Gobsmacked by this guys extraordinary talent - Sultans of swing like you've never heard it before!

Rocker

EricTheWeary said:

Watched a bit of the first clip and I was thinking get on with it, play the bloody tune and stop twiddling about - exactly how I feel about Mark Knopfler, so job done!


There's a lot of skill there and he's attempted a different take on it, so well done. I don't find it particularly enjoyable to listen to but if I saw him playing I'd stop and look.    

Well said my friend. Exactly as I think about his playing (the busker, not Mark Knopfler)

stickyfiddle

I don't mind a bit of Knopfler, but he wasn't really playing Sultans of swing; just random solos over a Sultans backing track.

SimonC

darthed1981 said:

dazzajl said:

darthed1981 said:

The boy can play.

Must have been all the dedication and devotion.

Shot at night time then you think? 

Yes, he turned it into the day

He certainly seems to know all the chords.

thomasross20

Is this something to do with Guitar George again?

lovestrat74

UnclePsychosis said:

kt66 said:

but can he play House of the Rising Sun? 

-I wish he fucking would!

Great guitar playing but Dire Straits are literally the single worst band I can think of. Utterly hateful. 

Nickelback?

sunshinewelly

must be just me. He clearly is a very accomplished guitarist but i hated his take on Shine On. 

Jimbro66

UnclePsychosis said:

Great guitar playing but Dire Straits are literally the single worst band I can think of. Utterly hateful. 

Well, they have quite a fan base and I've seen many a pub covers band doing their songs. There's little doubt that Knopfler is a highly talented player with far better feel and phrasing than the guy in the video. I thought Dire Straits' first album was excellent at its time but I've personally not liked what they've done since.

The guy in the video is certainly technically skilled but I have to say that two minutes in I'd heard enough and didn't feel encouraged to play the next vid. Horses for courses eh?

Dominic

Being analytical ...the Sultans rhythm part is actually a very standard and THE  most common Flamenco progression 
.......it's fairly obvious that he is a very experienced and capable Flamenco player working a lot of his well honed Flamenco skill on an electric guitar
......the playing is superbly skilled although the tune gets a bit boring
Nevertheless it goes to show the skill difference between a good rock player and a good Flamenco / classical player
ie HUGE difference.

Jimbro66

That's an interesting point made by @Dominic about comparative skill levels. Accepting that as a generalisation I've yet to hear a classical/flamenco guitarist make a completely successful transition to electric guitar. A classic case was John Williams's Sky project where one of the world's foremost classical players sounded (IMO) very average on electric guitar. 

goldtop

Fantastic player. Nice thing to find on a crappy day wandering around a crowded city. Well worth 50p in his busking pot.

But I sit here unmoved. Turning a great song into an overblown solo puts the 'mental' into instrumental.

IMHO. YMMV.

UnclePsychosis

lovestrat74 said:

UnclePsychosis said:

kt66 said:

but can he play House of the Rising Sun? 

-I wish he fucking would!

Great guitar playing but Dire Straits are literally the single worst band I can think of. Utterly hateful. 

Nickelback?

I'll take Nickleback any day tbh. 

Matt_McG

There are people who play both classical and electric to a high level.

Just thinking about youtube guitar types, Rick Graham is good at both. Someone like Dominic Miller can do both. Neither particularly my thing (not to disparage them, just not what I normally gravitate towards). I'd probably put my own abilities on both instruments as about even (not that I'd describe myself as actually really good on either), but I started on electric first, which I think is the easier route to go.

But yeah, people who are classical players primarily, first, tend to be dreadful on electric. A while ago I remember someone -- Kevin gallagher, maybe? -- showcasing their electric playing, in a neo-classical vein, and it was awful.

darthed1981

To those of you wondering "When is Ed coming in here to gratuitously post the Leo video of Sultans"?  The answer is....

RIGHT NOW!  Not sure who the girl is though...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0RV0kgdqJU

roberty

I think street performance is a great context for this kind of showboating.  It's attention grabbing and it's entertaining.  No one wants to hear someone bleed their diary everywhere when they're in a rush

OilCityPickups

We have a bloke who busks at Leytonstone tube sometimes ... battered old acoustic ... even more battered looking player, but he never fails to make me smile. His repertoire includes ACDC, Guns and Roses, and lots of rock and roll, but played with a passion and a sense of humour (if not consummate skill) ... he often changes some of the lyrics to fit the day, the news, and the people he sees. I usually stump up a quid if I have one about me ... and he calls me 'guitar bloke' due to me often coming through the station past him with a guitar case. 
We get plenty of average or cynical buskers on the streets and on the tube ... but it's nice to see when someone gives value and appears to be having a good time doing it.
goldtop said:

But I sit here unmoved. Turning a great song into an overblown solo puts the 'mental' into instrumental.

IMHO. YMMV.

The average commuter will only hear a short snatch as they pass ... it's hardly like a gig ... so keeping it moving and keeping it flash will guarantee a lot of quids in his pot ... nobody except other guitarists are going to judge that deeply.   

Voxman

I was just absolutely amazed at his technical skills, dexterity, timing, the different transpositions/variations he was using, and the unusual blending of rock songs with flamenco skills - the post wasn't at all about whether or not it was a great version of the song, its length or whether you liked MK/Dire Straits or not. 

All of that is of course, entirely subjective and opinions will always vary. For example, I hate opera and (most) classical music, but I can still appreciate it's technical brilliance and skill. This post was purely about the guys technical proficiency - love him or hate him, he's one very, very talented player - I do get there are a lot of notes in there, but there's also (at least for me) some wonderful composition and feel - as he's only playing to a backing track with no vocals, it's wholly understandable that he's filling in the 'vocal parts' with guitar.  

But then again even world-famous players like Joe Bonamassa can generate a whole raft of emotive responses from guitar god to an ego-centric show-boat player who plays too many notes.  In fact, the moment you mention any 'name player' like Clapton, Page, Townsend, Blackmore, Hendrix, the Edge, Holdsworth, Howe etc etc you'll always get a huge raft of opinions and debate - so a wide mix of views re this guy is no surprise either.  I still wish I could play like that though! 

To get such a good tone & sound-mix in the middle of the street is no mean feat either (although I'm sure there will be some here that didn't like that either).  

From a gear perspective, I was just curious as to which amp he was using (one of the Fender 'red-knobs'? ) and how all his amps, speakers etc were all being powered?  

thomasross20

@Voxman I'm with you - great skills from the guy. 

Jimbro66

Voxman said:

From a gear perspective, I was just curious as to how all his amps, speakers etc were all being powered?  

I suspect they were plugged I to his Tesla parked alongside

Octafish

The widdling over 'Shine On' has all the subtlety of a dentist performing an extraction with a sledgehammer. He's clearly incredibly technically proficient, but I'm left totally unmoved by his playing and he looks like he feels the same. I can see how what he's doing is very suited to a busking situation where you want to grab people's attention for a few minutes though. 

 P.S I’ve heard enough of Dire Straits and bloody Sultanas of Swing in this lifetime, but nothing approaches the inherent shitness of Nickleback!

Voxman

darthed1981 said:

To those of you wondering "When is Ed coming in here to gratuitously post the Leo video of Sultans"?  The answer is....

RIGHT NOW!  Not sure who the girl is though...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0RV0kgdqJU

That was great fun!