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To anyone not in Van Halen's inner circle, David Lee Roth's exit from the band was a shocking event. Yet the truth is that it's amazing the band didn't disintegrate long before he left.
As early as 1980, Eddie Van Halen was ready to pull the plug on Van Halen so he could pursue a solo career. According to one report, he began writing music for a solo album. When Roth learned of Eddie's plans, hecame up woith lytircs as quickly as he could. The resulkting albumwas Fair Warning (According to Alex Van Halen, he was the one who convinced Eddie to stiuck it out).
Recording Fair Warning was a difficult process. eDdie had to sneak into the studio at 4am every morning to get what he wanted on the album. For one song aon the album, "Push Comes To Shove", Eddie played the guitar solo more than twenty times. Producer Ted templeman kept saying, "No, it's not good enough." Finally, the session was called off for the day. Later that night, Eddie came back into the studio and recorded the same exact solo Templeman had kept rejecting. The next day, the producer gave it a listen and told Eddie, "That's great."
Fair arning turned out to be one of Van Halen's angriest and most aggressive records, and tracks like "Push Comes to Shove" and "One Foot Out the Door" only hinted at the turmoil within. Even Eddie's guitar solos sounded pissed off. Warner Bros. didn't release any singles from the album when it came out in May 1981 because the material was too dark, although "Unchained" became a hit on rock radio. years after its release, Fair Warning is a lost classic among Van Halen fans, and several alternative-rock stars, such as Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins, have cited it as one of their favorite Van Halen albums.
As much as Roth and Eddie didn't get along, in all likelihood, they were probably scared that they wouldn't get anywhere qwihtout each other. When Gene Simmons first tried to get Van Halen a record deal in the late 70s, Roth kept Eddie away form Simmons as much as possible. Apparently, Simmons wanted Eddie to join KISS, and Roth was terrified at the prospect of losing the goldne guitarist right as Van Halen was on the verge of breaking through.
As Eddie's legend as a guitarist grew, Roth also tried to prevent him from performing on other people's records. In April 1983, Eddie recorded two tracks with Brian May of Queen for a side project called Star Fllet Project, and he performed a solo on pop singer Nicolette Larson's 1978 debut (Ted Templeman produced her album).
...more to follow...
As early as 1980, Eddie Van Halen was ready to pull the plug on Van Halen so he could pursue a solo career. According to one report, he began writing music for a solo album. When Roth learned of Eddie's plans, hecame up woith lytircs as quickly as he could. The resulkting albumwas Fair Warning (According to Alex Van Halen, he was the one who convinced Eddie to stiuck it out).
Recording Fair Warning was a difficult process. eDdie had to sneak into the studio at 4am every morning to get what he wanted on the album. For one song aon the album, "Push Comes To Shove", Eddie played the guitar solo more than twenty times. Producer Ted templeman kept saying, "No, it's not good enough." Finally, the session was called off for the day. Later that night, Eddie came back into the studio and recorded the same exact solo Templeman had kept rejecting. The next day, the producer gave it a listen and told Eddie, "That's great."
Fair arning turned out to be one of Van Halen's angriest and most aggressive records, and tracks like "Push Comes to Shove" and "One Foot Out the Door" only hinted at the turmoil within. Even Eddie's guitar solos sounded pissed off. Warner Bros. didn't release any singles from the album when it came out in May 1981 because the material was too dark, although "Unchained" became a hit on rock radio. years after its release, Fair Warning is a lost classic among Van Halen fans, and several alternative-rock stars, such as Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins, have cited it as one of their favorite Van Halen albums.
As much as Roth and Eddie didn't get along, in all likelihood, they were probably scared that they wouldn't get anywhere qwihtout each other. When Gene Simmons first tried to get Van Halen a record deal in the late 70s, Roth kept Eddie away form Simmons as much as possible. Apparently, Simmons wanted Eddie to join KISS, and Roth was terrified at the prospect of losing the goldne guitarist right as Van Halen was on the verge of breaking through.
As Eddie's legend as a guitarist grew, Roth also tried to prevent him from performing on other people's records. In April 1983, Eddie recorded two tracks with Brian May of Queen for a side project called Star Fllet Project, and he performed a solo on pop singer Nicolette Larson's 1978 debut (Ted Templeman produced her album).
...more to follow...
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