What TEN SONGS define your playing style?

[DeanS]

Thin Lizzy- Don't believe a word

Rush- Farewell to Kings

UFO- Lights out

King Crimson- Elephant talk

Steve Hillage- Light in the sky

Black Sabbath- Into the void

Van Halen- Eruption

Queen- Death on two legs

Jimi Hendrix- Purple haze

Deep Purple- Highway Star

[gwEm]

thats a nice selection deanS

[DeanS]

 8)

[Philly Q]

This is really difficult, so I'll go with what pops into my head.  Basically I like:
(a) players who express their personality in their playing;
(b) fat, singing tones and gnarly, piercing tones;
(c) melodic solos that you can sing, even if (like me) you can't play 'em


Roy Buchanan - Roy's Bluz
Robin Trower - Daydream
MSG - Into the Arena
ZZ Top - Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers
Santana - Open Invitation
Dokken - Unchain the Night
Mountain - Nantucket Sleighride
Deep Purple - Smoke on the Water
Y&T - Forever
Scorpions - Drifting Sun
Def Leppard - Lady Strange
Molly Hatchet - Boogie No More

(OK, I know that's 11)

[AndyR]

Extremely tough question, I've been putting off answering it  :lol:

I wouldn't say they all define my style (eg I can't play like Blackmore in Highway Star, it's more an attitude thing), though most do in some way, but they were ALL highly influential in some way... And bear in mind I was a guitar-toting singer/frontman, so these choices aren't all to do with guitar playing alone.

In no particular order:

Shinkicker - Rory Gallagher (live version on Stagestruck)
Highway Star - Deep Purple (live version on Made in Japan)
Cheap Sunglasses - ZZ Top
Testify - SRV
Stone Free - Jimi Hendrix (both the B-side and the live version on "Concerts")
To Love Somebody - The Bee Gees
It’s Late - Queen
Sultans of Swing - Dire Straits
Jeepster - T-Rex
How Does it Feel - Slade

Even if you'd given me 20, I'd still have had trouble eg, where's Led Zeppelin, Creedence, Lynnyrd Skynnyrd, Wishbone Ash, the rest of the 60s/early 70s Bee Gees catalogue (they were my biggest early influence), the Beatles, AC/DC, Motorhead, Glen Campbell, Johnny Cash, Abba, Elvis, The Hollies, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Elkie Brooks, Cliff and the Shadows, ELO, Rolling Stones, Faces, Small Faces, etc, etc, etc...

[horsehead]

As with Andy, this is an extremely tough question & made me sit down & think (and it hurt!), but the following results were picked from my brain via a pensive.


Richie Sambora/Bon Jovi - Wanted Dead or Alive - now this really did make me want to play, the slight bluesy-ness to the playing made my jaw drop

Audley Freed/Cry Of Love - Bad Thing - this was the nearest to raw rock that there was since Free in my opinon

Marc Ford/Rich Robinson/The Black Crowes - Thorn In My Pride (any live version from '95-'96) - Yes I know I'm kinda cheating here, but this is when I started realising how close blues & country was. Beautiful interplay that from 2 guitarists at the height of their playing

Paul Kossoff/Free - Mr. Big - I remember I'd heard All right now & thought it was brilliant, but then I'd heard this song when someone lent me the Fire & Water & was blown away but how little he plays but that every note counts.

Ronnie Wood/The Faces - Stay With Me - rocking out never sounded so much fun!

Matt Schofield - Guitarist DVD - Now this is a strange one I know, ut I sat not knowing what to expect and came away blown away. This showed me that you can use the volume control for more than turning the sound on or off. Jazz licks can be played with blues & that they can sound amazing when done right

John Mayer - Gravity - Eric Clapton once said that he wanted to make an audience cry by playing 1 note, John Mayer nearly did with this song

Jimi Hendrix - Axis: Bold As Love - This is what guitar is all about

Bruce Springsteen - Jungleland - it may not be very guitar heavy, but what is there is perfectly placed & the whole thing of a song that builds up has never been done better

Rory Gallagher - My Hometown - I love rory, but this is an under-rated classic. Acoustic guitar can be amazing as well

Thank you & good night

----------------
Now playing: Mayer, John (2) - Why Georgia
via FoxyTunes

[PhilKing]

Being really old makes it harder - there are so many great songs that I have heard, just picking out 10 is tough! I'm going to try to stick with one per artist too. They are also not really in any order, but I've ended up with 14, because, as you can probably tell from my guitars, I always have problems picking just one!!

