The Edge (born David Howell Evans; 8 August 1961) is a British-born Irish musician, songwriter and singer best known as the lead guitarist, keyboardist and backing vocalist of the rock band U2. A member of the group since its inception, he has recorded 13 studio albums with the band as well as one solo record. As a guitarist, the Edge has crafted a minimalistic and textural style of playing. His use of a rhythmic delay effect yields a distinctive ambient, chiming sound that has become a signature of U2’s music. (More from Wikipedia)
The 2008 documentary, It Might Get Loud shows rock guitarist legends from three generations discussing their music and their careers and their influences: Jimmy Page (the Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin), The Edge (U2), and Jack White (the White Stripes, the Raconteurs). Needless to say, they all three made the Rolling Stone list of 100 Greatest Guitarists also: #3, #38 and #70, respectively.
At one point, Jimmy Page starts flipping through a pile of 45’s and pulls out “Rumble” by Link Wray and His Ray Men. To see a rock legend grooving along with that song, to see that big beaming smile on his face, to hear him discussing how the song developed, to see Page actually doing “air guitar” to “Rumble”: that really is something special. The clip from It Might Get Loud is well worth a viewing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLEUSn8y9TI .
(February 2013)
