Author Topic: erwinrafael's 25 Favorite Musicians: #1. A majestic ending  (Read 7697 times)

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Offline Lepprador

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Re: erwinrafael's 25 Favorite Musicians: #18 shows some Toto love
« Reply #35 on: February 10, 2017, 07:31:06 AM »
Good call on the drumming of Alan White on The Calling. One of my favorite air-drumming songs.

While no Marco Minnemann material, Paul Gearys drumming is very tasteful, effective and mature. His drumming on Am I Ever Gonna Change always gets me.

Luke is the complete package. He can shred with the best, but he's a much better songwriter than most shredders and he's got a voice you can work with.
I remember when EvH was asked how it's like to be the best guitarist, he answered something like: "Ask Luke."
I believe he's simply unable to play a wrong note. He could throw/smash his axe 10m across the stage and it would still sound amazing.


Offline TAC

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Re: erwinrafael's 25 Favorite Musicians: #18 shows some Toto love
« Reply #36 on: February 10, 2017, 03:55:27 PM »
I've never heard a Toto track that I'd want to hear again. Seriously. Can anyone recommend something that I might like?

Lionel Ritchie
No. Just no.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline bl5150

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Re: erwinrafael's 25 Favorite Musicians: #18 shows some Toto love
« Reply #37 on: February 10, 2017, 11:26:18 PM »
I've never heard a Toto track that I'd want to hear again. Seriously. Can anyone recommend something that I might like?

Lionel Ritchie
No. Just no.

Yes - just yes  ;D

Tell me this solo doesn't rock.........

https://youtu.be/f-s7sce-nWw?t=256
"I would just like to say that after all these years of heavy drinking, bright lights and late nights, I still don't need glasses. I drink right out of the bottle." - DLR

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Offline erwinrafael

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Re: erwinrafael's 25 Favorite Musicians: #18 shows some Toto love
« Reply #38 on: February 11, 2017, 03:27:32 AM »
I've never heard a Toto track that I'd want to hear again. Seriously. Can anyone recommend something that I might like?

How about an instrumental?

Jake to the Bone

The outro jam solo to Rosanna (studio version) might be one of my favorite guitar solos of all time, shame it's faded out.

Have you heard the isolated track of that solo? It's insane. And he can replicate it live so he was not just jamming it.  :lol

Good call on the drumming of Alan White on The Calling. One of my favorite air-drumming songs.

While no Marco Minnemann material, Paul Gearys drumming is very tasteful, effective and mature. His drumming on Am I Ever Gonna Change always gets me.

For those who want to learn how to play drums, I' just tell them to study Geary's drumming in Extreme II and III. What's amazing for me is that Paul did not study drums formally. He just watched his favorite drummers play and also played along to their records.

Offline erwinrafael

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Re: erwinrafael's 25 Favorite Musicians: #18 shows some Toto love
« Reply #39 on: February 11, 2017, 04:08:17 AM »
Now to the first monster drummer on the list

17. Terry Bozzio



He is a master of polyrhythm. He plays aggressively. He has incredible speed. He has amazing footwork. And he sees the drum kit as a melodic instrument, playing cymbals and toms up and down the scale, following what the other instruments are doing.

In short, he's Mike Mangini (an amped up monster version).  :rollin

Caesar's Palace Blues - Love the drum orchestration in this song. And the foot speed. WOW.
« Last Edit: February 12, 2017, 05:13:37 AM by erwinrafael »

Offline Kwyjibo

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Re: erwinrafael's 25 Favorite Musicians: #17 is a true monster drummer
« Reply #40 on: February 11, 2017, 11:25:29 AM »
I hear a lot about Terry Bozzio and I know him from two records, Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop and Vai's Sex & Religion. Really liked his drumming there but haven't listened to anything else he's done. But tremendous musician nonetheless.
Must've been Kwyji sending all the wrong songs.   ;D

Offline TAC

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Re: erwinrafael's 25 Favorite Musicians: #17 is a true monster drummer
« Reply #41 on: February 11, 2017, 04:09:01 PM »
I only know Missing Persons.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline TAC

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Re: erwinrafael's 25 Favorite Musicians: #18 shows some Toto love
« Reply #42 on: February 11, 2017, 06:02:34 PM »
Tell me this solo doesn't rock.........

https://youtu.be/f-s7sce-nWw?t=256

How the hell do you expect me to listen to that with this f'n guy staring at me?