1) Jimi Hendrix - Little Wing - this one has always been one of my favourite songs, I remember when I first heard it, Purple Haze, Voodoo Chile and All Along the watchtower all come to mind too, but this is the one that I thought was the best
2) Free - The Hunter - Once again a hard choice to pick just one song - Fire & Water, Mr Big, Heartbreaker, Woman, Free Me.... I saw the band about 10 times but the hunter was always a great song live.
3) Wishbone Ash - Throw Down the Sword - So many Wishbone Ash songs too, Vallediction, Warrior, Phoenix.  I do prefer the Andy Powell/Ted Turner lineup though.  Great twin lead guitars.
4) Thin Lizzy - Still In Love With You the Gary Moore version is also great.  Think Lizzy have a ton of things from Shades of a Blue Orpahage through to Don't Believe a Word - but this always gets me with the tone and phrasing
5) Cream - Tales of Brave Ulysses - best use of a Wah Wah - I was really pleased when they added it at the shows in New York - it was missing from the Albert Hall shows.
6) Peter Green - The Supernatural - another guitarist who has a ton of songs I could have picked - Oh Well, Green Manilishi, Black Magic Woman, Rattlesnake Shake, Man of the World, Need Your Love so Bad.  The list just goes on.
7) King Crimson - Court of the Crimson King Robert Fripp is an amazing guitarist, some of the later stuff is also incredible, Night Watch, Red, Starless & Bible Black, also Lizard, 21st Century Schizoid Man
8 ) Black Sabbath - Sleeping Village/Warning I always liked this over the other early Sabbath stuff, though again there are many things Tony Iommi did that are excellent
9) Jethro Tull - Aqualung I love Martin Barre's playing on this, but Ian Aderson does some great acoustic playing too, lots of songs I like by them.  I also love some of Tull's earlier stuff with Mick Abrahams on guitar.
10) Camel - Never Let Go Andy Latimer is a great guitarist but got lost when the Snow Goose and all the other orchestrated things that Camel did became more famous.
11) Uriah Heep - Salisbury This one is great - especially when you hear Mick Box click the Wah on in the solo!  This is another band with a lot of songs I like.
12) Robin Trower - Bridge of Sighs - I never thought of him as the poor man's Jimi Hendrix!  I live a lot of his stuff, and when I saw him again at BB King's in 2006, I have to say his playing was brilliant.
13) Rory Gallagher - Calling Card - Tough to pick a Rory track - but this one from the BBC Sessions sums up his great playing (it was a close call with Tattooed Lady from Irish Tour)
14) John McCurry - The Choice (from the John Waite album - Mask of Smiles) - I always loved the tone on this even though it is a very 80's processed sound.

This list means I've missed out some great players like David Gilmour, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Page, Buddy Whittington, Chris Duarte, Steve Hackett, Peter Frampton, Steve Marriott, Mike Patto, Bill Nelson, Billy Gibbons.... the list goes on.  However I've tried to pick things that were early influences on me, or changed the way I looked at the guitar.

[Simon D]

I've been thinking about this for days, and it's damn hard! I'll give it a go though - it's too much of challenge not to take up!

1. Motorcycle Driver - Joe Satriani. Not a track that's influenced my playing style all that much, but it has to be number one because it was hearing this piece of music that inspired me to pick up a guitar in the first place.

2. Liberty - Steve Vai. The first melody for solo guitar I ever learned. Didn't learn beyond the main melody until many, many years later though!

3. Still Got the Blues (album) -  Gary Moore. Hard to pick an individual track, but Gary Moore's blues playing was huge influence on my lead playing in my very early days, after I got very despondent when I found I couldn't play like Satriani and Vai in six months.

4. Sweet Child o Mine - Guns 'n' Roses. Taught me a solo doesn't have to be 1000 notes played at warp speed to be good, which was a useful lesson for a shred-obsessed 14-year-old.

5. Knockin on Heaven's Door - Guns 'n' Roses. Hearing this made me realise that, after playing for a year-and-a-half, I couldn't play rhythm. I knew almost no chords, and couldn't keep time. I set about learning this, and it was the best introduction to rhythm guitar you could have.

6. Warrior -  Wishbone Ash. Andy Powell's solo work on this track was one of the first to make me think outside the pentatonic box, and also my first introduction to twin lead guitars.

7.  Fear of the Dark -  Iron Maiden. My introduction to galloping rhythm guitar, and I loved it. Oh, and more twin lead!

8. All Right Now -  Free. The solo in particular. It inspired me to develop my vibrato technique, which has become a huge part of my playing, and the aspect I get complemented on most frequently. Had it not been for this solo making me think 'I want to be able to do that', I might not have bothered.

8. Crying -  Joe Satriani. The first Satch track I learned to play all the way through, and it had a huge impact on the way I think about phrasing and string bending, and taught me a lot of control in bending strings.

9. Return to Serenity -  Testament. A masterclass in how to structure a solo. Don't get me wrong, I can't even get close to being able to play it, but it gave me something else to aspire to. Great rhythm guitar work too.

10. Paranoid - Black Sabbath. Made me learn how to palm-mute!

There a loads more players/bands I'm inspired by/try to steal stuff from, such as Joe Bonamassa, Mark Tremonti, Jerry Cantrell, Opeth, Eric Johnson etc, but those are the big 10 for me, I think.

[sgmypod]

1.Skateaway  - Dire Straits....(Favorite on the Making Movies album as a kid...but could be any of that album)

2.Davy's on the road again - Manfred Manns Earth Band...one of first songs I wanted to learn for the little guitar riff,     just after synth solo.

