For me, the real greats often make what they are playing seem very simple on an initial listen, well for this none musician. Once I get to know the music, I realise how much is actually going on and that their effortless playing of something technically challenging is amazing. It is not the flashy virtuosity but that they make it seem so easy, that I most admire about their musicianship. There are plenty of current musicians like this I think.
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Guthrie Govan.
Next!
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Hes from my home town, saw him many times in the early years as a kid playing the venues in Essex.
Great player.
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Best guitar solo ever? Glen Campbell on Wichita Lineman. Not much virtuosity but a whole lot of soul
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By definition, a virtuoso is someone with an outstanding talent capable of skill well above the average performer. Where the subject becomes interesting is that critics and musicians can have widely-differing opinions on what that means exactly. I digress however because the OP was asking for opinions on whether there are any “modern” alternatives to virtuosos of old and the answer IMHO is “yes” - just listen to Swedish trio “Dirty Loops” as an example - all 3 members are masters of their instruments.
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Dirty Loops is certainly virtuosic. “Work Sh— Out” is such a fun track. I had a friend over listening to it recently and she said they must have been high when they recorded it. I said I’d be stunned if that had been the case. But who knows? Maybe being high and playing like that is their superpower - it just seems unlikely to me with playing at that level.
Good post. But, myself and many other non-Beatle fanatics (fans …) would staunchly disagree with much of that paragraph. It’s just too much of an unquestionable statement, when we’re all very aware that music/band taste is so subjective.
Much of the Beatles early album sales would have been purchased by/for millions of screaming young girls all over the world, so respected musicianship doesn’t really even apply to those sales. They’re a Pop band, thru and thru, after all. And now, here I am, pushing my own personal music tastes/dislikes, back on to you , sorry for that.
I agree from A to Z.
Good evening everyone. This is an interesting thread which casts up all sorts of interpretations of the word “virtuosity” - most of them perfectly valid. Here is my offering:-
Five guys huddled around a microphone a long time ago and the recordings made in single takes. Imagine being there in those Parisian clubs hearing fhat music! For me, having first heard this music in the 1970s (thanks to John Peel), all notions of virtuosity are measured from the baseline of Swing 35-39. Just listen! Brian D.
Always had a soft spot for Rush. By (Tor) and large, they somehow managed to mix virtuosity with songcraft - and for a decade (say 75-85) a good dollop of originality.
This morning I was listening to ‘Firth of Fifth’ by Genesis - and marvelled at Phil Collins’ drums. I doubt most folk would think of him as a drummer, and a brilliant one at that, given his subsequent success. Interestingly, both Neil Peart and John Lennon rated ‘Selling England By The Pound.’
I guess we all agree that performance has to have something more than outright technical ability. Otherwise we are back to Nigel Tufnel and his guitar which incorporated a speedometer 
Absolutely, bearing in mind the disability, the band were truly innovators.
Only Monday night we were out for a family meal, there was background music. Half way through the meal the genre changed. The American family at the next table picked up on it and asked the waitress what it was and could they buy a CD. She produced a cover which simply said Gypsy Cafe Jazz. There was no doubt who was playing even if there were no credits.
Rivers Cuomo of Weezer has never been a showy player, but he could play his Fender rather better than the next man, just listen to his breaks on ‘Island In The Sun’.
The long song ‘Only In Dreams’, which closes their first ( ‘Blue’) album, is a real tour de force, and not just from RC but the whole group.
Weezer ought to be far more famous than they are. I tried to buy new copies of their LPs from Amazon USA recently, and it’s just not possible (unless you’re prepared to pay through the nose).
Says it all perfectly.
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They were - but I think that by about 1966/67 tgat changed - they had all the money they could ever need/want, and they became experimental/psychedelic/progressive (whatever title you like), and, at least to me, the result was far more engaging and interesting. But maybe not showing virtuosity with their instruments as such, more virtuosity with music as a band, if there is such a thing.
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Rivers Cuomo of Weezer has never been a showy player, but he could play his Fender rather better than the next man, just listen to his breaks on ‘Island In The Sun’.
The long song ‘Only In Dreams’, which closes their first ( ‘Blue’) album, is a real tour de force, and not just from RC but the whole group.
Weezer ought to be far more famous than they are. I tried to buy new copies of their LPs from Amazon USA recently, and it’s just not possible (unless you’re prepared to pay through the nose).
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Whereas Paul Kossoff played far less notes and was amazingly musical.
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Mind you Al Di Meola plays lots of notes and he’s very musical.
Yes, I have ordered very recently his ‘Friday Night In San Francisco’ LP with John McLaughlin and the great flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia. I had an old LP of it years ago (can’t remember where it went), so I haven’t heard it in at least 20 years.
I"m very much looking forward to hearing it again.
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Yes, good points IB. They certainly were very special. I’ve always had a lot of respect for John Lennon and I love his solo work.
I must be a bit odd really, as I loathe Sargent Pepper’s and The White Album, yet they seem to be everyone else’s favourites.
Absolutely - as you will gather from my chosen name! A musician once snootily told me it was impossible to judge a musician’s ability without hearing them play live. Having seen Rush many times, watching Peart play percussion was an absolute joy. Timing, power and precision aligned with a feel for a song. I have a soft spot for musical bass playing and watching Geddy Lee’s joy when he moved back off keyboards to bass during a song was always fun.
Regarding modern artists, I thing Matt Bellamy of Muse is intersting. He writes, plays guitar, - including innovating with Manson pads, sings and plays keyboards with fluency. Their earlier work is full of dynamics but the work of the band really serves the song - and so much noise! They seem to have forgotten the importance of the song lately. Conversely, I was able to watch Brian May recently up close and his playing is so skillful. He coaxes such a range of sounds from his guitar with almost no effects - just phase switches and knowing his (homemade) instrument. Sadly I think the physicality of his performance is catching up with him - he is not a young man any more!
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