10 Reasons why EDDIE VAN HALEN was a GENIUS + Album Ranking

[@markflower8885]

A friend of mine was in a moderately succesful irish band called MrNorth and they supported Van Halen for about six shows during a tour. They were allowed to have their own merch stand for the shows but were astounded to find out Van Halen's management company were taking 10% of their merch sales. Eddie Van Halen heard about it and went to see the guys from MrNorth and promised to get them their money back. Many weeks after they had finished their run and having heard no more, they received a check in the post directly from Eddie Van Halen for their 10% that he paid himself..Great gesture from a great musician.

[@treff9226]

Eddie is sacred to my ears - love seeing stories like this! A lot of ugly stuff from Van Halen brothers, especially toward Michael Anthony and Sammy Hagar, but a clean and sober ( or Eddie not so deep into his addictions ) Eddie Van Halen was said by most to be a great human being, kind and humble! That is how I'll always remember him and his generational genius. Great post, brother!

[@GaryDavidSisto]

Wow, I haven't heard that name in about 20 years! I used to go see Mr. North at a little pub (Maggie Mae's?) in the Irish district of Queens Blvd. in NYC back in the early 2000's. There was definitely a Jeff Buckley vibe from the singer. What happened to them?

[@markflower8885]

@@GaryDavidSisto They split up about 11 or 12 years ago after making three albums. I know the singer Colin is still making music as a solo artist I believe and the bassist/ keyboard player went into music production.

[@g.belanger8302]

His rhythm playing is every bit as impressive as his lead playing. Such monstrous groove, feel, and timing. He was the total package

[@derekclacton]

💯- although because his lead playing was so revolutionary no one really talked about Ed’s incredible rhythm playing back in the day

[@mancuniancandidatem]

Yes, without his rhythmic chordal structures/ fiffs that were the basis of those great songs, nobody would have ever heard his lead playing.

[@colinburroughs9871]

people who start out playing drums and then go to guitar have this advantage and the list of people who make it as pros who've done both indicates to me that it's a good move to pair the two things so that it's not all melody or laying blocks rhythmically without following a tune

[@trippknotic]

Eddie always looked like he was having the time of his life. 🎉

[@treff9226]

Happiness for Eddie was having a guitar strapped to his shoulder - he then knew he had the world by the balls!

[@LorraineHinchliffe-vg5cb]

Spot on. Eddie was always smiling. I remember an interview of Van Halen in London in 1978, and you couldn't help but love him.

[@MeAndTheBoys_]

Yeah man, that constant smile, hahah. We miss him for sure.

[@Hydrocorax]

Eddie Van Halen had a home a few miles from me. I never met him, but a lot of my friends worked with him on various projects, and to a person they all remarked on what an extremely kind guy he was. I heard many stories over the years about him really going out of his way to help young musicians.

[@alanjerram9258]

The technique overshadowed Van Halen as, more than anything, a composer for the guitar. He had an amazing ear and sense of composition.

[@shonkyindustries]

I'm glad you said this, he had an amazing gift for harmony, melody and rhythm, to think Eddie is "just" tapping, tremelo picking and whammy bar really doesn't give him the credit he deserves. I think that he was the most jazz, non-jazz player from the freedom and fire in his improvisations. Many people are now technically "better" but few have the fire, imagination and spirit that he brought to guitar.

[@samrontos8806]

Refreshing insight into Van Halen Andy. I agree that the self-titled Van Halen album blew the cobwebs off the boring complacency and self-indulgence of rock guitardom in the 1970s. It was energetic, refreshing, and challenging and spawned a new era of guitarists who suddenly realised they can use the rest of their fingers to do 'stuff' on the guitar neck. Van Halen was the great synthesiser of all things guitar that preceded him and took to a new level, thus heralding a new era in guitar playing. P.S - His mother is indonesian, not filipino.

[@rightchordleadership]

Anybody with a shred of musical knowledge recognizes Michael Anthony’s undeniable contribution to VH.

[@robertwatt4248]

His harmonies rather than bass playing was the more crucial. Read Steve Rosen's book The Stormchaser, he was a big freind of Eddie's. He dosnt rate Michael Anthony as a bass player but says he was crucial to VH. He also dosnt speak very highly of Roth.

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

Great stuff. Eddie was an incredible musician

[@espenleira95]

Hi Andy - love your channel. So great with your musicians perspective and your extensive insight on so many great albums and bands. I think it was so great that you made this wonderful video on Van Halen and broadened the focus to not only mention Edwards unique talent as a guitar player. I could not agree more that Van Halen has so many other great aspects. The superb drumming by Alex as you mention and the unique groove and so many weird rythm and time signatures that sets them apart. They really were ahead of their time and so misleading in many ways that they were labelled as a party band and in many ways were overlooked as a unit. ANYWAY - great work and great channel Andy! Thanks again for inspiring me to both play more and listen more. Greetings and respect form Norway👍

[@TheFierceAndTheDead]

Bloody love EVH - joyful musician. Great video Andy.

[@luciferpantykrist7570]

I always heard joy and laughter in his playing, especially the solos, which were mostly off the cuff. The solo on Ice Cream Man took blues guitar into a different galaxy and back again. And when I heard Spanish Fly I played it over and over: "You can't do that on a nylon string?!!" But he did.

[@javilalima]

It’s interesting. I am 59 years old, so I got acquainted with Van Halen when I was a teenager and I was in awe when I listened to their first album. I agree with EVERYTHING you say on this video. I stopped listening to them when David left. They became just another vanilla stadium band with Sammy Hagar. ACDC and Van Halen became my third and second favourite bands (Led Zeppelin has always been my #1). That was before I discovered Yes, of course. But I still love those three bands, for very different reasons, each is so unique and charismatic, Loving your channel, it’s a very recent find.

