Does Eddie VH still have it? Can he still shred?

**Badabing** · 11.01.02, 09:44 PM

That's the word on the street ladies & gents.. I have worked at a record store and instrument shop and the most frequently asked question is "Can Eddie still rip?".. "Can he still shred?"..

People like Kirk Hammett and John Petrucci still rip.. So does Buckethead and Dimebag Darrell..
But can Edward? He changed his style soo much when Sammy joined WAY back in 85' and did such a good job with their new style/sound that he totally abandoned his brilliant early style of play. That wicked fiery spontaneous style he had back in the day. It's like ok Ed, you proved for over a decade with Sam that you can change your style and succeed and write great tunes, now get back to the shredding baby!!!

I recall a story just a couple years back concerning Jason Becker, the brilliant virtuoso stricken with ALS that Edward is friends with... Jason amazingly still writes and composes music by computer.. He composed a song for Eddie to play. In Jason's words "a ripping tune".. H wanted Edward to really shred and wail all over it.. Eddie decided to do another song Jason had written cuz he felt it had more "commercial appeal".. Right there is the problem. Edward aint thinking like a guitar player, he is thinking like an A&R guy!! Jason composed that tune cuz like all of us, and especially the youth, they wanna see if the King can still throw down...

And if Edward wants to explore new styles and jam with a new bass player, go ahead. Why dont you call up Mike Portnoy or Les Claypool, there is a drummer and bass player who I am sure would be honored to at least jog over to 5150 and jam... Do a damn solo project, jam, whatever.. Just dont soil the VH name by calling it Van Halen... Hell, call Tommy Lee up. You two hooking up would be major news... Call up Phil Anselmo & Dimebag... Stephen Perkins of Jane's Addiction... Call up Flea!! lol... Just get jammin and RIP!!!!!!!!!
I dont mean every damn une either, but write about 2-3 songs that prove you can still blast!!!

**JMJ** · 11.01.02, 09:49 PM

kirk hammett still shreds? really? where?

lol

JMJ

**jimmy** · 11.01.02, 09:57 PM

When you're young and hungary........you can do amazing things.

Ed is so good that, anything else he comes up with I'll say, "doesn't surprise me he came up with that....he's Ed"

**LittleGuitars99** · 11.01.02, 10:21 PM

What are you a idiot??Can Ed still shred??I didn't know not blowing through 1000 notes at a time is not good playing.Why does he always have to play fast??Do we know anything about guitar??Ed has the best transition between lead and rythm playing in the buisness, not to mention his right-hand dynamics are second to none, and what about his rythim playing??Do I have to go on??This is a waste of a topic..

**Badabing** · 11.01.02, 10:23 PM

Good Hammett joke. But yes he does still shred. Not so much in their newer 90's style, but in concert, Metallica will still whip out some tunes from waaay back in their early days and just rip all to hell!! Its great, drives the crowd into a goddamn frenzy and its one of the few reasons I still go see them.. Cuz their new stuff dont do much for me... I recall reading an interview where Hammett said he even missed his early style and wanted to bring some of that back. I think they are going back to more ripping guitar on their newer stuff.. Ed should do the same.

And I dont think age has anything to do with it. Holdsworth still shreds... Steve Vai too.. He is UNREAL.. So is Uli Roth.. And the maestro Andres Segovia still ripped till the day he died, and that dude musta been about 106... lol...
So does Yngwie... Ed's always been a song guy, and that is what its all about.. But back in the day, he could rip and shred within the context of a song, wether it was VH metal like ON FIRE or poppier stuff like JUMP, or MJ's Beat It... I miss that Eddie..

**Badabing** · 11.01.02, 10:33 PM

Originally posted by littleguitars_99:
What are you a idiot??Can Ed still shred??I didn't know not blowing through 1000 notes at a time is not good playing.Why does he always have to play fast??Do we know anything about guitar??Ed has the best transition between lead and rythm playing in the buisness, not to mention his right-hand dynamics are second to none, and what about his rythim playing??Do I have to go on??This is a waste of a topic..

Woooooo partner, take a midol.

First off, I am tellin ya what the word is out on the street. And its the truth, if ya cant handle it, tough shit. But you would have to be the idiot not to realize the guitar took a backseat in VH since 1984 dude, ok? And no, it doesnt have to be 1000 notes per second.. I never said that. I know guitar. I consider Al Dimeola a shredder... I consider Django Reinhardt a shredder in his time... Stevie Ray too..
But when is the last time you really banged your head to a VH tune man? Come on... Visit any guitar tab website and look up the VH guitar tabs posted on there and see the ones people look up.. 99% of the time they want the CLASSIC VH ERA buddy, ok? What does that tell ya? I dig Van Hagar too, but for guitar, its all about the old school..

