Van Halen
NetGalley Review: 4 stars
Last updated on 27 Sep 2021
"This was a really fun, informative book about one of the most popular rock bands of the 1980s. I myself wasn't an Uber-fan, but some of my young friends were. The first time Van Halen came into my consciousness was with its huge MTV hits "Jump" and "Hot for Teacher" (which must make the top ten list of Videos You Could Never Make Now). It was a nice trip down memory lane to get the stories behind how the albums and songs of my youth came to be, and how the band's formative years - before my time - came to be. I was glad that the book didn't concentrate too much on the partying and womanizing aspects of the band, which I'm sure went on - this was the 80s, after all - but isn't that interesting to me. I stopped quite a bit while reading to look up videos and then even reaction videos to the videos. That epic solo Eddie Van Halen did of "Eruption" live is quite something! No doubt he is one of the best guitarists of the past 100 years. There also were some fascinating little tidbits I never would have guessed, such as that David Lee Roth's voice was considered so poor that there was a big push to replace him right after the band was signed. I always thought his intelligent and semi-comical delivery was one of the band's great strengths. Not to mention his on stage acrobatics.
All in all a very entertaining read.
Come the late '70s, the rock music landscape was littered with the bloated carcasses of bands who partied too hard, burned out, or became complacent in success. The door was open for something fresh, wild, and enrapturing. Enter Van Halen. Made up of two Dutch-born brothers, one on drums and the other whose guitar was an extension of his very being, a bass player with a golden throat, and a frontman who made up for his lack of singing ability with attitude and gravity-defying acrobatics onstage, they were unlike anything ever seen before.
Alex and Edward Van Halen, Michael Anthony, and David Lee Roth put a cap on one decade and exploded into the next with a brand of music not quite punk, not quite metal, and not at all subtle. They went from headlining backyard keggers to top billing at the US Festival in front of three hundred thousand people within five years. Then, right when it looked like there wasn't an obstacle created to slow the Mighty Van Halen ascent, the group imploded from the inside out, only to rebound stronger than ever with ex-Montrose howler Sammy Hagar leading them to four consecutive number one albums.
Van Halen: The Eruption and the Aftershock tells the story of how one of America's greatest bands weathered arguably the most dramatic soap opera in rock and roll history with songs that would weave themselves into the fabric of every musician who heard them, alongside an incendiary and unrivaled live show. Featuring exclusive interviews with insiders, fans, and artists who were there to witness the rise, the tumult, and the making of legends, it's a story that has to be read to be believed.
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