They were for about 5 years...Roth gave them the showtune thing and Eddie/AL the hard rock...together they wrote a different sound, add all the freakish elements; Eddies unique tone and skills, Al's signature drum kit and snare sound, Mike's background vocals and Roth's showmanship and look...like they were hand crafted for this life!
Alex is WAY underrated...this is a hard song to play in time...has a real jazz groove...listen to the guitar only version of this...finding one is difficult and staying in time...this is two years before studio and they sound great...Roth is larger than life even here...seriously, this jam is from a club band! Nobody played like this back then...
Man, think about all the shit poor Michael Anthony has taken for not being a virtuoso. Like, it's the 70s, this is the band you are in, what do you do? Fucking hang on...
Great pre-tapping example of Ed doing everything a person can do with picking. If the government made tapping illegal, Eddie would still kick everybody's ass... even today.
I love this video - It really highlights what Ed's tone was actually like live. Not a lot to hide behind, just a plexi turned up LOUD. A lot rawer sounding than what we hear on the early albums...
This song absolutely rips! Eddie Van Halen can mix boogie-woogie, blues and heavy metal all into one riff on the guitar, which proves truly what he can do.
I can only imagine what other guitarists thought of Eddie at the time. I'm assuming it was similar to the feeling Eric Clapton and Pete Townshend had when they first saw Hendrix perform.
I was lucky to see them twice in 1978 Dallas then a few weeks later in Lubbock when I was 15. First lp is the only one I own. Always makes me feel like a kid again when I hear it.
Woah, fck! I saw that! Not there. But that! And heard it. They were so great back then. Listening to that raw recording of that live show is just killer.
Damn man that is so awesome! What an incredible memory that must be. The first time I saw the Mighty Van Halen was on their Women and Children First tour. I was on the front row for that one! I remember the lights going down and the crowd going crazy and then we hear Edwards dinosaur guitar sounds and...wow...just amazing.
Epic Song...Epic band....Epic Era !!! going back in time..back to my youth, they dont make them like this annymore. Music nowadays cant compete to the 70/80 Rock bands !!
i have no idea what they are waiting for... maybe its the whole Mike anthony thing/situation... they need to make peace with him and get him back in and let wolfgang go do his thing solo.... =VH= needs to to give ppl what they want and thats Mike Anthony back in =VH=
I was in jr high at this time and then saw the early renditions of all the LA rock bands like Motely Crue. This was UNLIKE anything today guys...rock bands and clubs were all over the place. They didn't get signed because there were so many bands around...same with MCrue...this was the way it was back then. Eddie was good but so was a lot of cats like a young dude called Randy Rhoads who played with Quiet Riot. This song is a BEAST...if it were not for Eruption, this song would have been the mind blower off the first LP. Also, there was no Internet...people did not record gigs unless you took a cassette player in and then shared it with a few friends at best, so unless you gigged everywhere, word did not spread...life was much slower then unlike today (Internet) which was not even a dream for anyone. Hard rock was on the way out as well. Disco was becoming huge thanks to Travolta and Saturday Night Fever. Ted Templeman and Gene Simmons have A LOT to do with getting VH off and rolling! Once the first LP lit, then the fire started and they were the best touring band ever for the first few years hands down!
+Mr Fox The first Boston album, which is phenomenal, but they looked nerdy and Tom Scholz, though an electronics and production genius, is no Eddie Van Halen on the fretboard.
joseph conder Love Ted Nugent, but I don't think so. “He was unbelievable! He did things on the guitar that no one else did. He injected a keyboard/saxophone-gone-mad array of licks and patterns and sounds that were more Yusef Lateef, Sun Ra, and John Coltrane, but never getting into the land of self-indulgence. His inspiration was always so musical. He’s one of those rare, gifted musical warriors that could literally kick the shit out of his guitar with his feet and somehow he’d make it remain melodic, musical, and rhythmic. He has an unbelievable animal touch that defies everything before him. It was really fascinating to see him play, and especially to be there on this first tour and have them open up for me and kick me in the ass. He was and remains very, very inspirational. “EVH is a musical animal, and I join music lovers everywhere in thanking and saluting him for bringing such infectious fire and attitude to our beloved American rock ’n’ roll music. Ultimately, this man’s creations have dramatically enriched our lives as much as any musical talent in the history of mankind. Godspeed, Eddie Van Halen. You are my guitar blood brother.” -Ted Nugent
that is NUTZ...a 16yo can play his stuff today but that int being the man who write the stuff and invented the sound...eddie is a mad scientist. you gotta listen to his What Makes an American lecture/interview on YTube...he goes into the early history in detail...he trully was a mechanical engineer personality and had to improvise because he had no cash...being broke causes one to CREATE and THINK outside of box which pays off with originality
wow..jimi hendrix was dead by just 5 and a bit years at the time of this recording - Ed seems fully developed & hungry ...how much he had progressed in between those years was the catalyst for sparking a playing revolution . Sadly , we ended up with everyone copying him {for a long time } but my god - they sounded like they were good to go in as early as 75 .
They already had the sound of there album . Templeman didn't have to do anything to add to it. The songs did change a little .Maybe he just helped with some minor arranging.
Astute observation. All his classic moves seem here, with the exception of tapping. It's worth noting though, that the playings seems more fluid and controlled than even the first albums. The runs are longer and smoother, and executed with greater ease. Maybe he was especially on or hungry this night, but this is about the sharpest Eddie I've ever heard anywhere.
2 years before they released their first album....lol...of coarse they werent super clean and takin in million yet....fun to hear a band in the begining!
Straight to "favourite videos" & voted! Very nice upload man, thanks! I think I've never heard Eddie's picking and playing sound so sharp, tight, clean and clear...as in this recording. Maybe I even like this more than the album version... :)
Only reason they changed the name was because their first album already had Ain't Talkin About Love and Feel Your Love Tonight. Producer Ted Templeman didn't want another song on the album with Love in the title, but they weren't going to leave it off just for that reason.
Very cool.It's great hearing this song live prealbum recording/release.I see why Gene Simmons wanted to manage these guys and have Eddie put some solos down on KISS songs.I do a TRUE VOCAL COVER of I'M THE ONE and ON FIRE!
Your site is very cool too. I was deeply impressed by all your materials and, for example, this live recording. Keep rocking in a free world (Neil Young).
I can see Gene Simmons on that fateful night he discovered them saying to himself "these guys are going to take over the world" after hearing this song. Please check out my cover version of this song, if you are a guitar player :) =VH= forever!
They sounded better back then before the drugs and alcohol kicked in. LOL. Amazes me Eddie was playing like that at 21 if the 1976 year is accurate. During the last 2 or so tours Dave was more into talking crap to the crowd for 10 minutes between tunes and doing Elvis style kung fu moves instead of singing the lyircs. They are still my all time favorite Rock band.
Im sure the producers and warners bros later caused a big lost of energy..include the marriage with Valerie. If the song is fast He plays fast..if the song is slow He plays slow... rock,metal,blues,Classic,or love song whatever they ask to him. After 1 album He never played songs so wild and furious, maybe in 2012 album .
EVH is at the top of guitar's Mount Olympus. I have no doubt that Hendrix would have been a huge fan. Too bad Roth's voice couldn't match Eddie's talent. He had the attitude though.
that got OLD fast...well, it took a few years, but he over does it...the solo on Is This Love is pure blues rock GOLD...no tapping, just brilliant composing
