Is Brian May the best lead/rhythm guitar player ?

Are there any guitar players new or old that can play live lead and rhythm parts in one as good as Brian was/is?
Queen were "big" sounding rock band in the studio no argue, but to go live on stage just as a 3 piece band and deliver with the same grandeur and be precise... I don't know of any guitarist that has achieved something like this.
One important factor that sets him apart from others are his technical/scientific skills that went into the The Red Special combined with the rest of the gear, to help create that big, unique sound/tone that is a match for Freddie's unique voice qualities.
There I go..I give myself the answer as I write:
Freddie's voice combined with the Red Special combined with the "sonic volcano" and voila!
Still... to play Queen live rhythm and lead in one you need to be Brian May.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QhPVgzv0qI

this guy even sang too but only lasted a few years... Jimi Hendrix.

David Gilmour is another one. He may have had better precision without scientific skills.. just technical ;-)

and neither of the above ever used a Spike in their performances.

[QUOTE] [b]Jimmy Dean wrote:[/b]

this guy even sang too but only lasted a few years... Jimi Hendrix.

David Gilmour is another one. He may have had better precision without scientific skills.. just technical ;-)

and neither of the above ever used a Spike in their performances.


[/QUOTE]

Gilmour, within Pink Floyd, had a permanent keyboard player, a very good one and eventually a second guitar player for live work.

Pete Townshend comes immediately to mind.

He gave me the impression he was intentionally sloppy or loose kinda like Ritchie Blackmore, and Jimmy Page.

Hendrix, Edward Van Halen, Clapton during the Cream years. John Martin, his acoustic style produced a very full sound, Alex Lifeson early Rush before Geddy Lee played many keyboard had an incredible life sound as a three piece. Motor Head Eddie Clarke filled so much space. Rory Gallagher not only gave Brian the idea of using a treble booster into a flat out AC30 but also showed him the importance of having a full sounding style.

If your looking for someone who fills the role of lead and rythem go an watch Lindsey Buckingham playing Big Love live..

I know what you mean about Brian May and he remains my favourite Guitarist but he's far from alone in having a style of playing that covers two roles.

Billy Gibbons

He is very good at it. Others from a different genre could include Brian Setzer from the Stray Cats. That style of music relies very heavy on accomplished playing styles.

[QUOTE] [b]Vocal harmony wrote:[/b]

[QUOTE] [b]Jimmy Dean wrote:[/b]

this guy even sang too but only lasted a few years... Jimi Hendrix.

David Gilmour is another one. He may have had better precision without scientific skills.. just technical ;-)

and neither of the above ever used a Spike in their performances.


[/QUOTE]

Gilmour, within Pink Floyd, had a permanent keyboard player, a very good one and eventually a second guitar player for live work.[/QUOTE]

Yes good point. I was referring to spike as a rhythm guitarist only. Didn’t remember they added a second guitarist - pulse tour probably?

Rory Gallagher - you raised a mighty one there. Jimi’s successor. Alex Lifeson and evh are two more great examples.

Noel Gallagher

Brian May no doubt is the best solo/rythm guitarist.

In Queen.

Gilmour and Blackmore are awesome, but both had keyboard players. Queen also had a pianoman, not permanent and with another functions, but still :) And yes, they had Mandel and Edney in eighties.


My personal oscar in this category goes to Jimmy Page.

Brian May is by the far the greatest guitarist because his sound was so unique and he can do anything one could imagine from orchestration to the banjo as on "Bring Back That Leroy Brown"
other guitarists like The Sweet guitarist "Andy Scott" nearly had the same sound as Brian and i think used the same amps.
Fast Eddie Clarke was amazing and again a very underrated guitarist, but in my opinion the most underrated guitarist ever was the brilliant Ian Bairnson who was lead guitarist from 70s band Pilot, i have many Pilot Cds and he totally comes across as Brian May 2.

Queen's keyboard player was there to help Freddie, not Brian. Plus he came much, much later when there was nothing more left for them as a 4 piece band to demonstrate.

Queen's keyboard player was there to help the song.

I rate Brian highly as a rock guitarist, both for lead and rhythm. However, when stepping out of the normal riffing and soloing (at which he EXCELS!) you could tell he didn't enjoy playing many different styles. Enter John Deacon. He doesn't get much credit as a guitar player but he complemented Brian with rhythm guitar in songs like Cool Cat, Who Needs You and, most notably, Another One Bites the Dust. Just compare the funky rhythm bit in AOBTD in the original studio version (John) to how Brian plays it live. Both are good, of course, but the original has a funky groove that is missing from the rockier live version.