10 Van Halen songs you should be listening to

If you are only listening to Eruption, then you are missing Eddie Van Halen’s best stuff

If you are a big fan of Eddie Van Halen’s playing (and who isn’t?), then chances are you have spent many hours in your bedroom, headphones gaffer-taped to your head, with the sounds of “Eruption”, “You Reallly Got Me” and “Unchained” pounding in your head.

Well, you are in good company. Most guitar players have been inspired by, and have spent countless hours trying to figure out the same bunch of classic Van Halen tunes. And there aint nothin’ wrong with that.

But, there are a bunch of classic tunes from them golden Van Halen years that are really worth a listen. Some of his best playing happened in some fairly obscure songs that never really got much radio play

Don’t get me wrong, “Jump” and “Runnin’ With the Devil” are great songs. But we’ve all been there and gotten the T-Shirt. While the Van Halen franchise has not aged well, and these fellows have had their share of… drama, Mr. Van Halen was one damm great guitar player back in the day. He really laid down some smokin’ rhythm and lead tracks that truly deserve a second glance. So, with no further ado, what follows are, in my opinion, “Ten Van Halen Songs you Should be listening to:”

1. Hear about it later - Fair Warning, 1981

This is a very special song. Well. it’s more of a very special sonic assault on your senses. But it’s still quite special. Legend has it that he actually wrote that intro on piano, and then played it on guitar. Now, you can’t believe everything you read in Guitar World magazine, but this one I do believe. Somethin’ just ain’t quite right about that intro, and that is what makes it send shivers up my spine. It’s an odd melody and the chord voicings are wonderfully un-guitarlike. And of course the flanger just reminds you that if you are not tripping while listening to this, you should be.

Then there is the solo section. I mean, how much more “Long Island” could that section start out being? Just a cow-bell dominated groove with bass just going I-bVII-I over and over (and over). But, just when you think things couldn’t be less spectacular, this dude jumps in with some stupid-ass mars-like riffs. I didn’t even bother trying to figure this stuff out when I was a kid, I just sat there and well… for once I put the bong down! I just wanted to breathe it in and hope that some of that solo stuck to my lungs. That is about as classic-VH as it gets. The solo to “Hear About it Later” is prime Van Halen soling; more grove than shred, a cascade of earthly yet other-worldly phrasing, dripping in tone that is more chewy than a home-made cookie.

2. Take Your Whiskey Home – Women and Children First, 1980

Wow did I hate this album when I first heard it. Wow was I stupid. This song is in my opinion a perfect example of how Eddie Van Halen’s biggest weakness is the strength of the song. Let’s not kid ourselves, Ed’s sense of rhythm is a bit odd. Lucky for him he did not have to make his living reading charts or doing club dates. But, it is this very odd sense of rhythm that really makes this song swing. Listen to that acoustic intro. He keeps coming around the progression and landing on “One” in a way that, well, I just can’t do it. And I can’t tap my foot to it. Which is why I love that song so much. After 28 years, I just cannot figure out exactly were his “One” is in that intro. And I think it makes the intro work because of his conviction. He’s not playing to a metronome or worrying about how it sounds. You can just hear how it is playing it the way he feels it, which is of course, always the best way to go. It swings. glory be, it swings. And I cannot figure out why, but it does. What a great intro.

3. Feel Your Love Tonight - Van Halen, 1978

This is a “guitar god solo”. Just rockin’ like there will be no more gym class. This is not shred. Shredders get teen-aged boys excited. This is a man’s solo. This is the kind of solo that gets secretaries excited. Yes, I have seen girls go “ooooooh…” over this solo. And that’s what you want if you are a guy guitarist. You want girls to dig your solo, not boys. And if that weren’t enough, listen closely folks, the solo is on the original rhythm track! Wait! Holy no pro-tools-bullshit batman, yes, you got it, he played at the same time as the band, did the solo, kept playing rhythm, then went back and over-dubbed the rhythm part during the solo. Who the hell overdubs the rhythm part of the solo? Have you ever done that? No, you have not. This is what makes Eddie Van Halen great to me if nothing else. He was so on top of his shit, that he did the rhythm and a smokin’ solo all on the same track, then goes back and overdubs some rhythm…. just to thicken it up a bit. And the rhythm track is also smokin’…. ugghhhhh, I need a ciggarette.

4. Sinner’s Swing! - Fair Warning, 1981

This is what they call a “Go For It” solo. You should not waste your time trying to learn this solo. You should learn how to play with this kind of conviction and total disregard for what anyone thinks. Of course it helps when you are selling millions of records, snorting blow off the nose of your lear-jet, and are married to a total babe. If you do not find yourself in these circumstances often, well…Just use your imagination.

5. Little Dreamer – Van Halen, 1978

This is classic minor-rock stuff. The rhythm track is so dead-on. Nobody plays like this anymore. Everyone is in such a hurry, and using as much gain as their little quintuple-rectifier will put out. Listen to this guy’s tone. Absolutely on top of his game, perfect rock sound and perfect rock rhythm playin. And the solo is just a dam fine example of what happens when you really understand the beauty of minor keys in rock.

6. Light up the Sky – Van Halen II, 1979

When I first heard this album I thought to myself: “Hmmm, these guys looked somewhat tough and cool on their first album, but this second album sounds a little like cotton candy”. 20 years later, I still feel this way. But, there is really some great stuff on this album. Light up the Sky is one of my favorites. What I love about this song is the little finger-tapping thing he does in the bridge that precedes the solo. It’s kinda on the same wavelength as the finger-tapping solo to “Dance the Night Away”, but a bit less thematic. And, if you listen to it really loud with headphones (is there really any other way to listen to music? I think not), you hear that the little chord changes he’s doing are pretty hip!

7. Women in Love - Van Halen II, 1979

This is not a very macho song. Quite honestly, I dont’ know what the song is really about or what they were thinking, but I digress. The intro is cool man. All that octave / tapping stuff. Just great. He really get’s you in this kind of “Other World” vibe by mixing in really pretty strat tones. It’s the mix that makes the cake taste so good here. Nice Stuff.

8. Push Comes to Shove – Fair Warning, 1981

Ok, this is probably my favorite. The tone he gets for this whole song is just so perfect. Not 100% clean, but no real drive. Just this kind of Strat-dipped-in- Red-Bull kinda thing. Really pretty, but always on the verge of feeding back. Then the solo. This is an absolutely beautiful solo. A wonderful combination of “Go for it” and tastefully executed phrasing. No one I know has heard of this song, but it’s always the first thing that comes to mind when people start talking about his best stuff. I always keep my mouth shut because no one has ever heard of this song…. and that is a shame.

9. Loss of Control – Women and Children First, 1980

I have absolutely no idea what he is doing here. But, the rhythm guitar part moves, it swings, it is flying around and around you like a great big buzzin’ gnat.

10. Sunday Afternoon in the Park – Fair Warning, 1981

Alright, Allright you perfectionists, I know this is not a guitar. It is him playing one of those old cheapo Electro Harmonix synths through a stack of Marshalls. But there you go. How cool is that?