cool i wish i could afford this o.o
navier
I agree with the other review.I managed to learn some zakk wylde becuse of andy breakdown of each solo and phrase and he captures zakk wild playing.Excellent dvd i hope andy continues on with zakk wylde dvd's
paul
Andy James has long noted that Zakk Wylde is a major influence so of course it comes as no suprise to see him teaching a selection of his solos in Learn to Play Zakk Wylde -- The Solos from Lick Library. As with many other productions from Lick Library in addition to the phrase-by-phrase breakdown of the solos and performances there’s also a wide selection of backing tracks included -- one at each tempo (slow, medium and full speed) for each solo studied. I particularly feel that this feature is a great benefit for those players unable to execute the solos at tempo and given the relative complexity of some techniques the extra tracks are a very valuable inclusion.
With a career as long as varied as Zakk’s any prospective educator is going to have a lot of material to choose from and Andy has chosen to examine some of his most iconic works including Miracle Man, No More Tears, Devil’s Daughter, Breaking all the Rules and Mama I’m Coming Home. In purely technical terms that means some pinch harmonics, pentatonic sequences, speed picking, huge bends and vibrato, hybrid picking and a certain amount of pure rock attitude. No-0ne hits the strings as hard as Zakk does and it’s a measure of Andy’s aptitude and devotion to the cause that he does a terrific job of capturing all the nuances of even the most (apparently) simple phrases.
Let’s take Miracle Man for example -- the opening arpeggio sequence is outlined with great clarity (I wish I had Andy’s technique ;p) and is absolutely perfect in every detail. Moving onto the blazing pentatonic licks again, I simply couldn’t fault the presentation or the accuracy -- Andy sounds exactly like Zakk when he chooses to!! Although the later part of the solo is comparatively simple every single nuance is replicated and Zakk’s signature angry vibrato is given a special examination.
Learn to Play Zakk Wylde -- The Solos is one of those videos I wish I had when “No Rest for the Wicked” was first released, a feeling which was compounded by “No More Tears“. I think that choosing to cover some classic moments from Rock and Metal as well as covering more contemporary artists is a great strength of Lick Library and given their comparatively vast catalogue I have a feeling this is far from the last such release we’ll see from them.
****.5 Stars
Dave Thompson