Randy Rhoads
Highlights: Mr. Crowley, Over The Mountain, Goodbye To Romance, S.A.T.O
Considered by many to be Ozzy’s greatest guitarist, just listening to his work it’s very easy to see that this was true. It is an easy thing to write off Randy Rhoads as over rated but in all honesty, he is the only guitarist that I feel captured the essence of the songs. Even with all his skill technique Randy managed to tastefully play these songs and not over play them in an overly self indulgent way. On the debut album “Blizzard of Ozz” I feel that the mix of this album does little to showcase how great of a player he his. His tone sounds thin and synthetic but being that this album was released in 1980, it sounds about right for the period. Randy’s playing had a subtle beauty to it and on a song like “Goodbye To Romance” this is very much apparent. The guitar playing alone on this track can put a tear in your as it is full of emotion, depth and range and don’t get me started on the solo in “Mr. Crowley.” The solo in that song literally makes the hairs on my arm stand at full attention.
“Blizzard of Ozz” was not just an amazing introduction of Ozzy as a solo act but for Randy Rhoads as a true guitar god. “Diary of a Madman” was the album that had it all coming together and feeling like a solid entity. “Blizzard” was solid but “Diary” was unstoppable. Randy’s playing on this album was nothing short of stellar and had him stepping up to the plate as more of a rock/metal guitarist than a foremost classical player. The mix on this album definitely lends itself more to Randy’s tone giving it a much fatter, thick tone which was closer to his “live” tone. The opening track on this album “Over The Mountain” alone is worth it’s weight in gold (or platinum!) Again, on this album I feel like Randy’s playing is tasteful and there is no overplaying on this album. Songs like “Believer” show his Sabbath influence and the playing is dark and evil as fuck. Randy manages to take it over the top with the title track “Diary of a Madman” with a performance that I have never heard topped or even close to by any of his predecessors.
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Brad Gillis
Highlights: Symptom of the Universe, The Wizard, Never Say Die, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
People seem to forget that Brad Gillis wasn’t actually the guitarist to replace Randy Rhoads. That impossible and thankless task was taken on by a great Irish guitarist by the name of Bernie Torme. He was Ozzy’s live guitarist for 3 weeks of rescheduled dates and then immediately replaced by Gillis. It’s unfortunate that the only Gillis recording we have is the live “Speak of the Devil” album and I use the word “live” very loosely but that’s beside the point.
Gillis performance on this album is really quite spectacular and his style and tone are the closest to Randy’s than I’ve heard from any of the others. Maybe he was brought in to try and mimic/duplicate Randy’s tone but whatever it was worked. I wish this album would’ve had some Randy material because I’ve seen the live footage of him doing those Randy songs and he fucking nailed it. It just seems that Gillis had less of an identity of his own but was very good and copping the tone and style of Randy. It’s a shame we never got to hear more of him because I feel that this very well could have produced some really great material.
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Jake E. Lee
Highlights: Bark At The Moon, You’re No Different, Killer of Giants, Shot In The Dark
The Jake E. Lee era of Ozzy’s career was one of my all time least favorites but mainly due to the insanely poor quality of the lyric writing. He had the unfortunate task of filling the slot of Randy Rhoads who had died a mere year or so before. Jake’s guitar style is much different from Randy’s neo-classical style of playing. Jake is much more of rock/metal guitarist with a much meatier tone than Rhoads as well. “Bark at the Moon” as a whole is excruciatingly painful to listen to. This is no fault of Jake though. When I went back into these albums to listen to them from a “guitarist” stand point as opposed to a “song for song” stand point, I was reminded that Jake really did some great work. “Bark at the Moon” (the title track) really jumps right out at you and packs a serious punch with that opening riff. Jake was a fucking powerhouse on this song. The other only tolerable song on this album is “You’re No Different” which features some great playing from Jake. The way he plays so subtle under the haunting keyboards on this song is a really beautiful thing. This is a song I can listen to over and over again.
“The Ultimate Sin” was such a huge improvement in the songwriting department so it made it a much easier album to listen to. The biggest frustration for me is that much like the two Randy albums, the production quality doesn’t seem to do the guitar justice. One would think if you had such great guitar players as Jake and Randy that you would put more effort into the production of these albums. “The Ultimate Sin” is better than the first two as far as quality but not by a long shot. “Thank God for the Bomb” has some great layered guitars but the riff sounds like a rip off “Aint Talkin’ Bout Love.” I can never enjoy this song because of this as it always sounds so silly. “Shot In The Dark” was the hit single off this album but man does Jake do some cool shit on this. The intro alone is spectacular and the way he builds it up to that driving riff is fucking badass. I also have to give credit to Jake for his performance on one of the greatest Ozzy songs of all time: “Killer of Giants.” Jakes performance on this song is absolutely outstanding and because of this song I have to say that Jake was a very capable player. What would’ve become had he been kept on for longer? It’s a shame he didn’t have the opportunity to play on many truly great songs but the great songs he did play are timeless and still sound great to this day.
