Style Over Substance

Music Makers Guitars
#41

Gary Moore. ridiculous talent. And Clapton is in the RRHOF 3x? ok, whatever lol
Did Gary overplay some? yep, sure did. So what? if love to hear how Clapton or Knopfler or, omg, Ace Frehley have more soul than Gary

Even with this sucky reverbed to death production, the feeling comes shining through. I heard this for the first time right before I started playing guitar. Gary is just a few years younger than Clapton, but Gary kept pushing his limits

Michael Schenker? forget it. proto shredder, HYPER euro melodic dude. tons of feel and emotion. Hell, this isnt a ballad its more of an apocalyptic thing but Mike shreds with feeling. another masterpiece. I guess Lay Down Sally had more soul??

Jake E Lee? again, forget it. Dude could shred or play weird polyphonic stuff or whatever he wanted to play. Ironically his band Badlands hearkened back to 70s bluesy swagger. No way dude could ever be called soulLESS lol. This even gets a little sloppy in a Billy gibbons on steroids kind of feel…but dripping with soul and vibe

just because you have “soul” doesnt mean you need to stop practicing and growing as a musician.

there is nothing more putrid than the thousands of guys on youtube who play all of the cliched little “soulful” blues licks with that certain tone where they do all of the cliched 'loud and soft" dynamics. totally soulLESS in my book

Peace, JJ

#42

btw, I do like some “slow” players too lol. Clapton is great for what he is. a pioneer etc etc. I rag on him because people hold him up as some sort of god.

Gary Rossington is great because he played great soulful parts with a signature vibrato and feel and he never played a fast note in his life.

I love Robin Trower. He plays some fast stuff but he isnt a shredder at all. Dude just kills with tone and feel and vibrato though and incredible emotion in the songs

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#43

Good to hear some great playing on a dreary Monday morning.

Dude just kills with tone and feel and vibrato though and incredible emotion in the song

Ultimately, that’s the point. If you can do that and shred, more power to you, but if you just shred you’re just fooling the kids at a rock and roll show.

#45

how is that any different than dudes showing up with makeup who cant play a lick? again its same same.

you can change the word “shred” in your statement to “pose” and its the same

#46

You mentioned Jake E. Lee without calling him a subpar Randy Rhoads. I think I love you. The Ultimate Sin is Ozzy’s best solo album, Badlands rocks, all three of their albums.

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#47

Well IMO NOTHING compares to Diary of a Madman and Blizzard is only a tiny bit behind. Randy Rhoads was just a part of that. A bunch of stuff just fell together on those 2 albums. I have been listening to Diary very heavily lately in the car. Just the whole production etc.

Lee Kerslake and Bob Daisley were a magic combination.

So I love Randy Rhoads also, no doubt. But I dont really rate him above Jake E Lee. Randy had that really special classical vibe going and I think he had his head together pretty good.

Jake was a little faster than Randy. You can see though that Jake is moody and that doesnt play well with Ozzys weirdo personality. You can see even in the few Badlands interviews etc that Jake is pretty reclusive whereas Ray Gillen was outgoing

I think Ozzys head wasnt in such a good place after Randy died. Then Ozzy and Sharon screwed over Lee Kerslake and Bob Daisley and then screwed over Jake (all over writing credits etc) even though Jake didnt quit. So obviously there was plenty of negative vibes in the whole camp whereas with Randy you could hear a lot of positive vibe and hunger in the music.

Its funny because Jake sounded totally different in Badlands vs Ozzy. He said that Ozzy more or less always forced him to play more flashy and that they never let him get the tone he wanted etc. Jake said that the Badlands sound was what he liked etc

Until recently I hadnt listened to Diary or Blizzard for quite a while but ive been on a heavy Diary trip since ordering some Cds for the car lol.

I always liked Bark at the Moon better than Ultimate Sin though lol.

Ozzy is really a turd when you come down to it. Essentially Randy was going to quit anyway. The whole band was never pitched to Randy and other others as a solo Ozzy project. It was supposed to be a BAND called “Blizzard of Oz” but of course Sharon got her hand in it as well as all of a sudden its morphing into an Ozzy solo thing.

the epitome of low life scumbaggery is when Ozzy/Sharon actually went back and took off Lee Kerslake and Bob Daisleys parts off of Diary and Blizzard and rerecorded them with Robert Trujillo and some drummer (I forget who)

It sucked SO bad that fan outcry finally forced Ozzy to put the original parts back on. That is the epitome of douchebaggery when u sabotage your own legacy and fans because you dont want to give credit or pay people their due.

Jakes only real downside is the same as John Sykes. They are so freaking reclusive. John Sykes is one of the greatest talents ever and hasnt put out a new album in 17 years! He came out with high class demo teasers off his “new album” TWO YEARS AGO but it still hasnt been released lol

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#48

Solo at 1:25… then at 2:15

#49

Mike Bordin of Faith No More, he claims that he didn’t know they were doing that. Sharon told them they were recording new versions entirely for some anniversary shit or something along the same lines. Diary is my second favorite, and I like it better than Blizzard like you. That seems to be uncommon. I think Sykes is an excellent player, but I was never that crazy about his murky tone on 1987 and Blue Murder. Kinda sounds like the guitars were recorded under water, I blame Keith Olsen. Most of his productions sound like ass, with the exception of Night Ranger’s Man in Motion. There’s a good example of a stylish guitar player that actually played with Ozzy also. I love Brad Gillis. He did things with the bar that were totally unique, and oozed with originality and style. He’s one bar player that people never give crap to. Jeff Watson from that bad was awesome, but highly technical. Jake E. Lee and Warren DeMartini used to be roommates, and they bad fun of Brad for using a bar because both of them were so anti-effects.