Steve Lukather..If a tree falls in the forest blah blah blah

I'm not listening to Lionel fucking Richie for the guitar solos!




EDIT: What the hell? :lol
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline TAC

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Re: erwinrafael's 25 Favorite Musicians: #18 shows some Toto love
« Reply #43 on: February 11, 2017, 06:47:11 PM »
I've never heard a Toto track that I'd want to hear again. Seriously. Can anyone recommend something that I might like?

How about an instrumental?

Jake to the Bone

VERY VERY NICE!!!!!

Thank you.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline erwinrafael

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Re: erwinrafael's 25 Favorite Musicians: #17 is a true monster drummer
« Reply #44 on: February 12, 2017, 09:26:45 AM »
Next is a bass guitar legend.

16. Billy Sheehan



During the early 1990s, my brother and I had this proxy "rivalry" of sorts between 4-piece bands. He was the Mr. Big guy in the house, while I was the Extreme guy. That said, I did listen a lot to my brother's Mr. Big records, and it's primarily to hear Billy Sheehan, who played the bass like a lead guitar as if it's nobody's business. I learned to play a couple of Billy Sheehan pieces, but only the slow songs Green Tinted Sixties Mind and Just Take My Heart. The rest of his tunes, I did not even dare to start to learn. Trying Alive and Kicking as my third tune crushed my spirit.  :lol

Favorite performance:

Mr. Gone - Sheehan's lead-like playing could sometimes be too much of an attention-grabber. But in Mr. Gone, he played like a lead but still kept a very solid rhythm which drove the song. This song has one of the best bass intros ever.  :metal

Offline Kwyjibo

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Re: erwinrafael's 25 Favorite Musicians: #16 is a big bass guitar legend
« Reply #45 on: February 12, 2017, 10:19:06 AM »
Yeah, Billy's great  :metal :metal :metal

From the early DLR records to Mr. Big to Steve Vai to Niacin and then to his solo records, you could say that I'm a fan of his.  :biggrin:
Must've been Kwyji sending all the wrong songs.   ;D

Offline Stadler

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Re: erwinrafael's 25 Favorite Musicians: #16 is a big bass guitar legend
« Reply #46 on: February 13, 2017, 07:58:40 AM »
Big fan of Billy; I stood right in front of him on the last Winery Dogs show I went to, and he was cool as beans (shook his hand after the show) and to watch him from about four feet away... mesmerizing.  Just amazing.

And I won't apologize for this one bit:  I love Lionel Ritchie's voice.  Not all the material is my bag, but I could listen to him sing "Easy" all day long and twice on Sunday.  VELVET. 

Offline KevShmev

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Re: erwinrafael's 25 Favorite Musicians: #16 is a big bass guitar legend
« Reply #47 on: February 13, 2017, 07:09:50 PM »
Sheehan is definitely a beast of a player, but he isn't in a single band that I am really a fan of.

And he should have been kicked off the list for being one of those scientologist nut jobs. :lol :lol

Offline erwinrafael

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Re: erwinrafael's 25 Favorite Musicians: #16 is a big bass guitar legend
« Reply #48 on: February 26, 2017, 06:06:40 PM »
Got caught up with being back to performing on stage again after more than a decade of inactivity.  :lol Damn, I forgot how busy preparing for a concert could get.

Anyway, on to the list and it's another drummer.

15. Roger Taylor



Queen has been my favorite band for some time, but I really only took notice of Roger Taylor's drumming when a good drummer friend of mine told me to listen intently to "We Are The Champions." I found my friend's suggestion funny at first because the drumming in that song did not really shout "amazing" upon casual listening. But when I listened to the song intently, that's when I heard Roger Taylor's skill in drum composition. He did not flaunt technique and chops but instead put a lot of care in drumming what would appropriately suit the feel of the song. Roger Taylor's drumming explains my fascination with drum orchestration to this day.

Listen to a drum+bass only version of We Are The Champions

Favorite performance:

Stone Cold Crazy - Taylor's groove in this song is amazing. You can feel the raw energy. What I really love is how Roger knows when to let it loose and when to show restraint in this song which is very prone to overplaying. There's this drums only version in Youtube ripped from Rockband 3 and it's a very good listen.

