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If you know me, you know I'm a hockey nut. I know several people that work for the Pittsburgh Penguins. That includes the guy that writes articles on their website. He regularly adds a couple paragraphs at the end of his articles about bands that he follows and includes a video. Most of which blow dog, by the way.
Anyway, I asked him if I could write one myself, and he graciously obliged. He said it probably won't be published until later when the hockey season gets underway, but here's the draft I gave him.
Now, keep this in mind: I had to water it down a little, most of the readers aren't idiots, er, fanatics like we are, but I think it's a pretty good writeup.
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How do I describe Van Halen? Well, first of all, let’s be very specific who I’m referring to. I’m talking about “Classic” Van Halen, the original lineup led by David Lee Roth. I am definitely not talking about the watered-down, ballad-infested, cheesy lyrics version with Sammy Hagar that turned the band into a party joke.
Perhaps the greatest compliments that a band can get are those that are made by their peers. Well, those are not difficult to find when describing just how great Van Halen was in those days. Henry Rollins described a Van Halen show as “a ‘10’. It was a stellar production.” Def Leppard bassist Rick Savage says “To me, Van Halen is the most influential American rock band ever”. Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee reflected “I remember standing on my chair at the Long Beach Arena seeing Van Halen just ripping it! They were the coolest thing I had ever seen!” I could give you dozens more.
You see, when Van Halen came to town back then, you knew it wasn’t just going to be a great concert; it was going to be the event of the year. I first saw Van Halen at the San Diego Sports Arena on May 20th, 1984, and to this day, after attending probably 50 concerts of every major rock band in the world, there is no band that has come close since. From the time Van Halen started headlining tours with their Van Halen II tour in 1979, they sold out not only every show, but every tour until Roth’s departure from the band in 1985.
They had a rare combination of musicianship and showmanship that most bands simply couldn’t match. A lot of bands had good musicians back then, and others put on a good show, but there weren’t many that were outstanding at both of them. Roth was the consummate frontman; he’s never been the greatest singer, but it’s never mattered. His unique mixture of whipping the crowd into a nightly frenzy and black-belt athleticism, such as regularly doing flying splits off the drum riser, was rare. Even today, he’s strutting around stage as a 56 year-old with six-pack abs. He was the perfect complement to the guy with the wildly striped guitar.
Edward Van Halen revolutionized the guitar, there’s no better way to put it. Guitarist Lita Ford recently called Edward “the Les Paul of today’s world”. His conquering of the hammer-on/pull-off or “tapping” technique has since been imitated from thousands of guitarists but never quite duplicated. Renowned guitarist Steve Vai said of Edward “it is only the most elite of elite musicians whose unconventional approach becomes convention”. Perhaps it was his unorthodox learning method of the instrument; you see Van Halen never learned to read music, even to this day. His revolutionary virtuoso solo “Eruption” on Van Halen’s first album in 1978 is still to this day perhaps the greatest guitar solo of all time. Of course, after hearing it hundreds of time in the 33 years since the album came out, it may not have the same punch as it used to. But back then, NO ONE had ever heard anything like what was emanating from Eddie’s guitar on that album. Not from Jimi Hendrix, not from Jimmy Page, and not from Van Halen’s idol, Eric Clapton.
It started right away, as soon as they released “Van Halen” in January 1978, arguably the greatest debut album in rock history. They toured that year with legendary rock group Black Sabbath, and more than held their own. In fact, Ozzy Osbourne has stated several times over the years that the Van Halen youngsters “blew us off the stage every night” on that tour.
Take a bit of my advice, and download the first six Van Halen albums on your Ipod, you will not be disappointed. Or if you’d just like to hear a snippet, download their first album “Van Halen”. Also, since Roth and the Van Halen boys have reunited and went on a sellout tour in 2007-2008, they’ve now completed their first studio album together since 1984, and will start a new tour in the next several months. Do yourself a favor, if you want to see a great rock show, go see Van Halen.
Over the years at the Mellon Arena and now at the Consol Energy Center, you regularly hear the studio version of one of Van Halen’s best songs, “Unchained” from their 1981 “Fair Warning” album. The studio version is outstanding in its own right, but seeing it performed live was incredible. On a few tours since its inception, “Unchained” has opened the show to a thunderous reception from the sellout crowd. Here’s a live version of “Unchained” from the old Montreal Forum from April 19, 1984. By the way, later in that Montreal show, Roth comes out for the “You Really Got Me” encore in a Habs jersey (see, I’m keeping it hockey-related). And please, don’t just take my word for it, open Youtube, watch the video and read the comments.
