CanuckRhoadsFan wrote:As much as I admire Randy's work and who he was as a person, Lemmy does have a point. Randy was great, to be sure, and I disagree with Lemmy to a degree, but I also think that the "Legend of Randy" sometimes overshadows reality. Randy had not peaked at the time of his death, and we sadly did not see all he was capable of. This does not take away from Randy's playing - I still think he is amazing!
You also have to consider that Lemmy's been in the music business for a looooonnnngggg time - he was a roadie for Hendrix! So he knows good playing when he sees it. I think he's simply praising Randy, but doing it with some perspective - something that some of us lack when looking at Randy.I don't think he's being overly critical, just expressing his honest opinion, which he is known for. Plus, he's right in that people's legacy grows after their passing. As we don't have them around anymore, we tend to romanticize our opinions of them.
+1.
I agree totally.
Paul Wolfe wrote:
zennman wrote:I think we mourn the potential that was lost on 03/19/82. I'm sure RR would have made a bad record in the future, but there would have even more greatness unfortunately that we will never hear...
Maybe not a bad record, but one that we didn't all like?
Do we all like Quiet Riot I & II? At least I don't, first one is bad and second only a little better but not much.
Randy did 4 albums in his lifetime and half of them pretty much suck. Luckily Ozzy material is way better in every possible aspect, otherwise we wouldn't be here talking about Randy almost 30 years after his passing.
I like a lot of different kinds of music. Also have many favorite players. RR, SRV, EVH, Alex Lifeson, George Lynch, Zakk Wylde, Ted Nugent, Micheal Hedges, Elliot Fisk, just to name some of the diverse favorites. For years after RR died I kept waiting for a guitarist in a regular band that had a vocalist who I could say was as good. Someone who could move me the way he did. Ozzy never found anyone who could truly replace him.
There have been great instrumental guitarist. Vai, Satriani, etc. Those guys aren't limited by a vocalist, and get to focus only on the music and writing to suit themselves. Hey those two have been in bands with vocals. Nothing that Vai did with DLR or Whitesnake moved me. Satriani just recently did the Chickenfoot thing. I was not impressed. Malmsteen is great at what he does and a definite innovator, but has he done an album with vocals that ever get any airplay on radio? His stuff also gets boring and starts running together if I listen to it very long. Did George Lynch ever do anything as good as Randy did? I like his playing and kept waiting for something people would call ground breaking. Did he ever do anything that was great? I don't think so. No one ever floored me with the skills, emotion, and energy in their play the way RR does.
Lemmy's comment is what it is a silly comment by a guy that musically is not in same league as RR.
zennman wrote:I think we mourn the potential that was lost on 03/19/82. I'm sure RR would have made a bad record in the future, but there would have even more greatness unfortunately that we will never hear...
Maybe not a bad record, but one that we didn't all like?
Do we all like Quiet Riot I & II? At least I don't, first one is bad and second only a little better but not much.
Randy did 4 albums in his lifetime and half of them pretty much suck. Luckily Ozzy material is way better in every possible aspect, otherwise we wouldn't be here talking about Randy almost 30 years after his passing.[/quote]
First, if you really are a RR fan you must have respect for QR. It's shows Randy was human. TRUE, the albums weren't recorded that well and there is some cheesiness on there but listen to the solos. These were the foundation to his style. Move to the QR live shows (vhs /dvd) and he is very close to that guy in Ozzy's band with the stage presence and killer guitar licks! Live RR guitar solo on video??? Hell ya! Quiet Riot IS the missing link - It shows that Randy was progressing. Thank God for that QR stuff!!! If ya wanna rock and roll, get back to the coast!
This is just something to dwell on, for everyone who thinks Lemmy & Motorhead suck. Remember when Randy won the best guitarist award from the 'Sounds magazine' readers poll was that in 1981 - 1982. Well just to put this into a comparison and i'm no lover of polls. But Motorhead swept the board in 1980 they won every catergory. I think Lemmy got beat by David Coverdale for best looking male. So those warts must do nothing for his good looks . The same time they toured with Ozzy in the USA they had a number 1 selling album in the UK charts 'No sleep 'til Hammersmith' something Ozzy never had with Randy. I know this thread is going off subject slightly but if Lemmy cannot have an open opinion. I feel like his corner should be defended.
distortionplus wrote:I like a lot of different kinds of music. Also have many favorite players. RR, SRV, EVH, Alex Lifeson, George Lynch, Zakk Wylde, Ted Nugent, Micheal Hedges, Elliot Fisk, just to name some of the diverse favorites. For years after RR died I kept waiting for a guitarist in a regular band that had a vocalist who I could say was as good. Someone who could move me the way he did. Ozzy never found anyone who could truly replace him.
There have been great instrumental guitarist. Vai, Satriani, etc. Those guys aren't limited by a vocalist, and get to focus only on the music and writing to suit themselves. Hey those two have been in bands with vocals. Nothing that Vai did with DLR or Whitesnake moved me. Satriani just recently did the Chickenfoot thing. I was not impressed. Malmsteen is great at what he does and a definite innovator, but has he done an album with vocals that ever get any airplay on radio? His stuff also gets boring and starts running together if I listen to it very long. Did George Lynch ever do anything as good as Randy did? I like his playing and kept waiting for something people would call ground breaking. Did he ever do anything that was great? I don't think so. No one ever floored me with the skills, emotion, and energy in their play the way RR does.
