by Eddie Van Halen started a revolution when his band released their debut album in 1978. Musicians all over the world were shocked by what they heard and desperately tried to figure out how the late legendary guitarist played.
He was soon copied by many artists and the 1980s were filled with “shredders” inspired by him, although Eddie himself was not pleased with that.
From then on, he became a guitar god for millions of fans worldwide. But who was God to Eddie when he was still becoming a guitarist?
The guitarist Eddie Van Halen said was God to him
“Eric Clapton was my God and everybody else’s. I said that once in an interview. That’s the guy I grew up on, but I don’t play anything like him, and it came back to haunt me. They took it like I was being an uppity prick about it. I didn’t mean that at all. I just meant that if you listen to Clapton, and listen to me, it’s two completely different styles, even though he’s the guy I grew up on.”
“And you know what else? This goes way back to the club days when we used to play Top 40. What’s funny is that I used to get so depressed because I could never play a song the way it was on record. No matter how hard I tried it would never sound like other people’s stuff. It wasn’t until years later that it was actually a blessing in disguise, because I can only do me. I can’t copy and make it sound like someone else.”
“It used to really kill me. We used to get kicked out of clubs. (Ed imitates club owner) “Your guitarist plays too psychedelic!” I’m goin’, “I’m trying to play the damn ‘Get Down Tonight! (by KC and the Sunshine Band)’ (Laughs),” Eddie Van Halen told Dweezil Zappa on Guitar Player magazine in 1995.
During the same conversation, he was asked whether he had a clear idea in mind of what he wanted to hear when playing the guitar, or if he simply listened to whatever came out of it. To explain his point, he used Eric Clapton as an example.
Eddie Van Halen continued:
“I never really gave it any thought, don’t hate me, Eric! It’s like he doesn’t do that any more. Now when he solos, to me it’s like he’s pissing up a rope. Excuse my French. Listen to his early solos, all the Cream stuff like ‘Sunshine Of Your Love’. (Ed plays a bunch of Clapton licks). The shit he does… he spoke when he played. And like ‘Born Under A Bad Sign’, the end of that solo was great. After having grown up on that, I thought that every time I solo I should make it like that too,” he said.
Although Eddie Van Halen was a big fan of Eric Clapton, he did not admire everything the guitarist did throughout his career. He was particularly fond of Clapton’s work with Cream, but was not very interested in much of what he recorded after the end of the supergroup. They met not long after Van Halen released their first albums and quickly became close friends.
Eddie Van Halen did not enjoy the first Eric Clapton concert he attended
Eddie didn’t had the chance to watch Cream playing live and his first Clapton show was in the early 70s when he watched Derek and The Dominos, the band the guitarist created after Blind Faith. But he wasn’t happy at all with the show and as he told Guitar World in 1992. Eddie felt like he was actually watching The Doobie Brothers or something like that.
“The first concert I saw was Derek and the Dominos with Eric Clapton… To be honest with you, I was expecting something more powerful. If I would’ve seen Cream, I probably would’ve been blown away. Because that’s the era of Clapton that I really loved.”
“The show was more of a Doobie Brothers kind of thing. There was like this tambourine and bongo player. The power wasn’t there… Al and I tried to get backstage; unfortunately, Eric had already left, but we did get to meet the tambourine player! Swear to God! “
“Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs”, the only album recorded by Derek and The Dominos became one of the most successful ones from Clapton’s career. Besides the title-track, many other songs are still fans favorites like “Bell Bottom Blues” and “Keep on Growing”.
He said Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker made Clapton sound better
Cream – I’m So Glad (Farewell Concert – Extended Edition) (11 of 11)
Interestingly, although he appreciated some of Eric Clapton’s work before Cream, such as his time with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, Eddie told Rolling Stone in 2011 that Peter Green actually sounded more like Clapton than Clapton himself did at that time. Van Halen also said that he felt Cream’s Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce elevated Clapton’s playing, making him sound better.
“Well, after Cream he changed, you know? When he started doing “I Shot the Sheriff” and this and that, and when he hooked up with Delaney & Bonnie, his whole style changed. Or at least his sound. I think the major factor was, if you listen to the live stuff. Like, say, “I’m So Glad” on Goodbye, Cream. You listen to the three guys go, and it was Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker that actually made Clapton sound really good.”
Eddie Van Halen continued:
“Because they were a couple of jazz guys pushing him. I think I actually read somewhere a long time ago that Clapton said, “I didn’t know what the hell I was doing.” He was just trying to keep up with the other two guys.”
“But it’s funny, though, because when I did dig back to the John Mayall Bluesbreakers days, I found Peter Green, who’s actually more Clapton than Clapton himself. He was a little smoother and more tasty, you know? I don’t know what ever happened to him,” Van Halen said.
Eddie’s favorite Cream albums were the ones with live recordings, during the conversation he mentioned “Wheels of Fire” and “Goodbye” as two he liked a lot. He preferred the live performances because you could really hear the three musicians playing “in their live element”. When he was a kid he would sit down with his guitar, listen to those songs and learn every detail.
