"Eruption" is a guitar solo performed by Eddie Van Halen and the second track from Van Halen's self-titled 1978 debut album. It is widely considered to be one of the greatest guitar solos of all time, having popularized tapping.[4][5] It segues into a cover of the Kinks' "You Really Got Me", and the two songs are usually played together by radio stations and in concert. The song was later included as the B-side to the group's second single, "Runnin' with the Devil".
| "Eruption" | |
|---|---|
| Instrumental by Van Halen | |
| from the album Van Halen | |
| Released | February 10, 1978 |
| Recorded | September 8, 1977[1] |
| Genre | |
| Length | 1:42 |
| Label | Warner Bros. |
| Composer(s) | |
| Producer(s) | Ted Templeman |
Composition and recording
edit"Eruption" starts with a short accompanied intro with Alex Van Halen on drums and Michael Anthony on bass. The highlight of the solo is the use of two-handed tapping. "Eruption" was played on the Frankenstrat, with an MXR Phase 90, an Echoplex, a Univox echo unit and a 1968 Marshall 1959 Super Lead tube amp. The Sunset Sound studio reverb room was also used to add reverb. The Frankenstrat was tuned down a half-step. "Eruption" begins in the key of A flat and ends on an E flat note that is a twelfth fret, 6th string harmonic processed through a Univox EC-80 echo unit.
Inspiration
editThe "Eruption" introduction is based on the "Let Me Swim" introduction by Cactus.[6] After the intro, an E-flat major quotation of the "Etude No. 2" by Rodolphe Kreutzer is heard. The end section begins with a series of rapid two-handed tapping triads that have a classical like structure and eventually finishes with a repeated classical cadence followed by sound effects generated by a Univox EC-80 echo unit.[2]
The piece that would later be named "Eruption" had existed as part of Van Halen's stage act at least as far back as 1975, when it featured no tapping.[7][better source needed] Although one-handed tapping (hammer-ons and pull-offs) was standard guitar technique, "Eruption" introduced two-handed tapping to the mainstream popular rock audience, and it was a popular soloing option throughout the 1980s.
Initially, "Eruption" was not considered as a track for the Van Halen album as it was just a guitar solo Eddie performed live in the clubs. But Ted Templeman overheard it in the studio as Eddie was rehearsing it for a club date at the Whisky a Go Go and decided to include it on the album. Eddie recalled, "I didn't even play it right. There's a mistake at the top end of it. To this day, whenever I hear it, I always think, 'Man, I could've played it better.'"[8]
"Spanish Fly", an acoustic guitar solo on Van Halen II, can be viewed as a nylon-string version of "Eruption", expanding on similar techniques. Similarly, it was suggested by Templeman for inclusion on the album after he heard Eddie Van Halen playing a classical guitar. In March 2005, Q magazine placed "Eruption" at number 29 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. "Eruption" has been named the 2nd greatest guitar solo by Guitar World magazine.[9] Chuck Klosterman of Vulture.com named it the best Van Halen song, noting "if you love Van Halen, this is what you love, and you can listen to it a thousand times without diminishing returns."[10]
Personnel
edit- Eddie Van Halen – electric guitar
- Michael Anthony – bass
- Alex Van Halen – drums
Accolades
edit| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guitar World | United States | 100 Greatest Guitar Solos | 2009 | 2[9] |
| Q | United Kingdom | 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks | 2005 | 29[11] |
| Rolling Stone | United States | 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks | 2008 | 6[12] |
References
edit- ^ "40 Years Ago: Eddie Van Halen Records 'ERUPTION'". Van Halen News Desk. September 8, 2017. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
- ^ a b Dodds, Kevin (October 11, 2011). Edward Van Halen: A Definitive Biography. iUniverse Publishing. p. 39. ISBN 978-1462054800.
- ^ Larson, Thomas E. (2014). History of Rock and Roll. Kendall Hunt. p. 207. ISBN 978-1-4652-3886-3.
- ^ "Poll Results: Eddie Van Halen's "Eruption" Tops Readers' List of the …". December 18, 2013. Archived from the original on December 18, 2013.
- ^ "50 greatest guitar solos of all time - NME". NME. November 11, 2017. Archived from the original on November 11, 2017.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Carmine Appice: 'Eddie Van Halen Seems To Be Out Of His Tree Right No…". November 11, 2017. Archived from the original on November 11, 2017.
- ^ "YouTube". YouTube. Archived from the original on September 16, 2007.[dead link]
- ^ "Top '80s Songs from American Hard Rock Band Van Halen". November 11, 2017. Archived from the original on November 11, 2017.
- ^ a b "50 Greatest Guitar Solos". www.guitarworld.com. February 25, 2021.
- ^ Klosterman, Chuck (October 6, 2020). "All 131 Van Halen Songs, Ranked From Worst to Best A look back at the band's formidable legacy". Vulture.com. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
- ^ "Q Magazine - 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks Ever!". rocklistmusic. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
- ^ "Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitar Songs Of All Time". Stereogum. May 30, 2008. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
Further reading
edit- Templeman, Ted; Renoff, Greg (2020). Ted Templeman: A Platinum Producer's Life In Music. Toronto: ECW Press. pp. 237–9. ISBN 9781770414839. OCLC 1121143123.
- Van Halen Guitar Anthology. Van Nuys, California: Alfred. 2006. pp. 11–14. ISBN 9780897246729. OCLC 605214049.
External links
edit