07 BLIZZARD OF OZZ OZZY OSBOURNE

(1980)

On the 1978 Neversay Die tour, openers Van Halen made the tired and increasingly dysfunctional Black Sabbath look like dinosaurs. When singer Ozzy Osbourne was fired by Sabbath the following year, he assembled a line-up that would never be embarrassed like that. Crucially, he found the one guitarist in LA who could rival EVH – Randy Rhoads.

Although frequently compared, Rhoads’ and Van Halen’s guitar styles are not very similar beyond the fact they both tapped and played fast. Ironically, the Dutch-born Van Halen sounded much more American, while the Floridian Rhoads’ classical influences had more in common with European guitarists. The Van Halen brothers had tons of swing, but Rhoads played much straighter. This was perfect for Ozzy’s solo debut, Blizzardofozz, which came on like a jet-fuelled Black Sabbath.

For the recording of this album, Rhoads had not yet received the white modified Marshall he is known for, and instead used a rented Marshall JMP 1959 head. The amp was run relatively clean, with most of the crunch coming from his MXR Distortion+, enhanced by an MXR 10-band EQ with a strong mid boost centred at 500hz. Most guitarists would struggle through such an unforgiving setup, and it’s wild that Rhoads delivered those pinched harmonics and punishing legato lines so confidently.

The 80s dawned with great guitarists in abundance, but Randy was clearly top of the pile. As neo-classical guitar got huge, Blizzardofozz stood out for its melody, finesse, and great songs.