Eddie Van Halen. Why do you love him? Why do you hate him?

[The Rossness]

I'm biased as well. VH is one of my two favourite bands and eddie made me want to learn how to play guitar.

 

Ed was and is a musical genius. I've talked to some people who he's worked with and they would echo that fact, but say that he was also a mean spirited drug addict. When he's on his A game, he is one of the best guitarists in the world. The gear he designs is also top notch.

 

During their last two tours, @004 w/ Sam and 2007-08 w/ Dave, his stage sound seemed to be muffled to me. I also don't like the fact that wolf is VH's bassist. His chemestry isn't right for the band. Why didn't they just hire Sheehan? He's been asked a bunch of times to join. I also don't like the fact that there hasn't been any new music. Ed should release an album every year or two. Even if it is not a full fledged VH album, why not do an instrumental record like Vai or Satch.

[Angry Tele]

I'm curious who here actually knows him enough to "love" him or "hate" him? Strange poll.Like or dislike might be a little more realistic?

I didn't take it as literally love the man but more his music. I find it odd people judge music by character or how many donuts one eats.

[Kerry67]

Loved him up until Roth left. After that he became a spine-less {censored} who did not want to rock anymore. Hopefully, the new stuff (if there ever is) will go back to old school Van Halen (like first 4 albums), but I am not holding my breath. I think he is too far gone..........

[McHale]

Hopefully, the new stuff (if there ever is) will go back to old school Van Halen (like first 4 albums), but I am not holding my breath. I think he is too far gone..........

I dunno about that. The 2 new songs (Can't Get This Stuff No More but especially Me Wise Magic) on the Greatest Hits Volume 1 with Roth are better than almost everything they put out with Sammy. THAT sounded like old VH to me.

I don't care how good or bad the next Van Halen CD is. Songs may not be radio friendly, but there will be good guitar on there. Even VH3 has some good guitar in it, as God awful as it is.

-Mc

[Gomez_69]

Love Eddie cause VH I absolutely kills in every sense. Tone and skill are over the top, and it holds up all these years later. I mean, the playing on that record just made everyone else sound stupid.
Why do I hate? I think he's squandered his talent on playing some really bad material over the years, especially with Hagar. I would have really loved to hear an instrumental album from him at some point rather than VH III. What a waste. Laziness? Who knows.
It was nice to catch some Youtube clips of the DLR and EVH reunion tour - sounded great, great vibe, and they pulled out some of the old tunes that still hold up. Wish they would do a real album together.

[fabstrat]

brought guitar to the forefront, created a whole generational movement (like it or not) and made something unordinary ordinary. Go ahead and put together a list of people who have also done this.

[ashasha]

From 1978-1984 he was the most influential guitarist around, bar none, and deserved all the credit he got. It's not his fault that so many lemmings followed him, and that other much more technical guitarists tried to sound like him (Vai) to cash in on his style. I idolized the guy in my teens. Some point after 1984, he started to sound like a clone of himself. He basically lost me after I saw some Cheryl Crow benefit thing in the 90's where he was supposed to be the "house" guitarist...he showed 0 versatility and did the same licks, harmonics and dive bombs for almost every solo. No nuance, nothing new. Basically he became a personification of what all of his critics claimed he was, where as in his younger years he was always a step ahead. It's like he stopped growing after DLR left. It would have been nice if he could have gone in some other direction, but he just kept up with pretty much the same thing for the last 20 years. Then, I saw the DLR reunion tour a few years back (a friend had an extra ticket), and he was flat out terrible. So, I loved him in his younger 10 years, started to hate him from then on.

I've seen some clips of him jamming with other players and he even admitted in an interview that it isn't one of his strong points; he just isn't comfortable with another guitarist and I don't think that he does other people's stuff off the cuff well. A lot of that IMHO is probably due to his strengths which are playing EVH styled {censored} which isn't exactly the most run of the mill type {censored} out there. He's got his own feel and mojo which is what makes him what he is; that's like trying to take a Ferrari four wheeling; it's just not designed to do that very well.

[panther_king]

I've seen some clips of him jamming with other players and he even admitted in an interview that it isn't one of his strong points; he just isn't comfortable with another guitarist and I don't think that he does other people's stuff off the cuff well. A lot of that IMHO is probably due to his strengths which are playing EVH styled {censored} which isn't exactly the most run of the mill type {censored} out there. He's got his own feel and mojo which is what makes him what he is; that's like trying to take a Ferrari four wheeling; it's just not designed to do that very well.