Online DragonAttack

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Had to chime in here...

His best work was definitely on 'Sheer Heart Attack', especially during the 'Brighton Rock' instrumental part.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUt_7TQCWtU

Or, being simple as during 'Good Company'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQo5tqwAwgE

Who else would use timpani drums for their drum solo, as he did during the Jazz/Live Killers/The Game tours? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-q53FuMLCQ
 Stood and played the one bass drum and tambourine during the drop down stage acoustic set. 

Who could make dogs howl and come running from such a high pitched voice, as he uses during 'In The Lap Of The Gods'.  Generally provided the only BVs during concerts. 

Sadly...he got lazy in the 80s with the programmed drums on the studio cuts.  There are some hidden gems in his solo offerings. 

Good choice.

« Last Edit: March 01, 2017, 03:04:08 AM by DragonAttack »
...going along with Dragon Attack's Queen thread has been like taking a free class in Queen knowledge. Where else are you gonna find info like that?!

Offline Accelerando

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Love me some Roger Taylor

Offline ReaperKK

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Just caught up on the list, some really great picks on here. I'll be following

Offline erwinrafael

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Had to chime in here...

His best work was definitely on 'Sheer Heart Attack', especially during the 'Brighton Rock' instrumental part.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUt_7TQCWtU

Or, being simple as during 'Good Company'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQo5tqwAwgE


Yes, the Sheer Heart Attack album is Roger's best work. I also love his drumming in News of the World.  It's Late is :metal

Offline erwinrafael

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Finally found some time to continue this.

14. Pat Badger



When you are in a 4-piece rock band playing bass with a virtuoso guitarist, you could take the Michael Anthony route, shrink in the background and let the guitarist shine. Or you could take the Billy Sheehan route, play like a lead instrument and compete with the guitarist for the spotlight.

Or you could be Pat Badger and take the middle ground.

Pat's aggressive bass tone provided the "bite" in Extreme's sound. More than the drums, Pat carried Extreme's formidable rhythm section. At the same time, he managed to match Nuno's virtuosity with perfectly-timed flashes of brilliance.

Favorite performances:

Cupid's Dead - One of the best bass performances ever. The bass in the song proper is already excellent, but the instrumental is what makes this song extra special. The instrumental section is one long unison with Nuno that made my jaw drop when I realized what was actually happening.

No Respect - I had to mention this because it has one of the most infectious bass grooves ever. And again, the instrumental is killer, this time counterpointing with Nuno instead of a unison.

Offline Stadler

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Re: erwinrafael's 25 Favorite Musicians: #14 is an extremely good bassist
« Reply #54 on: March 02, 2017, 09:40:24 AM »
He can sing too.  I've seen Extreme twice, once on the "Three Sides..." tour and on the recent Pornograffiti 25th tour.  On the latter one I was right in front of him, and I was blown away by how good he was.   Not flashy, not hogging the spotlight, but making the whole thing tight as a drum.  Or bass.  What have you. 

Offline erwinrafael

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Re: erwinrafael's 25 Favorite Musicians: #14 is an extremely good bassist
« Reply #55 on: March 02, 2017, 09:48:37 AM »
Not flashy, not hogging the spotlight, but making the whole thing tight as a drum.  Or bass.  What have you.

In prog equivalence, more John Myung, less Chris Squire.  :lol

Offline Stadler

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Re: erwinrafael's 25 Favorite Musicians: #14 is an extremely good bassist
« Reply #56 on: March 02, 2017, 09:50:06 AM »
Not flashy, not hogging the spotlight, but making the whole thing tight as a drum.  Or bass.  What have you.

In prog equivalence, more John Myung, less Chris Squire.  :lol

Loving the analogy, but I'd go with Pete Trewavas, because of the vocals. 

Offline erwinrafael

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Re: erwinrafael's 25 Favorite Musicians: #14 is an extremely good bassist
« Reply #57 on: March 06, 2017, 08:44:56 AM »
Now to start the successive entries featuring guitarists:

13. Eddie Van Halen



What else needs to be said. He changed the way rock guitar is played. Emulated by many, but nobody captures that unique tone and that combination of technique and melody. I also love how his playing is so distinctive that even when I was not yet familiar with their whole discography, I could already recognize if its EVH on guitar.

