Most Underrated and Overlooked Guitarists

Rainard Jalen · 01-15-2007, 02:24 PM

I thought this might be an interesting topic to explore. Either that, or nobody'll give a damn enough to contribute, but it interests me anyway, and hopefully others will view it with a similar keenness. Basically, the idea is to think of some of the most either overlooked, or just plain underrated rock/metal guitar players out there.

I thought I'd start this one up with none other than Tool's Adam Jones - mostly because the reasons often given for treating him with disdain tend to irk me, either out of sheer redundancy, or otherwise just general lameness - also because it gives me a chance to rant!

For starters, your typical popular rock act seldom has particularly demanding guitar parts. What Adam Jones does, while not being hugely demanding in a technical sense, is a fair deal more complex and sophisticated than what you find with at least 70% of most standard bands out there - so why he's singled out among other guitar players who don't tend to play demanding parts is beyond me. But more importantly... while it is true that Adam Jones is not some guitar virtuoso who does things that make you stop and go "holy f'n WOW, that's IMPOSSIBLE!"... while he's no Hanneman or King, or Iommi or Rhoades, or Angus Young or whatever... the thing is...

...He's not SUPPOSED to be! And the issue here is some people just not *getting* Tool. Because Tool aren't about highly technically demanding riffs and soloing. The main merit in Tool lies in the rhythm, the rhythmic patterning, the polyrhythmic arrangements and the sound layering in general. And Adam Jones fulfils the role that he's MEANT to fill excellently - just as good as most others could be expected to. He's a good player. Definitely not amazing, but not at all bad. And a whole lot better than half the rubbish out there.

And if people call him bad because they don't like "his" tone, that's equally unusual, because his parts sound precisely as they're supposed to (and the mode of amplifying ensures that): that's how Tool are meant to sound - it's the target. Jones has moulded a particular style that is Tool. And anyhow, with all the funds they have to spend on studio production, they could make it sound however they wanted to, regardless of Jones' "limitations". There's a reason it sounds how it does, and it sure *ain't* because Jones is a bad player.

And finally, if people say he's bad because he supposedly screws up at live performances, then that's not generally the case. The whole band are usually tight as anything, at least when I've seen them.

More than anything else, hating and casting aspersions upon Jones' guitar-playing is really just an extension of the anti-Tool bandwaggon.

01-15-2007, 02:24 PM	#1 (permalink)
Rainard Jalen Music Addict Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 2,221	Most Underrated and Overlooked Guitarists I thought this might be an interesting topic to explore. Either that, or nobody'll give a damn enough to contribute, but it interests me anyway, and hopefully others will view it with a similar keenness. Basically, the idea is to think of some of the most either overlooked, or just plain underrated rock/metal guitar players out there. I thought I'd start this one up with none other than Tool's Adam Jones - mostly because the reasons often given for treating him with disdain tend to irk me, either out of sheer redundancy, or otherwise just general lameness - also because it gives me a chance to rant! For starters, your typical popular rock act seldom has particularly demanding guitar parts. What Adam Jones does, while not being hugely demanding in a technical sense, is a fair deal more complex and sophisticated than what you find with at least 70% of most standard bands out there - so why he's singled out among other guitar players who don't tend to play demanding parts is beyond me. But more importantly... while it is true that Adam Jones is not some guitar virtuoso who does things that make you stop and go "holy f'n WOW, that's IMPOSSIBLE!"... while he's no Hanneman or King, or Iommi or Rhoades, or Angus Young or whatever... the thing is... ...He's not SUPPOSED to be! And the issue here is some people just not getting Tool. Because Tool aren't about highly technically demanding riffs and soloing. The main merit in Tool lies in the rhythm, the rhythmic patterning, the polyrhythmic arrangements and the sound layering in general. And Adam Jones fulfils the role that he's MEANT to fill excellently - just as good as most others could be expected to. He's a good player. Definitely not amazing, but not at all bad. And a whole lot better than half the rubbish out there. And if people call him bad because they don't like "his" tone, that's equally unusual, because his parts sound precisely as they're supposed to (and the mode of amplifying ensures that): that's how Tool are meant to sound - it's the target. Jones has moulded a particular style that is Tool. And anyhow, with all the funds they have to spend on studio production, they could make it sound however they wanted to, regardless of Jones' "limitations". There's a reason it sounds how it does, and it sure ain't because Jones is a bad player. And finally, if people say he's bad because he supposedly screws up at live performances, then that's not generally the case. The whole band are usually tight as anything, at least when I've seen them. More than anything else, hating and casting aspersions upon Jones' guitar-playing is really just an extension of the anti-Tool bandwaggon.