....authored by Ian Christe, and published by the good folks at Wiley in August 2007. I bought it a little while ago after P-gangsta told me of its residence in the campus bookstore.
There are several kinds of rock biographies on the market. You've got the star-struck fanboi accounts that emanate from the drool-soaked (and who knows what else) keyboards of the President, Accountant and Honorary Member of the fanclub of whatever artist or band the biography deals with - unfortunately, I've got an Iron Maiden biography which fits this description to a tee (Run To The Hills - Iron Maiden; The Authorized Biography by Mick Wall and Chris Ingham). Ditto for the overhyped "Hammer Of The Gods" about (fittingly) Led Zeppelin. Then you've got the biographies written by detail-obsessed Overlords of Nitpicking, which do not move forward in any significant way owing to the author's overly detailed descriptions - like Ben Hur times ten. Third, you've got biographies written by fans with some sense of critical thinking, which typically results in awesome biographies (assuming said fan has some writing skillz), like Justice For All: The Truth About Metallica by Joel McIver - I totally recommend it. Other categories include the ghost-written autobiographies which admittedly can be totally awesome like The Dirt or Tommyland (and Crazy From The Heat by David Lee Roth, I wager).
Everybody Wants Some falls somewhere between these categories - the author is definitely a fan, and even spent the time necessary to learn how to play "Eruption" so as to be able to fully appreciate the art and complexity of Eddie Van Halens guitar playing. At times, this biography walks in the shadow of greatness, yet sometimes it strays into the harsh light of mediocrity. What plagues this book the most is its inconsistancies, however; seeing as how the book is made up mostly from interviews from every VH era, the author is not so much to blame as the band members, in particularly the Van Halen brothers Alex and Edward for their fleeting relationship with reality. Still, the author should have pointed these contradictions out instead of glossing them over. Case in point; in parts of the book Edward Van Halen claims that he always sounded like him because he was unable to emulate anyone else - from the earliest cover band days his guitar tone and phrasing was Van Halen. Two pages later, dude's lamenting the big transition from "being, playing and sounding like Clapton" to carving his own identity as a guitarist and songwriter. Also, in stark contrast to the other band members, including the total of three singers which have passed through the at times revolving doors of Van Halen, the brothers Alex and Edward are incapable of admitting that they were at least co-responsible for any of the problems the band encountered. Everything bad that happens is everybody elses fault. When Sammy Hagar was the singer, all the previous problems were due to the former singer - Diamond David Lee Roth, who is arguably the most charismatic frontman in the history of rock. When they got Gary Cherone, formerly (and now yet again) of Extreme, Sammy was the Root of All Evil. During their long period of inactivity, the bass player, Roth AND Sammy were the ones that screwed everything up. Amazing. Sensibility - Thy Name Sho' Ain't Van Halen.
Still, I totally recommend the book if you're into Van Halen - or even Roth - at all.
There are several kinds of rock biographies on the market. You've got the star-struck fanboi accounts that emanate from the drool-soaked (and who knows what else) keyboards of the President, Accountant and Honorary Member of the fanclub of whatever artist or band the biography deals with - unfortunately, I've got an Iron Maiden biography which fits this description to a tee (Run To The Hills - Iron Maiden; The Authorized Biography by Mick Wall and Chris Ingham). Ditto for the overhyped "Hammer Of The Gods" about (fittingly) Led Zeppelin. Then you've got the biographies written by detail-obsessed Overlords of Nitpicking, which do not move forward in any significant way owing to the author's overly detailed descriptions - like Ben Hur times ten. Third, you've got biographies written by fans with some sense of critical thinking, which typically results in awesome biographies (assuming said fan has some writing skillz), like Justice For All: The Truth About Metallica by Joel McIver - I totally recommend it. Other categories include the ghost-written autobiographies which admittedly can be totally awesome like The Dirt or Tommyland (and Crazy From The Heat by David Lee Roth, I wager).
Everybody Wants Some falls somewhere between these categories - the author is definitely a fan, and even spent the time necessary to learn how to play "Eruption" so as to be able to fully appreciate the art and complexity of Eddie Van Halens guitar playing. At times, this biography walks in the shadow of greatness, yet sometimes it strays into the harsh light of mediocrity. What plagues this book the most is its inconsistancies, however; seeing as how the book is made up mostly from interviews from every VH era, the author is not so much to blame as the band members, in particularly the Van Halen brothers Alex and Edward for their fleeting relationship with reality. Still, the author should have pointed these contradictions out instead of glossing them over. Case in point; in parts of the book Edward Van Halen claims that he always sounded like him because he was unable to emulate anyone else - from the earliest cover band days his guitar tone and phrasing was Van Halen. Two pages later, dude's lamenting the big transition from "being, playing and sounding like Clapton" to carving his own identity as a guitarist and songwriter. Also, in stark contrast to the other band members, including the total of three singers which have passed through the at times revolving doors of Van Halen, the brothers Alex and Edward are incapable of admitting that they were at least co-responsible for any of the problems the band encountered. Everything bad that happens is everybody elses fault. When Sammy Hagar was the singer, all the previous problems were due to the former singer - Diamond David Lee Roth, who is arguably the most charismatic frontman in the history of rock. When they got Gary Cherone, formerly (and now yet again) of Extreme, Sammy was the Root of All Evil. During their long period of inactivity, the bass player, Roth AND Sammy were the ones that screwed everything up. Amazing. Sensibility - Thy Name Sho' Ain't Van Halen.
Still, I totally recommend the book if you're into Van Halen - or even Roth - at all.
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5 comments:
Have those interview which the book is based on been published before? So that if you've read guitar magazines you might already know the content, or is it unpublished stuff?
Both. It's based on interviews done by the author as well as public statements made by members of the band
Another problem I've got is the sad fact that Eddie Van Halen claims not to rely on effects, and that all his distortion etc. comes from his amps being beyond cranked. Since the author is a guitar player, he should have commented on these claims. First of all, few guitarists are more known for their effects connections than EVH, save for Vai, Satriani and Hendrix. You bet your ass that's a flanger that comprises most of the guitar soundscape on "And The Cradle Will Rock" and "Unchained". Not to mention the inevitable delay, chorus, reverb, compressor etc. that VH songs and the entire VH sound are drenched in.
Yeah, that's another point. Why do you refer to Eddie Van Halen as Edward? That's like calling Yngwie Malmsteen Yngve or you Billy...
;-)
LOL
You're right. I've just adopted DLR's way of naming him
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