Favorite performance:

Summer Nights and Poundcake - Many of EVH's fans point to the Roth era as their favorite when it comes to guitar playing. However, in my case, I love the Van Hagar era more not just because I like the songs more but also because EVH at the time was already playing with a complete arsenal of his signature techniques. From a guitar-playing perspective, these two songs are tops for me. Love the effect of the 12-strings on Poundcake and the innovative use of the TransTrem in Summer Nights.

Offline erwinrafael

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Re: erwinrafael's 25 Favorite Musicians: #13 is a guitar legend
« Reply #58 on: March 07, 2017, 09:13:06 AM »
12. Nuno Bettencourt



My love for Nuno's lead guitar playing is easy to explain. He sticks to the Brian May rule for guitar solos: the best solos are solos that you can sing. And Nuno's lead solos, even the fast ones, are indeed like songs that stick to my head. Beautiful.

My love for his rhythm work, I find harder to articulate. Nuno is a good drummer and percussionist, and as a percussionist myself, I can hear that in his rhythm work. I can airdrum his riffs (does that even make sense?). It moves. It jumps. It pounds. It...do you under stand what I'm saying?

Favorite performances:

Money (In God We Trust) - The riffing! The riffing!

Rest in Peace - The riff! The rhythm guitar! The solo! THAT DAMN SOLO! The acoustic outro! Everything!

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Re: erwinrafael's 25 Favorite Musicians: #12 gets the funk out
« Reply #59 on: March 07, 2017, 09:29:18 AM »
Good choices, both of them. I knew it was Nuno from the thread-title instantly (not that it was a very difficult one to guess, but still).
Hey dude slow the fuck down so we can finish together at the same time.  :biggrin:
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Offline Kwyjibo

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Re: erwinrafael's 25 Favorite Musicians: #12 gets the funk out
« Reply #60 on: March 07, 2017, 09:30:40 AM »
Eddie is simply the most innovative guitar player of the last 40+ years, highly influential and often copied but never really reached. I wrote somewhere that Steve Lukather is my favorite guitar player but thinking ybout it, it could also be EVH.

Nuno is great too but I love his funky rhythm work much better than his (nonetheless awsome) lead playing. And he can sing, and he can play piano, and he can play drums, and he looks good. I'm probably a little bit envious  ;D

I like his Extreme work best but also love the two Mourning Widows records.
Must've been Kwyji sending all the wrong songs.   ;D

Offline erwinrafael

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Re: erwinrafael's 25 Favorite Musicians: #12 gets the funk out
« Reply #61 on: March 08, 2017, 04:20:00 PM »
11. Criss Oliva



Sometime in 1994 or 1995, when rock music was sudddenly ruling the airwaves here in the Philippines, a pop station played "All That I Bleed". It became a minor hit, and I was struck with how the song hit me like no song ever did before. It's a very sad tune, but when the guitars came in, the only adjective I could describe the feeling is it sounds GLORIOUS. The guitar, especially in the solo, is not difficult at all, but it is so emotional and climactic.

Fast forward to 1997, I had a friend who lent me a cassette tape of the Edge of Thorns album. I was expecting it to be good given how much I loved All That I Bleed, but when I listened to the album, I was blown away. It's the perfect guitar album in a band context, with the catchy riffs, the distinctive and singing leads. Criss Oliva's guitar is flawless in Edge of Thorns and to this day, I still consider it the best guitar playing in a non-solo instrumental guitar album among the albums I have heard.

Fast forward to me gaining internet access in the 2000s. I learned that Criss Oliva is dead and his last album is Edge of Thorns, and I was devastated.

Favorite performances:

Edge of Thorns - the riff leading to the guitar solo is one of the best metal riffs I have heard, but the kicker really is the solo itself. Beautiful.

All That I Bleed - this could very well be a sentimental choice, but to this day, I still view this song as the model on how to use the guitars to build up the climax. When Criss' lead came in, it's a soloing-while-on-top-of-a-mountain-with-the-wind-gloriously-blowing-your-heavy-metal-long-hair moment.

