...Yea, it was that awesome.
Posted on 10/06/2020 7:25:08 PM PDT by DoodleBob
Pro shot video of Van Halen playing at the US Festival at Glen Helen Regional Park in Devore, California on May 23, 1983.
(Excerpt) Read more at youtu.be ...
Eddie was an iconic player in an iconic band that captured the zeitgeist of their era.
He also popularized the “shredding” technique that took elements of 12 tone, asynchronous jazz and made a shrieking, amplified monster.
After Eddie, kids coming up were no longer interested in melody and rhythm. All they wanted to do was shred. It was “so cool”.
And thereby, unknowingly and unintentionally, Eddie Van Halen killed Rock and Roll.
I had a teenage daughter in the 80’s that loved Van Halen and Journey........her walls were full of posters, that music played in the morning while dressing for school, afternoons and weekends. I must say I liked Van Halen and loved Eddie’s guitar talent. I still watch on youtube and have a few songs on my phone. Those were good memories for me too........RIP Eddie
It is scary when stuff from the eighties is called oldies.
Hell of a band just with Eddie, Neil Peart and Rocco Prestia.
Memorable things:
1. Loudest gig in that size venue I've ever heard. I've heard louder in smaller places, but this was a pretty good size indoor arena, and my ears were ringing most of the way home.
2. Girls throwing underwear on the stage. DLR picked up a bra, and said, 'Edward - Is this Valerie's? No, it's too big to be Valerie's.' Threw it back to the audience.
3. Live music. Shit happens. (been there done that). They started to play 'Jump', and Eddie was on the keyboard, when stuff just stopped working.
He told Alex and Mike to just keep vamping, while he climbed down into the scaffolding to figure out what was going on.
A cable had come loose, he plugged it back together, climbed up and the show went on.
Fun gig.
Any of y’all have an EVH guitar, hang onto it. It’s already doubled in value.
...Yea, it was that awesome.
I don’t normally get upset when a celebrity dies, but this one kinda hurt.
As hard as it may be to consider, in 1978 The Cars were more popular than VH. As the early 80s ground on, synth pop and new wave was ruling MTV. Without VH and Eddie, rock would have died. Indeed, Zappa thanked Eddie for saving the guitar.
And sure, he launched shredders-without-soul like Yngwie, but he also influenced Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, and scores of other players who still make melody the key to their tunes.
Without Eddie, your average guitarist today would sound like Culture Club. Instead, they sound like Guthrie Govan and Tom Monda. Eddie for the win.
FRESNO: 9/22/1978
Van Halen @ Selland Arena
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BR4S1FqHZzQ
“Without Eddie, your average guitarist today would sound like Culture Club.”
Or Richards or Clapton or Page or Vaughn.
Out of those four, I’ll give you Clapton and Vaughn, and I like the Stones and Zep, but those two should not even be mentioned in the same breath as Eric and SRV. Eddie defined a genre, picking up the torch from Hendrix and turning it up to 15. EVH would say his greatest influence was Eric if he had to pick one, as he often stated he really didn’t have any. That guy was “shredding” in the early 70’s and packing the houses in Pasadena clubs and huge block parties; he developed his techniques while Zep was still singing about Norse gods and fairies.
Every one of those great mid-60’s to early-70’s guitarists, except for the two I mentioned above, sounded the same. I mean, really, who could put up with anymore of Ritchie Blackmore’s arrogance as self-titled guitar god, or Page’s sneering bullshit. No one is denying the impact many had in that era and beyond, but it got tired, and was for another era. People were done with the war and the heavy politics of the 60’s, and wanted to party and cut loose. Disco, punk, and techno came about for a reason. Eddie, and others like him, revitalized the melody of rock, just faster and louder, and had a big effing party while they did it, you old fart ;) Even SRV was part of that, with upbeat blues and if you were lucky enough to see him live, he was loud and kinda shreddy too at times. There is a reason that Van Halen had 10 consecutive platinum albums, and even remained successful after a lead singer change (which is damn hard), and he just left this planet.
Just because you don’t care for the genre, its no reason to say that EVH destroyed Rock and Roll, quite the opposite. I’m Curious, did you think that the Grunge movement was Rock and Roll? I mean, bands like Pearl Jam were heavily influenced by Neil Young and Clapton; they even collaborated with Neil. Rock evolves and cycles, and always will. I mean, my dad would say that the Beatles killed Rock and Roll, and thought Chuck Berry was the greatest guitarist ever.
Aye, we disagree.
Richards is a rhythm guitarist (and a boring one at that), Clapton is overrated (but a good songwriter), and Page is sloppy even when he's not on drugs (and a good plagiarist). SRV was the bomb but he was essentially a rock/blues guitarist and that's a different genre. So, when you put it that way, we really should double down on our gratitude for Eddie.
bump
Richards isn’t even the best guitar player in his band. Compare his and Taylor’s Sympathy for the Devil solos on Get yet Ya-Yas Out. No comparison.
I think Charlie Watts is a better guitarist.
Dayumm! LOL
So by ‘isn’t even the best guitar player in his band’ , is that based on him not engaging in Phish-like jams? Why would he even be in the Stones if he was so shitty? Here’s a test: listen to one of Mick Jagger’s solo albums and listen to some of Keith’s music with The expensive Winos or Tom Waits. Keith is the sound of the Stones: Beggars Banquet, Let it Bleed, Sticky Fingers, Exile on Main Street. Oh yeah, tell me whose riffs compare to Satisfaction & Jumping Jack Flash...and on and on. I’ll understand if you’re a millennial. Next, you’ll say Elvis didn’t even write his own songs so he sucks also unlike Taylor Swift (even though she doesn’t).
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