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Thread: Eddie Van Halen Dead at 65

  1. #26
    Member Jerjo's Avatar
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    The debut, Women and Children First, Fair Warning, and Different Kind of Truth are the ones I return to.

    For a look into the mass of contradictions Eddie was, check out this interview from five years ago: https://www.billboard.com/articles/c...e-roth-touring
    I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart

  2. #27
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    Huge talent. I preferred the Sammy led band to DLR but my kid brothers were fans of DLR so there was a ton of Van Halen played at the house growing up. RIP

  3. #28
    Member Paulrus's Avatar
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    I can vividly remember being a 14 year old SoCal kid, riding my bike to pick up papers to do my paper route in 1978 when someone started blasting "Eruption"/"You Really Got Me" from their car parked in a driveway. It really was an electrifying shot of adrenaline. Nobody played that music quietly back then!

    That said, I've never been a VH fan. They could have had me back in those early days if only the band had not been so into the posturing and party lifestyle (and they infected their fans with it.) Between DLR's antics and the lowbrow imbeciles they attracted back in the day I had a hard time taking them seriously, even though there was no denying EVH's immense talent.

    RIP, Eddie. Hope you and Allan Holdsworth (the NYT obit nicely mentioned his influence) have some nice jams.

    F*ck cancer (again.)
    I'm holding out for the Wilson-mixed 5.1 super-duper walletbuster special anniversary extra adjectives edition.

  4. #29
    Member proggy_jazzer's Avatar
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    Wow. Way too young. He certainly left a great legacy, but, damn. RIP
    David
    Happy with what I have to be happy with.

  5. #30
    All Things Must Pass spellbound's Avatar
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    Heard about this on the radio today. Had no idea he'd been ill. Rest in peace, Eddie. Your music will live on.

  6. #31
    Member Koreabruce's Avatar
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    I'm really bummed over Eddie Van Halen's death even though, shocking as it is, it is not completely unexpected. I recently thought about him and wondered how he was getting on. All the news that was available suggested that was again battling some form of cancer, and given his history of recklessness, I had my doubts he'd make it through his 60's. For a hard-partying rock star, though, it turns out that he lived a long and fruitful life. I can vividly recall being in my junior year of high school when that eponymous Van Halen album was released, and like pretty much everyone else, I was completely wowed by what I was hearing: his incredibly fluid playing and that luscious "brown sound." "HOW IN THE HELL IS HE DOING THAT?!" was the most common question we were all emphatically asking back then. We guitarists soon learned about the intricacies of right-hand tapping and using the whammy bar to create some truly insane-sounding effects. In retrospect, while I didn't care for a lot of the later VH albums, the Roth-era records are still classics of concise writing and tremendous excitement (and I really enjoyed their cover versions of "You Really Got Me", "You're No Good," and "Dancing in the Street.") Seriously, you can't listen to any of that music and not smile while at the same time trying to keep your jaw off of the floor at all the guitar pyrotechnics Eddie would so effortlessly toss-off. I'm so glad that the original lineup - albeit minus the lovely Michael Anthony on bass and killer backing vocals - managed to team up again to give us one final album, A Different Kind of Truth. To me, it is a brilliant piece of raucous rock 'n' roll and a fitting cap to their rollercoaster career. I personally think that there is no guitar shredder today who can quite match the magical combination of musicality, invention, excitement, feel, finesse, and sheer groove that were all hallmarks of Eddie's supremely impressive playing. That he essentially isolated himself in his youth and came up with his own sound and style and even built his own instruments through the trial-and-error of endless experimentation speaks of a man wholly possessed with music and sound, and clearly, the thousands of hours of intense practice truly paid off for him. We, in turn, are all blessed to have inherited what this often troubled but no less remarkable man brought to the world of guitar rock. Frank Zappa said it best when he told Eddie, "Thank you for re-inventing rock guitar." From me, and from countless millions of others who were turned on to your sound and style, we say, "Thank you, Mr. Edward Van Halen! Now go on over and jam with Mr. Alan Holdsworth. You two have got a lot of catching up to do!"
    Last edited by Koreabruce; 10-07-2020 at 01:18 PM.

