My Dad And I React To Van Halen - Eruption Guitar Solo!!! 

Eddie always had a smile on his face. R.I.P. Plus his brother on drums, Alex, often overlooked but also a great musician. Fun fact… As kids Eddie started on drums and Alex on guitar.

At around the 12:00 minute mark, he's using an effects pedal that produces echo/delay and he plays along with the echo that it produces. Also, if you notice he's not picking the strings with his right hand while he does it. He's using the volume knob on the guitar to help make a swelling sound. Playing that loud helps the process. Lots of practice to do that! LOL

Haven't watched this yet but as a massive VH fan, I was waiting till this would eventually come up. RIP GOAT

I saw them live (thankfully) in 1980 for my first concert freshman HS year. I'm now a fan of your uncle Silas because he mentioned Randy Rhodes who dad knew personally and said he was such a humble, gentle and smart man (RIP) and as your uncle mentioned was classically trained, fast and technical. Ironic thing about his death was he hated planes and was talked into going that ill fated day. The pilot (rest his soul) cost us all a tremendous talented musician and even better person.

There is no player ever that makes people shell shocked like Eddie...Eddie is the greatest rock guitar player that ever lived. His skill level, feel, innovative brain, sense of rhythm, and technical prowess dwarfs everyone. Hendrix was maybe 10-15 years ahead of his time. Eddie was 50-60 years aheadnof his time.

In case no one explained: at 11:50 this section he fades each note in with volume knob after tapping on neck...and a delay repeats each note so they're doubled up. This piece is called 'Cathedral' where he was going for an organ sound I believe but sort of like bowing on violin too. No coincidence you thought it sounded classical early on...Eddie and Alex both trained as concert pianists when they were kids in Holland and I'm damn sure that influenced Eddie to play his guitar like a freakin piano. This solo is awesome, but don't miss out on how he applied all these riffs to the song compositions...so original. Worth hearing all the early albums...the iconic 'Van Halen' etc...and my favourite 'Fair Warning' which starts with track 'Mean Street' and fades in with the technique at 13:45 and just an awesome album from start to finish. Nice reaction...loved the young dude's stank face :-))

I got to see Eddie do this live, both with Dave and Sammy. Just one of the best ever, and now you will notice him on, or near, the top of the best rock guitarist lists.

when they were young it was Alex who picked up the guitar first...but, as time went on, Eddie started fiddling with it and wanted one...Eddie was so fascinated by the guitar he wound up being better than Alex who decided he would like to take up drums...all with their father's band...they were basically the Partridge Family... and then...YOU KNOW....THE REST OF THE STORY (Paul Harvey :) )

There was only one word for Eddie’s playing… pyrotechnics! We miss you brother!

I wish the volume were louder because it was pretty quiet in relation to the microphone volume so I couldn't really crank it. But yeah, this is off there very first album Van Halen which came out in 1978 and in my opinion it's their best album. Every song on it or nearly every song became a radio hit and every song on it is amazing. The stuff got played constantly on Rock radio. But anyway, eruption, the guitar solo was actually basically a long guitar solo introduction to their cover of The Kinks' Girl, You Really Got Me. It's only about 2 minutes long or so and it was essentially embedded here and there in this long partial improv partially composed 13 minutes solo at a live show. But it's so strange for me to hear eruption without it immediately going in with no break to that song. It's just the greatest one to punch in the world. Definitely check out the studio track and like I say it's real short. You could tell when he would hit parts of it because that's when the audience would just start going nuts. Because they recognized it from the album. But as you do whole album sometimes, this might be a really interesting one for you to do is just do their first album. Every single song on it is fire and it's so fun. And there's a lot of diversity on it. And I guarantee you it would pull in a ton of different viewers.

The layering was done back then buy using echo and sustain effect pedals to maintain the previous chords and notes and then play over the top, this is done better now using loop edect pedals which effectively digitally record multiple sections of play which can then be played back.

@7:43 was also my reaction back in 1978 when i heard Eruption for the first time!

