PballQhead
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He studied at the knee of the absolute legend John Fahey…and as he grew and developed, The Student Became The Master. Like, I don't even know how he's making these sounds; it's like a kid saying "yeah, I fingerpick AND slide on my TWELVE STRING" but he's actually doing it.
Full video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnQTC5ICGik
ETA, because I'm getting tired of pasting it over and over again – MIGHT BE the best guitarist ever, okay? Yes, there's plenty of others who are in this league but I'm not about them at this moment.
I'm not trying to start a pissing match here, just want to share some dope music. Don't harsh things, aight?
taez555
HIs albums with Mike Gordon from Phish are incredible.
picklemunkey
Love his work. Jack Gets Up is one of my favourite tracks.
CortexDagger
One of my dad's favorite musicians to listen to. He is quite fantastic. I almost never hear anyone talking about him so it's nice to see.
iguanodont
I heard his real instrument is a vaseline machine gun
PballQhead
Faster, but not as technical. Still, insane.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tew_fIhz3eY
tkisu1977
He is the greatest. Saw him at the Backstage in Ballard in Seattle. He is also very funny with a lot of great stories.
Sesquey
https://youtu.be/f2KoIWEAdaM?feature=shared
alwaysupvoteprincessbride
seem him live twice. he's on GOAT Island and we're not invited.
PballQhead
Lucky! I've only seen him once…baa.
rbudrick
Seen him live several times. He chats with anyone who wants after the show. Absolute virtuoso. His stories between songs are off the fucking wall. Very Stephen Wright-like. I told him that once and he was psyched to hear it. I'm telling you, he needs an album of just those stories, because they are fucking insane and hilarious.
SnorHEEdenRAden
Awesome! I love both John Fahey and Kotke, but was never aware they were connected.
PballQhead
OMG srsly? Like…Kottke is the apotheosis of everything Fahey imagined guitar can be…
jakobbp
It's Tommy Emmanuel for me.
PourMeAPuppersPlease
I'm surprised I had to scroll down this far for this comment. That guy is good but doesn't hold a candle to Tommy.
PballQhead
I dunno. Tommy is amazing, but his guitar always sounds like…guitar.
To quote a poster here, wrt Kottke: "He can get his guitar to sound intentionally like bad VHS tape tracking. That's unreal. I'm not even trying to be sarcastic, that's very difficult to do."
jakobbp
Yeah, Tommy's guitar sounds like a guitar. And then another guitar. And another. And just one more for good measure. I prefer applying skills like so instead of a bad VHS tape.
moecurlylarry
I guess I owe it all to Pamela Brown
Wotatimetobealive
I got that
todfug
He's amazing live
SkeksiLady
Lol I didn't read the caption and I recognized his style immediately
Axiomatic13
@OP Go check out Tuck Andress. Pick anything, there's nothing bad.
AsAnItalianItsDifficultTalkingOnTheWebCauseIcantUseMyHands
Yes! My favourite is Tuck & Patti “time after time”
Axiomatic13
I saw them live in a very small venue on their Love Warriors tour. Maybe 100 people there total. It was an amazing night.
moonshadowkati
This track seems like it should be a whimsical old west video game.
tomobach
Maybe one about a man with a quick iron on his hip.
ByThePowerOfSCIENCE
Trigun 1998 soundtrack
GemsAreOutrageousTrulyTrulyTrulyOutrageous
100% Trigun vides.
moonshadowkati
Yesssss
OGServersNET
almost a perfect loop too
circlebreaker
The man's a master all right, his work is stunning. If any of you can find copies of his album "1971-1976 (Did You Hear Me)" don't miss the opportunity to listen, it sometimes sounds like he's two-or three guitarists playing together. Here he is covering Eight Miles High
TiredBanana
How can he be the best when he just plays the strings like some boomer? The best players don't even need strings they just bang on the body and smile like douchebags. I've seen them on the youtube and people say they're geniuses.
slamEVIL
It sounds like three guitarists playing different tunes.
pfunk81
Love seeing Leo Kottke love on Imgur! Seen him twice and he is amazing and hilarious. He tells ridiculous stories between each tune while retuning his guitars. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R15TOEgtvCc&list=RDR15TOEgtvCc&start_radio=1&rv=2Y42QfHgZwQ
pdonettes
I grew up inundated by guitar comparisons, and I don't think it is right to call anyone the "best" anymore. Once you pass a certain skill level, people begin to develop their own styles and techniques. All require an insane amount of technique and skill. All deserve to be recognized, and if you ask any too level guitarist who the best guitarist is, most will usually list a bevy of others they feel are more talented.
PballQhead
I said MIGHT be the best.
pdonettes
You certainly did, and I appreciated that. I was sort of anticipating the comments and the slew of "no, X guitarist is the best! 😭" responses.
pullingsixty
Amazing.
YouTubeRed
sound
Denare
He can get his guitar to sound intentionally like bad VHS tape tracking. That's unreal. I'm not even trying to be sarcastic, that's very difficult to do.
PballQhead
I never thought about it that way…you're right.
DdCno1
It's impressive, but not something I'd willingly listen to.
