Carlos Cavazo: One of the most underrated players ever?

[Fret-Shredder]

Never really cared for him early on. But he has really improved a lot over the years. His work on Infestation is really good. Plus live with Ratt he really fits in great. Im definitely a fan now a days.

 

[Chris O]

He was good on the first two, but from QRIII on, you couldn’t hear his guitar over the pumped in keyboards. That said, I always liked QR, except when I hated them.

 

[Metalhex]

Quiet Riot 1 and 2 are top notch works and when Randy went to Ozzy, QR went straight to hair metal cheese, and were never the same. Though can't deny bang your head is a classic. Plus their cover songs were done well

 

[Goat]

Quiet Riot 1 and 2 are top notch works and when Randy went to Ozzy, QR went straight to hair metal cheese, and were never the same. Though can't deny bang your head is a classic. Plus their cover songs were done well

Quiet Riot I and II... top-notch?

To quote George Lynch; "When you listen to those old CBS/SONY records with Randy, you think... oh my god?"

 

[Goat]

Is the Metal Health intro/chorus originally part of a song that Carlos wrote for SNOW?

 

[PBGas]

My opinions have changed over the years.
Before I would have said meh he is just another average player.
But there is much more to guitar then shredding !
He has killer riffs that are memorable, good tone, and does not overdue it.
I think he has good phrasing as well.
I mean metal health is iconic for sure !
This song did more for hard rock then many acknowledge.

Agreed.
He added some great stuff to RATT's "Infestation" album as well.
As much as I appreciate Robbin, Carlos brought another level to RATT live as well.

Agreed! That album was great and he added his writing credits to a couple of solid songs on there!

 

[Racerxrated]

I saw QR on one of their reunion tours in the 90s or early 2000s (I forget, around the release of the QR album Terrified I think), and Carlos was ON FIRE, at least the night I saw them. He showed a whole other side, way more in line with what you would consider state of the art LA guitar playing in the 80s. He always said Kevin and Spencer Proffer held him back on record, and after that show, I believe it. He had 3 Marshall cabs, 2 Marshall heads, some rack gear, a pedalboard, and a metallic green Jackson Soloist with flame inlays, and he sounded more like DeMartini or even Lynch than his recorded output would indicate. VERY underrated player.

Interesting. Never heard them live. Sounds like he was held back then, which is too bad.
I stand corrected!

 

[romanianreaper]

I always loved that little run he does in "Cum on Feel the Noise" after the main solo. Fits the song perfectly.

 

[Metalhex]

Quiet Riot 1 and 2 are top notch works and when Randy went to Ozzy, QR went straight to hair metal cheese, and were never the same. Though can't deny bang your head is a classic. Plus their cover songs were done well

Quiet Riot I and II... top-notch?

To quote George Lynch; "When you listen to those old CBS/SONY records with Randy, you think... oh my god?"

Are you your own person or are you George Lynch?
Let me reiterate and say that those albums mean alot to me....mainly for nostalgic reasons. They are fun, happy, and sad all in one, with great musicianship. So maybe the records by themselves are not top notch but my fondness for them is.

 

[Goat]

Quiet Riot 1 and 2 are top notch works and when Randy went to Ozzy, QR went straight to hair metal cheese, and were never the same. Though can't deny bang your head is a classic. Plus their cover songs were done well

Quiet Riot I and II... top-notch?

To quote George Lynch; "When you listen to those old CBS/SONY records with Randy, you think... oh my god?"

Are you your own person or are you George Lynch?
Let me reiterate and say that those albums mean alot to me....mainly for nostalgic reasons. They are fun, happy, and sad all in one, with great musicianship. So maybe the records by themselves are not top notch but my fondness for them is.

I totally get what you're saying, and respect it. I use to catch shit from the "...that's not metal!" crowd, for digging Allman Bros/Lynyrd Skynyrd music.

