As inventive as Eddie and much more melodic, but gone way too soon, Randy Rhoads

[iamdavea]

How anyone can compare this to what Eddie did is beyond me.

I agree. I found that clip to be completely boring. Was EVH ever boring?

 

[Hefalump]

Not trying to flame a debate, but other than Randy’s use of some classical devices how was he really “inventive”?

EVH seemed to do more as far as out of the box techniques went (at least through Diver Down): tapping, pinch harmonics, trem bar usage, tapped harmonics, the delay/volume swells in Cathedral, the “fake” frailing in Little Guitars, the funk slapping intro to Mean Streets…just to name a few.

Of course I respect Randy’s work, but IMO I do hesitate a bit to call him “inventive”.

Release the hounds…

Well, he took classical guitar and applied to to awesome Heavy Rock songs.

Blew me away when I heard it in the 80s as a teen.

Eddie was awesome as well.....Fair Warning was one of the cassettes I wore out in the day.

You could argue Blackmore and Uli Roth did some of this, BUT, they were much more hippie/psychedelic. Randy was very edgy and aggressive sounding.....with beautiful classical parts juxtaposed. His leads and runs were very classical based, and not your standard blues wanking.

 

[Anachronic Gearhead]

His soloing was very inventive. He did stuff I never heard anywhere else. He wasn't as flash as Eddie. No Eruptions.

 

[Sacrifice]

If we don't want another RR vs EVH debate thread, why even mention EVH in thread title?

 

[Kentano2000]

Hey! Here’s food for thought on the inevitable comparisons and contrasts between these two greats:

Randy was a fan of Eddie’s and Eddie was a fan of Randy’s. Yes, there was friendly and also deliberate competition between them (all local LA guitarists we’re competitive, duh) but they both appreciated what the other guy brought to the table and they drove each other to be better (which is a benefit of the aforementioned competition).

Each member here has their own preference, but if the two greats can find something to enjoy in each other, I’m sure that means we all can too (and many of you here have shown this ability).

Myself? I’m an Eddie guy but Randy was also a massive influence. A great composer, player, and inspiration. I for one can’t imagine my guitar-based world without either guy and I was absolutely gutted when that fated announcement of Randy’s death rode the airwaves of my local AOR radio station. I’ll never forget where I was when I heard it and it’s a memory I wish I never had to carry. RIP Randy and Eddie, and thanks for the inspiration!

 

[415Guitars]

I’d want Eddie to write the solo; Randy, the song.

 

[GenoVox]

You could argue Blackmore and Uli Roth did some of this, BUT, they were much more hippie/psychedelic. Randy was very edgy and aggressive sounding.....with beautiful classical parts juxtaposed. His leads and runs were very classical based, and not your standard blues wanking.

Yep... Blackmore & Uli Roth incorporated ELEMENTS of classical and exotic scales/modes into their playing... whereas Randy basically built his style around it – at least in terms of soloing, Which, for Hard Rock & Metal, was a pretty new concept at the time.

Yeah, I'm sure other more obscure examples could be found... but Randy was the first really high-profile, widely heard guy – at least in Rock circles

Of course, DiMeola and McLaughlin had been doing it for years in the Fusion world, but that's another topic...

 

[cubistguitar]

Hey! Here’s food for thought on the inevitable comparisons and contrasts between these two greats:

Randy was a fan of Eddie’s and Eddie was a fan of Randy’s. Yes, there was friendly and also deliberate competition between them (all local LA guitarists we’re competitive, duh) but they both appreciated what the other guy brought to the table and they drove each other to be better (which is a benefit of the aforementioned competition).

Each member here has their own preference, but if the two greats can find something to enjoy in each other, I’m sure that means we all can too (and many of you here have shown this ability).

Myself? I’m an Eddie guy but Randy was also a massive influence. A great composer, player, and inspiration. I for one can’t imagine my guitar-based world without either guy and I was absolutely gutted when that fated announcement of Randy’s death rode the airwaves of my local AOR radio station. I’ll never forget where I was when I heard it and it’s a memory I wish I never had to carry. RIP Randy and Eddie, and thanks for the inspiration!

Well said, put this debate aside. These giants are incomparable to the other and to any guitarist really.

I really love Randy he was a idol as a young man and I loved his innovations to the genre. I know Blackmore is always mentioned as a big neoclassical influence on other guitarists, but to my young ears the first neoclassical metal I heard were the Rhoads solos in OZZY tunes and some of the writing in these tunes. I played Tribute live album daily for many years, could not believe the mastery onstage of this difficult material. I have spent many hours trying to be like the tiny giant, but alas, I was not be a neoclassic metal god or play with Ozzy.

