The Edge's standing among guitarists

[AchtungJedi]

How does The Edge rank among all guitarists (both in your opinion and the general perception people have)? Watching him in Rattle and Hum is like watching a genius, and that was all the way back in 1987. He's learned a lot since then, and I would have to think he's one of the best guitarists alive.

Thoughts?

 

[JOFO]

hmm.

speaking as a conservatory trained musician:

edge, as a guitarist, doesn't know:
1. how to read music
2. all scales/modes
3. all chords, including melodic minor scales harmony
4. any sort of "repotoire" in the classical or jazz sense
5. really any repotoire from the rock classics (in other words, can't play zeppelin or hendrix licks)

however:
1. he's the most influential guitarist in pop/rock in the last 20 years
2. has the most distinctive guitar sound in the last 20 years
3. never plays extra notes; always leaves you wanting more
4. plays a key role in one of the most important rock bands in the last 20 years
5. always strives for something new and special

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

A lot of musicians actually can't read music.

I think Edge is a very underrated guitarist. He's not recognized very often because he usually doesn't have any long guitar solos-like that matters, he's excellent anyway. Definitely one of the best guitarists out there.

Angela

 

[bonoman]

As, say gutairist over the past 40 yrs nowhere in the top 25. He's not somebody who will be remembered!

 

[Dorian Gray]

hmm.

speaking as a conservatory trained musician:

edge, as a guitarist, doesn't know:
1. how to read music
2. all scales/modes
3. all chords, including melodic minor scales harmony
4. any sort of "repotoire" in the classical or jazz sense
5. really any repotoire from the rock classics (in other words, can't play zeppelin or hendrix licks)

I don't know about all of this... I'm pretty sure he can read music. He did, afterall, arrange the strings for THTBA. That says something.
And didn't they cover Whole Lotta Love once on Popmart?

As for the rest, you're probably right....
but we don't really know do we?

 

[shaun vox]

BUCKET HEAD from guns and roses blows edge out of the water , SLASH is also one of the best . i think edge does not try like these other guys do. he leaves more room for bono and its not hard on edge to make up solos and cords. edge is a simple guitarist. EDGE better get his act together.

 

[JimmyChicken]

I think I once read Edge was the 13th greatest guitarist of all time. I did write this in another Edge thread, but nobody commented on it so I'm still not sure if that's accurate.

Does any body know for sure?

 

[AchtungJedi]

EDGE better get his act together.

I don't know about you, but his act seems to be quite together, and has been for some time now, I'd say. I don't know how you can call him simple after Achtung Baby and Pop, which was not simple in my mind.

 

[JOFO]

I don't know about all of this... I'm pretty sure he can read music. He did, afterall, arrange the strings for THTBA. That says something.
And didn't they cover Whole Lotta Love once on Popmart?

As for the rest, you're probably right....
but we don't really know do we?

arranging strings does not necessarily mean you know how to read music.
if there are real strings on there, as opposed to strings played by edge on synthesizer, they could be reading notes that edge originally played and had a computer program print out.
I'm pretty sure he doesn't read.

 

[Bonochick]

EDGE better get his act together.

Yeah...if he doesn't, U2 will NEVER hit it big!

 

[Zoomerang96]

i agree about the distinction of his sound, jofo.

shaun vox, saying buckethead is better than the edge is one of the most ignorant things ive ever come from you.

 

[Schmeg]

I have also read somewhere that he's the 13th greatest of all time.

Other than that, I know one thing: He hypnotizes me. He pulls me into the music in a way only Pink Floyd can match. I don't care if he's the worst guitarist of all time; I LOVE to listen to him. I have listened to Love Is Blindness and Bullet the Blue Sky over and over and over again just to be pulled into the music. He makes you feel every note he playes, whether or not it was really difficult to come up with that sound. Difficulty aside, it was the sound he WANTED to make, that he worked hard at making, and every note is deliberate and premeditaed. If he DOES ever pull it together, I think he would blow everyone else out of the water.

And Bucket Head is the funniest name I have ever heard. At least The Edge has a better name, if Bucket Head must be a better player.

 

[Dorian Gray]

arranging strings does not necessarily mean you know how to read music.
if there are real strings on there, as opposed to strings played by edge on synthesizer, they could be reading notes that edge originally played and had a computer program print out.
I'm pretty sure he doesn't read.

Hmm maybe you are right. I had thought I'd read something to the effect that he did though. Although that may have been in reference to piano music.

 

[david]

You're not unique if you can play and sound like everyone else. So I am glad Edge can't, and doesn't try to.

You're unique if you create your own style, which Edge has done.

 

[flaming june]

Yeah...if he doesn't, U2 will NEVER hit it big!

My thoughts exactly!

I wonder why so many guitarists try to imitate him if he's so deficient as some people seem to think... He's always perfect, never too much or too little.

 

[AquariumDrinker]

Edge doesn't play the fastest or the loudest and that's what's great. There are no solos for the sake of having a solo. Everything Edge does is to serve the song.

I'll take a great song over a great guitar part any day.

 

[PopFly]

Well, if I was putting together my all-time band, Edge would definitely be my rhythm guitarist. I'd have to go with Jimmy Page to play lead, however.

