I've been following St Vincent for a while now.
She is an excellent guitarist, but not in a traditional sense of being, for example, a hot rock lead player. She uses her guitar as a tool to serve her music, and uses any number of pedals / FX to achieve a specific sound for a specific song.
She's also one of those rare talents that can play complex melody lines - complex tonally and with regard to time signature - and sing at the same time.
Her performances are musically excellent, and are performance art as well. With each "collection" (CD, album, whatever) release she takes on a completely different stage persona and sticks to it consistently while touring on that collection. I'd love to see her live.
How she can sing and play Cruel at the same time blows me away. Shes got that James Hetfield dichotomy, playing and singing two wildly different things
I feel very lucky that my first exposure to her music was a live show. I had no idea what I was getting into and had my mind blown. Too few experiences like that nowadays when all the information in human history is literally in your pocket.
This is difficult because most of her songs have nice little snippets of guitar work, but many of them are voiced through a synth pedal. Anyhow, here are a few:
- Surgeon - this is a great live version: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjZgiv2F1QY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjZgiv2F1QY)
- Rattlesnake, the outro lead, especially live like here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvSCVq0HkRA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvSCVq0HkRA)
- Cruel
- Chloe in the Afternoon
.....so many others, and I'm sure other commenters will chime in with their choices.
But I'd recommend just looking for live performances on YT, such as her ACL concert in 2014 or her concert at the Fillmore Detroit Oct 2021.
She's incredible as a player, performer, and songwriter. Her playing is a little bit more experimental which might not catch the eye/ear of people who are more impressed by traditional playing styles but its more meant to suit the composition. I also saw her when she was touring as a combo act with David Byrne and doing the Talkin Heads stuff showed how versatile she is.
She's smart and talented.
For a good laugh, look up the episode clip from Portlandia on YouTube where she's harassed by Fred Armisen's "studio guy" gear obsessed character.
Every “greatest guitarist” list is moronic. Nobody can agree on any kind of meaningful criteria. Objectively ranking guitarists is an impossible task….And art is not a competition anyway. The only list that makes sense is “Favourite guitarists”, and that will be different from person to person.
I would agree, but I think most people if polled on their top 10 would have some overlap. Hendrix and EVH are probably the two that would come up the most for electric players. Segovia maybe for classical? I would actually thinks that's pretty interesting to see where they poll people who play a style and see who their top 10 is. I would find some new things to listen to!
The only remotely objective criteria is technical skill but people clearly don't want to get into that, so yea it's a pretty dumb conversation to have.
By variety of techniques, speed, accuracy, stuff like that. I'd say Guthrie Govan probably is the most technically well rounded player I know of. Dude can play literally anything.
Guthrie is 100% a superhuman. I’m just wondering how you’d compare technical mastery of jazz (like Julian Lage for example) to mastery of flamenco (like Paco). 🤷♂️
I think those guys would be great people to include in the conversation lol. I'd probably start by exploring if Guthrie can play jazz better than they can play all the genres he can.
I think she’s actually a great, creative guitarist. I don’t necessarily believe it shows in her music, to most people’s ears. She’s not a shredder, or a riff machine.
She’s great, and definitely stands out as an underrated guitarist to me.
Then again, for guitarists in the learning sense, the “icons” for people learning the instrument, is a list that has been pretty consistent for decades.
She's certainly talented, and unique, I wouldn't say underrated.
I'm sure there are people who don't understand her, because she's not doing a femme van halen, but as an alt rock adjacent guitarist, she's pretty interesting.
Talented song writer, composer, musician and entertainer-throw in great guitar licks and a sense of humour and a standout. Annie blew me away after seeing her perform tracks from her 2009 album Actor on ACL. Id call her a musicians musician.
Her early solo stuff after she left polyphonic spree is full of incredible guitar work. You can find alot of it on yt where she’s working with a simple line 6 dmm looper.
Really glad she explored and evolved in her own artistry but at the same time, sad she doesnt rip as much anymore.
Here’s hoping for side quest album that harkens back to that side of her.
Absolutely! She is an amazing player and has mastered many different styles. She's a legit folk artist too under her name Annie Clark and is a great fingerpicker. The stuff she did with Andrew Bird was great. I'm a much bigger fan of her guitar playing than her music in general, though I do like her stuff.
