Alex Van Halen Swings

[@hookipaboy3412]

Mahalo for such an amazing and awesome video breakdown of my favorite drummer Alex Van Halen!!!Aloha from Hawaii🤙🏽

[@switch625.]

Most talented brothers ever.

[@mightyV444]

Wait till my two Sons are ready! 😁😉

[@quarrydoggs4532]

The Abbot brother coming in second.

[@beachcomber4141]

Plus Alex just had his own sound. No drummer sounded like Alex. He is one of those drummers who you can hear and know that it him right away like Bonzo or Mooney. Interesting to hear Everybody Wants Some vs. Panama! Never put that together. I think he tends to get overlooked due to Edwards gigantic impact on the guitar world, but your right. Alex is one of the greatest drummers in rock and roll history. I really hope we get to hear him play more in the future.

[@Kinger1625]

This is a great video! HUGE Alex Van Halen fan!!! I’ve always been a fan of Van Halen since my first experience. I heard Jump when I was 6 or 7 when it came out. So I came in backwards into the 6 pack. I’ve been hooked since. Also second album I heard was F.U.C.K, then 0U812….but then I heard Unchained, then VH 1!!! My lord! This is a great breakdown of the band. There are no bad songs on those first 6 albums! Even later on, the rest of the catalogue and eras still rate higher to me than most bands! Thanks for this!

[@ciadella1971]

Panama starts on the "and of one" which makes it very unique feel wise.😊

[@mvb819]

Nice flex on the Out Of Love solo at the end of the video.

[@ImagineGTAVI]

A band that's deserving of your analysis and I know my attention

[@damianbowyer2018]

Alex is a Tremendous Virtuoso on The Drums and Made Van Halen Stand-out from EVERY Other Band...He and Edward were just incredible together.😊🤘

[@ThemFuzzyMonsters]

He gets overlooked because of the others, but he deserves equal praises!

[@jamiegustkey2573]

Out of love again... Is mint.

[@joehelm6212]

Dude, hell yes. Alex put the party in it as much as the other three if not more so. He has an unmistakable feel and sound, like Miles’ trumpet tone. Just a couple of notes and you know who it is, and you’re glad.

[@titorivera9010]

Dude I love the video the break downs and your facial expressions to the beat!! Awesome !!!! Alex deserves so much respect and admiration .

[@Tecumseh-rx5rn]

Holy shit that was awesome. Alex became my musical hero when I started playing drums in 1986. My appreciation for him has multiplied during those 36 years. That was so much fun to watch. Thanks for posting this.

[@drjohnosterman9681]

GREAT...........thank you AVH is the best always has been he had all the great forefathers and laid it all down better than anyone..

[@jamescotner2459]

Yes Hang ‘em high rules. A favorite

[@birkbolins9654]

Thank you so much for analysing the rhythmic styles of one of the greatest rock drummers in history

[@briangomez6111]

First video I’ve ever seen of this channel and I’m hooked. You did Alex justice man, love how much you got into this! I’m geeking out right there with ya at 2am

[@BrandonRussMedium]

Great editing!!!

[@edfromchicago]

Thank you for this

[@wayne3340]

It's difficult to find a commentary on Alex's playing. They usually focus on hot for teacher too much. I find him to be an incredible talent, very unique and hard to copy. Subscribed!

[@arniecap]

An absolutely perfect insight into Rock’s most prolific drummer. You’re right that Eddie’s guitar gymnastics stole the attention. But Alex was as talented, if not more, on his instrument as Eddie. Insane rhythm and coordination.

[@5150show]

Amazing Vid bro , thank you so much - Andrew from Hamilton

[@francapitanelli9775]

5150 show rules and rules all! 🤘👊

[@kottmeier]

This was a joy, thank you!

[@lgmnowkondo938]

Damn he's good...he and Eddie swing like no other duo in the history of rock'n'roll!!

[@ThemFuzzyMonsters]

Frank Beard is a groove machine. Awesome double bass skills sprinkled all over the early ZZTop records. Definitely under appreciated drummer.

[@ericblom9568]

THE HEROIN MIGHT HAVE HAD A BIT TO DO WITH IT.....

