80s Guitarists Everyone Should Know ... BUT DON"T!
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- Опубликовано: 6 фев 2025
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I see no "list of underrated guitarist" in the description box.
@@travelinman482 I'll name two that should be on that list: Oz Fox (Stryper) and Carlos Cavazo (Quiet Riot)
Jeff Watson and Brad Gillis
Chris DeGarmo of Queensryche is insanely talented and underrated.
ABSOLUTELY!!!
Queensryche as a band was ahead of the times and underrated..saw them in concert back in the 80's and it was legendary.
Without a doubt! DeGarmo was an amazing riff master. His departure form Queensryche was the beginning of the end for QR. Saw them in October in Lansing MI on their origins tour which is the first 2 albums. Even though there are only 2 original members of the five, the music was amazing and it was mostly in part due to DeGarmo's music writing.
They were never the same after he left! Empires most overlooked album of that time! Love that album!
I always thought Wilton was the better soloist. DeGarmo for the songwriting.
Rik Emmett of the band Triumph never gets on these best or underrated lists. Plus an amazing singer with range!!
Incredible talent.
@paintmonster1 100% truth !
Also an amazing person to talk to. I had a chance for about an hour at the Montreal F1 race probably 25 years ago. Such a nice dude.
Yep
Hell yes!
80’s Gary Moore on his albums Corridors Of Power, Victims Of The Future, Run For Cover, Wild Frontier and After The War feature some of the FINEST guitar playing ever recorded. On top of that all of the Live material he put out in that decade including Live In Japan in 1983, We Want Moore in 1984 and the Emerald Isles VHS in 1986 show the intense power of the sheer conviction and raw fire in Gary’s playing.
Check out Gary's playing on the G-Force and Dirty Fingers albums as well as his work with Thin Lizzy.
Dave meniketti of Y&T. A true legend
Dave Meniketti a true duel threat frontman! His guitar work and lead vocals are 2nd to none
@@brianfalls7128 John Sykes Blue Murder
Being a San Francisco native 🌁, I heard many songs from Y and T in the 1980s.
@@brianfalls7128I agree wholeheartedly
Forgot about Y&T... great band!
Jeff Watson from Night Ranger was another underrated shredder, his solo on 'Don't Tell Me You Love Me' is a monster.
I personally much preferred his style to Brad Gillis’.
@@stevesheroan4131 Brad Gillis?
I just watched Night Ranger concerts 2 weekends in a row. Still enjoying their stuff. A bit pop rocky but still enjoyable.
@@williamreichold1545 Stupid auto-correct. Thanks, corrected.
Jeff Watson solo album The Lone Ranger is a work of art. Check it out.
Criss Oliva (RIP) is top of my list for 80's/90's - of the ones you listed, Doug Aldrich has such a great catalog (add Bad Moon Rising to the bands you listed)
Totally agreed...criss was the best. r.i.p criss oliva
Doug Aldrich's work with Lion... And now Revolution Saints
Came here for this. Chris Caffery as well, for that matter. But for 80's and early Savatage focus, definitely Criss.
@@jaimericardovargasflorian870 Yep, nobody ever mentions the guy. He was certainly one of the best. To me back then, it was him and George to top my list
Few ever mention Chris, he was sublime and taken from us too soon….
Most underrated, easily Mathias Jabs. The guy was and is still phenomenal.
I definitely agree
I'll second that
Beat me to it!
Agreed! He lives in the shadow of Uli and Michael but he was the one!
The scorpions looked at hundreds of guitarists before picking Mathias . The guy is a beast. My favorite guitarist by far.
Akira Takasaki is an amazing player that is often overlooked… Loudness is an incredible band
I love 80s Japanese metal bands. Earthshaker is another one, but unlike Loudness, which performed English songs, most of Earthshaker's songs are in Japanese.
My vote to Akira.
@@StringfellowHawke-zb1dp 44 Magnum
ROUDNESS!! LOCK AND LOLL CLAZY NIGHTS!!!
Absolutely... Thunder in the East album
Like hell-solo
Clockwork toy...
Literally every solo on that album... Phenomenal
Criss Oliva (SAVATAGE), ohhh God, the guy was by far the emotion shredder by all means (soul) which is extremely rarely to be found, and always nobody talk or even mention his name. Rest in peace Criss you will always be my guitar hero.
My hero too
For me, the quintessential 80's guitarist is Steve Stevens. He doesn't really fall into the shredder category with his Billy Idol stuff (although he has been let loose since reuniting with Billy in the early 2000's) but he certainly showed he could give his contemporaries a run for their money with Atomic Playboys and Vince Neil "Exposed". Plus, I'm pretty sure he still holds the title for "Biggest Hair of a Dude Who Has Won a Grammy".
His stuff was in a category of its own. I remember the first time I seen accurate tabs. He always rank in my top 5 favorites.
Steve Stevens is awesome. Always loved that guy's playing.
Steve made the most memorable music of any guitar player of that Era in my opinion. He was more of a pure musician fist and a guitar player second.
