Van Halen is sugar pop rock by numbers as you can get. Not in any way either memorable, or influential.
Bandwagon fodder…
the nodding donkey:
Van Halen is sugar pop rock by numbers as you can get. Not in any way either memorable, or influential.Bandwagon fodder…
Not grade-A rock music per se, but deffo high in the adrenaline stakes.Eddie spanked a mean plank in comparison to Halens cretinous running mates,Def-Lep,Maiden,kiss et-al. Their killer tune (Jump) almost made the 80’s rock- scene tolerable.Charisma,sass,technical-dexterity,they were the real deal for a short time.Agree with the Creedence observation though.A whole different level of awesomeness-Fortunate son,Ever seen the rain,Born on the Bayou.Never far from my mp3 playlist. 
I’m not a fan of any of that hair metal, except Eye of the Tiger, that is guaranteed to get me doing a chicken impression, the rest, not for me, although the genre has a huge following in the US and Canada, there are dedicated music channels for it and far too many 50-60yr old blokes still rocking the long hair, some of them take the combover to extreme levels, mind you the mullet is still a thing in trailer parks too.
newmercman:
I’m not a fan of any of that hair metal, except Eye of the Tiger, that is guaranteed to get me doing a chicken impression, the rest, not for me, although the genre has a huge following in the US and Canada, there are dedicated music channels for it and far too many 50-60yr old blokes still rocking the long hair, some of them take the combover to extreme levels, mind you the mullet is still a thing in trailer parks too.
Lol,if we’re looking at this from a tribal/‘fashion’ perspective,there’s a good case to prosecute that case but if we’re still on a music riff i would say some of that redneck,lawung haired culture has yielded some sublime rock n roll over the years,Skynrrd,Outlaws et al.To my mind the definitive ‘hair-metal’ tag would be on Bon-Jovi and their ilk (too embarrassing to name check). Apart from say,‘wanted dead or alive’, a song I’ve just nailed on guitar via youtube.Other than that; i can’t think of anything remotely worthy from their ‘body of work’.Try nailing a Van-Halen tutorial 
fuughedabout it.
Taking up guitar playing has been one of lifes greatest pleasures,you start to glimpse the sheer wizardy of technique and tunings that go into crafting masterpieces we take for granted.Bob Dylans work was mostly,but not always,basic em,c,g and g7 chords whereas Paul Simon used similar structures but with fiendish tunings,dropped D type of thing and as for Joni Mitchel her tunings were on a whole different level of clever-dickery.
Ditto Fleetwood Macs,Lyndsey Buckingham,an absolute sorcerer of complex tunings.I’ve given up on learning his ‘Never going back again’ too darned painful and yet i can do a reasonable rendition of Mason William’s -Classical Gas and the bulk of Zeps-Stairway.strange paradox right there.Good tuition for guitar playing online has never been more accessible these days as a result of lockdowns no doubt. 
There’s a superb youtube set of clips showing young uns,receiving their first taste of real music.Stairway; from Zeppelin,Time by Pink Floyd and a particularly potent,live,guitar workout by Eddie Van Halen (Eruption) A Sweet black- American - girl gets her emotional mainframe put through the blender as Gilmour rips his peerless guitar solo from Dark Side Of The Moon.These poor things have only ever known satanic crap from Swift,jay z,Grande ad nauseum and obviously the cynic in me allows for the showboating element with some of them but,that aside;it does give a nice vibe to see these musical jewels ‘revealed’ and the resulting reactions displayed by these kids at witnessing pure genius in sound and motion.Highly recommended.
manalishi:
There’s a superb youtube set of clips showing young uns,receiving their first taste of real music.Stairway; from Zeppelin,Time by Pink Floyd and a particularly potent,live,guitar workout by Eddie Van Halen (Eruption)
I love those vids , the expression on her face when Eric Burdon sang and Brian Johnson did Thunderstruck was priceless , and I thought she was going to faint when Robert Plant did Black Dog . It seems there is still a glimmer of hope for the young . I don’t see a resurgence any time soon though , there is just no talent , it’s all waving , posturing and showing flesh . I’m glad I’m old enough to have the original memories . On another note Neck and Neck by Knopfler and Chet Atkins is so relaxing to listen to , completely different genre , good honest guitar playing country blues .
Those 3 latino girls viewing Zep, doing (s.t.h) is a peach.I think it safe to say their minds were blown by the spectacle,but it was interesting one of the girls picked up on Plants unfortunate,v-sign to crowd malfunction…‘‘coz you know sometimes words have two meanings’’…lol.65 to75,rock-n-rolls real golden-age. 
I am old enough (born1942)to have had it all , right through from Bill Haley to now , but I do agree that 60s 70s and 80s were the pinnacle of music . New decent music is very thin on the ground and the best anyone can do now are remakes of the old classic sounds , still nobody can take away what we have seen and heard .
rigsby:
I am old enough (born1942)to have had it all , right through from Bill Haley to now , but I do agree that 60s 70s and 80s were the pinnacle of music . New decent music is very thin on the ground and the best anyone can do now are remakes of the old classic sounds , still nobody can take away what we have seen and heard .
