen to Todd Rundgren's Treatise On Cosmic Fire of Iniation and these songs by Utopia: Utopia Theme, Communion With The Sun, Singring and Hiroshima. You hear what it really means for a guitar to sing. None of Edge's solo's can compare to that.
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Yes, i have heard lots of Pink Floyd including above mentioned Dark side of the moon. But i cannot really make me like Pink Floyd.

U2's WOWY, Bad, Love is Blindness, Please, One, All I Want Is You, Deep in the Heart, Heartland, Acrobat etc. are far far more heart-renching and meaningful to me.
 
These arguments can be so pointless sometimes because it's all subjective.

But you know who's a really good guitarist but never gets the accolades? Nick Drake. Go and listen to his three albums; there is some really complex, intricate guitar playing going on there.
 
Agreed, these types of topics are too subjective.

Music is not like sports, there's no winner. If I said The Edge is the best guitar player ever, then no one could ever tell me I'm wrong, because music is purely about how you feel. And if I feel one way and someone else feels another, then we are both right.

This is why I like rap music: there's a winner. It's competitive. Rappers make music about being the best and about why everyone else is not. Hip hop battles have winners, more often than not.
 
The John Tree said:
Music is not like sports, there's no winner.
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That's what I said on the first page :) This is all so subjective and these threads become "I'm right and you're wrong" threads.

I've listened to most youtube clips in this thread, learned a lot of it :) but most of them don't work for me, while they contain "the best solo in the world" for others. Kinda reminds me of Tenacious D's "Best song in the world" ;)
 
Again, even at the risk of sounding like a broken record, let me reiterate.

It is unfair to say someone is better than Edge because he plays faster fingers, or Edge is better because he creates moods and atmospheres better.

Edge's playing fits the U2 context, which doesn't have heavy reliance on acrobatic fingering. On the other hand, some other guitarists belong to lousy bands who don't have an imposing charismatic lead singer and a tight rhythm section. So the only way they can "save" their music is by being acrobatic and showboating so that the attention will go straight to the guitars and the less than perfect elements of the band will be drowned.

If you would put Hendrix or Gilmour or those other names to U2, they would never play wildly. They would be so immerse in Bono's presence, and the rhythm section's tightness, that they would deem it unnecessary to go into long winding solos or guitar wailing techniques.

Again, the only way to compare then would be to bring the dead guitarists back from the grave, line them all up, and then have some sort of competition. We can start with basic chords, on who plays them with the best balance and time of the five or six strings. Then we can move on the plucking, then scaling, until the entire gamut is covered. Then let the panel of judges decide.

That is the only fair way to compare guitarists. The only certainty is that The Edge is U2's best guitarist of all-time.
 
the magic of the edge's music are on the atmosphare of the song (aka guitar effects), he is one of the greatest? to me yes, because he is a genius, he make the perfect rock n' roll music, use great solo when have to use, and qhen don't need, he just play the 3 chords and the true, a lotta of guitarrists "virtuosos" don't have your own sound, slash sound like paige, but i never see one guitar player that sound like the edge, to me top 5.

Hendrix
Page
The Edge
Slash
Kirk H
 
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