He had one of the best live solo IMO.
The acoustic duet stuff he and Billy did was really cool. Seeing Stevie recreate those highly produced songs on just an acoustic guitar with no pick is awesome. It really shows how versatile he can play.
Frank Hannon, still the lead guitarist of the band Tesla!
Yep,was gonna mention him.
@@matthewservice267 definitely
@matthewsservice267 Frank is co lead guitarist
This is SPOT-ON!
@alanlatimer1024 kinda
Craig Goldy - Dio, Guffria, AND THE GREAT ROWAN ROBERTSON!! He played on Lock up the Wolves by Dio, he was about 17 or 18.
Vivian Campbell on the first two Dio solo albums.
Yeaahhhhhh🤟
Don't know why his name isn't as popular whereas people are commenting on Tesla guitarist 😅
@@talk844viv is very popular he rocketed to fame since Def Leppard
@@talk844He's a great guitarist but kind of a jerk , that's why (imo).
OMG, YES! As far as the "L.A. type" shredders he and Randy Rhoads were leading the way.
Steve Clark. Constantly overlooked. If people talk about Def Leppard, they tend to talk about Phil Collen-which is deserved. But Steve was not only a better player, he wrote most of the guitar parts Phil gets credit for. Absolute genius guitarist and it’s bloody criminal how often he is forgotten.
Not so. It is a well-known fact.
Yes,Steve was a great writer and player. He wasn't a shredder, and in the 80s, that's why he was often overlooked.
Dont forget about Pete Willis
I think Leopards players get overlooked sometimes because a lot of people think Mutt Lange was doing the heavy lifting. I will hear often they were a Mutt Lange band almost like they were session dudes or something crazy. He certainly has a massive role in their success but they all certainly can play and sing especially in their prime.
@michaelyatsco1958 Phill Collen is a great guitar player as well, within his limits. He is not a shred guitarist. I have seen many vids where he attempts to shred but falls a little short. Also, it could be that he uses very heavy guage strings. He is still a beast even in his mid 60s.
Criss Oliva is probably the most underrated guitarist of the 80's. Also, you never hear anything about Bruce Bouillet, who played alongside Paul Gilbert in RacerX.
Totally agreed...criss is the most underrated...r.i.p criss oliva
Ty Tabor of Kings X was a hero of mine …his playing was so cutting edge …I was Glad to see Dan Huff on your list…both these guys were innovative
@@jessemayra Was a hero???
IS A HERO!😎
❤❤❤❤❤Sweet Dann Huff
Very cool band, so ahead of their time... kinda like prog metal with a soul twist.
No bout a doubt it my friend. Ty Tabor is a 6 string Axe slinging shredder. I can't stand when people use the term underrated/overrated to grade any musician in music. Just for the fact that music is subjective to one owns personal preference & vibe, plain & simple. There's no right or wrong answer on who the best or greatest player is definitively of all-time in music history. What I will say to someone who's not hip to Ty Tabor of King's X yet is giddy up MF, you're missing out on some kick-azz shlt. Mic drop... Let's keep it a buck ya dig? +Peace Funk & Rock n' Roll 4 Your Soul My Friend+ 🤘😜🤘
On the ty tabor train
Criss Oliva from
Savatage, highly overlooked but going back from Hall Of The Mountain King album up until his untimely and tragic death, he put down some amazing riffs and solos. He was a very unique and rare talent.
Couldn't agree more! One of my favs from the era together with Vito Bratta 🤘
🤘❤️🤘
@@allenjames7416 absolutely!! Unbelievably under rated, and criminally unappreciated. The Olivia brothers were on another level.
most underrated by far - I still listen to Savatage every week !
Totally underrated! Unfortunately passed away in 1993 from car accident. If he was still alive today still be making great music
Akira Takasaki (Loudness), Criss Oliva (Savatage), Tony MacAlpine (also a keyboard phenom), Dave Meniketti (Y&T, also a killer singer), Mathias Jabs (Scorpions), Watson and Gillis (Night Ranger)...
Akira! Yes!
What about?:
Matthias Jabs (1978-present)
Lead guitarist is known for his technical prowess and creativity. Jabs has been instrumental in crafting the Scorpions’ classic hits, like "Rock You Like a Hurricane."
YES!!! I always forget to mention Jabs. He is such a great guitarist.
Jabs is absolutely phenomenal.
Matthias Jabs played some of my favorite guitar solos
Michael Schenker wrote and played most of Lovedrive. Jabs wasn't up to it.
@brentcopson1532 I was talking about from Love at First Sting on. Nobody said anything about Lovedrive.Jabs played 2 or 3 solos on Lovedrive.
Warren Demartini, Jake E Lee, Vitto Bratta, Adrian Vandenberg, Nuno Bettencourt, Reb Beach, Vivian Campbell, Chris Degarmo, Steve Lynch. Rick Emmitt
Finally, someone in the comments mentioning Vandenberg! I salute you.
