Neil Young - Guitarist

I like Neil Young's music, but as a technical guitarist, he doesn't make any list, top 100 or even top 500.  That's OK.  Neil plays guitar very well for what he needs to do - accompany his voice. But he is no virtuoso on the guitar, and why should he be?  There are many excellent guitar players out there, from Jeff Beck to Steve Howe... and some that you probably didn't know about.  (Check out Glen Campbell on YouTube sometime, or give James Taylor a good listen.)

And remember that VERY few rock guitarist could hang with the real virtuosos, like Joe Pass, Herb Ellis, Kenny Burrell, Barney Kessel, George Benson, Pat Martino, Tal Farlow, Stanley Jordan and on and on and on...

Neil Young is a great singer & songwriter.  He never aspired to be a great guitarist.

aalenik's post begs the important question: Is technical ability what distinguishes one as a superior guitarist---or singer, or drummer, or whatever? Or is it something some elusive, more abstract, more, dare I say it, artistic?

In the mid-70's I jammed with a guy who, when the subject of The Band came up (as it often does if I'm in a musical conversation ;-), dismissed Robbie Robertson's guitar playing. I knew exactly why, as I myself at first had. That was before I realized the musical contribution his playing was making to the song itself. This guy was talking about Robertson's abilities at playing a guitar solo, the yardstick by which he judged all guitarists. How small. I didn't waste my breathe in the hopeless task of raising his musical consciousness---that comes from within.

I have heard plenty of guitarists whose playing I find unmusical at best, downright ugly if not, that's right, vulgar, at worst. Others consider them virtuosos. At what? Not making good music, in my opinion. To admire their playing is to me like considering a fast runner a great dancer. If that makes any sense.