Scott Ian nails it

[Matt White]

Scott Ian absolutely nails my feelings of The Mighty Van Halen. I know his love for the bands of the 70's...he pays Edward the highest compliment...just fucking perfect.

ANTHRAX's SCOTT IAN: EDDIE VAN HALEN Was 'The JOHN LENNON And PAUL MCCARTNEY Of Hard Rock'

ANTHRAX's Scott Ian has reflected on the passing of Eddie Van Halen, saying the VAN HALEN axeman was "the complete package in every way."

Ian discussed his appreciation for the groundbreaking musician, who died from cancer on October 6 at age 65, during an appearance on Dean Delray's "Let There Be Talk" podcast.

He said : "There's not a bad song from 'Van Halen I' to '1984' — for me, there's nothing that I don't love. Every song, for me, is as important as the big songs. Every song. I love 'You Really Got Me' — of course I do. But for me, on the first record, my favorite song is 'I'm The One'… His solo on 'So This Is Love?' Oh my God. He cleaned the tone up. And just the feeling in that solo and the way he moves around. 'Top Jimmy'… You can go and on. Every song is a fucking masterpiece."

"He was the complete package in every way — in every way," Ian continued. "He was the [John] Lennon and [Paul] McCartney of hard rock, or heavy metal. They were metal before people were saying metal. 'I'm The One', 'Romeo Delight', 'Light Up The Sky' — those are metal tunes. 'Atomic Punk' — it's fucking metal. Unbelievable songwriter and arranger and just overall musician. Just a fucking master.


"I think you could argue that he was the greatest overall talent, he was the biggest talent of the last… from 1975 on," Scott added. "To me, there's nobody more talented in any field of entertainment. For me, Eddie Van Halen would be the biggest talent of all. And where does that go?
What a void that leaves."

https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/anthraxs-scott-ian-eddie-van-halen-was-the-john-lennon-and-paul-mccartney-of-hard-rock/

[Hardrock69]

Yep. I saw that. Absolutely correct. Goddam.

[Jetstream]

The two greatest talent loses in popular music since 1975 are Prince and Ed... and they both appear to have a magic vault

[Terry]

Scott Ian absolutely nails my feelings of The Mighty Van Halen. I know his love for the bands of the 70's...he pays Edward the highest compliment...just fucking perfect.

ANTHRAX's SCOTT IAN: EDDIE VAN HALEN Was 'The JOHN LENNON And PAUL MCCARTNEY Of Hard Rock'

ANTHRAX's Scott Ian has reflected on the passing of Eddie Van Halen, saying the VAN HALEN axeman was "the complete package in every way."

Ian discussed his appreciation for the groundbreaking musician, who died from cancer on October 6 at age 65, during an appearance on Dean Delray's "Let There Be Talk" podcast.

He said : "There's not a bad song from 'Van Halen I' to '1984' — for me, there's nothing that I don't love. Every song, for me, is as important as the big songs. Every song. I love 'You Really Got Me' — of course I do. But for me, on the first record, my favorite song is 'I'm The One'… His solo on 'So This Is Love?' Oh my God. He cleaned the tone up. And just the feeling in that solo and the way he moves around. 'Top Jimmy'… You can go and on. Every song is a fucking masterpiece."

"He was the complete package in every way — in every way," Ian continued. "He was the [John] Lennon and [Paul] McCartney of hard rock, or heavy metal. They were metal before people were saying metal. 'I'm The One', 'Romeo Delight', 'Light Up The Sky' — those are metal tunes. 'Atomic Punk' — it's fucking metal. Unbelievable songwriter and arranger and just overall musician. Just a fucking master.


"I think you could argue that he was the greatest overall talent, he was the biggest talent of the last… from 1975 on," Scott added. "To me, there's nobody more talented in any field of entertainment. For me, Eddie Van Halen would be the biggest talent of all. And where does that go?
What a void that leaves."

https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/an...-of-hard-rock/

I mean, you really can't oversell or overestimate Ed's impact on rock music in terms of guitar playing.

Dunno quite about the Lennon/McCartney comparison...like, not to be too technical, but Lennon and McCartney were both adept at writing instrumentation and lyrics as well as singing. It's hardly being overly critical to point out that Ed didn't write lyrics and couldn't sing particularly well...certainly not on a level even approaching Lennon and McCartney.

In terms of rock guitar, though? Shit. For me, in terms of big time game changers it was Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Van Halen. Which isn't to say there weren't many, many other great rock guitarists because obviously there were. But Hendrix and Van Halen were the two biggest ones. Far as I can tell, anyway.

[Seshmeister]

Fuck off Terry the Beatles were just the first boy band, you can't compare that shit to Van Halen!

[Seshmeister]

I can't put smiley after that statement because it's kind of completely true.

[Terry]

Yeah, well, that was precisely what I was illustrating about the Beatles/Van Halen comparison that Scott Ian was making...

You're very hurtful, Sesh.

[Seshmeister]

Soz only half read that.

[Rikk]

By the way, guys, I don't know if you know this...but it's been 3,189 days since Kristy's been laid.

[riggodrill44]

I think the correct analogy is Edward Van Halen/David Lee Roth were the Lennon/McCartney of their era. EVH has the lightning... but the Diamond One was the thunder. Unchained rocks... but it's incomplete without "Blue eyed murder in a size five dress." "I'm the One" IS metal guitar that lights your hair on fire... but... ba ba ba... shooby doo wah. It's a shame that pride/ego wrecked it... but I guess it was inevitable. I'm thankful that my formative years were during their time together. #gratitude Younger people can't possibly comprehend what happened and older people didn't experience it the same way as someone born in 1965.

