THE POLICE Guitarist ANDY SUMMERS - "EDDIE VAN HALEN Was A Genius; He's One Of The All-Time Greats" (Video)

Ultimate Guitar recently caught up with The Police guitarist Andy Summers for their series, On The Record. 

In this exclusive interview, Andy reveals how a lost album recording with Robert Fripp will soon be coming to light explain. Plus, he explains why the Rolling Stones or The Go-Go's were the only bands he would have considered joining after The Police.

UG: So, what were your thoughts on the wave that came after all that great music that you guys created back then with the thrash and the shredding guitar players? Were you a fan of guys like Malmsteen and Eddie Van Halen when they came out?

Andy Summers: "Well, not Malmsteen, no. Eddie was a genius. Eddie Van Halen, I thought was very musical. See all that stuff he could do and all the tapping stuff he worked out, he was kind of a genius guitar player, he was very touched by something and I'm so sorry he's not around anymore, because I think he's really one of the all-time greats. I've got him in the top five, no question."

Malmsteen, I suppose — it's all a bit too shreddy for me, and after a while, my ear tires of it. But I didn't grow up with that kind of music. And it's very clever sort of guitar technical stuff if you want to devote the years it takes to really get this tapping going. But I'm not sure what the music is, or what it really produces musically, or if it's something I like or not, but I definitely got Eddie's stuff. I thought it was amazing, he was such a wonderful player, but very musical."

So, you know, there's a whole other camp that I'm not really in. My camp is The Police and what I did there, and my real skills are as a jazz player. That's where I came from."