John 5 recently recalled the “shock” of hearing Van Halen’s 1978 debut album for the first time.
“I bought [Van Halen I] from the cover alone, because it said ‘Gene Simmons’, and he worked on the record,” said the Mötley Crüe guitarist during a recent appearance on AXS TV’s Vinyl Obsession podcast. “And I remember putting this on, and I think maybe this record was the one that maybe gave me the biggest shock, because of the sound. Now, I was already playing guitar. And it was, like, ‘Whoa.’ It was like seeing a car, but then seeing a race car. You’re, like, ‘Whoa.’ I mean, [Edward’s guitar playing] really freaked me out. And then with Dave’s vocal and the sound and everything…Without these four guys, it wouldn’t be the same — with Mikey’s vocals and his playing and Alex’s playing.”
As for Edward’s guitar playing, John said: “I remember I would get on Eddie’s rig and I would get on his guitar rig, and it’s all in the hands — it’s just in the hands,” He said. It’s in his attack. It’s in his playing. That’s why he sounds like Eddie. That’s why when people play other people’s music, you can hit all the notes, but it’s just different with certain players, like Eddie, because there was an attack and there was a certain way he really hit the the strings. Same thing with Yngwie Malmsteen or people like that. They have a certain swing to them or a certain attack. And that’s how it was with Van Halen.”