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#50

the first Blue Murder album was produced by Bob Rock but yeah the whole production is a bit overdark. I still love it though and have probably listened to it overall more than any other album

yeah Gillis and Watson were a bit overlooked because of the pop vibe of Night Ranger. Midnight Madness is an album I could put on and just let play about a dozen times. More shredding on it than folks might think. Jeff Watson has that nasty vibrato he said he got from trying to vibrato a 12 string when he first started lol, but also he has huge hands.

I sort of have a love hate thing with Brad. Dude could play some of the tastiest stuff ever, especially on ballads, but yeah some of the whammy stuff got silly. Poor dude on the Dio ‘Stars’ sessions. omg. I guess he was intimidated by all the great players or something but he played a lot of drivel there lol. Who knows, maybe Ronnie said “just use the bar Brad”

Man in Motion was out right when i started playing and since the tab for one of the songs was in a magazine I bought the CD lol. I havent listened to it in a while but yeah it had a really nice “big” production.

obviously Jeff Watson here with some nice shredding

This album was on the radio when I gradded HS in 85 and had my first car and went into the USAF a few months later. Yep, deeply embedded lol. and like I said, when he wants to, Brad can lay down a classic solo like no one else. The little bent string descending lick starting at 3:11 is to die for http://dai.ly/x1vtqo

and a collaborative effort. Brad first then Jeff. Love the way that vibrato hangs over into the vocal line when the vox comes back in. Its funny how this would have been looked down on a being too “poppy” at the time because it wasnt Quiet Riot or Halen or Dio, but man, if it were played on the radio today it would almost sound like heavy shred since evidently guitar solos dont fit someones agenda anymore

#51

The two of them tear up Man In Motion. Alan Fitzgerald could be the dad of @holster.

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#52

I saw this a year or two ago and I wrote a few things in the comment section.

I seem to recall a video where Peter is playing drums and singing Strange Ways. There’s also another drummer, on a kit beside him playing…This looks very similar to that same gig…Maybe Peter ditched the drum kit for this song. Hmm:thinking:

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#53

I think Brad Whitford played a lot of good stuff too. Perry and Tyler were the face of the band and most people focused on Joe Perry’s guitar playing, to the “almost” exclusion of Whitford, but Whitford had some really nice licks.

Aerosmith had some awesome albums. I especially love “ROCKS”.

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#54

I can’t (don’t want) to believe it. No way. “If the devil wants to play his card game now, he’s gonna have to play without an ACE in his deck!”

Me too. Jake claims he wrote virtually all of BATM and got no credit for it too. The solo in the song BATM off that album is one of my favorite of all time.

Music can be such a personal thing, so the fame and fortune plus politics doesn’t sit well with people who feel deeply. Jake disappeared for many years I think, disillusioned with the Ozzy thing. He was on That Metal Show a good bit a few years ago. Seemed like he had come out again.

Maybe that’s the one I had seen before … it sounds more familiar. I may have seen the other one before too but wasn’t very impressed with it (though it was fun to watch).

Yeah, Brad Whitford was happy to stand in the shadows I guess, he didn’t like the spotlight. I think he was the backbone of the band with the rhythm section. Some people love that spotlight, and others just want to play.

Yes, ROCKS is my favorite as well. Very special time in my life, got the album right after it came out.

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#55

Rocks is my favorite as well. We should have a musical Aerorgy. If you don’t believe me about Ace just watch the officially released Live+4 video. He’s toasted.

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#56

Absolutely right about Brad Whitford. Saw them do ‘Red House’ live where Brad and Joe traded solos… Brad was on fire and definitely stole the spotlight a bit that night. Overall they are a very complimentary guitar team.

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#57

It’s a pity that most will only know about Jake from his material with Ozzy… but the Badlands albums were just amazing.

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#58

yeah, he’s had a few albums out even since Badlands that I havent paid much attention too

then this one ive yet to listen to lol

#59

I never liked Jake E. Lee’s sound on the Ozzy albums. It sounded so washy/ watery and thin. I really like the solo for Bark At The Moon though. I liked Jake’s sound much more on the Badlands albums. It is much more cutting and solid…, and there’s not all these washy, chorus effects. It’s too bad that he didn’t have that same sound on the Ozzy albums. Having said all that, I’m not really familiar with the Badlands material because for some reason or other I ended up not following them…Maybe it was the bluesy vibe…Maybe it was the singing…Maybe I was too immersed in other bands at the time.

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#60

he has said the exact same thing in interviews. He said they got one sound and wanted to do the whole album and Jake didnt like the sound anyway, too trebly and chorused. I think he did say he liked the sound on RnR Rebel (or was it another song?)
RnR Rebel…more Ozzy douchiness when you hear the version out there WITHOUT all of Jakes classic fills and solos lol

Jake said that if u liked him in Ozzy but not in badlands then u didnt like him lol

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#61

The Ramones are one of the most influential bands of all time…if you’re not into teasing your hair or wearing spandex. For everyone that isn’t into cheesy glam buttrock, the Ramones are one of the most important American rock and roll bands ever. They invented an entire style and genre. That’s just fact.