[@turnyernie]

The Reverend Alex Van Halen is why I decided to start becoming a drummer. Never could get to his level of skill and sound. Much respect, Al. BTW, I always wanted a gong I could light on fire

[@SteveJones379]

WOW Fran! with all that in your head....you must have been spinning for sure!! ☮

[@johnbaxter533]

I play guitar and drums. I was pretty decent on both back in the day. I could do a lot of eddies tricks on guitar. Andi could play most of the songs on drums. But the stuff Alex did live during his drum solos always blew me completely away. I couldn't even begin to wrap my mind around it, much less actually play it. Live right here right now, pleasure dome is a perfect example the RLR LRL RLR LRL pattern he plays with his feet, playing cymbals only with his right hand and drums only with his left hand... His coordination is mind boggling. And you know a lot of it is purely spontaneous, completely improvised right there on the spot, right there, right then. Drum solo was the highlight of the concert. In my opinion. I saw them 8 times. Axes blew me away each time. Fabulous drummer

[@timsears951]

Top Alex cooks , top Alex swings , he gt the the looks top Alex is king!!!

[@fab.silva1119]

Awesome video!!!

[@andreweagland4702]

Dude love the pure energy of Alex never noticed it before quite this way great video man I enjoyed it ✌️ VH for life

[@NelsonRodriguez_]

great stuff man peace from California

[@michaelfurey1970]

Really nice job dissecting AVH's playing on these tracks. His double-bass playing was superlative. He could boogie, shuffle and even play rudiments with his feet. As you said, he was really the perfect compliment to Eddie's playing style and energy. After Bonham, no rock drummer in AVH's generation or the one that he inspired could touch him. Hope he and Wolf can put together a tribute just to see him rip through those tunes one more time. Hope you get to 1000 soon...

[@brianvejins792]

Top stuff mate...!

[@tannrrsmiddy]

= thanks 4 the share !!! AL IS MY PAL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@francapitanelli9775]

Right On! Thanks

[@sidewards357]

This is the best channel in the history of the cosmos

[@francapitanelli9775]

🤘🤘🤘🤘!!! THANKS

[@stephenjones7077]

Fran, you have articulated what so many of us know but haven't or couldn't break down. Remove Alex from Van Halen and the signature sound of the band collapses. Pulling Frank Beard influences along with pinpointing classic swing influences is fantastic! Alex distilled all of his influences into his own swinging style and there is absolutely no-one like him. So many double kick players sound like a metronome but Alex used it to propel the a killer boogie/swing element and you isolated that so well. We want part 2 at some point! Thanks for drawing attention to one of the two best rock players of all time. Alex and Bonham stand alone for me at the top of the heap.

[@mightyV444]

Awesome video, Fran! thank you for that! 😃👍 I drum, too (and also play bass and guitar), and Alex has been one of my favourite drummers since I'd first heard him when I was 9, in '79, thanks to my then 23-year-old Big Bro 😊 So cool to hear all those isolated drum tracks in your video, which is a first for me, too! 😁 All the best from NZ! 😊

[@normpeters2341]

Loved watching this video you did a great job. I’m normally surfing KZbin looking for as much Edward stuff as I can find but this Alex swing thing you did is priceless I agree John Bonham and Alex are the best rock drummers of all time no disrespect to Neil Peart but to me it’s all about the funk and the groove

[@edwardblack9680]

Fran, you nailed it with the AC/DC comparison on “Panama”. They came up with that intro by playing AC/DC’s “Dog Eat Dog” backwards. Dave and Eddie used to do that in order to pick up ideas.

[@webbvandiver9139]

Love the drum beats mash up! Stellar. Mean St video is the best. I struggle to play it that smooth n powerful. Love ur channel. I’m fckin hooked! Plz don’t stop posting. We have very similar tastes in music. I’m a 54 yr old, 35 yr drummer. 350+ gigs. Still do it occasionally. Headlining Variety playhouse in Jan ‘24!

[@francapitanelli9775]

I love playing the Variety. Always a gift. Enjoy. Thanks for post 👊

[@todd2683]

Great great video. Reliving my youth with such channels.

[@valeriemilano2530]

Insanely talented man. I was very happy the year we dated - he always went to sleep listening to Rush and others - mostly Rush

[@francapitanelli9775]

Oh that's super cool

[@valeriemilano2530]

@@francapitanelli9775 You have done a wonderful job on this video. Thank you for sharing it

[@todd2683]

Wow. Nice to hear

[@safetysteve1314]

Absofuckinglutely love the isolated tracks of AVH and wish I could hear more. Thanks for ALL of your video and and I love the ways you do the digital mashups. Keep ‘em coming please

[@rickknutson6540]

The one thing I found cool was that he read music I was on the set of finish what you started video shoot where most drummers would wing it before hand he wrote out his drum part on cue cards and play that part note for note

[@odgeUK]

24:45 - NAILED IT

[@TacomaGraphicArtist]

This doesn't really get said enough, but Alex's playing was really a big inspiration for Eddie. He followed Al and it was mentioned in the book "Eruption - Conversations with Edward Van Halen" that Al was really Edwards muse and they just fed off of each other. Not to say that EVH would not have been as successful without Al but Al certainly played a key role

[@francapitanelli9775]

Absolutely! They are constantly driving each other to new places

[@mattmasonoklahoma]

great video!