[@thebreathalyzer]

The Allan Holdsworth business is an important insight…people were heaping praise on Ed and he would be like “have you heard Allan Holdsworth? I love that guy!”. Eddie loved music. And he was really into Clapton early on and could mimick a lot of players.

[@javilalima]

But Clapton is just an ordinary, predictable player, when compared to Eddie or Allan, who were astonishing geniuses.

[@christophercheney1006]

Edward is the reason I wanted to start playing music. I first heard VH when I was 6 or 7 years old around 1979-80. Even though out of the gate, I wanted to play bass, Ed was this superhero that planted the seed. He taught me early on, without me realizing it, that the most important thing about playing music is to have your own voice and not be afraid to go "against the grain".

[@BarbarraBay]

Andy the most enthusiastic guy around. 🙂

[@Gregorypeckory]

Great list; I forgot that he actually innovated the process of dipping pickups in wax, and the point about him saving rock from disco was really interesting too. I love VH too, but sadly, the experience Allan had with Ed didn't show Ed at his best, but rather, his insecurities came to the fore, and he really added to the misery of the experience by trying to help Templeman steer Allan away from his own musical vision, toward being a featured virtuoso in a rock setting that was more Templeman and Ed's wheelhouse, and Allan had no interest in. One of the problems was Allan had tried to compromise with the attempts to control what kind of project he could do, by agreeing to let Ed be involved in the studio, and had to set up appointments to do so that fit with Ed's schedule, and after several cancellations and months of delays, Allan finally recorded on his own, which Ed took as a personal affront, and started bad mouthing his hero in the guitar press, which of course, he had constant access to, as the most covered guitar player on Earth. Ed's narrative was that Allan needed some steering, "even I need outside help", was his egotistical supporting point, as if Allan couldn't possibly produce himself, if the great EVH needs outside ears on his records. It was his Mr Hide side coming out, because most personal stories about Ed are of Dr Jeckyll; a humble, kind and somewhat shy and self effacing guy, but the stuff he said about Allan sounded like a fanboy that was butt hurt because his hero wouldn't wait for him to get around to producing him. To top it off, Ed was demanding to share solos with his hero on the album, angry because Allan turned hi down flat. Allan said no because aside from already having a strong personal musical direction advanced far beyond the people wanting to steer it, he knew his record would become a curiosity of interest mainly to Ed fans, and he would end up as a guest on his own record, a rock record he didn't intend to make. Anyway, it was one of Ed's low points, like his treatment of Michael Anthony when his drinking and drugging were near suicidal. We all have a dark side, and unfortunately Ed's would end up making his own biggest hero have to fight him for control of his own music, and cause making the incredible album to be a miserable experience for Allan. Fortunately, he was able to recruit his old friend, Jack Bruce, at home with jazz and rock, to be the "famous rock singer" Ed and Ted demanded Allan use to make the album marketable the way they envisioned; to a rock audience that would essentially listen to Allan like he's the next Eddie', the next freakishly talented rock guitar virtuoso, a reduction of what Allan really was, because Ed actually didn't understand what he was hearing.

[@mkpleco]

I Really enjoyed your story of your first introduction to Van Halen with Ice Cream Man. I feel that was a great reason to put 1984 as your #2. I spent years trying to find the song that sounded like...., which ended up being Those Shoes.

[@gcustis]

I was part of the early LA punk scene in late 1976 - 82ish. I got into it via a band called the Dickies. One day their drummer called me and asked me to take him to the Whiskey a gogo club for a sound check. When we got there a band was playing on the stage and someone was taking pictures of the band. This turned out to be the photos on the first VH album. Yes, I did notice the guitarist was very good, and he had a bunch of pedals going into a couple Marshall’s. Skip forward 6 - 8 months and I hear that music on the radio. It hit like a nuclear bomb. Even as isolated from the mainstream as I was everyone heard the album and was moved by it. Minor critiques: EVH did not invent potting pickup’s, even Rickenbacher did potting as did Fender and others. Also the variac does not go between the guitar and amp, it goes between the power source and the amps power, it lowers or boosts the amp power ( not a good thing to do to an amplifier) but it does get a sound. Balance is my favorite EV album.

[@steveosmanguitarist]

Genius is the ability to see the obvious . Edward effortlessly defined a unique approach to rock guitar playing with swagger and seemed to have almost unlimited fresh ideas . I feel he does deserve the title .

[@riffmason]

Been absolutely caning listening to Van Halen lately so well excited to see this. Just finished his book too and Allan Holdsworth is easily his most mentioned guitarist in it too!

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

I mention him too

[@luciferpantykrist7570]

He greatly admired Holdsworth and helped him out a lot

[@auroraromano7404]

It was a 1980 guitar player magazine interview with Eddie where brings up Holdsworth. Also in a guitar player magazine I see a review for bruford one of a kind. It must be good bill is great on the yes album so I get it. I have loved one of a kind ever since and found all kinds of great stuff by Allan after that I especially like the new lifetime by Tony Williams .

[@brendanlynch7912]

I've been enjoying your vids, Andy. As an American heavy metal parking lot kid from the 80s (before discovering the Velvet Underground), EVH content is always welcome.

[@geoffccrow2333]

Great rhythm guitarist

[@treff9226]

Facts! Those riffs won't be bettered.....by anyone!

