There is a ridiculous amount of ridiculously skilled guitar players on the interwebs today. I mean, absolutely amazing when it comes to their technical ability and all that comes with it. Yet, they haven't written any songs worth mentioning. How many of these fabulous players are underrated? Who is in charge with these ratings?
Strictly speaking from a technical perspective, I think Blackmore and Tony Iommi were pretty sloppy at times, well behind let's say David Gilmour, Jeff Beck, Hendrix or SRV in terms of precision and control of the instrument. But both were great writers, just like Page and that's what will ultimately stand the test of time. Is Tom Morello a virtuosso? Or Kurt Cobain?? Not in my opinion. Are they influential musicians? Hell yeah! EVH was perhaps the most innovative guitar player of all times, while at the same time writing some memorable songs and redefining the rhythm guitar. More often than not it's not the execution only, but the finished product.
Let's go back 300-350 years, how many violin or harpsichord players were able to exhibit jaw dropping performances in front of the European audience at the time? Hundreds? Thousands? Yet, most of us know about, and might have listened to Scarlatti, Bach, Handel, Corelli, Vivaldi, Rameau and Telemann. Where are the rest?
Wanna bash Jimmy Page? By all means go for it, just take a step back and have a bit of perspective.
