Favorite Ozzy guitarist

[BrentSSL]

Just straight curious who everyone's favorite is I saw a thread about Zakk Wylds gear and thought this would be a good topic.
Who's your favorite guitar player to have worked with or for Ozzy in any project including Black Sabbath and why?
I have a ton of respect for all of them especially Zakk he had to channel and cover so many other great players live and still be original. But my favorites Jake E. Lee because the first solo I remember influencing me was from Bark at the Moon. He also,did a song with Ratt which ended up on the Metal Massacre album with Metallica's Hit the Lights

 

[longfxukxnhair]

Jake. His playing speaks to me and inspires me.

 

[NaturalBornBoy]

Gonna have to go with Randy on this one.

'Mr Crowley' will always be my all-time fave solo in an Ozzy song.

 

[Racerxrated]

Randy..always Randy. Diary is and always will be in my top 5 albums ever..I remember when I heard about his death..I was 14. Sad day. I loved Jake as a player as well, love the Badlands stuff..but Randy Rhoads is king. Not a big fan of Zakk.

 

[CaseyCor]

Zakk was so great on No More Tears. It's like a dictionary of the basics of rock guitar. And everything after that is total garbage IMO.

I've always been a fan of Jake E Lee's playing.

 

[Racerxrated]

I should qualify what I said...I like Randy and Jake much more than what I've heard from Zakk...but Zakk is a very talented skilled player no doubt. But Randy and Jake just speak to me, they have that certain thing that can inspire..

 

[tech21man]

It can't be anybody else than randy rhoads for the top slot.

Zakk wylde did a lot for ozzy but his constant douche baggery and attitude plus the fact that he plays like shit nowadays leave me with a bad taste. He's becoming a bad replica of his former self. And his current gear change doesn't help that lol!


Anybody else that worked with ozzy also had that little extra to do something special. He knew how to pick them. I wonder why the skolnick gig didn't work out.


But two of my favorites didn't really contribute yet, holmes and gus g. I can't remember holmes actually writing a song (?), gus g only contributed leads to the last record etc. Both are great players that I enjoy in their own works more to be honest.

 

[sytharnia1560]

Gotta say Jake for 2 reasons

1) he was the guitarist when I hit my teens so was a huge part of my development
2) his style is just so outside the normal guitarist box it just sounds unique even today

TUS is in my top 5 albums ever (so is diary mind you).... I do LOVE randy as well

 

[fek]

Gonna have to go with Randy on this one.

'Mr Crowley' will always be my all-time fave solo in an Ozzy song.

+1.

Zakk is a better player and musician than Jake. Sorry. He just is. Douchebaggery aside.

My favorite #2 solo from Ozzy probably is Bark at the Moon however.

 

[legend71]

Zakk did a lot more with Ozzy than either of the other 2. I think had either of them lasted as long - there would be more to complain about. I am big Zak fan still - but I think I like Jake a bit better as his playing was more inventive to me.

But I still dig Zakk.

 

[XSSIVE]

Jake, he's my overall favorite guitarist not just with Ozzy.

 

[kurtsstuff]

Randy is who made Ozzy? Maybe most of you aren't old enough to know but without Randy..he'd of been nothing. jake was good..even Brad Gillis filled in for a bit..Zakk?? yeah..whatever??

 

[zewango]

There can be only one Randy Rhoads.

 

[thenine]

Rhoads, not close - and I'm a big Jake fan.

 

[Rock Bodom]

Jake, and I'm a huge Randy fan and loved early Zakk. But "favorite" for one simple reason...if I'm honest with myself, I like Jake's songwriting better. Overall I listen to and play his Ozzy era songs more than Randy's. I just can't play Crazy Train one more time in my life, but somehow still not tired of BATM.

 

[MKibanez]

Randy, Zakk and Jake in this order!

 

[xzyryabx]

Randy
Jake
Gus G

 

[V-Type]

Rhoads but Jakes work is very near the top as well.

I find Zakk is my least favorite honestly.

 

[Mr. Willy]

1. Randy Rhoads - The main reason for me is the songs he wrote. All of Ozzy's players are great guitarists, but those tunes Randy wrote with Daisley were dark, dense, and complex. I loved the medieval, classical, baroque vibe of the music, especially DOAMM.

2. Jake E. Lee - It's kinda hard for me to compare Jake and Randy because they're such different players. Neither is better than the other. The ONLY reason I choose Randy over Jake is because of Randy's songs. They're just better, IMHO. Jake never seemed to play the same thing twice, which lends a risky, off-the-cuff vibe to his style that was electrifying to listen to. Randy was more precise and orchestrated, but he didn't take as many chances (I'm referring mainly to live playing here) as Jake did. The thing is is that some Jake's songs, especially on TUS, sound really dated now, whereas Randy's and Zakk's songs seem to have held up better over time. I do think that BATM is the most difficult Ozzy tune, overall, of all of them to play

3. Zakk Wylde - I remember being really disappointed when NRFTW cane out. Sure, Zakk was blazingly fast and had a really thick and cool tone, but his leads were uninspiring to me. His solos weren't compositions like Jake's and Randy's were. I've always felt that Zakk relies too much on his "bag of tricks." Randy and Jake have their "bag of tricks" too, but they seemed to mix them up and vary them more. I don't want to come across as being too critical of Zakk, though. He was able to forge his own identity with Ozzy after two brilliant guitarists before him, and NMT was a really fun album. I wore many copies of it out. Looking back, I think Zakk's playing on his first album with Ozzy was probably his best. He seems to mix things up more (speed vs. feel) on that one than he did in the others.

 

[paulyc]

Jake.