Do you consider Doug Grean to be a good guitarist?

[CagedTiger]

Okay so really this is just for fun but I am genuinely interested in what people's opinions are of Doug's playing. I can't make up my mind personally. I enjoy some of his stuff on HIG on songs like 'Paralysis' and 'Tangle with Your Mind' but some of his stuff where he's just overdoing it really just grates on my nerves (and ears), a perfect example would be the intro to 'Breath' but there are many others like this. Also I felt some of his live improvisations were overkill and didnt fit. I guess I'm gonna just have to pick the middle option for my vote.

On a side note I always felt like Scott's 'we just needed more space between the notes' comment was his polite way of saying 'we can't shut the guy up, he's noodling all over our shit!' but of course I could be wrong :-)

[Blue]

His playing is sloppy, he has almost no technique, he over plays, and every riff he plays when he's 'noodling' could be found in a beginner's jazz guitar tab book at your local music store. Some of the stuff he wrote for 'Happy' was really good, but that's where his talent ends. His inability to play most of those riffs properly live only further illustrates his issues. He should stick to being a producer/songwriter. Live music really isn't his thing.

[Strat]

Doug is a very good guitarist when he plays his style. He's the main reason why HIG sounds different from STP and VR, and Doug's playing and writing on HIG is excellent.


Unfortunately, Doug's style of playing doesn't translate well to covering STP and VR. His approach to playing has little in common with Dean or Slash's style.


Doug was put into a very tough spot, he had to fill the shoes of two guitar legends, both of whose playing style is very different from his own. He's a good guitarist and seems like a good dude, but he was a poor choice for the Wildabouts.


Nick, on the other hand, seems to mesh perfectly. I hope Scott records with this new lineup.

[andrew]

I am a fan of Doug Grean as a songwriter.
I love what him & Scott wrote for Happy In Galoshes.
I'm not at all a fan of Doug as a guitarist.



I really enjoyed the Scott Weiland solo show I saw Feb. 5, 2009 (before they were the Wildabouts), but in all the live videos I've seen while Doug was in the band, I feel like he just waaayyyyy overplays EVERY. SINGLE. SONG.

I don't think it counts for Scott, because his voice has constantly changed or "evlolved" throughout his career and he's mostly sounded good, but I recall a quote from that Chris Martin doucher from Coldplay, about how Bono (from U2) told him about how people don't want to hear all these improvisations n shit at live shows, they want to hear the songs how they sound on the albums..... The DeLeos could always pull off changes to songs because they were either subtle or tasteful changes, but Doug Grean just didn't/doesn't get it. If you were in a music class and needed examples of what they call "overplaying", Doug Grean would be an A+ example.


I admire his finger strength & dexterity, to be able to wank as hard & as long as he would on stage. But strength & dexterity does not mean you're a good guitarist or musician.....


I didn't vote in the poll, because the answer I would have voted for is "mediocre guitarist, pretty good songwriter".


I hope he doesn't still read this forum, because this post would REALLY anger him....

[CagedTiger]

I admire his finger strength & dexterity, to be able to wank as hard & as long as he would on stage. But strength & dexterity does not mean you're a good guitarist or musician.....

That made me LOL! I agree with this, personally I always got the impression that he perhaps THINKS he's a better guitarist than he actually is though. It reminds me of when we used to hang out at my friends house years ago and we had this 'friend' (guy who just turned up) who would immediately pick up the acoustic guitar as soon as be walked in the room and he'd be ad libbing and noodling all over whatever music we were listening to at the time and he'd look over to us like 'that sounds good doesn't it' and it was fucking awful!! It became like this inside joke amongst the rest of us because he really wasnt very good but he'd think he was adding to the song!

The moral of the story is there's a noodler amongst all of us I guess, at least Doug was capable of writing some good music in a studio environment :-)

[EyesOfDisarray]

I think Doug is a very skilled and talented guitarist, but I think his shortcomings are in shaping his "noodling" into ideas that are lyrical or remain interesting. Aimless noodling is something most guitarists are guilty of, myself included. Your instrument is your voice, and if you don't have anything interesting or important to say, you gotta know when to shut the fuck up.

[Casual]

I voted Average-at-best. I didn't mind when I saw him live in '09. Didn't think he was really the right image or style. His stuff did work well on HIG though but agree he didn't do the live covers justice. Nick is an amazing guitar player though and perfect for the band plus he nails the covers.

[CagedTiger]

I think this would've been a good performance of 'Black Again' if it wasn't for all the 'wankery' going on...
Scott sounds good on it and it's only from 3 years ago, I think he should re introduce this one into the set and let Nick have a bash at it, it would be nice to have a deep cut like this in the show too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHgS7CpEwoE

[Sklashboombash]

I think this would've been a good performance of 'Black Again' if it wasn't for all the 'wankery' going on...
Scott sounds good on it and it's only from 3 years ago, I think he should re introduce this one into the set and let Nick have a bash at it, it would be nice to have a deep cut like this in the show too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHgS7CpEwoE

It's not like his vocals are super clear in this one, but they're audible enough to be able to tell that he sounds pretty good here. It's amazing to see where he's at only a couple years later.

