RIP Eddie Van Halen (1 Viewer)

I just looked up Van Halen on Spotify, it’s just a picture of EVH

1985 -1986 Saints? He must not have been at the dome to watch the Saints. Lol
Valerie's been a lifelong Saints fan!
 
Think I only ever saw Skidrow at the Cap Center. I can't remember who was with VH when I saw them. It very def. could have been 1980 when I saw them so maybe it was Sammy Hagar? If it was, never caught on to that irony. Van Halen and Van Halen II are 2 of the few albums I've owned on vinyl, cassette, and CD. Gotta listen to them in full and gotta listen to them loud.
Sammy didn’t join until after the 1984 album, so late ‘85 or so.

If you saw them around 1980, it was def DLR..
 
Sammy didn’t join until after the 1984 album, so late ‘85 or so.

If you saw them around 1980, it was def DLR..


Oh, sorry. Yeah, it was def. DLR with Van Halen. I was saying I couldn't remember who the opening act was at that time but I didn't remember it being Sammy Hagar.
 
Saw them at the ms coast coliseum in 89 or 90
Alice In Chains opened
Great show
Incredible guitarist
Rip
That was when Alice in Chains were still kind of glam-rock, late 80s Bon Jovi/GNR-esque type of band. Before Nirvana's Nevermind and the Seattle grunge scene of anti-materialism, newer-edged PNW sense of isolation, and nihilism and an edgier, louder form of punk revolutionized the American musical and entertainment scene until the mid-1990s. Van Halen emerged from a LA metal scene in mid-70s that was maturing out of its folk singer-songwriter phase and you had louder, harder metal bands playing on the Sunset Strip that hadn't embraced punk or glam metal yet but was a unique alternative to Eagles, Doobie Brothers, or Kiss.

Van Halen never lost that original edginess, rawness and vitality of keeping themselves above water in a highly competitive LA club scene that's "kill or be killed". That's why they seemed so original and were never lumped into some of the silly, outrageous metal sub-genres or trends that gave us bands like Poison, Cinderella, yeah Motley Crue even, Winger, or Warrant--highly telegenic, superficial bands. I could never take their music, image, or their individual members seriously.
 
Sammy didn’t join until after the 1984 album, so late ‘85 or so.

If you saw them around 1980, it was def DLR..
You do know that Sammy originally had no intention of wanting to join the band but being the nice, decent, highly professional musician he is and his huge admiration for EVH, they met in Las Vegas and hit it off immediately and after stroking Hagar's ego tremendously, he decided to join the band.

Hagar also wrote in his 2012 Rolling Stone expose/story about his ill-fated reunion tour with Van Halen brothers that in one of his first recording sessions with group they said one of the biggest reasons Roth left the band was because his vocals were tone-deaf and it was difficult to wholly implement them into the band's sound. David Lee Roth also never really had a great off-stage relationship with Van Halen brothers even back in in mid-70s when the band were on L.A.'s club circuit.
 
This has hit me really hard. Van Halen are my favourite band. They only toured Aus twice: once with Gary Cherone in 1998 (I was 11 so was too young to go) and a second time at a single outdoor stadium festival show one hour out of Sydney in 2012 (with DLR and Wolfie on bass). It remains the most perplexing artist/location booking of all time (they had about 12,000 people to a show that would’ve got closer to 70,000 in Melbourne). But in any case, there was no way I was missing it. Flew up there with my girlfriend at the time, and stood in the rain for 10 hours at the front of the stage through Buckcherry, Jimmy Barnes (Australian rock royalty), Kings of Chaos, Aerosmith and finally Van Halen. And I’m so glad I did.

Eddie was a genius. No one person influenced the style of music I like more. Indeed he created a whole generation of musicians who set out to duplicate what he did. It’s quite remarkable that a guitarist from a Californian party band made metal mainstream. He changed music, and in so doing, he changed the world. You can count on one hand the guitarists who had the impact he did. In fact, you can probably count on two fingers - Hendrix, then Eddie.
Would you be willing to include Eric Clapton as being among those very few rock guitarists who inspired an entire generation of musicians and later guitarists who were influenced by his playing style? IMHO, certainly Hendrix and Van Halen belong on that rare, exalted elite podium, but one could make a good, persuasive argument that based on his unique playing style, being one of the first British guitarists to popularize Marshall amps, his work with the Yardbirds, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Cream and then Blind Faith.
 
That was when Alice in Chains were still kind of glam-rock, late 80s Bon Jovi/GNR-esque type of band. Before Nirvana's Nevermind and the Seattle grunge scene of anti-materialism, newer-edged PNW sense of isolation, and nihilism and an edgier, louder form of punk revolutionized the American musical and entertainment scene until the mid-1990s. Van Halen emerged from a LA metal scene in mid-70s that was maturing out of its folk singer-songwriter phase and you had louder, harder metal bands playing on the Sunset Strip that hadn't embraced punk or glam metal yet but was a unique alternative to Eagles, Doobie Brothers, or Kiss.

