Randy Rhoads playing EVH riffs w/Peter Margolis

[stanz]

 

[Exo-metal]

I'm not sure he was ready to go up against Ed at his age, Rhoads obviously was there later. Not sure who was better, to me Ed was more raw and Rhoads was deeper. Both genius and both missed.

 

[stanz]

I'm not sure he was ready to go up against Ed at his age, Rhoads obviously was there later. Not sure who was better, to me Ed was more raw and Rhoads was deeper. Both genius and both missed.

They were completely different players. I mentioned that I didn't attempt to mimic EVH, as his style was too far removed from what I was doing. I was heavily invested in Michael Schenker when Van Halen I was released. Had I not already been playing guitar, I may have locked-into what Ed was doing. Ed was the master of his domain, Randy likewise. I use to imagine Ed and Randy playing onstage together.

Randy's demise absolutely crushed me! We drove over to see the crashsite the next day, but we couldn't gain access to the property. RIP Randy and Ed.

 

[Mr. Willy]

Apples and oranges comparison between Eddie and Randy. Ed was more bluesy, wild, unpredictable. Randy was more classical, precise, and controlled. One thing to keep in mind, though, is that Randy only left behind 2 albums, essentially, compared to how many from Eddie? At any rate, weren’t we all fortunate to have them both!

 

[stanz]

Apples and oranges comparison between Eddie and Randy. Ed was more bluesy, wild, unpredictable. Randy was more classical, precise, and controlled. One thing to keep in mind, though, is that Randy only left behind 2 albums, essentially, compared to how many from Eddie? At any rate, weren’t we all fortunate to have them both!

Agreed. I didn't flip over EVH, but when I first heard Randy... Once Randy broke onto the scene, I didn't give Van Halen a second thought. To me, Van Halen had become a "bubble gum" band. I know that sounds harsh, but that's how I felt at the time. Thing is, I was never a huge fan of Black Sabbath. Not until Dio came into the band anyway. Ah, I'm babbling...

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

I'm not sure he was ready to go up against Ed at his age, Rhoads obviously was there later. Not sure who was better, to me Ed was more raw and Rhoads was deeper. Both genius and both missed.

They were completely different players. I mentioned that I didn't attempt to mimic EVH, as his style was too far removed from what I was doing. I was heavily invested in Michael Schenker when Van Halen I was released. Had I not already been playing guitar, I may have locked-into what Ed was doing. Ed was the master of his domain, Randy likewise. I use to imagine Ed and Randy playing onstage together.

Randy's demise absolutely crushed me! We drove over to see the crashsite the next day, but we couldn't gain access to the property. RIP Randy and Ed.

Personally I found Ed had a lil something extra magic wise that Randy didn't have. He had the swing, the imagination, the timing ahead or behind the beat and some crazy shit that just sounded great and didn't follow the rules of theory. That said, I was probably a bigger Randy fan than I was Ed fan back when I was a youngen. But Schenker... man, from first listen he captivated me on a diff level and I can't explain what it is. He didn't come along with any cool tricks but his sense of melody and this vocal quality to his solos just consumed my brain and still does. I can listen to some of those shows and get goosebumps. Bottom line, so many amazing players and I feel like I will mourn all of them when they go.

Special mention to Warren Demartini.. sure the songs and Pearcy may be less memorable but that cat in the context of RATT had something really special. His leads just flow, so smooth. I think for sure there is some trickledown influence from EVH in there and that is why he is so important and was such an icon. You can't really say that about Randy...or at least I have never heard it since Randy.

 

[GreatRedDragon]

The only way I can really compare EVH and RR in a way that makes sense, is that EVH was rock and roll and RR was metal. That just says it all to me.

 

[stanz]

I'm not sure he was ready to go up against Ed at his age, Rhoads obviously was there later. Not sure who was better, to me Ed was more raw and Rhoads was deeper. Both genius and both missed.

They were completely different players. I mentioned that I didn't attempt to mimic EVH, as his style was too far removed from what I was doing. I was heavily invested in Michael Schenker when Van Halen I was released. Had I not already been playing guitar, I may have locked-into what Ed was doing. Ed was the master of his domain, Randy likewise. I use to imagine Ed and Randy playing onstage together.

Randy's demise absolutely crushed me! We drove over to see the crashsite the next day, but we couldn't gain access to the property. RIP Randy and Ed.

Personally I found Ed had a lil something extra magic wise that Randy didn't have. He had the swing, the imagination, the timing ahead or behind the beat and some crazy shit that just sounded great and didn't follow the rules of theory. That said, I was probably a bigger Randy fan than I was Ed fan back when I was a youngen. But Schenker... man, from first listen he captivated me on a diff level and I can't explain what it is. He didn't come along with any cool tricks but his sense of melody and this vocal quality to his solos just consumed my brain and still does. I can listen to some of those shows and get goosebumps. Bottom line, so many amazing players and I feel like I will mourn all of them when they go.

Special mention to Warren Demartini.. sure the songs and Pearcy may be less memorable but that cat in the context of RATT had something really special. His leads just flow, so smooth. I think for sure there is some trickledown influence from EVH in there and that is why he is so important and was such an icon. You can't really say that about Randy...or at least I have never heard it since Randy.

