I always thought Alex was very upfront about what he had absorbed or stolen in his style. I discovered Allan Holdsworth because I read in an interview how Alex said he had to stop listening to him because he was stealing so much, and I definitely hear the influence in the solo in YYZ.

The Andy Summers influence into the 80s is pretty obvious I think. But on P/G I feel like you can hear his personality, asserting, more strongly, and by the time you get to power windows, it is his own version of atmospheric guitar.

The return to the more guitar heavy sound in the 90s feels more like a tonal shift in gear than in style. Almost somewhere between the early zeppelin influence and the more textural stuff, the definite move towards a more “contemporary “ feels more like a tonal shift in gear than in style. The 90s brought a funkiness, perhaps absorbing a little John Frusciante? By the time you get to T4E and beyond, I hear echoes of Tool, Pearl Jam, and even REM. Some of that is just the sonics of the recordings, which do lineup with the radio norms of each era. But I find it interesting that certain things are always unmistakable: the vibrato, a particular kind of crying attack on a rising bend, and a skronky, left-handed melodic sense that’s very individual and yet totally right.

Love to hear some thoughts from other guitar players on this, not so much to argue a point as to ask what you hear.