Randy Rhoads Poll - How did he innovate the guitar?

[Donnie]

I think Randy was truly innovative in the way he phrased his solo's. All his solo's are musically perfect and "correct" according to music theory and he did this without sacrificing feeling in them and then he went ahead and triple tracked most of them. His way of recording and composing on guitar was definately innovative to say the least. I like the statement i once heard that said "Jimi was the 60's, Eddie was the 70's and Randy was the 80's".

[Axian]

I think randy innovated the way metal guitar was meant to be played and the switch over from blues rock to another genre. It really annoys me, ive read many topics like "I dont get Randy Rhoads" on other forums but it doesnt take to many brain cells to realise at the time their was no one like him.

[Geo Sav]

Well listen to what Steve Vai said about Randy on the new trailer for the box set. At about 2:48 Steve says " When you listen to his solos there's actual moments of uniqueness. When I say unique I mean things NEVER done by a player". Are you kidden me? thats Steve vai saying that!!! So who you gonna believe Lemmy or Steve Vai?

[Cpt Matt Sparrow]

I find it so weird hearing Steve Vai talk of Randy. When I was a teenager, I would read interviews in guitar magazines with Satch and Vai and they would mention so many different players they admired and I never saw Randy mentioned... it was almost like Randy (and that type of style of playing) were in a parallel universe that they just didn't see or hear. I got to the point that i just thought well, it is a big world of music out there and you can't hear everything!

Hearing Steve Vai, such an accomplished musician, talk so highly of Randy is wonderful. If a forth coming documentary is 2 hours of geekery i.e music talk about Randy's style by other eminent musicians then I could totally handle a 2 hour documentary of interviews with people that had never met Randy in person because they have met his music!

Matt

[cableguyxx]

RR is unique in every way, as innovator, writer and showman

Close as I could get for my opinion. Randy's playing did not capture my attention because I was a guitarist; I was just a kid. I do know no one else captured my attention like that, nor has ever since. There is something about him that is not quantifiable. The way he blended his mentors and output them through an elegant fury, like creating an beautiful picture with a machine gun haha....just amazing to me. No one else has done that for me, so in that way, he was innovative. Eddie was an innovator, but it just never set off any buzzers for me. Same with Yngwie. I like to occasionally listen to them, but they get boring for me. I don't think I'll ever get bored with Diary. I'll know more after seeing the new footage as to if he was an innovator as a showman, but the dude was photogenic on stage. So many pictures of him just scream Guitar God. It's hard to point to one thing that makes him unique and yet, to me, he stands alone.

[Geo Sav]

Actually I remember reading that Steve was teaching Dweezil Zappa and Dweezil was a Eddie freak and Steve told him you gotta check out this guy Randy Rhoads and Dweezil himself has said after that he use to flip flop which of the two was the better guitarist. I gotta see if I can find it. Matt don't take this the wrong way but I'm actually shocked that your swaying on this. Randy was an accomplished Classical player and only wanted to become even better.

[Tito]

i beg to differ geo i really dont think randy was an accomplished classical guitarist...i think he had a long way to go in that department...

[Geo Sav]

Compared to segovia your right. You do remember the stories about him finding teachers and went to take classical lessons and ended up teaching the teacher and still paying for it! Or on his time of from touring with Ozzy Playing Chamber music with his mother. Randy was his own worst critic he played better than you think but knew he wanted to master it.

[Tito]

im not comparing him to segovia. to be frank i can do without segovia...id much rather listen to john williams or manuel barrueco not segovia...i know about the teachers and turning around and giving lessons to them...im not taking anything away from him in playing classical at all...i just wish there was something we could hear to see where he was as far as that style...i think matt can chime in as to where randy was on classical at the time...

[Geo Sav]

Segovia was just one of the many guitarist I chose . Why not go with what little you have heard such as dee, doam and revelation. I would have loved to hear his full capability on classical guitar but at least we heard that much.

[Tito]

oh i agree with you on that...but i would just love to hear his cassette tapes while he was progressing as he was recording his progress while on tour....that would be awesome!!!!

[Geo Sav]

I agree. I would love to hear demos of stuff he was working on.

[skezza]

I voted the third choice as I genuinely believe Randy was an innovator along with three incredibly important guitarists around that time.

one being Eddie Van Halen as he bought a whole new view on technique and brilliance to the stage.
second being George Lynch who in my opinion with Dokken brought an incredibly elegant feeling, style, virtuosity and melody to guitar.
third and in my opinion most important probably Yngwie Malmsteen. Styles that he modernized and popularized are learnt by guitarists day in day out nowadays.

[Cpt Matt Sparrow]

I am actually quite chuffed we have 35 people enjoying the forum on a regular basis too

[Geo Sav]

Too bad more of Randys lesson that he taped for his students haven't leaked out. Do you think they had recitals at musonia that Randy jammed at? That would have been cool.