A Look At Randy Rhoads Legacy

Even in the prime era of Eddie Van Halen, Rhoads' epic riffing and shredding was astonishing. While nothing can dent the impact of the playing on Blizzard of Ozz, many Rhoads aficiandos believe Diary of a Madman to be more impressive � it's on the second Ozzy album that Rhoads fully melds his classical, fusion, jazz and hard rock influences.

Rhoads was different from most "metal" guitarists. "I have a lot of influences from everywhere," he told Guitar Player in 1982. "I like a lot of classical music and blues rock� I love Allan Holdsworth's playing. He's got a lot of great jazz scales. Andy Summers of the Police is definitely unique. Pat Metheny does some great acoustic stuff. John McLaughlin is technically great, but his is not one of my favorite styles. Leslie West was very important to me. He has a great feel. He is powerful and moody. I like Earl Klugh. Jeff Beck can do anything � he can play one note and it's great. Ritchie Blackmore was great; I loved his expression. I love B.B. King. I like Michael Schenker's and Steve Lukather's playing a lot. I also like Ronnie Montrose, especially with Edgar Winter. I like the way he bends; I could never bend like that. I liked all the English players in the '70s who used a lot of vibrato.

"But I don't own any rock guitar albums � mostly, I like mellow jazz and classical."