I was 16 years old in 1980 when I first heard VH. Eddie’s guitar playing was like nothing I had ever heard. A true master of the art and a monster with rhythm as you note.
They coulda underplayed it and called it an EP, and everyone woulda said "it should be a proper LP!". It's a great way to spend a half an hour either way. DECADES of good memories, thanks Eddie!♥️😅♥️😥♥️
This is a favorite tune of mine, one of the more truly romantic they ever recorded. Gotta admit hearing the isolated guitar makes me a smidge wistful and weepy.
Roth was a big fan of Hendrix (and, by proxy, Dylan). Dave knows the power of words and electric guitar. Ed & Dave, their words and music interplay is a freak of fucking nature if you ask me. ♥️😅 💔😥
@@angelotro yep...the great guitar players and the best front man are not supposed to come together like this....happened only 2 other times... .Queen...and AC/DC w Bon
Eddie was famous as a shredder, but this is where he really excelled. His rhythm playing is next level. This is his rhythm playing masterpiece, but there are examples of it on every album. Mean Streets off the Fair Warning album is another. So tasty and clean. Eddie is one of the masters.
Your right about him being known as a shredder. People's first thought when he's mentioned is S P E E E E D ! and tapping and lead play . I guess we can blame that on Eruption. Only his true fans know what the man was all about and know his real contributions to the business. In closing , I will say that I've heard a few guitarist that I think are faster than Eddie was , (Malmsteen) , and Vai and a few others that may be as good as Ed at a certain thing , but in those rare instances, there only a hair faster or as melodically rhythmic for a very short moment. The other 98% of the guitar playing time, Eddie's flaming circles around them and as good as they might be , they learned from listening to Van Halen. If anyone was ever going to beat him in a gunslinger 6 string duel in the middle of the dirt street in the late 1800's , they would have beat him using his own stuff against him ! But he blew out of the gate in 78 and in horse racing lingo, he blew out of the gate took to the lead, stayed hard to the inside , held off all challengers , (in reality not a single one ever got close) down the backstretch, headed into the final turn with some wobblyness ( his battles with singers , rec exec people, cancer, divorce, the multiple changes in the band, this singer out , that singer in , currently an open roster spot behind the mike, guiding Wolfgang, hip replacement, alcoholism, , just to name a few. Although all the other horses gained some ground on him , but replacing Anthony, inserting Wolf, and reuniting with Dave, then releasing the last Album ( which I like a lot) . But remarrying, All that good positive stuff and doing one last Album , gave him energy. It was the threat of the whip , so to speak . Eddie Van Halen , like Secretariat's last race at Belmont, Eddie showed that even with a Singer who lost half of his smoke , and some rust here n there , could still get up out of the recliner, backhand all the kids, silence them all and like the Belmont Stakes of 1973, we were privileged to see and hear the greatest of all time. He proved once again that he could win by 31 and a half links , and anytime it looked like someone got closer that 31 links , he just proved that that was merely and illusion. I knew he was special after hearing the first of him in Jamie's Cryn. I heard the song 1 time. I put it on again and liked it so much I put it on a 3rd time before ever hearing any other song. It was the sexiest beat I had ever heard in my life. Mid way thru the song on the 3rd listening , I was history. Since that spring day of March or April , no other band has come closer that 31 lengths in my mind. I and I know many others are all blessed to have heard and seen him all these years. He left us too soon. Why do all the best parties end before their time ? I don't know and I wish he could have stayed longer with more new music. He was the man and the band. It was all him, no dissin to DLR and his multi contributions to the band. But The proved that they could not only get along without Dave , but maintain the level they did in his absence, but Van Halen go on without EVH. ? Impossible,. He was the most irreplaceable member of that band. Period ! RIP EVH you were always the best , and you always will be !
He’s just as famous as a rhythm player,any time someone mentions his solos there’s more comments about his rhythm playing then there is about his solos,a lot more and is one of the first things commented on every time
If Ed played this for you and said, 'come up with some words and a melody to sing over this and by the way, make sure it's great,' could you do it? Me neither.
Probably my most listened to VH track of all time. That riff is unbelievably cool AND melodic. Thats the greatest thing about Eddie's riffs...they are pieces of melody that come from the heart of a great songwriter. Thats exactly what was missing from most of all the other metal bands in the 80s...that melodic soul.
After listening to the isolated track, it solidifies the fact that this is an EXTREMELY DIFFICULT song to play. So many variations of tone and techniques it’s really amazing. Genius.
I have to admit listening to the incredible tracks without the band brings tears to my eyes..because two reasons, it's so awesome and second he's gone now...😢🎸
Saw the diver down tour in Toronto 1982 ... the set list was killer ... this tune was outstanding with that mini Les Paul ... VH ruled the world at that time !
This is a MasterPiece! Creating ONE Masterpiece in Your Life is a Rare and Huge Accomplishment...... Eddie has created MANY! A ONE of a KIND Talent that will Never be Duplicated!
No other guitarist had this kind of creativity. This piece as well as the Mean Streets intro came from places high above straight down into Eddie's fingers! I had never heard chords like this in a rock band's songs. Little Guitars will always be special to me. And Roth's lyrics were outta nowhere as well!
