The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #26

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    I didn't listen to him a lot.

    Having said that.

    He was one of the greatest, innovator, and a huge influence to so many guitar players growing up in the 70-80's.

    He is right up there with the other giants of rock guitar.

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #27

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    Eddie was a little after me---I first listened to him when I was dating a younger woman who thought he was IT. Well, he could play the hell out of the guitar. And he could play fast lines without sounding stiff. Great tremolo. Great rhythm sound and feel, as others have pointed out. And he came up with some killer riffs.

    A few of my favorites:





  4. #28

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    And something from the post-David Lee Roth era


  5. #29

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    Vai, Satch, Van Halen ... all those 80s players passed me by except for Knopfler. But Eddie sure was a tremendous influence in his time and his playing had that loose, rolling off a log quality while still remaining virtuosic but still rock & roll. But even back then, in my mid 20s when he was the IT guy, I would have rather heard Django, Wes, Joe or Tal. That said, Van Halen's keyboard riff on jump is ironically, one of the most recognizable riffs in rock.

  6. #30

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    I remember Frank Zappa bragging at the time that he had hired Vai, a guy who could out-Van Halen EVH.

    I must say impressive as it is, that type of guitar wankery never appealed to me. Lots of other guitar wankery yes. But not the tapping/whammy bar Strat thing.

  7. #31

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    I was aware of Van Halen before I started playing in the early ‘80s. His influence on a generation of players can’t be overstated, but when I started playing, I got into jazz and Prog (Yes, Brand X, Mahavishnu, Al DiMeola, Emily Remler, Barney Kessel, Wes, Steve Morse, Holdsworth) pretty much right away. So I was never drawn to play in the Van Halen style. And his many imitators really wore out that style for me. The Floyd Rose equipped Strat copies, the tapping...it became a cliche.

    Van Halen did some wonderful stuff. As an album, I like Diver Down best.

  8. #32

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    Quote Originally Posted by AndyV
    Vai, Satch, Van Halen ... all those 80s players passed me by except for Knopfler. But Eddie sure was a tremendous influence in his time and his playing had that loose, rolling off a log quality while still remaining virtuosic but still rock & roll. But even back then, in my mid 20s when he was the IT guy, I would have rather heard Django, Wes, Joe or Tal. That said, Van Halen's keyboard riff on jump is ironically, one of the most recognizable riffs in rock.
    EVH was before Vai, Satch and the other guys, way more original and innovative.

    Jump is a great song! But the old VH albums are of course awesome as well

  9. #33

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    Quote Originally Posted by L50EF15
    I was aware of Van Halen before I started playing in the early ‘80s. His influence on a generation of players can’t be overstated, but when I started playing, I got into jazz and Prog (Yes, Brand X, Mahavishnu, Al DiMeola, Emily Remler, Barney Kessel, Wes, Steve Morse, Holdsworth) pretty much right away. So I was never drawn to play in the Van Halen style. And his many imitators really wore out that style for me.
    That is the problem with all the super influential guys, their fans "wear" out the original players style, same with all the thousands of Holdsworth/Metheny/Frisell clones, it can actually make it more difficult to appreciate the originals (even though the clones can of course never be the originals). Same thing with other instruments as well.

  10. #34

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    Quote Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff
    I remember Frank Zappa bragging at the time that he had hired Vai, a guy who could out-Van Halen EVH.
    Vai had a lot going on. His performance in the movie "Crossroads" brought him a lot of well-deserved attention.

    For all his fretboard wizardry, EVH didn't make instrumental albums. He formed a band with an appealing front man and rocked out. It was a smart move, and perhaps more fun for him too. He could dazzle when he chose but could also do something as simple and fun as "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love."


  11. #35

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    Quote Originally Posted by MarkRhodes
    Vai had a lot going on.
    Woah, as an admirer of Mr. Vai, your use of past tense scared me a bit. Vai still is with us, fortunately, and AFAIK, still has a lot going on. Though I must admit that not all of his compositions grab my ear. Some (a lot?) of his own compositions seem to gravitate towards shredding over limited harmonic movement. I prefer interesting changes rather than a lack thereof.

    BTW, I *love* his performance in Crossroads :-)

    I'm also a big EVH fan, though I don't really listen to metal or rock that much any more. And, despite not playing that much metal or rock any more, an EVH head and perhaps a Vai head are still somewhere on my "toys I'd like to have someday" list. Not sure where, though; as I've mentioned before, I'd probably most like to have more time to play the gear I already own. Hoping to pull that off in the next few years...

  12. #36

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    Edward Van Halen had a band which made popular music. The men enthusing about him on guitar forums were the band’s teenage fans back in the day. Like him or not, he made guitar music that reached a large audience, which is a Good Thing.

  13. #37

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    I love early Van Halen...when they were good, they were soooooo good.

  14. #38

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    Here is Eddy sitting in with the David Letterman Show's band. David does say 'you two should make a record" (the other being band leader Paul Shaffer).

    I recall David saying something like "well if you played music like this", or something to the effect that David really liked what he heard, but wasn't into Van Halen music so much. (or maybe that is just what I was thinking since that is true for me).


  15. #39

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    Quote Originally Posted by starjasmine
    Woah, as an admirer of Mr. Vai, your use of past tense scared me a bit. Vai still is with us, fortunately, and AFAIK, still has a lot going on.
    Oops! I apologize for giving you a scare.
    Vai had and has tremendous technique and talent. And he's no slouch as a showman, either.

