Eddie Van Halen over rated?!

[DONNIEP]

Ed sucks balls. I'm sure he'll show up and start posting soon and will tell me why he doesn't suck balls.

[binnie]

Sounds like your son's pal isn't that good technically.

The 'no soul' argument is the refuge of those people, more often used against Vai and it's like saying Bach had no soul.

There are many guitarists with no feel or no melody and I consider that a weakness although the whole thing is subjective.

The 'no soul' thing though is bullshit. It's criticizing without being able to define what you don't like. It would be better if he just said 'I don't like that style of guitar' rather than trying to cover his inability to express his opinions some fake weight by using a stupid term like 'soul'.

Feel free to quote me on that to him...

I know what you mean.

However, I think when people use the 'no soul' line, they are reacting to the mellodrama and histrionics of that sort of music. You COULD suggest that a lot of hard rock of that era didn't really express any adult emotions because it's just so over the top; it would be similar to stage musicals in a way, where everything is so earnest and overdone it becomes contrived because no-one feels emotions that big all of the time.

That's my 2 cents, anway. I love this sort of music, as you know.

[DLR Bridge]

You know what? That was a crappy thread I started. Good Memory. Kinda creepy you remembered it, but after reading it I'm thankful i've only posted 115 times in 5 years.

Was only busting chops man. Odd ball things do tend to stick in my peculiar brain. I think that must have stuck with me because of my ties to Sandy. In any case, post more often. Gotta keep this place alive, no matter how benign or recycled some of the topics may be. Dave and VH will always be my favorite thing to shoot the shit about. I'm just glad I'm not alone!

[DLR Bridge]

Dave donated the proceeds from that Thermo Plastic Chair song to Hurricane Sandy.

I thought he had only dedicated the song to those affected. Was it actually a purchasable tune on I-tunes or somewhere?

[vandeleur]

Yeah I think it was just dedicated , I don't think it was released officially .

[vandeleur]

Was only busting chops man. Odd ball things do tend to stick in my peculiar brain. I think that must have stuck with me because of my ties to Sandy. In any case, post more often. Gotta keep this place alive, no matter how benign or recycled some of the topics may be. Dave and VH will always be my favorite thing to shoot the shit about. I'm just glad I'm not alone!

Am with bridge fuck recycling people should post more often .
I sometimes find it funny that people say this place is going down the tubes but don't post much to try and do something about it .

And yeah I don't post that much but am a hypocrite :D

[DLR Bridge]

Sounds like your son's pal isn't that good technically.

The 'no soul' argument is the refuge of those people, more often used against Vai and it's like saying Bach had no soul.

There are many guitarists with no feel or no melody and I consider that a weakness although the whole thing is subjective.

The 'no soul' thing though is bullshit. It's criticizing without being able to define what you don't like. It would be better if he just said 'I don't like that style of guitar' rather than trying to cover his inability to express his opinions some fake weight by using a stupid term like 'soul'.

Feel free to quote me on that to him...

The no soul thing is a bit absurd in this case. If I may cherry pick a soulful moment on record, one whereby Ed is playing totally by feel, it's the solo to So This Is Love. He is so in the moment with that one, letting the little pops, gassed out notes and mild imperfections become part of the now missing charm that is playing by "feel". It's not a mind blowing solo, but it is clearly powered by total stream of consciousness, which so many (unfortunately, present day Ed) guitarists lack the ability of these days.

[DLR Bridge]

Well put Vandy. I'm poised to release a barrage of threads one of these days with a slant of just discussing nuances of particular songs, kinda like I had done with ADKOT two years ago. There is never any harm over discussing/dissecting/debating the magic of DLR/CVH.

[binnie]

Well put Vandy. I'm poised to release a barrage of threads one of these days with a slant of just discussing nuances of particular songs, kinda like I had done with ADKOT two years ago. There is never any harm over discussing/dissecting/debating the magic of DLR/CVH.

Agreed - the more threads of that sort, the better :D

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Sounds like your son's pal isn't that good technically.

The 'no soul' argument is the refuge of those people, more often used against Vai and it's like saying Bach had no soul.

There are many guitarists with no feel or no melody and I consider that a weakness although the whole thing is subjective.

The 'no soul' thing though is bullshit. It's criticizing without being able to define what you don't like. It would be better if he just said 'I don't like that style of guitar' rather than trying to cover his inability to express his opinions some fake weight by using a stupid term like 'soul'.

Feel free to quote me on that to him...

LOL, will do!


Don't you think my retort was valid as well though?

[Seshmeister]

Absolutely!

I could write up a list of criticisms of Ed a few pages long but 'no soul' or more accurately 'no emotion' wouldn't be on it at all.

[chuckjitsu]

Ed's solo over the fuzzed out bass part in Beats Workin' answers the "soul" question for me. I think that's one of his best solos on the album. Tasty stuff right there with a different vibe than the sonic beat downs of say of As Is or China Town.

[cadaverdog]

Absolutely!

I could write up a list of criticisms of Ed a few pages long but 'no soul' or more accurately 'no emotion' wouldn't be on it at all.

I didn't care for the way he has treated certain members of the band but as far as I know he's doesn't brag about how good he is or how much better he is than other guitarists. He has been known to throw a few hissy fits in concert when things aren't going well but otherwise he's somewhat professional on stage even when he obviously can't stand some of the other people he's on stage with. There might be incidents that I haven't heard about but otherwise the only complaints I've heard about his performances were usually about him being drunk or high and playing sloppy but that's usually a matter of opinion. A lot of people say VH sucked at the US Festival but I was there and I didn't hear anyone at the show complaining about anything but the long wait before they hit the stage.

[FORD]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vd6-xZ2dS6Y
I'm not up on my Van Hagar. This is the first song I thought of when you said that.

No, but Eddie ripped that one off on VDIII and called it "A Year to the Day".

Seriously though..... this could have been a monster blues song, had Dave been there to help him shape it.

[cadaverdog]

No, but Eddie ripped that one off on VDIII and called it "A Year to the Day".




Seriously though..... this could have been a monster blues song, had Dave been there to help him shape it.

Sounds like a mixture of Chedhead and the crybaby singer from White Lion. I've never been able to sit through a whole song from that album and that was no exception. Van Cherone almost makes Van Hagar sound good by comparison. I actually like a few Van Hagar tunes. FUCK was a half assed decent record. I never figured out why they called Gary's other band Extreme unless it meant extremely lame.