Posted on 10/08/2020 8:02:58 AM PDT by Kaslin
BUMP for later reference to the musical pieces cited.
I had started my business when VH was gaining popularity, and never had time to absorb whole albums, cut by cut. But you’d have to have been brain dead to have missed “Jump” and some of the other radio favorites.
But again the difference between doing it first and doing it well enough for the masses to care. Tapping in some form or another had been around for ages. But it was a trick a few guys used once in a while. Nobody had even given it a name. EVH did well enough and often enough where suddenly everybody in heavy metal had to figure it out. And it got a name.
Who’s in a top 5 is all kinds of fun argument but in the end pointless. Here’s what we know about Eddie. He’s a dividing point in rock and roll. There is how guitar playing in general and metal guitar playing in particular sounded before Van Halen hit, and after. The entire hair metal sub genre (for good and bad) was built around ripping off Van Halen. From the pretty blond lead singer, to the party lyrics, to the speed and tone of the guitar. Anybody that makes a dividing line like that was innovative, that’s the nature of being able to carve out a territory like that.
And what about his audiences?
So Eddie and the others led me directly to classical music which I still enjoy and play (albeit poorly).
People like Randy Rhodes were building shreddy hard rock solos on the arpeggios of mozart and the like. It didn't sound like classical music at all. But look under the hood and there it was. In truth, Eddie was more blues influenced than classical in his guitar playing. But it was there for sure.
JMO
Keith Emerson considered it important to use his platform to teach his audience about classical music. That’s one of the big reason ELP did Pictures at an Exhibition. He knew classical had been losing audience with the youth and wanted to expose them to it. It’s amazing how much classical music I recognize was performed by ELP. Or from Bugs Bunny.
Was listening to some Triumph today at work. Great band, like a counterpart to Rush.
I understand what you’re saying. Music is more fun when it’s dangerous and unknown, than when perfect and scripted. They both have their place.
Add to that list Joe Bonamassa. He learned much from Danny.
Ed VH was one of those few guitarists who you just enjoyed listening to, regardless of what they were playing. Others I can think of in that group would include Mark Knopfler (Dire Sraits), Les Paul, Ronnie Montrose,and Keith Richards. All very distinctive, personal music coming from their guitars. RIP.
Love to hear it. Please.
“Eddie and the others led me directly to classical music”
That is YOU.
Rock audiences are totally ignorant of classical music and sneer and laugh at it.
Trust me... you’ve heard it. It’s the instrumental lead-in to the VH Cover of “You really got me” by The Kinks. I still remember the first time I heard it late at night when they used to play entire album sides on the local progressive rock station in Philadelphia. Head phones on thinking, “What the heck did I just hear?”
However it's probably a good idea to not weigh in on a thread eulogizing someone a lot of people admire and consider a huge influence and crap all over everything he did though.
“Everyone I knew was trying to learn to play Bach’s Bouree”
Hilarious.
Bach wrote hundreds of Bourees.
Most rock and roll fans do not play any instrument.
They are antagonistic to classical music.
It’s not a good idea to limit “music history” to non classical music.
My town was the last stop on a later tour they did and sure enough Roth was drunk. Forgetting lyrics, blowing off singing whole songs, climbed up on the pa system and the roadies had to drag him down...what a douch
“Rock audiences are totally ignorant of classical music and sneer and laugh at it.”
And yet rock is one of the only genres that strings, brass and woodwind instruments are compatible with if you think about it.
Try that with (c)rap or hiphop
But wWhatever dude, you're so much smarter than me because I like the dumb devils music. Duh.... have a good night .... duh duh duh
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