The Importance of Alex Van Halen. Alice Cooper drummer Glen Sobel explains. Sunset Sound Roundtable

[@automatics1im]

Few seem to make the connection that Alex and Eddie’s father, Jan, was a jazz musician. It’s reasonable to think there might have been a lot of jazz records played in the Van Halen house when they were young and that’s where the swing comes from. The Van Halen Bros. were the Everly Bros. of rhythm.

[@michaelturner6030]

This...and that's a connection that became more apparent as I got older. It's hard to make a big sounding kit swing, but AVH did it.

[@StevenMikel1]

I've thought that for a while.

[@geneb.9619]

How well said..VH WAS THE EVERLY BROTHERS OF RHYTHM..KIETH LOVED THE EVERLY BROTHERS..ED AND AL'S AND MICHAEL RHYTHM was extremely overlooked because the press had to focus on Ed's lead work..THERE RHYTHM WAS AS UNIQUE AS THE TAPPING..WE WRE SO BLESSED TO HAVE AS LL OF THEM IN OUR LIVES..I GREW UP IN ARCADIA CALIFORNIA, the town where mikes family grew up..Mikes f amily was also very musical..one more note..AL , ED AND MIKE ARE SOME OF THE NICEST PEOPLE.

[@walterevans2118]

Exactly...In Alex swing was JAZZ influence.

[@MrPercussionPete]

That's it man. Jan van Halen was a jazz clarinet player in Holland during the 50's. One of the bands he played in were touring in Indonesia, a former Dutch colony. That's were he met his wife, the mother of Ed & Al. Early 60's they emigrated to California, and the rest is history. It's an amazing story...

[@paulgiacalone4471]

Alex a fantastic drummer and musician. Very creative and musical .one of the greatest in rock history. He makes rock swing

[@saltykrug]

I agree with Glenn Sobel so much that records these days sound so cold and digital. I miss the tape recording days. It's why albums sound so fucking awesome.

[@jeffsheridan9910]

Agreed! Alex Van Halen is one of the best ever.

[@greyman334]

I took my son to see Alice Cooper and Motley Crue on the last tour in Bangor ME. Tommy Lee's wrist was acting up so he couldn't play drums (he did come out and play piano). Glen played Alice Coopers set and then he played with Motley Crue. It was awesome. Glen is a machine!

[@F.S.111]

Outta love again and loss control are both nuts. Like one long from fill!!! I’m a drummer and that stuff is hard.

[@anthonypowell6234]

So much swing (Sinner's Swing, etc...) brought in by the brothers, and the band as a whole.

[@dspencer1201]

Thanks to their playing with their father Jan and growing up with his big band music.

[@richardkey4289]

Alex's sound is instantly recognised. So rich & warm . & In any other hand he would be a stand out source of rhythm, chops,but he holds down the best of the mighty V H underrated

[@richardrenner4875]

Alex mastered sparing, spaced, but perfect drum breaks. Listen to On Fire [among endless others], nothing of excess, but tasty breaks, that stay in the mind of non-drummers, which demonstrate how effective a break is. Just like the opening, beyond simple bass line of Running With The Devil, it just stays in the head. I call all these things the brilliance of simplicity. But it has to be done right. Alex did this a lot.

[@bruceniblett959]

Alex is my fave rock drummer, and obviously the leader of Van Halen. I said that and people laughed, but Wolf said that last week.

[@jomojojo6603]

Van Halen has the 2nd biggest frontman and 2nd biggest guitarist of all time...but Alex was the leader? O...k...a...y...

[@bruceniblett959]

@@jomojojo6603 and his prodigy son states that. The next Dave Grohl. I think Wolf knows a bit more than you. Just a guess

[@jomojojo6603]

@@bruceniblett959 and the prodigy son might have a biased opinion. Just sayin'.

[@bruceniblett959]

@@jomojojo6603 about his Uncle Lol

[@bruceniblett959]

Like he would purposely dis Eddie. Ridiculous. If you ever watch VH interviews Alex is quiet. He occasionally speaks and Eddie nods. That coupled with Wolf explicitly saying Alex was the leader is silly. Like he made it up because he's also a drummer?

[@fab.silva1119]

Great interview. Seems like someone’s a serious AVH fan. RIGHT ON!!!

[@mikewallace1270]

Fair warning hands down. But I also agree with Glenn that diver-down is a fantastic album. I absolutely love it!

[@TruthSurge]

4:30 just a comment made from ignorance. The whole "analog > digital" ideas died off long ago among intelligent people who understand why early digital stuff sounded less warm. It wasn't a fault of digital. It was the fault of not understanding how to make warm sounds prior to the recording. The whole point is to capture the sounds made with ABSOLUTE CLARITY so that in the MIX process you can either A) keep them clean or B) F them up. You just have to have an understanding that if you want grit, you'll need to add that in the mix process.