  7. #32
    Member since March 2004 mozo-pg's Avatar
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    Too young. RIP.
    What can this strange device be? When I touch it, it brings forth a sound (2112)

  8. #33
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    As influential in his era as Hendrix was in his own. A fellow guitar-playing childhood friend and I agree after hearing this news ... the top three most influential guitarists - Hendrix, Eddie, and Jimmy Page. None of them were our favorite, but I can't think of three other guitarists that inspired as many people. It can be argued that without Eddie, Satriani and Vai likely wouldn't have had the careers they did, if at all.
    Brian Dennehy: "I'm now 80 and I'm just another actor and that's fine with me. I've had a hell of a ride," ... "I have a nice house. I haven't got a palace, a mansion, but a pretty nice, comfortable home. I've raised a bunch of kids and sent them all to school, and they're all doing well. All the people that are close to me are reasonably healthy and happy. Listen, that's as much as anybody can hope for in life."

  9. #34
    Before Eddie, nobody played single pickup guitars. it was like one pickup guitars were "for beginners", and you had to have something "more flash" or whatever, if you were gonna play in a band or get on a stage or whatever. I remember reading once where it was pointed out that the Telecaster was always more popular than the Esquire, even though most guitarists never used the neck pickup on their Tele. Roger McGuinn reportedly never used the middle or neck pickups on his Rickenbacker 370/12, and I remember Pete Townshend saying he almost never used the extra pickup he installed in on his Les Paul Deluxe (actually, he did that to several of them). Ace Frehley also once said he never used the neck pickup on his Les Paul, and only played the three pickup models live because "they look cool".

    There were a few guitarists you sometimes saw playing a Les Paul Jr, like Leslie West, and, occasionally, Steve Howe, and probably others I can't think of right now, but by and large, tehy weren't "fashionable".

    And then there were companies like BC Rich and Ibanez, who made guitars with all these souped up electronics, preamps, EQ systems, extra knobs and switches that virtually nobody ever used.

    Then Eddie pops up on the scene with his home built Frankenstrat, one pickup, one volume control, and an output jack. And suddenly, it seemed like that became fashionable. Companies like Charvel, Kramer, Ibanez, etc, all started building guitars with similar electronics. Even Leo Fender got in on the act, with the G&L Rampage (I think that was the model name).

  10. #35
    One of the greatest tributes I've read was this: even guitarists who didn't like Eddie were influenced by him.

    His tone was everywhere in pop music within a couple years after the debut VH album. Everyone in various genres wanted that tone on their record. And that doesn't even get into the influence his soloing had, which was arguably less impressive from a guitar standpoint than his rhythm playing.

  11. #36
    Jon Neudorf
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    Man this is tough. Knew he had been battling throat cancer and was hoping he would get through it. So sad. 2020 frickin sucks.

  12. #37
    RIP, Eddie.

    My friend's caricature:

    "The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"

  13. #38
    Very sad news.
    I think I went from nursery rhymes to Van Halen, they were the very first band I loved. Even though I moved on from them by the early nineties they will forever have a special place in my heart.

    After what seems like a life partying Eddie now sleeps.

  14. #39
    Member Zeuhlmate's Avatar
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  15. #40
    Heard it in the news yesterday.

    Very sad news. I don't have any Van Halen albums, but I like what I heard by them.

  16. #41
    Mod or rocker? Mocker. Frumious B's Avatar
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    Outside of The Beach Boys I don’t think there is any band that symbolizes summer and fun better than Van Halen. They were so different from other “heavy guitar” type bands in that they didn’t take themselves too seriously, didn’t do epic jams and they smiled a lot too. The songs were fast, short, fun, relentlessly tuneful and made you feel invincible. Listening to the early catalog I’m struck by how open, spacious, loose and totally alive those recordings sound.

