Onto the top ten we go!

10.  Brian Robertson

Thin Lizzy’s Brian Robertson was pretty much a wunderkind, joining the band at the ripe old age of 18 to team up with Scott Gorham for a brief but most excellent four year stint with the great Irish band.  Lizzy’s popularity shot through the roof with the Gorham/Robertson tag team as they released five studio albums and one live album during this period.  The band has always had a slew of great players, but Robertson has always been my favorite-  his lead style was very melodic and what he played fit perfectly for the song.  His Les Paul tone with half cocked wah wah pedal during the lead breaks was so smooth, subtle, and never too flashy.  Unfortunately, Robertson’s tenure with Lizzy was short and he moved on to fill the guitarist void in Motorhead which seemed like such an odd pairing at the time but in hindsight their single album together (Another Perfect Day) is an underrated gem.  Robertson has kept a fairly low profile over the years and his playing is missed.

Choice cuts:  “Emerald”, “Suicide”, “Johnny The Fox Meets Jimmy The Weed”, “The Boys Are Back In Town”, “Still In Love With You (live version)”, “Cowboy Song”

9.  Nuno Bettencourt

Nuno Bettencourt has been unfairly slagged as being part of a hair metal band (Extreme) that wrote a #1 hit ballad in “More Than Words” (to me, a FANTASTIC song), but outside of guitar fanatics he doesn’t get his due.  This dude can PLAAAAAAAY and his chops are much better than some of his peers from the 80s.  For one thing, Nuno sense of timing and his innate funkiness is off the charts-  hell, even Rhianna knows this as he’s been moonlighting in her live band for the past few years!  The guy is a great rhythm player and his lead playing puts him on another level.  Sure, Nuno can play fast but his overall sense of feel is what makes him stand out, whether it be on the rock cuts or the occasional acoustic pieces that he writes for Extreme.  All those haters out there have no idea what they are missing.

Choice cuts:  “Cupid’s Dead”, “Kid Ego”, “Play With Me”, “Get The Funk Out”, “Decadence Dance”, “Cynical”

8.  Billy Gibbons

Tone…  taste…  tenacity…  three words that do a great job of describing Reverend Billy F Gibbons’ technique and the overall vibe and style of his fantastic band of brothers in ZZ Top.  I grew up with the MTV version of ZZ so I caught the band in all its glory with the cars, women, beards, and sunglasses but little did I know what awesomeness lie in the past.  Sure, I got a good dose of the early radio hits but holy smokes…  those early pre-Eliminator albums is where the bulk of the joy is.  What’s totally cool about Gibbons’ playing is that it’s the economy of it:  no fast noodling, no wild bends, no crazy guitar histrionics; it’s all down to those three T’s described above and his overall sense of feel.  Put on an early ZZ record and you’ll be air guitaring and bopping along in no time.

Choice cuts:  “Heard It On The X”, “Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers”, “Just Got Paid”, “I Need You Tonight”, “La Grange”, “I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide”

7.  Dave Murray/Adrian Smith/Janick Gers

Why, OF COURSE I have to put The Three Amigos on here, being from my favorite band of all time.  And like a couple of posts earlier I do have to cheat and put them in as a collective unit.  The boys from Iron Maiden (along with bassist supreme Steve Harris) have written a number of classics and all three have their own distinct voice in the band:  Janick Gers with his searing, off the cuff Blackmoreisms, Dave Murray with his Hendrix meets Trower legato work, and the smooth Schenkeresque stylings of Adrian Smith.  All bring something totally different to the table in their writing styles and in their lead playing that helps push Iron Maiden to the forefront of heavy metal.  While I can’t deny that I lean more towards Murray’s looser style, Smith brings more of a melodic punch to the band that was sorely missing when he was gone and Gers has a tendency to freestyle and push things to the limit oftentimes with great success.

Choice cuts:  “The Trooper”, “Wasted Years”, “Powerslave”, “The Thin Line Between Love And Hate”, “Sign Of The Cross”, “Paschendale”

6.  Buck Dharma

Buck Dharma has got to be THE most underrated rock guitar player on the planet.  As one of Blue Oyster Cult’s main songwriters he has written many a fine riff and his lead playing truly fits the song.  However, Buck really comes to life in a live setting, often taking extended solos midway through songs to take them to a whole other level.  Believe me, he is the only guitarist I’ve caught live that took me to another transcendent plane when he went off midway through one of BOC’s moodier cuts that gradually increased in tempo as his playing intensified.  Buck’s style incorporates jazzy phrasing with the occasional blues twist that makes him a little more unique compared to his contemporaries.  He’s quite capable of making quick runs and dramatic stops/starts along with slower, bluesier melodic spots, often within the same song.  Great tone too.

Choice cuts:  “Don’t Fear The Reaper”, “Burnin’ For You”, “Then Came The Last Days Of May”, “Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll”, “Astronomy”, “Perfect Water”