Lemmy's comment is what it is a silly comment by a guy that musically is not in same league as RR.
+1
I look at a song like a canvas.The vocals and melody are the background/foreground.Thats what keeps me humming the tune.The guitars ,drums fill in all the spaces.
Listening to vai,satriani is like looking at a blank canvas with random brushstrokes here and there but no subject of focus.A jam with no direction or purpose.How do you hum a malmsteen song?
How to tell a real RR signature: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=726&start=120
I think Satriani is one of the greatest. I prefer him over Vai like I prefer Vai over Malmsteen. Point I was trying to make is Randy only had songs with vocals to really showcase his talents. We never really got to see what he could of done as a solo artist where he really would have had room to spread his wings. I guess I'm just biased but I put him up there with the greatest despite his short career.
I know I shouldn't be, but I am still amazed at the degree of venom that Lemmy is getting. I think the gist of Lemmy's point is that everybody becomes more popular and more talented when they die. Lemmy didn't say that RR was terrible: he said that while RR was good, he wasn't as great as people made him out to be after he died. I don't think there's anything particularly harsh about that assessment: it's just Lemmy's opinion. I think most here would agree that as spectacular those two first Ozzy records were, RR was consistently improving and hadn't hit his ceiling. THAT, along with the fact he died so young and needlessly, is what is tragic. We didn't get the opportunity to hear what RR had in store for us in the years ahead.
As for Motorhead as a band, it can be argued that they are just as influential and important on heavy music as RR is on the guitar, perhaps more so. Motorhead was one of the first, if not the first, bands to be a hybrid of punk and metal. I don't think Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer, Megadeth, Suicidal Tendencies, etc. etc. would have sounded the way they did if not for Motorhead. And Lemmy is one of the few guys out there who you recognize by his name alone: the man is one of the icons of metal. If somebody wants to disagree with his opinion, that's fine. But I don't think it's an effective arguement regarding RR's ability to say "Randy was great and Lemmy's band sucks." One really doesn't have any bearing on the other, if you know what I mean.
Vtrockgod wrote:I know I shouldn't be, but I am still amazed at the degree of venom that Lemmy is getting. I think the gist of Lemmy's point is that everybody becomes more popular and more talented when they die. Lemmy didn't say that RR was terrible: he said that while RR was good, he wasn't as great as people made him out to be after he died.
Does this apply to Hendrix as well?The guy he roadied for:)
Just sayin'.
How to tell a real RR signature: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=726&start=120
Vtrockgod wrote:I know I shouldn't be, but I am still amazed at the degree of venom that Lemmy is getting. I think the gist of Lemmy's point is that everybody becomes more popular and more talented when they die. Lemmy didn't say that RR was terrible: he said that while RR was good, he wasn't as great as people made him out to be after he died.
Does this apply to Hendrix as well?The guy he roadied for:)
Just sayin'.
What are you actually saying?
Jimi was hugely popular alive and after his death he was lifted to a guitar legend status. Had he lived he'd be nowhere near the guitar god status he's now, his bag of tricks was already empty when he died. Dying did lift his popularity to a new level, no denying that. The same thing has happened to many musicians (Bonzo, SRV, Burton, Dimebag, RR - you name it...).
Am I saying that dying often helps one's popularity? Yes it does (of course, the downside is that the artist doesn't get to bask in their newfound popularity). People tend to remember the positives and gloss over the negatives when someone passes away. I don't think Lemmy was malicious in his assessment of RR: he was stating he thought RR was good but not otherwordly, and his unfortunate death helped contribute to his popularity. I think RR was fantastic and hadn't reached his full potential. It's all opinions, but I'm receptive to a person's belief as long as they have a sound argument.
Vtrockgod wrote:Am I saying that dying often helps one's popularity? Yes it does (of course, the downside is that the artist doesn't get to bask in their newfound popularity). People tend to remember the positives and gloss over the negatives when someone passes away. I don't think Lemmy was malicious in his assessment of RR: he was stating he thought RR was good but not otherwordly, and his unfortunate death helped contribute to his popularity. I think RR was fantastic and hadn't reached his full potential. It's all opinions, but I'm receptive to a person's belief as long as they have a sound argument.
sytharnia wrote:
I really had no time for motorhead until seeing the lemmy movie, now I have a lot of respect for him and am digging the music a lot
Yeah that movie shows a side of Lemmy that not everyone would see. It's honest with warts and no bullshit. Lemmy has lasted 40 years in the music business. ? His music has peaked and fell on its arse and got back up again. The band has had line up changes and it's still marching on regardless. The last tour motorhead did, i seen young kids, as young as myself when i seen motorhead for the first time back in 1980. Does that not tell you something, it's people like Lemmy who helped to make Rock & HM music what it is today. Not bad for a 65 year old alcoholic, speed freak.
. The same time they toured with Ozzy in the USA they had a number 1 selling album in the UK charts 'No sleep 'til Hammersmith' something Ozzy never had with Randy. I know this thread is going off subject slightly but if Lemmy cannot have an open opinion. I feel like his corner should be defended.