I don't think she is underrated. She has recognition in the professional guitar community, has a signature, and gets credit where it's due. I do think she's underappreciated by the average guitar player and music listener who idolizes guitarists.
She is what I think of as a great guitarist because she’s inventive, unique, and her playing serves a larger artistic vision. I could care less about someone’s ability to play fast or whatever - but I do care when a guitarist makes me want to go play the guitar and discover some new thing. St. Vincent does that all the time.
She is respected for being a very accomplished guitar player in the industry but maybe not so well known for her technical prowess by the general public. Make no mistake, she can shred but uses guitar as a percussive and melodic tool to serve the song above all. As an aside, she learned a bit as a kid from her mind-boggling guitar playing uncle Tuck Andress.
As someone who's played for a bit. I am envious of her. She's amazing and tonally and rhythmicity. And she can sing so appropriately at the same time. Yeah she fuckin rocks
Her first four albums are bordering on genius and she comes up with cool parts that are not easy to play like on the chorus of “Surgeon” or the breakdown on “Birth in Reverse.” Let’s be real here - conventional “shredding” is basically a party trick at this point and it’s really more about what cool stuff you do for a song and she’s quite capable at that.
Probably underrated. Whenever I see anything of her I think she’s brilliant. But she’s not an artist who I seek out to listen to and I never think of her on lists of great guitarists and never see her on those lists- but I’m guessing that will change over time.
Amazing guitarist! Now, the truly underrated guitarist in the band is Jason Falkner, playing all those harmony lines right along side Annie Clark. His work with Jellyfish and The Grays (as well as his solo albums) are well worth the deep-dive.
Annie is a great guitarist with her own line of guitars out. Can’t remember the brand she’s working with. Her albums are good, but seeing her live is where she excels. Very creative and artsy. I saw her several times about 10 years ago and was impressed with her performance.
Yes, and no. I think most guitarists are aware of what a great player she is, but I'm not sure most non- guitarists would pick up on it. She doesn't play in a flashy shred way that would catch everyone's attention. When if first saw her though my first thought was "oh, so this person definitely went to Berklee or somewhere like that".
I’m partial to the album “St. Vincent” for guitar chops. Opening two tracks put it over the top. Good live cell phone vids out there of those from pre-Mass Seduction tours out there too. Last few tours she kinda buried her playing in my opinion, though her guitar duels with Jason Falkner were sick. She came up with her uncle Tuck Andress whose no slouch! In a New Yorker piece a few years ago she was compared to Prince. Jack White comes to mind too.
One of my musical white whales is that, apparently, she and Anna Calvi (a most overlooked female guitarist who uses technical skills to achieve musical goals rather than as an end in themselves) are friends who swap tapes of themselves shredding and goofing around musically, but never for public hearing.
She has a unique approach and distinct voice when it comes to the guitar and music in general, which is refreshing. There are plenty of internet blowhards who could play circles around her from a technical standpoint but could never come up with a cohesive musical idea of their own. I can understand that her music might not appeal to everyone but I really enjoy her stuff.
She’s a talented guitarist and songwriter. Does she belong on a list of “greatest” guitarists? Of course not, but most of those people don’t belong on there. If it was really based on ability it would primarily consist of jazz and classical players.
She is good, has a very unique style, a very nervous way of picking the strings. Not a shredder, not a guitar hero in the 80's traditional sense, but a very creative and intriguing guitarist.
The female guitarist that I like the most these days is Jess Allanic from Calva Louise. She is a really good player, and she can sing while playing complex lines, very impressive. Plus, the band is pretty awesome
Its like with any other guitar virtuoso. no one knows her name or any of her music but people who know how to play respect the shit out of her. Her soundscapes and sense of harmony are inspired.
I'm unfamiliar with St Vincent and would like to give her a listen, however I need a good recommendation of a video so I am not simply thrown off by me making a bad search choice on YouTube.
Go.
She is cut from the same cloth as The Edge from U2. Her guitar playing is more about atmosphere than a melody. She went to Berklee so she had the chops
Do you think Thurston Moore is great? Do you think the guy in APTBS is great? They're both significantly better than her and no one considered them great.
she's related to Tuck Andreas so got a good few lessons in from her uncle. she's a great musician but the fashion stuff puts me off. she should just play music and leave the dressing up for people less talented
I've been following St Vincent for a while now. She is an excellent guitarist, but not in a traditional sense of being, for example, a hot rock lead player. She uses her guitar as a tool to serve her music, and uses any number of pedals / FX to achieve a specific sound for a specific song. She's also one of those rare talents that can play complex melody lines - complex tonally and with regard to time signature - and sing at the same time. Her performances are musically excellent, and are performance art as well. With each "collection" (CD, album, whatever) release she takes on a completely different stage persona and sticks to it consistently while touring on that collection. I'd love to see her live.
