Randy Rhodes was a better guitarist than Eddie Van Halen.
Back in the day Randy Rhodes was THE rock guitarist. Combining classical guitar, rhythmic breaks and long form solos into legendary jams. Van Halen on the other hand might only ruin into the same exhausted short bursts of solos. Don’t get me started on his “mailed in” riffs during the Van Hagar days.
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His body of work is pretty small.
So was his body.
Hey! An actual opinion! And it’s unpopular! Upvote. Also, wrong.
I'm always so confused, do I downvote this because I disagree, or upvote it because it's unpopular?
Naht really. Randy Rhodes was a great classical guitar player. His sound was smooth at a different kind of level.
Upvote for actually using the sub correctly, but nah. Randy was a monster and his classical thing was huge, but EVH rewired rock guitar overnight. Also calling Eddie's solos "same tired short bursts" is... a take. Have you listened to anything past the radio singles?
I would argue that rewiring rock guitar still does not prove he is a better guitar player. Observe on pure musicality and theory knowledge and you’ll have your answer. Randy was just a better musician in my eyes. He knew far more and did far more with his playing. For how good...
You’re way out over your skis with this argument. Van Halen was a virtuoso guitarist (and pianist), but he didn’t “rewire rock guitar overnight.”
I think EVH doesn't get his due as a fantastic writer of riffs and rhythm. I always think about the open to Im The One and Unchained. So many classic songs driven by incredible guitar work.
If everyone copies your unique style you look worse in retrospect. I think this happened to Eddie Van Halen with his tapping. After everyone started doing that it’s easy to wonder what the big deal is but he made that and you really can’t over look it.
Eddie didn’t just tap, he was insanely fast and found ways to use legato and tapping to make these runs that never seemed to end or run out of trills and bends. Randy was not on the same path, was making heavier music
[Fairly popular opinion among guitar heads](https://www.reddit.com/r/Guitar/comments/1hi9n7l/randy_rhoads_or_eddie_van_halen/). Van Halen was just a super popular band so more people know about Eddie. Also helps that he and the band share a name so remembering who the lead gui...
Randy was in Black Sabbath?
Plus there’s the fact he died
Agreed. I wonder just how different Ozzy’s discography would’ve been if Randy hadn’t passed, at least not when and how he did.
I honestly don’t think he would’ve been in the band more than a couple more albums. He was evolving into something bigger. He was way too talented to be just someone’s guitarist.
You know there isn't really a universal scale of guitariness, right?
Well, yeah.
The most draining part of social media aside from politics is the constant comparisons, as if things outside of preferences shouldn't even exist. They were both amazing and perfect for their respective bands 🤷♂️
I agree with this. As a teenager, I was very prone to making comparisons about which athletes, musicians, etc were the best. It was liberating when I began to appreciate the talent and sacrifices involved in becoming great in a highly competitive field.
I hear that. Just enjoy what you enjoy and be grateful that it exists in the first place.
I feel this debate is like comparing a guy who does marathons and a guy who is a sprinter and then asking who the better runner is.
Edward Van Halen's rhythm guitar playing is better than anyone else's. Nobody had Edward's tone. Nobody was utilizing pedals like Edward did until Edward did it. Nobody was doing tapping before him including Randy. Listen to the Quiet Riot stuff before RR joined Ozzy; nothing ...
Randy was doing tapping in Quiet Riot in his laughing gas solo late 70’s. Steve Hackett of Genesis was doing tapping in the early 70’s almost a decade before VH broke out.
>Edward Van Halen's rhythm guitar playing is better than anyone else's. (*Dies laughing in John Petrucci*) Edit: Downvote all you want, lil bro. Eddie's fingers would have snapped if he'd even attempted to play The Dance of Eternity.
With the number of Edwards in there, I'm surprised you didn't call Randy, Randall.
Unpopular so you get my upvote. It's a fool's errand to compare musicians because it is highly subjective, but EVH did so much more.
Of course he did more, Randy died at 27 after two albums with Ozzy. Lots of guitarists (myself included) would argue that Randy’s playing and writing was still superb to EVH.
You know you are allowed to think both are really great it’s not a zero sum game.
I agree. There were actually quite a few guitarists of the time that were considerably better than Eddie. Eddie was just more popular.
I think this is just somewhat revisionist history as people like to be contrarian. People now also talk as if Seinfeld and Friends were not good sitcoms, etc.
Mark Knopfler is better than both
I'll see your Mark Knopfler and raise you Roy Clark.
That's a pretty common opinion among actual musicians. Van Halen is just more well known.