Michael Schenker has always been my favorite guitarist. I think I played UFO SITN more than any other album from '78 onward. Prior to that, it was Pink Floyd DSOTM, RUSH 2112, Uriah Heep DAW, and LZ IV. Smoked a lot of weed from '75 to '77.

 

[stanz]

The only way I can really compare EVH and RR in a way that makes sense, is that EVH was rock and roll and RR was metal. That just says it all to me.

Wow! That pretty-much nails-it.

 

[braintheory]

The only way I can really compare EVH and RR in a way that makes sense, is that EVH was rock and roll and RR was metal. That just says it all to me.

Wow! That pretty-much nails-it.

I think RR was musically quite a bit deeper. That first solo in Mr Crowley is still probably my favorite guitar solo of all time in rock or metal. He was one of the few guys who played fast with musicality, not just trying to be flashy. Marty Friedman is another example of that and also one of my favorites. Both were flash with class. To me, EVH’s solos usually came off more like they were trying to show off and weren’t that tasteful to me. I still highly respect EVH for many other reasons and agree about his great sense of rhythm and rawer style than RR, but honestly his leadwork didn’t really do anything for me. The tapping in Eruption sounded really cool to me when I was 14, but that was about it for me. I started listiening to all this stuff around 2007, so I’m sure my opinions would’ve been different if I grew up with it in the ‘70’s and ‘80’s

 

[stanz]

The only way I can really compare EVH and RR in a way that makes sense, is that EVH was rock and roll and RR was metal. That just says it all to me.

Wow! That pretty-much nails-it.

I think RR was musically quite a bit deeper. That first solo in Mr Crowley is still probably my favorite guitar solo of all time in rock or metal. He was one of the few guys who played fast with musicality, not just trying to be flashy. Marty Friedman is another example of that and also one of my favorites. Both were flash with class.

To me, EVH’s solos usually came off more like they were trying to show off and weren’t that tasteful to me. I still highly respect EVH for many other reasons and agree about his great sense of rhythm and rawer style than RR, but honestly his leadwork didn’t really do anything for me. The tapping in Eruption sounded really cool to me when I was 14, but that was about it for me.

Excellent summation. I absolutely, 100% agree.

I think the "secret weapon" the BOO band had, was the Daisley/Kerslake rhythm section. Sure, Randy was an astounding player, but it was Bob Daisley's talent for arrangement that made sense of it all. As we all know, Randy was severing his association with Ozzy and Sharon. I firmly believe that had Randy lived, he would have taken Lee and Bob with him.

 

[GreatRedDragon]

The only way I can really compare EVH and RR in a way that makes sense, is that EVH was rock and roll and RR was metal. That just says it all to me.

Wow! That pretty-much nails-it.

I think RR was musically quite a bit deeper. That first solo in Mr Crowley is still probably my favorite guitar solo of all time in rock or metal. He was one of the few guys who played fast with musicality, not just trying to be flashy. Marty Friedman is another example of that and also one of my favorites. Both were flash with class. To me, EVH’s solos usually came off more like they were trying to show off and weren’t that tasteful to me. I still highly respect EVH for many other reasons and agree about his great sense of rhythm and rawer style than RR, but honestly his leadwork didn’t really do anything for me. The tapping in Eruption sounded really cool to me when I was 14, but that was about it for me. I started listiening to all this stuff around 2007, so I’m sure my opinions would’ve been different if I grew up with it in the ‘70’s and ‘80’s

I think Eddie and Randy just came to a similar place from totally different directions. To me Eddie's approach was a continuation of the lineage of post-British Invasion blues rock, just taking all of those existing principles as a starting point, throwing them into a rocket ship and launching them into space. Randy's approach was of course rooted in classical guitar, which was relatively isolated from that blues-based lineage, and Randy's genius was in realizing that if you play classical music through a Marshall stack it makes pretty great heavy metal.

Eddie's rhythm playing had more swing and boogie of course, Randy wasn't really making music you could dance to. I think Randy's solos are more nuanced and memorable, with Eddie's for the most part being more "in the moment. Randy's playing was more intellectual and rooted in analysis, Eddie's was more emotional and based on feel.

 

[Fret-Shredder]

Ed was the General of a guitar revolution and Randy was one of the many soldiers he led.

 

[stanz]

Edward -> Self Taught -> Improvisation.
Randy -> Schooled -> Structured.

 

[braintheory]

The only way I can really compare EVH and RR in a way that makes sense, is that EVH was rock and roll and RR was metal. That just says it all to me.

Wow! That pretty-much nails-it.

