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Editorials

EDDIE VAN HALEN, THE FORGOTTEN GUITAR HERO

 Friday, November 16th, 2007 at 2:14pm by

Eddie Van HalenTuesday night Axl and I went to see the legendary Van Halen with one David Lee “Bar Mitzvah band leader” Roth (read Axl’s review here); it was one of the best shows I’ve been to all year. I have literally been waiting since I was ten years old for this tour to happen, and I got all teary-eyed and choked up during the first few songs (crying is metal!). David Lee Roth was jump-kick-flyin’, Alex was slammin’, and Wolfgang… well, he was playing. But Eddie? Fucking A, this dude is nothing short of astounding. Yet how come no one talks about him anymore?

When asked about influences, all you hear the kids and bands talking about these days is Dimebag. Dimebag, Dimebag, Dimebag. Sometimes you’ll hear “Kerry King,” oftentimes “James Hetfield” (but never Kirk Hammet), and every now and then you even get a little “Zakk Wylde” thrown around. But no one mentions Eddie anymore. What gives? The dude LITERALLY changed the face of guitar playing for an entire decade plus, and his influence is still heavily felt today in the newest crop of metal bands that do choose to emphasize musicianship.

Seeing Eddie play live reminded me of how awesome he is — because I, too, had forgotten. It’s not that he plays faster or heavier than other dudes, and though there is much debate about this fact he was probably not even the first guitar player to move his right hand onto the fretboard. But damn, the dude just plays BETTER than anyone else before or after. He’s got speed, soul, creativity, ARTFULNESS — and the latter is often missing in insert-dude-here’s million-note-a-minute shred runs.

Maybe it’s because he’s been off the radar for a while, or maybe it’s because Van Halen is several years older than many of the guitarists who are frequently cited as influences. But as far as influence, hands down Eddie Van Halen is the single most influential guitar player for hard rock and heavy metal music. Ever. I challenge you to dispute this fact.

-VN

Please enjoy this fan-shot video of “Ice Cream Man” from Tuesday night’s show at Madison Square Garden, NYC:

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/s7Icyy5nhXA" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

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  • http://www.last.fm/user/wgraham76/ Wayne

    I think the reason you never hear people bring EVH up is because his contribution to the instrument is so huge that saying it seems a little obvious. It’s like a film buff saying his favorite film is “Citizen Kane”. Well YEAH, of course you like “Citizen Kane”, it did this this and this for the art of cinema, but what’s REALLY your favorite?

    This kind of thing.

    I think.

    Or maybe everyone’s fucking retarded.

  • Sammy

    I agree with Wayne, plus one more thing: time. Plain and simply, it’s the passage of time.

  • Michael

    I was at the MSG show and was blown away. DLR’s vocals were great and Eddie’s playing was amazing, but what really surprised me was that they seemed to be having fun – actually enjoying that they were playing together. I saw then on the 1984 tour when I was like 15… this show was better.

    And it is very true that Eddie is somehow overlooked. I think the reason is that the Sammy Hagar era turned off metal and hard rock fans, so people forgot what a great band the original Van Halen was and how important Eddie was/is. One person that never forgot, however, was Dimebag himself. I’m sure I read numerous interviews where he gave eddie his due.

  • Paul D

    the Sammy Hagar era turned off metal and hard rock fans

    That’s a shame too, because EVH’s playing was stellar all through that period. Songs like “5150″ and even “Amsterdam” are musically amazing (though lyrically stupid).

    One thing I have noticed about EVH is that, when put on the spot, he tends to favor a handful of the same tricks. He doesn’t “jam”, per se, y’know? But when he has time to really arrange a guitar part or come up with a really great solo…watch your ass. He’s much more of a “composer” than a “rock star” in that sense. (In fact, I remember reading an interview once where he said “Dave is a ‘star’, I am a musician.”)

    Still one of my favorite guitarists, and I’ll defend him to the death to anyone who winces at the mention of the name “Van Halen” (and, sadly, there are a lot of people who do.)

  • Sammy

    But could the scrawny fucker either eat a burger and lift a weight heavier than a Peavy Wolfgang or just leave his shirt on?

