Most underrated musician?

[Alexander]

My vote goes to John Paul Jones, bassist and keyboardist for Led Zeppelin.

[Bluzmann57]

1. Good choice

but I'll say the late Lowell George, formerly of Little Feat. Pretty fair guitarist and all around musician.

[phaseolus]

4. ...and great songwriter, too

'cuz outside my hotel window is
a sign that turns from red to green
that says "Chop Suey"
and "Join the U.S. Marines"


It doesn't really mean anything, but for some reason I always liked it...

[david_vincent]

2. There are so many!

Buddy Holly - and yes, he is utterly underrated as a musician, not as an icon.
Everyone involved in the early incarnation of Love, probably especially John Echols.
Booker Ervin, the criminally underrated jazz saxophonist.
Every member of The Ladedas, the greatest band that no one outside of New Zealand has ever heard of.
I could say the same for at least one Canadian band.
This is a pretty silly question; there are just too many unsung heroes.

[phaseolus]

5. Speaking of underrated jazz saxophonists

Eric Dolphy. One of those every note perfectly in the right place kinda musicians

[Blue-Jay]

7. More like "some kind of wonderful noise in the right place"...

I love Dolphy. That guy is STILL ahead of the current game, but I think he was more of an anti-perfection musician. A true genius in the art of making sounds.

For perfectly-placed notes, you have to give a nod to Paul Desmond. Dry, but perfect, and well thought out.

[kixot]

3. Bassists in general, I would say.

From JPJ to Cliff Burton to Les Claypool to Flea.

[RockwellCity]

6. Neil Diamond

[elperromagico]

13. Good songwriter, lousy singer.

He always sounds to me like he's making an obscene phone call.

[chaska]

8. Slightly askew of the topic...

Showing my age here, but Andy Fraser of Free is a great bass player, as is the guy that played on the first Blackmore's Rainbow album (this last, a true lesson in how to play rock bass with style and imagination).

I just my turntable up and running again after 5-6 years in storage, so I'm listening to all my 600 LPs from the seventies (mostly). One tremendous, little known player is Pat Thrall. He played with Pat Travers band, but he really shines on his own bands' albums Automatic Man (with original Santana drummer Michael Shrieve) and in the Hughes-Thrall band (Hughes: vocalist extraordinaire and bassist for Deep Purple). Pat Thrall is an amazing and highly original guitarist, last seen in that lowest level of hell that is Meatloaf's band.

[elperromagico]

9. James Jamerson, Motown bassist

Not so much underrated as unknown. He wasn't really known at all until a few years back. Extraordinary bassist; listen to those basslines on "Reach Out (I'll Be There)," "Pride and Joy," and "What's Going On."

Now that I mention it, the whole Funk Brothers band deserves a huge amount of praise. That was a tight R&B band.

[bedtimeforbonzo]

10. Wesley Willis, R.I.P.

or Larry Fischer.

[elperromagico]

12. "I smo-oke weed! I smoke weed!"

Great poet too.

When the police pulled up, I was doomed
I was arrested for possession of a controlled substance
I was taken to the metal clink
I was nothing but a loser!

Somewhere, Robert Frost is jealous.

[rucky]

11. Buddy Guy

n/t

[Blue-Jay]

16. I've never known anyone to underestimate Buddy Guy.

That dude has a sound & style that I can pick out over a rush hour crowd.

[CrownPrinceBandar]

14. Chris Whitley

[Blue-Jay]

15. Steve Cropper!

Nobody appreciates the lowly rhythm guitarist. His style (with Booker T & the MGs) defined Stax records and the Memphis blues "sound". Lemme tell ya, I'd rather play with a good rhythm guy than a glamorous guitar pyrotechnician any damn day.

[XNASA]

17. I'm torn between two great multi-instrumentalists

Dave Gregory, best known for his work with XTC, and;

Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead

[durutti]

18. Me.

I'm one badass kazoo player.

[cade]

19. Mike Ness

from social distortion, punk, blues, rockabilly. Influential back in the day, but never well recognised.

[Bundbuster]

20. Gove Scrivenor

Anyone even heard of him?

[Bill of Rights]

21. Todd Rundgren

He's the best. Very talented.

[Spider Jerusalem]

22. Barry Adamson.

Founding member of seminal Manchester punk act Magazine, ex-Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds bassist, incredibly talented multi-instrumentalist whose solo work runs the gamut from industrial to lounge jazz to r&b to rock (often on the same album).

[LastKnight]

23. Tom Morello

formerly from Rage Against the Machine, currenly of Audioslave and The Nightwatchman(his solo project) most innovative guitarist in deckades, that turntable like sound he gets out of his guitars is unique and somethin you dont hear from anyone else.

-LK

[dbt]

24. Robbie Krieger

Guitarist of The Doors. Slinky, sneaky, sinewy, sinister, scary bends ("People Are Strange," "The Spy") and never a note out of place!

:loveya:
dbt