Brian had great respect for Jeff Beck, but who was the better guitarist?
I've not really listened to much of Jeff's guitar work so I'm curious to what some of our more serious guitarists on QZ think?
4 x Vision
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Mr Mercury
This really just boils down to everyone's personal opinion to be honest.
I would say that Jeff has the better technical ability and so on, but Brian wins on having better feeling and arrangements in his work.
Does that help?
I would say that Jeff has the better technical ability and so on, but Brian wins on having better feeling and arrangements in his work.
Does that help?
doxonrox
Jeff Beck is one in a million. So was Brian May. Do yourself a favor and check out anything JB has done. While he is not as instantly recognizable as Brian, he is still on top of his game. An amazing, amazing talent.
Yara
Hi!
How are you? Thanks for the thread.
Wow, hard to say. As Mr. Mercury pointed out, I guess it boils down to personal taste given the fact that both are extraordinarily gifted.
I'm proud of them, they are very good pupils of mine. Hehe.
My 0,0001 cent: I'd chose Jeff Beck any time, but what makes me go for Brian is that he had Freddie to supply him with wonderful tunes, ideas and, well, amazing vocals. My feeling is that Freddie was part of Brian's musicianship - it's hard to think about Brian May without having Freddie as a reference. They matched. I can't say where Freddie "ends" and Brian begins.
On the other hand, Jeff Beck could never count for such a long time on such a talented singer and musician to make a good part of his work *maybe* more appealing, interesting, wide-reaching and successful.
That is, if a poor soul who owns a $50 bucks acoustic guitar is entitled to have an opinion on this. lol
Take care and thanks for the thread!
Yara
How are you? Thanks for the thread.
Wow, hard to say. As Mr. Mercury pointed out, I guess it boils down to personal taste given the fact that both are extraordinarily gifted.
I'm proud of them, they are very good pupils of mine. Hehe.
My 0,0001 cent: I'd chose Jeff Beck any time, but what makes me go for Brian is that he had Freddie to supply him with wonderful tunes, ideas and, well, amazing vocals. My feeling is that Freddie was part of Brian's musicianship - it's hard to think about Brian May without having Freddie as a reference. They matched. I can't say where Freddie "ends" and Brian begins.
On the other hand, Jeff Beck could never count for such a long time on such a talented singer and musician to make a good part of his work *maybe* more appealing, interesting, wide-reaching and successful.
That is, if a poor soul who owns a $50 bucks acoustic guitar is entitled to have an opinion on this. lol
Take care and thanks for the thread!
Yara
john bodega
Fools choice. That's like : "Which nut would you like to cut off, your left or right?"
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[/QUOTE]They're both insanely good for similar reasons. And they're both classy enough that they have excellent things to say about each other. What more could you ask for?[/QUOTE]
[/QUOTE]
[/QUOTE]They're both insanely good for similar reasons. And they're both classy enough that they have excellent things to say about each other. What more could you ask for?[/QUOTE]
Sebastian
Everybody's left nut is different to his right one: more often than not, one is bigger than the other, even if by half an inch (or less). An apple and an orange can be compared, one's got more sugar than the other, one's more acid than the other... of course, the whole 'which one tastes better?' thing is completely subjective, but you can always draw objective comparisons too.
That said, IMO, there are loads and loads and loads of good guitarist who can't hold a candle to Brian. But then again, there are also several guitarists who can actually play better than Dr May. Jeff Beck is one of them (again, IMO).
That said, IMO, there are loads and loads and loads of good guitarist who can't hold a candle to Brian. But then again, there are also several guitarists who can actually play better than Dr May. Jeff Beck is one of them (again, IMO).
4 x Vision
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[b]Zebonka12 wrote: [/b]
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Funnily enough, that's why I asked... I was delighted that they both gave each other such good reviews... so it made me wonder which was one right lol? Cheers
[b]Zebonka12 wrote: [/b]
[/QUOTE]
Funnily enough, that's why I asked... I was delighted that they both gave each other such good reviews... so it made me wonder which was one right lol? Cheers
Amazon
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[b]Mr Mercury wrote: [/b]
This really just boils down to everyone's personal opinion to be honest.
I would say that Jeff has the better technical ability and so on, but Brian wins on having better feeling and arrangements in his work.
Does that help?
[/QUOTE]
I agree with this. I don't think that Brian is necessarily the most talented guitarist of all time; Beck is more talented and almost certainly more innovative but I think that Brian is more consistent, has better arrangements as Mr Mercury said and has better feeling. Certainly he thrills me more than Beck does; who in many ways I admire more than I love. I believe that Brian has cited Beck as a major influence so if it weren't for Beck, Brian might very well have been a different guitarist. Nonetheless, although I do love some of Beck's work, I much prefer to listen to Brian, who is one of my absolute favourite guitarists. [img=/images/smiley/msn/teeth_smile.gif][/img]
[b]Mr Mercury wrote: [/b]
This really just boils down to everyone's personal opinion to be honest.
I would say that Jeff has the better technical ability and so on, but Brian wins on having better feeling and arrangements in his work.
Does that help?
[/QUOTE]
I agree with this. I don't think that Brian is necessarily the most talented guitarist of all time; Beck is more talented and almost certainly more innovative but I think that Brian is more consistent, has better arrangements as Mr Mercury said and has better feeling. Certainly he thrills me more than Beck does; who in many ways I admire more than I love. I believe that Brian has cited Beck as a major influence so if it weren't for Beck, Brian might very well have been a different guitarist. Nonetheless, although I do love some of Beck's work, I much prefer to listen to Brian, who is one of my absolute favourite guitarists. [img=/images/smiley/msn/teeth_smile.gif][/img]
Band Forever
Like Freddie was Brian is a national icon (British) ah well international too, and Brian is very modest towards his contemporaries, but music history will show one day Brian May and his able assistant the red special as one of the all time greats, whereas Jeff Beck will be known as a talented guitarist.
