The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #44845 Message #660821
Posted By: Lonesome EJ
01-Mar-02 - 03:52 PM
Thread Name: BS: Opinions on U2...
Subject: RE: BS: Opinions on U2...
The late guitar giant Jimi Hendrix pioneered the mating of electronic effects with virtuosity, and he was as skilled at manipulating effects pedals and amplifiers as he was at the instrument itself. Using Hendrix as example, I don't believe that the two skills are mutually exclusive. I believe that there are those whose mastery of the musical instrument needs no enhancement, ie Django Reinhardt, and others whose mastery of the effects masks a lack of basic skill, ie Green Day. As for the Edge, I would not count him among the guitar virtuosos. He is mainly a rhythm guitarist with a style defined by the effects he employs, a style that has been very influential, by the way. And I prefer the very early U-2, when the sensitivities were closer to punk, than the latter day "baroque" U2, who seem to be stylized to the point of self-parody.