Best Rhythm Guitarists

maltingsaudio

This mornings discussion in the Maltings is who is/was the best rhythm guitarist Mrs M (a die in the wold AC/DC fan) said Malcolm Young, I said Rick Parfitt. A quick google threw up Page Richards Lennon etc none of which we regard as “rhythm” guitarists solely.

The floor is now open.....

munckee

Frank Black.  Discussion finished.

chillidoggy

Malcolm Young.

poopot

Nile Rodgers. Discussion now finished properly

guitarfishbay

Josh Middleton

p90fool

As someone who is almost exclusively the rhythm guitarist in my band, my personal favourites are Joseph Reinhardt and Freddie Green. 

You can't ignore those already mentioned, or Nile Rogers, but if you want lessons in great rhythm playing a lot of lead players are among the best at it, like Hendrix and SRV. 

chillidoggy

poopot said:

Nile Rodgers. Discussion now finished properly

Bollocks. I thought I had it I had it all boxed off.

Bezzer

Not "Rhythm only" by any means but Eddie Van Halen has to be high on the list, surely!

Phil_aka_Pip

John Lennon. Either or both of Andy Powell & Laurie Wisefield - listen to Live Dates Vol II and you'll find the rhythm parts are just as exquisite as the solos.

ESBlonde

I think Nile has this, but honerable mentions for others should include Townsend.

Fledermaus

Mmmmm tricky one.... all great players indeed.. Malcom at the top for me, just..

Winny_Pooh

Where to start... Andy Summers, Malcolm Young, Josh Homme, Jimmy Page, Chris Cornell, Mcready & Gossard, James Hetfield, JJ Cale etc etc

Phil_aka_Pip

ESBlonde said:

I think Nile has this, but honerable mentions for others should include Townsend.

wis for Townshend

Kebabkid

Agree with a lot of the above but Eddie Van Halen deserves a mention

FX_Munkee

Bezzer said:

Not "Rhythm only" by any means but Eddie Van Halen has to be high on the list, surely!

Definitely gets my vote.

ICBM

Nile Rodgers.

But not mentioned yet... Steve Cropper. He often played very little though - just in the right places! - so in some ways it's not 'rhythm'.

randella

@Winny_Pooh beat me to it with Pearl Jam's Stone Gossard - has a great sense of timing and *always* plays for the song.

In Guns n' Roses, back in the day, I think people sometimes missed the groove that they had.  Some of those nasty riffs really had a swing, a lot of which must have come from their love of Aerosmith and the Stones.  A big part of it was Izzy Stradlin who had a lovely sparse sound, locked in with Adler and McKagan.  Quality rhythm section, was never the same with Matt Sorum on drums and thingy-whatsisface on second guitar.

Fretwired

Catfish Collins .. Nile Rogers says he was the best .. end of thread ..

Matt_McG

Already mentioned: Freddie Green, EVH, Malcolm Young, Nile Rodgers, 

Not mentioned so far: Curtis Mayfield, Reggie Young, Jimmy Johnson.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Johnson_(musician)   <--  that's a discography.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggie_Young <-- so's that.

There are loads of players who are really good contemporary rhythm players -- Mark Lettieri springs to mind -- but who aren't widely known or influential, so probably not useful for this.

Grumpyrocker

Page, Hetfield, Mustaine. 

PC_Dave

Matt_McG said:

There are loads of players who are really good contemporary rhythm players -- Mark Lettieri springs to mind -- but who aren't widely known or influential, so probably not useful for this.

Definitely Mark Letieri, also Ariel Posen!