[@Gregorypeckory]

I had to laugh when you paused between "Michael Anthony handled it" and "with aplomb", and I actually thought that would be your choice of words, which I think was perfect; I really enjoy your videos even though we don't always agree completely (you're only human, after all), but more often than not, I learn a lot of fun facts and sometimes am treated to a truly new perspective on the music we both grew up loving! Having said that, we aren't on the same page regarding Clapton's influence on Ed. I think it barely shows at all in Ed's playing once he discovered his own voice. Clapton, for my money too often gets lumped in with innovative geniuses, and he wasn't a very innovative player compared to any of them, being most interested first in simply playing hot traditional blues riffs through distorted loud Marshalls, and later in writing tepid pop ballads, whereas Jimi was copying free jazz with his guitar, whammy bar, feedback, tone clusters, etc, and Jeff was redefining how to play melody on the guitar.

[@booms1554]

EVH was an entertainer and wanted his music heard.He has been playing in front of people since he was a child.Eddie and Alex backed there fathers band who played traditional jazz and polka music at clubs and anywhere that would have them.Then the Mighty Van Halen started playing the popular music of the time and played cover songs at any venue that would have them weddings,bar mitzvahs,biker bars and so on.By the time of VH first album they were all seasoned professionals and could rock the crowd.Great studio band better live band.

[@johngerson7335]

Short-sheeting "Diver Down" is obvious, _but_ "Hang 'Em High" anyone? One of Ed's most terrifying bits imho. And the other cover was "Where Have All the Good Times Gone" by The Kinks, which is VH'ed to the max.

[@JohnCollins]

You got me thinking about Van Halen recently being a lapsed fan from childhood. I have to say, of all of the bangers I really like "Drop dead legs" because it's so restrained. He demonstrates that sometimes less is more. There is a lot to be said for being able to bring the thunder and not doing.

[@CVGuitar]

This is going to be great!

[@tomhenninger4153]

LOVE Van Halen! First album is bad to the bone! Like you said... it's heavy rock mixed with the energy of punk. 🙂

[@davidmillschills]

Great video Andy, enjoyed it from min 1 to 50! Born in '75 in Germany, the first time I heard VH must have been sth around '84 with Jump. Lookin' back none of my peers really was in VH but Metallica later GnR and other Metal bands. So my exploration of their older stuff was just by myself. I tell you, I wouldn't want to miss a minute of it. I still remember listening to Eruption on my Sony walkman the first time, as a copy of an LP I got from the library. I played that one until the tape got thin. So I had to buy the album eventually. My only regret is that I never saw them live in person. Shame on me!

[@riffmondo9733]

Great episode. Being a teen when this album broke I fully agree with all you have said. He was one of a kind.

[@Composer19691]

Favorite EVH solo: Outta Love Again. Scott Henderson agrees.

[@luciferpantykrist7570]

I love it. And the riff. I used to fill up that last bit of space at the end of a compilation tape with Outta Love Again played at 45 rpm, sounds great. Try it!

[@johnjackson3735]

Thanks for the detailed list of Eddie Van Halen's innovations and impressions of what are your favorite albums. My top 9 favorites are: 1. Van Halen II 2. 1984 3. Van Halen I 4. 5150 5. Fair Warning 6. Women and Children First 7. OU812 8. UnLawful Carnal Knowledge 9. Diver Down

[@discodynamite]

This is a great video ! Believe it or not - i have almost the same ranking of VH albums, but Diver Down is for me on place 4 because of "Hang èm high" !

[@splankhoon]

Saw VH with 'Running With The Devil' on Dutch tv in '78. I was 10. I knew about Zeppelin, Sabbath, Purple but that was something else. D.L.Roth looked like an olympian god and Eddie sounded like someone from outer space. Holland gave us two guitar gods EVH and Jan Akkerman! Great video, Andy. Thanks.

[@7648DEAN]

I absolutely loved this video. Edward Van Halen's influence has become so much of the current and accepted guitar culture, that it's important to remind people that it came from one man. Another interesting innovation he used was tuning his guitar in just intonation rather than equal temperament . It made his chord playing much more in tune than standard equal temperament tuning. He didn't always do this and It didn't work everywhere on the guitar neck so he was careful where he used it but the verse chords on Running With The Devil are a good example.

[@FloatingAnarchy61]

Spot on as usual. I was 17 when the first album came out and it's impact was seismic. I'd been into classic rock and prog but by 1978 had moved away from it, at 17 punk seemed so much more vital and exciting. My mate played me the first album and I was blown away. The opening chords of Running With The Devil and the riff exploding. By the time Eruption came on I thought I was going ro dislocate my jaw, it was like rhe first time I heard Hendrix. I wasn't too keen on a lot of the guitarists that followed in Eddie's wake, the likes of Yngwie Malmsteem etc who I feel sometimes swapped the feel for technique. Although my appreciation for Steve Vai increased a lot after I heard the stuff he did with Zappa. I saw Van Halen at Donnington in 1984 andI was a huge fan of AC/DC who were headlining, I'd seen them when they headlined in 1981 and they were brilliant. Van Halen came on before and tore the place up. Even though it was 40 years ago I can vividly remember Eddie stood on top of an amp running on the spot as he played the intro to Hot For Teacher. Dave was in his pomp and just commanded the stage. There was a big split in the crowd between the more trad rock fans and fans of this new style. There was quite a bit of bottle throwing with Dave offering to come down and kick the culprits ass and 'fuck his girlfriend' which of course I sidn't realise at the time was a well rehearsed line he used often. Most bands wouldn't want to followi AC/DC but that day the boot was on the other foot. They played a great set but it all seemed a bit flat compared to VH. It was like we'd witnessed a changing of the guard.

