Yngwie in 1981 would probably scared the heck out of us...

Nah, by 1981 I was touring and playing professionally, and I realized even then that just because I knew all the notes, it didn't mean I had to play every single one of them in every song.
 
I was never found his music very digestible, I never saw the point in his playing style other than watch me blaze scales over and over again in a squeaky tone and those silly poses he would stryke... just a head shaker for me... sorry.
 
I think he was great in certain (limited) settings, for example the album Odyssey - first one of his I bought in 88, had a context for him and he did some solos which worked.

And I think Hiroshima Mon Amour with Alcatrazz is stunning (first time I heard him)

Beyond that I agree, none of the inventiveness and humour of EVH at that time - and sorry there's a reason even my mum has heard of Eddie - songs
 
I wish I had his right hand, but I guess then my left couldn't keep up. :tearsofjoy: Seriously the economy of motion in his picking is super admirable.

I had an early copy of the tape he sent to Mike Varney and it contained a lot of stuff that ended up on Steeler, Alcatraz and the first two Rising Force albums. As a giant Randy fan at the time mourning his recent death, it was very exciting to hear someone else blending classical sounds with hard rock.

The issue for me with Yngwie is that it seems like he kind of just ran out of ideas musically after his third or forth solo album. Since then all his stuff sounds like assembled lick jigsaw puzzles pulled from a bag rather than musical expressions.

But I'm also self aware enough to realize I always play the same bullshit licks when I'm sitting around not making albums, so I shouldn't be too judgy against him hehe.
 
YJM, while absolutely astonishing, is so fucking boring. And even though his riffs and techniques are things I try to incorporate in my own learning, he doesn't mix it up enough for me. It's like he's always on "10." I saw him open for G3, and by the 3rd song, it was over for me. Contrast that with Steve Vai, who played 2nd, and every song he did was more mind-blowing than the previous.

Paul Gilbert is the guy who would've made me want to throw my guitar away (or inspire me, had I discovered him sooner) of that time period, (a little later than 81 of course) because to me, he blended the technicality and blazing perfection in his playing, with a musicality that was more digestible than guys like Yngwie and Vai.
 
I was a huge fan and wanted to play neoclassical, then as I starting realizing how.. uhhhh..... Unpleasant... He was I got turned off. Still a monstrous player but I'm glad I discovered GG!
 
TSJMajesty said:
YJM, while absolutely astonishing, is so fucking boring. And even though his riffs and techniques are things I try to incorporate in my own learning, he doesn't mix it up enough for me. It's like he's always on "10."
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This ↑. I respect his skill for sure, but it get's monotonous really quickly.
 
I'm also a former admirer. I think that the uninterest comes from a mixture of him being monotonous, the tiredness of listening his licks many times, and us getting more mature, and bored of ultra-pompous mega-ego unfriendly personalities.
 
I didn't pay any attention to his, er, personality way back when, so I don't know what he was like. But I like him now. But I'm pretty sure, like most of us, he's probably mellowed a bunch from back when, according to friends of mine who followed his every move, he was a total pompous ass. The interviews I've watched in the last handful of years he comes across as just super confident, and completely direct.
 
TSJMajesty said:
I didn't pay any attention to his, er, personality way back when, so I don't know what he was like. But I like him now. But I'm pretty sure, like most of us, he's probably mellowed a bunch from back when, according to friends of mine who followed his every move, he was a total pompous ass. The interviews I've watched in the last handful of years he comes across as just super confident, and completely direct.
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No... Yngwie is just what you see. He's frilly shirts, leather pants and Ferraris on a daily basis.

The dude used something like 32 4x12 cabs for a session at Vai Academy. He was playing with a backing track. There were maybe 100 people in the room. Completely over the top.

People asked questions. He seemed completely uninterested and really quite off-putting.

I was a fan in the early days... I always hoped to get an album from Yngwie and Dio. That could have been epic!
 
He has a lot of fans and I can appreciate the skill it takes to do what he does, but watching someone do scale drills for 2 hours just doesn't do it for me.
 
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