 

[madonna's child]

Edge isn't a stand out guitarist the way people like Slash, Hendrix, or Clapton are. Edge plays with the rest of the band. U2 is a collective unit, each one of them contributes to the song.

 

[shaun vox]

all right bucket head is not better than edge. edge is actually very good but the think is he can do so much more but its like something is holding him back.
im watching EXIT from the rattleandhum dvd and now that rocks.
oh by the way i play guitar to.

 

[Lemonator]

I can play almost every U2 song on guitar, and I can say that Edge is one of the greatest. Most U2 songs are simple, yet to be able to think that up is genius. Also other things he does is very smart and innovative. For example, there is something unique about his guitar picks and the way he uses them. That gives him his signature sound. Plus for most parts of songs, he's not really playing lead or rythem, which is cool. I feel he is one of the best, if not the best.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Edge is the Tom Hanks of the guitar world. He's brilliant in his averageness. He doesn't blow you away with his outlandish solo's, his speed, or anything like that. But he's consistantly great, instantly recognizeable, and fits into his role like a glove. I don't think you could ask for much more. Hanks couldn't play Michael Corleone or Lt. Col. Frank Slade (Scent of a Woman), but Pacino in turn is too flaboyant to have played Forrest Gump or Andrew Becket (Philadelphia). That's my analogy of the week.

Thus... to make a long story short. Edge is great, Slash is great, Buckethead is great... they're all great, in different ways. Could ya really see Edge on November Rain? Or Slash's soaring, over the top solo's smack in the middle of One? Yeah, both could do it... but it just wouldn't sound right.

And there's no point in arguing any of this anyway... they're all second rate after Hendrix.

You can't hear Jimi.

 

[V Nura]

I think it's unfair to compare edge to the run of the mill guitarist, because in truth I don't think edge is a guitarist.


Edge doesn't play guitar he creates a mood, a canvas for the band to work on. it's not really fair to compare to far more technical players like slash and KFC head.

 

[U2Kitten]

The Edge standing among guitarists

 

[Sweet Tart]

edge's style allows the song itself to shine through because of it's simplicity. i think he is a great guitarist. we will probably never truly hear the extent of his ability to play cause he's not the type of guitarist to be soloing in every song. all of them complement each other so well as musicians that the music they make is extraordinary even if them as individual members are not.

 

[Kristie]

my pappy always said, no good guitar player can read music

course my mom says Edge isn't a real guitar player cos he doesn't sound like Clapton or SRV. Silly mom. You can't compare Edge to traditional guitar gods... it's like comparing Celine Dion to Pelle Almqvist, or the Simpsons to Law and Order.

I can't believe I just said "pappy"

 

[dizzy]

or the Simpsons to Law and Order.

 

[popkidu2]

Edge is the Tom Hanks of the guitar world.

lol! thats one of the funniest things ive seen on this board in a long time.

hehehe

good analogy.

I think what makes Edge great, but also underrated is his flexibility in the way he approaches the guitar. His use of effects, minimalistic style, and incorporation of rhythm and lead at the same time all create a unique style. sure, you can play a lot of his stuff, but can you really *sound* like the Edge? its harder than it looks.

the only time i think he's put in a solo for the sake of a solo is in Walk On....I've never been a big fan of that solo.

and i think that he actually has the ability to play a lot more than he shows. it just doesn't really fit into the U2 sound. look at his BTBS solo live...i think that solo ranks up there in terms of guitarists.

Edge understands how to convey a mood, to fit his playing to Larry and Adam. He doesn't overpower them, or Bono's singing. Too many times guitarists try and create these overpowering licks and solo's that actually detract from the song. And he doesn't have the need to fill his ego by being the star of the show, which makes his playing all the more genuine.

A lot of U2 detractors slagg off the band for the apparent lack of talent, often pointing to the Edge as a prime example. I think too many times people look to how fast or technical a guitarist is as proof of how good he is. I see these bands with guitarists who play these abnoxious licks running their fingers up and down the fretboard holding their guitar like it's an extension of their d**k. Makes me wanna puke. Anyone who puts in a few hours of practice can learn to play scales as fast as they want. And as far as simplicity, look at the blues. You can't get more simplistic than that. It's such a basic structure and concept.

I really don't care if people don't think Edge is a great guitarist. I'll take him anyday over anyone else.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

I think Bono put it pretty nicely on Larry King... they never were, never have been, and never claimed to be the most talented musicians on the face of the planet. They just had "it," whatever that is. U2's great because the sum of it's parts is greater than any one of them individualy. It's that "magic of four guys sitting in a room" that makes them what they are, simply one of the greatest rock bands of all time. So all those detractors out there who hate U2 because Edge doesn't go off n Hendrix-ian solos, no names mentioned, :cough: henry rollins :cough: can go wank themselves!

 

[bonosloveslave]

Edge is the Tom Hanks of the guitar world. He's brilliant in his averageness. He doesn't blow you away with his outlandish solo's, his speed, or anything like that. But he's consistantly great, instantly recognizeable, and fits into his role like a glove. I don't think you could ask for much more. Hanks couldn't play Michael Corleone or Lt. Col. Frank Slade (Scent of a Woman), but Pacino in turn is too flaboyant to have played Forrest Gump or Andrew Becket (Philadelphia). That's my analogy of the week.

Great way to put it, and I mean that respectfully

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Why thank'ya loveslave