It’s not tho. Just as many would say Eddie is the better guitarist. Theres also zero argument about who is more influential. Randy and all the other 80’s shredders wouldn’t exist without copying Eddie. Better also needs to be defined, because for all intents and purposes, in...
This is the exact opposite of an unpopular opinion
How is this an unpopular opinion? Everyone who read guitar magazines between 1980 and 2010 knows that Randy was a more knowledgeable guitarist with better technique than Eddie. That's no shade on Eddie. Eddie was an amazing guitarist who played everything by feel. Randy was in...
Please remember what subreddit you are in, this is unpopular opinion. We want civil and unpopular takes and discussion. Any uncivil and ToS violating comments will be removed and subject to a ban. Have a nice day! Additionally, all posts held by automod for review now (incorre...
How's this unpopular? Van Halen's undeniably good, sure. And I say that as someone who's not a fan but can appreciate his work. Rhodes was absolutely phenomenal and if the world were ending and we had to create a definitive list of the top guitar players in order to save it be...
Was he better than BB King?
Both were. So is Billy Gibbons.
Ozzy has said Rhodes was the best guitarist he’s ever seen play, for what that’s worth.
I don't think this is unpopular so much as untestable. Nobody is going to say RR wasn't the best. Unfortunately, very few are going to pick him as their favorite. He slots in like a lesser Hendrix, who also is the best, but a short time period and relatively little output c...
Watching RR shred for Mr. Crowley music video has been stuck in my head for years. Dude was a prodigy. Ozzie always had some really good guitarists, I love me some Zakk Wylde too
Both changed the guitar and rock music forever. It's impossible to overstate the impact of either of these two.
Not unpopular at all. He's clearly much more fluid than Van Halen, it's just that a plane got him before he could prove it to the world.
Saw him at reunion arena with Ozzy after Diary of a Madman was released.
.... then how come his career was so short, riddle me ThAT! bwahahahahaha
Not in the slightest unpopular. Rhodes was a once in a lifetime composer, but EVH had the tone and personality for that era.
I think the whole idea of whose the greatest guitarist of all time is kind of a meaningless fight now. There are tons of great guitarists. There are tons of crazy specialists now. There are guys who just became ultra virtuosic with the instrument and then have no taste what so...
Enjoy your well earned up vote you poser. Randy Rhodes, sure he was great and his death tragic. But he didn't have the accomplishments that Eddie had, or the style, technique, gravitas that Eddie had. Eruption... forget about it.
Randy Rhodes? You talking about this year's Wrestlemania?
As a distortion guitar tone aficionado, I think Randy's tone sucked donkey's ass compared to EVH (1984 and prior). And Randy didn't have that swing...Eddie was the king of swing in rock guitar which made him pretty unique.
I wouldn't say he was a better guitar player, but I like his music a lot more.
He may have been a good guitar player but his guitar tone at least on the recordings was ass
Music isn't a sport. My favorite guitarist is Bill Steer who isn't anywhere near the technicality of halen or rhodes, but in in my opinion, his riffs are better. Subjectivity has no place in the realm of objectivity. There is no best in music
Opinion
Im pretty sure even randy would've given it to evh
I like that you used this sub properly. I’ve been playing guitar for 31 years. I can play anything Rhodes ever did. I respect the hell out of him. I can’t play a lot of Eddies work. If it comes down to preference or better song writing vs guitar playing, you probably...
Van Halen was more of a visionary while Randy Rhoads was more of a technical virtuoso. Van Halen was without a doubt more influential. Rhoades died way way too young. I don't see why anybody would throw shade on either. Both are held in very high esteem. Van Halen probably h...
Please... Knopfler is the guy.
Randy was better at writing.
Still blows your mind when you think these guys were effectively kids when they became famous.
EVH changed the game and was inventive. He Completely changed amplification, guitar tab and was emulated throughout the 70s-80s.
The comparison kind of collapses when you factor in context though. Eddie essentially invented a new vocabulary for the instrument, while Randy refined and elevated and existing one. Both things can be true and extraordinary without one canceling out the other.
Never heard of her
Agreed, but...
Was not…was too…was not…was too…God, this post is as dumb as my response.
No one is "better". They're all unique. Why does everything have to be a contest ffs...
Ehhh. I prefer Rhoads over EVH any day, but you’re comparing a lifetime of work and a huge shifting influence in the music world to two short years of work. Equally influential to many, but very different legacies.
both are boring
Lol. No.
Nuno Bettoncourt is even better.
EVH wasnt really a good guitarist. Just popularized the tapping which would be the definitive solo sound of the coming years.
Creating your own sound makes a good guitarist a great guitarist IMHO
He was an amazing guitarist.
What you said is dumber than shit.