My love for Van Halen is deep too, some of my first rock records include Diver Down and 1984, His way of doing things was unique and had a sense of fun and always made the guitar part some amazing hook with impossible technique, a real genius. His passing from that bastard cancer just gutted me like I did not think it would. I remember how much Eddies guitar is a part of of my memories of a time and place, I will miss him dearly, a really great musician.

 

[GenoVox]

First time I heard this... my jaw dropped (cue'd up to the solo section):



Like a classical violinist playing through a Marshall stack

 

[twotone]

I pay more attention to rhythm guitar when I listen to heavy rock music. In that regard, I prefer Van Halen over Rhoads.

 

[SimonBSinister]

I just watched the new documentary on Randy that came out today. It was great and mostly about his time in Quiet Riot. It was extremely interesting to me being a huge fan. I am so glad that I got to see him 3 times before his death. He has always been my personal favorite.

The other funny thing I learned was that he got those awesome tones with QR using a Peavey Musician Amp LOL

 

[Good Grief]

I prefer Randy’s playing but Jesus, why would there be a need to rank these guys?

 

[MrX]

I love both players, but .... EVH = Inventive.

 

[MrTAteMyBalls]

2 totally different styles. No need to compare. RR was incredible. Those records he did with Ozzy are still fun to listen to.

 

[macula56]

I didn't care for Randy's tone but I ain't trashin' it. I loved his playing and compositional skills. I have never seen a reason to compare the 2 players as they are very, very different styles. I love Randy's stuff with Ozzy but VH1 is the only Van Halen I ever liked. Other than Hot for Teacher. Both were awesome guitarists.

 

[Ozone Baby]

I'm glad this got made. Randy was the guitarist who inspired me to start practicing seriously.

At this point, I wonder if there any pro shot footage of Randy that hasn't been released yet?

 

[Serious Poo]

When Van Halen I came out, pretty much every guitar player in SoCal immediately tried to sound like Eddie. It became a sort of clone wars thing, and IMHO only a few players (e.g., Steve Vai, Randy Rhoads Warren DiMartini, Jake E Lee, Vito Bratta, Steve Lynch, George Lynch) were able to transcend beyond it and really come out with their own voice.

Personally, it only took one trip to Guitar Center Hollywood back then to see just how bad the Eddie clone thing was becoming, so I went way out of my way to avoid it. There were too many other great players with unique voices back then that I wanted to learn from - many of them lived close by so I got to see a lot of them at local venues and churches. It was a great time to see & hear new music, get inspired, and learn.

FWIW I personally never saw Randy as being all that influenced by Eddie as he had his own thing going on early in his career. I suspect that came from his classical studies and his teaching for so long. As it turned out, when Ozzy’s first album came out I had just bought a cream colored Les Paul on the Penny Saver for $450 back then and had just started music classes at the local junior college. I was playing the guitar outside before class started and a fellow student came up and asked about my guitar as his friend had one just like it. I showed him what I was playing - chord shapes and scales from a Mel Bay book - the guy laughed and then went on to show me some much more practical and musical ways of playing the same things, so we struck up a friendship and over the following months I took some guitar lessons from him. It was crazy stuff, not like anything I had seen before. Turns out he was a long time friend of Randy’s and when I got good enough he started to show me the things Randy had thought him. Harmonic minor scales, arpeggios, power chord inversions, string skipping, pinch harmonics and all sorts of tapping techniques that was unlike anything being played on the radio or MTV, so I just ate it up. Fast forward about a year to when Ozzy released Diary, and I was so stoked because I had already learned a large portion of the material on the album - many of Randy’s rhythm and lead licks had been part of the exercises I was doing.

I enjoy RR threads, they always take me back to the time when I was starting out on guitar and remind me of how fun the instrument can be if you have an open mind to learning and exploring new ideas.

 

[Frater B]

You want to compare someone to Eddie?
listen to Howe II album, insane. The guy does Eddie better than Eddie.

 

[Schlep]

Comparison is inevitable as they were peers / contemporaries.

Each of us will have a favorite... but really, how lucky are we to have had BOTH?!

 

[reo73]

Hot Take in 3...2...1...I prefer Jake over Randy. Jake had swing and swagger, Randy seems mechanical and bores me with all the "classical" noodling. There, chew on that TGP.