Ivain
Aaand found the one comment that perfectly summed up my opinion on this guy's skill. It's amazing what he can do, but it's kinda like being able to play Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata on a singing saw. It will leave people scratching their heads about how you could possibly manage, but only after they manage to stop their ears from bleeding
PS: the above simile is exaggerated for comedic effect. Since this is an internet comment section and people take things too seriously at times...
OejaNegra
Speaking only from a technical point of view, Tommy Emmanuel is clearly most skilled. I agree however, with what others have said. Calling someone "the best" is not the correct term when we are talking about art. These very same guys will be the first to tell us that there is no "the best" and skills are just tools to express yourself and what matters is the music itself (which is impossible to rate in an objective manner).
PulseOne
Sounds like something who isnt the best would say
OlLineFace
Emmanuel is definitely up there. Joscho Stephan is who I would personally place as the top acoustic player (it's all subjective) at the moment. They have a bunch of videos together that are worth checking out. Something about how Joscho phrases everything blows my mind. https://youtu.be/EZdy41sWCsY?si=QU1ouTobRBaqb1gh
robertdoobies
I'd add Laurence Juber to the short list
WhiteyHead
Word to Tommy Emmanuel
sixhoursinacarwithmymotherinlaw
I came to add this. Tommy is a space alien he is so good.
PballQhead
I said MIGHT be the best, And y'all agree :D
AyatollahBahloni
I upvoted because I love the music and the skill, not because of the opinion. It would be hard to actually rank Glen Campbell, Leo Kottke, Roy Clark, Tommy Emmanuel, Jimi Hendrix, or any number of others. They are all mind-blowingly skilled in their own way.
PballQhead
Oh, since you mentioned Jimi (who is totally unlike the others, but absolutely as good), you may enjoy this small concert he did in Maui in 1970…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFfnlYbFEiE
PballQhead
My dude…
ReverseSyzygy
"speaking only from a technical point of view" then one needs to include Segovia/Williams/Bream, etc.
PballQhead
Yes, this is up there with that. Actually, this is The Best Ever https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9efHwnFAkuA
JackieTreehornProductions
There's no way to hard score technical and artistic merit when it comes to music like this. There's the appreciation and inspiration you take from it. Why do we even bother trying to compare artistry and say who is better when it's all subjective both in it's delivery and reception.
PballQhead
That's why I said, both in the body and the title, and to absolutely sound like a broken record – MIGHT be the best.
It's absolutely not a settled question but I do submit this as a candidate.
SomeITDudeOnImgur
Well stated...to be sure the list of those to be enjoyed is vast. So many genres... Richard Smith, Mike Dawes (Dawes paired with Emmanuel is quite a sight!) Chet Atkins, Glen Cambell, Roy Clark, Jerry Reed, Trace Bundy, Mark Knopfler, Luca Stricanoli, Billy Strings...in case you were looking for ideas.
ScootiePuffJrSucks
Caught him live about a decade ago. Wonderful show.
zmxme
How about Isaac albeniz?albeit? John williams?
ReverseSyzygy
Segovia, Bream, etc.etc.
ReverseSyzygy
McLaughlin, de Lucia, etc.etc.
NotADutchman
I saw him in an obscure place. His first comment was “I’m pretty sure I’ve never been to your town before”. Lovely anecdotes between series of fantastic sounds.
stilloldbull
He has perfected the art of “Stage Banter” - Almost as good as his playing!
NotADutchman
Couldn’t agree more. True one man show.
PballQhead
Me too! I saw him in Irvington, NY and he made plenty of "long nap" jokes lol
NotADutchman
Fond memory - “If you want the artist lifestyle and are always traveling, you have to learn to take naps…” Thanks for sharing!
ChocolateCookieAndFudge
Nah mate. That would be Django Reinhardt, closely followed by Emmet Ray, the best guitarist after Django Reinhardt.
PballQhead
My brother in Christ…there is one video, and one video alone, of Django Reinhardt. And it is, indeed, insane. ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZ308aOOX04">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZ308aOOX04
Also, /gallery/db5qoiw
ChocolateCookieAndFudge
I actually know nothing about guitar even though I've been trying to learn how to play on and off. My comment was a reference to Woody Allen's movie Sweet and Lowdown, with Sean Penn. The movie and the character are completely craycray.
PballQhead
Haha! For what it's worth, Django Reinhardt is probably the objective Best Guitarist Ever…
JerBearington
I wonder how Lindsey Buckingham would compare
PballQhead
I said MIGHT be the best.
ReverseSyzygy
Somewhere above me, let's say. ~.~
McLaughlin? DeLucia?
OddlyPacific
Lindsay B doesn’t have the custom individual tuning on 12 strings for every song in an enormous catalogue spanning a 60 year career that Leo does.
wadatahmydamie
I’m not making an argument that Buckingham is better, but I would like to point out that owning a lot of custom guitars and having a great deal of skill aren’t intrinsically linked.
OddlyPacific
Totally. What I meant by the custom tune is that he changes the tuning for every song he plays. He does ramble and forget what he’s talking about sometimes but he tunes by ear and can play these insane songs perfectly at 78.
wadatahmydamie
Yeah, I’m never going to trash-talk his skill, and personally tend to avoid discussions of who’s the best. Overrated guitarists though, that’s a lot more fun. But that’s a whole other post
OddlyPacific
He’s my personal favorite but we could go for decades on who is most influential or hardest to copy or most creative…