Is Graham Coxon one of the great guitarists?

do you play the guitar?

 

This made me laugh. Good work!

 

You appear to have a very narrow and highly personalized view of what makes a guitarist a virtuoso. You should just say that guitarists are only virtuosos if they comply with your tastes. If no one can post a video of Julian Bream or Andres Segovia shredding or honkin' on 12-bar Bobo, then by your definition, the dudes can't play.

D.D.

 

Ah, got it: to be a virtuoso axeman, one has to play blues and fast solos (etc.) to a good standard.

 

Up until 1997 or so, sure.

 

If you want someone who "can't play the blues" look no further than Eric Clapton.

There was this great interview around 1990 when Jeffrey Lee Pierce claimed that Clapton "was an even bigger scandal than Vanilla Ice!" Blues, Blues, Baby!

 

I imagine this isn't the answer you're hoping for, but yes, I do play guitar.

 

Not at all. I consider many a non-shredder to be a virtuoso. I play guitar and can handle an indie guitar accompaniment easily whilst finding lots of other stuff impossible. I don't see why people are disputing that Steve Howe, Vai, Satriani, Moore, Morse, Petrucci, Gilbert etc etc are better players than Coxon. To me it is utterly baffling that anyone would even think that these indie guys are virtuosos.

 

Nope. Not what I'm saying. Chet Atkins was a virtuoso as are many professional classical guitarists. I could reel off 20 or 30 non-shredders for you if you like?

 

How did this thread veer off from asking if Coxon was/is as good as or better than his contemporaries like Jonny Greenwood or Bernard Butler to this dead-end about "virtuosity"? I think that the most interesting thing about these guitarists is that they take a different view of what a guitarist can contribute to a song compared to the "guitar heroes" I grew up listening to. Whether or not they could get a gig in Frank Zappa's band is utterly irrelevant to me.

The whole "track meet" mentality that so often takes over conversations about guitarists never goes anywhere I want to go because I just don't buy the premise that someone's version of virtuosity is a prerequisite for the creation of engaging music. Using the Eighties "metal" scene as an example, the era absolutely weaved with guys who could "really play" and yet the most notable thing about that scene was that for the most part, it produced massive quntities of really uninvolving music, much of which just served as a vehicle for endless and endlessly tedious wankery. I think the difference between "guitarist" and"musician" gets lost when it becomes a matter of counting notes per minute and immaculate technique vs. playing that brings something fresh and serves the song. That's not to say that I don't appreciate technical excellence for what it is, but rather that I don't think it's alpha and omega. Been there, done that.

D.D.

 

It veered off in that direction due to the OP asking if Coxon is one of the great guitarists. Therefore he's not just up against guys from his own genre is he and we're not talking about songwriting or compositional ability so far as I'm aware. I like Coxon's playing, and Blur, but he wouldn't figure in my top 100 greatest guitarists list.

 

G.C. is definitely my favorite instrumentalist of the whole Britpop era and possibly of the last 25 years. His playing on "Charmless Man" kills me - the riffing, the bending, the rapid-fire arpeggiated runs... and that's just the chorus!

From their first reunion show in '09:



And don't even get me started on his solo (or dueling solos) on "This Is A Low". Stately and chaotic.

Graham is the man. That said, I saw him lNY. On a solo tour in '05 and his playing bored the pants off me. Not the case with Blur in '97, '99, and '15, though - it must be a frontman thing.

 

You've read the poll, right ? You're the guy who started comparing him to Satriani and Vai. And started imposing your narrow view of what makes a guitarist "great" on the conversation.

This is all pretty subjective so it's going to be impossible to achieve any kind of consensus. What once constituted "great" guitar playing to me isn't what I care about now in terms of what guitar brings to or imposes upon or for that matter inflicts on a song. We may not necessarily be looking for the same things out of guitarists and that's fine. When I was younger, guys like Joe Bonamassa were Jesus come to walk among us as far as I was concerned. Now, I'd take Albert King all day long. Which one is the "greater" guitarist ?

D.D.

 

I'd take Albert King over Bonamassa too.

 

How about Ricky King?

 

Gee, I'm almost a year late. Just come here to say that Graham Coxon is a genius. I've been listening to Blur very extensively this past year, and I still keep finding other bits that show how good Coxon. He may not be the most technically apt, but he has his own style which is very recognizable. His melodies are also always sublime.

 

Do yourself a favor and listen to his solo records.