[@bcancun123]

Awesome breakdown of Alex drumming! New Subscriber

[@francapitanelli9775]

Thanks for the sub!

[@daveyboy8907]

Great video..The best one I've seen on Alex.

[@wayne3340]

I had to make another comment. It's really rare for me to find anyone saying positive things about Alex Van Halen. He's right up there in my favorites with Ian Paice, Bonzo, Cozy Powell, Porcaro and Copeland. You're the first guy I heard put him right on top with Bonham. Thank you! He's not only a really difficult drummer for me to emulate, but I always felt he was immensely talented, and had such an amazing feel!

[@buckseedamerica2743]

You are a trip, Fran...and I hope you get to 1000. Alex has aways been in the background with the drums, in the way Carmine Appice has with many band he was with during the 60's, 70's and 80's. Both are fun great drummers. Thanks for the video and keep up the good work, Black Widow!

[@chriswojtal9740]

Great stuff as usual, Fran. 🤘

[@Sjavik]

‘ve seen this video many times. Nail on the head and good academic analyses. Though with passion, humor and the surreal aspect of Capitanellis way of comunication! So entertaining, engaging and recognizeble on my behalf. Thank you, Cap’ 😊

[@francapitanelli9775]

Wow, thank you! 🤘🤘

[@smokesreefer9417]

I'm from the 80s. I was 10 in 1988

[@acemechanical275]

Thank you!!! I’ve been telling people for years, AVH is one of the only hard rock drummers that ALWAYS swings.

[@sticksandbones6987]

Back in 86 when Roth went solo, me and my band at the time were guests of his (Roths) backstage after the show and we were all hanging out. I asked "Diamond" Dave what advise he might give to us and he said point blank to me "Steal. Steal everything you can and make it your own." He then went on to give us a verbal list of all the Van Halen songs that were direct rip-offs (his words) of Beach Boys, ZZTOP!!!, and some other bands tunes. I wish I could remember what the examples were because he flat out told us what was from what... But I can't. It was 36 years and how many fuckin beers ago???... Millions??? LOL! Ahhhh... memories and youth. Anyway, yes... Alex is one of the GOAT's. No-One will ever take that away from him.

[@ronniecapitanelli3729]

Fran ..!! Way To Nail The “Outta Love” Guitar Solo At The End Man ..! That Was Awesome..! With My Eyes Closed I Thought It Was Eddie ..! Swear To God 🙌🏻 Ok ..Let Me Re-Group Here Because This Is Suppose To Be About Alex * Yes, No Doubt “Beautiful Girls” Is A Great Example Of That “Swing” Type Shuffle Drumming That Alex So Masterfully Exhibits, And Its Amazing How His Style Of Playing Totally Complements What ROLLING STONE Magazine Once Described VAN HALEN As: THUD ROCKS TWO HEADED MONSTER ~ 5 STAR VIDEO ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

[@dannyholloway2007]

He is definitely one of the greatest and belongs in the top 5 greatest rock drummers of all time. In no particular order I say Alex VH, Neil Peart, Stuart Copeland, Keith Moon, and Jon Bonham are the best.

[@mightyV444]

The first three you mentioned are also my three all-time favourite drummers! 😊👍

[@brianallen8091]

Leonard Haze is up there as well

[@MackArelius]

Great video. Great to see alex getting his recognition wich seemed to be lacking during van halens early years, he's easily one of the very best.

[@elizabethdemchuk83]

Another awesome video! 💕

[@michaelmarino5025]

awesome breakdown, dude!

[@CVGuitar]

Great video Fran! Super cool to see AVH getting some recognition -- as awesome as Edward was, having his brother backing him up and pushing him is a huge part of why EVH was so successful and innovative and energetic

[@redsed1565]

Great doco on AVH. There should be about this Legend! Great work Fran!

[@crazyoldgooseman]

The change of the drums during the jump solo is so strange and cool? How did they think of that? Thanks for posting all these cool examples!

[@mightyV444]

I'd always been wondering about that myself! It did make a bit more sense to me after watching Rick Beato's 'What Makes This Song Great' episode about the song, when he plays that part with the actual solo muted and it's clearer to hear how Alex plays around the synths' rhythm 🙂

[@trismahaffay2813]

BEST! video that's ever been done on Alex, Thanks for doin this. You nailed it. It's always about that swing. I wanted to add Troy luccketta of Tesla knows the important to swing as well. You feel that pendulum swing.

