I was originally going to spotlight Stevie Ray Vaughan, but I'll save him for later. Dressing up like Ozzy Osbourne for Halloween made me think hard about Rhoads, Ozzy's original guitar player for his solo group. Believe me, Ozzy was not alone in his act; Rhoads began playing with Ozzy at age 23 and immediately established himself as one of the rock world's premiere axemen. What made him an all-time great of the instrument is that his talent went beyond merely shredding and heavy metal. His life was tragically cut short at age 25 due to a freak plane accident near the Osbourne household, and for that reason he only put out two albums with Ozzy. If not for that crash, he might still be putting out great work with Ozzy and the gang. Even still, he is cited as a major influence for many of today's top guitar players, including Zakk Wylde and Marty Friedman, and he almost single-handedly popularized the Jackson brand of guitars, which still makes a Rhoads custom guitar to this day.Rhoads is known for his heavy metal prowess and pioneering metal soloing styles, but much of that style was rooted in his deep interest in classical guitar. He constantly sought lessons from top classical players while playing with Ozzy, and his acquired skill in both classical and folk styles was evident in such tracks as "Dee", a brief instrumental piece written for his mother Delores on the Blizzard of Ozz album, and "Diary of a Madman," a complex mix of classical arrangements and hard rock styles, and the title track of Rhoad's final album.
I seriously doubt video of Rhoads playing "Diary of a Madman" even exists, but if someone does please send me a link! The best I can do for DOAMM is a Youtube "slideshow", with the original track playing while a picture slideshow plays. It's a commonly-used technique by people who have audio they want to get out to the public. This song is a metal masterpiece, because of its diverse mix of heavy metal and classical measures, complex arrangements and time signatures, and haunting solo, something the likes of which had rarely been heard before. It's a healthy mixture of minor scales, harmonic minor and blues in the key of A. The intro has been covered by many a guitarist, including Zakk Wylde, Ozzy's current guitar player and arguably the greatest guitar player alive right now.
The Randy Rhoads custom guitar by Jackson is perfect for playing his style and the style of many other heavy metal guitarists, and it's perfect for anyone who plays a lot of shows due to the Floyd Rose locking tremolo system, which keeps your guitar in tune for as long as you need it. The model in the picture to the right is the 25th anniversary edition, which goes for as much as $3299 these days.I had to put this clip front and center, because it's one of the first true live shred sessions. This video came no later than 1979, because it's from his pre-Ozzy days playing with Quiet Riot. this video proves that Rhoads, along with Eddie Van Halen, is one of the first true pioneers of heavy metal shredding. He combined an extraordinary knowledge of music theory and styles with incredible "chops" (that is, how fluid he is while picking notes), which are seemingly flawless in this video. Check out at 2:26, where he channels Eddie Van Halen while tapping natural harmonics on the guitar to create a nice xylophone-like sound. Just like Eddie previously, I'd encourage everyone to check out as many Rhoads videos as you can. He's a true legend on guitar and deserves his spot among the all-time greats.
