Greg Prato, reporting for Ultimate-Guitar.com:
Although he wasn't the one who came up with the "two-handed tapping technique," Eddie Van Halen certainly perfected it, popularized it, pushed it to a whole new level, and brought it to the masses. There are all sorts of theories of who really inspired Eddie to start tapping on the guitar. Interestingly enough, Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony recalled how Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page gave him some ideas about it.
As he's preparing to join forces with Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, and Jason Bonham for The Best of All Worlds Tour, Anthony sat down with Ultimate Guitar and looked back on Page's influence on Eddy and shared his thoughts on some of the finest Van Halen lead parts.
Ultimate Guitar: What would you say were some of your favorite Eddie Van Halen guitar solos?
Michael Anthony: "There was basically only one solo that he ever really stuck to, which he played every tour since our first since our first tour, pretty much till the end. The original 'Eruption'. Because it was just so cool when he first came up with it, this is before our first album, when he'd be playing it.
"And it was really funny, because when it'd be played on stage and we'd be doing local shows, I know Dave was very vocal about it. He said, 'Eddie, when you do all that stuff, turn around. Turn your back to the audience, because you don't want any other guitarist seeing what you're doing.'
"And it was really interesting, because we'd rehearse in a little garage at a friend's house in Pasadena, California. And there were numerous times where we would take a break and open the door and there'd be one of Eddie's buddies or whatever, who plays guitar, standing there kind of listening to what Eddie was playing. So, even way back then, man, guitarists were on it.
"But he basically stuck to the same solo. I mean, he would kind of venture off and expand on it a little bit, but just the basic 'Eruption' solo, it's just a cool solo. All those parts that he played. Obviously, the tapping, but I don't know, maybe it's because we were all pretty much brothers in the band.
"So, we weren't on the outside listening to 'Eddie Van Halen play guitar.' We all knew he was a great guitar player. But even a lot of the stuff, not the tapping stuff, just the way that he played because he wasn't like one of those guitar players. I almost call him like, sounding like somebody playing a typewriter, when you listen to him play. Eddie wasn't just all about speed, flair.
"A lot of solos, he'd just play slow fluid stuff. But really cool musically sounding stuff, too."
Read more at Ultimate-Guitar.com.
Sammy Hagar will be joined by rock heavyweights and longtime bandmates Michael Anthony (bass, backing vocals), Jason Bonham (drums) and Joe Satriani (guitar) on The Best Of All Worlds 2024 Tour.
Produced by Live Nation and featuring special guests Loverboy, the 28-date The Best Of All Worlds tour will commence on July 13 in West Palm Beach, FL and will conclude on August 31 in St. Louis, MO. For tickets and more details, go to RedRocker.com.
The tour follows on the heels of the chart-topping success of The Collection II, the box set released in October 2023, featuring newly remastered versions of the four consecutive #1 albums released during the Hagar era of Van Halen: 5150 (1986), OU812 (1988), For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991), and Balance (1995). A reminder to fans of the arsenal of hits, many which haven’t been played live since the band’s 2004 reunion tour. Collectively, Anthony, Satriani and Bonham have played together in nearly every phase of Hagar’s career including Van Halen, Chickenfoot and The Circle, so fans can expect a setlist which draws from some of the biggest rock anthems of the last 4-decades, including, "Finish What Ya Started", "5150", "Your Love is Driving Me Crazy", "Best of Both Worlds", "Poundcake", "Sexy Little Thing", "One Way To Rock", "Right Now", "Good Enough", "Eagles Fly" and more. They’ve also enlisted legendary Australian musician, Rai Thistlethwayte on keyboard and backing vocals. The tour represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see this band of brothers deliver one of the most legendary hits-packed live shows of their career.
“It’s crazy to think that it’ll be 20 years since Mikey and I played these songs with Van Halen on the 04’ Best of Both Worlds Tour,” said Hagar. “With Joe on board, we can take a deeper dive into those years. We’re going to touch on some hits from my entire career but seeing fans old and new really embrace the new collection set off something in Mikey and I. We were at my Birthday Bash in Cabo for my 76th and looked at each other and high fived, like ‘let’s do it.’ We pulled out a couple of them and it was an instant lovefest with the fans from our first riffs. The music we created is going to outlive us all. They deserve to be heard so it's time we go out and serve the fans that music, while we still can."
Tour dates:
July
13 - West Palm Beach, FL - iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
14 - Tampa, FL - MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
16 - Alpharetta, GA - Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
19 - Charlotte, NC - PNC Music Pavilion
20 - Bristow, VA - Jiffy Lube Live
22 - Saratoga Springs, NY - Broadview Stage at SPAC
24 - Bridgeport, CT - Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater
26 - Mansfield, MA - Xfinity Center
27 - Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center
29 - Cuyahoga Falls, OH - Blossom Music Center
31 - Toronto, ON - Budweiser Stage
August
2 - Clarkston, MI - Pine Knob Music Theatre
3 - Tinley Park, IL - Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre
9 - Las Vegas, NV - MGM Grand Garden Arena
11 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre
13 - Spokane, WA - Airway Heights, WA BECU Live at Northern Quest
14 - Ridgefield, WA - RV Inn Style Resort Amphitheater
16 - Wheatland, CA - Toyota Amphitheatre
17 - Concord, CA - Toyota Pavilion at Concord
19 - Los Angeles, CA - Kia Forum
20 - Phoenix, AZ - Talking Stick Resorts Amphitheatre
22 - Dallas, TX - Dos Equis Pavilion
23 - Houston, TX - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
25 - Rogers, AR - Walmart AMP
27 - Cincinnati, OH - Riverbend Music Center
28 - Nashville, TN - Bridgestone Arena
30 - Noblesville, IN - Ruoff Music Center
31 - St. Louis, MO - Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
