Van Halen at 50 author Martin Popoff calls Edward Van Halen is this era’s “true Mozart” who had tools that no other guitarist had, including the ability to bring “personality” to the guitar.
“He might even be the guitarist with the most personality ever on the guitar,” said Popoff during a recent interview with the Van Halen News Desk’s Eric Senich. “Because we know there’s a lot of guitar players we love who we say don’t have a sound at all. And then there’s a lot of guitar players we love that are in the middle that have something of a sound. Like, we know that part of their tool box and they do this, and they do this. But often they’re doing things that are sort of normal. Or they’re doing things that are rooted to a tradition.
“You gotta be into guitar to realize what’s cool about Michael Shenker, or Randy Rhoads, or even Angus Young, or Brian May,” continued Popoff. “You gotta be into guitar to hear it. And Jimi Hendrix is more of a guitar hero because of the story. But [with] Eddie Van Halen, you hear a few of the different things in his tool box and it’s like, ‘Oh, that’s totally…’ You can be a lamen and understand. He can be your entry into the idea of what is it like to be a guitar hero or what is it like to study guitar or follow guitar. I never really thought of that before but I think he might be literally the most…the guitarist with the most personality coming through his fingers on the guitar.”
Popoff later added: “You do not think of this band and start rattling off all the great Eddie Van Halen riffs of all time. You just think of him as just this total musician. A true Mozart, a true creative force. ‘This is my tool and I’m gonna use it in a lot of crazy, innovative, interesting ways and just one of things I’m gonna do is, you’re gonna hear some riffs.”
Popoff covers more in the interview including:
- How the differing musical tastes of David Lee Roth and the Van Halen brothers helped create the Van Halen sound
- What does Martin think of the Gene Simmons demos?
- What if Sammy Hagar joined Van Halen in 1978 instead of 1985?
- How important are the Van Halen harmonies to the band’s success?
- Edward’s varying uses of two-handed tapping in Van Halen’s music
- Women & Children First vs Fair Warning: Which does Martin like more?
- Diver Down: Are the critics right or is this album overlooked?
- What did Martin think of the keyboard-heavy “Jump”?
- Did Dave expect to return to the band before the end of the 80s?
- Did Dave help write music for the 5150 album?
- Did Sammy join Van Halen at just the right time?
- The best and worst Van Halen album covers
- Where does Martin rank OU812 among the Sammy era albums?
- How “Right Now” became a classic radio track because of MTV
- Should Sammy have added more Van Halen songs to his setlist during the 2003 Sam & Dave tour?
- Martin on why he calls 2012’s A Different Kind of Truth a “shocking last album”
- How will Edward Van Halen be remembered hundreds of years from now?
Watch “50 Years Of Van Halen Unleashed”
‘Van Halen at 50‘ is the new hardcover coffee table book by rock ‘n’ roll author Martin Popoff! This is a gorgeously crafted book of 50 of Van Halen’s career highlights augmented with crisp and often rare photography. It’s hardcover with nice embossing and spot-varnishing, and there’s a foldout timeline. 192 pages. Buy a copy now at the Van Halen Store!