Eddie Van Halen ripped off Ace Frehley?
It’s simply an undeniable fact that there are only a handful of songs that almost single-handedly changed the course of rock guitar. Eddie Van Halen’s explosive showcase “Eruption” from Van Halen’s debut album is one of those rare moments.
For decades, most people have assumed that Van Halen drew from multiple influences, blended them together, and created a brand-new guitar approach : especially with his use of two-handed tapping. But one rock guitarist believes that “Eruption” was directly modeled after a specific Ace Frehley solo.
Did Eddie Van Halen Model “Eruption” After an Ace Frehley Solo?
In the book Talk to Me: Conversations With Ace Frehley, Aggros guitarist and Cro-Mags co-founder Parris Mayhew talked about his deep admiration for Frehley’s playing and his possible influence on Eddie Van Halen.
Mayhew explained that Ace’s solos can seem simple on the surface, full of Chuck Berry-style riffs and familiar licks but said Frehley’s delivery is what makes them unique.
“The thing about Ace is like he’s tricking you, because if you look at Ace’s body of Kiss solos, on the surface, it appears that he’s got, like, a couple of stock licks that he kind of uses a lot,” Mayhew first explained, about the deceptive nature of Frehley’s guitar style. “And some of them are very Chuck Berry-type riffs. They’re not difficult to play. They’re kind of stock. But when he plays them, they are Ace. They are completely him.”
Mayhew explained that if there are six notes in a classic lick, Ace Frehley will use four of them, and the other two he adds make the whole thing sound like no one else in the world. He said Frehley completely tricks the listener and draws them in with simplicity. He also pointed out that Frehley’s string bending is emotional, powerful, and totally unexpected, creating one weird, quirky solo after another.
“If there are six notes in a classic lick, he’ll use four of them, and the other two make it sound like nobody else in the world. And he completely tricks you. He draws you in with the simplicity. And his string bending. It’s just so emotional and so powerful and so out of left field. It’s just one solo after another that is weird and quirky.”
Mayhew compared Frehley and Van Halen more directly. When Van Halen’s first album came out, he immediately heard similarities. He noted that both played with a mix of fire, magic, and charisma: but Eddie took it even further. Even then, he drives home the fact that those influences are unmistakable.
“And when the first Van Halen album came out, I grabbed this, too [holds up cover of Van Halen’s self-titled debut album]. People understand and revere how important Eddie Van Halen is. It’s so obvious, it’s so clear. He is so much better than everybody else. But he also has all that fire and magnetism and magic that Ace had, but he just did it better.”
According to Mayhew, listening to Ace’s “Shock Me” solo from Alive II back-to-back with “Eruption” reveals a clear connection. He believes Frehley’s live solo served as a template for Eddie’s legendary piece.
“And nobody that I knew that liked [Van Halen’s debut], when this came out, would accept the fact that this guy was influenced by that guy. And if you listen to the “Shock Me” solo [Ace’s unaccompanied solo on ‘Alive II’, beginning at the 4:05 mark in the video above], and you listen to “Eruption” back to back, and if you don’t hear that the “Shock Me” solo is completely a template for the “Eruption” solo, then you don’t have ears.”
Mayhew went on to break down the similarities: both solos unfold in sections, with deep string bends, quick licks, pull-offs, dive-bomb moments, and descending muted runs.
“It’s broken down into these little sections, with these deep string bends that come back up into this licky thing that goes into, like, a pull-off thing, and then dive bombs again, and does this descending muted thing.”
He admitted that this opinion has led to plenty of debates over the years, but he stands by it. When he first heard “Eruption,” he immediately thought Eddie was borrowing heavily from Ace. And despite backlash from fans, he maintains that the resemblance is too strong to ignore.
“When I first heard ‘Eruption’, I was like, ‘Oh my God, he’s totally ripping off Ace!’ I have never heard anybody else say that. And when I’ve brought it up, I’ve had people argue it down. And I’m like, ‘Listen to them back to back.’ ‘I don’t have to listen to it! Ace is nothing compared to Eddie Van Halen!’ Well, Eddie Van Halen, if he was alive, and he claimed that he didn’t just nick that whole thing as a template for ‘Eruption’, he’s a liar.”
David Lee Roth’s legacy as a performer
David Lee Roth is back on the road carrying on the legacy of his bandmate Eddie Van Halen. But back in the late 80’s, Roth’s solo career was focused on new material, with Steve Vai by his side.
Steve Vai recently told Metal Sticks, “Our shows were just complete over-the-top rock indulgence. So we’d have almost a glam-ish vibe; there was that kind of thing. And Roth kind of navigated more to almost a glammy kind of a circus kind of a show,” Vai said. “And it was great, because you get to wear all these crazy clothes. You get a stage the size of a football field and you’re running as fast as you can and you do crazy things. But we played our asses off.”
Vai said his dynamic with bassist Billy Sheehan and drummer Gregg Bissonette was key to the DLR Band’s success.
“That was one of the things that Billy and I and Gregg — we were interested in shredding. At the time, shredding was becoming popular, and I was one of those guys that just practiced a lot. I loved playing slow, but I loved shredding. And Billy and I would just put together these wild kinds of duets with all this kinds of shredding, all in spandex pants.”
