EDDIE VAN HALEN’S 20 GREATEST GUITAR MOMENTS RANKED
Like Clapton, he became a household name. Like Hendrix, he expanded the frontiers of the instrument he played. Like Stevie Ray Vaughan, he contributed a world-shaking guest solo that crossed genre boundaries. Like Brian May, he created his own tools to forge his own sonic path. And like Jimmy Page, he was able to weave expressive virtuosity into the bludgeoning riffery expected of a macho rock band.
Like all of these players before him, Eddie Van Halen redefined rock guitar according to a unique personal vision. When it became clear that this exciting player also took the modding of instruments and gear to a new level of DIY obsession – chainsawing through mahogany, swapping pickups, perfecting the whammy bar… trying anything to move himself closer to the sound he heard in his head – it was only natural that he would inspire the superstrat craze and, in turn, legions of copycat players.
His band broke at an opportune time. With their succinct and hyperactive tunes, Van Halen brought the short sharp shock back into heavy rock, without sacrificing their musical aspirations. But from then on, they made their own luck. By 1984 and the album of the same name, they briefly but decisively ruled MTV and the airwaves.
Eddie Van Halen was the most pioneering guitarist to emerge since Jimi Hendrix and, like his life, his passing rocked the music world. Here, we present our own selection of 20 amazing guitar highlights, drawn from many, many more, to help remember him by.
20 LIVE SOLO SPOT, LIVE WITHOUT A NET
Let’s see EVH in his element. Van Halen concerts were almost an excuse for the part where the rest of the band would down tools to allow the crowd to worship at the altar of Eddie’s guitar technique. He was among the pantheon of rock gods who could really make the solo spotlight count, as illustrated in 1986. Topping out at more than 10 minutes, this solo is a stunning non-stop showcase of the idiosyncrasies of Eddie’s abilities and his arena-filling tone. But among all the dive-bombing, harmonics and neoclassical tapping, it’s also a reminder that the fundamentals of rock ’n’ roll guitar underpinned everything he played. For the first generation of Van Halen fans, it’s tough to watch this YouTube clip without mentally overlaying the tape wear from a worn VHS.
