The one guitarist Neil Young thinks was out of everybody’s league: “Played all that shit first”
He is a forthright member of perhaps the most culturally rich period of North American history, but despite being one of the more gifted singer-songwriters, for years, Neil Young has divided opinion with his guitar-playing skills.
While some people have criticised his technical virtuosity, others have lauded his ability to use the instrument as a vessel for conveying emotions. His songwriting chops often overshadow his prowess with the instrument, but underneath it all, Young is more than qualified to provide a sincere opinion on the great and the good of the guitar world.
Young doesn’t prioritise mind-bending riffs, even admitting to not knowing his scales. He once told Guitare et Claviers in 1992: “The technical aspect is absolute hogwash as far as I’m concerned. It bores me to tears. I can’t play fast. I don’t even know my scales. I know that most of the notes I play aren’t where I play them. They’re simply not there. So you can play any note you like. I think about it on another level, I don’t care about that sort of shit.”
This set of beliefs has allowed Young to become incredibly successful, with fans still flocking to watch the musician play live, enamoured by his ability to pour out his emotions through his instruments. He once discussed his favourite guitarists, who have inspired his approach to music, in his book Shakey.
Alongside Jimi Hendrix, he also reserved space to talk about JJ Cale, a pioneer of the Tulsa sound who Young believes is one of “the best electric guitar players” ever, better than Eric Clapton. He wrote: “What is it about JJ Cale’s playing? I mean, you could say Eric Clapton’s the guitar god, but… he can’t play like JJ. JJ’s the one who played all that shit first. And he doesn’t play very loud, either – I really like that about him. He’s so sensitive.”
He added: “JJ’s my peer, but he doesn’t have the business acumen – he doesn’t have the idea of how to deal with the rest of the world that I do. But musically, he’s actually more than my peer because he’s got that thing. I don’t know what it is.”
Cale began his career in the late 1950s, building up a reputation as an incredible player in the following decade. Upon discovering that Clapton had performed his song ‘After Midnight’ on his debut album, Cale found himself experiencing wider recognition, releasing his first record, Naturally, in 1971.
Clapton and Cale eventually worked together, winning the Grammy Award for ‘Best Contemporary Blues Album’ in 2008 for their joint album, The Road to Escondido. Cale was greatly admired by Clapton, who once explained: “I was tired of gymnastic guitar playing, and when I listened to JJ Cale records, I was impressed by the subtlety, by what wasn’t being played.”
This statement certainly aligns with Young’s belief that “JJ’s the one who played all that shit first,” with Cale paving the way for Clapton to achieve greatness. But whether Cale is his favourite remains to be seen. Over the years Young has noted many of the iconic guitarists as inspirational, including Jimi Hendrix, who was a divine influence on the Canadian.
After all, what he adores is someone who is respectfully bonded with their instrument, and Hendrix often played as though he had fallen into a trance. In an interview with the Musicians Hall of Fame, he commented, “Hendrix was the best at being able to do his expression with his guitar. I’d say, out of the ’60s, as far as someone taking the guitar to another place, Hendrix was number one.“ Adding, “No other guitar player even came near Hendrix in the way he handled playing rock ‘n’ roll in a trio, guitar, bass and drums.”
Art is not a competition, and the idea of ranking certain players i probably as disgusting to Young as a three-hour session with Joe Rogan. But, there’s a good chance if you did rank them alongside Young, he would have JJ Cale making his way to the top.