@@nicholasdorazio10 In my opinion Yngwie is better than the rest. The rest copies him while he copies a lot of great Classical musicians. That makes him better.
@@claesaxelsson8817 Yngwie is incredible,changed my style for ever and will be forever grateful for what he was able to contribute not only as a musician,but also as a well respected Composer!
I agree, and it brings a certain natural energy and urgency to the song. His feel and tempo still seem to be largely "on". He's driving the song the whole way. I couldn't help but think "no drummer needed" as I listened to this isolated track. It's strange, but a lot of my favorite guitarists have this tendency. Hendrix was guilty of this, so is Eric Johnson.
Let it sink in that on an album of around 1/2 covers done in the early 1980s, Ed's compositions fully stacked up against some of the greatest songs of the 1950s and 1960s. He literally wrote things that are fully on-par with MoTown and the biggest pop rock songs of the Elvis era. It's no wonder that Quincy Jones requested him to play on a Michael Jackson song that he knew would be pivotal to his career. After Beat It, Michael began incorporating more and more rock to his albums, before Beat It there was no rock at all in his releases. Listening to this Van Halen album, Diver Down, Quincy knew that he was hearing one of the best overall musicians/composers of an entire era (not just decade, I'm saying 1950s - 2000s, ie more than 1 generation). Quincy could have gotten literally anybody, yeah, he's that big of a thing, he was musical arranger for the Rat Pack (Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, etc). He only wanted 1 guy. And every guitar player on earth who has heard that recording agrees that he made the right choice. There's nothing else like Eddie, even the best mimics fall short by a mile and we all know that.
@@donsmith5385 Don,just be thankful that they didn't stop after 1984! Because Sammy era was great also! Just not the same,but EVH guitar playing was as great as the Dave era! Mais oui,ouh là là!
If you go back a decade, listen to Pete Townshend with the Who's "Sparks" from "Tommy". Then go back centuries to both guitarist's favorite classical composers, it's all there: not copywritten notes & chords, but honest human feelings and emotions. Thanks, Eddie!!!♥️😅♥️😥♥️
@johnb7014 - You are a man of discerning musical taste, extraordinary intelligence, and a tonal and aural sensibility that prohibits you to follow, only lead. Had you been alive in an earlier time you probably would have been an Apostle. The next time you cross the path of a blind person, touch their forehead, then search for another.
Funny, as now you can hear the edits. Roth stated in a Joe Rogan interview that many Eddie solos were "comped"- compiled together. The best parts of solos put together for inclusion on albums. So as a result, Eddie had to go back & learn the way it was actually comped together in the studio. And DLR admitted, the way it was comped led to some difficulties. As in, where an ending part of one solo had no relation on the guitar fretboard to where the next part commenced. But if anyone could figure out how to make it work, Eduardo could.... Cool stuff indeed !! 😎
His sense of timing and phrasing was impeccable. As fast as he could play, as strong as his hands were, he never rushed the notes. The guy just loved playing guitar..
Thank you for the magic, Ed! My uncle was a retired Pasadena, Ca. Fire Chief. My grandfather was a retired Pasadena, Ca. Policeman. My mother was a Pasadena High grad who was also a Princess on the "Tournament of Roses Parade Queen's Court". Do you know who I think of when I think of Pasadena? Van Halen. (*Note: Edward wasn't a Boston Red Sox catcher for Babe Ruth, Grandpa was!)
I love this song, but somehow this sounds even better! Well, obviously I know why it sounds better. Heaven must be having such a jam session with all the greats we're missing here! 💜🎸
I can only imagine how great it would be to have this kind of talent. I've loved Eddie's style and technique for as long as I can remember. I put Alex in my top 5 drummers EVER also.
People always sh!t all over Diver Down, including Eddie. But, it’s gems like this one, and Full Bug, Hang ‘Em High, etc that made the album get plenty of play time for me. There’s NO bad VH albums.
EEEEEEEEK! OMG this is just sick - bravo Eddie, bravo miss you so much and absolutely one of my VH favs. this song always makes me SO HAPPY....anyone have Whispers too?
Diver Down was one of the first vinyl records i've bought, because it's pretty much my favorite Van Halen album (Fair Warning is also a personal love of mine). Every now and then when i feel happy i put it to play, because the high energy it has is just out of this world.
Cara adoro essa música. Minha banda nunca quis tocar, mas já toque várias vezes com o LP. Esse video vai deixar a experiencia bem mais desafiadora. Obrigado.
Weird! I was just fooling around with the intro tremolo part the other day when I was playing! Big Brother is seriously watching! I have no idea how he can do the second part so cleanly with one hand during the tremolo! I remember back in 1984 when first learning the guitar, this first part really intrigued me and I learned a half ass version. I think I'm going to learn it properly now.
In a Guitar World Magazine interview he revealed he played / recorded both parts separately. So one part is just the tremolo picking alone... and the other part is the walking notes.
Man thank you so much for this. I’m learning this one on guitar and I thought “surely there’s something on RU-vid with this isolated”. Sure enough….there was. Amazing times we live in. Normally I’d be spending all day looking at a tab book that I’d pay way too much for
