Hendrix was asked the question by Guitar Player magazine who was the best guitar player. He said Phil Keaggy.
I believe ha also said the Billy Gibbons was his ‘favorite to listen to’, at some point.
Both were incredibly good at manipulating feedback. Gibbons prob even more effectively. Which might have been at the root of Hendrix’s appreciation of his playing.
Artfully & sonically ‘controlling’ feedback is like bull-riding.
Gibbons is/was so good at it, he can stay on one ‘note’ at hit like 4 different harmonics with it, in like a 10 second bull-ride. Crazy technique.
I never felt Hendrix was that good. Don't understand the folowing. Always seemed sloppy to me.
I understand that. And like someone mentioned earlier, it had a lot to do with the sound-tech at the time. What he was doing was ground-breaking. And if you start getting into Music Theory, it was pushing savant/genius for a mere “Rock N Roll electric guitar player”. I have some history as a concert cellist. That doesn’t make me an expert on music theory, nor my opinion more qualified than anyone else’s, or what pleases one’s ears. But Hendrix was doing things musically that were above and beyond, in his genre. Or anyone else’s for that matter. Incredibly gifted.
When Hendrix was really pushing it and on his A-game, he’d be losing half the audience. You can see it in the crowd In the clip Bin posted - guy plugging his ears, folks sitting there with sour faces staring. Not uncommon. Some small margin of them were literally dumbstruck. But the larger amount didn’t like it. Then there were the few that just grooved like hell! Hahahaha. I love all that old footage. It’s amazing. Live at Monterey was a great one. You have his peers of the time in the audience doing the same thing - staring, jaws dropped. Sure, they were all kinds of fuggged up on drugs, but they were hearing a New Sound, to be sure. And we’re getting their little minds blown. Lol
Don't do all that internet posting stuff. Google Phil Keaggy. Should be lots out there. Most real players are very familiar with him from the late 70's and 80's. He went the Christian music route and and faded from the national spotlight. I saw him him concert once with just him and a acoustic and electric guitar in a small venue I believe in Siloam Springs, AR. He flat out blew me away. Interestingly, there were some real good local players from the Tulsa area, KC, etc. We were just mesmerized. As far as I know he's still alive and playing.
I saw the Winters Brothers play together on stage in Germany at a concert with the Stones, Little Feat, George Benson, and a few others. The Winters were kind of frenetic on stage and a little crazy looking, but their guitar playing that day was equal to anyone . George Benson wasn't half bad on a guitar either...
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