Was curious to hear what some of your favorite two-guitar bands might be? It can be a rhythm and lead combination or two lead players but not a band that has a singer who plays guitar occasionally or maybe a keyboardist who plays guitar here and there on some songs.
A few of my favorites:
The Church- Peter Koppes/Marty Willson-Piper
Big Country- Stuart Adamson/Bruce Watson
The Chameleons- Dave Fielding/Reg Smithies
Midnight Oil- Martin Rotsey/Jim Moginie
Can be any era, any style of music.
Another vote for The Church, but then, I’m biased as I’ve personally known the band for over 30 years. While Marty, and then Peter, moved on, Ian Haug and later Ashley Naylor have done an admirable job filling those roles. It’s not quite the same, but they have their take on it.
Speaking of which, my next choice is one of their influences, Television, with Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd, and once again, while Jimmy Ripp did a great job later on in place of Lloyd, that original stuff was groundbreaking. I’m fortunate to have seen/heard both versions of the band.
In Verlaine’s playing I heard flavors of John Cipollina from the Quicksilver Messenger Service, as well as the overall guitar interplay/tradeoff(with Gary Duncan)that trickled down to the NYC icons from SF. I’m referring primarily to the quartet version of the band from the first two albums.
Television, and a vast multitude of other bands, took much from the Velvets, so Lou Reed paired with Sterling Morrison can’t be overlooked.
Then another trendsetting band…My Bloody Valentine, with Kevin Shields and Bilinda Butcher offering waves and layers of guitar mutations, redefining what could be done with just a dual guitar four-piece.
Two old school British bands that had great six-string interplay, and didn’t necessarily stick with the strict rhythm/lead roles, Wishbone Ash and Humble Pie, but both underwent personnel changes.
I could go on, but to keep it under control, I’ll finish up with a left-field choice, the Bobby Fuller Four. Definitely a product of their era, their recorded output limited, the odds are you’ve never heard anything past “I Fought The Law”, but there’s so much more. Chimey Buddy Holly flavored guitar work owing to their Texas origins…
C as mentioned and Metallica with Hetfield and Hammett deserve a mention!
