Face Off 12.02.08: Mike and Randy Have a Battle of Dueling Guitars
Posted by Michael Adler on 12.02.2008
It might get loud in this edition of face off!
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Mike tortsI've heard a few things about a new movie coming out, called It Might Get Loud, a rock documentary, or what the kids these days call a rockumentary, (not to be confused with the subgenre the mockumentary) about the electric guitar focusing on three guitaristists, Jimmy Page, The Edge, and Jack White. I thought this would be as good a time as any to argue their various pros and cons.
First off, someone's a little bit out of their element there. I find it interesting they included the Edge on the list of guitarists to profile. I've always enjoyed U2's work, and think he's certainly a great guitarist. Sure he uses reverb, but I don't think he overuses it too much, and while he doesn't play a million notes a minute, he makes the notes he does play count. He does kick out some killer riffs on Rattle and Hum though. Still, maybe they should've went with another guitarist to document, such as Tom Morello who happens to also be amazing. He uses a lot of effects, but it's still impressive what he manages to do, and his solo on "You're Time Has Come" ranks up there with rock's all time great solos.
Jack White's always been an interesting character and I'm looking forward to the film shedding some more light on his motivations and inspirations. Aside from his amazing skills, his humanitarian work in making sure Meg White has a job and stays off of welfare rivals The Edge's bandmate's Bono's work in helping Africa. A lot of people say Jack White is overrated, but as a songwriter and guitarist I think he's squarely rated properly. He's not the greatest, but he's innovative, and puts out great work. Each album and song he puts out is better than the last. Get Behind Me Stan and Icky Bump are some of this decades greatest musical achievements.
Of course, neither of the two are in the same league as Jimmy Page, perhaps the greatest guitar player to ever live. I'd dare say he's even a little better than Jimi Hendrix. Not that Hendrix wasn't mindblowing either-anyone who humbles Clapton and Townshend is worthy of guitar godhood, but at the end of the day Jimmy Page had better songs. On the downside he was also an amazing rip off artist-most of Led Zeppelin I was a Willie Dixon cover album that he must've forgotten to credit him with after a night of heavy drinking. And "Stairway to Heaven" is Spirit's "Taurus" with Robert Plant singing random English folklore lyrics over it. Regardless, just about any other Zeppelin song is a testament to his awesomeness.
In any event, I think everything I've said here is pretty much unarguable-but give it a shot-
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Randy retortsSome more arguments from Michael Adler argued with all the eloquence of a snarling rhinoceros.
OK, so, among the three guitarists featured in It Might Get Loud, Edge is clearly the most out of place, which isn't to say he isn't amazing in his own right. He did, after all, write the guitar melodies for "Bullet the Blue Sky", which of course lead to the Queenrsyche version of said song, which contained an amazing 7 minute Geoff Tate rant on...well, I'm not sure exactly, but he was yelling a lot and cursing and saying "AMERICA!" so it was pretty goddanm cool. That said, the film could've used a harder edged guitarist like Mustaine or Hammett, but kudos to them for picking Edge over some metal douche (Petrucci!).
Jack White certainly belongs in the movie, and is in a dying breed of modern guitarists who can actually, you know, play (I'm looking at you, Petrucci!). Despite being a hipster who has a lot of dancing white people at his concerts (thus ruining it for the rest of us), Jack & Meg just get better with time. Jack is one of the most versatile song writers of our generations, he "gets" rock n' roll, and deserves to be in the film.
Of course, Jimmy Page deserves to be in there too. As a song writer, he's unparalleled, despite thievery. But as a player, let's get something straight - solo-wise, Jimmy is clearly a notch below many of his contemporaries. Show me a Jimmy Page solo better than Ritchie Blackmore on "Mistreated", Angus Young on "Whole Lotta Rosie", or Tony Iommi on "NIB". Oh that's right, there isn't any. For some sloppy guitar, see Jimmy Page's solo spot on "Heartbreaker".
And while we're on the topic of Chinese Democracy, who would've thought that you would ever listen to the album and think that some of the songs -wouldn't be long enough-. I could've used three more minutes of "This I Love", and some more solos plz. What's the point of trying to make another "November Rain" if you're going to avoid what made "November Rain" great? But man, what an album. The highlight is CLEARLY Axl's bizarre accent on "Sorry's" "But I don't want to do it", as he tried to take the "Bizarre Accent" rock n' roll crown, still currently held by Billy Joel's random Puerto Rican accent in "Big Shot".
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Mike re-retortsFirst of all, as for Richie Blackmore, I don't even know who that is.
Geoff Tate's rant on Bullet the Blue Sky is pretty good, but he takes ten minutes to do what Bono gets done in a minute, so it's only 10% as effective.
Let's talk about Jimmy Page though. Your assessment is inaccurate, and your argument weak, seeing as how its based on one song. Furthermore I contend that his solo in "Heartbreaker" is in fact amazing. Any sloppiness you may perceive is only because he is playing notes so quickly that the human ear can't pick them all up. And if that isn't enough, how about his solo work in: "Dazed and Confused, You Shook Me, Ramble On, What is and What Should Never Be, Stairway to Heaven, The Song Remains The Same, Since I've Been Loving You, Achille's Last Stand", and the list goes on.
Jimmy Page makes Tony Iommi look like Tony, that guy on the street corner who plays guitar for spare change. Also, Page's accoustic work is impeccable and untouchable.
And speaking of bad segues, I just read that the Serj Tanikan and Arto Tunçboyacıyan will be reuniting at some point, possibly to put out another Serart album. This is great news indeed as their first self-titled album was a tour de force of hard rock blended with world sounds. I am excited.
Alas, I don't think Billy Joel's doing a Puerto Rican accent on "Big Shot"; I think it's just weird enunciation, but "This I Love" is a great song-does it need three more minutes? No. It's the perfect length with just enough guitar solo. To me, it's a definite November Rain killer.
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Randy re-re-retortsHi, I'm Mike Adler. I don't know anything about rock music. I don't know who Sam Cooke is. I don't even know who Ritchie Blackmore is. Smoke on the What? Deep who? Never heard of them. I'll be over here in my sheltered fantasy world.
Jimmy Page is an excellent composer, but as a player he's outclassed by his contemporaries. He DID have the genius to rewrite "Nobody's Fault But Mine" into "Shake My Tree" for Coverdale-Page, and for that I commend him. If Page plays notes so quickly that no one can hear them, then the very act of Tony Iommi raising his pick to the guitar makes the strings tremble in fear at frequencies far faster than the human finger could do alone, leading to his trademark vibrato and pull-offs.
Having thought about it, Billy Joel still has the "Bizarre Accent" trophy, because, unlike Axl, he sang two lines instead of one. Hopefully, at some point, they'll do a tour where they perform "Big Shot" and "Sorry" at the same time.
So, to sum everything up, the three guitarists that should have in the movie are Tony Iommi, Fred Durst, and Geoff Tate's rant from "Bullet the Blue Sky".
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Well Fred Durst just heard his name, woke up, and is wondering what all the racket is about, so time to close this one out. Join us next week when we discuss whipped cream and Leslie Feist: Food and indie pop star, or what I think about in the shower between when I shampoo and when I condition.
