Yngwie Malmsteen

You don't need to be able to play to form an opinion on someones music but to judge someones talent you should at least have some ability or understanding of how to play. At that, to criticize someones talent you should at least be able to match their ability.

Nobody is judging his talent. The question is "does he apply that talent in playing music with emotion?". The answer seems to be a resounding "No".

I think, hueseph, you're confusing ability with application.

Well. I've found that for one most people who don't like him have never really listened to any of his stuff and base their opinions on a handfull of songs. Granted a lot of his music sounds the same but I could say that of a number of artists. The Who wrote many songs around a theme. Santana, Pink Floyd, I could go on.

I relate dislike of certain styles of music with prejudice. That is, we often don't like music that is different to what we are accustomed to hearing. A dislike based on ignorance. I'm not saying that anyone here is ignorant in the ugly sense of the word, only that they haven't given themselves the opportunity to acclimate themselves to "other" styles.

The reason I point that out is that, I think that most of the people who complain about Malmsteen are also going to complain about Vai and Satriani and Petrucci.........It's just too easy not to like an entire genre of music. Now i do know many guitarists that don't like Malmsteen but at least a few of them can match his speed and prowess. That being said I'm not a fan either but he has skill beyond my ability and in my opinion '(being a fan of the genre) he does play with some emotion. He writes ballads with enough variance in speed to accentuate and project Ideals and specific sonic imagery(saddness,adoration,awe). There are guitarists entirely built for speed only. He is not one of them.

Many people made the same complaints about John McLaughlin and Al Di Meola. Now, 20 years later though people look back and say how brilliant they were and how no one plays like that anymore. Well, i still hear repetitions in Al Di Meolas playing. He's an incredible musician no doubt. If I were to nitpick I could still find fault in his playing but if it came down to me and him jamming, I know that I would be shamed and in awe.

If you don't like his playing, leave it at that. You can't say he doesn't play with emotion. For him, there is without a doubt emotion there. We might not feel it but I'm sure he does. In the end who are we to say?

So often others here are quick to point out that music is subjective but here we are in this forum dealing with an artist objectively. As if there is a definitive answer to whether or not YM plays with emotion. Does it matter to him what we think? Does it matter at all to the people who buy his Cds? Now, there's the proverbial "shoe on the other foot".

If you don't like his playing, leave it at that.
I will.
You can't say he doesn't play with emotion.
If I don't sense it, I can.
We might not feel it but I'm sure he does. In the end who are we to say?
Exactly what I said about ability and application. It's no use being the most emotional guitarist in the world, if you can't convey that to your listening public - which even you agree, he doesn't do
Who are we to judge? We are the listening public that YM desperately wants to buy his records. If you don't care who listens to your music, why bother having it officially released, in the first place?
So often others here are quick to point out that music is subjective
Exactly. That is what gives us the "right" to express our views - they are personal and SUBjective views on his playing.
but here we are in this forum dealing with an artist objectively.
Not me, mate, I'm sticking to subjective.
As if there is a definitive answer to whether or not YM plays with emotion.
Only to the listener - and if he doesn't sense it, then the playing is emotionless (to the listener)
Does it matter to him what we think?
Unutterable arrogance, if he doesn't (my opinion).
Does it matter at all to the people who buy his Cds?
It should.
And how many of those are YM fans, who would buy anything he put out and not even bother to apply their own subjective critique to it? (Yes, I know that you should never start a sentence with "and").
Now, there's the proverbial "shoe on the other foot".
Don't see that one, I'm afraid.

Well there are millions of fans that do hear his emotion. I hear what he's trying to portray. It just gets a bit repetitive to me. That's my opinion. In regards to the objectivity of the topic there have been plenty of comments to suggest that absolutely he is an emotionless player. I still feel that there is an amount of musical prejudice toward shredders.
In regards to starting a sentance with "and". i believe that's grammatically ok. I think that would be called a participle phrase.