[@russjenkins5330]

Brilliant!! 👏 👏 👏

[@frankierodriguez8661]

Excellent video Andy. I?m completely biased because I love Van Halen, always did and always will, and definitely, Fair Warning is my favourite album despite the huge success of the first one with Eruption and all, then Eddie, larger than life figure not only about his innovations or new guitar techniques, he was extremely generous and gracious and there are many legendary stories, like the one that Pantera's guitarist, the great Dimebag Darrell was buried with the original Bumblebee Frankenstrat in yellow that Eddie had. Dime loved the guitar and Eddie went to the funerals to say his last goodbye and pay his respects and when asked if it was a copy, he said, only the original for the original, there are many other stories, but you get the idea. Truly a musical genius and one of a kind man. Always in my heart. ❤. About the famous Beat It tune, He exclusively played the solo, just those few bars, but the rest of the fabulous guitar parts of the tune, every single one of them is the work of just another guitar genius, the one and only Steve Lukather. Nevertheless, that solo is of course the stuff of legends. And despite The work with Sammy Hagar is very good, brilliant at times, I agree with you that Van Halen is with David Lee Roth (And Michael Anthony) in their most original, awsome way.. Thern, to finish, Yes, for me Fair warning is the best album. in terms of playing and brutal guitar approach. even the sleeve art is completely brutal our of the charts, on the back is a kid lookig at his own arm completely destroyed... That for me is the one. When I heard Mean Street for the first time it just blew my brains off, still does today despite of these years and the fact that we know how that riff was played.

[@treff9226]

Fair Warning is an aural masterpiece - i have to literally force myself not to play it on a loop!

[@therightrabbit]

You make exellent points, maybe I'll elaborate later. Thanks

[@LorraineHinchliffe-vg5cb]

Eddie Van Halen was a game changer, playing wise, but when it comes to making your own guitar? Brian May is in a class of his own😂 There is a reason that they were great mates. Andy, you must be a Ralph Vierra fan here on You Tube too, regarding Van Hagar😂

[@FundamentalsUK]

Nice one Andy. EVH a true musical Genius , Mean street is incredible 🤟🏻 Fair warning / 1984 my favs

[@ronnelson7828]

I believe Eddie's mother was born in Java.

[@drtone]

Dutch Indonesia

[@siskokidd]

You sure about that account of the Variac use, between the guitar and amp? I always understood it was between the power outlet and the amp itself, to lower the voltage directed into the amp. All references cite this as the case. Similar to a 240 volt Marshall amp set to 120 while playing in Europe. Half the voltage. And I understand he did it to be able to get the Marshall sound he wanted, but output at a lower volume for the clubs he played in, adjusting as needed.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Yes, I stumbled on my words, it goes between the the plug and the amp. Sorry

[@vinylwood]

Great VH video and an awesome tribute and analysis of Eddie Van Halen. Thanks as always for filling my head with info. I was 17 when Van Halen hit the seen and I played them endlessly and with max volume. On a different topic, I purchased Frank ⚡️ Zappa’s Mothermania on your suggestion from that Zappa video you did back a ways. Wow now that’s a hard listen dude. I am very open about different types of music and art and always strive to find new weird original non pop music but this is just stupid blather. I have some later Zappa, some orchestral Zappa plus the immature comic works but have never been big on his musical weirdness. That early Mothers stuff is definitely a lot of uncomfortable noise. Sorry but for me it was a waste of $30 CDN. Oh well not the first time I’ve bought a dud. 😅

[@DarkSideofSynth]

Long live EVH!

[@erikheddergott5514]

The „Effects“ between the Guitar and the Amp are a Sort of Modal Synthesizer System. Adding Positioning on Stage to Master Feedback makes the „Complete“ Guitarplayer.

[@MegaFrancescop]

I agree with everything you said 🤝

[@Klaxet]

Great post, thank you Andy. I actually loved Sammy Hagar era, I think 5150 was a great album.

[@edwardyazinski3858]

Fair Warning numero uno!

[@jimmyjennings4089]

His mother was Indonesian not Phillipino. There is a difference.

[@rightchordleadership]

Correct

[@LorraineHinchliffe-vg5cb]

Really?😂

[@HangTogether2]

I think she was 50% making Eddie 25% Indonesian. There's a difference.

[@kevinhodgson8508]

I saw them open up for Sabbath in '78 at Newcastle City Hall ( UK ) ... Both bands were absolutely phenomenal ( one of the best gigs I've ever witnessed ) ... Alex's double bass drum shuffle stuff is influenced from Carmine Appice's Cactus era as much as Billy Cobham's Quadrant 4 ... The Full Bug and Hang 'em High are absolute belters from Diver Down ( I'm just about to give them a spin ) ... Fair Warning the top album for me .

[@nikonthetube]

I’d add an eleventh moment of genius… the 5150 amp. Changed the sound of metal in the late 90s/early 00s. More gain than you could ever wish for at a reasonable price.

[@seabud6408]

