Eddie Van Halen redefined guitar playing for a whole generation. After hours and hours of listening to some pretty killer Van Halen tracks, I began to compile a list of songs. The hard part of that was not the intense and extreme solos form the iconic guitarist but, choosing which one deserves to be better placed than another.
The self-taught prodigy has mind blowing talent, when it comes to plucking those six strings, leaving it almost impossible to rate them. He was one of the most confounding musicians of the rock ’n’ roll era. I think it is safe to say that he is one of the top three performers. Yet today, we are going to try and squish all his work into a tiny list of twenty. Wish us luck!
Everything has to be considered when choosing a Top 20 of anything. This list took several hours to filter through the tracks and rate each one accordingly. Then, rip up the list!
It cannot be done. Everyone else’s list differs from each other’s. Although, with an artist like the late Eddie, we are bound to agree on one thing… Eddie Van Halen is one hell of a guitarist!
Playing through his discography since his passing, I have chosen my favourite tracks and favourite solos. One thing I have learned about his work is that all his best solos are not necessarily on the best tracks. With that in mind, I was able to separate my preferences and think about which piece really stood out for me.
After completing this list, the tracks had to be arranged. This does not mean that a certain song’s ranking makes it a better song than one from the bottom. It is just one guy’s opinion at the time of listening.
Not only did the band have an insane amount of hits, each worthy of being on any list, but Eddie also collaborated with many others. The first to come to my mind is Michael Jackson’s ‘Beat It’ – A track that the Pop Prince wanted to use to break into that ‘Bad’ era. He saw EVH as the only guy to play the solo. Eddie, being Eddie, brought this song to a whole new level with his solo that only took one take!
Having so many hits throughout his career makes any limited list extremely hard, leaving some songs to find home on the Honourable Mentions.
Here is my Top 20 List of Eddie Van Halen Solos:
- Humans Being
- Beat It!
- Eruption
- Spanish Fly
- Hot For The teacher
- Right Now
- Top Jimmy
- Everybody Wants Some
- Summer Nights
- Ice Cream Man
- Mean Street
- I’m The One
- 5150
- One I Want
- Somebody Get Me A Doctor
- Poundcake
- Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love
- Push Comes To Shove
- So Is This Love
- Drop Dead Legs
Eddie Van Halen is an absolute god on the guitar! It is excruciating leave out certain songs, so I have also compiled the ‘Honorable Mentions’ List:
- Respect The Wind
- Running With The Devil
- You Really Got Me
- Dancing In The Street
- DOA
- Don’t Tell Me
- Mine All Mine
- Panama
- Dreams
- Fools
- Cabo Wabo
- Love Walks In
- Runaround
- Jump
- You’re No Good
What do you consider to be Eddie’s finest moments? Comment below and give us your thoughts on what made him a guitar god.
