Recently, Twisted Sister member Dee Snider has been catching some flack for some comments of his regarding Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant.
The long short of the matter is that, during a debate that took place on Twitter, Snider said that he doesn’t consider Plant to be a great frontman (a point that he will not budge from).
But Snider is not the only Twisted Sister member who has some harsh words for Led Zeppelin. During a recent conversation with The Metal Voice, band member Jay Jay French was asked what he thinks makes a guitarist really shine. Per his answer, French speaks to a plethora of talented guitarists (including the late Jeff Beck).
But at one point, French shares what he thinks of Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, saying he “got worse as time went on.” Below is everything French had to say regarding the subject of guitar players (the following was transcribed by Ultimate Guitar):
“Having witnessed all that stuff and realizing that then Beck goes on and develops this incredible style of guitar playing over the next 50 years… Jimi’s is dead and [Beck] developed, Jimmy didn’t have the luxury of developing. Eric [Clapton] didn’t change much, Eric stayed the same. Jimmy Page got worse as time went on, sloppier, eventually straightened himself out and I guess he’s okay today.
“And by the way, I’m not knocking these people. These were my heroes. You think of the greatest guitar players though, the ones who, when you hear them, you know who they are. Not just that they’re technically great, but you know who they are. So you can add to this list if you want, but [these are] the guitar players that I know, when I hear [them], I’ll tell you who it is.
“BB King. No one plays like BB King. Leslie West. No one sounds like Leslie West. Carlos Santana. Nobody sounds like Carlos Santana. Jimi Hendrix. Nobody sounds like Jimi Hendrix. Jeff Beck. Nobody sounds like Jeff Beck. When you get to Eric Clapton, there’s a million guys that play like that. Stevie Ray Vaughan, Joe Bonamassa – like a million of them. And that doesn’t take away [from] how great they are.
“It’s just that they don’t necessarily imbue their personality through the fretboard [in an] individual way. But you know, that’s just my opinion. So you may have a feeling of other guitar players… Eddie Van Halen, I can always tell Eddie.”
What do you make of French’s comments? Do you agree with him?
Dee Snider Doesn't Regret His Comments About Robert Plant Not Being a Great Frontman
