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

Texas Boy · 12-26-2016, 08:31 AM

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?

**Frownland** · 12-26-2016, 08:46 AM

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.

OccultHawk · 12-26-2016, 08:52 AM

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.

OccultHawk · 12-26-2016, 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frownland

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.

It was pretty exciting when it came out.

**Frownland** · 12-26-2016, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OccultHawk

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.

Plankton · 12-26-2016, 09:29 AM

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

Chula Vista · 12-26-2016, 09:49 AM

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".

Chula Vista · 12-26-2016, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plankton

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

.

**Frownland** · 12-26-2016, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chula Vista

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.

The back half of that list just hurts so much.

Quote:

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

*sigh*

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

Ol’ Qwerty Bastard · 12-26-2016, 10:57 AM

early Van Halen is pretty rad

12-26-2016, 08:31 AM	#1 (permalink)
Texas Boy Music Addict Join Date: Nov 2016 Posts: 186	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?

12-26-2016, 08:46 AM	#2 (permalink)
Frownland SOPHIE FOREVER Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: East of the Southern North American West Posts: 35,548	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. __________________ Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth. d e a f b o x

12-26-2016, 09:29 AM	#6 (permalink)
Plankton Just Keep Swimming... Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: See signature... Posts: 7,766	Without Dave's roundhouse kicks, Eddy wouldn't have amounted to much of anything. That's why Marc Rizzo's the whole package. __________________ See location...

12-26-2016, 09:49 AM	#7 (permalink)
Chula Vista Toasted Poster Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: SoCal by way of Boston Posts: 11,332	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 fact that we live at the bottom of a deep gravity well, on the surface of a gas covered planet going around a nuclear fireball 90 million miles away and think this to be normal is obviously some indication of how skewed our perspective tends to be.”

12-26-2016, 08:52 AM	#3 (permalink)
OccultHawk one-balled nipple jockey Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Dirty Souf Biatch Posts: 22,033	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.