3.Here Comes the sun - Beatles..because heard my teacher play it and thought...like that

4.Hell's Bells/For those about to rock - ACDC...was starting to find own music..and mate taught me to play these

5.On the turning away - Pink floyd..first song started playing..thought whats that(well second, picked up sweet dreams on keyboard) I know there is better examples of gilmour playing

6.Paint it Black - Rolling stones..just great

7.Lay it down - Journey..just loved this

8.Toys in the attic - Aerosmith..love the sound he gets

9.Paradise City - GNR..again love the sound and feeling he gets

10.No one knows - Queens of the stone age...got into these quite late on..but damn there good

11.Chop Suey - SOAD...same a QOTSA

12.Diary of a working man - Blackfoot...great accoustic/electric line

13.Times like these - Foo fighters (but could be any of there's)

14.Nickel Creek - anything by them...how to flat pick

15.Aqualung/cheap day return - Jethro Tull...underrated guitarists Martin Barre and Mick Abrahams

16.Ain't talkin' about love - Van halen at there finest

Ahhh...have to stop...I know they said ten..but could go one for a lot longer missed Gallagher, hendrix, free, even Buckingham, Rush etc

[Ted 'N' Leo]

I've had a lot of thinking about this! Like people before have said, its a very difficult question to answer it. I mean, what defines my playing style? To be honest, im not sure if i have my own style per se. But i can name those who have influenced my playing the most.

The Beatles - While My Guitar Gently Weeps - One of my favourites to play along with. Les Paul. Tone Control Down. Middle Position. Claptons solos on this song are incredibley soulful.

Stevie Ray Vaughan - Pride and Joy - Although not my favourite Stevie song, one thing i've starting doing is the double rhythm and bass notes he does at the start.

Rory Gallagher - Walk On Hot Coals - From irish tour. You can just feel the energy in this song!

Derek And The Dominos - Layla - Cliched i know. But what a song! Duane Allmans slide part just before the breakdown is staggering.

Jimi Hendrix - Voodoo Child (Slight Return) - Do i really need to explain?

Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon - An album, but an album that changed my whole outlook on life, and music.

Bob Dylan - Positively 4th Street - Although not a fantastic guitarist, i find his music to be very influential and moving.

Marty McFly and the Starlighters - Johnny B Goode - The song that made me want to play guitar.

Metallica - Orion - Just brilliant musicianship, great breakdown, great bass solo.

Led Zep - Stairway to Heaven - Another cliche, but i just find this song very moving everytime i listen to it.

So there you have it, that was VERY difficult!

[TwilightOdyssey]

I've had a lot of thinking about this! Like people before have said, its a very difficult question to answer it. I mean, what defines my playing style? To be honest, im not sure if i have my own style per se.

Don't sell yourself short, dude!

[Johnny Mac]

Like some of you I've been thinking about this one for a few days too.

Some of these have already been mentioned.

Anthrax Finale

The Sex Pistols Holidays In The Sun, EMI

The Stranglers Grip

The Clash Tommy Gun

Jimi Hendrix Foxy Lady

Cream/Clapton Badge, Crossroads, Layla

Van Halen I'm The One, Drop Dead Legs, Panama, Dream Another Dream.

Led Zepplin All Of Them

The Beatles I Am The Walrus

Pink Floyd Dark Side Of The Moon

AC/DC Whole Lotta Rosie

JPT Scare Band Sleeping Sickness

Jeff Beck Angels (Footsteps)

Plus loads of old blues stuff

[Ted 'N' Leo]

I've had a lot of thinking about this! Like people before have said, its a very difficult question to answer it. I mean, what defines my playing style? To be honest, im not sure if i have my own style per se.

Don't sell yourself short, dude!

Its just not something i think about often!

[Ian Price]

Being a 100% strat/tele person my list is surprisingly dominated by strat/tele players:

Under the Bridge - John Frusciante
I just love those Hendrixy embellishments on the chords.

Belief - John Mayer
Awesome tone on the solo - there's one note near the start of it that is, in my opinion, perfect.

Little Wing - Hendrix
Just a beautiful song with tasteful playing

Would? - Jerry Cantrell
My 'growing up' song

Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley
The song that showed me you didn't need to play with a band or play anything particularly challenging to sound very good indeed (being able to sing helps aswell!)

Serve the Servants - Kurt Cobain
Cobain is very underrated (in my opinion)

A Pillow of Winds - Dave Gilmour
I first heard this only a year ago - I was out walking my dog and had my iPod on shuffle. This came on, I looked up and the sun was going down - sounds gay but it actually made me feel at peace with everything.

Going inside - John Frusciante
Not a well known song but one of Frusciantes better efforts

Muffin Man - Frank Zappa
Great solo - I could never play like that though.

Bandit - Neil Young
An acoustic song in double drop D then tuned down two whole steps! Simple but great.

That's it for me although this list will change depending on what type of mood I'm in.

[Ted 'N' Leo]

Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley
The song that showed me you didn't need to play with a band or play anything particularly challenging to sound very good indeed (being able to sing helps aswell!)

VERY good call!