I like Van Halen but love Eddie’s playing, his dynamics, his sound his energy but what I don’t get is why no one ever mentions EVH and Ritchie Blackmore and Deep Purple in the same breath. I just don’t believe that EVH and VH weren’t influenced by the best live hard rock band .. ever. ( Lars of Metallica “Deep Purple were just better than everyone else) I don’t believe that Eddie’s hero & the major influence on his sound was Eric Clapton and not the most obvious suspect Ritchie 🎸 Blackmore. I hear tons of parallels between Ritchie, Purple and Van Halen. The intro to Speed King for a start. Just like the guitar mayhem of eruption transitions into .. “You really got me” by the Kinks, Speed King transitions into Deep Purple’s homage to screaming Little Richard (Featuring Screaming Lord Sutch & The Savages former guitarist .. RB) Then there is the seat of one’s flaming 🔥 pants playing on “Child in Time”, “Flight of the Rat” and “Hard Lovin’ Man” I also hear in Eddie’s playing an amalgam of Jon Lord and Ritchie’s interplay from say 1974’s Burn .. with its blistering solos and arpeggiated classical sections. The tapping .. to me is Eddie’s way of emulating what Deep Purple did with their guitar and keyboard interplay. Eddie was a keyboard player also influenced by European classical music. Blackmore is a JS Bach but. If you listen to the solo from the final track on Burn A200 … if you had never heard of Ritchie and heard that fantastic flowing, soaring swooping 16th note solo, you would think it must be Eddie Van Halen … God! you would say … yet another innovative blistering, genius level solo from the man who was so influenced by ERIC CLAPTON and didn’t think much of Jimi Hendrix. Give me a break. Ask yourself What is missing in this sequence … Clapton, Hendrix, ___?___ , E Van Halen. It’s well known, that a then unknown, Eddie approached Ritchie in the Rainbow 🌈 bar in L.A. around 1976, to tell him how much he loved his playing. Ritchie was dismissive of him, possibly didn’t want to be disturbed .. but Ritchie then went over to him to apologise to him. Eddie didn’t accept his apology. I’ve read three or 4 subsequent interviews with Ritchie where, when asked about new guitarists he likes he would always mention Eddie first and say how great he is. Show me a single interview where EVH ever mentions Ritchie as a player, who was so great and influential on his playing and style of rock … that it made him want to tell him so in person .. years before he was famous? My take? Eddie (who must have known his potential for greatness 🎸 .. though unknown) probably vowed that day, never to mention Ritchie Blackmore as a major influence, if he was ever asked .. should he make it into the same league as Ritchie. Incidentally, there is a video of Ed’ enthusiastically playing the riff from “Flight of the Rat” in his dressing room. Deep Purple/Blackmore/Rainbow in their own way were much more innovative and cutting edge than Van Halen ever were .. great though Eddie and his band are/were . I see it all the time in comments sections about the majors of rock guitar, few ever mention the best hard rock guitarist of his generation .. Ritchie Blackmore. Still alive, pushing 80 … with a vibrant acoustic band and still playing all over the world. Recent gigs in the US .. Europe later this year. No one could play like RB in 1969. No one. No one had his stage presence and incredible showmanship. I saw him at his peak with Purple in 1972 and Rainbow 🌈 in 76. and everything subsequent in the U.K. No other band could have recorded albums as brilliantly diverse as “Concerto for Group and Orchestra” and “Deep Purple in Rock within months of each other in 1969. Hardly anyone knows that Purple outsold everyone on 🌍 from 1973-74 (No1 US Billboard chart) and have sold around 110 million albums. The 23rd studio album is currently being written. Brian May said a few years ago - “No one ever talks about Ritchie … and I don’t know why” … Eddie Van Halen .. the most lauded rock guitarist of the past 40 + years … never mentioned him as a major influence, perhaps that’s why Brian

[@garyh.238]

Well stated. Ritchie has been largely ignored by the mainstream music media.....scared off too many journos. He was a superior guitarist to most of his contemporaries.....Jeff Beck was the only one in Blackmore's league. And everybody raves about Eddie's Eruption solo......Ritchie did huge chunks of that one a full 3 years before Eddie but with alternate picking not tapping....check out his guitar solo on the live version of You Fool No One on the Made in Europe album. Eddie must have heard it a few times.

[@garyh.238]

I have seen it written in a couple of guitar articles to the effect that Ritchie Blackmore was the missing link between Jimi Hendrix and EVH.

[@Mort7an]

The man was a genius. Thanks for this. :)

[@BarbarraBay]

I listened to Diver Down for the first time. Not as compelling as Fair Warning however it shows their growing mastery of their art as musicians; including Eddie occasionally flexing his muscles as the new guitar leader & great. Now for 1984, which i have naturally heard before but i'll give it another chance since my ear is in tune. Lol - its 9.30pm and i'm cleaning windows because i must depart soon.

[@HippoYnYrEira]

Topical! I played one track from the first 5 LPs last weekend. at full blast in the kitchen...... trying to persuade my best mate the exact point of this video. My mate asked "Where's the AC/DC in them?" I was stumped. After playin Mean Street he was unimpressed ! Cue Ain't Talkin Bout Love. He kinda concured but after Little Guitars and Loss of Control I realised what a Futile exercise this was. The Mighty Van Halen are 2% AC/DC. The 98% is all over the spectrum and quintessentially passionate FUN...and you've just explained why. (Oh BöC ?! Buck Dharma 's a great melodic guitarist too.) My mate isn't even a Fan of Jump, so I guess there was no pleasing him. He did agree that "Little Dreamer" was a late 70s Artic Monkeys Classic though. U just Lit Up The Sky Andy! Well Done.

[@jvpresnall]

“Michael Anthony, anchors the band and handles the bass lines with aplomb.” You are eloquent, Andy. Love it

[@jvpresnall]

Many music critics at the time, not all, had a Romantic-almost Rousseauvian-fascination with primitivism. Rock n roll is natural music-the music of the state of nature which is deemed to be pure. So whenever rock musicians demonstrate education, practice, virtuosity-coupled with a knowledge of a variety of forms of music-they are deemed to betray the raw power of rock. They’re overcooked-hence “pretentious.”

[@jvpresnall]

But Van Halen, with its hard rock and DLR, were anything but pretentious despite their sophistication.

[@rakeshadhin]

Yes Andy, please have Ray Gomez on your show! In my book, he's one of the Top 5 jazz-rock guitar players of the 1970s. The others being John McLaughlin, Al Di Meola, Allan Holdsworth and John Goodsall (of Brand X, who's way too underrated).