I think your list is great. I love the way Vandenberg plays. I had a cassette tape of Vandenberg in the late 80’s. I wore that thing out. He was underrated. However, I think Bettencourt gets lots of praise, as he should. Thus, I might not have him in the underrated list. I saw them live in a bar one time when their first album came out, and he shredded until the sound went down. They got it fixed, but they had people in the bar come up and tell jokes for almost an hour while they fixed it.
steve:DD so thats his true name
Reb Beach for sure!!!!!
Great picks, all of them.
Reb Beach of Winger and Dokken, Michael Sweet of Stryper, Jake E Lee, Oz Fox of Stryper, Kane Roberts of Alice cooper, George Lynch, Billy white of Don Dokken's solo band, John Norum and Bruce Boulliee of Racer X
Alex Skolnick is always overlooked when it comes to 80s guitar players. He ripped on Testaments' The New Order and Pratice What you Preach in the late 80s.
That's Thrash. This was more general 80s style shredders. Otherwise we'd go down a slippery slope.
Joe Satriani student
Yes!!! Alex will always be one of my favorites!!! Bad ass!! and very underrated!!! Even his "AS-Trio" he's doing now with the jazz stuff is awesome!!! 🤘
Loved seeing him with testament in the 80s and again last winter. No difference whatsoever.
I vividly remember his Ibanez 540-PII… MAN I wanted that thing badly!
Great list!... the main one overlooked for me is Ronni LeTekro. His work with TNT combined with Tony Harnell's vocals. Unbelievable. They deserved much more attention in the era!! ☮💜🎶
Absolutely! Thank you foe mentioning him. He is an all time top 5 for me. He's a wizard!
Word!
Exactly!!! Ronni is an ULTIMATE UNDERRATED guitarist! He is a beast!!!
100% agree!!!!
Can't agree. They were lame
Put me down as another for Criss Oliva.
Listen to the solo on “Edge of Thorns”, which perfectly encapsulates everything that was great about Criss. Just nasty chops, infused into incredibly melodic riffing. He had it all, and killer tone to boot.
Rik Emmett, Vinnie Moore and so many to list!
Yes
Rik Emmett for sure. Not a shredder but so tasteful!
rik fpr sure
I’ve never heard of ‘Somany to list ‘ is he middle eastern or something ?
Vinny moore is still killing it, I love his modern albums.
Warrens solo in "Nobody Rides for Free" is amazing and to date I have NEVER seen anyone play the neck pickup portion of the solo correctly.
YES! And loving you is a dirty job is another amazing solo
great song and his tone is amazing on this tune.
@SD-kp1yk Totally agree, his pure plexi tone was impeccable on that one.
Yes I agree. I love his solo on In Your Direction from out of the cellar. Pretty much all the solos on that album are amazing. A great blend of speed, phrasing, and melody. Warren is my favorite 80s guitarist
Warren could rip a solo with the best. But what I loved most about his playing was he was never afraid to play different styles. One minute he's Riff master. Next he's Blues master. Then southern twang. Always had a versatile sound. But you can always tell it's him.
Here is my top 5 underrated 80’s guitarists:
Criss Oliva of Savatage
Brad Gillis of Night Ranger & Ozzy
Vivian Campbell of Dio
Andy LaRocque of King Diamond
Marc Diglio of XYZ
Solid List, Dude. Vivian was so young playing with DIO, Andy LaRoque is fucking deadly
Criss was the most underrated...criss was the best.
Haven't heard XYZ is a minute and a half lol loved the back in high-school.
You left out Criss Oliva of Savatage
👏👏👏
YES YES YES 🙌
He was amazing!
Good call!!!!
Dude was bad ass. From the school of EVH.
I would say Jason Becker, depsite his short Career. I am still in awe of Altitudes, so much, passion, energy, and technical prowess.
Short career is an understatement! He had most of that under his fingers and recorded by age 21! Absolute phenom, Jason was.
Jason Becker ❤️
He wasn't just technical either. He had a great sense of melody and composition. Later tracks like Primal are incredible.
I've been listening to the album he played on for David Lee Roth and I was really impressed by his work on there. I preferred his playing to what Vai did with DLR
I was always in awe of Jason Becker since he was such an advanced player at an early age. And, I'm just blown away by Jason still creating music despite suffering with ALS for such a long time. He was always a very energetic and enthusiastic guy, and his perseverance in continuing to create music is just incredible!
John Sykes, R.I.P. legend ♥️
Loved seeing Dann Huff on this list, love the Giant albums, great singer as well, those 2 first albums are incredible…
Jon Drenning from Crimson Glory, Dan Rock & Brian McAlpin from Psychotic Waltz are such underrated guitarist imho.
Chris DeGarmo & Michael Wilton… one of the best duos of the 80’s.
Had to edit to include Steve Clark and Pete Willis for underrated 80’s duo’s.
You sure don't hear much on radio or /xm music from Queensryche. I heard it 1 time on xm. SAD they were amazing as the original lineup
up there with KK and tipton or jackson and drenning of crimson glory as my top duos
@@Rick-l5t nobody could touch that original lineup. They were so damn good live.
