Nobody is ever a perfect guitar player. The beauty of the instrument lies in the imperfections exposed when working it out. No one understood this more than Ritchie Blackmore.
Blackmore was a big fan of Jimi Hendrix (I mean, who isn't?), and he knew that what made Hendrix so exciting to listen to and watch was the fact that he was willing to be imperfect with his music. He improvised a lot and allowed himself the freedom to make mistakes as he felt his way around a fret board, trying to find the perfect combination of notes.
"Jimi Hendrix used to play lots of wrong notes," said Blackmore, "Because he was searching all the time, 'where the hell is that correct note'. When he did find that right note... wow, that was incredible, but if you are always playing the correct notes, there is something wrong, you're not searching, you're not reaching for anything."
It was for this reason that Blackmore wasn't a very big fan of Joe Satriani. Anyone with ears and a brain can listen to the work of Satriani and understand that he is a talented musician. Blackmore, as a man with both a brain and ears, also recognised as much. However, he found Satriani's playing style jarring, as he seemed to constantly strive for perfection, which removed the human aspect of creating art.
"To me, listen to Joe Satriani, he is a brilliant player, but I never really hear him searching for notes," he said, "I never hear him playing maybe a wrong note," he explained on his YouTube channel.
Satriani wasn't the only guitarist that Blackmore took issue with, either. He was never one to hold his tongue and always felt compelled to share his thoughts on the musicians that he considered overrated. Some of the names will surprise you, especially given that they are hailed as some of the greatest musical minds to pick up a six-string by others.
Cream are considered one of the driving factors behind prog rock. Their innate ability to play great rock music but also expand what rock music could be was well and truly awe-inspiring, and one of the brains behind such a sound was Eric Clapton. Many people praise Clapton as being one of the best guitarists there ever was, is, or will be; however, Blackmore wasn't convinced. He liked Cream, but felt as though Clapton relied too much on that sound throughout the rest of his career.
"He's been doing the same thing for 50 years and hasn't progressed much since his days with Cream," said Blackmore, "Clapton is just a nostalgia act at this point [...] He could never come close to someone like BB King."
Blackmore also had a bone to pick with Keith Richards. While the Rolling Stones were often praised for their take on R&B and blues, he saw it differently. To him, they weren't paying homage to their influences so much as outright nicking their work.
"The Stones? I considered them idiots. It was just a nick from Chuck Berry riffs," he said, "Chuck Berry was OK. Sometimes I'm outspoken, but I don't have any time for the Stones. I can see why they're respected, and their rhythms are very good, very steady on record. I respect them, but I don't like them."