Understanding the Eddie and Alex Van Halen connection

C

carychilton

Junior Member
Ed and Alex have a strong connection that accounts for their unique sound. I suspect Ed has more swing in his bones than Alex except for songs like Hot For Teacher.

Right now, I'd like to focus on Alex.

One extremely swing sounding songs- I'm The One

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzkXGIRaxcI

To my ears -Alex is not really playing swing -

-Time Signature 4/4

-2 hard swung eighth note beats on the kik and quarter note beat on snare

X2 to make a bar.

That's what I can make out.

Most of Alex's songs are this way, even on Jump, 2 eighth note beats on the kik and a quarter on the snare. Do you think Alex and Ed agreed on this style to create to Ed's hard-swung style ? This would explain why in MANY MANY transcriptions where Ed is riffing or soloing in a pattern, the pattern is OFTEN a five note pattern or a riff repeated FIVE times in a 4/4 time signature - essentially a tuplet. Is that correct in assesment?
 
I think the VH brothers are unique in that they had at least enough jazz/swing exposure to bring in some of that more musicianly influence.
And some of it is just in the DNA. Those guys are incredible if you really listen closely to the flow and pulse they have. Like you said Alex can put a heavy swing into things and Eddie has that loose flowing feel that make them such a powerhouse. Definitely icons in my book.

Ever see the six year old kid playing HFT?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1qg9myFCqw&feature=player_embedded
 
I thought Alex swung nicely playing brushes on Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now) off of Diver Down. That's really a jazz tune with Jan Van Halen on clarinet.
 
WOW I have never this Avery Prodigy before, WOW! Crazy good!
Imagine him in 20 years?

So if the HFT or I'm the One a shuffle? Is a shuffle a cheater's swing or a ....meh.... a Sinner's Swing? ;)
 
I always thought Van Halen as a whole had a pretty swinging feel. I think it made them different from the other, more blues based, rock bands of the era. I do believe most of that came from Eddie's guitar playing as his riffs weren't standard three chord, minor pentatonic based blues riffs. His playing always seems really jazzy to me, so even with Alex just playing a 4 on the floor beat, the overall effect always felt really swinging.

I dont really speak guitar well enough to explain it any better than that, but listen to a Van Halen guitar track and you will realize how differently he plays when compared to most other rock guitarists.
 
Never liking any VH stuff past the first 2 albums I had chance to see them few years back. Never thought much of Alex's playing until seeing them live. All I can say is never underestimate a drummer until seeing them in person. Awesome. And Eddie was of course out of this world playing. VH can only be appeciated live.
 
How much influence did Roth have on the feel of VH's music? When he went solo he did songs like Just a Gigolo and California Girls that had a much different "show tune" feel.
 
inneedofgrace said:
How much influence did Roth have on the feel of VH's music? When he went solo he did songs like Just a Gigolo and California Girls that had a much different "show tune" feel.
Click to expand...

When the first Chickenfoot album came out, what I noticed was how much of the Van Halen sound came from Michael Anthony.

The Alex and Eddie connection is hard to describe. It's got such a unique feel that really only comes from playing together that long. While most people think of Eddie of a great technical soloist, I've always thought Eddie was highly under rated as a rhythm guitarist.

I don't think Alex has ever gigged or recorded without Eddie.
 
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