I think RR was musically quite a bit deeper. That first solo in Mr Crowley is still probably my favorite guitar solo of all time in rock or metal. He was one of the few guys who played fast with musicality, not just trying to be flashy. Marty Friedman is another example of that and also one of my favorites. Both were flash with class. To me, EVH’s solos usually came off more like they were trying to show off and weren’t that tasteful to me. I still highly respect EVH for many other reasons and agree about his great sense of rhythm and rawer style than RR, but honestly his leadwork didn’t really do anything for me. The tapping in Eruption sounded really cool to me when I was 14, but that was about it for me. I started listiening to all this stuff around 2007, so I’m sure my opinions would’ve been different if I grew up with it in the ‘70’s and ‘80’s

I think Eddie and Randy just came to a similar place from totally different directions. To me Eddie's approach was a continuation of the lineage of post-British Invasion blues rock, just taking all of those existing principles as a starting point, throwing them into a rocket ship and launching them into space. Randy's approach was of course rooted in classical guitar, which was relatively isolated from that blues-based lineage, and Randy's genius was in realizing that if you play classical music through a Marshall stack it makes pretty great heavy metal.

Eddie's rhythm playing had more swing and boogie of course, Randy wasn't really making music you could dance to. I think Randy's solos are more nuanced and memorable, with Eddie's for the most part being more "in the moment. Randy's playing was more intellectual and rooted in analysis, Eddie's was more emotional and based on feel.

In general I’d agree, but I feel that the 1st solo in Mr Crowley is as emotional and feel based as any of the best guitar solos and has some bluesy stuff here and there. It’s just so moving, fits perfectly into the song and comes off spontaneous to me even if it perhaps wasn’t. The latter solo is also very good, but comes off much more predictable to me and like it was more formulated, but that first one is enough to show me that RR had the potential to be very emotional/feel based. Maybe if he just lived longer we would’ve seen more of that from him

On another note, the guitar solo in No More Tears is also one of my all time favorites, but most of the other Zakk Wylde stuff I heard didn’t do much for me

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

The only way I can really compare EVH and RR in a way that makes sense, is that EVH was rock and roll and RR was metal. That just says it all to me.

Wow! That pretty-much nails-it.

I think RR was musically quite a bit deeper. That first solo in Mr Crowley is still probably my favorite guitar solo of all time in rock or metal. He was one of the few guys who played fast with musicality, not just trying to be flashy. Marty Friedman is another example of that and also one of my favorites. Both were flash with class.

To me, EVH’s solos usually came off more like they were trying to show off and weren’t that tasteful to me. I still highly respect EVH for many other reasons and agree about his great sense of rhythm and rawer style than RR, but honestly his leadwork didn’t really do anything for me. The tapping in Eruption sounded really cool to me when I was 14, but that was about it for me.

Excellent summation. I absolutely, 100% agree.

I think the "secret weapon" the BOO band had, was the Daisley/Kerslake rhythm section. Sure, Randy was an astounding player, but it was Bob Daisley's talent for arrangement that made sense of it all. As we all know, Randy was severing his association with Ozzy and Sharon. I firmly believe that had Randy lived, he would have taken Lee and Bob with him.

This is a good point and one that we have stated before.. listen to the Quiet Riot with Randy material and it answers a lot there. Randy had some great ideas but they needed the proper support cast to bring them out and certainly a more "metal" context than the bubble gum rock with shit lyrics. Also "Steal away the night" riff sounds/feels a lot like "On Fire" (break at the 1:14 mark) so you can't say he wasn't also influenced by Ed to an extent.

Ed also while an amazing flashy lead guy with some killer breaks, to me, was a phenomenal rythm player with a great ear for the hook. I was listening to Diver Down today, hot damn can he bring it on a rythm.

 

[stanz]

The only way I can really compare EVH and RR in a way that makes sense, is that EVH was rock and roll and RR was metal. That just says it all to me.

Wow! That pretty-much nails-it.

I think RR was musically quite a bit deeper. That first solo in Mr Crowley is still probably my favorite guitar solo of all time in rock or metal. He was one of the few guys who played fast with musicality, not just trying to be flashy. Marty Friedman is another example of that and also one of my favorites. Both were flash with class.

To me, EVH’s solos usually came off more like they were trying to show off and weren’t that tasteful to me. I still highly respect EVH for many other reasons and agree about his great sense of rhythm and rawer style than RR, but honestly his leadwork didn’t really do anything for me. The tapping in Eruption sounded really cool to me when I was 14, but that was about it for me.

Excellent summation. I absolutely, 100% agree.

I think the "secret weapon" the BOO band had, was the Daisley/Kerslake rhythm section. Sure, Randy was an astounding player, but it was Bob Daisley's talent for arrangement that made sense of it all. As we all know, Randy was severing his association with Ozzy and Sharon. I firmly believe that had Randy lived, he would have taken Lee and Bob with him.

This is a good point and one that we have stated before.. listen to the Quiet Riot with Randy material and it answers a lot there. Randy had some great ideas but they needed the proper support cast to bring them out and certainly a more "metal" context than the bubble gum rock with shit lyrics. Also "Steal away the night" riff sounds/feels a lot like "On Fire" (break at the 1:14 mark) so you can't say he wasn't also influenced by Ed to an extent.

Ed also while an amazing flashy lead guy with some killer breaks, to me, was a phenomenal rythm player with a great ear for the hook. I was listening to Diver Down today, hot damn can he bring it on a rythm.

Absolutely. I commented likewise in an alternate VH thread regarding Ed's rhythm prowess as being the highlight of his repertoire.