Originally Posted by
FORD
In the long run, it comes down to whether you have a sound people will recognize and remember. You know when it's Keef, or Angus, or Iommi, or even Johnny Ramone within 2 seconds. I couldn't pick a YingYang Egosteen riff out of thin air and identify it as him, and I'd probably only instantly recognize George Lynch if Don Dokken was whining on top of it. Steve Vai?? shit I had that Public Image album with him playing on it for years before I even knew it was him... though I did know it sounded good, whoever it was (the album had no credits on it at all, probably part of the "generic" theme of the packaging)
Occasionally you get somebody who is technically brilliant AND has that unmistakable sound. Eddie certainly fits that description, as did Jimi Hendrix. I'd put Randy Rhoads in that camp too, except we tragically never got to see his full potential.