[Terry]

I think the correct analogy is Edward Van Halen/David Lee Roth were the Lennon/McCartney of their era. EVH has the lightning... but the Diamond One was the thunder. Unchained rocks... but it's incomplete without "Blue eyed murder in a size five dress." "I'm the One" IS metal guitar that lights your hair on fire... but... ba ba ba... shooby doo wah. It's a shame that pride/ego wrecked it... but I guess it was inevitable. I'm thankful that my formative years were during their time together. #gratitude Younger people can't possibly comprehend what happened and older people didn't experience it the same way as someone born in 1965.

I mean, for me, it always took what Roth brought to the table to make Van Halen work...that Dave and Eddie for me were always the nucleus of the band in terms of the creative aspects.

None of which negates what Alex and Mike were doing, either.

Put it this way...when CVH were active, I listened to the band largely for what Eddie was doing...back then, I probably would have said without hesitation that Eddie's playing was the key factor that made the band special. However, I didn't take the stance that a lot of people - mostly rock music critics - did re: Roth was just a showoff clown who was actually holding Eddie and the band back. It became apparent rather quickly after Dave left that whatever personality/musical differences Ed and Roth had...they complimented each other musically.

So, in that sense, yeah, I'd say Ed and Dave were the Lennon/McCartney or perhaps more apt Jagger/Richards or Plant/Page of their era.

[Matt White]

I mean, for me, it always took what Roth brought to the table to make Van Halen work...that Dave and Eddie for me were always the nucleus of the band in terms of the creative aspects.

I've been saying it for years...especially since it really fires up the Hagar sheep...VAN HALEN without DAVID LEE ROTH would have been Quiet Riot: Band with an Ace guitar player, but mediocre songs. Van Hagar proved that point. Dave, for all his braggadocious ways, had an undeniable influence on EVH's music. Maybe he did have a hand in arranging the music...with the vocal melody. The combination of the 2 of them was without peer in American Hard rock.

[Terry]

I've been saying it for years...especially since it really fires up the Hagar sheep...VAN HALEN without DAVID LEE ROTH would have been Quiet Riot: Band with an Ace guitar player, but mediocre songs. Van Hagar proved that point. Dave, for all his braggadocious ways, had an undeniable influence on EVH's music. Maybe he did have a hand in arranging the music...with the vocal melody. The combination of the 2 of them was without peer in American Hard rock.

More than a bit after Dave left, Van Halen WAS an average rock band with an ace guitar player, in that after Dave left the only interesting parts of the music - for me, anyway - specifically involved what Ed was doing. And even then it wasn't a case of Eddie coming up with great ideas on a consistent basis after Dave left. Van Hagar had more than a few tracks that weren't even interesting in terms of what the guitar was doing. A track like Best Of Both Worlds was pretty mediocre all around. Same with Black And Blue.

[Vinnie Velvet]

More than a bit after Dave left, Van Halen WAS an average rock band with an ace guitar player, in that after Dave left the only interesting parts of the music - for me, anyway - specifically involved what Ed was doing. And even then it wasn't a case of Eddie coming up with great ideas on a consistent basis after Dave left. Van Hagar had more than a few tracks that weren't even interesting in terms of what the guitar was doing. A track like Best Of Both Worlds was pretty mediocre all around. Same with Black And Blue.

Yes all true.

I once read somewhere that Dave and Ed's musical relationship was like a tug-o-war.

And that resulted in them bringing out their best each time.

With Hagar, that was no longer the case with Ed. So he relaxed into a somewhat mundane and mediocre songwriting style. Sure there were still some good moments on the guitar but by and large the magic was gone.

I would also attribute to Ed's somewhat declining nature to his alcoholism as well. Which was one of the reasons for Dave to bail in the first place.

[Terry]

Yes all true.

I once read somewhere that Dave and Ed's musical relationship was like a tug-o-war.

And that resulted in them bringing out their best each time.

With Hagar, that was no longer the case with Ed. So he relaxed into a somewhat mundane and mediocre songwriting style. Sure there were still some good moments on the guitar but by and large the magic was gone.

I would also attribute to Ed's somewhat declining nature to his alcoholism as well. Which was one of the reasons for Dave to bail in the first place.

Possibly it had to do with Ed having more control after Dave left with the production of the recordings, in that with Hagar in the band and Ted Templeman gone Ed wasn't having to compromise or listen to Roth/Ted saying a song idea wasn't working or needed more work or rearranging or whatever. I can't imagine Hagar was ever going to be the critical foil for Ed during the songwriting process that Roth or Ted had been. Clearly, he wasn't, if the lackluster quality of more than a few of the tunes Van Hagar came up with is taken into account.

It could also have to do with Ed's writing style having...I hesitate to use the word 'evolved' when contrasting the CVH songs to a tune like Can't Stop Loving You...changed from the 1970s/early 1980s. Certainly, a case can be made post-Roth that Ed wasn't consistently going out of his way to demonstrate his guitar hero prowess when Hagar was in the band...in part because Ed was no longer constantly coming up with material where bitchin' guitar solos were either needed or appropriate, Can't Stop Loving You a case in point. I'd agree that by the time Hagar joined the band, Ed had earned the right as a successful musician in commercial terms to do as he pleased. While the Hagar records only sold about half of what the Roth records did, it should be said that the Hagar records DID sell, so clearly there were people out there who liked what Ed was coming up with post-Roth.

It was just...as often said by many others, once Roth left Van Halen became a different band. By the time Roth left, Van Halen as a band/brand name had an enormous amount of success attached to it. It should also be said that by the time Hagar joined, the remaining members of Van Halen were in their 30s, so in addition to Ed's alcohol/drug use the fact was that the band was no longer this young bunch of guys in their late teens or twenties with everything to prove, nothing to lose and endless bounds of physical energy to do it.