QR: The Randy Rhoads Years, not the real thing?

[Count Jonah]

Hello! The RR Years compilation has been a favorite album of mine for years, and for most of m life, my primary source of Randy's work apart from Ozzy. I had always known that some of the songs had newly vocal/bass/drums/whatever tracks due to the liner notes, but I had assumed that most of the other tracks were left untoched except for some remastering or remixing. So I was a bit dissapointed and confused to read in the information section here that Randy's guitar parts were also rerecorded to make them sound "fuller"?!?!? Is this true?
If they remixed the songs with alternate guitar tracks Randy had made, that's fine, but how could they rerecord them without Randy? Who played the new guitar tracks?

[Stiltzkin]

So I was a bit dissapointed and confused to read in the information section here that Randy's guitar parts were also rerecorded to make them sound "fuller"?!?!? Is this true?

Could be.
Randy did triple-track on many of his recordings
just to make the sound fuller, so they might have
doubled the guitars that was already there

[Paul Wolfe]

They ran Randy's tracks through Carlos Cavazo's amps and re-EQ'd them to sound closer to the sound on Tribute, because Kevin believed that Randy liked that tone. So what you hear is actually Randy playing, the only difference being that the tracks were re-EQ'd.

Also, Kevin sped up some stuff and edited some stuff. He also completely changed "Mama's Little Angels" to become "Last Call For Rock and Roll". I found that to be pathetic. The CD was to represent the early days with Randy yet Kevin insisted on changing a lot of things because he didn't want to tarnish the Quiet Riot name (my opinion).

[Ell]

I've never actually heard that album. I have Quiet Riot I and II and so they are the versions i've gotten used to. I think NEARLY all the songs are perfect as they are, so they aren't very heavy and they are a little poppy, it's still great music. I guess you're right RockyRhoads, does sound like what Kevin would do.

[GUITARIDOL5682]

Yeah i agree on this one i think Kevin juggled these tracks around a bit too much.I think the guitars have been double tracked on top to give the sound a bit more of a polished edge to it.If the guitars were that bad who would know if its been doubled by another guitarist.The only thing is ,at the time who would of bought this if it was known that Randy's guitar was basically a backing track to work from.But its not just the guitars every instrument has been equalised and played through Marshalls etc to give it a more modern sound.This was the time when loads of CD's ended up being RE-MASTERED.I remember listening to Jimi Hendrix's Conerstones it knocked me out it sounded so fresh.

[The Flying Dutchman]

From what I heard Kevin strived to get Randy's guitarsound as close to the Tribute album cause they had listened to the Cleveland recording in his car and Randy said he really liked his guitarsound there.
So yep, Kevin told that they runned the guitartracks through Carlo's Cavazo's amps to get them closer to that sound. Re-Marshall'ed them! I think he did a very good job with that! The guitar sounds much better than Randy's authentic poorly recorded guitar tracks. Kevin was convinced that also Randy would have like the end result much better this way.
Now what about a QR Randy DVD Kevin?

[RR-ElectricAngel]

I do like the RR years with Quiet Riot but you are right. Kevin definitely changed some things, especially on vocals. Whether or not you are getting a "pure" product is argumentative. The fact is money allows you the time to get it right, or at least the way you think it should be. Still, it is Kevin's vision and not Randy's, at least not directly...

[snowden7772]

yea kevin doctered them up,but it is still randy.i am happy just to hear a little more randy.gotta take what you can get.

[Trigger]

I think some of it sounds contrived but I am happy to have more Randy material, I do think it all sounded OK

[axeman_12656]

I have always loved this album. BREAKING UP IS A HEARTACHE is the highlight for me. I think Kevin did an awesome job of remixing Randys tone and i agree he would like this recording much better.

one thing we all forgot!!

Deloris Rhoads approved this CD. she never would approve the originals.
ENOUGH SAID

Josh

[Paul Wolfe]

Deloris Rhoads approved this CD. she never would approve the originals.
ENOUGH SAID

Josh

So? Delores wants to keep Randy's image a certain way. She didn't like the songs so she didn't want to have the world hear them. That's not a reasonable way to keep anyone's memory alive, in my opinion. Randy was human and he grew and changed with time. The original recordings of Quiet Riot give the fans an opportunity to hear Randy as he was at the time. Re-recording and mixing tracks to make it more suitable is a way of presenting a false representation of the artist.

I like having the originals because I get to hear Randy as he actually played and I can try to hear is influences and understand his growth. I don't like The RR Years, because it was doctored, even down to cutting and pieceing Laughing Gas's solo spot. It's just not real, even if it does make Delores happy.

[Trigger]

And while we true fans are around we will all work hard to preserve coppies of all the songs that we can find in ther original form. When you consider Randy's body of work it is very small and he was a very young man when we lost him, so I am not surprised that over time that remixes of Randy's songs have been created and I don't feel robbed by the fact that they were have been. But like Rocky said I will spend my time litening to the un-altered versions.

[The Flying Dutchman]

Personally I like the RR years a lot! All the guitarwork is still played by Randy but with a better sound, I'm sure Randy would like the Re-Marshalled sound much better!

As for being "doctored", most albums nowadays are "doctored". Buy a live a album of a certain band and good chance it's doctored. Tribute was doctored as well. Fact is that studio albums are most of the time doctored. Because one can do that in a studio. QR1&2 were doctored and ended up with a very dissapointing guitarsound....... If it wasn't doctored Randy's guitarsound would be much better! Luckily Kevin put this straight.
I like to hear Randy as he sounded live, so 99% of the time I listen to the boots and even then sometimes you cannot be sure.....

[Paul Wolfe]

Yes, live reordings are usually touched up. But Keving actually changed the words to songs, eliminated parts and cut and pasted things together.

I have heard a number of versions of the solo spot in Laughing Gas and they all sound similar (with the exception of the reunion shows in 1980), then I hear the version on the RR Years recording and it is VERY different - because it was pasted togetther from multiple shows.

I realize that this is because Kelly and Kevin were trying to get Delores' okay to release this stuff, but it is still disappointing to me.

I will always be greatful to Keving and Kelly for putting this out, because at the time getting copies of QR1 and QR2 were a lot harder to get a hold of.

[axeman_12656]

no doubt kevin put a lot of work into the CD. i agree that a lot of the songs are altered. Afterglow even has some of the solo cut off. but all in all its a much better sound and i agree: its a sound that Randy would like much better. and to me, if you listen to momas little angles and then listen to last call for rock n roll there is NO DOUBT in my mind that if givin an option Randy would have taken Last Call.

Another thing people leave out is how much kevin doctored himself up. it was a development stage for him aswell that can not be heard on the RR years.

Josh