If you're going to split "soulful" and "emotional" into different categories where one is more about feeling the blood in your body and one is more about feeling the state of your heart (that's the best way I can describe it), then yes, Buckethead's playing is much more emotional than soulful, but in the end, they're just two pathways to the same place, good music. A rock 'n roll vibe isn't necesarrily inferior to a hip-hop vibe, and the same goes with "soulful" and "emotional." What's more important to me is that the vibe that comes out of someone's music is unique to them, and I think that Buckethead's sound is recognizable no matter what genre he's playing, composition-wise, tone-wise, and just in his way of playing. I'm not gonna bother to post more examples, because the thread is loaded with them.
His playing is somewhat mathematical, but not to the extent you guys are making it out to be. I hate whenever I hear really obvious buildups and breakdowns in a song. I enjoy a degree of looking into myself and being musical in order to understand where the music is going. I also hate solos that seem to have no real aim to them and sound homogenous and directionless throughout. He strikes a pretty good balance. I'm not going to say a perfect one, because a few of his tracks do sound too calculated to me, but still, most of the time I like what he does with his music.
Has anyone posted "King James" in here yet? Because I feel like it's a good example of that balance. His musical phrases all have clear aims, but the overall song is well constructed and has multiple high points.
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