[@absolutelypositively]

Isn’t it great growing up with guitarists like EVH, FZ. SVai…forgot Hendrix. I don’t think you said the word ‘prog’ on this whole video Andy. Not to get off track, but for the first time ever, today, I listened to King Crimson ‘in the court of the crimson king’ album..3 times! Love it!!! Don’t know why I didn’t buy it in high school when it was always available in record stores. I suppose it scared me. Not nearly as bad as Black Sabbath’s album with that witch who has her eye on you while you’re trying to hide from her in the misty morning woods… yikes. Still gets me.

[@auroraromano7404]

Andy does he says disco killed prog jazz fusion etc. So I heard the word prog once!

[@scottrap]

I was in the live chat yesterday and most of these people knew nothing about VH and didn’t even seem to care? I was about to say “Andy, could you and I just have a chat and we’ll delete these others” lol Yes, I saw VH live on many occasions going back to 1980 so I have a vested interest. It’s because of those shows that I started playing guitar in the first place. His excitement was infectious and he made it look so easy.

[@thelantern9075]

What?! You didn’t mention “I’ll wait” on 1984? Man, that’s my track. The opening is just drippin with vibe. I love VH, probably my favorite tune by them.

[@user-mad7max11dystopia]

All silliness aside Dolly is a true angel on Earth. She does so much for the children and schools of impoverished areas near where she was born. Doesn’t take lots of credit for it just does so much good.

[@lupcokotevski2907]

Great video, Andy. Learnt heaps. For a fantastic treat, see Van Halen 1 played live in track order by Australian session player Simon Hosford and his band Fair Warning at the 2019 Melbourne Guitar Show. Read the comments from a legion of amazed die hard Van Halen fans. The singer is a better vocalist than David Lee Roth, but he ain't no gymnast, but the trousers make up for it.

[@lupcokotevski2907]

Simon has played with Tommy Emmanuel, Virgil Donati and plays in a Racer X cover band.

[@BarbarraBay]

Eddie's mother was Indonesian. Indonesia was formerly a Dutch colony.

[@mesoanarchy]

I love that you used an augmented “Genius” category to include - Frank Zappa. BUT. To short shrift Hendrix’s HANDS and EARS is - well, I don’t even know what adjective to use.

[@douglasanderson8636]

i took a course with top classical guitarist Ben Verdery...who of course is a massiva Eddie fan.

[@delorangeade]

It's not yet April 1st, but I'm not entirely buying this argument. I think it probably makes sense if you are American, the same as a lot of Americans go on about Randy Rhoads, but neither Eddie or Randy meant much in the UK, possibly not on the continent either, and certainly not early enough to influence the NWBHOM in any meaningful way. The majority of players in that movement had established their sounds and styles at an earlier date. Players like Ritchie Blackmore, Michael Schenker and Gary Moore were more important on this side of the pond. I think Dave Murray might have had humbuckers in his black Strat before Eddie's Frankenstrat was built, although he had nowhere near the same impact. So, while I accept that Van Halen was a technical innovator and had a cultural impact that makes him one of the most important musicians of his era. I'm not convinced his musical influence was quite so dramatic. Hair metal isn't much of a legacy, and a musical dead end within a decade.

[@robertwatt4248]

Agree, VH never saved rock as Andy alludes to, certainly not outside the US. As you say, they had no influence on NWOBHM who's players where influenced by the likes of Schenker, Blackmore, Robertson/Gorham et al. Also whilst AC/DC where around, rock didnt need saving!

[@treff9226]

I've yet to see a guitarist of Eddie's caliber make it look so damn easy and natural on stage...EFFORTLESS!🎸🎸🎸🎸

[@gab99]

From what I understand, Eddie's father played local jazz clubs in his time and he was a piano /keyboards guy. Eddie must have heard piano all the time in the house as a kid. Introducing keyboards to VH must have felt natural. Just my thought on it.

[@walterevans2118]

Yes, he wasn’t just a ‘tapper’ with right hand…He was breaking conventions by which the instrument was physically played and expanding the instruments sonic vocabulary. Ed was’nt even using ‘tabs’ to copy like people did with his stuff because he used his EAR to transcribe claptons solos….Also when the Guitar institute of technology were popularising Ed’s techniques they had to invent NEW symbols for which there was no precedent…Yes he used trial and error with gear like potting pickups and it became like ‘trial and success’ …Same with the light dimming Variac… and this was way ahead of manufacturers of the time…He would achieve harmonics in ways others couldn’t or didn’t understand. On the Meanstreet intro people couldn’t understand his paradiddles and alternating fast right hand harmonic taps and left hand fingerings ….making massive octave leaps in very small time frames…When I heard it first in 1981 I didn’t think it was a guitar but some sort of demented alien machine…lol…Edward s ideas were BEYOND tech, they changed the way people saw the instrument….He was impossible to copy before the internet .because you didn’t have sight and sound footage to reveal what he was doing .

[@robertwatt4248]

Could never get past Roth's voice, he scats rather than sings. I think he's why they never reached the stratosphere outside of the USA.

[@g.belanger8302]

Discounting everything after 1984: 6 - DD; 5 - VH2; 4 - W&CF; 3 - 1984; 2 - VH1; 1 - FW

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

That is a pretty fair list, I could have gone with that, Fair Warning is monumental

[@keisi1574]

Now do one with 20 reasons why Van Morrison is a musical genius. 😉

[@thomasrichmond2413]

That would have to be followed by Van der Graf generator.