  16. #40

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    Quote Originally Posted by jameslovestal
    Here is Eddy sitting in with the David Letterman Show's band. David does say 'you two should make a record" (the other being band leader Paul Shaffer).

    I recall David saying something like "well if you played music like this", or something to the effect that David really liked what he heard, but wasn't into Van Halen music so much. (or maybe that is just what I was thinking since that is true for me).

    According to Paul Shaffer, Letterman hated jazz. 'Dave's' only suggestion to Shaffer about what music they could play on his show was, "You can play anything you want but that jazz stuff. I hate jazz."

    I was reading something online about how rockers pick, and EVH was listed as one of the arm pickers, as opposed to wrist or fingers. It's hard to tell
    in that clip above from the Letterman show how EVH picks. Does anyone know if he was an arm picker or wrist or finger picker. He does so much hammering on and tapping, it's hard to tell.

    I was watching a flick on Netflix the other day, and they used "Hocus-Pocus" as one of the main tunes. It still sounds as fresh as it did back in the 70s. Between Akkerman, the rhythm section and the yodeling, it's still a nice piece of music.

  17. #41

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    Eddie and brother Alex played piano from an early age. Their father insisted. He wanted them to be concert pianists. They didn't become concert pianists but had serious teachers for a long time. Eddie once told an interviewer he had a Russian teacher who didn't speak a word of English but who would whap him with a ruler every time he made a mistake.

    He learned a good deal more classical theory than one is likely to assume a rock guitarist knows before he got serious about playing the guitar.

    Van Halen (the band) didn't want him playing piano on Van Halen records. His first keyboard playing on a VH record was on "And the Cradle Will Rock." A Wurlitzer was played through a Marshall amp---few knew it was a keyboard at all!

    The cover of "Dancing in the Streets" opens with Eddie playing a MiniMoog. He hated the band's turning this piece into the background for a cover but Roth and then-producer Ted Templeton didn't like Eddie playing keyboards. (The band didn't want to record "Jump" for quite a while. By the time they did, Eddie had his own studio and the band had changed producers and there was more room for Eddie's keyboard explorations.)

  18. #42

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    Quote Originally Posted by sgcim
    I was reading something online about how rockers pick, and EVH was listed as one of the arm pickers, as opposed to wrist or fingers. It's hard to tell
    in that clip above from the Letterman show how EVH picks. Does anyone know if he was an arm picker or wrist or finger picker. He does so much hammering on and tapping, it's hard to tell.
    Troy Grady with some insight (and footage) about EVH's tremolo picking technique.

  19. #43

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    Quote Originally Posted by MarkRhodes
    Oops! I apologize for giving you a scare.
    Vai had and has tremendous technique and talent. And he's no slouch as a showman, either.
    Yeah, I saw him in a live show where he placed the guitar on the floor at his feet and then manipulated it from above somehow... as part of this schtick, he had a ring on each finger that had a laser embedded. I'm not quite sure how he did it, but it did not seem canned; it seemed to be actual real-time playing. And the ten lasers, one on each finger, were a pretty cool, showy effect :-)

  20. #44

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    the evolution of the electric guitar in rock...

    Hendrix changed it all..opened the possibilities..EVH, Vai and Satch and many others took it a bit further..the tapping thing was very impressive..

    I liked the VH band with diamond Dave..he was a showman..and could sing/screech VH stuff and do flips and gave VH its flavor

    I learned a few VH licks..they are fun to play...

    the man had it all..fame fortune a beautiful wife...and then...it all went to hell and to some "kids" today..
    you say EVH..and they say..Who??..

    there was a EVH concert in los angeles back years ago 2012 or so..it got panned ..Im not sure he is even in the business any longer
    which is a bit sad..I think he was-and still is very talented..

  21. #45

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    I like this performance, it gives a glimpse what it could've been if Eddie did full instrumental tracks.

  22. #46

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    My fav interview:


  23. #47

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    I was a big fan as a kid. A couple of things to add about EVH:

    He evolved to incorporate synth playing and songwriting while at the height of his guitar prowess. He wasnt afraid to take artistic risks.

    The sound of his cranked marshall through the left speaker playing without overdubs was a deeply personal musical experience. It felt far more like a genuine live performance.

  24. #48

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    Quote Originally Posted by MarkRhodes
    Oops! I apologize for giving you a scare.
    Vai had and has tremendous technique and talent. And he's no slouch as a showman, either.
    And one thing to add re Steve Vai:

    His record label focuses on virtuoso musicians. Have a look at the musos under his wing:

    Favored Nations - Wikipedia

    Artists Archive - Favored Nations

    His record label could be as influential as his own music over the long term.

  25. #49

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    Quote Originally Posted by Tricky Fish
    And one thing to add re Steve Vai:

    His record label focuses on virtuoso musicians. Have a look at the musos under his wing:

    Favored Nations - Wikipedia

    Artists Archive - Favored Nations

    His record label could be as influential as his own music over the long term.
    I have some friends who play with Nick Meier (who is based in London and also plays with Jeff Beck) and they’ve done US tours thanks to Mr Vai. He’s definitely doing his bit to promote talented guitarists.

  26. #50

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    Quote Originally Posted by Hep To The Jive
    I like this performance, it gives a glimpse what it could've been if Eddie did full instrumental tracks.
    He's done a good many over the years: Spanish Fly, Eruption, Catherine, the intro to Little Guitars, 1984, and Cathedral (the clip you posted), among others.

    Here's a fun thing: "Unchained" without the vocal. Eddie's parts are tight without being stiff.