#EDDIE VAN HALEN GUITAR SERIES#

Top Of The Worldĭoes that opening riff sound a little familiar? That’s because it’s more or less the same one Ed played almost a decade earlier on the fadeout to 1984’s Jump.

A live version, lifted from the 1986 Live Without A Net home video, was a minor hit on MTV, allowing viewers who couldn’t make it to the show the opportunity to witness Sam, Ed and Mike march in line formation – and Day-Glo trousers – across the concert stage. This 5150 track, featuring a wide-open cowboy chord riff that sounds like AC/DC playing Kool & The Gang’s Celebration, is one of the most well-known songs of the Sammy Hagar era. Although Eddie’s guitar is uncharacteristically restrained (no solo!), he still contributes some stellar harmonics work and a classic major-chord riff. As such, the emphasis is heavily on the vocals and chorus harmonies (the title refrain was originally ‘ Dance Lolita Dance’, until Roth was convinced otherwise). Genius.Dance The Night Away was reportedly inspired by Fleetwood Mac’s Go Your Own Way, and indeed, the song is one of the few pure pop tunes of the Dave Lee Roth era.

#EDDIE VAN HALEN GUITAR SERIES#

The introduction is standard enough with a big glissando and opening power chord and some high speed runs.īut when Eddie revealed his series of rapid two-handed tapping triads, jaws dropped, listeners said WTF and guitarists everywhere thought “Shit I gotta up my game.” It’s as if Bach himself had beamed in from the past, plugged his harpsichord into an FX rack and Marshall amp, blown our minds and then fucked back off again. In 1 minute and 42 seconds Eddie completely redefined the sonic and technical capabilities of the instrument forever. The pivotal moment in the evolution of rock guitar playing. The real treat is how the solo continues after the jazzy doo-wop vocal interlude, Eddie winding up his axe to the point of splitting. Here, Eddie served up two solos – the second is the killer, building intensity through a series of ascending phrases and and blues licks over a key change. Van Halen’s debut album is positively crammed with stunning guitar work, but this is a deep cut for the more finely-tuned ear. Lazy bends and descending harmonic runs begin the solo climbing up the neck into a tapping sequence before finishing it off with an outrageous bend and tap.

The final ascending phrase (clearly worked out with great thought) was designed to give the driving and simple figure played by the rhythm guitar and bass underneath a perfect icing.Ī hit for Linda Ronstadt a few years earlier and covered on Van Halen 2, here Eddie grabbed it by the throat and tore it a new arsehole. The opening track on Fair Warning showcased Eddie’s revolutionary harmonic sensibility, employing extensive use of the Floyd Rose here in his signature mix of tremolo and harmonic pitch change with the bar. A dazzling combination of tapped fretted notes and “bounce tapped” harmonics, his solo was deftly controlled and beautifully phrased. Every Van Halen album ranked from worst to bestĮddie showed extreme control, taste and mastery of harmonic pacing in this track from Fair Warning.The 10 Best Van Halen Songs according to Steel Panther's Michael Starr.Watch a Minion play Eruption by Van Halen.Interview: Gene Simmons on Bob Dylan, Eddie Van Halen and Donald Trump.Featuring practically all minor pentatonic based phrases, Eddie brilliantly stitched together a series of vibrant and aggressive licks, which effectively tells the story of the electric blues from Muddy Waters to Eric Clapton. This Van Halen II track is easy to miss, but the solo is a clear and deep display of Eddie’s blues roots. The man himself described it as “loose, fun and crazy.” Yup. Eddie managed to showcase everything that made him great in almost demo-like fashion, before the high note crescendo that almost sets the fretboard on fire.Ī gritty Western-inspired track demands a lightning fast gunslinger style of solo and that’s exactly what Eddie delivered on this track from Diver Down. From the biggest selling album of all time, Michael Jackson’s Thriller, this jaw-dropper was recorded in one take and given to Michael Jackson gratis.

Eddie van halen guitar