I think it is safe to say that Eddie van Halen changed the concept of a guitar solo forever, when he first played “Eruption”. Not only guitar solos, rock guitar in general.
Eruption” solo popularized the tapping style of guitar playing, and in doing so revolutionized the sound of rock. Not bad for a tune that wasn’t even meant to be released
Initially, “Eruption” was not considered as a track for the Van Halen debut 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.'”
In just one minute and 42 seconds, Van Halen changed what a guitar solo could do. His revolutionary two-handed tapping technique produced sounds unlike what fans had ever heard before.
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History of Sorts 