Adam Jones (guitar for Tool)
5
Well......
I gotta say, it never ceases to amaze me that people like these exist. Jesus. I often wonder if it's simply a matter of playing a character, just an attempt at being ostentatious, or if they really are that friggin odd.
ANYWAY,
Adam Jones. Cool guy. I'd hang out with him. But that notwithstanding, we are here, I presume, to evaluate his technical skill and proficiency as a guitarist. This means that he as a man, in addition to his work in all of the other forums he has found himself (film, creating the videos for Tool, art, etc.) are not herein to be measured. By that precept, I'll proceed.
I find myself somewhere between the bars in this instance. We have one fellow who has evaluated Adam as an elementary guitarist at best, posessing little technical prowess, and lacking in any real progression over time. On the other side of the fence, we have a couple of twenty-something pseudointellectuals, one of whom is clawing to get over the fence to prove his opponent wrong, and the other who is staring off into space, back toward the fence, with little purple imaginary butterflies landing on his nose. Well, I sit on the fence watching both sides in amusement, and whereas I have my agreements with both members of our little party, I'll choose to evaluate by different standards.
I will defend my rating as follows:
Adam is a great guitarist for several reasons. It is certainly not because he believes in sacred geometry, stares at his feet as he plays, and gives off an aura that seems to cause fanboys across the nation to ejaculate in their pants at the mere sight of it. Contrarily, it is not because he frequently performs high speed neck traversing maneuvers and Malmsteenesque sweep arpeggios, which he obviously does not. There is far more to musicianship than stage persona and speed playing, and the ability to play technically, realistically, does not require either. Rather, he approaches the guitar as a pallate for psychosomatic and emotional self expression, but does so with incredible sensitivity to his fellow band members and their musical products as well. The fashion of Tool's music is not unlike that of an orchestra (though with far fewer members), in that they build off of one another, and rely on no single piece of instrumentation to form a cohesive model for the band. It is neither vocal-centric, nor guitar-centered, like many bands, but rather each aspect compliments the other, and exceptionally so. Very rarely in modern music is this the case. He has the self discipline to know when to dominate the sonic range, and when to allow the other instruments take precedence, and insodoing, produces lulls and crashes that build tension, excite, calm, and soothe the listener, drawing emotion as a mandatory part of the listening experience, and pulling string other than simply anger.
Jones has also produced a sound that is uniquely his. Put on any tune by this band and tell me that it is not instantly recognizable. Many would argue that this is due to simplified riffs, and the repetition of them, even the reuse of them. I would have to politely disagree, as though he does seem to favor certain patterns, and places on the fretboard, Adam doesn't repeat riffs, but does occasionally revisit certain 'ideas'. I encourage those of you who play to pick up your axe and try to cover a Tool song. Though perhaps it seems simple at first, it is the surgical precision with which Jones executes his tunes, in addition to the unique sounds and subtleties that he coaxes from his Silverburst that make Tool's sound (at least the guitar aspect of it) what it is, in addition to the bizzare uses of difficult time signiatures, and the quick, seamless changes between them. It flows very fluidly in some cases from one direction to the next, whereas in other cases, it lurches forward with immeasurable gravity at one moment, only to, moments later, slide downward in an ever so well controlled spiral. Certainly, triads, occasional power chords, and frequent fret barring are all implemented, and regularly so, but it is the artistry and emotion with which they are implemented that sets Jones apart from the pack. So many other guitarists in the genre feel that, to be progressive, they must try to outlevel themselves in speed and difficulty, contorting their hands in ways that have not before been seen in the genre, and whereas it is true, that such can be viewed as progression, again, it is not the only way to measure progress and technicality. Remember that growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of a cancer cell. To constantly have to outdo your own playing is not necessarily a good thing, musically speaking. The ideas explored in the music are equally as important.
I could continue to bullshit here, but I'm tired of ranting, as I'm sure you all are as well.
When it comes down to it, I'm honestly not sure why I just took the time to do this. Mental masturbation I suppose. Do you enjoy the music? Great. If not, let's find other ways to amuse ourselves. Perhaps if we spent less time crapping around with reviews like this, and more time picking up instruments and getting to it, more beautiful music could be made. Yeah, yeah I know, but I'm at work, and I'm bored. They won't exactly let me pull out my guitar and get to it.
Guy #3 (the one with the 1 star review), thanks for an intelligent explication, and not a beligerent rant, or a fanboy pants creaming.
Spiral out folks.
Kain