[@MagnumMuscle1000]

Alex has a unique sense of time that locks in with Eddie that no one else could replicate. His early playing has a wild, unbridled quality that always seems ready to fall apart, but never does. His fills are always odd and unique and you just know it's Alex playing.

[@rhaastaa]

Pantera did it.

[@david25876]

Stewart Copeland had that very unique style as well. Both very hard or impossible to copy.

[@TheCjbowman]

Love his riffs in "Outta Love", man, just killer. 🤘😎

[@bear5141]

Alex is so underrated when it comes to drumming he did for drumming what his brother did for guitars always experimenting and trying new things and at the end of the day look at the music they made it's amazing they're both equally the greatest at their craft. 🤘

[@deebop4904]

Yeah, he sold 100 million records. Hes been in drum mags for 50 years. Old out stadiums for decades. I think you need to recalibrate your brain, or maybe your 18 years old, and dont know anything

[@bear5141]

@@deebop4904 not 18 I was around when they first album came out and he doesn't get enough credit when people talk about great drummers you never hear his name mentioned for some reason you must be seeing something that I haven't seen in 50 years and they sold out stadiums so maybe you're the one that's 18.

[@ArloTarr]

I needed this interview. Gotta groove the tunes!

[@warrenyoung7503]

The opening drum part of everybody wants some to me is so incredible. I’ve never heard anyone else make it sound like he does. Some of his playing is so melodic and just flows like the last album the song Blood and fire pure brilliannce

[@PNW_Sportbike_Life]

I love drumming along with "On Fire." Alex has given us a ton of rad licks over the years and is definitely an underrated drummer. Great insight and commentary guys!

[@armandomorenotherevival7827]

Eddie and Alex really prided balance on that drum mix

[@kevinwilkins3248]

Yes! I love that Loss Of Control is finally getting some love. My all time favorite AVH drum track. The synchronicity between he and Ed on LOC is off the charts. I wish they had continued doing "weird" off the wall stuff like that. Hard to believe in just 6 years they would be doing paint by numbers pop tracks like WCTBL and LWI.

[@Monsterdrumma]

Alex is totally underrated at least from people I have heard around Michigan anyway. I love Alex’s drumming and of course he is one of my favorite rock drummers ever! I love his feel on the dirty movies intro, great mention!

[@jeffsmall4947]

Yeah that intro to Dirty Movies is pretty cool !

[@tasteapiana]

Music was the only social constant in the lives of the Van Halen brothers. It makes total sense that Alex absorbed, really let it sink down to his inner being, all the nuances of rhythms and grooves he was exposed to. He and Eddie showed time and time again that they really got the vibe and feel of everything from the big band stuff of the 1940s (that genre's influence is all over the first album, especially in Ed's solos - listen back to the phrasing on Ice Cream Man) to the blues that echoed back to the US from England in the 1960s to Motown Pop and R&B and then the funk of groups like Tower of Power. Those two kids' brains were swimming in language issues, cultural issues, family ethnic/racial issues, all the stuff that most kids get to take for granted was super topsy-turvy in Alex and Edward's psyches so it stands to reason that they paid twice the attention to what was going on in the music they got to hear because it was the only thing that ALWAYS made sense to them both. Alex could go from a Bonham thing to a raunchy Latino headchopper (Jamie's cryin) and then on to a fusion jazz/rock (Outta Love Again) and not one single beat sounded artificial, posed or uncomfortable. That's not just drumming skills, y'all, that's LIFE skills. Alex had his musical head together and that is not something that can be taught, that has to be lived, it is literally a way of life. The most underappreciated aspect of those first 6 albums with Dave is that you FEEL a pulse with every song. Stand 5 blocks away from someone cranking VH2 and there's an unmistakable pulse - even though you can't make out individual hits or notes, the whole thing has a flow to it. You can't study or practice how to manufacture that, that's something that comes from DEEP within the psyche and Van Halen was the only band of that period who had that consistently. Other bands had it for one, maybe two, tracks per album, VH had it on every track and the largest contributor to that aspect of the group was Alex, period.

[@walterevans2118]

Yes. Rhythm is fundamental & instinctual.

[@rhaastaa]

It was Roth that is responsible for the vaudeville stuff

[@walterevans2118]

Tasteapiana......Yes,,,In interviews Alex spoke of Van Halen not just being music but a state of mind & a lifestyle. And how that develops & affects the music. Which would chime in very well with what you are saying here....Yes , Alex was extraordinary.and a lot of these things cannot be taught on a syllabus at a music institute.....& as a unit Eddie & Alex were like ONE. They were like E.S.P

[@recabitejehonadab2654]

Glen is so insightful and smart.

