Edward Van Halen: A Definitive Biography by Kevin Dodds Read Free Book Online Page B

vocal sound stemmed from attempting to duplicate the horn parts vocally in the R&B covers the band so regularly performed.
    Other recordings would take place that year. One was an original song called “Glitter”—obviously a nod to the glam scene. Ed’s trademark bends are there, but overall his playing style is a tip of the hat to Tony Iommi, even though it still sounds like Eddie. In the eyes of some Van Halen purists, this song definitely has worthy moments and would have been able to have been altered and/or improved into a better track (which would become a common songwriting practice for Ed).
    The Oldest Recordings
    A great deal of what was captured on tape around this time shows that Edward’s mind was in absolute musical overload. He pumped out easily over a dozen riffs during Van Halen’s earliest few years that would be reworked or revived and eventually become some of the greatest classic rock songs of all time. Some original songs captured on tape at this time contained the bulk of what later became “Mean Streets,” “Somebody Get Me a Doctor,” and “Hang ’Em High.” This is all in addition to having to learn hundreds of other peoples’ songs to play the clubs.
    A 1974 home audio recording of Eddie playing shows that his right-hand picking execution was already absolutely amazing. The nine minutes of audio also demonstrate a burgeoning mastery of mixing in bits of finger picking/plucking—a little known but quickly recognizable trademark of Ed’s. He is working out a lot of different ideas during this recording which is clearly for his own posterity—there are pauses, starts and stops. A lot of it is heavy drone rock riffs with very distinctive/odd sounding changes. As an experiment he tunes his low E to low A and while noodling around he cranks out the main riff of “Somebody Get Me a Doctor.” This experimental tuning style is a technique he would return to over a decade later for the 5150 song “Good Enough.” The audio continues on and shows how Edward works fastidiously on cranking out the “Somebody Get Me a Doctor” riff.
    This recording actually ends with some humorous audio of the band in a hotel room with some girls. The conversation is spirited and mostly revolves around Dave sending someone to get an extra room key. There is clearly flirting going on with the girls. Edward is quiet for the most part, until near the end, he clearly says, “Why don’t you make… make sexy noises for him?” after which there is a pause and someone in the background points out, “They’re recording you.” Ed is then heard replying to a query, “Nah, man, I can’t make that noise myself…”
    As the band, and Edward himself as a player, became more popular, they set their sights on the Starwood. The difference, which presented a rather pressing challenge to the band, was that the Starwood was an all original club. As Dave bluntly put it, “You didn’t play cover tunes at the Starwood.” Fortunately, Edward’s relentless creativity gave Dave a well of material to choose from to add lyrics and melodies to. It would take them until mid-1976 to pull it off.
    DeVry or Rock Music?
    Eugenia attempted one more serious attempt to dissuade Edward from following in his father’s footsteps and being a “nothing nut” musician. She attempted to persuade Edward to enroll at DeVry in Phoenix to take computer classes. Jan on the other hand supported the boys and “Van Halen” all the way. Edward had done well in school, and he got into and did well in college. One wonders what gave her the inspiration that DeVry held the keys to Edward’s future. Possibly a television commercial? Nevertheless, Ed carried on as he had been, although his and Alex’s both still living at home was likely getting awkward. Who knows what shape the tree house was in. Or if it was still there, and it was being used, what was it being used for?
    It was well past the time that the boys had come into contact with a