I would also chalk that up to not being properly trained in musical theory. He's self taught, and that can lead to deficiencies in jamming and riffing with another player.
Speaking from personal, self taught suckage experience, I can write stuff myself, and usually learn to play anything I can find the music for, and play it pretty well/accurately. Do I know exactly 'what' I'm actually doing?
Nope. I know basic notes and chords, but modes and scale patterns? I do them all the time, I just couldn't tell you what mode or pattern I happen to be playing in when I play. I just know 'this lick sounds good with this chord pattern', and go. Heck, I can't sweep pick to save my life, intentionally, but I play solos in some songs that I KNOW have sweeps in them, and I know I'm sweeping when I do it... but can I pop a sweep lick into something else out of context? I've tried, and the answer is no.

I feel like EVH is the same way: Self taught, and for so, so, so, so long has only had himself and his own songs to play with; when faced with something new, he may not have the improv tools to just blend in and let it loose.

[GreaserMatt]

Early VH is great stuff... /thread.

[KoaFreak]

I love him 'cause he's kicked out some of the best jams of all time. And for that absolutely classic photo he took where he looked like a zombie troll. :D That has provided countless hours of photochop entertainment.

I don't hate him, although I understand how it must be tough to hang out with Eddie and his brother Alex.

[Help!I'maRock!]

Van Halen is one of my earliest influences. 1984 came out when i was 6 and it is burned into my brain.

 

but he's a douchebag and never should have hired Sammy.

[hellion_213]

I've always hated when people do the snob thing and say EVH is an "okay" guitarist. What a load of {censored}e (UK spelling). He was/is a fantastic musician. Great tone, great phrasing, FANTASTIC rhythm playing. Head and shoulders above all his peers. Sure, the Steve Vai's came out and had more technical chops, but I can still hum EVH's solos all these decades after the fact. Vai....not so much. I play nothing like EVH, but I hear him and get goosebumps. What fantastic feel AND an incredible boost to the guitar community. In my opinion, the greatest guitar player since Hendrix. .

Pretty much this. He's not one of my influences, and I never was really BIG into VH, but I have a load of respect for the man as a guitarist. The only thing I really hated was Hagar! Listening to Hagar makes me want to jam ice picks in my ears :arg:

[smorgdonkey]

I would also chalk that up to not being properly trained in musical theory. He's self taught, and that can lead to deficiencies in jamming and riffing with another player. I feel like EVH is the same way: Self taught, and for so, so, so, so long has only had himself and his own songs to play with; when faced with something new, he may not have the improv tools to just blend in and let it loose.

Ed knows his theory. He learned it in piano lessons. Maybe reformulate that theory(?).

[evh1984]

I love EVH because he pulled me from a burning car.

Edit: And because everything he does, he does for love.

[FineLine]

...my favorite is "Fair Warning", what an awesome album!

 

EVH is one of the few GREAT & original guitar players, songwriters. He has done a lot for music & electric guitar.

 

Sure he's made mistakes, we all do. He's probably not as big a prick as we hear.

 

However I am seriously disappointed with almost everything after 1984. It pisses me off that lately speaks of hours & hours of great music that he has recorded, yet we hear no new EVH.

 

I wonder if he has the sand to get back to his basics.

 

Good luck Ed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[lukeswall]

I love him because of everything positive posted in this thread. he just sounds so free and effortless.

 

I hate him for the fact that he has never recorded an instrumental album.

[humbuckerstrat]

I think he has great, original chops as a lead and rhythm player, but i don't think he's as musically talented or as adventurous as Hendrix or Beck.

[jkay]

and don't hate him.

He's a great, inventive guitarist, I really like a lot of what he's done, and he is a pioneer of a whole legion of eighties guitar slingers.

[Nazgul6]

I actually think the guy is a genius. To me he completely reinvented the instrument and didn't let anything get in his way. If he wanted a sound he figured out a way to get it, either by inventing techniques, modifying techiniques, inventing gear etc.

I was just switching form acoustic guitar to electric guitar when my friend got VH1 and brought it over and said I had to hear something. When I heard Eruption we were just looking at each other like, "What the Hell could this guy possibly be doing to this instrument?"

I love that! The only thing is, there is no way you can keep that up. You can't keep topping yourself forever especially when you ushered in a paradigm shift in the first place. Add to that that he had the look and the image and the moves etc. and the guy was an absolute definition of guitar hero, more so than really anyone else I can think of. And I think a lot of the criticism is unfair, you can't take someone like EVH who obviously thinks farther outside the box than most of us can dream of and make him a house guitarist in celebrity jams. John Petrucci would excel at that but that's exactly why John Petrucci will never be EVH. And also, everyone talks about the first four albums but even if he continued spinning that stuff out, then he would be getting the Yngwie treatment i.e. "Yeah its the same thing over and over.'