Dude, your facial expressions are classics! And HIGHLY appropriate....

I'm so thankful to have seen Eddie play this live . It was Freaking Awesome.

Ha!!! Did you really just throw Dave M in with Eddie?!😂 Great performers! I was lucky enough to see them a couple of times. Thanks for the post!!

They had to invent a whole new way to write sheet music because of Eddie. Because of the things he did on the guitar weren’t done before and there way no way to write it. It’s really interesting.

Hey Silas, what top guitarist lists are you looking at? He's in all of them! 😁Dig deeper you will fall into this band hard!

Listen to VH album Fair Warning. Listen to Mean Street. Guitar solo at beginning just shreds.

Yes..Eddie was classic trained pianist and wrote his own music in that sense!

Eddie never leaned how to read music. For years he deceived his piano teacher by just listening and memorizing what his piano teacher just played! In later years, someone transposed his guitar licks and they had to invent new characters/symbols/notes to define his style of play (tapping the fret board, etc). They showed him the written sheet music of one of his guitar solos and asked if it was accurate/correct. He said he didn't know because he never learned how to read music. He was a natural.

At 12:46.... "how does he do that ". He is playing the strings on the neck of the guitar with his left hand while his right hand is manipulating the guitars volume control. ( I think it sounds like a cello)

Randy Rhodes..... Mister Crowley awesome guitar work

That Guitar was from another Galaxy..lol👽👀

His brother Alex is on the drums.

Saw vh 33 times always a party eddie is the goat!

The bok sound was because he was also a master pianist.

No one knows this video better than I do. Seriously, I've seen it close to 1,000 times. And no one, NO ONE has ever noticed that at the beginning of his solo while still sitting, he throws his smoke to the side so he can play that particular part of the solo. So how does it end up BACK on his guitar head stock when he doesn't stop playing at all to put it back??!!?? I'm an elite viewer lol!

Got to listen to mean street then pound cake

Long live THE KING!!!!!!

He was the best....

Check out Eddie's father on, I believe it's the mandolin!

Get ready for a blown mind!

A suggestion, turn the music volume up a little.

It's in all how he's using the volume numb!

KING EVH RIP

Van Halens 1st lp was a game-changer. Probably ought to listen to the 1st hit, Running With the Devil and the original Eruption. Couldn't have done it without David Lee Roth at the time. edit: EVH credits Jimmy Page for his tapping method. One can look up the interview where he says that, for any deniers lol

So what lists are you looking at that don't have EVH on them??

The best there ever was.

11:55

Not a just a talented guitar player and a great performer, Eddie was a true musical innovator. He revolutionized guitar playing in 1978 on their first album, and went on to continue creating multiple new techniques, and even new musical scales over the years. The first album is a must listen. It's a ton of fun.

The reason Eddie is the greatest is because he actually changed music in the '70s. He introduced the sound and a style that had never been seen before or since. He wasn't the first to tap the fretboard but he perfected it and did more. On top of that he was always smiling and having fun doing it..

If you want a fun Van Halen video to try next...Hot for Teacher is just great. I'm the One off of the 1st album is a hidden gem if you want to rock your face off.

So you are indeed correct there is in that solo J.S. Bach toccata & Fugue in D Minor, within the chord progression. and maybe a cheeky nod to dream of a witches sabbath by Berlioz and a possible distorted sped up section of midnight sonata Of course its interesting to me that there are very few artists/ bands in modern times who are able to be successful without a vocalist attached (even if they do the vocals themselves). Most of the ones who are successful are famous for soundtracks. Where if you go back even 100 years there was a balance of vocal and instrumental. my first memorable introductions to Van Halen were the Single Jump . and the scene in Back to The future where Marty uses Van Halen on his walkman to convince his father he is an alien with a noise weapon.

I had the pleasure of seeing Van Halen and Quiet Riot at a backyard party in 1977 about 6 months before the first Van Halen album came out.... That night Randy Rhodes was still with Quiet Riot, so I got to meet both Eddy and Randy before anybody even knew who they were.... Didn't know at that moment how greatly they both would influence rock and roll, but was certainly aware of the massive talent that night.... What a blessing!

