I for one have always found it puzzling how anyone into rock music could not harbour at least a weak spot of appreciation for the charm of the unicum that was Van Halen as from late seventies until the mid-80ies they almost single-handedly restored hard rock to where it belonged, courtesy of David Lee Roth’s charisma and the virtuosic talent of its lead guitarist Eddie Van Halen.
Penned by Paul Brannigan, a seasoned rock music journalist who has previously helped to cover the times and trials of e.g. Dave Grohl and Metallica, and based on numerous interviews with the man himself as well as friends and family, Eruption aims to shed light on documenting Eddie Van Halen’s life, his emergence to fame and ascent to the olymp of guitarists who left an indelible mark on the firmament of boundary pushing rock musicians.
Apart from the success stories and the tracing of the band’s storied career, I would lie if the parts illuminating Van Halen’s disputes, the outrageous debaucherous antics and Eddie’s often tumultuous relationship with David Lee Roth would not contribute to Eruption making for an entertaining read.
For Van Halen aficionados, the fact that Eruption offers insights into the inception and creation of their immensely successful albums should prove to be interesting, along with Eddie’s takes on the evolution and inspirations for his idiosyncratic , innovative guitar playing and guitar builds. I found the details on Eddie’s solo work particularly interesting as it made me revisit his oeuvre, resulting in the discoveries of gems that so far had not been on my radar.
Summa summarum, a candid and comprehensive biography accompanied with a nice range of colour photographs paying homage to a trailblazing artist, whose emissions in the realm of songwriting and musical innovations remain unrivalled to the current day.