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Zakk Wylde
Highlights: Fire In The Sky, Crazy Babies, No More Tears, Mr. Tinkertrain, Mama I’m Coming Home
When Ozzy couldn’t take any more of Jake E. Lee for some reason, he was out once again for young blood. Zakk Wylde came into the fold in 1988 and I remember think it was odd that he kind of looked like Randy Rhoads. Zakk’s playing possesses zero classical elements. There were some stylistic similarities to Randy’s playing in the way that he approached solos but for the most part he was a player all his own. Zakk also showcased a love for the dreaded “pinch harmonic” which makes me want to claw my eardrums out. Zakk’s playing at times had a kind of Southern feel to it which is something that neither Randy nor Jake had. This southern kind of feel is really apparent on the song “Bloodbath In Paradise.” I feel that as a writer, Zakk was the as strong as Randy was. I feel that the music that was created with Zakk was some of the best music Ozzy made next to the Randy material. The songs on “No Rest for the Wicked” were really strong and had a much heavier quality to them. Songs like “Devil’s Daughter”, “Crazy Babies” and “Miracle Man” seemed to be very modern and relevant for the time they were out. “Fire in the Sky” as a whole is one of my top 5 all time Ozzy songs and Zakk’s playing was outstanding on this one.
Unfortunately, my love of this lineup would be less enthusiastic with the release of “No More Tears.” I loved this album as a kid but now when I listen to it, it sounds weak and uninspired. Much like with the Jake E. Lee era, when the songs aren’t good, it doesn’t matter how good a guitar player you are. A bad song is still a bad song. This album is just chock full of crappy moments but on the good ones Zakk does shine. He was doing way too many pinch harmonics on this one and it fucking annoys the hell out of me. It seems he does a pinch harmonic every measure of the intro, verse, chorus and outro of every song. It was nice to hear him do some great acoustic work on “Mama I’m Coming Home” which I think it is a great song. “Mr. Tinkertrain” was a great opener with some great work from Zakk and the solo in “No More Tears” is a brilliant moment for Zakk. That is one of the coolest orchestrated solos I’ve ever heard and one of my all time favorites.
I did attempt to give Zakk’s other albums with Ozzy a listen (Ozzmosis and Black Rain) but they were both just too painful to even take in. I couldn’t find a single song that wasn’t border line punishing to listen to. At this point the songs are all down tuned and they just sound sludgy and uninspired. I’ve never heard an artist go through the motions so much and Zakk just sounded like he was anywhere but where he was when recording these albums.
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Gus G.
Highlights: Let It Die, Let Me Hear You Scream, Digging Me Down, Life Won’t Wait
In order to be completely honest, I figured I couldn’t really do this article in good conscience and not give ALL Ozzy’s guitarists an equal shot. I was dreading listening to Ozzy’s latest album “Scream” but in order to give Gus. G a fair chance, I borrowed the album from a friend. My overall census is that Gus G. just may be my favorite Ozzy guitarist since Randy. I fucking kid you not. This guy just flat out kicks fucking ass. It’s just unfortunate that we had to wait to hear him so late in Ozzy’s career. The biggest surprise is that “Scream” really isn’t that bad and without a doubt the best one he’s done since “No Rest For The Wicked.”
I love Gus’ over all style and tone. It’s obvious that he’s young blood. It’s almost kind of like hearing what it might have sounded like if Dimebag Darrell had been drafted as Ozzy’s guitarist. I always thought that would’ve been a cool move but it was never to be. Gus’ work on this album totally makes for a great listening experience. From “No More Tears” to “Black Rain,” I couldn’t even bear to listen to them. Zakk’s pinch harmonics and just overall horribly dreadful tone made me want to claw my ears out but on “Scream”, Gus shows a lot of versatility and class as a guitarist. “Diggin’ Me Down” has some mind blowing acoustic work that is very reminiscent of Randy Rhoads’ work on “Diary of a Madman” and his electric playing a tone are just facemelting. He gives Ozzy some modern relevance yet still manages to capture that classic vibe that set into place over 30 years ago by Randy. Gus G. in my opinion just came a long way too late in the game but has still managed to make a great impact on me as a classic Ozzy fan. I say Gus G. for the fucking win!
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My conclusion after writing this article is that the only guitarist/era of Ozzy Osbourne to produce consistently great tunes was the Randy Rhoads era. Zakk Wylde came in to breath a new life into Ozzy but completely over stayed his welcome. I feel that Gus G is Ozzy’s best guitarist since Randy’s death. As I said before, it’s sad that he had to come into the game so late but then again, he was like 3 when Zakk took the throne as Ozzy’s guitarist. Better late then never Gus! You fucking nailed it!
Ozzy’s Guitarist Rankings
First Place: Randy Rhoads
Second Place: Gus G.
Third Place: Zakk Wylde
Fourth Place: Jake E. Lee
Fifth Place: Brad Gillis
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