Greg Howe & Jennifer Batten Cover "Led Boots" Tone Merchants 1-16-09

[niltongga]

get out jennifer

[strav12]

You can see Jennifer's jaw drop at 0:46 and at Greg's scales earlier - but she is definitely closer to Jeff Beck's style than Greg who is way too pyrotechnic for this pretty steady rock riff.....

[umawwi]

She schools him. Her playing is so much more part of the song.

[MrDankku]

Listening to music and thinking "is this guitarist better than that other guitarist" is bit like having sex and thinking "is this woman better looking than that girl I met week ago...".

[pngaia]

Greg never looked at his fingers

[musicisthebestF]

@cast390

Thanks for telling me about Frank Gambale

i didnt know that Guy i saw him play a Song called Yang with Steve Smith

and his phrasing and Tone Control in this song totally made me speechless

He REALLY is more talented then Howe

You Won ; )

[cast390]

Govan can play it all without breaking a sweat.But he is known for his FUSION style,a kinda crossgrade between Rock and Jazz.The other players you've mention especially Holdsworth are Fusion Legends.You of course are entitled to your opinion as I am,Dont wanna make this a fight of whos better.BTW Satriani is not a fusion player,,,,,Peace Bro

[iJohncy]

poor jennifer dont get greg hahhaa

[cast390]

They are both very talented but Gambale and Govan smoke every fusion player alive today..end of story.

[musicisthebestF]

@cast390

Whaat ? ? ? Guthrie Govan suucks BIG TIME compared to Greg Howe

He has like 33 % of his Skill on the guitar

Did you ever hear a Complete CD Of Greg Howe that he made between 1993 and 1997 ?

NOBODY Can Top that Skill

And i only heard 5 Songs by him

I like Guthrie Govan by the Way even more then Joe Satriani

[cast390]

@musicisthebestF I've been listening to fusion guitar players ever since you were swimming around in your fathers seed bag.I've listened to Howe ever since his mike varney days.Next you're gonna tell me that Gambale has half the talent of howe?.Nothing against Howe he has eminence talent,and deserves his place.But he has nothing close to Govans technical ability.Nothing!!

[musicisthebestF]

@cast390

I only know Wonderful Slippery thing by Guthrie Govan that made him guitar player of the year 2007 or 2008

and i wasnt impressed by that Song AT ALL

Besides that i know some Big Names to and i listened to them for at least 2 years

Like Wayne Krantz, David Fiuczynski, Allan Holdsworth and they all impressed me A LOT

more that Guthrie Govan at least when it comes to Jazz NOT Hard Rock Style

[radtone]

.....yawn.......

[GuitarLordChels]

I love how jen stops paying attention to her playing and starts soloing this amazing stuff without even looking! Greg looks at his guitar the whole time!

[totobish2009]

i just love this performance......

[lousarh]

I have to disagree from most comments here that says Jennifer plays better than Greg. J is a great player, no doubt, but Greg is another thing. The lines they choose to play are pretty different and simply J choose the easyest to ensure more musicality with the notes, a smart way to catch attention with easy load.. both of them didn't use the hearth, but J use typical women strategies hahahah ;)

[durtmagert]

I think the difference between Greg and Jennifer's Solo's were "rhythm". Jennifer's was more musical. You can here how Beck rubbed off on her. Greg's solo was less interesting note wise too.

[macdeath69]

He plays with his balls, she plays with her hearth...

Hearth is bigger than balls.

[toejam498]

@macdeath69  stupid comment

[Ireneket]

i like this

[Maxx61]

It's so funny to see Jennifer now compared to her MJ-days. Here, it's like she's saying "ok, I'm going to shred yer faces off, and then after that, I need to take the kids to soccer practice and pick up the dry cleaning."

