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Best Artists/Tracks at Chord Changing

Sometimes I find myself listening to Tom Petty and wondering why I like him so much. Then I realized that I love his rhythmic chord changes. A couple of tracks come to mind: Rebels and I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better. Then, of course, there is American Girl (even the Taylor Swift cover is good). Others?
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martykl
3,578 posts
 
I agree that Petty plays a pretty straightforward rhythm guitar. IIRC, Petty often plays a major chord thru a measure and susses either the second, the fourth or both of those beats - very simple but very catchy. It's not difficult or unique, but it's a distinctive feature of his songs and I understand the appeal.

Mike Campbell OTOH has chops and plays the tricky (i.e. lead) parts in The Heartbreakers.

Marty
bthogan
38 posts
 
Someone's got to mention Robert Fripp, so I'll do it. Strumming or picking - in fact, picking in particular. And they're not majors.

Also, every rhythm guitarist on Talking Heads' Speaking In Tongues, Alex Weir in particular. See esp. Girlfriend is better, Pull Up The Roots.

Oh and Carlos Alomar.
mrmitch
359 posts
 
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers' sound attracted me not so much for the chord changes (I'm a guitar player who played in bands around NJ and NY in the 60's and 70's), but the sound of Petty's electric 12-string. Very Byrds-like due to his use of a Rickenbacker (just like Roger McGuinn back in the Byrds days).
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