Coincidentally that's about the time Wilco got a lot less interesting. Cline has never wowed me. My vote goes to Shields. _________________ kill yr idols
I'm gonna preface this by saying that Kevin Shields is great. His work with My Bloody Valentine is awesome, the guitar-work is iconic for the genre and he's an impressive guitarist.
But I saw Nels Cline with Wilco last year, and that man is an absolute monster. One of the most incredible guitarists I've ever seen live, every solo he played I was just fixated on him, a few times with my jaw dropped. It was awesome and he's awesome. _________________ Progressive Rock
Don't really care all that much for latter-day Wilco (or early Wilco actually), but Cline is an incredible guitarist. His jazz playing is raw, lyrical, and extremely varied. Would highly recommend Chest or Ground by the Nels Cline Trio if you haven't heard them. I also like what I've heard of Quartet Music, though admittedly I'm less familiar with that group. Shields is responsible for some of the most sonically thrilling rock music I've ever heard, particularly last year's mbv, so I've got a tough decision to make here. But yeah, don't just base Cline on his work with Wilco.
There's a huge reason why I nominated Mr. Cline here. While he's not one of the guitarists I'm particularly sentimental in regards to (for ex. I'd prefer listening to Isaac Brock play a tune over him), I'm always wowed by his amazing amount of skill. The Giant Pin is easily one of my favorite jazz albums and for good reason. I love when Nels does chaotic playing. He's also involved in some albums (with his own groups that is) where his playing is beautiful, but I think he does amazing when he plays something like "Fly Fly" or 'Confection". Simply put, Nels is one of my favorite guitarists because of how crazy he can be (J Mascics is in a similar situation).
I'd highly recommend listening to something outside his work in Wilco if you haven't. I can't remember much as I haven't listened to wilco in a long time, but I doubt his work in Wilco (because of the nature of the band) resembles this:
Cline is certainly a great guitarist, no matter how much Mark Kozelek jabs at him. I actually dig some of the stuff he's done with Wilco, although at times he's basically just jerked off all over the songs rather than adding to them, but as said he's done a lot of other noteworthy stuff and plays guitar fucking well.
That said, Kevin Shields basically invented my favorite genre of music's guitar style, and is like 90% responsible for the way I play guitar, so pretty easy choice.
I've seen Cline solo, and it was pretty mesmerizing. But I'm also one of those people that thinks his presence in Wilco has led to their steady decline (although the last one was great). He's no doubt a really good guitar player, but I can also see why Kozelek loves to diss him.
Shields may not have the jazz chops and may have rely heavily on pedals and effects, but I'm not sure anyone knows how to utilize those things as well as Shields. My vote easily goes to the master of shoegaze guitar. _________________ http://jonnyleather.com
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