[GuitarLordChels]

@Maxx61 and the thing is, she never married or had kids. its flipping amazining!. She said she has respect for the women who choose that over professional music lives. But shes like how can they say women are too emotional and shoudlnt be in music, when music is emotion?IF thats the case, then music should 98% women and 2% men! the other way around. very interesting, shes so cool and smart

[THEclimberclimber]

ジェニファーの方が良いな～。グレッグはただ速いだけやと思う。­どの曲でもいっしょ。

[VanishaGlamChick6]

I´m not saying this ´cause i´m a girl , but Jenny ´s phrasing on this vid is way better than Greg´s .

But Greg ´s a Fusion Master and Jeny is a two hands godess, so we should sit and watch this with respect.

[Guitfiddlejase]

Wow! Killer! Thanks for posting!

[faffytron]

Shes badass. Sweet phrasing . Nice bar work, I love it !

[diazluisdiaz]

M I L F ftw

[Xioaxioa10]

lol this is clearly not gregs style ^^. id like to see them both trade solos on extraction. now thats a song to jam too

[TheKidYos]

two guitaris ex Michael Jakson...., So incredible..., Amazing..., King of Two Hand's Guitar & King Of Fuzion Metal...., Hehehehehe!!!!

[TICETOCAR]

the sound of greg is definitely better... Jennifer sounds thin..(could be the recording) but - imo - she has a more musical choice of notes.. would love to hear more of it.

[2Funky4me]

TEH Greg got his shredding ass kicked by mom Jen! =D

[burnt999]

TONE.

This room is not real big and was packed. To be fair to each player, each usually has much better tone when allowed ample time to set up and spread out a bit. This was just a jam. We`re lucky to get to hear them together ! You guys that play know how it can suck if yer gear or sound is`nt quite right. Mics play a large part in what we hear also. Both players kill but could both benefit from better sound. Wonder what it would`ve sounded like if they rehearsed for a couple of days !!!?

[Gilad11235]

I donno. This mostly sounded like repetitive shredding to me- though Jennifer was better, undoubtedly, no offense to anyone- and needs to add more soul, more feel, take their time more with their statements... all my opinion, feel free to respond if it isn't anything too immature you have to say...

[maxomilian]

Other than her tone , did anyone find a similarity between jennifer and vinnie moores playing? She uses very similar phrasing also has a little of brett garsed/shawn lane "Hey tee bone".

At first i thought the only explanation for her playing was that she was possibly a lesbian.

[shingen60]

チョッ・・・・・！あと一人誰だ？ｗｗ

[vheadfacelegs]

greg kills this, batten makes mistakes and lost my attention

[melantoriano]

jennifer solo is better in my opinion but her guitar tone is poor....maybe the recording is no good.

[DoodleOfMonk]

Greg Howe's solo was boring, just a bunch of solos that if were played backwards would have sound the same, just chops. Batten had way more feeling and broke up the tempo as well as all the chops.

[christoofart]

Jen cleans his clock. Awesome.

[3shiftgtr]

Who was the player that ws cut off? Who followed those two?

[Guitfiddlejase]

Led Boots!

[KATAO333]

Im not a fan of "squealy tone" but if this was a squealy tone contest it would go to

Jen, but overall it was a squealy tone fest.

[maxomilian]

Pardon my ignorence , but does jennifer happen to be a lesbian??

Thats unreal for a chick to be playing, makes me feel less of a man :(

[weskoki]

That's a great solo by Jen....

[SnippetChaos]

This is so weird, Jennifer used to look like a fucking crazy rockstar. Now she looks like a member of the Parent-Teacher Conferance.

[SteveHubbardGuitar]

lmao

[OneAgeingRocker]

She does! - betcha can't play that tho...

[Funnypandalonies]

that's probably because she probably is part of some ones PTA. lol You realize she's gotta be close to her 50's? She looks great for her age though ROCK ON GIRL.\m/

[GuitarLordChels]

@Funnypandalonies yeah she was 51 in that

[Funnypandalonies]

@GuitarLordChels hahaha, for some reason I'm great with numbers. lol

[davidleerotharmy]

on this song jennifer plays better than greg...and she looks like very M.I.L.F....:P

[faithandpractice]

@davidleerotharmy wash your mouth out with sope and perish the tought. JB is great but Greg is better with two of his fingers cut off. Actually at 1:57 she really screed that mess up. She's great though.