He was definitely an Elite guitarist. When using all his fingers is called Tapping. He didn’t invent it, but he sure as hell Mastered it!

Nobody plays guitar like Eddie Van Halen!

Eddie was always smiling because he thoroughly loved playing guitar and performing with the band in front of the fans.

To dad, you've raised a really good kid. Keep up the good work.

Why is his name not among the top rock guitarists???? Holy Cow. He’s ALWAYS in the lists of top rock guitarists. Usually in the top five. Hendrix, Beck, Page, SRV and Van Halen are usually in top five in some order. But Hendrix, SRV and Van Halen always…..

Eddie Van Halen is, IMO, the GOAT. Hendrix & EVH totally changed the way people played guitar. He didn't start tapping, but he elevated it to a different level. Everyone after Van Halen tried to copy him but nobody has come close. Listen to VAN HALEN'S first 4 albums if you really want to have your mind blown. All time great on guitar and band.

Eddie was on the same level as Page and Hendricks. Got to listen to more of his. RIP Eddie.👍👍👍👍🤟🎸🎸

In the layering part he is playing ONE handed and using his effects knob with his picking hand

Silas , starting with their 1st album Van Halen always had a short instrumental piece on each album for all the albums with David Lee Roth on vocals. The part of this solo that sounded like 2 guitars at once was from the piece called Cathedral. Eddie uses a delay pedal & the volume knob to create that sound. The part you thought sounded like slap bass was the intro tapping part of the song Mean Streets.. Most of the other tapping sections you saw were parts of Eruption. The crazy thing about this solo spot is that Eddie was hammered drunk and didn't remember doing most of it. There's a reason why he was called King Edward , and you just saw why.

Hello Silas , Hello Dad …..Dad you are right the singer is Sammy Hagar and Silas you should check him out too . He is a an excellent guitarist as well and a great rock and roll guy all round . From Montrose onwards he is up there with the best rockers in my opinion . A passionate rock and roller …❤❤

Was wondering when you would get around to Eddie. It is improvised/all in his head. If you watch different performances of "Eruption", you will have many similarities, but each one will be unique. If you believe in a heaven, it improved tenfold when Eddie passed. Highly recommend you react to Van Halen's first album (called Van Halen) which includes the minute 42 second studio recording of "Eruption". It is a top 5 debut album by any band,.... ever. Enjoy

If you react to more Van Halen, I am here for it. My recommendations for the next songs: Panama, Jump, Hot for Teacher, Mean Street, Unchained, Ice Cream Man, Beautiful Girls, I'm the One.

Eddie was on another level to page and Hendrix

Eddie and Alex went to music school as kids, their dad was a professional musician, played clarinet for big bands and such; Eddie learned piano and could memorize a piece of music from a few listens and play it spot-on, his music teacher figured out years later Eddie didn't actually learn to read the music notation, he just learned music theory by listening.

A lot of pick hand "Hammer-ons". The rest is pedals for effects, like echo, and pick hand volume-ons after striking the string to mask the attack.

Y'all gotta remember that this is from 1986..... NO ONE had ever heard anything like this before. Good thing Alex took over on the drums or we would have never heard this. RIP EVH

Silas, please do a reaction to Van Halen's first album, which came out in 1978! YOU WILL LOVE IT!!! It's one of the best of all time!

Eddie was like no other. He invented the "brown sound" when Van Halen came on the scene in the late 70's. It literally was music to our ears. There will never be another EVH. Legend!! ❤🤍🖤

Don't know if you've reacted to anything by Stevie Ray Vaughn yet, but he is another guitar player that will blow you mind when you see/hear him perform. I highly recommend watching Stevie Ray Vaughn performing "Texas Flood" live at the El Macambo. It will make your face melt from the awesomeness!

