Carlos Cavazo: One of the most underrated players ever?

[LordThurisaz]

Well, NONE of the guys on your list had Lynch’s chops so... Lynch was a fucking beast lol

I recall a clinic (I think it was a clinic?) where George wasn't using his Dokken era high-gain + effects rig. He sounded terrible! IMO, Vivian Campbell is a superior player.

It's really pretty simple. Could Lynch play Vivian's catalog note for note? Easily. I've seen bar players nail his stuff without breaking a sweat. Could Vivian play Lynch's? I seriously doubt it.
Gain? Do you realize how little gain these guys actually used to record with? And, listen to Stand up and Shout..that's easily as gainy as anything Dokken put down in the 80s.
Sorry but comparing these two is like having a D3 football team play an NFL team...It's no contest. I do enjoy Vivian Campbell but Lynch? Lynch is on a whole other playing field. Far and away the better player. Lynch was in the discussion as one of the worlds best players..not Vivian. Ever.

I disagree. Vivian would wipe the floor with George, I'm sure of it. I'm not a huge fan of Warren DiMartini either. George, Warren, and Jake E. Lee are in the same camp, IMO. Out of those three, Jake E. Lee is my favorite. I digress.

Two of the greatest guitarist ever was Gary Moore and Rory Gallagher. Vivian Campbell could easily cover a Gary Moore/Rory Gallagher tribute tour note-for-note. Could George Lynch do the same? Not a chance!

Lol

 

[thisguy]

Well, NONE of the guys on your list had Lynch’s chops so... Lynch was a fucking beast lol

I recall a clinic (I think it was a clinic?) where George wasn't using his Dokken era high-gain + effects rig. He sounded terrible! IMO, Vivian Campbell is a superior player.

It's really pretty simple. Could Lynch play Vivian's catalog note for note? Easily. I've seen bar players nail his stuff without breaking a sweat. Could Vivian play Lynch's? I seriously doubt it.
Gain? Do you realize how little gain these guys actually used to record with? And, listen to Stand up and Shout..that's easily as gainy as anything Dokken put down in the 80s.
Sorry but comparing these two is like having a D3 football team play an NFL team...It's no contest. I do enjoy Vivian Campbell but Lynch? Lynch is on a whole other playing field. Far and away the better player. Lynch was in the discussion as one of the worlds best players..not Vivian. Ever.

I disagree. Vivian would wipe the floor with George, I'm sure of it. I'm not a huge fan of Warren DiMartini either. George, Warren, and Jake E. Lee are in the same camp, IMO. Out of those three, Jake E. Lee is my favorite. I digress.

Two of the greatest guitarist ever was Gary Moore and Rory Gallagher. Vivian Campbell could easily cover a Gary Moore/Rory Gallagher tribute tour note-for-note. Could George Lynch do the same? Not a chance!

Exactly! We all know the best indicator of great musicianship is playing is playing covers of other great (greater?) musicians.

 

[Goat]

 

[Marshalll]

All together

 

[SpiderWars]

Vivian is top 100. Outside of Dio, don't care much about what he's done. Meanwhile, George is easily in the top 10, probably top 5.

Lynch top 5?

Who are your picks above Lynch?

I think Lynch was good but I also thought he was over rated. From that era, I would pick many players over Lynch back then. Here are some off the top of my head. I know I am missing some...

Richie Kotzen
Marty Friedman
Jason Becker
Michael Lee Firkins
Tony MacAlpine
Joe Satriani
John Sykes
Paul Gilbert

When Vivian and Carlos came out, it was the early 80s. Before the Shrapnel invasion. So if you ask and include whole decade of the 80s, I'd change my top ten. But at that point Vivian would be completely off any list. Lol

I agree with this...the bar just kept getting higher and higher with every new release it seemed. IMO, Yngwie makes any list and Vinnie Moore as well. And there are other guys that I think are better but opinions are like assholes.

FWIW, Neal Schon could 'out play' a lot of these guys (Carlos for sure) but he was busy getting laid and making money. And I kind of hate Journey so it's not like I'm a fanboy. Guys like Tommy Vetterli don't even make the discussion but I think are every bit as good as some of the guys mentioned (and would 'wipe floors' with Carlos imo).

 

[Goat]

Neal Schon could 'out play' a lot of these guys (Carlos for sure) but he was busy getting laid and making money. And I kind of hate Journey so it's not like I'm a fanboy. Guys like Tommy Vetterli don't even make the discussion but I think are every bit as good as some of the guys mentioned (and would 'wipe floors' with Carlos imo).

Which era of Journey are you referring to? 70's progressive or 80's cheese? Neal made is mark long before the Steve Perry 'cheese' era, and long before the 80's MTV circus acts.

 

[Devin]

Average player in a below average band (Quiet Riot)

 

[Goat]

Average player in a below average band (Quiet Riot)

You've just described the entirety of 1980's "metal" music.

 

[Devin]

I always see this guy's named mentioned on guitar forums like he's a god, yet every clip I hear of it him is near random wankery like the video above lol


What's a good example of some epic Akira riffage?

 

[Goat]

I always see this guy's named mentioned on guitar forums like he's a god, yet every clip I hear of it him is near random wankery like the video above lol


What's a good example of some epic Akira riffage?