@@FDGRebel Agreed! Steve Clark & Pete Willis don’t get anywhere near the credit they deserve either.
So glad to see people talk about Def Leppard😭
The most overlooked and underrated guitarist of the 80’s, Dave Meneketti.
Seen Y&T 37 times since 1983 and he melted faces every time and still does to this day! Meniketti is mind blowing!
I was hoping someone would mention Dave.😊
Damn good vocalist too.
Never mind what a great vocalist he is.
Dave !!!!!!!!!!!!!💯🤘💯🤘💯🤘
Criss Oliva, Ty Tabor, Vivian Campbell, Adrian Vandenberg, John Sykes, Vernon Reid, Snake Sabo & Scotti Hill, Nuno Bettencourt, Greg Howe, Tracii Guns
Carlos Cavazo! He was the first guitarist I heard in the 80’s that made me want to play guitar. There is a RUclips video still available if you search for it where he goes through his licks and solos from Quiet Riot’s Mental Health album. He was very underrated in my opinion.
I loved him in Ratt more than QR. I liked QR though.
Randy Rhoades was the original lead player for Quiet Riot, but Mental Health was a ground-breaking release!
Carlos cavazos was an incredible player in his own right butt overshadowed in the media by the fact that Randy rhoads was the prior guitar player
Star Licks is the video you are referencing. I bought it as a young teenager trying to learn his stuff.
Harry Cody from Shotgun Messiah.. beast of a player.
a truly awesome guitarist
I had the cassette of their first album. ha.ha.
Love Harry. I really like the first Shotgun Messiah album. Crazy guitar playing all over it.
@@glenncoleman6253 I met Tim Sköld in La. Big attitude.
GREAT player and song writer.
Criss Oliva Savatage. I mean man what a guitarist he was. Riffs, solos, I just loved him from the very beginning I listened to his guitar playing.
Harry Cody from Shotgun Messiah for sure.
Now THAT'S relevant with the video title.
I listened to "The Explorer" so many times in a row when I was a kid. Damn.
Bop City is such a great riff.
Shout it out
Yeeeessss!!!!
Yes! Thank you for talking about Warren Demartini's phrasing. He also has a gift for playing solos that are utterly perfect for the song.
As far as effortless playing(in the EVH vein): Vito Bratta. For a smooth,bluesy to Sunset strip perspective: Mark Kendall. As a progressive player that was technical in the rock spectrum;even classical scales: Alex Masi.
Actually Jeff Watson AND Brad Gillis from Night Ranger were both great guitar players by themselves , and together.
Oh, I definitely agree with you! :)
Night Ranger is still playing but without Jeff. Jeff had two brain operations recently so hope he's doing well. But Brad and Jeff played phenomenal solos to Jack's and Kelly's vocals. A great energetic band of patriots.
John Sykes!!!
He's been the guitar god he is all the time .D
John Sykes is a freaking monster on guitar!!!! He can shred with the best and also play slow and melodic with soul and good taste!!!
I don't think there is anyone as good as John Sykes. Period. I saw Jeff Beck three times, and John Sykes wears the King's Crown of guitarists in a royal class all his own!
Biggest let down is that he stopped playing.
I wholeheartedly agree that Sykes is amazing… but I wouldn’t call him underrated.
Chris Olivia! Hands down one of the best and doesn’t get spoken about.
The late great Criss Oliva of Savatage should be mentioned.
He was such an incredible guitarist whose life was cut too short due to a drunk driver head on collision.
R.I.P. Criss
Adrian Vandenberg, his namesake band was overlooked
Yes!!! Oz Fox!!!
Also Brad Gillis!!!
I love Vito Bratta White lion. Vito has something wrong with his fretting hand. He is also looking after his very aged mother. I love him. You can hear Eddie. ❤❤
Yes he got it caught in something and it mangled his hand.
Some hail Nuno Bettencourt as the carrier of EVH's torch. If Bratta had stayed in the music game I think he would've been the best player in R&R since EVH. Incredibly talented player although I didn't care much for White Lions music in general.
@ I listen to a few select songs that showcase Vito’s talent. I love Van Halen and ACDC is one of my favourite bands. They are at my current skill set. But then again I grew up in the 80’s. I am very fortunate to have had the privilege of listening to them all my life. Encouraging myself to pick up the guitar.🫶🏻🎸
@@dragongoffActually he injured his hand while playing. He has some nerve damage. He's given interviews regarding this.
@@cc8751 Thanks, I remember reading that bit of information from somewhere so that's what I was aware of. Now it's being said he had some hand injury from practicing. As much as they put White Lion down When The Children Cry left the world with something more important than how someone plays a guitar. The lyrics are the more important part of a song specially these days if the band is about lyrics and vocals and not just an instrumental music band. The guitar licks add to the song not make it if one looks at song creation properly. There are too many guitarists as it is but we're at a time when musicians need to use art to heal the world not just blow minds with dexterity.
Gonna go 80’s non shreds
-Neil Geraldo. Crazy vibrato and one of the most iconic tones (is it clean, is it dirty?) that no one has dated tried to emulate.
