instrumental bands

I know. I'm shameless. http://forums.guitarnoise.com/viewtopic.php?t=30980 :P

Any specific kind of music you like, I've got quite a lot of instrumental music, wouldn't mind to see if I can find something that suits your taste.

Hehe I'll give your album a listen Arjen (when I have the time!!).

As for my tastes, I'm into the blues, blues rock, classic rock, that kind of thing. But I also like acoustic stuff although I never listen to it (except for acoustic blues, which I do listen to).

Oh, and I'm open to other stuff as well. I always have to listen to something a couple of times before deciding whether I like it or not. The first time I listened to a Cream album I did not like it, and I mean, REALLY didn't like it. I forced myself to give them a chance and listened to Disraeli Gears a couple of times. The next day it was my favorite album of all time :D
Same with the blues. Blues didn't do anything for me in the beginning, but as I became more familiar with it I began to understand it and appreciate it. Now I can't imagine any type of music having a bigger emotional impact on me.
All of that to say that I will consider stuff that doesn't fit into what I normally listen to :o

BUT, I do need the music to have some kind of melody otherwise I'm bored to death.

Try some stuff from the band Tortoise. They're instrumental, and should be right up your alley. Any band with two bass guitars and a bunch of percussionists with vibraphones and marimbas at least deserves a listen. Their music is tough to describe.. jazz, progressive-rock? Experimental? Whatever you want to call it, I can see it applying.

The album "TNT" is a nice start.

Quite a few instrumental bands around at the same time as the Shadows....the Ventures, Dakotas, Chantays, Link Wray, Surfaris, Dick Dale spring to mind....

From the seventies, there's always Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells", or there was a Dutch prog-rock band called Focus....

Rick Wakeman's solo albums - come to think of it, most early Yes albums were mostly instrumentals - they weren't going to let a verse or two and a chorus get in the way of a ten-minute instrumental....

:D :D :D

Vic

California Guitar Trio has a few neat songs. I haven't heard a lot, but I liked what I did hear.

brand x great band all star line up

mahavishnu orchestra
john mclaughlin, al demiola, and paco de lucia
bela fleck and the flecktones
mice parade
don caballero
aphex twin

all great stuff

Johnny A -- Sometime Tuesday Morning (rockabilly, swing, country swing)
Jeff Beck -- Who Else!, Wired and Blow by Blow (rock and fusion)
Return to Forever -- Romantic Warrier (fusion classic with a young Dimeola)
Weather Report -- Heavy Weather (another fusion classic with Jaco)
Tangerine Dream -- mistakely classified as new age, but more like synth and guitar soundscapes
Miles Davis -- Blue and B1tches Brew
Pat Metheny -- modern jazz

there was a Dutch prog-rock band called Focus...
They're still around, and even playing near me next month :shock: I'm too skint to go :(

I've always liked Sky (blame my parents!) and Peter Frampton's last album Fingerprints is all instrumental - both fantastic.

you all mentioned incredible bands specially from jazz (don't forget Frank Zappa when he shuts up and plays his guitar) but what about the great Booker T and the MJ's? they formed the sound of blues and soul in the 60's (they backed Albert King, Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett,etc)...try them without reserves.
The cool thing about youtube is that you can give good examples:here are Booker T:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar-Z_l907DY

surf instrumental webring

All sorts of music genres webring
instrumental music webring

+1 for Pat Metheny

What about classical music?

What about classical music?

+1 to that! 8)

Don't forget the instrumentals by bands that usually have words:

Jessica
Frankenstein
Europa

There must be others, I'm just drawing a blank.