Firewind of Oz…

A while ago, in this post about Zakk Wylde having to cut short his “Pedal to the Metal” tour due to a rare blood condition, I mentioned that Ozzy Osbourne had a new guitarist. Ozzy, or course, used to hire Zakk for guitar duties, but apparently that was making him sound too much like Zakk’s own band “Black Label Society”, and so he’s swapped over to guitarist Gus G., from a band called “Firewind”.

Although this swap happened months ago now, I hadn’t had the chance to listen to this new guitarist play the Ozzy set. I know that he has the technical ability and a “metal” sound from listening to his other band, Firewind.

Click here if you can’t see the video

I think the above video proves that Gus has great technical prowess on guitar, but it doesn’t show anything of his ability to fill the role as the Ozzy guitarist. I mean, it needs the right attitude and sound to play with “The Ozzman”, much more than just some clean alternate picking and sweeping! So what I’ve decided to do is to look at each guitarist separately, playing the same song with Ozzy and comparing their playing ability and tone.

Gus G. with Ozzy Osbourne

Click here if you can’t see the video

The above video was taken from Blizzcon 2009, and is the only live example I could find of Gus playing the guitar on an Ozzy song. If you watch you’ll see that he’s clearly able to play the song…even if he is occasionally copying Zakk’s style of pinch harmonics and alternate picking. I assume some of that is a requirement of the job (especially being able to play the songs!). I would never have doubted his playing ability knowing what songs he has to play.

What disappoints me, though, about this performance is the tone of the guitar. While it is true that you could compare his playing approach to Randy Rhoads’, I find his guitar tone quite thin and digital sounding. It might be because all Ozzy’s guitarists before have used Marshall amps (which produce a more natural tone with the use of valves). I don’t know what amps he uses but I find Gus’s tone on these recordings thin, lifeless and flat!

Maybe you think that’s unfair, so (in the interest of fairness, and also to fully explain where I’m coming from), lets look at other axemen that have filled the role.

Zakk Wylde and Ozzy

Click here if you can’t see the video

There’s something about this performance that should jump right out at you. I don’t know if it’s because Zakk and Ozzy have been playing together for about 20 years, but you should be able to feel alot more energy from this video. Zakk’s tone is heavier and bassier than Gus’s; whereas Gus’s guitar sounds clean, crisp and clear, Zakk’s sounds like a herd of elephants. Of course, that’s not a bad thing for either guitarist, just a difference. Each man plays the song technically perfectly and cleanly.

If I’m honest, I much prefer Zakk’s sound here, it’s heavier and just rocks more (along with his style of playing). Zakk plays with power and energy, whereas Gus’s playing is more focused on accuracy. This may be down to experience with the material, but (listening back to the Firewind video above, and also to live Black Label Society gigs), it would seem consistent with each man’s style.

Randy Rhoads

I couldn’t do a comparison of guitarists playing “Mr. Crowley” without mentioning the original, as played by the legendary Randy Rhoads (R.I.P.).

Click here if you can’t see the video

As this is the original recording, you could argue that it’s the definitive version of the song. I think Randy’s playing style lies somewhere in between the above two- very focused on technical accuracy, but without neglecting how much the tune needs to rock. The balanced approach is what is needed, I think, but if I had to chose one aspect…rocking out beats technical proficiency hands down (within reason…you need to have someone that can play the song!).

Discussion

In my opinion, the best guitarist of the three is definitely Randy, followed by Zakk. Gus, for me, doesn’t even come close (at least from what I’ve heard) but I want your opinion. Which of the three versions do you like best? Maybe you Prefer Jake. E. Lee? If you could pick a new guitarist for Ozzy, who would that be?

I know I can’t tell you who is really best, so I would really like to hear your opinion
Rob.

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February 15, 2010 at 5:04 pm | Music News and Opinions | No comments