Dude how do you not know about Eddie? The goat of guitar playing. You need to get into there first 2 albums

At 13:02 with the echo effect, he’s actually playing part of his instrumental piece Cathedral off the Diver Down album. He’s using a delay effect for the echo and he’s using his volume knob for a volume swell effect, by pushing down a note on the fretboard and then turning the volume knob halfway up and then back down to go for the next note to repeat the process, which makes it sound kind of like a cello, really cool technique. Eddie always thought outside of the box in his approach to the guitar, a true innovator on so many levels.

That's what we all thought when we first heard him on the radio, it was; what the hell...how is he doing that, and I'm a guitar player... that one part like two different melodies he's using the volume control on the guitar to offset the notes. He wasn't just a top guitarist he's the GOAT.

No Eddie Van Halen was in his own League on his own Jimmy Page did not compare to him and even Hendrix did not compare to Eddie as good as that he was Eddie has won over 10 best guitarist awards in the world so that ought to tell you something he was a genius

It's nice to see the young ones have the same mind blown reaction I had in 77

Eddie could not read music and tablature was invented to help deal with this crazy good music

Also, if you like drums, Alex’s drum solo from this same concert is really impressive too.

Saw van Halen in 91 or 92 when Alice in chains opened up for van halen. Alawesome concert

Eddie Van Halen was a guitar God! May he rest in peace they will never be another guitarist quite like Eddie

Check out Randy Rhoads's version.

Eddie Van Halen was one of the greatest guitarist, in my top 3.

Your freaking expression....>>>>>>>😮

I saw Van Halen open for the Doobie Brothers back around '76 or '77. I had heard of them but didn't know anything about them. I was there to see the Doobies. Needless to say they blew my mind.

Props to dad for recommending Randy Rhodes. Unfortunately there isnt a lot of live video of him. He died in a plane crash at only 25. There's a pretty good vid of him playing with Ozzy on a song called Mr. Crowley. Epic for sure!!

He was a classically trained pianist at an early age and never learned to read music. A truly God given talent

Eddie changed the game 🤘🤘🎸🐐

Eddie = The King

Eddie has always been one of the top 10, up there with Gilmour, Page, Clapton, Hendrix, and Stevie Ray. They is a term some guitarists use. Before Eddie, and since Eddie. He has his own thing, very melodic and fast. Mostly he is hammering on, and hammering off on diatonic and pentatonic scales.

I believe Eddie died of cancer, saddest death since Elvis

Eddie is on all the lists of Top guitar players I don't know which ones you were looking at,lol.

I was there in 1986...two night show.....no clue how we all got back to the hotel.....Peace!

Eddie Van Halen, was definitely A BAD A - - , but if u ❤, guitar goats, check out th L8, GR8 Glenn Campbell (mainly), William Tell Overture, video W/12, string, Bad A- - , and Mr Vince Gill,, who currently tours W/The Eagles, and gav up a spot W/Dire Straight’s , my brain 🧠, is crusty, but, not totally gone😎😎😎👍👍😎

You should check out his son, Wolfgang, and his band...Mammoth...you'll be very impressed with what he can do...Rock ON!!!

The now-deceased Alexi Laiho of Children of Bodom might blow thine young, susceptible mind... Laiho (Roope) Latvala Vivaldi, type that in yo Search field, star!

A guitar goat, is a GOAT, , 2/more Joe Perry, Aerosmith, John Fohgerty, but, don’t git me wrong, Eddie, was a BAD A - - RIP, GOD Rest His Soul

Gary Richraft flying turkey trot live REO Speed wagon guitar solo did this stile Early 70s

I commented before but forgot a couple things I wanted to add. Eddie didn't invent tapping but perfected it. And there was a couple others. Jimmy Hendrix, sadly gone too soon. And Stevie Ray Vaughan, probably the best blue's rock guitarist ever. But you just watched the greatest Rock and Roll guitar player that's ever lived! RIP Eddie.

