Is Yngwie cool again?

[caprile]

Lately I've noticed on several boards how YJM seems to be getting 'cool' again. Evidently, the music is the same, but somehow, since the G3 thing, I seem to read less and less 'Yngwie sucks' posts.

Any opinions?

[jim777]

When I saw G3 Vai called him "a freak of Nature" . He is stuck in the 80's certainly, but he's also stuck to his guns for years, doing what he loves, and doing it with passion. He certainly does his best to make sure everyone in the audience leaves with a YJM guitar pick! That's pretty cool in my book.

jim

[weserman]

yeah, i'm sure G3 can't have done anything to harm Yngwie's reputation.

[Petie]

He's getting a lot more favourable press in general lately. Good on him. He works hard, regardless of what people may think about his ego.

[revsharp777]

Yngwie is very good at what he does. He's one-dimensional & his mouth gets him in trouble, but that's rock n roll for ya.

Yngwie Malmsteen is to Neo-classical, as Angus Young is to Rock.
...and that's not a bad thing.

[Petie]

Also, Zakk Wylde is always talking Yngwie up in interviews, and the kids love Zakk.

[Fry]

Yngwie has always been cool in my book. I don't see why people care about his attidude. Let him be a stuck up, ****y bastard. He worked his ass off all his life to become as good as he is, so he deserves to act any way he wants to, as long as he's not hurting anybody else. I do think highly of the way Vai and Satch act, but not everyone is going to be as cool as them.

[JESTER700]

Originally Posted by Fry

Yngwie has always been cool in my book. I don't see why people care about his attidude. Let him be a stuck up, ****y bastard. He worked his ass off all his life to become as good as he is, so he deserves to act any way he wants to, as long as he's not hurting anybody else. I do think highly of the way Vai and Satch act, but not everyone is going to be as cool as them.

Well, I'm not suggesting anybody arrest him or anything. It's all just "the way it is". If he's arrogant, and a certain % of fans stop buying his stuff, that's how it is. I'm one of those people. Others don't care, and will continue to buy his stuff. Some will only stop buying if the stuff sucks, some are loyal enough to buy everything he'll ever release. Some will DL from KaZaa. That is ALSO how it is.

But I don't necessarily think a 12 hr a day dedication to the guitar is a healthy thing. I'm not going to open up a "who's best" thing, but there is a law of diminishing returns, and there are people who are in the same class who practiced far fewer hours. And in reality, he is very lucky to have gone as far as he did. He was able to come to America because Varney was around. He took advantage of the popularity of metal and "guitar heroes" in the 80's. If he were breaking in today he'd be a Rusty Cooley - a monster player, and successful, but not necessarily a "rich rock star". Some people would be grateful & humble in the face of such fortuitous timing.

[jem7vwh]

is Yngwie cool? no.

is he talented, sure

still - totally not-cool.

[AndersPGM]

YJM and VAI are my greatest guitar heroes.
They play (and have always played) the music they love regardless of fads and whims.

[bammbamm]

Yngwie was cool when it wasn't cool to be cool, but now it's cool to be cool and there he is... bein cool... Cool huh?

Yngwie plays in Chicago the 24th and I'm there with his cool self soaking it up and digging the man stuck in the Glass 80's box but the trick is, he isn't trying to get out. He does what he does and thats all what he does. (to steal a Popeye-ism)

Bamm

[Fry]

Originally Posted by JESTER700

Well, I'm not suggesting anybody arrest him or anything. It's all just "the way it is". If he's arrogant, and a certain % of fans stop buying his stuff, that's how it is. I'm one of those people. Others don't care, and will continue to buy his stuff. Some will only stop buying if the stuff sucks, some are loyal enough to buy everything he'll ever release. Some will DL from *****. That is ALSO how it is.

But I don't necessarily think a 12 hr a day dedication to the guitar is a healthy thing. I'm not going to open up a "who's best" thing, but there is a law of diminishing returns, and there are people who are in the same class who practiced far fewer hours. And in reality, he is very lucky to have gone as far as he did. He was able to come to America because Varney was around. He took advantage of the popularity of metal and "guitar heroes" in the 80's. If he were breaking in today he'd be a Rusty Cooley - a monster player, and successful, but not necessarily a "rich rock star". Some people would be grateful & humble in the face of such fortuitous timing.

I think that every guitarist will tell how how insanely lucky they have been to get where they are today. I'm sure Vai is just as lucky as getting to where he is now as Yngwie is. And I do agree with you that Yngwie would be just like Rusty Cooley right now, if he were to come into the music scene...but so would Vai and all the other greats. If Vai were never heard of before, and he released his first album today, you think it would be successful? Is any instrumental ablum going to be as successful today, no matter how good it is, as it wouldv'e been in the 80's? No, I don't think so.

[Kev Brigden]

not in my book... I dislike his playing with a passion... but thats just my opinion... meh

[Petie]

It'd never happen, but I'd like to see Yngwie hook up with a band like Arch Enemy.

[microdmitry]

Well, a friend of mine went to G3 show to see Yngwie. He didn't care for the other two G's much. So I guess for some he's still cool.

My opinion on Yngwie - the guy can play a guitar, but he's totally out of touch with reality. He's not YJM he was in 80's yet he behaves pretty much the same, and plays the same stuff, nothing new. I wish he could tone down his "guitar God" attitude a little, sit down and whip up some new good $hit, totally different from everything he played before. There's no doubt he can do this, he's just too deep in his groove and needs help. Maybe touring with Steve and Joe will be enough of a help for him to do this.