There aren't any... he sucks!

 

[Wizard of Ozz]

I saw QR on one of their reunion tours in the 90s or early 2000s (I forget, around the release of the QR album Terrified I think), and Carlos was ON FIRE, at least the night I saw them. He showed a whole other side, way more in line with what you would consider state of the art LA guitar playing in the 80s. He always said Kevin and Spencer Proffer held him back on record, and after that show, I believe it. He had 3 Marshall cabs, 2 Marshall heads, some rack gear, a pedalboard, and a metallic green Jackson Soloist with flame inlays, and he sounded more like DeMartini or even Lynch than his recorded output would indicate. VERY underrated player.

Yep. Saw CC on that same tour. Specifically remember the candy green metallic Jackson Solosit SL1 with the flame inlays. Looked killer. I still remember it. When he played my town he had a POD XT red-bean in to the PA I think. No Marshall heads.


I wonder what he is up to now? Last I remember he was in/out of the RATT ever changing line up.

 

[stratjacket]

I think he is quite underrated, but so is Akira Takasaki, and I don't think he's quite the guitarist Akira is. Still, both are fun to listen to.

Now you’re talking!! Love Akira Takasaki since I bought the Thunder In The East cassette on a total hunch by the artwork that it was hard rock/metal. I love jamming those Loudness tunes. As a matter of fact, the Soldano SLO YouTube demo I just put up is me playing Loudness Crazy Nights, no one noticed so far, haha.

Go the the 1:17 mark where the demo begins.

 

[paulyc]

Neal Schon could 'out play' a lot of these guys (Carlos for sure) but he was busy getting laid and making money. And I kind of hate Journey so it's not like I'm a fanboy. Guys like Tommy Vetterli don't even make the discussion but I think are every bit as good as some of the guys mentioned (and would 'wipe floors' with Carlos imo).

Which era of Journey are you referring to? 70's progressive or 80's cheese? Neal made is mark long before the Steve Perry 'cheese' era, and long before the 80's MTV circus acts.

I think you just hate 80s metal. If you think both Lynch and Akira suck but think Cavazo is underrated you’re in a minority for sure.

 

[paulyc]

I always see this guy's named mentioned on guitar forums like he's a god, yet every clip I hear of it him is near random wankery like the video above lol


What's a good example of some epic Akira riffage?

There aren't any... he sucks!

Thunder In The East through Soldier of Fortune, those 4 records are all killer.

 

[paulyc]

And, IMO, Vivian is a great player, better than Cavazo for sure, probably as good as Jake or Di Martini, but not as good as Lynch or Akira. I’m excluding the whole Varney school here, and Vai too. I don’t tend to include those guys in a list like this (top 20 or top 5 or whatever), because I’m not a huge fan. I can appreciate their talent and level of expertise but it just doesn’t move me the same way, I’d rather listen to Cavazo than Vai, but I’m sure I’m in the minority.

 

[Goat]

Tracii Guns is the best guitarist the world has ever seen.

 

[paulyc]

Tracii Guns is the best guitarist the world has ever seen.

Please put down the crack pipe.

 

[Goat]

Tracii Guns is the best guitarist the world has ever seen.

Please put down the crack pipe.

 

[Racerxrated]

Neal Schon could 'out play' a lot of these guys (Carlos for sure) but he was busy getting laid and making money. And I kind of hate Journey so it's not like I'm a fanboy. Guys like Tommy Vetterli don't even make the discussion but I think are every bit as good as some of the guys mentioned (and would 'wipe floors' with Carlos imo).

Which era of Journey are you referring to? 70's progressive or 80's cheese? Neal made is mark long before the Steve Perry 'cheese' era, and long before the 80's MTV circus acts.

I think you just hate 80s metal. If you think both Lynch and Akira suck but think Cavazo is underrated you’re in a minority for sure.

Haha this, just way too obvious. Everyone has an opinion. Wondering why GOAT is on RT? Clearly he doesn't care for the style of music most of us grew up with. Just an observation.

I get more out of listening to Gary Moore, Audley Freed and Ty Tabor lately. But I still roll some Dio, Dokken, Priest and Maiden every week. Still love it.

 

[paulyc]

I saw QR on one of their reunion tours in the 90s or early 2000s (I forget, around the release of the QR album Terrified I think), and Carlos was ON FIRE, at least the night I saw them. He showed a whole other side, way more in line with what you would consider state of the art LA guitar playing in the 80s. He always said Kevin and Spencer Proffer held him back on record, and after that show, I believe it. He had 3 Marshall cabs, 2 Marshall heads, some rack gear, a pedalboard, and a metallic green Jackson Soloist with flame inlays, and he sounded more like DeMartini or even Lynch than his recorded output would indicate. VERY underrated player.

Yep. Saw CC on that same tour. Specifically remember the candy green metallic Jackson Solosit SL1 with the flame inlays. Looked killer. I still remember it. When he played my town he had a POD XT red-bean in to the PA I think. No Marshall heads.


I wonder what he is up to now? Last I remember he was in/out of the RATT ever changing line up.

He’s doing his pre QR band Snow last I knew.