Do you get such a big hype around Eddie Van Halen?
 

I think of EVH as an overhyped guitarist. Yes, he is great, but not close to the greatest guitarist ever. But how much credit EVH gets for popularizing tapping techique and compare it with how much credit Steve Hackett from Genesis gets for inventing that guitar techique in rock music? But the reason why Steve Hackett didn't get any credit is because he worked with some non-commercial band, which was far from mainstream rock in the 70's, while EVH's band hit the mainstream scene and became one of the most popular American rock bands.

Despite the fact that he was a technically great guitar player, Eddie was also a very good songwriter who made some very good rock tunes but also some utter dross. Also his guitar playing in many VH songs is superb, while in many others is mediocre, nothing special or even lame. The quality of EVH's band work can't hold a candle to the quality of Ritchie Blackmore's work with Deep Purple and Rainbow. But that's my opinion.
I always look on the popularity of EVH and his band Van Halen as predominantly the taste of American rock fans. Van Halen is not so appreciated and big band outside the US!

OK, now your opinions?
The main question: Do you get such a big hype around Eddie Van Halen?And how with the instrumental Eruption he changed rock music as many people think?

He helped popularize that cheesy ass tone. I think he did influence a lot of people and he's very practiced with his widdly diddly doos, but his music is pretty mediocre.

He inspired a lot of imitators and Van Halen had a great chemistry. He created a signature sound. It sparkles. I like Genesis and Deep Purple more than Van Halen but I really like every Van Halen record from I to 1984 a lot.

It was pretty exciting when it came out.

It's good that we've come to a place where okay music isn't considered incredibly exciting then.

Without Dave's roundhouse kicks, Eddy wouldn't have amounted to much of anything. That's why Marc Rizzo's the whole package.

First off, Steve Hackett didn't invent tapping. It's been around in one form or another for centuries. It's been used on the electric guitar as early as the 50s.

Secondly, the evolution of electric guitar can be thought off as a chain with many links. With rock guitar there's only a handful of players that can claim one of the links. Guys who came along and changed the game for anyone else that followed. An example would be:

Chuck Berry > Eric Clapton > Jimi Hendrix > Tommy Bolin > Eddie Van Halen > Randy Rhoads > Yngwie Malmsteen > The Edge > Joe Satriani > Steve Vai > etc.

I was 17 when the first Van Halen record was released and had been playing for about 4 years, and at that time the world revolved around Hendrix, Page, Blackmore, Iommi, Santana, Holdsworth, McLaughlin, DiMeola, Nugent, Montrose, and a bunch of others.

I can tell you that for anyone that considered themselves an electric rock guitarist (pro and amateur) the earth stopped spinning for a couple of minutes the first time you heard Eruption. It really was like a nuclear explosion going off in the guitar community. The game changed overnight for A LOT of players.

It's not EVH's fault that so many dudes just went with the tapping gimmick and kinda ruined the whole deal via the ridiculousness that was 80s hair metal. But there's absolutely no denying the guy's place in the history of rock guitar.

Unless, of course, you are a pretentious twat who thinks that abusing an acoustic guitar with a knitting needle constitutes "music".

.

The back half of that list just hurts so much.

*sigh*

Go **** an infant. You know my music is brilliant.

early Van Halen is pretty rad