A Guitar And Gear Support Forum

Like I said recently, this stuff is surfacing on a daily basis at this point. It's like the floodgates of the VH archive have opened.

So what do ya'll make of Dave playing air guitar with a red Fender Strat on "Unchained"? Whose genius idea was this? Dave's? The Producer or stage director of the French TV show they're appearing on? It couldn't have been Ed's.

I don’t think much of ANYthing where Dave plays a guitar!

Bet it ain’t plugged in.

Razzle wrote: ↑Wed Aug 19, 2020 7:18 pm I don’t think much of ANYthing where Dave plays a guitar!

Bet it ain’t plugged in.

Totally agree on all points.

As a matter of fact, I don't like it when any traditional "frontman" presumes to play guitar on stage.

Mick Jagger strumming on a guitar? No!

Roger Daltry playing a Tele? Hell no!!

Sting playing that black 70s Strat? Just step away from the guitar and pick up the 50s P-Bass.

Don Dokken on guitar? Just no!!!!

Watching that video, it looks like Dave does as bad a job of pretending to sing as he does pretending to play a guitar.

BTW, I hate it when front-men use a guitar as a prop too, but Sting can play guitar. In fact, I think he's a better guitarist than he is a bassist. I saw him on the "Nothing Like the Sun" tour, and while he's not a virtuoso, he's pretty good on guitar. I'd rather hear Tracy Wormwood (Sting's bassist at that time) play bass and have Sting stay on guitar. His bass playing always bored the piss out of me. I don't understand it when people rave about what a great bassist he is.

Mossman wrote: ↑Wed Aug 19, 2020 10:07 pm Watching that video, it looks like Dave does as bad a job of pretending to sing as he does pretending to play a guitar.

BTW, I hate it when front-men use a guitar as a prop too, but Sting can play guitar. In fact, I think he's a better guitarist than he is a bassist. I saw him on the "Nothing Like the Sun" tour, and while he's not a virtuoso, he's pretty good on guitar. I'd rather hear Tracy Wormwood (Sting's bassist at that time) play bass and have Sting stay on guitar. His bass playing always bored the piss out of me. I don't understand it when people rave about what a great bassist he is.

Off the top of my head I really like Sting's bass work on "Spirits in the Material Work." He has a unique tone and gets into this tight pocket. At other times he's great at creating a mood, like in "Tea in the Sahara." He's not so much a technically virtuosic player, but his emotion and feelings seem to particularly express themselves through his instrument.

And the there's this . . .

To be fair to Don Dokken, he actually does play guitar.
And, since his voice is shot now.....

toomanycats wrote: ↑Thu Aug 20, 2020 5:38 am

Mossman wrote: ↑Wed Aug 19, 2020 10:07 pm Watching that video, it looks like Dave does as bad a job of pretending to sing as he does pretending to play a guitar.

BTW, I hate it when front-men use a guitar as a prop too, but Sting can play guitar. In fact, I think he's a better guitarist than he is a bassist. I saw him on the "Nothing Like the Sun" tour, and while he's not a virtuoso, he's pretty good on guitar. I'd rather hear Tracy Wormwood (Sting's bassist at that time) play bass and have Sting stay on guitar. His bass playing always bored the piss out of me. I don't understand it when people rave about what a great bassist he is.

Off the top of my head I really like Sting's bass work on "Spirits in the Material Work." He has a unique tone and gets into this tight pocket. At other times he's great at creating a mood, like in "Tea in the Sahara." He's not so much a technically virtuosic player, but his emotion and feelings seem to particularly express themselves through his instrument.

Yeah, his playing is what I would call "tasteful". I wouldn't say he's a bad bassist, he's just a little too minimalist for me. There's like miles between notes sometimes. Though his bass lines do serve the song, and that's what's most important. I just wish he would come out of the pocket a little more. I think he really shines on upright bass, though. He spent a lot of time playing the doghouse in a traditional jazz band before the Police, so that only makes sense.

My original point was that Sting is competent on guitar, and he's also quite competent on every instrument he plays, but I don't like Sting for his technical ability, I like Sting for his songwriting and arranging. He doesn't have to impress me on any instrument. Same with Peter Gabriel, Paul Simon, David Bowie, Bob Dylan, etc. None of them have knocked my socks off with their technical virtuosity, but they're all epic songwriters, and all of them have one thing in common... They all surround themselves with musicians who do have the technical virtuosity to knock your socks off.

I don't think I've seen a more taped-up set of drums and cymbals.