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The guitarist that Eddie Van Halen said that had an incredible tone
Just like Hendrix, the guitarist Eddie Van Halen was an inspiration for practically every Hard Rock and Heavy Metal guitarist that started playing after the late 70s. His incredible technique and talent changed the course of guitar playing and showed the world that much more could be done with the instrument. When a groundbreaking guitarist like him appears, countless other musicians try to emulate his sound, technique and tone but not everyone can replicate that.
Eddie was influenced by many different kinds of music but obviously, was mainly inspired by guitar players. He once mentioned one of his favorites, who according to him, had an incredible tone.
The guitarist that Eddie Van Halen said that had an incredible tone
Eddie was a really nice guy and had a lot of friends, including the late Mountain guitarist and singer Leslie West. It was in an interview with Rolling Stone in 2011 that Van Halen praised the American musician. When talking about him, Eddie said he had an incredible guitar tone. The musician mentioned West after being asked about his guitar influences. “With Tony, it’s the riffs, and the power of the music. And you’ve got people like Ritchie Blackmore, Leslie West. Leslie West has this incredible tone in Mountain. Ritchie Blackmore I liked because of his vibrato bar use on ‘Deep Purple in Rock’. Also, they come out with great riffs. I mean, come on, ‘Smoke on the Water’ is one for the history books,” Eddie Van Halen said.
Leslie was 10 years older than Eddie and started his career in 1964. Five years later being the co-founder of Mountain, group which would become one of the most influential from that era. The Mountain frontman was Van Halen’s opening act in the 80s and their friendship started right away. The story was told by West himself in an with Guitar World in 1987, recalling that it was Eddie who made him play guitar again during a difficult period of his life.
“(I was in Milwaukee in 1977) I’d stopped playing, didn’t even want any guitars around. But while I was there I went to see two shows. One was because Neal Schon said to me, ‘Leslie, you gotta check out this kid who’s opening for us. He plays guitar like an organ, like a Bach organ fugue. I was totally taken aback – it was Eddie Van Halen. He impressed me the way Clapton impressed me. Then the next night I went to see Sammy Hagar. What a co-inky-dink, eh?”
Eddie and Leslie West played together many times
They had a lot of fun during those days and there was even a jam session with Alfonso Johnson and Carlos Santana. “Alfonso Johnson, Carlos Santana, Eddie and me were playing in a hotel room one night for an hour-and-a-half without stopping at all. Man, I had the time of my life with those guys. And I’ve learned how to write by myself, too. ; I spent two years, ’77-’79, working hard with Corky Laing in that. He was a terrific help.”
A few years later, in 1995, West would join Van Halen on stage to play the classic “Mississippi Queen”, when Sammy Hagar was still the vocalist of the group. Eddie and West remained great friends and performed together again in 2002. This time they played the song “Never In My Life”, also one of Mountain’s most famous tracks.
Both of them sadly passed away only a few months away from each other. Eddie died on October 6, 2020 at the age of 65 and West December 23, 2020 at the age of 75.