 

[Rising Farce]

My opinions have changed over the years.
Before I would have said meh he is just another average player.
But there is much more to guitar then shredding !
He has killer riffs that are memorable, good tone, and does not overdue it.
I think he has good phrasing as well.
I mean metal health is iconic for sure !
This song did more for hard rock then many acknowledge.

I agree, to a point....to be considered better than average he’s got to show that he can shred away, which he doesn’t really do. At that time it was a requirement, like it or not. In that sense he reminds me of Mick Mars, another ‘limited’ player.
But he and Mick absolutely were a part of some iconic songs and no one can take that away.

Please tell me you're joking. "shred away"? Damn man....

Okay maybe that's a bit extreme but don't you have to have the chops in the early-mid 80s to be considered 'really good'? I just don't consider him to be even close to the same league as a ton of other guys from the LA or Cali scene back then, sorry. That doesn't take away from his contributions in all the great songwriting he did.
Like it or not, you had to have the ability to shred a bit, at least, the further into the 80s you went. At least to be considered among the best.
That's what I remember. I like Vivian Campbell a lot but he's another guy who didn't have the same ability as other guys back in the day. Was it a 'must have' ? Well, unfortunately yes. For better or worse to be considered really good you had to have the chops.

Heresy!

 

[sytharnia1560]

I like Vivian Campbell a lot but he's another guy who didn't have the same ability as other guys back in the day ..........

Heresy!

Exactly Viv was killing it on the first 2 Dio albums and didn't sound like anyone else which imo made him a stand out from the crowd (mind you it helps that Ronnie is the singer of the band you are in to haha)

 

[Stradazone]

Is the Metal Health intro/chorus originally part of a song that Carlos wrote for SNOW?

Yes I believe the song was called 'No More Booze' https://soundcloud.com/highspeedonice/snow-no-more-booze-part-2

 

[paulyc]

I like Vivian Campbell a lot but he's another guy who didn't have the same ability as other guys back in the day ..........

Heresy!

Exactly Viv was killing it on the first 2 Dio albums and didn't sound like anyone else which imo made him a stand out from the crowd (mind you it helps that Ronnie is the singer of the band you are in to haha)

Viv was awesome !!! Those first two Dio records are fantastic !

 

[Racerxrated]

I like Vivian Campbell a lot but he's another guy who didn't have the same ability as other guys back in the day ..........

Heresy!

Exactly Viv was killing it on the first 2 Dio albums and didn't sound like anyone else which imo made him a stand out from the crowd (mind you it helps that Ronnie is the singer of the band you are in to haha)

Viv was awesome !!! Those first two Dio records are fantastic !

I love Dio, and after Viv left I didn't care for the albums without him. But as much as I love his playing and writing, again he's not in the same league as Lynch, Warren, Jake, Randy etc etc. He definitely has his own style though, and his songwriting contributions were evident after he left.

 

[Goat]

Is the Metal Health intro/chorus originally part of a song that Carlos wrote for SNOW?

Yes I believe the song was called 'No More Booze' https://soundcloud.com/highspeedonice/snow-no-more-booze-part-2

I haven't listened to the entire Metal Health album in over 30 years. I'm going to check it out again tonight. I've haven't heard the RATT album with Carlos either.

 

[paulyc]

Well, NONE of the guys on your list had Lynch’s chops so... Lynch was a fucking beast lol

 

[Goat]

Well, NONE of the guys on your list had Lynch’s chops so... Lynch was a fucking beast lol

I recall a clinic (I think it was a clinic?) where George wasn't using his Dokken era high-gain + effects rig. He sounded terrible! IMO, Vivian Campbell is a superior player.

 

[paulyc]

Lynch is like the epitome of he’s either great or fucking terrible, there’s no in between, for better or for worse. But when he’s “on”, I think he just connects with a certain segment of the guitar playing population if a certain age. Let’s face it, Dokken tunes are pretty forgettable, and it’s ONLY Lynch that saves it.

 

[Goat]

There was one Dokken album that I liked. "Tooth And Nail", I think? The cover art included a demonic looking hand coming out of a raging sea. Haven't seen it since the late 80's.