    EVH was like this mad scientist, wizard type and the music just seemed to flow out of his fingers effortlessly.
    "It was a cruel song, but fair."-Roger Waters

  17. #42
    Member interbellum's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Zeuhlmate View Post
    RIP
    He supported Allan Holdsworth economically for a period.
    Yes, Eddie more or less got Holdsworth a contract with Warner Bros, which resulted in Road Games. Although Holdsworth wasn't happy with the result because of the musicians WB forced him to play with, it brought Holdsworth some further attention of people who were into Van Halen. That jam is nice, although I guess both weren't much into that battle-stuff.
    I don't have albums by VH, but I have good memories for dancing on Running For The Devil during my period of service in 1979/1980. RIP.

  18. #43
    Member Zalmoxe's Avatar
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    Can this year get any shittier? F*ck Cancer!!! Listening to Dreams on YT, watching the Blue Angels fly! Heaven got louder all of a sudden, a lot louder! Rest In Peace Eddie.

  19. #44
    NEARfest Officer Emeritus Nearfest2's Avatar
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    Around the time we lost Neil Peart, I said to a friend that I wouldn't be surprised if Eddie Van Halen was next. The VH camp has been silent for years and the Eddie sightings were few and diminishing. There were reports of him flying to Germany for cancer treatments as well. I'm a big Van Halen fan and it's heartbreaking to lose such an icon of the guitar. Eddie was the best.

    RIP EVH
    Chad

  20. #45
    Member Camelogue's Avatar
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    I remember going to a Yes concert in the late 70's and I always remember my friends comment about Steve Howe. "This guy is better than fucking Eddie Van Halen."

  21. #46
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jerjo View Post
    .... It was like nothing we had ever heard before. And though his imitators are legion, there will only be one Eddie.
    Quote Originally Posted by progmatist View Post
    He was highly influential to say the least. RIP
    Quote Originally Posted by arabicadabra View Post
    RIP to a real pioneer.

    Dare I say ...... progressive?
    "Normal is just the average of extremes" - Gary Lessor

  22. #47
    Member progholio's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jerjo View Post
    For a look into the mass of contradictions Eddie was, check out this interview from five years ago: https://www.billboard.com/articles/c...e-roth-touring
    That was a great article, thanks for sharing.
    I can only imagine the goldmine of unreleased stuff, probably will rival Prince.

    RIP EVH

  23. #48
    Member nosebone's Avatar
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    Eddie was THE KING of the 16 bar blitzkrieg guitar solo.

    In and out like a whirling dervish!

    He also was very innovative with guitar and amplifier mods.
    no tunes, no dynamics, no nosebone

  24. #49
    Member Jerjo's Avatar
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    Keith Urban weighed in with a really great tribute on Instagram:
    Just heard the news of Eddie Van Halen’s passing ..... this hit me hard. There are lots of great guitar players in the world, but very VERY few true innovators. Players who seem to have arrived from a far distant planet , and who bring a completely new color to the rainbow. Eddie Van Halen was this and so much more. Even without the finger tapping, you had a player with extraordinary touch, tone, and a rhythmic pocket and bounce that floated like Ali in the ring. He was a master of complex solos that spoke to non musicians...THAT IS HARD TO DO. The reason was the exquisite melody in his heart, and the joy in his soul of playing FOR people - and it came through like a ray of sun we ALL felt. I say a prayer today for his family and friends.
    - and from players like me , all over the world who never got to meet him, I say THANK YOU EDDIE. WE LOVE YOU !!!!!!!
    I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart

  25. #50
    Quote Originally Posted by nosebone View Post
    Eddie was THE KING of the 16 bar blitzkrieg guitar solo.

    In and out like a whirling dervish!

    He also was very innovative with guitar and amplifier mods.
    He acknowledged he took the two hand tapping from Steve Hackett.

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