Also Ed Never Knew Notes! To Explain Everything He Did To Alter ( ok Ed Would Never Play Metal) His Guitars & Amps To Get That Sound !! He Would Break Apart 3 Guitars ( Like that he was playing which is why it’s name was Frankenstein ) and put them all together then alter his amps since back in the day he couldn’t afford pedals! Ed Played Cello Any Guitar Any Piano Keyboard etc.. all By Ear!! He Named His Now Grown Rock Star Son Wolfgang Van Halen who goes By Wolf In His Band Mammoth WVH Check Out His 1ST Song & Video all background vocals Are Him As Well including All The Instruments ! He recorded the album before he had a band! His Dad Taught him Every Instrument & They Were Best Friends ! Watch Distance By Mammoth WVH Video It’s Ed & Wolfe From Wolfes Birth aside 22:32 by side with Ed to The End Of Ed’s 2 MF Cancer Battle 💔 Ed Is So Missed & Is The Very Best!

Hey, you should definitely check out some Nightwish live shows symphonic metal from Finland 1996-2022 current singer Floor Jansen the Dutch Goddess of metal ❤, try wacken 2013, anything is awesome 😊

Funny you mentioned the Classical sound..."When Van Halen was born in 1955 in the Netherlands, his musically minded parents (father Jan Van Halen was a clarinetist, saxophonist and pianist) named him Edward Lodewijk Van Halen in honor of Ludwig Van Beethoven. (Lodewijk is the Dutch equivalent of the German name Ludwig.) But that was just the start of his classical childhood. After the family moved to Pasadena, Calif., in the early 1960s - with "$50 and a piano," he said during a talk at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History - his parents enrolled Van Halen in formal lessons for that piano at 6. But he never learned to read the sheet music, he later explained. Instead, he would mimic the instructor's hand movements and play by ear to realize works by Beethoven and Mozart. During recitals and competitions, he would use memory recall and improvise, earning praise from judges for his stylizations."

As for the smoking? Eddie developed tongue cancer, throat cancer, and lung cance BTW. VH were a fun band, always generally happy making music. They weren't pop, but hard rock. Great melodies, harmonies, amazing original singer,[he later left] and obviously great guitar solos. They had a number of hit singles in the States especially. VH were one of the greatest hard rock bands of all-time, imo. I'm sure you'd love those first two albums, and others like '1984.'

People often argue who is/was the best guitar player. Eddie could mimic any solo by Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page or SRV. NONE of those guys could come close to this. Sorry. Sometimes the truth hurts.... the original was just a short warm up Eddie used before practice (less than a minute) a producer heard it and told him they needed to add it to their album. It became the intro to You Really Got Me. (1978) It was never written down and there were never two live solos exactly the same. Just Eddie doing Eddie things. You two just witnessed maybe the greatest guitar solo of all time. I think this was 1986 after Sammy took over for David Lee Roth. F sammy. Long live David Lee Roth!!!

Hell yeah - excessive *STANK FACE* young man - and the headphone rip off & stand up - you just can’t help it.🤘🏼🎧🤟🏼

Tapping on a guitar neck already existed, but EVH popularized it and used it a lot, it's a fantastic sound. This video is mainly improv. Check out the great Michael Schenker in his UFO days, the album Force It. He's a guitar legend like EVH. Guitarists generally pull faces when soloing because of the emotional connection with the music and the bends they're playing, they can't help it.

Yeeaahh,buddy! More VH,please! ❤️ For a young man like yourself, I might recommend "Beautiful Girls" by VH. You'd love it

I have a copy of Live Without a Net on VHS. I still have it. I have a ton of movies on VHS. I have it on either Blu-ray or DVD now. RIP EVH RIP Randy Rhoads

The evolution of guitar playing! I'm shocked you didn't know about him. Hendrix changed the guitar, then later in the seventies EVH came out, then most young players tried to play in this style. In the next decade people like Joe Satriani[listen to the tune Flying in a Blue Dream] and Steve Vai, came along. Listen to the studio version of Eruption, that's the way it's meant to sound, and how it was released. Most of this performance ISN'T Eruption.[it's a short tune.]