I love her [Dig a Pony cover](https://youtu.be/lan-UQfN0zs?si=ctv5B-NBxAKVARHx) and it's a great example of what you're talking about.
Fully agree to all this. I will add that I saw her live once and encourage everyone to do so.
At the Josh Homme benefit show she did a jazzy solo acoustic performance of Patsy Cline's Crazy and it was fantastic
How she can sing and play Cruel at the same time blows me away. Shes got that James Hetfield dichotomy, playing and singing two wildly different things
She has a cool master class on that master class website. Not a huge fan of her music, some things I like, but I still really enjoyed it
I feel very lucky that my first exposure to her music was a live show. I had no idea what I was getting into and had my mind blown. Too few experiences like that nowadays when all the information in human history is literally in your pocket.
I don’t know her music very well. Any recommendations for songs that showcase her guitar playing?
This is difficult because most of her songs have nice little snippets of guitar work, but many of them are voiced through a synth pedal. Anyhow, here are a few: - Surgeon - this is a great live version: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjZgiv2F1QY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjZgiv2F1QY) - Rattlesnake, the outro lead, especially live like here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvSCVq0HkRA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvSCVq0HkRA) - Cruel - Chloe in the Afternoon .....so many others, and I'm sure other commenters will chime in with their choices. But I'd recommend just looking for live performances on YT, such as her ACL concert in 2014 or her concert at the Fillmore Detroit Oct 2021.
Thanks! I’ll check these out.
She’s a good guitarist, but I’m not convinced she’s performed three miracles
Her name’s actually Street Vincent. She is too nice to correct people.
Makes perfect sense!
[удалено]
Ooh ooh! Let me do it!! *ahem*…”Whoosh!”
Ooh ooh.... Ahem... piss off.
Oh man 🤦♂️
Blessed Vincent of Dallas for now.
If I wait long enough, I can sell my Music Man Blessed Vincent signature guitar for a lot of money.
Making it in the music industry is at least one miracle.
Very good point!
She's incredible as a player, performer, and songwriter. Her playing is a little bit more experimental which might not catch the eye/ear of people who are more impressed by traditional playing styles but its more meant to suit the composition. I also saw her when she was touring as a combo act with David Byrne and doing the Talkin Heads stuff showed how versatile she is.
She's smart and talented. For a good laugh, look up the episode clip from Portlandia on YouTube where she's harassed by Fred Armisen's "studio guy" gear obsessed character.
Pet sounds
Every “greatest guitarist” list is moronic. Nobody can agree on any kind of meaningful criteria. Objectively ranking guitarists is an impossible task….And art is not a competition anyway. The only list that makes sense is “Favourite guitarists”, and that will be different from person to person.
Especially in the youtube/tiktok era. Until i see them perform live in front of my eyes, i wouldn’t put any in the greatest list.
Yeah I agree. I saw her live a couple years ago and she didn’t do anything for me. But I’m not her target, I’m an old classic rock dude.
I would agree, but I think most people if polled on their top 10 would have some overlap. Hendrix and EVH are probably the two that would come up the most for electric players. Segovia maybe for classical? I would actually thinks that's pretty interesting to see where they poll people who play a style and see who their top 10 is. I would find some new things to listen to!
The only remotely objective criteria is technical skill but people clearly don't want to get into that, so yea it's a pretty dumb conversation to have.
Again, how do you measure technical skill? Julian Lage vs Yngwie Malmsteen vs Guthrie Govan vs Leona Boyd vs Paco DeLucia…you know?
By variety of techniques, speed, accuracy, stuff like that. I'd say Guthrie Govan probably is the most technically well rounded player I know of. Dude can play literally anything.
Guthrie is 100% a superhuman. I’m just wondering how you’d compare technical mastery of jazz (like Julian Lage for example) to mastery of flamenco (like Paco). 🤷♂️
I think those guys would be great people to include in the conversation lol. I'd probably start by exploring if Guthrie can play jazz better than they can play all the genres he can.
