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Post by Monsters of Rock on Mar 28, 2021 20:06:31 GMT 10
Eddie Van Halen
In the late '70s and early '80s, there was no hotter guitarist than Eddie Van Halen, with his "Frankenstrat" guitar, his two-handed tapping, vibrato and tremolo picking. His distinctive sound inspired many to pick up the guitar in hopes of replicating his classic "Eruption" solo.
Loudwire
When I was 11, I was at my guitar teacher’s place, and he put on “Eruption.” It sounded like it came from another planet. I was just learning basic chords, stuff like AC/DC and Deep Purple; “Eruption” really didn’t make sense to me, but it was glorious, like hearing Mozart for the first time.
Eddie is a master of riffs: “Unchained,” “Take Your Whiskey Home,” the beginning of “Ain’t Talking ‘Bout Love.” He gets sounds that aren’t necessarily guitar sounds – a lot of harmonics, textures that happen just because of how he picks. There’s a part in “Unchained” where it sounds like there’s another instrument in the riff.
A lot of it is in his hands: the way he holds his pick between his thumb and middle finger, which opens things up for his finger-tapping. (When I found out he played that way, I tried it myself, but it was too weird.) But underneath that, Eddie has soul. It’s like Hendrix – you can play the things he’s written, but there’s an X factor that you can’t get.
Eddie still has it. I saw Van Halen on their reunion tour two years ago, and the second he came out, I felt that same thing I did when I was a kid. When you see a master, you know it. By Mike McCready of Pearl Jam
Key Tracks: “Eruption,” “Ain’t Talking ‘Bout Love,” “Hot for Teacher”
Rolling Stone
In the late '70s and early '80s, there was no hotter guitarist than Eddie Van Halen, with his "Frankenstrat" guitar, his two-handed tapping, vibrato and tremolo picking. His distinctive sound inspired many to pick up the guitar in hopes of replicating his classic "Eruption" solo.
Loudwire
When I was 11, I was at my guitar teacher’s place, and he put on “Eruption.” It sounded like it came from another planet. I was just learning basic chords, stuff like AC/DC and Deep Purple; “Eruption” really didn’t make sense to me, but it was glorious, like hearing Mozart for the first time.
Eddie is a master of riffs: “Unchained,” “Take Your Whiskey Home,” the beginning of “Ain’t Talking ‘Bout Love.” He gets sounds that aren’t necessarily guitar sounds – a lot of harmonics, textures that happen just because of how he picks. There’s a part in “Unchained” where it sounds like there’s another instrument in the riff.
A lot of it is in his hands: the way he holds his pick between his thumb and middle finger, which opens things up for his finger-tapping. (When I found out he played that way, I tried it myself, but it was too weird.) But underneath that, Eddie has soul. It’s like Hendrix – you can play the things he’s written, but there’s an X factor that you can’t get.
Eddie still has it. I saw Van Halen on their reunion tour two years ago, and the second he came out, I felt that same thing I did when I was a kid. When you see a master, you know it. By Mike McCready of Pearl Jam
Key Tracks: “Eruption,” “Ain’t Talking ‘Bout Love,” “Hot for Teacher”
Rolling Stone