Van Halen never lost that original edginess, rawness and vitality of keeping themselves above water in a highly competitive LA club scene that's "kill or be killed". That's why they seemed so original and were never lumped into some of the silly, outrageous metal sub-genres or trends that gave us bands like Poison, Cinderella, yeah Motley Crue even, Winger, or Warrant--highly telegenic, superficial bands. I could never take their music, image, or their individual members seriously.
The only band in your list I'd take issue with is Cinderella. They had a bluesier edge to them and were more musically viable than bands like Poison, Winger, or LA Guns. They do a version of Janis Joplin's Move Over that's dead on, and songs like Shake Me and Gypsy Road, while certainly not Beethoven, are much better than the vast bulk of the other hair bands. Yes, I realize we're discussing the best of of a bad lot :hihi:
 
Would you be willing to include Eric Clapton as being among those very few rock guitarists who inspired an entire generation of musicians and later guitarists who were influenced by his playing style? IMHO, certainly Hendrix and Van Halen belong on that rare, exalted elite podium, but one could make a good, persuasive argument that based on his unique playing style, being one of the first British guitarists to popularize Marshall amps, his work with the Yardbirds, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Cream and then Blind Faith.
Ahh Rory Gallagher smokes 'em all :ezbill:

Clapton was once asked what it felt like to be the world's greatest guitarist. He replied "I' don't know, you'd have to ask Rory Gallagher" Very under-rated, but in stark contrast to EVH, Gallagher was also one of the nicest, most down-to-earth and lest self-promoting musicians out there. Check out Irish Tour '74
 
Would you be willing to include Eric Clapton as being among those very few rock guitarists who inspired an entire generation of musicians and later guitarists who were influenced by his playing style? IMHO, certainly Hendrix and Van Halen belong on that rare, exalted elite podium, but one could make a good, persuasive argument that based on his unique playing style, being one of the first British guitarists to popularize Marshall amps, his work with the Yardbirds, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Cream and then Blind Faith.
That's why it's so hard to put "the greatest" tag on theses guys. There's just been so many great guitarists. Everyone will have their own list of guys that deserve to be in the conversation.
 
You know, I almost think of Classic Van Halen and Van Hagar as two distinct bands. As such, I tend to regard CVH as the trailblazing, pioneering party boys who took metal to the mainstream and Van Hagar a more commercially-oriented radio-friendly outfit. Indeed, the Van Hagar sound is as close to Whitesnake as it is CVH, for mine (which is no criticism, because even taking them as a separate entity, I'd have Van Hagar in my top 5-10 favourite bands). Summer Nights deserves to be recognised as one of the great songs and great riffs of that era though. I know exactly what you mean about trying out that sound on a new stereo. The whole album, in fact. A sad period in some respects given it marked the end of the original and most influential line-up, but equally, a highly productive period with 5150 for Van Hagar followed in short order by Dave and the legendary Eat Em & Smile band.
I know what you mean as far as sounding like 2 different bands. I like alot of the older bluesy type stuff the most but the van hagar era definitely made its own mark too. I've never cared for DLR and could argue that van halen would've still ended up as one of the greatest if hagar was on those early albums too.
 
The only band in your list I'd take issue with is Cinderella. They had a bluesier edge to them and were more musically viable than bands like Poison, Winger, or LA Guns. They do a version of Janis Joplin's Move Over that's dead on, and songs like Shake Me and Gypsy Road, while certainly not Beethoven, are much better than the vast bulk of the other hair bands. Yes, I realize we're discussing the best of of a bad lot :hihi:

I liked Cinderella as well. They made some quality music. But yeah, I wouldn't put them in that top few bands though. Van Halen had longevity and staying power. And their music is pretty timeless imo. Even my kids like em. They don't care for most of my playlist, but they'll listen to and enjoy VH.
 
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Van Halen never lost that original edginess, rawness and vitality of keeping themselves above water in a highly competitive LA club scene that's "kill or be killed". That's why they seemed so original and were never lumped into some of the silly, outrageous metal sub-genres or trends that gave us bands like Poison, Cinderella, yeah Motley Crue even, Winger, or Warrant--highly telegenic, superficial bands. I could never take their music, image, or their individual members seriously.

I agree with saintmdterps above where he said Cinderella are a seriously good, and in my view underrated, band. Also, for all the criticism Winger took for their image, Kip, Reb Beach, Paul Taylor and Rod Morgenstein could play rings around most of their contemporaries. Kip is a technically brilliant, classically trained musician. I always thought it was petty and ridiculous that Lars Ulrich threw a dart at Winger in the video clip for Nothing Else Matters. Morgenstein is 10x the drummer Lars is or ever was. But I digress. All of those bands owe their existence to EVH.


Would you be willing to include Eric Clapton as being among those very few rock guitarists who inspired an entire generation of musicians and later guitarists who were influenced by his playing style? IMHO, certainly Hendrix and Van Halen belong on that rare, exalted elite podium, but one could make a good, persuasive argument that based on his unique playing style, being one of the first British guitarists to popularize Marshall amps, his work with the Yardbirds, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Cream and then Blind Faith.

Clapton is a legend, for sure. His influence feels more understated when it comes to the music I like but I’d certainly acknowledge he deserves to be in the conversation.
 
Valerie's been a lifelong Saints fan!
Yes she is. And she was a particularly big fan during the Jim Mora years. Hopefully she and Eddie got to enjoy some of those years of winning football. Any Saints football prior to that time was just a laugher. :covri:
 

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