-Keith Scott. Tasty leads with just the right amount of feel and flash. Cuts Like A Knife is gotta be one of the best solos of all time and is that a Strat he’s playing on? What pickup. So thick and warm but not wooly.
-Chris Hayes. Anyone who could write a lead melody like “So this is it” needs to be looked at. New Drug had some tasty licks too.
Chris Hayes of Huey Lewis and the New is way underrated. He brought so much fire to that band and kept them from becoming milquetoast. A lot of fun to watch live, too.
Neil was the guitarist on Rick Springfield’s Jessie’s Girl and I’ve Done Everything For You recordings. Tim Pierce toured with Rick for several years. He said he never played the solo to Jessie’s Girl right. Didn’t know how Neil did it. Neil has been on stage with Rick and he said that the other guitarists will look to see how he plays the solo, and he hides it from them.
I remember thinking "Why don't we hear anything about Neil Geraldo?".
@ yep. And he was also the player on Don’t Fight It by Kenny Loggins and Steve Perry
If I may...I'm adding Neil Schon.. love his stuff and Freight Train Heart absolutely Rocks.. truth is, virtually every 80's guitar player was fantastic.. 🤘
No certain order. Joey Tafolla, Jason Becker, Tony MacAlpine(keyboard also), Chris Impellitteri, Andy LaRocque, Michael Sweet and Oz Fox, Vinnie Moore, Craig Goldy
While not a shredder I think Steve Clark of Def Leppard should be on here as a song / riff writer. I definitely don't think he gets enough credit. Glad you had jake e lee on here. Definitely sucks you have to get shot to have the conversation come back around to you. He is awesome.
I agree on Steve Clark! He was a phenomenal riff writer!
goat,nothing more needs to be said
Great comment! I literally wore out High N Dry. Had to buy that cassette 3 or 4 times because I just kept wearing it out. I bought the album too. I'm not exactly sure what Steve Clark played and what Pete Willis played, but that album is basically the Bible of hard rock lead guitar as far as I am concerned.
He’s the reason I started playing guitar.
Loved his style, similar to my own. The perfect compliment to Phil Collin. It is a shame he died so young.
I was in high school in the 80s, none of these guys were underrated, they were in the guitar magazines at the time and got plenty of respect. Guess you had to be there.
Agreed. I think Rob is about 10 to 15 years younger than us. He wasn't there to see all the attention these players actually received .
You are correct. If anything, Warren Demartini was overrated. Shawn Lane was underrated.
100%
Talking about modern players not knowing majority of mentioned players
Same. What's funny to me is back then if you wanted to be one of those guys, it was because you believed the ability to play like that got you the (perceived) girls/partying/money.... respect of your contemporaries or other up and coming musicians was a distant fourth pace at best! "Oh no, I'm not being respected as a musician, so I will cry myself to sleep on my mattress of money if I can find room between these groupies covered in Bolivian marching powder!" Yeah, I'm sure that got said a lot... 🙄
George Lynch, Brad Gillis, Jeff Watson, Steve Clark, Tom Keifer. I can keep going.
Ronni LeTekro from TNT, Derek Frigo from Enuff Znuff, both of the guys from Stryper and King Diamond, Tony McAlpine, Greg Howe. It was a great time to learn guitar!
Derek Frigo was amazing, unique and like enuff znuff, never given the credit he deserved
Derek 🎉 Andy LaRocque is amazing also from KD
Ronnie LeTekro needs more shout outs.
Ronnie & Derek were always on my radar.
You are right on the money!!!!! Nice!!!
Great to see Kee Marcello get some focus!! His tone, phrasing, and clarity is amazing!!!
I like your list. Also, Jeff Watson and Brad Gills.
Akira Takasaki from Loudness and Harry Cody from Shotgun Messiah were another 2 influences on my playing.
So glad to see Ritchie Kotzen and Doug Aldrich on your list!
Michael Romeo (symphony x), Jon Petrucci (dream theater), Andy LaRoque (king diamond), Guthree Govan, Alex Skolnik (Testament), Criss Oliva (Savatage)
Criss Oliva is the most over looked IMO. HOTMK might be the best guitar album ever
I love that you’re giving shout-outs to Reb Beach whenever you can. He’s a friggin’ hero! For the last couple of years, Winger is the band I‘m listening to the most, by far. He‘s an incredible guitarist, but together with Kip Winger (who‘s, too, criminally underrated on every musical level) he‘s an insane song writer. All of their albums are formidable pieces of music. Yeah, they tend to sound a little cheesy on the surface, but once you REALLY listen to songs and start to grasp all the different layers and nuances, you never want to stop listening.
that's what I tell people. Ignore the cheesy 17 lyrics and listen to the music. All the guys in that band are super talented. Pull is one the best albums of the 90's.
Umm I remember when that guy had an Ibanez signature model. Hardly underrated
If you haven't heard, check out Kip Winger. He has become a Classically trained composer. WINGER were tough, and Reb is still a Monster player.