[@tylerpaps4137]

Whats up brother. Alex VH in my opinion is one of the best rock drummers ever. He and Edward both had that innate ability to swing. I loved the sound of Alex's snare. I could identify it immediately if it was in a "line up". While I am a guitarist, nice very close N for N on the outta love solo by the way, I've always been super stoked at the way Alex swung and kept it all together. All the tasty little fills, just like his little brother, all just came so naturally and fit and flowed perfectly. Thanks for a good analysis on Alex Van Halens ability to swing. Well done. I have subscribed and good luck with the channel bro. I look forward to more videos. Later. Spencer

[@chriscollesano8463]

Great job man!. I’ve always said that the music has a vaudeville-ish big band sound to it. You could take any one of their songs and have a big band play to it and it would sound almost identical. Definitely influenced by their father and I believe David lee RothWith all his dazzle and vaudeville ways fit the band perfect

[@redsed1565]

Pleasure Dome was another unique drum beat with the constant 3 kick throughout the whole song!

[@WyattLite-n-inn]

You’re right , man!!

[@mightyV444]

And I also wanted to add: 'I'm The One' has been my least-favourite song off the 'Van Halen I' album, but after hearing the drums by themselves, I found some new appreciation for it 😊👍 And 'Diver Down' is my favourite VH album, despite half of the songs being covers; But the originals being very strong is making up for that for me 😁 Stewart Copeland is another drummer who comes to _my_ mind in regards to the off-beat bass drum thing (just slower 😉); Another favourite drummer of mine, for just as long as Alex has been 😃

[@fab.silva1119]

Hey dude, I dig your take on things. Curious, are you a drummer? As a guitar player, “I’m the One” is part of my VH holy grail. Girl Gone Bad is my other tune. What did you dislike about ITO… sincerely. This is not me trolling - just curious

[@mightyV444]

Hi @@fab.silva1119! 😀 Yes, I'm a drummer myself. And Alex has been one of my favourite drummers since '79 🙂 I think I don't much like 'I'm The One' because of its general vibe!? I'm not entirely sure and can't really put my finger on it. No offense to anyone who _does_ like the song, though! 😉 I'm also not a big fan of the 'Women And Children First' album, because it sounds so 'all over the place' to me, like it hadn't been properly composed. And that clip of 'Loss Of Control' with the isolated drums and only the guitar audible in the background is sooo much better than the proper version (to me)! 😆

[@fab.silva1119]

@@mightyV444 right on. I can respect that. Oddly, I feel exactly the same way about WACF. Great record but my least favorite of the six.

[@mightyV444]

@@fab.silva1119 - 😊👍 Yeah, same for me, too; A friend had copied 'WACF' on tape for me somewhere in the 90's, and I hadn't much liked it already then and after the first play. So I revisited it only last year - and *still* was left with a feeling of "What the heck did I just listen to?!?" 😄 I mean, it's not an entirely bad album per sé, but there are only very few truly great moments on it, for my taste. And you won't believe it: To this day, I've never ever listened to 'VH II' in its entirety! I don't know why - It's an absolutely strange phenomenon! 😆

[@fab.silva1119]

@@mightyV444 dude! You have to listen to VHII. It’s a killer album.

[@BRADSLINKMAN]

Please do a video for the Hagar years. Cherone too. Thank you !

[@skinner5334]

Splendid presentation my friend. W🌞W⚡️

[@roertsgrooters-mf2oy]

Alex bustin it so much heart ♥

[@pazzo5150]

This was great this guy has some valuable insight.

[@topfacemod]

I've heard it called "Teeth Metal" as per the smiling.

[@johnrsavel]

I would think the double bass in I'm the one is rlrl not rrll. But who knows what he did.

[@drum1972]

Agreed, it's not rrll.

[@mightyV444]

Don't forget, guys: Alex plays *4* bass drums! So it's actually R - L - _far_ R - _far_ L ! 🤪 😄

[@bigduke5150]

Tick Boom! Great post, Cheers!

[@allenlocke1935]

Wow!!! This was sooo cool! Thank you:)

[@mightyV444]

PS: 25:00 - Yes, the weird rhythm during the 'Jump!' guitar solo being _one_ of those many other parts not being discussed here! 😄😉 I have actually always been able to drum along to it, ever since that song was released, but I *still* don't actually know what really is going on there rhythmically! 😂 Speaking of "solo", *you* seem to be quite fit on the guitar yourself, Fran! Wow! 👏😀

[@angelozararis8096]

Alex you one bad mf. Thank you for all great music. Plus I play because of you.