Strange one when you drill into it.I see no need for new-music anymore when there’s such treasures to be harvested from days of yore.A rich bounty of artistry which can be appreciated more; sonically with (Naim,Arcam,Bose) audio equipment,and way more luxuriously via bluetooth. Adios the snap,crackle and pop we endured with vinyl 
and even taking it to the next level courtesy of youtube- tutilage,by actually learning to play guitars ourselves given the high-calibre of teachers you find on there.(Canadian chap-‘Shut up and Play’ being my go-to site)
I concur with you though about the present state of musical artistry,essentially a black hole of nothingness.How else can the success of property-magnate Ed-Sheeran be explained ? Only these culturally stagnant times could vomit up an atrocity such as that,not exactly up there with Tim Hardin or Neil Young i’d vouchsafe.A few generations need to be skipped i reckon before some new musical alchemy takes root but i’m more than happy to enjoy the fruits of yesteryear when giants of talent roamed the earth,Jedward,Rick Astley,Westlife,Kajagoogoo 
can you dig?
Unless skinned off your ■■■■ I cant cope much with anything the kids play, although the youngest at 21 is discovering the 70’s and 80’s over 40 years after her birth.
I do like reading about the influences of our greatest bands and find it goes back to the blues and cotton picker songs of the 20’s
Wheel Nut:
Unless skinned off your ■■■■ I cant cope much with anything the kids play, although the youngest at 21 is discovering the 70’s and 80’s over 40 years after her birth.I do like reading about the influences of our greatest bands and find it goes back to the blues and cotton picker songs of the 20’s
And not forgetting the rich folk traditions of Olde-England, a musical seam greatly mined by multiple talents including-Paul Simon,Byrds,Sandy Denny,Baez,Dylan etc.
For a real treat,check out Peter- Paul and Mary’s take on Ewan Macolls- ‘The First Time Ever i Saw Your Face’ on YT. That Mary Travers is the most beauteous,exquisite lady ever to grace the planet.Roberta Flacks version is unsurpassable i’d venture,but PPM’s is probably truer to fellow folkie,Macolls original composition.Black and white footage no way compromises the majesty of the performance
manalishi:
For a real treat,check out Peter- Paul and Mary’s take on Ewan Macolls- ‘The First Time Ever i Saw Your Face’ on YT. That Mary Travers is the most beauteous,exquisite lady ever to grace the planet.Roberta Flacks version is unsurpassable i’d venture,but PPM’s is probably truer to fellow folkie,Macolls original composition.Black and white footage no way compromises the majesty of the performance
Great shout. Lovely rendition.
And that blonde bird is a cracker.
She was worth the look alone!
Paul_11:
manalishi:
For a real treat,check out Peter- Paul and Mary’s take on Ewan Macolls- ‘The First Time Ever i Saw Your Face’ on YT. That Mary Travers is the most beauteous,exquisite lady ever to grace the planet.Roberta Flacks version is unsurpassable i’d venture,but PPM’s is probably truer to fellow folkie,Macolls original composition.Black and white footage no way compromises the majesty of the performanceGreat shout. Lovely rendition.
And that blonde bird is a cracker.She was worth the look alone!
Carryfast:
Paul_11:
manalishi:
For a real treat,check out Peter- Paul and Mary’s take on Ewan Macolls- ‘The First Time Ever i Saw Your Face’ on YT. That Mary Travers is the most beauteous,exquisite lady ever to grace the planet.Roberta Flacks version is unsurpassable i’d venture,but PPM’s is probably truer to fellow folkie,Macolls original composition.Black and white footage no way compromises the majesty of the performanceGreat shout. Lovely rendition.
And that blonde bird is a cracker.She was worth the look alone!
Oh yay.
Excellent clip,straight to the Realplayer library. Judy Durham knew how to birds wing alright.Georgie girl’s never far from my playlists Reminds me of the greatly missed Brian Mathews radio 2 show on saturday mornings before the station became unlistenable 
manalishi:
Carryfast:
Paul_11:
manalishi:
For a real treat,check out Peter- Paul and Mary’s take on Ewan Macolls- ‘The First Time Ever i Saw Your Face’ on YT. That Mary Travers is the most beauteous,exquisite lady ever to grace the planet.Roberta Flacks version is unsurpassable i’d venture,but PPM’s is probably truer to fellow folkie,Macolls original composition.Black and white footage no way compromises the majesty of the performanceGreat shout. Lovely rendition.
And that blonde bird is a cracker.She was worth the look alone!
Oh yay.
Excellent clip,straight to the Realplayer library. Judy Durham knew how to birds wing alright.Georgie girl’s never far from my playlists
Extremely easy on the eye too I’m going to put her just ahead of Mary Travers. 
Check out those guitars harmonising through some good speakers or phones.Probably bonus points through an old school valve amp.
Yup the power of a well played 12 string acoustic allied to a gorgeous female (vocal and physical) 
creates this kind of special.Dig those Ipcress-File specs on the bass player too,very cool.
Class. Wish i could do the clip posty thing,embarrassing is my lack of dexterity in these matters despite managing to post on one solitary occasion 
I wanted to post a 70s clip of American rock- band (HEART),performing-‘Dreamboat Annie’. There’s two clips ,both featuring Nancy Wilsons amazing opening acoustic riff from the ‘crazy on you’ song ,which in itself is a peach,but the- ‘Dreamboat Annie’ song has to be a contender for the shortest, (2+minutes) of musical nirvana ever put to disc. Fabulous band,two gorgeous sister frontwomen and a great zeppy/fleetwood maccy type groove that seem overshadowed by their,big- hair,power-shouldered 80’s incarnation,fairly bland i’d say in comparison.Worth a butchers believe me.
manalishi:
Class.Manalishi…you are obviously a bit green. Soz! When watching say a youtube clip, and you wish to share some seminal groundbreaking music with others, just click on share…then right click on the link shown to highlight it, and then click copy…then go to where you want to display it…say here, and then when you are ready to place it, right click again, and click paste. Hope that reads okay and helps!