Offline bl5150

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Re: erwinrafael's 25 Favorite Musicians: #12 gets the funk out
« Reply #62 on: March 08, 2017, 04:22:40 PM »
Can't fault the last 3 at all Erwin........ :hefdaddy :hefdaddy :hefdaddy :metal :metal :metal
"I would just like to say that after all these years of heavy drinking, bright lights and late nights, I still don't need glasses. I drink right out of the bottle." - DLR

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Offline erwinrafael

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Re: erwinrafael's 25 Favorite Musicians: #11 is all that I bleed
« Reply #63 on: March 08, 2017, 04:24:13 PM »
Well, you most likely won't be that impressed with #10 when I go back to the rhythm section.  :lol

Offline Kwyjibo

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Re: erwinrafael's 25 Favorite Musicians: #11 is all that I bleed
« Reply #64 on: March 09, 2017, 03:44:59 AM »
Yeah, can't go wrong with Savatage/Criss Oliva  :tup
Must've been Kwyji sending all the wrong songs.   ;D

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Re: erwinrafael's 25 Favorite Musicians: #11 is all that I bleed
« Reply #65 on: March 09, 2017, 04:10:18 AM »
It was the guitar solo in Gutter Ballet that prompted me to seriously play the guitar. Great choice!
Hey dude slow the fuck down so we can finish together at the same time.  :biggrin:
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Offline erwinrafael

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Re: erwinrafael's 25 Favorite Musicians: #11 is all that I bleed
« Reply #66 on: March 12, 2017, 10:35:02 AM »
10. John Deacon



The poster boy of the underrated musician. His reserved personality made him the least prominent among the members of Queen. What I find more surprising is how Deaky is rarely talked about as one the bass guitar greats, given that Queen has spawned two big hits that rest on a bass groove (Another One Bites the Dust, Under Pressure). Always full of groove in his playing, John was solid since Queen's first two albums. But his bass took on a more confident character starting from the Sheer Heart Attack album. I particularly loved the run of albums from A Day at the Races up to The Game, with The Game as my second-most favorite bass guitar album ever. He is the first bassist I heard that plays a lot in the high register of the bass guitar, usually playing like a string arrangement (example, The Millionaire Waltz and We Are The Champions). John knows how to support songs with catchy bass lines while also playfully counterpointing with the guitars, the vocals and the piano.

Favorite performances:

Too many to enumerate! I can narrow this to five, I think.

The Millionaire Waltz - this is bass playing at its finest. Elegant is the best word to describe Deaky's bass in this song.

Jealousy - this is a good example of how John plays to the emotion of the song...

Bicycle Race - ..while this one is a good example of John playing out the "story" of the song. The bass in the chorus really makes me feel the graceful motion of riding a bicycle.

Play the Game - now I am really having a hard time shortening this list, because there are lots of songs like this where John makes his presence felt while still providing the solid bass support of the song.

Dragon Attack - that is one sexy bass riff.

Offline ReaperKK

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I love John Deacon and I agree with everything you said about his bass playing. I wonder if he still plays for pleasure.

Offline erwinrafael

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9. Joe Satriani



One of the three guitarists who got me hooked to instrumental music, Satch knows how to make his guitar sing while dazzling the listener with his technical virtuosity. His body of work is immense and one has to sift through the sheer volume of his prolific output to get to the real gems, but boy when he writes a gem, it's really topnotch. The problem with Satch is that he peaked early, with most of the good full albums in the early half of his career (Surfing With An Alien and The Extremist are masterpieces). But he keeps on trying, and he'll keep on trying to come up with the next amazing guitar piece, until he brings his guitar to his grave.

Favorite  performances:

Always With Me, Always With You - Amazing musicians almost always come up with at least one perfect piece, and this is Satch's moment of perfection.

The Extremist - Who says that early 90s alternative rock style would not blend well with virtuoso guitar playing? Not Satch.

Andalusia - This to me is the ultimate gem (so far) of the second half of Satch's discography. Starting acoustic then going heavy is an inspired choice.

Offline Kwyjibo

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Re: erwinrafael's 25 Favorite Musicians: #9 is not of this Earth
« Reply #69 on: March 13, 2017, 10:47:00 AM »
Satch is great, saw him live a couple of times and he never disappointed. But you said it right, he peaked early in his career (Surfing, Flying, Extremist and Crystal Planet are my faves) and never reached that level again. He still makes decent records and sometimes really great tunes, but didn't release a completely great and cohesive album  for quite some time.

But still, great choice.
Must've been Kwyji sending all the wrong songs.   ;D