[chromatic1976]

@faithandpractice lols even maybe 3

[bimwopbarn]

@faithandpractice well maybe greg technique is at a higher level but i think most of us agree that jennifer had a more interesting, soulful, and musical solo on this particular video

[faithandpractice]

@bimwopbarn I'll have to respectfully disagree. I should say first of all that I have HUGE respect for JB. She's got some seirous skills. However, they just did not come throgh in this video. In fact I'm glad that I know JB to be amazing cuz if I only had this to by I'd have to say there's nothing special at all. Try this, listen again and pretend that you know nothing of JB. It sounds pretty sloppy and forced

[chillichomper]

@davidleerotharmy Yep. She's cooking that solo as if beck made it hisself!

[TheBlackSoul1]

mi duole dirlo...la batten è meglio...!!!:-(

[s6y9l]

Jennifer's solo sounded like she had heard the song before. It wasn't Beck but it was "Beck-esque". They're obviously both great musicians.

[SirJamestheIII]

well she had to have heard it before cuz she toured with him

[onamemmet]

what is it about these guys? after exhibiting style and class he and tony macalpine and others always end up with the dreaded graceless baseball-cap dude look. just curious. american 'culture' just brings out the worst in a black man.

[RunAwaySue2000]

Yes, Greg is a wanker but he can play tasty. I know, I jammed with him. The reason he wanks is because that's what people expect. He got to tour w/Justin Timberlake and others because they were so blown away by his playing they had to have him even though there was no way that type of playing would fit in w/the show. Also, Greg played EVH's 'Beat it' solo almost note-4-note live, something I never heard Jennifer do, at least when I heard her play it .

[emericanchaos]

lol. you should research who jennifer batten is bro.

[Jed9133]

nice

[pedeyw]

Can I just interject and say its rally nice to read a civilised discussion on youtube! I am far from a shredder myself but personally I prefer Jennifer's solo. I've always been into letting a note sing for a while. Greg's solo is cool and his technique is unreal but like borntorun I just find Jennifer's tastier.

[TheDanceofjoy]

"letting a note sing for a while" a very good statement, although i love gregs playing but mostly what i feel is when players who can shred , its difficult for them to control themselves while playing becoz of the ideas at that point in their heads are coming constantly. i think on youtube greg himself talked about this concept in his videos. a moderate speed is always cooler rather than something being played where the listener doesn't hear the note differences.

[pedeyw]

Yeah, (at the risk of sounding pretentious!), like any art form or skill there can be a huge difference between appreciating something for its skill and enjoying it. For instance while I appreciate Vai or Satriani for their musicianship, I enjoy listening to Cheap Trick a lot more. I think a lot of shredders tend to get carried away with the technique and almost forget about the fun!

[CarvinTone]

Howe wanks, Jennifer plays. At least Howe is playing the riff close to Beck. Visit the Ronnie Scott DVD for some amazing guitar and bass work. Puts all this to shame.

[borntorun1970]

No offense to you Howe fans, but on this song, Jennifer played WAY more tasty and let the notes sing and breathe much better than Howe's take on this. She is REALLY good. By the way, what kind of Amps does Howe use? He has a great tone and is one of the VERY FEW players from the 80's still around who plays with feeling and melody along with his great sense of theory and chops. Peace. -dave

[proteoid]

No offense to you borntorun, but Jennifer is playing on here like Greg used to play 20 years ago. Greg has entered a whole new world these days. Sometimes his playing is hard to take in. Jennifer is playing a standard diatonic here, achievable by many guitarists. Greg is just incredible.

