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I know I'm two days late on this, and I meant to post something on Wednesday. I really did, but my brother installed some crap on my computer and it was messed up for a while, so there was no use even trying to use the internet at that time.
So, here's my little post to honor the life of one of the greatest guitarists to ever walk the face of the Earth.
For years, I had only ever heard about Randy or heard him mentioned here and there. I knew absolutely nothing about him - what he looked liked, who he was - nothing. I suppose my interest in him was sparked upon reading an interview with Steve Howe (this was right after I became a huge Yes fanatic at the end of last year or it was early this year). The interviewer told him that many people had said that he looked like Randy Rhoads. Steve glanced at a photo of him and said, "Well maybe when my hair was that color..." So, I got curious and looked Randy Rhoads up on Google. I concluded he did in fact bear a resemblance to Steve.
About a month later, I got the latest issue of Guitar World and it had an article about Eric Clapton having been inducted into the magazine's Hall of Fame. On the side of the page, it mentioned previous inductees, and showed a picture of Randy. The previous month's issue, which I believe was February, had an article talking about Ozzy and Zakk Wylde's No Rest For the Wicked, and Randy was mentioned there, too!
So, I decided to go find out who this supposed Randy Rhoads was. I found out he played guitar on "Crazy Train", although I already had a bit of recollection of that piece of knowledge, but it still shocked me. I listened to the song with open ears for the first time, and it sounded so different than the last time I had listened to it. It blew me away! "Oh my Lord, this guy's amazing!" was the first coherent sentence to escape me. I started listening to a couple other songs that he played guitar on. I want to say this was late February. I started to realize this was one hell of a guitar player. It saddened me to find out how he died. It crushed me, actually. I wasn't expecting it to be a plane crash.
I kept on doing some research - the internet was extremely helpful - and watched some videos on YouTube. The more I listened to his guitar playing, the more I fell in love with him. It kills me that I didn't discover him earlier! What is wrong with me? In a very short period of time, I came to learn of the sheer awesomeness that is Randy Rhoads. And his guitar work definitely inspires awe.
I've listened to all of Ozzy's Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman many times and every single time Randy's playing sounds brand new and it just hits you in the face that this guy had so much more potential in him. Before his death, he had wanted to get a degree in classical guitar and eventually combine that with Heavy Metal. One can only dream about how amazing that could've sounded. I swear it must sound absolutely gorgeous up in Heaven.
I was at Wal-Mart about a month ago - the very end of February - and I was looking for some CDs. Needless to say, they have a very poor selection. That was, until I spotted sitting on the shelf, Ozzy Osbourne's Randy Rhoads Tribute. I couldn't believe it. They only had one copy as far as I could see. It was like somebody was smiling down upon me that day. Well, I bought it and upon first listening to it, it was incredible. Randy's live work was definitely a bit more interesting than his recorded album material. And hey, I love his work with Quiet Riot, too. I don't care what anyone has to say about it.
Guitar World has said that Randy could've been the greatest. In my opinion, he is.
So, on March 19, I listened to an amalgam of his songs all day and I figured if I was gonna shed even one tear, it would be during "You Can't Kill Rock and Roll". I was wrong. "Tonight" is what did it. I really wish I could've been alive to have seen him perform. I feel like it probably could've been the coolest thing in the world.
On that note, we all miss Randy Rhoads, even 32 years later. His legacy shall forever live on, though.
 SamWeiki · Fri Mar 21, 2014 @ 07:28pm · 0 Comments |
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