As shown in these swaggering songs, the late Van Halen guitarist was one of rock’s great futurists, using skilful technique and keyboards to push the genre forward
It’s difficult to overstate the musical impact of Eddie Van Halen, who died on Tuesday from throat
cancer at the age of 65. The namesake and leader of Van Halen, the Dutch-born musician was one of the greatest guitarists of all time, a player who merged rigorous technique and free-flowing feel like few others.
The southern
California quartet (whose most successful lineup comprised vocalist David Lee Roth, bassist Michael Anthony and Eddie’s brother Alex on drums) thrived on contradictions: Van Halen absorbed punk’s energy and DIY verve, but rejected the genre’s confrontational attitude, and never lost the crowd-pleasing vibe they developed in the 1970s during their cover-band days. Despite such onstage exuberance, the band never pandered to trends or watered-down their sound, and although their approach to hard rock sounded exciting and contemporary, the band’s
music was informed by decades of musical history:
British Invasion, heavy metal, psychedelic and blues rock, songwriter-driven pop, even classical.