[@darinb7966]

Nice discussion on a very worthy band member. He was my Idol in the 80's when I first got W.A.C.F. Fools is my fav.

[@richevans609]

I would be at the show and I would watch Alex for a whole song. I would just freeze! Alex was unreal. ❤

[@chrisstanley81]

Alex Van Halen is equally talented as Eddie, there is no better than between them two, Eddie was guitar God. Alex is drum God. Period.......and David Lee Roth was the ultimate, and only mega frontman...!

[@kensurrency2564]

And Mike has the best vocal harmonies in rock n roll. By far.

[@chrisstanley81]

@@kensurrency2564 excellent and valid point, I agree.

[@kevinwilkins3248]

Original Classic Van Halen was about as perfect of a band as we will ever see.

[@LIGHTintheHALLS]

Alex is an instantly recognizable, legendary sound.

[@Gregor9043]

Alex was my main influence, I always wondered why more people don't mention him. Best rock shuffle player next to Frank Beard.

[@TheKitchenerLeslie]

Light Up The Sky has some great tricks in it. He fools you into thinking the song is about to get quiet at one point, and at another point, he fools you into thinking the song is over.

[@smitty1371]

Outta love again 👍🏼 …amazing solo too

[@hookipaboy3412]

Alex Van Halen was to the drums what his brother Eddie Van Halen was to the guitar, my favorite drummer of all time!Aloha from Hawaii🤙🏽

[@JS-fd2xx]

Great video! Yeah, "Loss of Control" is awesome. As far as Women and Children First goes, "Everybody Want Some" with Alex's jungle rythyms is the song that made me become such a huge Van Halen fan to begin with. Yes "Dirty Movies" is great. On Fair Warning I always enjoy Alex's solo on "Saturday Afternoon In the Park". I wanted to say that I believe that "Girl Gone Bad" on 1984 is Alex Van Halen's finest piece of work. It is one of the most underrated and least talked about VH songs and gets overlooked by other songs on that album like "Hot For Teacher" where Alex really dominated. I would love to urge all Van Halen fans to go back and check out "Girl Gone Bad" and even focus on the drumming. This is the John Bonham explosiveness you hear from AVH. Thanks.

[@LongDrivesAtNight5150]

Unless I have missed it, I never hear fans and other drummers mention Alex's sound on For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. Back in the day, I read several interviews with Alex where he said he loved the sound he got on that album and especially working with producer Andy Johns. Alex described his sound as "woody" and thick on that album. On a song like Pleasure Dome...wow, what awesome playing by Alex. I love all VH albums, been a die hard fan for years.

[@Roundtablewithdrew]

🔥

[@ffokcuf2039]

Alex is a killer drummer.. always loved his drumming style

[@MrPeter924]

Great lnterview

[@ludwigdrummer7802]

So in Greg Renoff's book "Van Halen Rising" I read that before Roth joined the band that Edward and Alex used to play some of or all the tracks from the album "Spectrum" by Billy Cobham. I am a drummer and bought that album years ago. I always thought especially after reading VHR that Alex Van Halen got the double bass shuffle from listening to that record. However, it turns out Alex got the idea from a band called cactus and a song called "Parchment Farm". To my knowledge that is the first time the fast double bass shuffle was ever recorded. Edward and Alex used to play that song also.

[@walterevans2118]

GREAT insights here from Glen ....Thanks for this folks.....Yes, I think that Alex was SO jazz influenced & this was for TWO reasons.....One was GINGER BAKER (who always considered himself to be a JAZZ drummer & even for Cream to have been a JAZZ band) and two because of Alex & Ed's FATHER JAN who would practice for hours when they were kids with that SWING in his clarinet phrasings.....You can certainly hear that SWING in I'm the One, Full Bug, etc.....Hot For Teacher was an interesting take on the Jazz swing with its Simmons Drums 'Drag Racer engine' sound....lol...I always found Alex's drum sound to be much more powerful LIVE than on the first two albums when I heard it, though the people at Sunset did a great job capturing Alex's snare tone. Alex & Don & Ted worked very hard on Alex's snare tone with that organic sounding honk/toonk 'brown' sound. Actually it was Alex who originated the term 'brown' sound for his drums (snare) before Ed was applying it to guitar...Alex used it as a euphemism for TONE (like beating a log of wood rather than clanking cinderblock) One being pleasant to the ear, the other not....Out of Love Again was incorporated into Alex's live drum solo in 2007 & actually include Jazz orchestral accompaniment ...........Floor Toms on Push Comes to Shove made that groove. Actually, for Alex floor Toms could be a 'happy accident' in creating stuff as was the case of the first drum fill in 'I'll Wait' ...That was an 'on the hoof' which was kept...Totally agree with Glen here about Pro-Tools involving a departure from the sonic grainy-ness of the way things were previously done. The way Pro Tools 'too perfect' recording & indeed editing can homogenize what we are hearing & making it too clinical....Its strange how some technological developments which at first glance can be seen as 'progress' can in fact eliminate NUANCE which is necessary for the INDIVIDUALITY of the musician....All this digital 'Binary' creating a set homogenized 'floor map' with the subtle organic sand being drained and lost between the binary cracks.