[@walterevans2118]

The beat it solo was a fantastic manifestation of Edwards ability to make an instrument sound totally unlike his contemporaries at the time (before others were copying and transcribing) Allan Holdsworth was also a genius feeding Edwards technique because Edward would try to copy what Allan did with one hand on the neck Ed would do it with 2….Allan made an instrument you pluck and tap sound like an instrument you blow on like a sax by making the attack on his pick INVISIBLE….Edwards big left hand stretches were influenced by Allan’s technique…Like on the beat it solo and the full bug solo. ….Ed also said that unconsciously he did things on guitar applied to piano….Yes, it wasn’t just the instrument of the guitar…Ed was taking apart the PIANO to make unusual sounds on it by breaking the rules in the same way as on the guitar….Like balance’s ‘strung out’ ….Players like Vai and Sheehan were brilliant players but they were just footnoting Ed’s techniques and weren’t as revolutionary…Roth kind of treated Edward badly and still is after he passed away sadly…Diver Down was too many covers but a lot of eclectic inventions ….on the Little guitars intro he even figured out a way to imitate montoyas classical guitar fingerpicking without using overdubs…Spanish Fly was titled by Edwards DAD he said in an interview…He makes the acoustic guitar sound like a HARP…..Fair Warning was Ed’s innovations firing on all cylinders….apparently he went into the studio with engineer Donn Landee to re record all the solos on hear about it later and unchained with these new crazy ideas and apparently Producer Ted Templeman didn’t even NOTICE they had re done the solos….lol

[@rodgermingaye]

Variac is placed in the main ac cable not between the guitar and the amp

[@muzzmacc6411]

Not to deteact from EVH’s achievements , but Brian May filled his pickups with Araldite to prevent microphonics. It’s impossible to deny Eddies sheer enjoyment in every song.

[@Cutiepies-w1t]

I cannot understand Eddies mind that came up with so many incredible solos.

[@drtone]

Jim Dandy from BOA is the prototype for Dave Roth....it's interesting....not sure if he copied or happen stance

[@YtuserSumone-rl6sw]

When listening carefully to Van Halen music it becomes clear in my living picture how Alex is the one setting the weather, he makes the wind, the clouds and affecting the light and shadows play, while Ed paints the lively scenery. It is definitely an interplay between the two. Had it been some common type of drummer in VH it would have been very different. To me the feel of the music is dependent on both brothers simultaneously. They're like telepathic twins because their iconic grooves are made of the playfulness between eachother. Also, I compare Ed's guitaring to various animal sounds, birds, critters and beasts, as opposed to guitarists before him (Jimi H. stepping into that territory) making their guitars sing in more of a bird and human type of logically explainable structure.

[@michaelmurphy8263]

Great video, but I absolutely dispute the assessment of Women & Children First put forth during the ranking portion. WACF perfectly coalesces everything that the band established on the first two records. It contains classic defining VH staples like And The Cradle Will Rock and Everybody Wants Some, as well as killer deep cuts like Romeo Delight that they would use for a show opener two years later on the 1982 tour. This a completely fearless record with an expansive sound that demonstrates that they clearly knew they were hands down the most badass band on the planet at that moment with zero limitations.

[@Pwecko]

Guitar tab didn't exist in the 1970s? Really? That's strange, because I used it before Van Halen came along. I just looked on Google to see when tab was invented, and it was around 1450. That's the year 1450, not ten to three in the afternoon.

[@ata5855]

you're right, I bet VHI was just as gamechanging as Nevermind. I think VH doesn't get their due because of the backlash that hair metal got after Nevermind. Take away the covers from Diver Down, and you have some amazing music.

[@JohnCollins]

Everyone needs to listen to the immense Joe Rogan podcast with David Lee Roth. What a communicator he is.

[@epiphoney]

Eddie downtuned the B string about 15 cents too for locking in major chords more.

[@tonetone7572]

What has always surprised me about EVH is how he says Clapton influenced him but not Hendrix even saying some borderline negative comments about Hendrix but yet when listening to him i hear more Hendrix influence in his playing and really none of Clapton's. Billy Cox Jimi later bass player said - "There are only two types of guitarists. "Those who admit they were influenced by Jimi Hendrix and those who don't admit it." Unfortunately i think EVH falls into that category of those who don't admit it..

[@colinburroughs9871]

Talking about Eddies guitar playing is fine, but his life story and how totally down he was and getting it back together was the most important part for people to see

[@brianparsa7794]

Van Halen's debut album has to be ranked their best in my opinion. I think that I was negative towards their increased use of keyboards, and also toward Rush's increased use of keyboards when Rush put out their "Signals" album; I felt that both bands had lost their way in a sense. Did any of your mates express similar feelings 40-ish years ago, Andy?

[@augmented2nd666]

Next do Randy Rhoads, as Eddie claims Randy stole Eddie's style, techniques etc, despite Randy playing the way he played prior to hearing Eddie as a rival cover band on the sunset strip. Randy's work on Diary of a Madman, and Revelation, those songs are far beyond anything Eddie ever wrote, not to take anything away from Eddie, and influenced much of the metal community more than Eddie did. Sure Eddie influenced his immediate hair metal counterparts, but I'm talking Randy influenced and continues to influence modern metal, especially his darker textures. Cheers.

[@robertwatt4248]

Randy Rhodes would have left a far greater body of work than EVH had he survived. He was also still learning and progressing whilst EVH remained stagnant.

[@greeng313]

Randy Rhodes was a great player but to me EVH was a level above. Putting aside everything else, his rhythm guitar playing alone is possibly the best there's ever been in the rock genre - particularly that swing thing he does so well. Just my opinion.