[borntorun1970]

I didn't take offense to what you said, even though you obviously don't get what I saying. My whole point was of note choice and TASTE. It's not a matter of "hard to take in" I love John McLaughlin and his playing is very difficult to digest for most Western ears. For you to make the comment that Jennifer's playing is "standard diatonic" tells me that for you, music is about complexity and technical difficulty, not about passion for the song. It's MUSIC dude, not a GIT competition. So very sad.

[proteoid]

Yes, musical taste is subjective. I do admire technical difficulty in music, but by no means is this the way in which I solely judge. If it was, I would be a Rusty Cooley fan ! (who for the record I cant stand). I look for melody and harmony in music. 'Hard to take in' was a poor choice of phrase, no offense intended.

[borntorun1970]

That's cool man. I apologize of my reply was offensive. I didn't mean to imply that you don't get good music. I was a teenager in the 80's, so I have ZERO tolerance for all the "Shredders" out there who place knowing how to apply the Hungarian Minor over a particular series of chords before hitting 5 really killer notes (think Robben Ford, Larry Carlton) that just floor you with tastiness and great note choices that compliment the Song. I enjoy speed too, but only when appropriate for the song.

[proteoid]

cheers mate. I'm much more appreiative these days too of good note choice, phrasing and melody. Speed is a good tool to have, but shouldn''t be over-used. Guitarists like Angelo, Impelliterri, and Cooley use it way too much. As a result it sounds predictable and souless. What do you think of Andy TImmons by the way ? I think you may like his stuff :-)

[borntorun1970]

Hey man. Yeah, those 2 guitarists you mention use speed way too much. You know, you CAN have it all. One just has to work a bit harder to find it that perfect balance of feeling, theory, chops and tone, and Randy Rhoads to me was (and still is) the Ultimate rock guitarist in that regard. He knew how to write a SONG. Not just a chord progression to "solo over" like Satriani does. Yes, I like Timmons very much. You shold check out John Norum. He is very underrated and reminds me a lot of Randy.

[Peelick]

True!!!!!!!!

[Myangeljackson]

both of them are playing amazing !!!

[Marinhoalvesdasilva]

Jennifer was the ugly duck, in the eighties. Now, she's so beautiful!

[bcwdrums]

Excellent Playing Man...................

[Gomagomes]

dude greg's guitar is beautiful

[bonfirejovi]

jennifer has a really bad tone and her licks are boring. greg is amazing as usual.

[CTROCK]

howe is the teacher and jennifer is the student.

[CTROCK]

greg blow her away big time. jennifer licks sound to easy!

[lonestar225]

Two different styles are represented here..It's not about whos licks are hotter...Jennifer holds her own very well and could blow if she wanted to, but her stlye is more about restraint and taste...dont get me wrong I luv Howe but you are missing the point...

[09kitty23]

ok i don't get this... both of you guys are missing the point.. there is no such thing as teacher and student, there is no better or worse..

they are jamming together and complimenting each riff with their own styles.. that is what i can hear and basically what i can see with their faces.

[peterstrohm]

you are so mistaken...

[dennisl2008]

Sounds to me like Jeff's great technique, tone and taste rubbed off on Jennifer. Very articulate solo in my opinion.

[aupoint]

I find soloing against a repetitive riff like this a challenge.

On the one hand you have greater freedom. On the

other the sameness of the riff requires the solo to hold

your attention. I like both players, and in this case

Jennifer held my attention throughout. Greg did not.

[vvblues]

Thanks for going on the record. The wait is finally over! Your opinion means oh so much. Ok, bye now.

[aupoint]

It's always for you.

[savagefarmer]

respect the guy, he has a valid point

[Rg1527]

@vvblues wow youre a fucking prick.... dude was expressing an opinion, you cunt.

[vajranurse]

@vvblues i laughed out loud... You Tube is the greatest place on earth for armchair critics... lovely response

[owlsrfun47]

@vvblues lol

[Gregorypeckory]

I loved em both but enjoyed Jennifer's more. The greater simplicity of her lines had more emotional impact for me, a matter of personal taste. I wouldn't say one's "better", as I think they both kicked ass!

