ROCKET RANT: Is RANDY RHOADS The Greatest Guitarist That Ever Lived?

Is Randall William Rhoads the greatest guitar player that ever lived?



Gasp. You dare say he smokes Edward Van Halen? Or Jimmy Page? Hendrix? Beck? Dimebag Darrell? Malmsteen?

I never said that, now did I? So don’t get your panties bunched up in a wad. My rant here is merely an attempt to try and arrive at some sort of legit conclusion on the fiercely argued subject. I mean, Lemmy sure talks about Randy like he was totally overrated. In his new book, he pretty much says that very thing.

My position is this, why would anyone listen to a bass player on the matter of a guitarist? I have been playing the four strings myself for over 20 years, and I can tell you that I have very little ability on the six strings (well, I can pull off a hammer on and some basic chords), but let’s face it, the guitar is literally a world away from the bass guitar instrument…(you’ve heard the saying: “All bass players are frustrated guitarists!”). So with that, please don’t listen to Lemmy. I fully believe he is talking out of his ass on this one. Even more blunt than that, I think there are a lot of people in the music biz who are completely jealous – still to this very day – of what Randy accomplished in such a short time.



Think about this. How much have you recently heard “Crazy Train” being used on Television, i.e.. football games or as a jingle for commercials? I hear it all the time. And every single occasion that I do, I swell with a certain pride for Randy. In my opinion, not one other guitarist has mixed classical, fusion, jazz and hard rock together for a complete sound more impressively than Randy Rhoads.

Ozzy himself recalls Randy’s legendary work ethic, “In his heart, he wanted to be a classical guitar player. In fact, with the first record royalty he received, he went out and bought himself a very, very expensive classical guitar. And he sat there for days and nights, working on his theory things… the night before he died, he’d been up for four days and four nights, plus gigging, working on his theory, because he wanted to get into a university and get a degree in music.”



Let us not forget he was merely 25 years old at the time of his death. He was only featured on two OZZY albums (1980’s Blizzard of Ozz and 1981’s Diary of a Madman). Yet, you ask a metal music fanatic what their top ten albums are, and almost always those two are immediately mentioned. Despite his shortened career, Randy’s overwhelming talent remains a major influence on neo-classical metal players that emerged out of the 80s, including Malmsteen himself. You look around at the landscape of our most impressive players going today, Paul Gilbert, John 5, Gus G, and Alexi Laiho, and each will tell you that Randy Rhoads easily ranks right at the top all-time as the most influential and outright talented to ever play.

Exactly how good was Randy Rhoads? Let us hear from some of the world’s most accomplished guitar players:

“Everyone says there’s nothing new that can be done with a guitar, but when people like Randy come along, they realize they’re wrong.” — Angus Young AC/DC

“He was able to mix together a number of styles and influences, and emerge with a special sound.” – Rik Emmett, Triumph

“I have an immense amount of respect for what he did.” — Edward Van Halen

“When you listen to Randy’s live solo, it has snippets of all his unique traits that he had in his playing. I’m talking about the actual live solo in “Suicide Solution”… “Dude, it’s all in there.” Just snippets of the diminished stuff; him muting with the scales; him with the legato and classical stuff. Just in that short little guitar solo; it’s amazing.” – Zakk Wylde, Black Label Society

Beyond all of this, I urge you to imagine how much more Randy would have achieved had he lived for
a third, fourth and fifth album with Ozzy (though yes, it’s well known Randy wanted to leave Ozzy at the end and fully pursue his ‘classical’ calling. I fully believe had he been able to have a twenty year plus career – as most the other greats I speak of – there would not even be a competition.

Point blank, Rhoads played more articulate on his instrument than perhaps any musician that has ever
walked planet Earth. Go back and listen… I mean, really ‘listen’… it’s all there to hear, man.

I think the most telling evidence of all is that one time when Randy and Rudy Sarzo were driving around with some girls after the Blizzard album was first released, listening to “Crazy Train” and its out of this world guitar soloing as it blasted over the car radio. When Randy and Rudy told the girls that they were actually in Ozzy’s band, the women did not believe the two and kicked them out of the vehicle, leaving them both stranded on the street.

I ask again…

Is Randy Rhoads the greatest ever? I like to think so… and I dunno, perhaps it’s just best left at that.


The Guitarist Tunes Up

by Frances Darwin Cornford

With what attentive courtesy he bent
Over his instrument;
Not as a lordly conquerer who could
Command both wire and wood,
But as a man with a loved woman might,
Inquiring with delight
What slight essential things she had to say
Before they started, he and she, to play.



http://www.randyrhoads.us/