His outro solo on “Heading For A Heartbreak” is my favorite guitar solo of all-time.
Winger bought a lot of their music from other bands. A power trio was doing well locally/regionally, and they took a gamble and moved to try and make it in the music business. The only offer they received was from a management company that wanted to buy two of their original songs, essentially signing away all rights to them. The money was tempting, but they refused. Those songs never became Winger songs, and the songs themselves never got huge, but at least they believed in themselves and tried hard to become successful.
Other bands and songwriters took the money.
Akira Takasaki!!
Rock and roll crazy nights!
Japan's EVH Baby "LOUDNESS"
@@reverendg5937And so much more...he also had some prog sounding riffs but just an overall riff machine, I still rock out to Loudness stuff especially the first 3 releases.
He was freakn awesome,…both as a rhythm player and lead….should be near the top of this list easy!!!
@@Gunny_101st You are the heroes- Tonight!
My favorite 80's/general guitarists are Pat Benatar's husband Neil Giraldo and hide (Hideto Matsumoto) of X Japan, with a special shout out to Steve Stevens, Billy Idol's writing partner. I could name dozens of others but that's where my heart's at right now
Criss f***ing Oliva! Very unique and creative riffing as well as soloing. Sadly, passed away way too early.
Agreed. Came here to see if Criss got mentioned.
Totally agreed
Kane Roberts!! Kane almost never gets talked about and was extremely overlooked due to how he looked. The guy was apart of 3 Alice cooper records and had two extremely successful solo records in that time period and is pretty much responsible for the rebirth of Alice cooper. The guy was an incredibly talented player and a very good singer also! In my opinion he is up there with all of the greats from the 80s.
The guy had arms!!!!!
Rex Carroll from Whitecross, Chris Impellitteri, Michael Angelo Batio, Tony Macalpine, Anders Wikström from Treat, Hans Ziller from Bonfire, Ken Hammer from Pretty Maids, Jeff Waters from Annihilator, Craig Goldy, Brad Gillis.
You can never give Glenn Tipton or Randy Rhoads too much credit. Most of these guys learned from them.
And Blackmore...but Tipton, Jabs, Takasaki, Wolf Hoffman, Dan Wexler (ICON), Dan Gill, Stevie Blaze
Mark Kendall of Great White. Incredible tone.
Oz Fox 🎸Brad Gillis. 🎸Jeff Watson 🎸Vinnie Vincent 🎸Bruce Kulick 🎸Neil Geraldo 🎸Paul Gilbert
Red Beach is a riff master!!!!
Totally underrated also
Red ?
Red ?
Roses are Reb
Violets are blue
The best!
Keith Scott from Bryan Adam’s band, Neil Geraldo, Elliot Easton, and Gary Richrath.
Spot on with Kee Marcello! The first criminally underrated is Tony "Bruno" Rey from Saraya. He was also amazing!!!! He is one of the few guitarists along with Reb Beach that could mix & weave little leads into his rhythm playing / mostly stuck to 3 part solos like Randy Rhoads preached / and pretty much always ended the song soloing also like Reb Beach.
My second is Lanny Cordolla from House Of Lords. He was Satriani / Vinnie Moore level. I know he was Uncle Jessie's guitarist for Jessie & the Rippers on Full House sporting the now sought after Kramer NightSwan w Lightning graphic, but despite the fact he was super accomplished. He had an album called "Of Riffs & Symphonies" that is still today one of my favorite guitar albums ever.
I also agree with Criss Oliva (Savatage) that many others have commented on.
Jeff Kollman, Chris Oliva, Bruce Bouillet, Alex Skolnick- monster players from the ‘80s that are often overlooked
Prime Savatage was so Damm good!
Toledo's Own Jeff Kollman!
Edwin Dare for the win!
Bruce Bouillet was just as good as Paul Gilbert.
@ 100%
Criss Oliva from Savatage is EXTREMELY underrated! I feel like not as many people mention him...
Came here to say the same thing...
@@Horrorfreak106 🤘❤️🤘
You right...criss waa the most underrated..and the best metal guitarist
@@jaimericardovargasflorian870 Maybe NEXT year @RobertBaker will mention Criss, since he said he does these once a year....
@@Horrorfreak106 Agreed. He is so underrated that he doesn't even "make it" to these underrated guitar lists
Criss Oliva from Savatage and Alex Skolnick from Testament are a couple more players to add to your list.
Alex was in Savatage later, too.
Brad Gillis...Wolf Hoffman...Nick Geraldo...Rick Neilson...Ted Nugent...Nancy Wilson...Glenn Tipton...Pat Travers...Aldo Nova...Gary Richwrath...Uli Joh Roth So many! :)
Aldo Nova was awesome
Wolf Hoffman!! Good call
Kee Marcello is a beast. So underrated, the out of this world album has some awesome solo's. Kee's live solo is so cool!
Yes his rippin version of flight of the bumblebee into that blues outro was wicked
Love Kee. Superstitious is my favourite solo of all time👍
80s guitarists that should be on this list.
