Fun thread idea!
I don’t have time to sift through them all now, but I’ve literally spent months leaning some of JP’s parts over the years, and in general, his technique has always been off the charts.
That all said, as a listener, I really gravitate toward his early playing, where it felt like he left a little room for improv here and there. “Lines in the Sand,” “Voices,” and especially “Take Away my Pain” immediately come to mind.
Obviously, he has continued to progress, but his playing post 8VM has largely failed to connect with mr. Call it ‘sports guitar’ or what have you, but he is clearly in a league of his own. I just wish he dialed back a bit every now and then. In fact, if I had to describe his general lead playing the days, I’d use words like ‘cold,’ ‘calculated,’ and ‘sterile.’
He’s still one of my faves, but my top 10 would likely only come from Scenes and earlier.