Yes, everyone knows about Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, and Jimi Hendrix and their skill with the axe. But here are a few other guitar gods whose place in the pantheon draws less support from the casual rock listener.
Prince
While Prince is famous in his own right for his catchy pop tunes and dirty lyrics, it is often forgotten that Prince can play a mean (if silly looking) guitar. Although he doesn't necessarily showcase his talents often, preferring to blend his guitar in with a mix of other instruments, there are plenty of Prince solos. For proof, check out the songs “Let's Go Crazy” and “I Can Never Take the Place of Your Man.”
Mike McCready
With front man Eddie Vedder taking center stage in the hard rock act Pearl Jam, guitarist Mike McCready is in the background writing riff after riff. Check out Pearl Jam's first album Ten for examples of McCready's killer riffs, particularly “Even Flow” and “Alive.” Also worth mentioning is Pearl Jam's rhythm guitarist Stone Gossard.
Izzy Stradlin
In the tumultuous career of the half defunct heavy metal band Guns N' Roses, lead singer Axl Rose spent a lot of time in the limelight both for his unique voice and also for his off stage explosive persona. Whatever attention wasn't spent on Mr. Rose often focused on Slash, the band's lead guitarist and an exciting headline waiting to happen in his own right.
Still, Izzy Stradlin played a key role in all of Guns N' Roses' major albums, including penning such notable songs as “Patience,” “14 Years,” and “Bad Obsession,” and co-writing the majority of the bands other big hits, including most of their seminal and groundbreaking album Appetite for Destruction.
Tom Verlaine
Tom Verlaine is best known as the lead guitarist of the band Television, a critically acclaimed although (at least in the United States) commercially unsuccessful band from the seventies that only released two albums. One of the more notable facts about Verlaine is that his guitar work very rarely features distortion, bucking the popular trend in guitar work from this time period.
Robert Randolph
Although Robert Randolph and the Family Band have achieved some critical success, the band has not achieved a high level of commercial success. Still, Robert Randolph has opened for Dave Matthews Band, the Black Crowes, and Eric Clapton. Randolph plays a steel pedal guitar, and his concerts are known for extended jam sessions (check out Live at the Wetlands for example).
These five guitarists are some of the finest the industry can offer, and although they may be overshadowed by their other achievements, by band mates, or by other artists, a close listen to their fret work will reveal that they have what it takes to play with some of the more notorious guitar masters.
