Juliette Valduriez covering the Ozzy classic ‘Bark at The Moon’ – I love the authentic Jake E Lee tone she gets on this performance!

Lost Paradise – Just awesome!

Mr Crowley – Epic!

Metallic’s Master of Puppets & One

Something tells me we have a future star in the making here so watch this space.

Check out this incredible performance of Michael Jackson’s Beat It from Andy Timmons and Steve Vai.

Anybody who remembers thrash metal back in the 1980s knows about ‘The Big 4′. Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer represented the cream of the crop and during this time were all competing to be the biggest metal band in the world.

Now that the dust has settled, the bands are all on extremely good terms with each other and have been touring under the ‘Big 4′ banner in concerts around the world. Before their show at New York’s Yankee Stadium, Rolling Stone managed to speak with the bands about their history and ‘supposed’ rivalry over the years.

Two things spring to mind though, Dave Mustaine’s neck injury and how Lars Ulrich of Metallica now bears an uncanny resemblance to Michael Keaton.

Here are all the videos. Enjoy!

The ‘Big 4′ On Their Supposed Rivalry “The competition is now”

Scott Ian Interview

Lars Ulrich on Rocking Yankee Stadium

I think Eddie has had a lot of flack off the press in recent times so I thought it would be nice to show some great interviews with him talking about his guitars and amplifier setup. One thing you can’t take away from this guy is his passion for guitars and music and I think it really shines through in all of these videos. Enjoy!

Eddie talking about his touring rig

In an interview with Guitar World. Eddie discusses his signature EVH Wolfgang guitar.
It’s a great interview which really shows how much it took to build this thing.

EVH 5150 III – A Conversation in Tone with Eddie Van Halen | Part 1 – There are a few celebrity guitar players (Slash, Zakk Wylde) talking about Eddie but also some great interview clips with the man himself.

EVH 5150 III – A Conversation in Tone with Eddie Van Halen | Part 2

Van Halen are undeniably one of the most influential bands in hard rock. They were really one of the true super groups right from the outset and their first album is almost perfect from start to finish. Furthermore they had probably the greatest living rock guitarist at the helm. Eddie Van Halen has single handedly shaped modern rock guitar and has spawned thousands of clones since he burst onto the scene. How many guitarists can truly forget the first time they heard Eruption?

Eddie’s trademark ‘brown’ guitar sound was something to behold and has for the most part proved elusive for many guitarists. Although he’s known for his memorable guitar riffs and flawless tapping technique, Eddie had incredible feel and was able to play with enormous subtetly when it was required. He could also play with less gain than people give him credit for and this led to him creating a far more dynamic sound than many bands at the time.

Eddie Van Halen with his rare black and white custom strat

Eddie performing the incredible Eruption

Despite Eddie being a strong driving force behind Van Halen,  the band’s sound was also shaped by some world class drumming from Eddie’s brother Alex Van Halen. Drummers very rarely influence their bands sound however he also had a distinctive feel and his drum breaks on tracks like ‘hot for teacher’ (1984) and Jamie’s cryin’ (Van Halen I) are iconic.

One of Van Halen’s first music videos – Running with the devil

Micheal Anthony, despite sitting in the background as their bassist provided some incredible high pitched background vocals that surprisingly provided the perfect foil to David Lee Roth’s gruff yet soulful lead vocals. Check out ‘Running with the Devil’ or ‘Ain’t Talkin about Love’ to see what we mean.

Van Halen’s classic early line-up with David Lee Roth

Then you come on to the man himself, David Lee Roth, their iconic and hugely charismatic frontman. Roth has initially rejected as their singer due to Eddie not liking his vocal work. However as the band were constantly renting Roth’s PA, they eventually decided to let him front the band (Eddie had reluctantly taken lead vocals for a while). Very few bands can say they have a true frontman and David Lee Roth had it all, from flamboyant wardrobe to karate kicks and epic screams. Furthermore he always had plenty to say about himself and the band. You get the feeling that if this guy sold cars he’d have the biggest car dealership in the world!

