Vernon Reid says he is astonished that Isley Brothers’ guitarist Ernie Isley doesn’t get more recognition for his playing, despite being what he calls a “near direct tonal descendant of Jimi Hendrix”.
Contributing his musings to the cover story in the new issue of Guitar World, which sees big-name players pick out their favorite ’70s guitar exploits, the Living Color guitarist chose Isley as his guitarist of the decade.
Jimi Hendrix died in September 1970, but his influence lived on across the decade and beyond. Reid believes Isley was one such player who helped keep the Hendrixian flame burning.
“I’m compelled to say his name – amongst a host of incredible guitar luminaries who’ve influenced me greatly – because of his complete absence from any rock guitar-oriented media or rock music-oriented media of that time,” he says.
Reid also observes that Isley's influence extended well beyond the 1970s, but asserts he has remained criminally underrated.
“Astonishingly, Isley’s continued non-acknowledgment as a near direct tonal descendant of Jimi Hendrix continues to this day,” he goes on. “It continues, despite the undisputed fact of Ernie’s direct contact with Hendrix, due to Jimi’s tenure with the Isley Brothers in the Sixties.
“It continues despite Ernie displaying his Hendrix-influenced skills on hit records of that time, on originals and covers like That Lady, Summer Breeze, Live It Up, and others.”
Reid says the guitarist – despite the band’s success throughout the ’70s – received “almost never any listing with his contemporaneous colleagues in a decade of incendiary importance in the guitar’s ascendancy in every genre of music, and in the popular magination”.
Reid also singled out Isley's wild space fuzz solo on the 1973 version of That Lady as one of his favorite ‘70s guitar solos.
It's not the first time Reid has acted as a mouthpiece for unsung guitar heroes. Last year he launched a campaign on X to bolster the profiles of under-appreciated players. Robin Trower and Robert Cray were the first to shine under his spotlight.
Visit Magazines Direct to pick up the newest issue of Guitar World, which features the full conversation with Vernon Reid, and a comprehensive break down of the biggest guitar events of the 1970s.