Don't be so modest Brian, even Slash has got the same hairdo!
Don't be so modest Brian, even Slash has got the same hairdo!
Band Forever
Well fellow fans, Who played our National Anthem on the roof of Buckingham Palace at Her Majesty's Jubilee gig? Not Beck, Clapton, Iommi, Young et all but Queen's very own Brian May. over to the jury I rest my case.
Dusta
I've heard this said before. I am curious as to what is meant, in this case, by better, "technical ability."
[QUOTE]
[b]Mr Mercury wrote: [/b]
This really just boils down to everyone's personal opinion to be honest.
I would say that Jeff has the better technical ability and so on, but Brian wins on having better feeling and arrangements in his work.
Does that help?[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE]
[b]Mr Mercury wrote: [/b]
This really just boils down to everyone's personal opinion to be honest.
I would say that Jeff has the better technical ability and so on, but Brian wins on having better feeling and arrangements in his work.
Does that help?[/QUOTE]
Mr Mercury
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[b]Dusta wrote: [/b]
I've heard this said before. I am curious as to what is meant, in this case, by better, "technical ability."
[/QUOTE]
Jeff tends to have better technical ability when it comes his use of the various scale patterns (such as major, minor, pentatonic, blues, harmonic minor and so on). He can mix them up when he wants to and even incorporate faster speed of playing than Brian can. And that is fine so long as it isnt just done for "showing off" purposes, again imo.
Although he probably could do all that stuff, Brian tends to stick to creating solo's around a chordal structure most of the time, and again that is fine because it is what he feels. To me, he looks as though he has thought about what he wants to play before he has to play it and that where he wins hands down. A solo done with loads of feeling is always going to be better than one done with loads of technical ability.
[b]Dusta wrote: [/b]
I've heard this said before. I am curious as to what is meant, in this case, by better, "technical ability."
[/QUOTE]
Jeff tends to have better technical ability when it comes his use of the various scale patterns (such as major, minor, pentatonic, blues, harmonic minor and so on). He can mix them up when he wants to and even incorporate faster speed of playing than Brian can. And that is fine so long as it isnt just done for "showing off" purposes, again imo.
Although he probably could do all that stuff, Brian tends to stick to creating solo's around a chordal structure most of the time, and again that is fine because it is what he feels. To me, he looks as though he has thought about what he wants to play before he has to play it and that where he wins hands down. A solo done with loads of feeling is always going to be better than one done with loads of technical ability.
i-Fred
Id say Brian is..... He has done quite alot with Queen... So many different styles, sounds. For all the styles of music queen produced, Brian was there making his mark... Not many, acutally there are none that have done that with the same flare and approach that Brian has with so many sounds over so many years....
Each to there own, what ever will be will be, same shit different smell,
Each to there own, what ever will be will be, same shit different smell,
Dusta
Do you think Brian is slower, and, not as proficient on use of scale patterns because he lacks the ability, or, because he simply favors a different style of playing? I truly am curious. I am abolutely NOT a musician, so, cannot make a Jeff Beck V Brian May argument with any sort of authority. Also, I enjoy Jeff Beck immensely. Truly top notch.
Also, I see Brian's arrangements and the rich, distinctive true melodies he achieves, along with his ability to embrace so many styles and musical structures as technical ability. I'd think it would take great skill on the guitar, as well as superb musicianship, in general, to achieve some of the haunting and complex sounds Brian has created with his guitar.
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[b]Mr Mercury wrote: [/b]
[QUOTE]
[b]Dusta wrote: [/b]
I've heard this said before. I am curious as to what is meant, in this case, by better, "technical ability."
[/QUOTE]
Jeff tends to have better technical ability when it comes his use of the various scale patterns (such as major, minor, pentatonic, blues, harmonic minor and so on). He can mix them up when he wants to and even incorporate faster speed of playing than Brian can. And that is fine so long as it isnt just done for "showing off" purposes, again imo.
Although he probably could do all that stuff, Brian tends to stick to creating solo's around a chordal structure most of the time, and again that is fine because it is what he feels. To me, he looks as though he has thought about what he wants to play before he has to play it and that where he wins hands down. A solo done with loads of feeling is always going to be better than one done with loads of technical ability.
[/QUOTE]
Also, I see Brian's arrangements and the rich, distinctive true melodies he achieves, along with his ability to embrace so many styles and musical structures as technical ability. I'd think it would take great skill on the guitar, as well as superb musicianship, in general, to achieve some of the haunting and complex sounds Brian has created with his guitar.
[QUOTE]
[b]Mr Mercury wrote: [/b]
[QUOTE]
[b]Dusta wrote: [/b]
I've heard this said before. I am curious as to what is meant, in this case, by better, "technical ability."
[/QUOTE]
Jeff tends to have better technical ability when it comes his use of the various scale patterns (such as major, minor, pentatonic, blues, harmonic minor and so on). He can mix them up when he wants to and even incorporate faster speed of playing than Brian can. And that is fine so long as it isnt just done for "showing off" purposes, again imo.
Although he probably could do all that stuff, Brian tends to stick to creating solo's around a chordal structure most of the time, and again that is fine because it is what he feels. To me, he looks as though he has thought about what he wants to play before he has to play it and that where he wins hands down. A solo done with loads of feeling is always going to be better than one done with loads of technical ability.
[/QUOTE]
i-Fred
Brian is the better Musician with out a doubt