Van Halen!

Interview up with Gary Cherone, good read. If anything he seemed to have moved on to a little later Peter Gabriel:

What music would you agree on?

Eddie didn’t listen to a lot of outside music because he was always creating it. The one record that he did listen to was Peter Gabriel’s Us. I think “Once” was an indirect influence of that. It just felt like something different than his usual stuff. That’s the only thing I can connect it to — something Gabriel did, or Bowie would do. I think “Once” holds up well.

Somewhere on youtube there's an audio itw where he plays clapton's "crossroads" solo down the phone, apparently for the first time in years, and absolutely nails it, the phrasing and everything.

It's intereristing b/c iirc Clapton has said they were really out of time, couldn't hear each other very well when they tracked that, and this resulted quite inadvertently in the solo having a feel like it's careening out of control.

Makes sense that Eddie studied this very closely, deliberately emulated the chaos and applied that to his own playing in a very controlled way.

Lol @ moved on to a little later peter gabriel

Townshend pays tribute: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/pete-townshend-eddie-van-halen-tribute-1071811/

“As he got older he became more generous and amusing and self-effacing about his enormous gifts. He shared so many tricks through guitar workshops, online and on TV shows. Immense talent. The Great American Guitar Player. I was hoping he might be President one day,”

Btw I think the lesson to be learned by the strictly academic exercise of rating him as a guitarist is that however technical or talented he was, he was unquestionably the second (and perhaps last) most influential rock guitarist of all time, which really shows how little session-chops music-theory know-how ultimately matters. I've always wondered, when those Top 50 Influential Guitarists sorts of lists come out, if Steve Howe looks over the rankings, spies someone like Johnny Ramone, gives him a listen and just ... can't ... get it.

It can matter if you want to do a lot of things!: be a teacher, play regular session gigs, play weddings and events, write on spec, ... If you're a genius and you want to write "Eruption", not so much.

i love those 78 tour photos so much

eruption --> you really got me and intruder --> (oh) pretty woman are just killer segues

Yeah, that former one is legendary. Must have sounded wild in 1978.

Steve Howe loves the Libertines and Babyshambles, apparently (not sure I've heard either): http://bigtakeover.com/interviews/steve-howe-of-yes-finds-the-edge

Now picturing Steve Howe bobbing his head to the sounds of ‘Fuck Forever’.

1978 promo tour for first single “You Really Got Me” Detroit MI - photos by Richard Upper

http://www.rockandrollgallery.com/prints/VH-RU-001.jpg

http://www.rockandrollgallery.com/prints/VH-RU-002.jpg

http://www.rockandrollgallery.com/prints/VH-RU-003.jpg

http://www.rockandrollgallery.com/prints/VH-RU-004.jpg

i love the extra shots. i mean ...how fuckin great are they <3

Steve Albini's 1979 review for the school paper:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EjrWDb_UYAAX3hs?format=jpg&name=large

― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 7 October 2020 20:07 (two hours ago) link

Are You With the Devil?

There's a crazy facebook thread where fans tried to locate the McDonald's in that photo and it turned out to be in a completely different city than was indicated. The photographer then chimed in and acknowledged the mistake.

oh word? what did the city end up being?

I think it was crestwood, mo

i found the answer:
whole thread here https://www.detroityes.com/mb/showthread.php?20905-Van-Halen-Detroit-area-McDonald-s-in-1978/page3

ok.. and to add to this continuing mystery.. per the photographer... Richard Upper, I received an email from Chris Vranian this response to Question; 1978 Van Halen tour ITEM# VH-RU-001.
http://www.rockandrollgallery.com/catalog/VH-RU-001.html
From Richard Upper....Technically this Mcdonald's is not in Detroit. It's not even in the US. This was actually taken across the street or around the corner from a Warner Bros Records distribution warehouse in Windsor Canada. I was informed at the time by the manager of the warehouse -and resident of Detroit - that Windsor was "a suburb of Detroit". (SIC) She was joking of course. But telling people the photo was taken in Windsor meant an explanation was in order. It has always been easier just to say - Detroit. However, fans who live in the area are always bickering about the location. I found a blog about the issue some years ago and tried to settle it with the above explanation.

god bless the internet lol

the best van halen song is without a doubt 'aint talkin bout love'

but sometimes, for an hour or two on the first wednesday of the month, it's 'i'll wait'

Unchained

I mean, they may have been in Windsor, but I'd bet they thought they were in Detroit.

That concert review by albini is priceless. Apparently, even though he was "editorials editor", he still could've used a good proof reader.

Best Van Halen song is Little Dreamer.
I will also accept Janies Cryin.

i’ll take my answer off the air

Xxxxxp idk, I think 68pongto makes a convincing case.
Thanks for digging that up, it's really something

This is my favorite version of unchained.
https://youtu.be/Cn8APTMyKsg

When I opened the video there was a survey asking "which of the following hair care brands do you have a positive opinion of?"

totally thought it said "hair bands"

Wasn't the Albini review in his high school's paper? He would have been 17 in 79.

Oh I see Josh mentioned that. I had seen it elsewhere.

I would probably go:

Dance the Night Away
Everybody Wants Some!!
Unchained
Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
Jainie's Cryin'

"Unchained" was my #1 in the Van Halen poll. Just sick timing in that groove.

I wonder if the super bright, saturated Big Black guitar tone was Van Halen-influenced.

my favorite van halen song is "girl gone bad," that was my no. 1, but my ballot was absolute nonsense lol

I have re-fallen in love with Top Jimmy

1984 best album ever

the best van halen song is without a doubt 'aint talkin bout love'

i'm sorry this isn't even questionable

this may be as fervent as i've ever been on ILM!

i mean the fuckin minutemen covered it!

Idk what my favorite song is but 1984 is def my favorite vh album
Girl gone bad is an excellent choice.
Hot for teacher might be the most advanced boogie shuffle thingy I've heard.

The Minutemen and Van Halen are non-overlapping magisteria in my book

“panama” is forever my favorite, but haven’t seen people mention “light up the sky” yet, that one slays

At the hight of my obsession (age 9) I probably would have picked ain't talkin bout love or running with the devil.

However they are objectively wrong picks and I would now refuse to concede that a song without a real guitar solo can possibly be the best van halen song.

you ppl know nothing of the brown sound!!1!1!!1!

i think the first album is my favorite, but 1984 is a verrrry close second.

last night i was standing in the living room grinning to myself like, how great do they sound with the stereo turned all the way up

model citizen! zero discipline!

Xxp heh the first one is my second fave!
Lol mookie
The brown sound is indeed dear to me but boogie wants advancement.

Van Halen are like Devo - a long illustrious career but their 1978 debut album on Warner Bros. is their best work

Well, it might be fair to say they never bettered it, necessarily, though 1984 probably ties it at least.

What’s ppls favorite of the albums that come between those two

Fair Warning, no contest

Fair Warning is ultra sick

Yes, fair warning.

Xxp What it comes down to for me is debut retains too many elements of 70's dinosaur rock, 1984 is more squarely in their own idiom (apart from the ac/dc ripoff song which is still rad) , has their most advanced songwriting, is leaner and meaner without all the plate reverb.

The drier sound is so much more in your face