The band struggled to get signed in their early day with some promoters (Bill Gazzarri) even claiming  they were “too loud”. However managers, Mark Algorri and Mario Miranda eventally got them the record deal they needed. They were signed to Warner Brothers Records and released their debut ‘self titled’ album in 1978. When you think about how fresh this album still sounds it’s incedible that the band were able to capture such a dynamic energy in the studio during the late 70′s. A sound that would eclipse even bands like Black Sabbath who the band later toured with.

“The crowds got bigger and Van Halen were able to draw 3,000 people to a gig they threw themselves. Kiss’ Gene Simmons paid for their original demo sessions, and Mo Ostin, chairman of the board at Warner, and Ted Templemen, V.P. of A&R, caught their act at the Starwood Club. They were signed the next day. Three years ago they played the bar scene, today they headline arenas.”

Interview from the January 1981 issue of Guitar World

They returned to the studio rapidly in 1978 for Van Halen II which was very similar in style to their debut. This album however brought the band’s first hit single, “Dance the Night Away”.

Their ‘Women and Children First’ album was released in 1980 and further cemented Van Halen’s status. But in 1981, during the recording of the ‘Fair Warning’ album, tensions started to rise. Eddie and David’s musical style was increasingly at odds and this started to show in the very lacklustre ‘Diver Down’ album in 1983.

Van Halen’s controversial 1984 album cover

However Van Halen’s next album, ’1984′ was a huge commercial sucees. Recorded at Eddie Van Halen’s newly-built 5150 Studios, the album featured heavy use of keyboards (laid down by Eddie). The lead single, “Jump”, also featured a massive synthesizer hook and anthemic lyrics, and became the band’s first and only no 1 hit, gaining them a Grammy nomination.

“According to the Recording Industry Association of America, Van Halen is the 19th best-selling band/artist of all time with sales of over 56 million albums in the United States alone, and is one of five rock bands that have had two albums sell more than 10 million copies in the U.S.”

Van Halen’s Wikipedia Page

The album, however, was also to be their last and during the 1984 tour, tensions among the band reached breaking point. Although reasons for the breakup vary based on which band member is interviewed, they were ultimately driven by a clash of egos and musical differences.

David Lee Roth however went on to have a successful solo career starting with a remake of The Beach Boys classic “California Girls” and the old standard “Just a Gigolo”. Eventually Roth would form his own super group featuring the awesome Steve Vai and Billy Sheehan (the subject of a separate post) and create one of the eighties best guitar albums , ‘Eat Em and smile’.

Eddie eventually started talking to Sammy Hagar, formerly of 1970s band Montrose, and the resulting 5150 album was to be a new high for the band during the mid eighties. That however is for part two of our Van Halen Retrospective which will be coming soon.

A VH super fan named Midnight Phil has put together a very thorough and highly amusing two part retrospective about the rock legends. He focuses the first video on the classic early years with Roth and the second on the Van Hagar years. The funniest part for me was the damning verdict on the Van Halen III album with Extreme’s Gary Cherone. Poor guy, that was a car crash waiting to happen really, still who would turn down the chance to sing with Van Halen?

Part One – The David Lee Roth Years

Bernie Marsden & Micky Moody

Bernie Marsden along with Micky Moody formed the original classic line up and the Coverdale / Marsden / Moody writing team was quite formidable in its time producing some of the bands best albums and most memorable songs including ‘Fool for you living’, ‘Crying in the rain’, ‘Here I go again’ and ‘Ain’t no love in the heart of the city’. This classic Whitesnake line-up lasted from 1978-1982 after which David Coverdale dropped the bluesy rhythm and blues sound for a much more commercial american tone.

Finest Hour: Micky Moody’s slide guitar solo on the ‘Live in the Heart of the City’ live album

Mel Galley

Ex-Trapeze guitarist Mel Galley joined during what was one of Whitesnake’s most turbulent periods and provided the guitar work on both ‘Saints & Sinners’ and ‘Slide It In’ albums. However US label Geffen demanded that the ‘Slide it In’ album be remixed due to it’s flat production and this led to John Sykes replacing a proportion of Moody’s work. A strong European tour followed, however it ran into trouble in Germany when Mel Galley suffered a serious arm injury during a moment of high-jinx. It would eventually lead to him having to leave the band.