[@davidmel2158]

Then there’s the bombastic ROMEO’S DELIGHT, the swing of SECRETS & of course the HOT FOR TEACHER intro.

[@thomascullenjr544]

What’s funny is he mentions “I’m the One” and the double bass drum shuffle on that being influenced by Billy Cobham.But the studio track only has one bass drum because one of the mics wasn’t working!Alex said Donn Landee apologized and they left it,but when you hear the live version on “Tokyo Dome” you really hear the difference.

[@trieck]

thanks! that does explain why the bass drums sound the way they do.

[@batphink2655]

I think Al was also influenced by Simon Phillips on Jeff Becks track 'Space Boogie' very simlar drumming stlye to Hot For teacher Both songs swing!

[@rogerbiggerstaff3293]

Carmine Appice/Parchman Farm was another early double bass shuffle, even before Billy Cobham's Quadrant 4.

[@batphink2655]

Glen mentioned that Van Halen music 'Swings' as did another band Thin Lizzy,few rock bands could swing like them! Al is a killer drummer as is Brian Downey(Lizzy).

[@soundtechniques3047]

This is GREAT!!!

[@Emlizardo]

When asked about favorite VH albums what does Glen Sobel say first? Diver Down. I have always said this is the MOST UNDERRATED Van Halen album. It sounds tremendous, kicks total ass top to bottom. Alex's intro to Little Guitars, come on! Covers, shmovers, Diver Down is a TREMENDOUS record!

[@Twobarpsi]

Don't forget the GONG in live shows!

[@stevedahl6531]

Quadrant 4 was the impetus for Hot for Teacher

[@chasebeavers]

Parchman farm by Cactus is the same beat, came out in 1970.

[@dspencer1201]

I think Appice said the drums in Eruption were taken from Cactus.

[@johnsoos6907]

@@dspencer1201 😂😂😂😂

[@reubensane5539]

The Billy Cobham album had the amazing late Tommy Bolin

[@nicholasliosis6926]

I Love Alex. Glen Is a Mobster Drummer.

[@BillyBongwaters]

Alex Van Halen Simply the Best Drummer of my time

[@therightisright8276]

Alex had electronic drum triggers hooked up as light switches on his set so every hit lit a light and blinked out instantly, but on a solo he would get every light on and staying on so his kit was totally illuminated for several seconds at a time. Blew us kids totally away!!!

[@ROCKNROLLFAN]

I found Van Halen 5150 album on cassette tape at the Value Village for 27cents.

[@SealofPerfection]

Honestly, we probably need to just realize that it's not just that Eddie was so great...he WAS, but we really need to think of Ed and Al as a 2 headed monster. As one entity. They made each other great. Guitar is flashier and gets more publicity, but they were both absolute monsters on their instruments. These guys were classically trained pianists, and grew up playing big band and jazz with their dad. You'd think hard rock has nothing to do with that, but you can hear that influence if you listen to VH. Lots of band can play some Van Halen, but nobody can SOUND like Van Halen because nobody has that swing the brothers do. And you can add Michael Anthony in there...his dad played trumpet and Mike did as well when he was young. Same type of influence, and those 3 guys found their way to each other.

[@Roundtablewithdrew]

Well said

[@ApPot]

Fair Warning… all the way baby

[@Marshall-uy2dv]

I'm not a drummer but the all-time great granddaddy of them all double bass parts goes to "Philthy"Phil Taylor from the Motorhead song Overkill! How he kept that tempo for 5 minutes straight it's just amazing! But given the fact that those guys liked to party he must have been jacked up on some good speed haha! I'm a Van Halen fanatic, but nothing touches that song, the double bass in that is just brutal! As far as Van Halen albums go the fat glassy tone on Women & Children First is probably the most distinct guitar tone ever recorded. Fat, slinky, glassy, bluesy,woody,goodness! The mix isn't the greatest on that album but that tone is stellar!