[@bobc.5698]

Can you put out a vid of all of Alex's isolated drums?

[@francapitanelli9775]

Most of them are already on youtube

[@fernandomartincom]

Thank you so much for this 🙏🏼

[@DeanWThomas]

Great video! Thank you.

[@F.S.111]

Cool video thought was having a flashback from my teen years lol. Love VH and always been huge Alex VH fan. I’m a drummer and he’s seriously underrated imo.

[@intertubicular]

I have loved Alex's drumming since I heard him play on the first VH album. Absolutely incredible drummer. I play drums. People ask me who my biggest influence and favorite drummer is. Alex Van Halen is my answer every time. There are so many very talented drummers in this world, past and present but Alex is so unique and powerful. A lot of people don't even realize how freaking good he was and is! Alex was a Beast......way before Beast was a nod in drumming terminology.

[@warrenyoung7503]

On their last album the song blood and fire Alex has such a incredible groove going too. He’s so underrated definitely too 5 Rick drummers in my opinion.

[@topfacemod]

Subbed and happy to oblige!!!

[@francapitanelli9775]

🤘👊 Appreciate it

[@lgmnowkondo938]

And then you blaze off the solo to Outta Love Again...dude, more VH Videos, please :)!

[@IanMcPhersonTIOOS]

This is such an awesome video. Thanks for doing it! Love your channel.

[@francapitanelli9775]

Thanks this made my day

[@IanMcPhersonTIOOS]

@@francapitanelli9775 You're welcome. You really know your music - I love your insights, like on the "missing" beats, etc., on Stones numbers :D - and you know how to make it really entertaining!

[@TheAxe4Ever]

I was hanging out a while back with some musician buddies of mine. A bass player, a couple guitar players and a couple drummers. We were talking about some of our favorite musicians. When the subject of drummers came up and we started asking who our favorite drummers were, everyone said all of the standard answers. John Bonham. Neil Peart etc. Then I said those were all great choices. But one of my all time favorites was Alex Van Halen. At first they looked at me funny, then they stopped and thought about it when I started naming off some of Alex’s best work. When I mentioned Outta Love and how it swings, grooves and even has some jazz licks, every one of them said “Hell yeah! Awesome pick!” Alex definitely has some Ginger Baker influence. Not to mention he has his own sound and attack. You KNOW it’s Alex!

[@prog1962]

Their succes is really the influence of California.I´m Dutch and i´m sure they would have become musicians in the Netherlands but in the US they could become the band as we know

[@adrianlyord5300]

Awesome presentation coming from the guitarist point of view and enjoyed it ! Good luck on your journey on You Tube and I did subscribe to your channel as well!

[@philgs1]

Love your facial expressions !

[@nathangunter7532]

Great job on your video dude! Absolutely thoroughly enjoyed watching it !

[@francapitanelli9775]

🤘🤘

[@chaosmusician]

I love it, man. Subbed, shared with other musician weirdos.

[@timsears951]

Beautiful Girls is a great example of Alex swinging it ,,,agree with other posts as well that Alex had his own sound , very unigue and recognizeable

[@GLHS592]

I have never understood why Alex isn't typically mentioned amongst the greatest rock n roll drummers. In fact, I hear people talk about how Alex is average or that he isn't that good. What are those people hearing? Alex consistently played amazing drum licks. I find some of his fills and combinations as amazing as his brother's playing on the guitar. I wouldn't call Alex Van Halen the greatest drummer who ever lived, but he is definitely top 5.

[@acemechanical275]

Yeah, those are the same people who don’t know how exceptional Michael Anthony is.

[@brianallen8091]

Those clowns are either non drummers, or average at best. They don’t actually LISTEN to what AVH(or anyone) is actually doing-they just use the same tired “the best ever are Bohnam or Peart” declarations. Those guys were phenomenal, but so was AVH. For example, when AVH is mentioned as one of the best usually someone always slaps that down with, nah Neil Peart. I counter with “listen to those fast doubles on Loss of Control & show me ANY Rush tune where Neil played solid doubles, let alone fast doubles(when, apart from Phillips, Powell & Binks, not many at all did that back then). They can’t, because even Neil has on record saying he only used doubles for fills & soloing(lazy left foot). Most of these dudes also are the ones who say that Hot for Teacher is not that difficult-while they totally bombed out on what AVH does on the ride while doing the shuffle on doubles. Lame-O’s 😂

[@philgs1]

Awesome review dude ! Shared with my friends

[@paulgiacalone4471]

Awesome video , thanks for your work . Please do the Hagar years too.

[@baybae92]

That intro was sick dude!!