Finest Hour: Victim of Love from Saints and Sinners

John Sykes

David Coverdale hired Sykes to join Whitesnake following the release of ‘Slide It In’ in 1984. He re-recorded some of the guitar tracks for the US release and toured in support of the album, culminating with the 1985 ‘Rock in Rio’ festival.

Sykes co-wrote the majority of the songs on Whitesnake’s 1987 self-titled album with David Coverdale, and recorded the guitar as well as some backing vocal tracks. Near the end of the 1987 sessions however Coverdale fired the entire band (allegedly because of personality clashes and matters of ego) and brought in Adrian Vandenberg to record the solo on ‘Here I Go Again’.

Sykes had one of the most profound influences on the band having contributed the powerful signature guitar sound that led to the band’s most commercially successful album. This album still remains essential listening for any rock guitarist.

Finest Hour: Solos on ‘Still of the Night’ and ‘Crying in the rain’

Vivian Campbell

In 1987 Vivian Campbell joined Whitesnake after John Sykes was fired by David Coverdale shortly after recording was completed. Campbell along with Adrian van den Berg was recruited to replace Sykes in the new, glammed-up Whitesnake Coverdale had put together to conquer MTV and American audiences. This was to be a short lived affaire however and Campbell left Whitesnake after the band’s 1987-1988 world tour.

Adrian Van den berg

Van den Berg was originally the lead guitarist for the Dutch band Teaser, a band that released a self-titled album in 1978. He is however most famous for being the most prominent guitar player for Whitesnake during the bands most successful period during the late 80′s.

Initially he was hired as a session musician, helping to complete the hit album ‘Whitesnake’ (known as 1987 in Europe) where he contributed the solo to their #1 hit ‘Here I Go Again’.

After an extremely successful world tour and extensive airplay for their 3 videos on MTV, van den Berg co-wrote all of the music to the follow-up album Slip of the Tongue. However, in preparing to enter the studio for the recording sessions, he severly injured his wrist performing isometric piano warm up exercises and was unable to contribute any guitar work to the album “Slip of the Tongue”. Steve Vai was subsequently brought in to finish the recording of the album

He did recover in time to join the following tour in a now ‘trademark’ dual guitarist role with Steve Vai. After Whitesnake was disbanded in 1991, he returned as part of other Whitesnake incarnations including the 1994 Whitesnake’s Greatest Hits reunion/tour. He once again co-wrote the songs for the 1997 album Restless Heart with Coverdale and also collaborated with Coverdale on the Whitesnake unplugged acoustic album, Starkers in Tokyo.

Finest Hour: Incredible guitar solo during 1990′s headlining performance at Donnington’s Monsters of Rock.

Steve Vai

After Adrian Vendenberg injured his wrist Steve Vai was imported by David Coverdale to record both lead and rhythm guitar parts on the album ‘Slip of The Tongue’ in van den Berg’s stead. Steve Vai became an official member of the band and appeared in all of the band’s new music videos. He also toured in support of the album and played with Whitesnake when they headlined the 1990 ‘Monsters of Rock’ Festival at Donnington Park. After the last show of the ‘Slip of the Tongue’ ‘Liquor and poker’ tour in 1990 however Coverdale decided he would fold the band and Steve Vai moved on to pursue a successful solo career.

Finest Hour: Kittens got Claws and Sailing Ships on Slip of the Tongue.

Reb Beach

Reb Beach is best known for his work in the melodic rock band Winger in the late 80′s to mid 90′s. However he has been involved with Whitesnake since 2004 and has appeared on  both 2008′s ‘Good to Be Bad’  and the recent ‘Forevermore’. He has now formed a solid guitar partnership with Doug Aldrich in what is now one of the most dynamic and exciting periods of the band’s history.

Doug Aldrich

Doug Aldrich had previously with the bands Dio, Lion, Hurricane, House of Lords, and Bad Moon Rising and has also released several solo albums. He has however enjoyed one of the most succesful periods of his career with Whitesnake and has created some of the bands most iconic guitars moments. Along with Reb Beach he has played on the last two albums ‘Good to Be Bad’ and ‘Forevermore’ and has proven himself a solid songwriter having contributed the title track to Forevermore.