[CagedTiger]

I think this would've been a good performance of 'Black Again' if it wasn't for all the 'wankery' going on...
Scott sounds good on it and it's only from 3 years ago, I think he should re introduce this one into the set and let Nick have a bash at it, it would be nice to have a deep cut like this in the show too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHgS7CpEwoE

It's not like his vocals are super clear in this one, but they're audible enough to be able to tell that he sounds pretty good here. It's amazing to see where he's at only a couple years later.

Yeah, I really think he needs to take some time off and let his voice recover, he's been pretty much non stop touring for years. I think if he took a break, cut down on the smoking and drinking and perhaps even had a bit of vocal coaching he could get back to at least the level he was at 5 years ago. Touring is where the money is though and I think Scott's in denial about his singing ability s so I can't see him doing any of that stuff :-(

Just to get back on topic as I led it astray...

As myself and others have mentioned some of Doug's studio work was pretty impressive, I was wondering if any of you know if he played on the studio version of Scott's cover of 'But Not Tonight'?? The reason I ask is because I REALLY like the guitar work on that one, so if it is Doug I take my hat off to him for that one.

[Tyrant]

As myself and others have mentioned some of Doug's studio work was pretty impressive, I was wondering if any of you know if he played on the studio version of Scott's cover of 'But Not Tonight'?? The reason I ask is because I REALLY like the guitar work on that one, so if it is Doug I take my hat off to him for that one.

http://www.belowempty.com/sia.php?do=showsonginfo&id=scott_weiland-but_not_tonight
My favorite cover by SW, by the way.

[Slither]

As myself and others have mentioned some of Doug's studio work was pretty impressive, I was wondering if any of you know if he played on the studio version of Scott's cover of 'But Not Tonight'?? The reason I ask is because I REALLY like the guitar work on that one, so if it is Doug I take my hat off to him for that one.

http://www.belowempty.com/sia.php?do=showsonginfo&id=scott_weiland-but_not_tonight
My favorite cover by SW, by the way.

Who could forget Rufus Elevator on the Mellotron?

Anyway, my thoughts on Doug's guitar skills are well documented here, so I'll be brief. Doug with Scott in the studio is excellent. I think for Scott's more artsy projects Doug is a fantastic collaborator, including his guitar parts. Live is another story. I don't think he's a "bad" guitarist, and I'm sure it was not simple going out there every night with two guitarists playing songs that mainly included only one guitar part, but The Wildabouts are far better off live, as a four piece, with Jeremy and now Nick.

[lovemachine97]

His skills are fine. He's also not trying to be something he's not. But one of the things I had to overcome in my playing was that knowing when not to play is just as important as knowing when to play. I have very similar criticisms of Slash, however. His solos rarely breathe either, but Doug tended to noodle in straight 8th notes, which makes it much less interesting. So there is a way to sort of vomit out notes without sounding so stiff and rigid.

[CagedTiger]

As myself and others have mentioned some of Doug's studio work was pretty impressive, I was wondering if any of you know if he played on the studio version of Scott's cover of 'But Not Tonight'?? The reason I ask is because I REALLY like the guitar work on that one, so if it is Doug I take my hat off to him for that one.

http://www.belowempty.com/sia.php?do=showsonginfo&id=scott_weiland-but_not_tonight
My favorite cover by SW, by the way.

Ah well that confirms that then. Thanks :-)
I thought it was him because it does have his 'studio sound' which I think sounds really nice here btw. If I was rating him solely on this song I'd rate above average for the pure emotion in those notes alone, even if it isn't particularly technical it fits so perfectly here and he's not overdoing it. Has anyone heard this mix of the song before by the way and/or know where it's from? The version I have on the NATM soundtrack is slightly different.

http://youtu.be/xIzkPZAU0WA

I think the song info page on the site needs updating too as it has been performed live, there's a pro shot version of it on YouTube from a TV show, possibly Kimmel.

[CagedTiger]

I think this would've been a good performance of 'Black Again' if it wasn't for all the 'wankery' going on...
Scott sounds good on it and it's only from 3 years ago, I think he should re introduce this one into the set and let Nick have a bash at it, it would be nice to have a deep cut like this in the show too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHgS7CpEwoE

It's not like his vocals are super clear in this one, but they're audible enough to be able to tell that he sounds pretty good here. It's amazing to see where he's at only a couple years later.

Okay I'm going off the Doug topic again slightly here but I just watched this video of Scott & The Wildabouts performing 'Slither', its not even one year old and Scott sounds MUCH better than he does now. Don't get me wrong its not perfect and again its audience shot but again you can tell he is singing in key and his voice sounds pretty good I think. It seems to me like it's been the last 6 months where his vocals have really taken a big nose dive. I hope he gets back on track and adds this gem back into the setlist, it's a great live song and Jeremy, God bless him, his playing is awesome on this (that solo!!)  :-)


http://youtu.be/ZMSnmUJD7WM