    But in truth, Eddie makes millions of guys like me realize we are “guitar owners”.

  • Dan

    Clapton wasnt God…Eddie was…

  • http://www.hibernum.net Hibernum

    I think part of it was that the last Van Halen (Van Cherone?) album sucked. And there hasn’t been a follow up for the last what, ten years? The first few albums were revolutionary. Eddie really changed the guitar. But I think that there was too much backlash in the 90s against guitarists from the 80s and guitar solos that, even though guitar playing is back (sorta) the guitar heros from the 80s aren’t. After all, who is talking about Yngwie? He was just as important to metal as Eddie. For a while you couldn’t even buy his albums in America.

    Heck, you’re not going to find a resurgence of other 80s guitar heros like George Lynch either.

  • http://www.coreymitchell.com Liquidman666

    After all, who is talking about Yngwie? He was just as important to metal as Eddie.

    **snort**

  • NuMallCore Pwns YoMama

    He hasn’t put out anything in a while. Trust me. He’s been in two or three Guitar World magazines within the past year.

    And with that being said, the dude can shred, but I’m not a fan of Van Halen in general.

  • Dude Manbrough

    EVH is the greatest guitar player alive today in my opinion. If only he’d grace the world with a true solo effort, devoid of the annoying Roth/Hagar/whoever else yelpings that distract terribly from his greatness. The mediocrity he surrounds himself with has been his anchor. No one else who’s ever been in VH is or was anything other than average at best musicianship-wise.

  • Hegster90

    Numallcore’s right, Eddie get’s pleanty of recognition. He’s always in guitar world, always in the music headlines now, and any time you hear someone tapping, what other guitarist do you think of??

    But still, I never really got into Van Halen. To me they always just seemed like a really talented band that settled for writing average music. The solos are great and everything (although I think they ruined “You Really Got Me”) but aside from that, they’re just a regular rock band.

  • NuMallCore Pwns YoMama

    Not a bad idea… It would be great to just have a EVH album, rather than a David Lee Roth/Sammy Hagar/Gary Charone/Fatty Ding Dongs album. If Steve Vai can pull it off, why can’t Eddie?

    Also, to Hegster… I agree with you. They are a very talented band, but I think they write average rock music. The solos are always what made Van Halen stick out of the crowd.

  • ERiK

    Maybe if he wore corpse paint and wrote about scary and evil he is, kids would look up to him.

  • http://www.myspace.com/dreamshards8 dreamshards8

    “Ted, while I agree that, in time, our band will be most triumphant. The truth is, Wyld Stallyns will never be a super band until we have Eddie Van Halen on guitar. “

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  • DBO

    You are right to an extent. He was/is the most influential guitar player for hard rock. But I wouldn’t necessarily say metal. Ultimately, Jimmy Page is the most influential in metal, as he is one of the forefathers of it. But I would have to say in this day and time Dimebag is the most influential in metal.

    But you are most definitely right about EVH, he is not appreciated enough for what he did/does. He is amazing and people just don’t know what they are missing. I usually put EVH and Dimebag on the same level in influence, but they both influence two different types of music genres most of the time.

  • http://www.myspace.com/emenhiser FatBoyLemonade

    I think Buckethead it pretty influential…….just kidding….but seriously, he is pretty freakin good to play while wearing a KFC bucket on his head all the time.

  • http://vanhalen fred ferrarini

    i have to agree on some things,though to me sammy did a lot for vh ,there music was a lot more polished ans musically tight ,he is a all around performer,.on evh he did have an impact,even on me and my playing a little.but i dont think that he is the best.i have been playing for some forty years and there is some other guitarist that are far superior just a thought..

  • trash

    EVH influence cannot be denied. However, HE is the one responsible for the Sammy years sucking more than Sammy is. Hagar was no Roth, but he was good enough to get the job done. Eddie’s tone changed, his style changed, and he played the keyboard too damn much. Whenever I listen to the Sammy era, it’s the music and the guitar sound that bother me, not the singer. Sammy gets a bad rap.

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