I hadn't really paid him much attention over the years, but saw this clip and was surprised how old and frail he looks now. Reminds me of old Billy Gibbons. He sounds good still. The Alcohol demon caught up with him it seems. I think he had some blood clots at some point and has given up the booze now?
My Favorite Zakk era...
- Thread starter espquade
- Start date
I hadn't really paid him much attention over the years, but saw this clip and was surprised how old and frail he looks now. Reminds me of old Billy Gibbons. He sounds good still. The Alcohol demon caught up with him it seems. I think he had some blood clots at some point and has given up the booze now?
Gitfiddler
Well-known member
It will be interesting to see which Zakk shows up when he joins VH.
GOHOINC
Well-known member
Interesting comparison. I think the fastball is all he has left and that is the problem... I'm a big fan and his chops have improved since the golden era, he is a better guitar player now imo, he has put more techniques into his arsenal. That said, his tone is now garbage and has been since the second black label record and although he uses more techniques since the good ole days, he uses all of them, on every song, if at all possible. So every song sounds the same with the same terrible tone. Every pitch is a fastball, right down the center of the plate. No edge play, no curves, no splitter, sinker or spitter. Maybe a knuckleball every once in a while...
I think you got it right. I was speaking of a fastball in terms of a focus rather than a technique. But yes, he seems as if he has run out of ideas. There was always a fair amount of filler on BLS records anyway. But I guess at least he is prolific for better or for worse. Agree on the tone.
I think now he is more focused on BLS and his brand as a means to make $$ vs writing great songs. Frankly he admits that the whole Wylde Audio thing is just another way to generate income.
Mr. Willy
Well-known member
I’ve never been a big Zakk fan. I don’t think he’s as musically interesting as the Ozzy guitarists before him. He does command respect, though. He certainly is talented. I think the best Zakk is NRFTW and Pride and Glory. Both those albums have his best material and playing, imho.
Kapo_Polenton
Well-known member
Good observation.. I think he used to play slower so his phrasing varied more. His solos would build up like a short story but would always end huge. There was more holding of notes, more of that Allman brothers pentatonic stuff and then the squealies. He also didn't use the vibe and phaser as much. Just that big chorus sound. That Pride n Glory album has some amazing writing, singing, AND musical solos in it. So now he may have added faster runs and a scale or two more but it also gets blurred into the same thing. I also liked his take on some of the Jake stuff live. But I admit already when I saw Ozzy years ago with Zakk, he was starting to over play and get into his speed phase and I just wanted the show to end. I had seen Holmes prior to that and it was night and day in terms of who was the more enjoyable player to watch.
H Golf Sport
Member
Never Really listened to Zakk until years later I stumbled across Pride & Glory
GreatRedDragon
Well-known member
Yes.
From Blizzard through No More Tears Ozzy's albums were a product of him and his band, with Bob Daisley writing almost all of the lyrics on the first six (he didn't write for No More Tears, he just played on the album).
Ozzmosis is when it turned to being producer-driven, with numerous outside writers and Zakk sidelined (of the 12 songs Zakk is only credited as writer on 7 of them). Down to Earth was written by outside writers as well, with Zakk as a session player. Black Rain is mostly credited to Zakk and Kevin Churko, the producer. Churko wrote all of the music for Scream, with Gus G. just playing on the record. And now Andrew Watts is writing Ozzy's tunes for him.
There's a reason those first seven Ozzy albums are so damn good and feel so different from the polished product that came after.
He quit drinking in 2009. He just looks like a guy in his 50s.
RevDrucifer
Well-known member
Overall I don’t disagree, as long as it’s not an “acoustic” show.
A few years back I got tickets to see him doing an acoustic set, he was plugged into his fucking pedalboard and played with a shitload of distortion on the acoustic and just wanked the whole time. I’m a huge Zakk fan, one of my bigger influences, but I left around song #4. It was just a shred fest, mindless shredding for way too long. I think I heard him play more notes in those first 4 songs than I’ve heard him play on all the CD’s I own with him playing on them.
I was expecting this-
What I got was this- (this is the show I was at, jump to 2:59)
Would have been cool if he just did it in one or two songs, but in between every song it was more shredding and the distortion pedal on an acoustic, pinch harmonics….kinda defeats the purpose of an acoustic set.
One thing he doesn’t get enough credit for, probably because he started yarling in BLS, is his vocals. That “Machine Gun” man vid is a prime example of how great of a vocalist the dude can be and while there are some great moments in the BLS stuff, there’s a bit too much of the knock-off Layne Staley thing.
RevDrucifer
Well-known member
I don’t think ”frail” is the word I’d use for Zakk, dude has arms the size of my fuckin’ head-
Are you in Lauderdale?
RevDrucifer
Well-known member
Yep, about 3 miles from the Culture Room, by Commercial/Dixie.
I used to live in Tamarac & my good friend on Here Detroit1973 Lives in Boynton Beach.
RevDrucifer
Well-known member
Snap! I used to live in Tamarac as well, Pine Island/McNab area. I think there’s another dude here who is in Ft. Lauderdale, but I can’t remember who it was.