Tora Tora's: Kieth Douglas
Cinderella's: Tom Kiefer
Ted Nugent. He was not really known as an 80s guy, but listen to the 12 string bass on the song: little miss dangerous and the PRS guitar tricks he does.
Scorpions: Mattius Jabs. He doesn't get enough love and is such a great guitarists.
There's a few. Tora Tora for sure. Look up the song Walking shoes and the song Amnesia. Those guys were like 16, 17, and 18 when they broke. From Memphis TN area.. Great great blues rock band. ❤
Jason Becker - Shawn Lane - John Norum - John Sykes - Marty Friedman -
I met Shawn lane monster player and one of the nicest most humble guys
Thanks for mentioning Lane as he is my mentor and favorite human of days gone by.
Jason and Marty 😥🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼
John Sykes. What a legend.
A few I'd add are Chris Impelliteri, Oz Fox, Michael Sweet and Bob Hartman
Michael Sweet and Oz Fox are both really good.
I still have Rex Carroll's solo from The Hammer and the Nail (whitecross) on the brain.
Joshua Perahia, Bloodgood
*PETRA's Bob Hartman, for those of you who don''t know it ...
Came here to mention Oz Fox as well
Completely agree on what you said about Kee Marcello and Mick Mars 🤘🏻
I met Ritchie Kotzen 2 month ago. He is an incredibly friendly and attentive person. He answered all my questions in detail and thanked me for the conversation.
kotzen is the best for me. Sounds like no one else.
I love the recording process Ratt had with Warren DeMartinni coming out of of side and Robin Crosby coming out of the other. Gives you the chance to hear what each of them are doing, and they rarely played the same thing, but it went together perfectly. You can only do that with two great great guitarists
They had such a distinct sound, really made me appreciate bands that pulled off dual guitars well
Reb Beach... Winger was never very cool back in the day, but the song "Battle Stations" from the "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey" soundtrack is one of my favorite guitar tunes \m/
Criss Oliva is always near the top of my list. The outro solo on Hounds is just tremendous. Just tragic that he passed away when he was still relatively young. Still listen to Savatage pretty frequently.
Neal Schon, Chris DeGarmo, Steve Lynch, Vito Bratta, Rik Emmet, Mark Kendall my fav 80s guitarists
Neal is one of the best at combining speed picking with awesome melodies.
Steve Lynch?
@@1Know1tHurts Autograph (Had to Google it.)
@1Know1tHurts yeah of Autograph. Google him
Kendall :)
For the pure sound of it Kee Marcello's solo in Superstitious is incredible I'm glad you are shining a light on his solos. For a melodic solo with some fast runs in their it's a dream solo for a dude like me who isn't much into all tapping or super crazy stuff it's a solo built for the song masterfully
Criss Oliva, Andy Laroque, Ron Jarzombek, Joey Tafolla, David T Chastain, James Byrd of Fifth Angel, Andre Corbin of Helstar, Alex Skolnick, Josh Christian of Toxik, Tommy T Baron of Coroner.
Josh Christian, indeed. Not the most prolific, but what a guitarist!
Mark Diglio(XYZ), Mick Sweda(Bullet Boys), Dave Meniketti(Y&T) Mark Kendall(Great White). Doug Aldrich - one of my all time faves. His stuff in Bad Moon Rising is awesome too.
Doug Aldrich is featured in this video.
Mark Diglio for sure!!
Mark Diglio: my choice too. XYZ were sadly killed by grunge and all that nihilistic crap. His solos on Maggie and Inside Out are just beautiful.
Came here to say Mick Sweda! Bulletboys were the first band I saw live, bloody amazing!
Someone mentioned Criss Oliva. Definitely overlooked and underrated. I would also put Akira Takasaki on the list.
Honorable mention to...
Ronnie LeTekro (TNT)
Alex Skolnick (Testament)
Ross The Boss (Manowar)
Mark Kendall (Great White)
Chris Holmes (W.A.S.P.)
John Sykes (Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake)
Bruce Kulick (Kiss)
Chris Poland (Megadeth)
C.C. DeVille (Poison)
Dave "The Snake" Sabo (Skid Row)
Elliot Easton from The Cars had some stellar solos.
His greatest stuff was in the late 70s. They got way too Poppish for my taste in the 80s.
@gun_toting_lefty - Their premier & Candy O were late 70s and super popular, more "poppish" than ever. Heartbeat City was when they returned to that initial formula used in their first two LPs. It's hard to imagine someone liking the 1st 2 and not HC or vice versa. That 80s album had some serious rockers, too, like 'It's Not the Night'.
He's truly one of the most underrated guitarists out there. Even his rythyms had a lead feel to them.
I agree. Elliot is incredible. Try playing the solo from "Just What I Needed". It's way more difficult than it sounds. He had rock and country chops, and he combined them with sheer brilliance.
Elliot Easton is another correct answer, great player, and more importantly he was in a great band with great songs.
