Welcome one and all to the Guitar Wars. These battles feature songs nominated by you, the folks from the Realms. This isn’t about who the better guitarist is, or what band is better. This is about the instrument and the song. Great solos are something that make us sit up and take notice, but the guitar is more than that. There are great riffs like the one in Beat It, which was not done by Eddie Van Halen. You know, that awesome riff that permeates the song is also the part that EVH had nothing to do with.

There are ways that the guitarist wraps his playing around the melody and makes a perfect fit that’s so subtle and imperceptible that most times it gets missed. And of course, there are the solos, some with blinding speed and some played so eloquently and with so much feel that you can get lost in one sustained note after another.

You are hear! Hendrix, Clapton, Lifeson, Atkins, Page, Abasi, Santana, Morello and a host of others will be popping up. Come on in and check out the virtuosity of these and others. Find new songs you can add to your shuffle or just reminisce on songs you may not have heard in a while. Enjoy.

Listen to each song and pay attention to the guitar part and vote for the song whose guitar part you liked better. Maybe you’re a fan of the slide, or finger-picking or electric solo, but give each song a chance and then vote for the performance that you liked better. We’ll go round by round and match by match until we have a winner. That song will be crowned best overall guitar song to listen to on the Realms. All the songs will have the main guitarist or guitarists listed along with the band’s name and the name of the song. Critique it if you want, and judge it as you will, but keep in mind, this isn’t a battle of what band or artist is better. I for one may not be a fan of a certain band or solo artist, but that will not keep me from voting for a song of theirs if that song has one of the most gorgeous guitar solos ever heard.

Matchups will close on the fifth day after they are posted.

So, without further adieu, hear we go:

TO HERE KNOWS WHEN – Kevin Shields/My Bloody Valentine

PEACE IN MISSISSIPPI – Jimi Hendrix

ROUND 1 MATCHES:
1 Chet Atkins (Orange Blossom Special)Vs Buddy Guy (Baby, Please Don’t Leave Me) Chet Atkins wins 11-9
2 Clapton/Allman – Derek & the Dominos (Layla) Vs Joe Satriani (Oriental Melody) Satriani wins 13-8
3 John Mayer (Slow Dancing in a Burning Room Vs Duane Eddy (Rebel Rouser) Duane Eddy wins 11-10
4 B.B. King (The Thrill Is Gone) Vs Alex Lifeson – Rush (Working Man B.B. King wins 16-5
5 Jimmy Page – Led Zeppelin (Black Dog) Vs Eric Clapton – The Beatles (While My Guitar Gently Weeps) Eric Clapton wins 12-7
6 Adrian Smith – Iron Maiden (Sea of Madness) Vs Mick Jones – The Clash (Lost in a Supermarket) Adrian Smith wins 12-9
7 Pete Townshend – The Who (Pinball Wizard) Vs Friedman/Becker – Cacophony (Concerto) Friedman/Becker wins 8-7
8 Ronnie Montrose – Montrose (Space Station #5) Vs Allen Collins – Lynyrd Skynyrd (Free Bird) Allen Collins wins 13-6
9 Angus Young – AC/DC (Fling Thing/Rocker) Vs Steve Clark – Def Leppard (Switch 625) Angus Young wins 12-9
10 J Mascis – Dinosaur Jr (Pick Me Up) Vs Snakefinger (Climbing the Ladder) J Mascis wins 16-4
11 George Lynch – Dokken (Mr Scary) Vs Henry Paul – The Outlaws (Green Grass and High Tides) Henry Paul wins 14-7
12 Yngwie Malmsteen (Arpeggios from Hell) Vs Brian Setzer (Switchblade 327) Brian Setzer Wins 12-9
13 Sterling Morrison – Velvet Underground (Oh! Sweet Nothin’) Vs Daniel Ash – Love and Rockets (Yin and Yang and the Flowerpot Man) Sterling Morrison wins 12-7
14 Zakk Wylde – Ozzy Osbourne (No More Tears) Vs Robin Trower (Day of the Eagle) Robin Trower wins 16-4
15 Ronaldo/Moore – Sonic Youth (Total Trash) Vs Tosin Abasi – Animals As Leaders (CAFO) Tosin Abasi wins 13-7
16 Jerry Cantrell – Alice in Chains (Man in the Box) Vs Mick Ronson – David Bowie (Moonage Daydream) Jerry Cantrell wins 11-8
17 Larry Reinhardt – Captain Beyond (Dancing Madly Bacwards Vs Gary Moore (Parisienne Walkways) Larry Reinhardt wins 12-9
18 Jim Heath – Reverend Horton Heat (Galaxy 500) Vs Tony Iommi – Black Sabbath (Dirty Women) Jim Heath wins 11-10
19 Chuck Berry (Johnny B Good) Vs K.K. Downing/Glen Tipton – Judas Priest (Breaking the Law) Chuck Berry wins 17-3
20 Alvin Lee – Ten Years After (Working On the Road) Vs Kurt Cobain – Nirvana (Smells Like Teen Spirit) Alvin Lee wins 14-6
21 Randy Bachman – BTO (Blue Collar) Vs Alexi Laiho – Children of Bodom (Kissing the Shadows) Randy Bachman Wins 11-6
22 Joanne Shaw Taylor (Kiss the Ground) Vs Chris Cheney/The Living End (E Boogie) Chris Cheney Wins 9-7
23 Billy Thorpe (Tangier) Vs David Gilmour/Pink Floyd (Comfortably Numb) David Gilmour wins 13-6
24 Bryant/Menuck – Godspeed You Black Emperor (East Hastings) Vs Tom Scholz – Boston (Foreplay/Longtime) Bryant & Menuck win 12-7
25 Viv Campbell – Dio (Stand Up) Vs Balsac & Flattus – Gwar (Immortal Corruptor) Balsac/Flattus wins 11-8
26 Carlos Santana (Open Invitation) Vs Mike McCready – Pearl Jam (Yellow Ledbetter) Mike McCready wins 13-5
27 Yngwie Malmsteen (Far Beyond the Sun) Vs Carlos Santana (Into the Night) Yngwie wins 10-9
28 Glenn Tipton – Judas Priest (Hellion/Electric Eye) Vs Kirk Hammett – Metallica (The Thing That Should Not Be) Glenn Tipton wins 13-8
29 Bob Bogle – The Ventures (Walk Don’t Run) Vs Terry Kath – Chicago (25 or 6 to 4) Bob Bogle wins 11-9
30 John Sykes – Whitesnake (In the Still of the Night Vs James Burton – Dale Hawkins (Susie Q) John Sykes wins 12-8
31 Jimi Hendrix (Bold As Love) Vs Adam Jones – Tool (Forty Six & 2) Jimi Hendrix wins 17-2
32 Dick Dale (Miserlou) Vs Les Paul (How High the Moon) Les Paul wins 10-8
33. Mark Knopfler (Going Home) Vs Ritchie Blackmore – Deep Purple (Highway Star) Ritchie Blackmore wins 15-5
34. Tom Morello - Rage Against the Machine (Guerrilla Radio) Vs Jack White – White Stripes (Icky Thump) Jack White wins 9-8
35. Noodles – The Offspring (Genocide) Vs Larry Reinhardt – Captain Beyond (Raging River of Fear) Larry Reinhardt wins 11-8
36. Roy Buchanan (The Messiah Will Come Again) Vs Billy Corgan – The Smashing Pumpkins (A Song for a Son) Roy Buchanan wins 13-6
37. Russ Freeman – The Rippingtons (Brave New World) Vs Siepen & Olbrich - Blind Guardian (Nightfall) Russ Freeman wins 12-10
38. Billy Gibbons – ZZ Top (Sharp Dressed Man) Vs Brad Paisley (Catch All the Fish) Brad Paisley wins 14-6
39. Duane Allman – Boz Scaggs (Loan Me a Dime) Vs Ken Greer – Red Rider (Human Race) Duane Allman wins 16-3
40. Randy Rhoads – Ozzy Osbourne (Diary of a Madman) Vs Mikael Akerfeldt – Opeth (Bleak) Randy Rhoads wins 13-7
41. Frank Zappa – The Mothers of Invention (San Ber’dino) Vs Zander Schloss (Machete) Zander Schloss wins 9-6
42. Ted Nugent (Stranglehold) Vs John Squire – The Seahorses (Love is the Law) John Squire wins 10-8
43. Mike Bloomfield – Paul Butterfield Blues Band (One More Mile) Vs Craig Chaquico – Jefferson Starship (Save Your Love) Mike Bloomfield wins 11-6
44. Akira Takasaki (Heavy Chains) Vs Steve Vai (Building the Church) Steve Vai wins 13-7
45. Merle Travis (Cannonball Rag) Vs Hideto Matsumoto – X-Japan (Silent Jealousy) Merle Travis wins 16-3
46. Dimebag Darrel – Pantera (Domination) Vs Billy Gibbons – ZZ Top (La Grange) Billy Gibbons wins 10-9
47. Kenny Wayne Shepherd (Blue on Black) Vs Buckethead (Brooding Peeps) Buckethead wins 13-7
48. Johnny Winter (Still Alive and Well) Vs Jerry Reed (Amos Moses)Johnny Winter wins 11-7
49. John Frusciante - RHCP (Scar Tissue) Vs Jeff Beck (Beck’s Bolero) Jeff Beck wins 11-6
50. Barry Bailey – Atlanta Rhythm Section (Angel) Vs Marty Friedman – Megadeth (Tornado of Souls) Marty Friedman wins 10-9
51. Bernard Sumner – New Order (Temptation) Vs Uli Jon Roth – Scorpions (Sails of Charon) Uli Jon Roth wins 15-4
52. Stevie Ray Vaughan – Double Trouble (Voodoo Child) Vs Robert Fripp – King Crimson (Starless) Robert Fripp wins 14-3
53. Rayani/Smith – Explosions in the sky (Catastrophe & the Cure) Vs Chet Atkins (Yakety Axe) Rayani/Smith wins 10-8
54. Dave Hlubek – Molly Hatchett (Flirtin’ with Disaster) Vs Gary Richrath – REO Speedwagon (Back On the Road Again) Gary Richrath wins 10-8
55. Eddie Van Halen (Panama) Vs Richard Thompson (1952 Vincent Black Lightning) Richard Thompson Wins 11-7
56. Eric Johnson (Cliffs of Dover) Vs Rod Price – Foghat (Slow Ride) Eric Johnson wins 17-3
57. Frank Zappa (Shut Up & Play Yer Guitar Some More) Vs Gorham/Moore – Thin Lizzy (Wating for an Alibi)
58. Jimmy Herring – Widespread Panic (Surprise Valley) Vs Joe Satriani (The Crush of Love)
59. Tony Iommi – Black Sabbath (Iron Man) Vs Kim Thayil – Soundgarden (Rusty Cage)
60. Kevin Shields – My Bloody Valentine (To Here Knows When) Vs Jimi Hendrix (Peace in Mississippi)