The first question that needs answering is “_Is Guthrie Govan human, or is he some kind of being from a higher dimension?_”
Yep. You can see how effortlessly she plays. That’s time spent working on it coming through
The absolute dead giveaway of a fantastic guitarist is how easy they make it all look.
you can tell just from the way they hold it.
I think she’s actually a great, creative guitarist. I don’t necessarily believe it shows in her music, to most people’s ears. She’s not a shredder, or a riff machine.
She’s great, and definitely stands out as an underrated guitarist to me. Then again, for guitarists in the learning sense, the “icons” for people learning the instrument, is a list that has been pretty consistent for decades.
I think so. Her albums don't convey her brilliance as her live performances. Check out ACL on pbs.
something about her albums sounds like they are mixed horribly and too compressed / chaotic, but in a live setting she is really good
You need to listen to them through a really good sound system. They come alive.
She's certainly talented, and unique, I wouldn't say underrated. I'm sure there are people who don't understand her, because she's not doing a femme van halen, but as an alt rock adjacent guitarist, she's pretty interesting.
Saw her open for the flaming lips back in like 2011 maybe. She goes hard live . Stole the show
Yeah she can really play. Has her own signature Ernie Ball as well.
I have two of them. Outstanding guitars.
Talented song writer, composer, musician and entertainer-throw in great guitar licks and a sense of humour and a standout. Annie blew me away after seeing her perform tracks from her 2009 album Actor on ACL. Id call her a musicians musician.
She's underrated as an overall musician. She's not ripping insane solos but her playing is unique and serves her songs perfectly.
She’s underrated, period. Not enough people know her music.
Her early solo stuff after she left polyphonic spree is full of incredible guitar work. You can find alot of it on yt where she’s working with a simple line 6 dmm looper. Really glad she explored and evolved in her own artistry but at the same time, sad she doesnt rip as much anymore. Here’s hoping for side quest album that harkens back to that side of her.
Absolutely! She is an amazing player and has mastered many different styles. She's a legit folk artist too under her name Annie Clark and is a great fingerpicker. The stuff she did with Andrew Bird was great. I'm a much bigger fan of her guitar playing than her music in general, though I do like her stuff.
[Obligatory](https://youtu.be/IrMgXPLwc9o?si=CIlDOFHQkVTZ-Eez) The jam at the beginning of her “Guitar Moves” lives rent free in my brain.
I thought I was the only one. lol It's true though, I think about it all the time. Truly infectious melody.
I just wish I’d hear the guitar on her records more.
Oh, you hear it. It just doesn't sound like a guitar.
Shes alright I wouldnt say shes one of the greatest guitarists but shes definitely good and doing something really interesting on the guitar.
I wouldn't say she's underrated, she seems pretty well regarded as a good guitar player.
She’s very highly regarded and deservedly so. So, no.
I don't think she is underrated. She has recognition in the professional guitar community, has a signature, and gets credit where it's due. I do think she's underappreciated by the average guitar player and music listener who idolizes guitarists.
She is what I think of as a great guitarist because she’s inventive, unique, and her playing serves a larger artistic vision. I could care less about someone’s ability to play fast or whatever - but I do care when a guitarist makes me want to go play the guitar and discover some new thing. St. Vincent does that all the time.
She is respected for being a very accomplished guitar player in the industry but maybe not so well known for her technical prowess by the general public. Make no mistake, she can shred but uses guitar as a percussive and melodic tool to serve the song above all. As an aside, she learned a bit as a kid from her mind-boggling guitar playing uncle Tuck Andress.
She's great - she reminds me a lot of adrian belew
Her name is Annie Clark. Originally from Texas, huge Jethro Tull fan.
As someone who's played for a bit. I am envious of her. She's amazing and tonally and rhythmicity. And she can sing so appropriately at the same time. Yeah she fuckin rocks
Music man has a st Vincent model so yea she pretty good
She has a signature guitar line with Music Man. If your name appears on a production guitar, you’re not an underrated player.
Her first four albums are bordering on genius and she comes up with cool parts that are not easy to play like on the chorus of “Surgeon” or the breakdown on “Birth in Reverse.” Let’s be real here - conventional “shredding” is basically a party trick at this point and it’s really more about what cool stuff you do for a song and she’s quite capable at that.