[@michaelmiglino6512]

Les Brinks on the song “ Exciter” of the album Stained Glass from Judas Priest was out even before “ Overkill”. Both tracks are extremely instrumental in pioneering that drum style.

[@Marshall-uy2dv]

@@michaelmiglino6512 Yes sir that is also a great one for sure! And who knows that might have been where Phil got the idea for Overkill, but I think Phil took it to the next level because in Overkill there are no tempo changes it is the same double bass tempo through the whole song. Exciter has breaks, still a great tune though! I've known several great drummers over the years that could not pull off the double bass part of Overkill for 5 minutes straight!

[@michaelmiglino6512]

@@Marshall-uy2dv very good point, but then what about “ Fast as a Shark “ as far as keeping the tempo?

[@Marshall-uy2dv]

@@michaelmiglino6512 That is also a good one, close but no cigar haha! There are tempo changes, some killer double bass but there are changes here and there. And not five minutes long, like I said before Phil must have been tweaking his ass off on speed to hold that double bass tempo for a little over 5 minutes! I'd like to know the backstory on the song as to how many takes it took to record it . If you listen to it closely you can hear the tempo lagging a bit,which is understandable lol. I'll bet he was sore the next day!They didn't call him filthy animal for nothing!🤘👍

[@KowankoMusic]

Ian Paice was head of all of them! Check out "Fireball" from 1971

[@Iknowthelaw13]

Alex would be widely known as one of the best drummers in rock if his younger brother wasn’t from another planet.

[@ace_woe]

FAIR WARNING is my favorite =VH= album too 🫡

[@alexscott730]

It's more of a ThAWK than a honk

[@theatomicpunkkk]

He's the Edward Van Halen of the drumming world.

[@robertghanem1424]

The almighty V.H.

[@WhizMitchell]

Alex was just as innovative as his brother was. Every drum tour kit was an upgrade from the last...like Ed being a tone chaser in terms of guitar, Alex was the same for drums. He was never satisfied having the same drum kit nor the same sound. He always reached for more and better.

[@wayne3340]

It's a travesty to me how few music fans recognize the greatness of Alex Van Halen.

[@footnotedrummer]

Fair Warning is the best VH album IMHO.

[@williamharris730]

My favorite track from Van Halen is Mean Street off Fair Warning Eddies fat gritty guitar sound combined with Alex’s nasty groove on the drums you don’t hear that kind of magic in new music and sadly with the passing of Eddie Van Helen one of the greatest rock bands of my generation is gone There legacy and music will inspire young musicians for decades

[@musicalchairs777]

Years down the road we're going to realise we took a real wrong turn with digital. Ask Rupert Neve.

[@F.S.111]

Fair Warning was the best imo.

[@valerieking6760]

Long overdue and deserved recognition though no Ludwig for me thanks. Just can’t. Have a Merry Christmas or Holiday. However you celebrate.

[@nelsono4315]

Alex is a superb drummer. With a lesser drummer VH is a different band.

[@scottsmith1455]

Fair Warning is Fucking Bad Ass!!!

[@jonnuanez7183]

In any other band, Alex sure would have shown more to the general public. But when your brother is Eddie? Lol. Scottie Pippen knows how that feels lol.

[@chreld]

Hello!! Freaking nailed it. Too clear, too clean = not good. Dirty that Sh@#$#t UP!!

[@michaelchristopher3600]

This guy is a show stealer

[@stromghouls]

the greatest guitar player is Allan Holdsworth. Eddie was such a fan of him that he tried of getting him a record deal in the US. Allan Holdsworth is your favorite guitar player, favorite guitar player. but his stuff was so advanced and out of this world, it never attracted big audiences. but all the serious guitar players know of him.

[@brownhooque]

AVH did all his best shit on 1984. And his best drum sound was on Balance. 🤷‍♂️

[@Roundtablewithdrew]

Said no one ever

[@brownhooque]

@@Roundtablewithdrew it's not even a matter of opinion. 😂

[@Roundtablewithdrew]

@@brownhooque to you. Good luck

[@brownhooque]

@@Roundtablewithdrew don't need it😉

[@danielabilez3619]

I love his playing... but =\/-/= is done. Fair Warning was every day back in the day.

[@charlesbukowski9836]

I like Women the best... that was their pinnacle... I like Fair too but I did NOT like the tone on it.... Eddies tone was so so so compressed... it was not breathing like the first few records..

[@F.S.111]

I answer Fair Warning every time when asked best VH album. Eddies playing was insane on it and was heavy. I like heavy stuff. Love all the Dave era albums. I like some Sammy era.