Finest Hour: The epic Forevermore

I’d never been to the Royal Albert Hall before, however after this gig, I’m definitely going again. No matter what angle you approach this venue, you will be blown away by the spiralling architecture seen from miles away. The Albert Memorial stands just across the way, in a dominant position and it leaves you with a sense of satisfaction just looking at the place, let alone getting to see your idol inside.

After a couple of drinks from one of the many bars in the venue, it was time to see a guitar legend. My seats were in the arena area, right in front of the stage. Upon walking through the entrance doors below, I walked into this mind blowing red and gold vintage dome. You could feel the sheer presence of talent that has been in this very place, my hairs literally stood on end.

Like every live concert for these huge artists, you expect a warm up band. Whoever could warm up for Clapton? Was the question rolling through my mind. Andy Fairweather Low & The Low Riders came to the stage. These guys were brilliant, the lead singer Andy Fairweather had several moments of pure comedic genius, from playing The Who for a split second and even an Eric Clapton song, again for a few seconds. Andy having contributed to The Who’s albums Who Are You and It’s Hard. Not forgetting he used to play in Eric Clapton’s band in the early nineties up until 2003. A mixture of early classic’s rolled through, and several of his own.

A small break and Eric Clapton came on the stage. His first comments on the microphone “This is just like playing in my living room” I guess with the fame he alone has bought to The Royal Albert Hall, he can say whatever he likes. The audience went wild none the less, he was here, a man who has influenced millions. The first song of the night ‘Key To The Highway’, set the stage perfectly. He showed just a mellow start to what was to come. His band took the spotlight on several occasions, keyboard and organ solos throughout, these really were something pulled from the 70′s.

‘I shot the Sheriff’ came from nowhere, as written in Eric’s latest 2011 tour guide, he changes what he’s going to play from gig to gig, focusing on the mood of the audience. We obviously had been looking like we needed a hit single. It went down perfectly, as you’d expect from a guy who has no doubt played it more times than I’ve listened to it. Every song that came out Clapton’s guitar, from Gary Moore’s ‘Still Got the Blues’, to JJ Cale’s ‘Same Old Blues’ all had spice. Not one song that didn’t include some improvised or variety of Clapton’s screaming woman tone. I don’t think any Eric Clapton fan would have been disappointed.

Eric continued to impress with a great acoustic set for the next few songs. It wasn’t until he played the Cream classic ‘Badge’ that I really could see through his history, in front of my eyes. You could see the young Eric playing like he was sixteen again. The gold light beaming down on him, with a huge screen in the backdrop showing hypnotic visuals. The harmony was like no other, just pure, lush sound. My foot was stamping on the floor beneath, rocking the entire row of seats. This was then followed by ‘Wonderful Tonight’, ‘Little Queen Of Spades’ and ‘Cocaine’ to name a few. ‘Cocaine’ got people up out of their seats and before long the audience were rocking like it was 1977 (the year this song was released on Clapton’s Slowhand album, only a year after the original).

The one guitarist I’ve been waiting all my life to see left the stage with a huge smile of joy. We weren’t letting the guy go until we had an encore. After the usual cheering, applauding, thumping on the ground he walked back to the stage. ‘Crossroads’ was the song of choice, and my word he performed it like it had never been played before! I didn’t think that was even possible. What a fantastic night, from a true Blues/ Rock musician. I’ll be sure to see him again at any chance I may have.

Setlist: http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/eric-clapton/2011/royal-albert-hall-london-england-23d3dc4b.html

Warm Up Band: Support: Andy Fairweather Low & The Low Riders (http://www.andyfairweatherlow.com)

Review written by Peter Grose

Doug Aldrich Interview

Reb Beach Interview

Check out the killer guitar playing on Love will set you free!

Apparently Forevermore is achieved 43% more pre-orders than Britney’s upcoming ‘Femme Fatale’. You can find out more about the incredible new album over at the Whitesnake’s website.