Justin Hayward has already been mentioned so I'll mention Pete Ham. And, yes these guys are/were in well known bands, but I've never seen either of these guys mentioned in any magazine or internet "greatest guitarists lists". My theory is..players in pop style bands known for 3-5 minute songs aren't considered because they play concise solo's in a pop song format and don't usually get a chance to stretch out and show their chops. I saw Badfinger live and Ham was... Cream era Clapton-esque.
The correct word is "underappreciated", not underrated. That's what annoys me about the onslaught of "underrated" threads that plague this site. The OP never uses the proper terminology.
Showing my age, Pete Townsend is a great guitarist, but was competing with Hendrix and Clapton in the guitar god era
TERRY KATH (1946-1978) - Gone Too Soon In an era of rock dominated by the likes Jimi, Townshend, Santana, Frampton, Van Halen and Schenker, it was easy to overlook the absolute genius of someone like Terry Kath. Quite possibly it is because he played with Chicago, who were jazz-pop, and not really factored into the rock scene, even though Chicago’s musicians as a whole were absolutely amazing. Tragically, Terry Kath passed away in 1978 due to an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
I just saw him last weekend at a Linda Ronstadt tribute playing solo lap steel. Always incredible to see how effortlessly he plays, and how it's never "too much".
In your defense, two of them are closed to comments and the other hasn't had regular posts in more than 2 years. There's a point in the new member FAQs that says, 'don't revive an old thread, start a new one.' edit: I see @Glenn Christense made my first point for me.
Peter Koppes of The Church is an amazing lead guitarist. He never seems to get the credit he deserves.
There are a ton of instrumental guitarists. But they are more unknown than underrated (Dimitar Nalbantov, Michael Harris, Goncalo Pereira and so on). I would say that Vito Bratta from White Lion is pretty underrated - He created many truly mesmerizing guitar solos.
I think some are confusing unknown with underrated. Roy Buchanan along with Danny Gatton are often called the world's greatest unknown guitarists. Both VERY highly rated by people who know them. God I miss them both ...
Not sure of the veracity of this anecdote, but..... "According to [Chicago's] saxophonist Walter Parazaider, after the show, “This guy came up very quietly and tapped me on the shoulder. He says, ‘Hi, I’m Jimi Hendrix. I’ve been watching you guys and I think your guitarist is better than me.”
I've heard something similar about Hendrix and Kath before, and I'd believe it. Hendrix was very humble and, apparently, very generous with praise. He once told Robert Fripp "Shake my left hand; it's closer to my heart."
I don't know about 'underrated', but maybe 'unsung' compared to the usual suspects: Steve Cropper Marshall Crenshaw Chet Atkins Howard Roberts Tommy Tedesco Grady Martin Reggie Young ... among others.
Ollie Halsall is a fairly underappreciated guitarist. He is primarily known for being Kevin Ayers' guitarist as a member of The Soporifics. Additionally, he played guitar on "The Rutles" '78 album. He has a solo album that remains unreleased that I would love to get my hands on which Robert Fripp had produced. Finally, he is, relatively speaking, not very well known as his whole career was jeopardized by a heroin addiction where he sabotaged some very good opportunities. He died in '92 from an overdose. On another note, I also think that Sterling Morrison was an underappreciated guitarist when he played with The Velvet Underground.
another under rated? (under appreciated) one is Doyle Bramhall III .......seen him with Clapton....the guy has got it...
I've always thought this..nothing to do with his recent passing...Greg Lake 9(I know it's for another thread by I also consider him one of the most overlooked vocalists in Rock)..
My answer to this question was always Alex Lifeson, but he has been getting the recognition he deserves as of late..Although maybe still not enough so I still vote for him
you are so right.....another guitarist, we've all heard 150,000 times, but I never heard his name mentioned even once, is Davey Johnstone of all the Elton John recordings...he's a very solid player...no one ever even mentions the guy.