As I said, just 2-3 songs on a new record where he fires it up.. Ed has never been a 1000 notes per second guy anyways, more a guy who chooses his spots and then plays those liquid-like little runs and flurries.. I do agree with you about his transitions... Not only that, Ed is one of the best damn rythm players around... He is the total package.. He showed some fire on the ONE I WANT solo on VH3...

**bob'e'chops** · 11.01.02, 11:57 PM

When you mean shred are you referring to his cooking skills in the kitchen with the potatoes or what?..cos' as far as guitar playing goes......what is understood doesnt need to be discussed !!

**Daved Mikalex** · 11.02.02, 02:40 AM

I have no doubt that Ed can still shred.

I agree that the whole Van Hagar era was a bit of a letdown for the fans that had been there since the beginning (as far as Ed's solo's were concerned) but every now and then he threw one in to show us he still can. I hate to say it, but "Dreams" had a signature old time Ed solo.

Im a guitarist myself and even though my daily playing days are behind me, with a few hours of
fucking around, I can play anything I used to play. And I am no Edward Van Halen !

If he wants to, he could still do it.

**subway** · 11.02.02, 07:38 AM

Please close this topic...

to suggest Ed has any "problems" playing a guitar is fucking idiotic.

**shooter666** · 11.02.02, 07:58 AM

I second that motion!!!!

**aftershock5** · 11.02.02, 09:17 AM

I third that motion..
What are you, fucking Tony Soprano, "The word on the street."
Give me a fucking break.
Close this piece of shit!

**el_jalepeno** · 11.02.02, 09:55 AM

Y'all need to lighten up, take some Pamprin, and stop being whining bitches. I think it's a damn fine question. I'd love to hear how Ed played with Leslie recently. It could explain why there isn't anything coming from the VH camp. Maybe Ed feels he's done it all... Or maybe he just likes jamming once in a while like many of us rather than doing it full time like he used to, hence taking up golf... You know: Just noodling around kind of thing... [img]graemlins/bounce.gif[/img] Anyone have some bootlegs from the Leslie West show for download?

**aftershock5** · 11.02.02, 10:01 AM

Originally posted by el_jalepeno:
Y'all need to lighten up, take some Pamprin, and stop being whining bitches. I think it's a damn fine question. I'd love to hear how Ed played with Leslie recently. It could explain why there isn't anything coming from the VH camp. Maybe Ed feels he's done it all... Or maybe he just likes jamming once in a while like many of us rather than doing it full time like he used to, hence taking up golf... You know: Just noodling around kind of thing... [img]graemlins/bounce.gif[/img] Anyone have some bootlegs from the Leslie West show for download?

The question could have been put a different way, rather than "word on the street." He's acting like a fucking authority.

Why don't you stop telling people what they should or should not do on this board. It's for discussion, in case you haven't noticed, and you callin' us bitches for our opinion on the matter makes you look stupid.
Take a dose of your own medicine bud.

**theodore templeman** · 11.02.02, 10:02 AM

I saw VH on the VHIII tour with Cherone and Edward VH was playing with a fire and passion that I don't recall seeing during the Hagar years. The reason for the amped up playing was likely the pressure the band, and Eddie in particular, were getting regarding the sense of disappointment felt by many regarding that ill-fated album.

Eddie can still play like a motherfucker (or he could then, which granted was five years ago) but his style has changed since his youth. I sense that every note he plays today is planned and thought out in advance...constructed. It is the work of a mature player. The younger stuff felt maybe looser and filled with more explosive energy of discovery.

**Reckless Fable** · 11.02.02, 10:11 AM

Believe it or not, I believe that I can truely add something substantive to this conversation. One of the reasons that I was so ansy about a follow up to VH3 (or a reunion or whatever) was because Edward had to relearn all the songs and complicated riffs that he had stopped playing for such a long time during the Sammy years. During the VH3 tour, Ed had played tighter than he had in years. Except, I am personally not to keen on the whole metal pick sound. I wish he would go back to the plastic. But as far as his playing goes, he was on. Anyway, I was really looking forward to hearing what could have come out of Ed after that time. Ah, fuck all...