[SantomPh]

@aupoint maybe Greg doesn't solo over repetitive licks? more creative rhythms?

[John1415]

both are great players but I didn't like her tone

[dennoow]

Greg Howe's Phrasing is out of this world!

[conximbrina]

very good, very very

[tcguitarsounds]

Jennifer has better tone and more feeling in her playing.

[Matthias22223]

There is a huge difference of class between them. Jennifer is extraordinary.

[jamgarza1]

We need more Chick players she is awesome,she made It her own,great feel.

[radoo76]

2 of the 3 guitarist who played beat it guitar solo from michael jackson. the 3dh is van halen

[jemguitar89]

Wow a girl that can actually play the guitar

[glynch45]

she played with Micheal jackson back in the 80's she is one of the best ive ever seen

[gebass6]

Greg played the way he usually does.Jen played more lyrically.

[bonniechopper]

listen to the solo in freddy fenders wasted days and wasted nights, smokin

[Mockingbird5150]

and they bothed played with mj. awesome.

[Mockingbird5150]

it looks like they are having a great time playing together. I love that they both have the jeff beck connection. she played with him and howe recorded that sick version of led boots with richie kotzen on the project album.

both players are musical giants.

[brianwurst1234]

I thought that was Jake Cinninger.....until I heard him play of course.

[ghowerules]

Greg Howe rules and is arguably the best guitar player ever, Jennifer Batten is great too.

[spicbuddha]

her time with jeff beck served her well, cause she plays really cool phrases and doesnt shred needlessly, even when shes technical its MUSICAL, unlike howe here, who just played fast

[4801eSlauson]

Jennifer has more feel. More musicality.

[o0Slipdisc0o]

Feel is an INTERNAL SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCE!!! It's not synonymous to musicality. In short: éven in this short six word response to manage to disqualify yourself completely from any coherent discussion about music. It must be a new record.

[4801eSlauson]

ALL music is a subjective experience - it is nothing more than organized sound. I'm sorry you're so threatened by my opinion.

Don't be a hater.

[CarlosCepinha]

Jennifer uses only the scale notes.

Greg uses the whole guitar, he expresses more stuff 2my ears.

[dimebad]

thats the most rediculous thing, the scale is the whole guitar jackass. everything is a scale or arpegio or progression of some type

[burnt999]

Greg is smokin` but Ms. Batten uses notes which are not always from this planet ! Is it the amount of notes or quality of notes here ? Love her bar use . No doubt , " THE QUEEN " of the girl guitar slingers which also can hold her own against da boys ! Not only Jeff Beck`s  musical director on two albums but the only guitarist to ever be in his touring band I believe. ( Page does`nt count ).

Check her new album.

[crobins333]

@burnt999 first sentence of that is possibly more enjoyable than the video. lol!!!

[Gilad11235]

@burnt999 I hope by Page you didn't mean Jimmy, I happen to look up to that guy's guitar playing :P

[burnt999]

Respond to this video... No hit on Page ! He was the only guitarist to be in a band with Jeff, that I know of.( YB`s ) `cause that really was not Jeff`s band. Please correct if wrong. Page is one of the finest guitarist/composer./arrangers ever !

[naturaltoby]

Greg's playing had more outside lines while Jennifer played more in the pocket which tends to appeal to people who don't listen to a lot of fusion.....both were great.

[LuteroReforma]

I think Jennifer was better than Greg in this Jam session

[dennoow]

I don't but she did play very good!

[deivsguitar]

M. Jackson Rules!!!!!

[alshredo]

Sick!

[edouardfilho]

Love this kid!

[laxrappa11]

DAMN

[MrCaribbean]

jennifer batten is an excellent guitarist

[EthnHayabusa]

Great Mixolydian playing from both players.One of my favorite tunes.

[carlfia]

Awesome!

This should be a NEW band.

[gtrjoe68]

WOW.I'm speechless.