Ozzy Osbourne, ‘Flying High Again’ – Butch’s Way Back Wednesday

As a music fan there is always something new and great, but there really is something special about the songs you grew up listening to. For me, that was 70′s and 80′s classic rock. If I am in a shi**y mood, I throw in a little Zeppelin or Rush and take a trip back to rolling in my mom’s T-Bird. Now every Wednesday you get to take that trip with me. It’s Way Back Wednesday with Butch, and today’s feature celebrates a guitar god who died on this day 32 years ago… Ozzy's, “Flying High Again.”

Despite his short career, Randy Rhoads is cited as an influence by many contemporary heavy metal guitarists. A devoted student of classical guitar, Rhoads often combined his classical music influences with his own heavy metal style.

At only 25-yeas-old Rhoads and two others were killed when the plane they were flying buzzed Ozzy's tour bus and crashed into a house in Florida. There is a lot more to the story of that tragic day, click here for a link to a great story about the crash.

Today I am here to celebrate his amazing musical legacy...

In "Flying High Again," Rhoads graced Osbourne's celebration of intoxication with one of the most challenging guitar solos ever to sound so effortless. Employing his impeccable sense of phrasing and a compressed tone, the guitarist threw in several dizzying classical scale runs, trills aplenty, and a series of impressive left-hand-only licks that demonstrate his advanced chops -- but dropped it into the rhythmic pocket so cleanly and melodically that you barely notice the technical workout. Listen closely and you'll hear that he triple-tracked the solo for good measure -- 'cause, y'know, any old fool could've just played it once!

Take a trip back with us here...