Lord Eddie is no more. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowb...ge-65-long-battle-throat-cancer.html#comments
I read Sammy Hagar's autobiography recently and he wrote about all the times Eddie was sh.it-faced and looked like a tramp. Always had a *** on the go as well as being a professional pissy-pants. Despite that, or maybe even because of it, Eddie re-defined what a guitarist could do, after years of worshipping the likes of Hendrix, Clapton, Page etc the late 70's and 80's needed something new and along with Joe Satriani and Steve Vai Eddie Van Halen re-wrote the book on electric guitar. Hammer on Eddie, Hammer On.
If he was a darkie though, you'd be having a day of mourning. ****s like you should die horribly. No respect for life unless it's some coon.
Eddie set the bar high then proceeded to drink it dry. Used to have a fist fight with his brother Alex most days then they'd both get messy on wine & voddy then start making music. I can't pretend to be the biggest Van Halen fan in the world but there is no doubting Eddie's contribution to guitar playing. Next time you listen to Beat It by Whacko Jacko it is Eddie you hear doing the solo. The rest of the guitar parts were written by Steve Lukather from Toto. Must be a kick in the nads to have to give up the iconic solo to another guitarist. It would be a bit like The Who asking John Bonham to record a drum solo for Keith Moon who couldn't play in time to save his life. Sorry to any Who fans for the passive/aggressive dig at their drummer but a two year old dropping saucepans down the stairs would make a better noise and be more in time than Moon The Loon.
Fine if you think technique is what matters most in music; Moonie was an erratic drummer, but inspired. Van Halen might have been a technically adept guitarist, but he was utterly unoriginal. Jimi Hendrix wouldn’t even discuss technique in interviews btw, no one, including him, knew how he could get the sounds he did from an upside down Fender Strat. It came from a place no amount of technical ability can ever take an artist.
Erm….. Versus It wasn't just technique, Bonham had the swagger, the swing, the showmanship, the syncopation but was absolutely rock solid. Moon might as well have thrown his sticks at the kit, erratic barely describes how inept he was. Not just my opinion though, even Pete Townsend said Moon wasn't much use but was 100% what The Who needed. It didn't work with Kenney Jones as good as he was he just didn't fit in. The Who, at least in the 60's and 70's only worked well with Moon. Now that they are in their 70's and have calmed down their drummers don't need all the bells and whistles. Moon was a massive influence, doesn't mean he was much cop as a drummer though. Not all plain sailing for Bonham however, just listen to what his interpretation of Reggae is on D'yer Mak'er. Danny Baker hit it on the head "Imagine Zeppelin in the studio and Jimmy Page says to Bonzo "We are going to try a Reggae song John, you know that one drop chugga chugga rhythm like Bob Marley?" "Yeah Jim, not a problem... WHACK WHACK WHACK!!" Even so, despite not having the most delicate of touches on this particular track Bonzo kept perfect time on the song. The late great Neil Peart said Bonham was the greatest rock drummer ever, if someone that talented gives Bonzo the nod it says a lot. Hendrix vs Van Halen? Apples and oranges, no comparison when it comes to originality but Van Halen/Vai/Satriani and other 80's guitarists broke away from the more traditional blues influenced playing that Beck, Clapton and Hendrix had done and came up with a style and genre entirely their own. Even Hendrix admitted to lifting his whole act from other players, Townsend included. I'd sit and listen to Jimi all day long, can't say the same for Van Halen but I still respect what he achieved and inspired in others. The sound Jimi got from a righty played lefty is to do with the switched position of the bridge pick up, Fender even make a righty with lefty neck and pick up configuration to imitate the Hendrix sound. That and the pure magic in his fingers. please log in to view this image
I don't mind Other guys dancing with my girl That's fine I know them all pretty well But I know sometime I must get out in the light Gonna leave them behind With The Who who are shyte
Not gonna argue about Bonham, because after Ginger Baker, he was probably the best rock and roll drummer of them all. Moonie’s belligerence, his rolls and fills and cymbal crashes, were perfect for The Who, but you already acknowledged that.
I just finished reading Roger Daltrey's autobiography. Despite touring the States and headlining Monterey, Woodstock, Maddison Square Gardens etc he'd come home skint because the band spunked all their cash on paying off hotel owners and tour promoters after Moon trashed rooms and venues. Daltrey reckons they didn't start making money until the 70s, more or less about the same time Moon karked it. Daltrey grew up in Shepherd's Bush and was a QPR fan who defected to the Gooners in later life. F.ucking glory hunter!