To me, the Eddie I remember is the one in the poster I had in my room, red overalls with the red white and black Frankenstrat doing his little jump with a big smile on his face. All the photoshops in the world won't change that.

[soundcreation]

It's time....

 

EVH just doesn't seem as impressive anymore because guitarists are so use to hearing the things he helped to create as standard fare nowadays.

 

Basically short term memory.

 

I'll forgive EVH for not being interesting anymore...because when he first came out..he {censored}in broke the mold and he was pure lightning. If people can't put themselves in that perspective then that is their problem. Doesn't change the fact he is one of the most important guitarists in the history of the instrument.

[Floortom]

EVH hasnt done anything interesting (to me) since the "Respect the Wind" instrumental on the Twister Soundtrack. There is some amazing transtrem work on that tune. His solo on the Roger Waters song of that movie soundtrack was also nice.
Basically I think he would be better off leaving the "Van Halen" entity behind and doing his own thing.

[BIGD]

I would also chalk that up to not being properly trained in musical theory. He's self taught, and that can lead to deficiencies in jamming and riffing with another player. Speaking from personal, self taught suckage experience, I can write stuff myself, and usually learn to play anything I can find the music for, and play it pretty well/accurately. Do I know exactly 'what' I'm actually doing? Nope. I know basic notes and chords, but modes and scale patterns? I do them all the time, I just couldn't tell you what mode or pattern I happen to be playing in when I play. I just know 'this lick sounds good with this chord pattern', and go. Heck, I can't sweep pick to save my life, intentionally, but I play solos in some songs that I KNOW have sweeps in them, and I know I'm sweeping when I do it... but can I pop a sweep lick into something else out of context? I've tried, and the answer is no. I feel like EVH is the same way: Self taught, and for so, so, so, so long has only had himself and his own songs to play with; when faced with something new, he may not have the improv tools to just blend in and let it loose.

I hear what you guys are saying, but do you really have to know a lot of musical theory to play a decent solo on "Gimme some Lovin"? You have to play over one note..that leaves a lot open for interpretation.

I'm not very good, but in about 2 seconds I figured out something more musical than he did at that show. Just sayin. It's like sometimes he thinks "hey, I'm Eddie Van Halen ***DIVE BOMB**** ***HORSEY HARMONIC*****"

[buchanan-d]

HE IS THE RULER OF TAPPING? What isn't said there?

 

Actually, he is not, Jimmy Webster, a jazz player back in the forties was the first. And much better than EVH . I like Eddie's chops, but alot of his innovations were done long before him.

[Mustaine-who?]

Who? :poke:

[BIGD]

I actually think the guy is a genius. To me he completely reinvented the instrument and didn't let anything get in his way. If he wanted a sound he figured out a way to get it, either by inventing techniques, modifying techiniques, inventing gear etc. I was just switching form acoustic guitar to electric guitar when my friend got VH1 and brought it over and said I had to hear something. When I heard Eruption we were just looking at each other like, "What the Hell could this guy possibly be doing to this instrument?" I love that! The only thing is, there is no way you can keep that up. You can't keep topping yourself forever especially when you ushered in a paradigm shift in the first place. Add to that that he had the look and the image and the moves etc. and the guy was an absolute definition of guitar hero, more so than really anyone else I can think of. And I think a lot of the criticism is unfair, you can't take someone like EVH who obviously thinks farther outside the box than most of us can dream of and make him a house guitarist in celebrity jams. John Petrucci would excel at that but that's exactly why John Petrucci will never be EVH. And also, everyone talks about the first four albums but even if he continued spinning that stuff out, then he would be getting the Yngwie treatment i.e. "Yeah its the same thing over and over.' To me, the Eddie I remember is the one in the poster I had in my room, red overalls with the red white and black Frankenstrat doing his little jump with a big smile on his face. All the photoshops in the world won't change that.

 

Again, we are talking about jamming to some Jazz standards...we're talking about jamming to Stones tunes and Spencer Davis Group....nothing really too complicated or out of the box there. The problem is that he stopped thinking out of HIS OWN box. That's the point I think that some of you are missing. "I'm Eddie Van Halen, I need to do horsey harmonics, tapping, and dive bombs in EVERY PHRASE."

 

Ed, you didn't do that {censored} on every solo before 1984.

 

A prime example is the solo on "Dreams". It's really ...bad. Compare it to the solo on Little Dreamer or Secrets or Push comes to Shove or something like that..is that the same guitar player? It's like no one could ever tell the great Eddie that he played a bad solo in the studio after 1984 or something.

 

And I had the poster of him from the US Festival on the back of my bedroom door.