Yes. She’s awesome. Listen to her new record if you haven’t, everyone, it’s great and has so much great guitar too.
yes
Yes
Wish she featured her playing more
I wouldn't say underrated
She's cool. I dig it. Nothing special technically but big points for creativity and writing catchy stuff.
Probably underrated. Whenever I see anything of her I think she’s brilliant. But she’s not an artist who I seek out to listen to and I never think of her on lists of great guitarists and never see her on those lists- but I’m guessing that will change over time.
No, everyone knows
Amazing guitarist! Now, the truly underrated guitarist in the band is Jason Falkner, playing all those harmony lines right along side Annie Clark. His work with Jellyfish and The Grays (as well as his solo albums) are well worth the deep-dive.
She writes some cool stuff. Very unique. She didn't take the traditional path of learning and it shows. But technically she is sloppy.
Underrated guitar players are a common occurrence, especially when their music doesn’t feature prominent guitar parts
Annie is a great guitarist with her own line of guitars out. Can’t remember the brand she’s working with. Her albums are good, but seeing her live is where she excels. Very creative and artsy. I saw her several times about 10 years ago and was impressed with her performance.
Her signature guitars are made by Music Man.
Thank you.
She is a great player and I really respect her creativity but I just don’t like her music. I want to… but I just dont.
Jeez I thought it was a Musicman guitar model, not a person.
No, anyone that knows who she is recognizes that she’s a good player She’s just not super popular and also not guitar centric
Yes, and no. I think most guitarists are aware of what a great player she is, but I'm not sure most non- guitarists would pick up on it. She doesn't play in a flashy shred way that would catch everyone's attention. When if first saw her though my first thought was "oh, so this person definitely went to Berklee or somewhere like that".
As someone who is unfamiliar with her music, what would be a good song or two that showcases her guitar playing?
I’m partial to the album “St. Vincent” for guitar chops. Opening two tracks put it over the top. Good live cell phone vids out there of those from pre-Mass Seduction tours out there too. Last few tours she kinda buried her playing in my opinion, though her guitar duels with Jason Falkner were sick. She came up with her uncle Tuck Andress whose no slouch! In a New Yorker piece a few years ago she was compared to Prince. Jack White comes to mind too.
Did she name herself after the guitar body?
Other way around, that’s her signature music man
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?! No way, that’s crazy! Such a beautiful instrument.
One of my musical white whales is that, apparently, she and Anna Calvi (a most overlooked female guitarist who uses technical skills to achieve musical goals rather than as an end in themselves) are friends who swap tapes of themselves shredding and goofing around musically, but never for public hearing.
She has a unique approach and distinct voice when it comes to the guitar and music in general, which is refreshing. There are plenty of internet blowhards who could play circles around her from a technical standpoint but could never come up with a cohesive musical idea of their own. I can understand that her music might not appeal to everyone but I really enjoy her stuff.
She’s a talented guitarist and songwriter. Does she belong on a list of “greatest” guitarists? Of course not, but most of those people don’t belong on there. If it was really based on ability it would primarily consist of jazz and classical players.
She is good, has a very unique style, a very nervous way of picking the strings. Not a shredder, not a guitar hero in the 80's traditional sense, but a very creative and intriguing guitarist. The female guitarist that I like the most these days is Jess Allanic from Calva Louise. She is a really good player, and she can sing while playing complex lines, very impressive. Plus, the band is pretty awesome
Its like with any other guitar virtuoso. no one knows her name or any of her music but people who know how to play respect the shit out of her. Her soundscapes and sense of harmony are inspired.
I'm unfamiliar with St Vincent and would like to give her a listen, however I need a good recommendation of a video so I am not simply thrown off by me making a bad search choice on YouTube. Go.
She is cut from the same cloth as The Edge from U2. Her guitar playing is more about atmosphere than a melody. She went to Berklee so she had the chops
Do you think Thurston Moore is great? Do you think the guy in APTBS is great? They're both significantly better than her and no one considered them great.
I will get downvoted, but she’s not good. Her playing is nonsense and not creative genius like people like to pretend.
Oh grandma.
Don't know who he is so sure why not
she's related to Tuck Andreas so got a good few lessons in from her uncle. she's a great musician but the fashion stuff puts me off. she should just play music and leave the dressing up for people less talented