Jimi Hendrix has one song already that has moved on to round 2.

Also, to be fair, this Jimi Hendrix song was released posthumously and the producer added in other musicians/instrumental parts to re-record some parts as the song was 'not where Hendrix wanted it yet'. The main guitar is all Hendrix.

So my choice is a song that may not be all Hendrix and a song where I can't even seperate the guitar from the background noise?

And why does it matter if Hendrix already had a song advance?

I guess that I have to go with Hendrix, though I am not at all thrilled with the circumstances.

Whoa - you can *so* tell which bits were dropped in later.
The guitar *is* the background noise - and most of the other noise as well. Kevin Shields starts with a guitar, but then he adds layer upon layer of effects, distortion, and reverb to create an overwhelming sonic presence. His technical innovations kickstarted the shoegazer movement, and the heavily distorted sound (which hearkened back to Phil Spector's "wall of sound") can still be heard in bands like the Raveonettes, the Big Pink, and M83. So, yeah, I'll throw a vote to Kevin Shields.

I know some of you will think I'm quite mad, but this is really a hard choice. Both songs are fraught with emotion, one anger and the other bliss.

Kevin Shields is really brilliant and what he does here is bring you on a psychedelic trip while staring down at his shoes the whole time. It's quite brilliant and beautiful.

Hendrix is angry as all ####. He wrote this after hearing that MLK Jr. had been shot and killed. His expressiveness in this song gives you a feeling of the pain he must have felt.

I nominated this Hendrix tune for exactly that anger and feeling and never expected it to go up against it's complete opposite.

I normally don't vote against my own nomination, especially one that I thought could win it all, but the beauty and trippy guitar work of Kevin Shields is what I am more in the mood for this morning. To here Knows When by the slimmest margin of voting I've ever personally had.

I'm torn. I'll have to listen to both a few more times throughout the day.

i find the bloody valentine song to just be boring and rather annoying. so my vote is going for PEACE IN MISSISSIPPI – Jimi Hendrix.

I love Jimi but this is one of my least favourite tracks of his overall, though until now I didn't know the story behind it and understanding where it is coming from makes it a lot more interesting. But even still it is up against some really cool distortion from Kevin Shields and I just really love this kind of cool weird music.

Shields

I have never heard either of these two songs. The My Bloody Valentine Song was different. It sounded like the Guitar was used more for the bottom line like from bag pipes than traditionally used. It is different but I did not enjoy it. The Hendrix song was angry and I can take that.

Hendrix

That's a very apt comparison. Shields doesn't go for that "drone" sound on every MBV track, but it's very much present here.

I have to agree, it angried up my blood to listen to it.

PEACE IN MISSISSIPPI – Jimi Hendrix

SO yeah, Hendrix is one of the greatest guitarists ever. Peace in Mississippi is very well played, but in To Here Knows When, Shields breaks the boundary of what you expect from guitar. I don't know whether it will be enough to carry it in future battles, but it's refreshing enough here to get my vote.

Voting for Hendrix, barely, but whichever wins is OK with me.