[@edwardyazinski3858]

Randy listened to a hell of a lot of Michael Schenker

[@augmented2nd666]

@@robertwatt4248 I consider what he did leave behind, the two Ozzy albums, were still more inspiring to metal than Eddie was, now this isnt really a competition as to who was more metal, I just feel Randy had something that Eddie didnt. Randy blended in Neoclassical type stuff possibly borrowed from Malmsteen and Scorpions, we can only speculate though, cant confirm that, also likely his classical background and teaching at his mother's school helped that, as Randy's use of classical in composition was alot different than say Yngwie or Uli Jon Roth. Randy had a very gothic (like the architecture, not that industrial "goth" punky crap music genre) approach to it composition, the weaving of chords, the classical acoustic guitar parts intertwined with soaring leads. And then theres some of the riffs, such as the pre solo riff in Diary of a Madman, or the breakdown riff at around 5 minutes in Revelation, those riffs alone were so ahead of their time. As for innovations outside the song writing and playing, Randy also left behind a guitar that launched and entire brand, the Jackson guitars have been synonymous with heavy metal ever since the first one was made for Randy by Grover Jackson. The pointy offset V has been a staple in metal bands ever since. Had Randy not asked Grover for a custom pointy V shaped guitar (which Randy drew himself some rough sketches) there might not have been Jackson guitars at all, as Grover was making Charvel's at the time and decided Randy's guitar wouldnt have fit the Charvel lineup so he put his own name on it instead and Jackson guitars was born. For me Randy has always seemed like a bigger influence to metal at least, while Eddie seemed far more rooted in Party Rock, which I'm not really a big fan of, I associate Van Halen music as feeling like ACDC with hair metal tapping bits added in and slightly more complex chord inversion riffs, still party rock through and through, which just doesnt have that essence that I get from Ozzy's first two solo albums, the real dark ethereal sound, although those albums did have their share of party rock sounding stuff too, Crazy Train is pretty jolly, despite having a pretty badass iconic riff. I would say more kids learn the Crazy Train riff than any of Eddie's riffs, not due to difficulty, but due to how Iconic and badass the Crazy Train was and still is, similar to how iconic Sabbath riffs are, or for that matter Deep Purple.

[@robertwatt4248]

An intelligent and well versed overview, couldnt agree with you more! I dont hear much musicality in Eddie's playing!

[@luciusblackwood2640]

Great video! I admit Eddie's long period of inactivity from 1998-2012 made me less of a fan. I got the feeling he couldn't much write songs. I love him and his band though.

[@h.m.7218]

Van Halen (s/t) is not one of my favorites alltime albums, mostly because I'm just not very much into that genre, but it's one of those very popular ones that I get why people love them. Like Supertramp's Even in the quietest moments or Crime of the Century, Wings Band on the Run or even Queen's News of the World. Or The Police albums. Mostly high school memories...

[@bodhisattva3774]

The variac goes between the amp head and speaker cab, not between the guitar and amp.

[@rothwellaudio]

No, it doesn't.

[@bodhisattva3774]

@@rothwellaudio yes it does. I've used them. Have you?

[@drtone]

Vintage Fender trem can stay in tune, its all about getting no hang up at the nut. VH 1 album was done on non locking trem....before he aquired a Floyd Rose

[@BarbarraBay]

listening to Fair Warning for the first time ever. The first song has lots of familiar sounds such as Sabbath and primarily a certain song i cannot identify, maybe a Deep Purple song (i keep asking the questions where have i heard them before). The second song very rockish, very Alice Cooper. Yes, the music is fairly complex rock. The third song is very impressive; the guitar solo is pure effortless magical, so much rhythm despite the speed👍. Push Comes To Shove. Is that Allan Holdsworth? A little Al Di Meola. Beautiful playing. 🌟🌟✨✨Eddie killing it on the next song. 🔥🔥The last song is pure rock; the guitar mesmerizing; its old in flavour but is totally new i final product 😶. I now realize why Andy is emphasizing "rock". I never realized Van Halen made an album as good as Fair Warning. I'm very impressed. Not so much party music & pop songs but some very serious rock! 🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@doctordetroit4339]

EVH didn't like covers, very few artists do. I LOVE Diver Down but EVH said he did not. Templeman made VH do covers, as it was a formula for success. Eruption is a prelude to the Kinks cover You Really Got Me. I love covers if done well, and VH did them very well. VH stopped being VH when Jump came out, not when DLR left. I remember when that song came out and the DJs hated it (along with older fans who hated it too). But the kids and teens and MTV loved it. Keyboards? Really? Glad to have seen EVH play a few times. RIP to a legend.

[@auroraromano7404]

Eddie had a cool innovative sound he came up with and he was very pissed that templenan somehow forced him to use that sound on dancing in the streets

[@edwardyazinski3858]

Agree! Van Halen is with Roth.

[@Swanlord05]

He was a genius also because he did it all Hi as a kite 90 percent of tge time

[@cbolt4492]

A bit nerdy for me all this... Great player and all that but I'm not that into it. Maybe ill give him another chance. Prefer Blackmore 😎

[@sashaames9952]

Remember this? kzbin.info/www/bejne/pqXMgYedo7xoeq8 Interesting you bring up Extreme, where Play with Me was used in the film, but arguably a bit derivative of VH with Nuno's solos the harmonies, etc.. EHV was asked to appear but declined (by the 2020 reboot, he was too ill to appear). Anyway, somewhat of a faux-irony that Gary Cherone joins VH in the late 90s.. Minor point of correction: EHV's mum was Javanese (Indonesian ; also an archipelago in the East)

[@coffeemountain356]

EVH is easily on my rock guitarist Mt Rushmore. That debut album was one of the rare ones in my youth that grabbed every wannabe musician by the scruff of the neck and demanded to be heard. At significant volume! With that said…I could do without the song Jump. I can’t be the only one. The rest of 1984 is brilliant. As is all the Van Hagar discography.

[@amadgoossens4319]

His mother was from Indonesia.

[@thekillingfieldsable]

Thank you Andy.