Neal Schon is constantly overlooked and has written more memorable riffs than 90% of the 80's hair bands combined. Dude has more talent in his pinky than half this list. Really loved his stuff in Hardline and Bad English not to mention the million Journey tunes
Marc Diglio was and is a beast that also not many know of but should
heres a few you didnt menton. Akira Takasaki of Loudness, Vivian campbell of Dio, Yngwie Malmsteen, Greg Howe or Vinnie Moore. thanks for the vids Bro !
I agree with all but Takasaki, He sounded like he was picking as fast as possible and hitting every note randomly.
I think the purpose of this video is to bring up some names that were awesome in the 80’s but a lot of people don’t know or remember them. Malmsteen wouldn’t fit in that category since pretty much everyone knows him
The list is UNDERRATED guitarists. On what planet is Yngwie underrated
@@johnstrika9170Yngwie Malmsteen is usually in most people's top 5 or even #1. This guy that said underrated 😂😂😂😂. He must be on Crack 😂😂😂😂!
@@johnstrika9170
No doubt. Saying Yngwie was underrated is like saying Yngwie lacks confidence.
Bill Leverty of Firehouse, Steve Brown of Trixter, Tim Kelly of Slaughter, and Erik Turner and Joey Allen for Warrants rhythm stuff and bonus credit to Mike Slamer who recorded all of the solos for Warrant's first 2 albums "DRFSR" and "Cherry Pie".
Good Call! All greats. Erik & Joey are very good players but for the records yes Mike was brought in. CC Deville is also grossly underrated & a superb player!
The original guitarists in Warrant were terrible. Someone ( Dan Huff?) ghosted the solos.
@@stanhowe6410the fact that he was willing to not only record the solos for them, but then sit and teach them the solos so that they could execute them for live shows is so badass to me.
@@dylansavageau9621 For sure bro, Mike was great during & after recordings. Joey & Erik were good players but producers & execs wanted a performance polish that Mike could provide, so he did the magic. DRFSR & Cherry Pie are legendary albums that are still in heavy rotation in the right circles.
His first album didn't release until 1989, but Blues Saraceno is one my all-time favorite guitarists. His tone, style, phrasing ... just so unique. No one else that I've ever heard even comes close to his sound. I really wish he had done a lot more. (Also: Jake E Lee ... Masterful. I saw him live on the Bark at the Moon tour. He was mesmerizing!)
Alex Lifeson - ALWAYS sort of sat in Geddy and Neil’s shadows, but a masterful guitarist!
I don't think there were any shadows in RUSH.
I don't think anyone is underestimating Alex.
Yep…his creativity was next level…hardly ever repeated himself!
I like your list, definitely some of my all time favs were included. My list goes as follows. George Lynch, Mark Kendall, Reb Beach, Warren Demartini, Jake E Lee, Mick Mars, Vito Bratta, John Sykes, Doug Aldrich, and Pete Willis
Akira Takasaki - Loudness
Ronnie Le Tekro-TNT
I always enjoyed Mike Dwarf playing- Killer Dwarfs
Criss Olivia-Savatage,
Akira Takasaki-Loudness,
Stevie Blaze-Lillian Axe,
Harry Cody-Shotgun Messiah,
Jon Drenning-Crimson Glory
Criss Oliva is who I came here to see if people remembered him.
Glad someone mentioned Jon Drenning from Crimson Glory. What a great guitarist. His solos were so technical and melodic.
Andy Laroque of king Diamond is very underrated guitarist and had a very unique style of 80’s shred
Hell yes! While I have a love/hate relationship with King Diamond overall (I gotta be in the right mood to listen to his vocals), Andy's riff writing and playing style is both distinct and consistently awesome
Got to do a show with KD & Merciful Fate in '94. Very intimidating to have them there during our soundcheck. But they were super easy going.
So crazy!!! I just mentioned him right after I asked about George Lynch!!! Andy will always be one of my top 5!!! He is so bad-ass and very unique!!! His licks aren't just simple shit either!!! His solos on King Diamond albums are so from the heart and thoughtfully melodic!!! Very different than all the others!! 🤘
And hank sherman
King Diamond has always had great guitarists. Andy is phenomenal.
This is such a great list! There are some amazing players on here. Here are some of my favorites that don't get talked about enough.
- Steve Farris: His work with Mr. Mister isn't necessarily "shred" but it's SO tasteful and lovely. His studio solo on Kiss's "Creatures of the Night" is probably my favorite solo of their catalog. Then, his live touring stuff with Rod Stewart and Tina Turner is absolutely ass-kicking.
- Eddie Martinez: Eddie is a killer session player, and his work with Robert Palmer gets me going every time. His solo on "Addicted to Love" is killer.
- Neil Geraldo: Pat Benetar's husband and bombshell guitarist. What more needs to be said? Incredible player.
- Jimmy Lyon: Blistered the guitar with Eddie Money. His solo "I Think I'm in Love" is probably one of the most musical solos I've ever heard.
- Chris Hayes: "The Kid." Played solos on the Huey Lewis & the News stuff that I WISH I could have come up with. Plus, his tone was always awesome.