Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site dciem.UUCP
Path: utzoo!dciem!jeff
From: jeff@dciem.UUCP (Jeff Richardson)
Newsgroups: net.music
Subject: more guitarists
Message-ID: <849@dciem.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 13-Apr-84 10:18:02 EST
Article-I.D.: dciem.849
Posted: Fri Apr 13 10:18:02 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 13-Apr-84 12:16:58 EST
Organization: D.C.I.E.M., Toronto, Canada
Lines: 32

It's nice to see so much traffic on net.music these days, even though I
have a bit of trouble keeping up with it.  Anyway, my favourite guitarist
is Mike Oldfield.  I was going to say that nobody else mentioned him, but
I just read an article recommending his "QE2" album.  Personally, I think
it's a great album but one of his worst.  Compared with his "Platinum"
and "Crises" albums, "QE2" sounds all the same.  His first album, "Tubular
Bells" is the most famous.  Others I recommend are "Ommadawn", which is
kind of similar in style to "Tubular Bells" but somewhat louder, and
"Five Miles Out" and "Crises" very much louder and more powerful and
complex than his earlier work, particularly the "Taurus II" piece on "Five
Miles Out".  "Five Miles Out" is my favourite but "Crises" is similar with
more variety.  (One side has five songs that are so different, you can't
tell that they're by the same person unless you listen carefully to some
of the instruments.)  I also recommend "Platinum" for its variety.
It has a few pieces with disco beats and a cover of a Philip Glass piece.

Getting back to the point, although he has a unique guitar style that
I really like, I like him mainly for his writing, arranging, and playing
of all instruments rather than just for his guitar.  For pure guitar
playing it's hard to pick one because they all have different styles,
many of which sound really good, and I wouldn't want to replace any of
my favourites with any of my other favourites.  Probably most of you
feel the same way.  Robert Fripp and Adrian Belew, both with King Crimson,
can do amazing things with guitars and Frippertronics adds a lot
to the songs in which it's used, though I'm not too crazy about it by
itself, like on Fripp's "God Save The Queen" album.  I've even heard
the Frippertronics sound on a few albums by other artists.  I found it
interesting that somebody compared Fripp with Steve Hackett, since
Hackett has admitted that Fripp was his idol in the late 60's and early
70's.
                                     Jeff Richardson
                                     DCIEM, Toronto