Well there are millions of fans that do hear his emotion.
That is the subjectivity of music.
.......That's my opinion.
Exactly!
In regards to starting a sentance with "and". i believe that's grammatically ok. I think that would be called a participle phrase.
In correct English, it is grammatically incorrect. It may have crept in as "acceptable", but isn't really.

Hey Bud, If Tolkien did it, it's fine by me!

The question is "does he apply that talent in playing music with emotion?". The answer seems to be a resounding "No".

This is what I mean. You can't make a statement like that as if it is fact. It is an opinion.

Were grammar important to the forum, GN would have been shut down a long time ago for capital crimes against the Queen's English.

As far as YM goes -- and this IS an opinion: I think wanking is a great pasttime, but one should limit how often it's done on guitar. Repetition makes Jack a dull boy.

Can there be a right or wrong when it comes to listening to music? No, only personal taste. Malmsteen's guitar playing is what we've already discussed; fast, technical, somewhat repetitive. You can respect someone's ability without really even liking that particular style of music. Make sense? For example, I both admire and respect Steve Vai as a guitarist, yet find his music a little repetitive at times. I'd rather listen to his efforts with David Lee Roth, than to his own solo material. What I'm doing here, is a) giving credit where it's due and b) being honest enough to admit that I prefer Vai's work with Roth over his own. That's because I like the first couple of solo David Lee Roth offerings more than Vai's own material. Understand?
By the way, I saw Vai in concert when here toured here (Melb. Aust.) with Roth back in '88 and it was a great show! 8)

Gypsy; I totally agree. With that post at least.

The reason I point that out is that, I think that most of the people who complain about Malmsteen are also going to complain about Vai and Satriani and Petrucci

I like both Vai and Satriani... but not Malmsteen. So I don't think I'm close-minded about the genre; Malmsteen shows me nothing but fast, while others do things with much more complex melodies.

I think the entire genre (Vai and Satriani included) rely a great deal on processed sound, so if I had to choose a guitarist to emulate it'd be someone along the lines of a DiMeola, who can go with or without it.

Heck, Petrucci, Vai and Malmsteen are so different I'd find it hard to label them as similar or even belonging to a similar genre...

Malmsteen shows me nothing but fast,

That's the thing. He doesn't always play fast. He does mostly play fast but he does have his moments. He's fully capable of doing the slow and easy but he just chooses to go full bore.
I think the entire genre (Vai and Satriani included) rely a great deal on processed sound, so if I had to choose a guitarist to emulate it'd be someone along the lines of a DiMeola, who can go with or without it.

Yeah I totally agree with that.

In the end I don't know why I'm championing this guy. I think he's a self absorbed jerk too and I don't like a lot of his music. I just think he gets too much flak from so many musicians who aren't any better. I think he deserves a break. BTW he's pretty smokin on acoustic too.
I just wonder how well any one of us would last if they put a poll up like this about us, for other strangers to vote on.

Our names aren't uttered with a sense of magic and mysticalness by fans, otherwise polls would be put up about us too.

Other names aren't muttered only by guitarists either. I'll bet Yngwie's fan base is 90% guitarists... because his technique is very impressive, he attracts them; because his music isn't very impressive, he doesn't attract others.

When I hear people raving about a particular musician, I ask them what they play. The majority of the time they're musicians of one kind or another - non-musicians don't seem to rave much about technique. I have yet to hear a non-guitarist rave about Malmsteen, (and in fact I've only heard one non-guitarist rave about DiMeola)... that's not true of Beck, Hendrix, or McLaughlin, who seem to be admired by musicians on many instruments... nor is it true of folks like Santana or Page, who are highly regarded by non-musicians as well.

Hueseph, you're right - Malmsteen doesn't always play fast. I said he doesn't show me anything but fast; there are no musical ideas that strike me. The fastest things in my personal arsenal are scale studies I've played daily for over 25 years - I don't whip them out at performances just to show off my finger speed. It's a great way to put it about Yngwie - he goes full "bore" :)