Anyway, I asked him if I could write one myself, and he graciously obliged. He said it probably won't be published until later when the hockey season gets underway, but here's the draft I gave him.
Now, keep this in mind: I had to water it down a little, most of the readers aren't idiots, er, fanatics like we are, but I think it's a pretty good writeup.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
How do I describe Van Halen? Well, first of all, let’s be very specific who I’m referring to. I’m talking about “Classic” Van Halen, the original lineup led by David Lee Roth. I am definitely not talking about the watered-down, ballad-infested, cheesy lyrics version with Sammy Hagar that turned the band into a party joke.
Perhaps the greatest compliments that a band can get are those that are made by their peers. Well, those are not difficult to find when describing just how great Van Halen was in those days. Henry Rollins described a Van Halen show as “a ‘10’. It was a stellar production.” Def Leppard bassist Rick Savage says “To me, Van Halen is the most influential American rock band ever”. Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee reflected “I remember standing on my chair at the Long Beach Arena seeing Van Halen just ripping it! They were the coolest thing I had ever seen!” I could give you dozens more.
You see, when Van Halen came to town back then, you knew it wasn’t just going to be a great concert; it was going to be the event of the year. I first saw Van Halen at the San Diego Sports Arena on May 20th, 1984, and to this day, after attending probably 50 concerts of every major rock band in the world, there is no band that has come close since. From the time Van Halen started headlining tours with their Van Halen II tour in 1979, they sold out not only every show, but every tour until Roth’s departure from the band in 1985.
They had a rare combination of musicianship and showmanship that most bands simply couldn’t match. A lot of bands had good musicians back then, and others put on a good show, but there weren’t many that were outstanding at both of them. Roth was the consummate frontman; he’s never been the greatest singer, but it’s never mattered. His unique mixture of whipping the crowd into a nightly frenzy and black-belt athleticism, such as regularly doing flying splits off the drum riser, was rare. Even today, he’s strutting around stage as a 56 year-old with six-pack abs. He was the perfect complement to the guy with the wildly striped guitar.
Edward Van Halen revolutionized the guitar, there’s no better way to put it. Guitarist Lita Ford recently called Edward “the Les Paul of today’s world”. His conquering of the hammer-on/pull-off or “tapping” technique has since been imitated from thousands of guitarists but never quite duplicated. Renowned guitarist Steve Vai said of Edward “it is only the most elite of elite musicians whose unconventional approach becomes convention”. Perhaps it was his unorthodox learning method of the instrument; you see Van Halen never learned to read music, even to this day. His revolutionary virtuoso solo “Eruption” on Van Halen’s first album in 1978 is still to this day perhaps the greatest guitar solo of all time. Of course, after hearing it hundreds of time in the 33 years since the album came out, it may not have the same punch as it used to. But back then, NO ONE had ever heard anything like what was emanating from Eddie’s guitar on that album. Not from Jimi Hendrix, not from Jimmy Page, and not from Van Halen’s idol, Eric Clapton.
It started right away, as soon as they released “Van Halen” in January 1978, arguably the greatest debut album in rock history. They toured that year with legendary rock group Black Sabbath, and more than held their own. In fact, Ozzy Osbourne has stated several times over the years that the Van Halen youngsters “blew us off the stage every night” on that tour.
Take a bit of my advice, and download the first six Van Halen albums on your Ipod, you will not be disappointed. Or if you’d just like to hear a snippet, download their first album “Van Halen”. Also, since Roth and the Van Halen boys have reunited and went on a sellout tour in 2007-2008, they’ve now completed their first studio album together since 1984, and will start a new tour in the next several months. Do yourself a favor, if you want to see a great rock show, go see Van Halen.
Over the years at the Mellon Arena and now at the Consol Energy Center, you regularly hear the studio version of one of Van Halen’s best songs, “Unchained” from their 1981 “Fair Warning” album. The studio version is outstanding in its own right, but seeing it performed live was incredible. On a few tours since its inception, “Unchained” has opened the show to a thunderous reception from the sellout crowd. Here’s a live version of “Unchained” from the old Montreal Forum from April 19, 1984. By the way, later in that Montreal show, Roth comes out for the “You Really Got Me” encore in a Habs jersey (see, I’m keeping it hockey-related). And please, don’t just take my word for it, open Youtube, watch the video and read the comments.
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