Discussion: Which of the rock stars can be considered the greatest musician

Photo by Martin Fisch CC BY

There is an opinion that rock music is not just another genre of music, but also a special sociocultural phenomenon of the second half of the 20th century, which gave rise to its subculture. Rock music has a relatively large exciting energy (drive). It can give individuals freedom from established social principles and stereotypes, from the surrounding reality.
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What does the concept of "the greatest rock musician"? This is probably the man who drove the crowd crazy, and the concerts of which were incredible.

Rock music as a cultural phenomenon gave rise to the so-called "rock and roll lifestyle" - a certain style of behavior and a system of life values, a kind of philosophy. Many imagine a rock star as some guy with a bloated ego and terrible songs working for money.

However, George Tapp says it is not. “An example of great rock musicians is the Pink Floyd band,” said George. “They wrote music because they loved this activity and spent a lot of time in the studio, where they created such masterpieces as“ Dark Side of the Moon ”.

If you look at the composition of the group, you will see the following name - David Gilmore. This man is the greatest guitarist in the world. His solo in the song “Comfortably Numb” is considered to be the best. David puts emotions into his play, his guitar seems to be singing. The second name in the group is Roger Waters. “He may not be the best bass player in the world, but the music he wrote speaks for itself. Exclaims Tupp. “The texts he composed are so deep that they will be relevant on this planet until the end of time.”

The third member of the group, Rick Wright, George Tapp considers one of the best pianists: “Thanks to him, such eternal songs as“ Echoes ”,“ The Great Gig in the Sky ”and“ Us and Them ”have appeared.

And last but not least - this is Nick Mason - one of the most underrated drummers in history. “His playing is the basis of Pink Floyd’s sound,” concludes George.

Joining the discussion, David Stewart (David Stewart), as an eternal fan of the group, could not fail to mention The Beatles (by the way, we discussed the popularity of this group this week).

“John and Paul were outstanding and productive composers. “Even one of them could have prepared enough material to keep the group on top,” says David. “The Beatles were lucky because they were both in the group.”

Unlike many other composers' duets, John and Paul discovered the best features of each other - they complemented each other, but did not interfere. Lennon and McCartney came to the studio with ideas, incomplete texts and riffs, and then together they turned them into great compositions.

The media believed that pop and rock music is a passing phenomenon, so the Beatles were often asked what the band was going to do when this “wave” subsided in a couple of years. They answered that they would continue to write songs for people, because they loved and were serious about their work.

Technical consultant Liu Timothy (Liu Timothy) also believes that all four Beatles can be called the greatest musicians of all time: wonderful timbre and wide vocal range. "

In addition to the famous songs "Yesterday", "Let It Be" and "Michelle", works like "When I'm Sixty-Four", "Honey Pie" and "Oh! Darling "show that Paul had a serious influence of classical, jazz and soul music - this helped create a memorable sound of the group, to distinguish it from others.

“John Lennon was a good rhythm guitar player who, in my opinion, handles the instrument rather“ rudely ”, but he also controls the sound perfectly, Liu notes. “This can be seen in songs like“ Yer Blues ”and“ I Saw Her Standing There ”- this is real rock and roll!”

The third member of the band - George - was, in his own way, a great guitar player. He is far from Clapton or Beck, but he undoubtedly knew how to play.

As a vocalist, Harrison had a pleasant voice and certainly did not lag behind his teammates in this. He can be heard in songs like “Taxman”, “Something”, “Here Comes The Sun”, “Piggies” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”.

“As for Ringo, I think that he as a drummer is often underestimated,” says Timothy. - Yes, he was not Ginger Baker, Keith Moon or Mitch Mitchell, but he always kept a rhythm and rarely made mistakes in his party, even difficult songs (for example, "A Day In The Life", "Tomorrow Never Knows" ). Starr was able to correctly weave rhythmic patterns into a song - drummers Dave Grohl and Phil Collins highly appreciated his talent.

Another outstanding rock musician, according to David Stewart, is Frank Zappa. "There was no one else who could be compared with him," said David. “Zappa was an exceptional guitar player.” Guitar World magazine put him at number 27 on the list of the greatest guitarists of all time, and Spin magazine set it at 16. Zappa could play blues, jazz and rock on his guitar. Capable of improvisation, he also had good playing technique.

Unlike many guitarists, Zapp knew the theory of music perfectly: he wrote complex jazz pieces himself, which, according to many musicians, were difficult to reproduce.

Zappa was inspired by classical music and wrote works that composers and musicians highly valued and praised during his lifetime. His work is still performed and honored throughout the world.

“Frank wrote excellent songs,” says David. - His poems, often incomprehensible and offensive to many, were no doubt clever and quickly discerned on quotations; he was a caustic and witty satirist "

Jimi Hendrix can compare with Zappa in skill, according to Ethan Hein. “Jimmy was the first guitar player who believed that an electric guitar was not just a louder“ acoustics ”, but a control for the amplifier.”

By themselves, electric guitars reproduce a faint, almost inaudible sound. The main sound comes from the speaker of the amplifier. So, Hendricks was one of the first guitarists who not only thoughtlessly pulled strings, but “played” with them in every way.

Many of the effects of his unique game can be heard during the performance of The Star-Spangled Banner at the Woodstock festival.

We can say that he laid the foundations of modern rock. Hendrix is ​​also known for predicting the emergence of electronic music. “Jimi could have left his mark in jazz. Before his death, he and Miles Davis wanted to record an album with Tony Williams and Paul McCartney. I would give a lot to listen to this work, ”sighs Ethan.

The video from the Woodstock performance ends precisely at the moment when Jimi smoothly transitioned from The Star Spangled Banner to Purple Haze. This song is built on a famous chord, named just after Hendrix.

Hendrix's chord became omnipresent, permeating pop and rock music. He can be heard at Steely Dan in the composition “Kid Charlemagne”, at The Pixies in “Here Comes Your Man” and at Muse in “Hyper Music”. Regardless of whose music this chord sounds, the reaction to it is always the same: “Oh, great, it's Hendrix's chord ...”

With absolute certainty, it can be argued that it is impossible to describe all the great rock musicians. In this article were not mentioned (but not forgotten) such personalities as Richie Blackmore, Kurt Cobain, Tina Turner, Freddie Mercury (by the way, the other day we were just talking about the Queen group), David Bowie and many more it does not make them less outstanding.

However, if you are interested, in 2010, Rolling Stone magazine prepared the top 100 performers and bands, among which, of course, there are rock stars.

PS Other materials on the topic of audio - in our blog " Hi-Fi World ".