Eruption by Van Halen

Album: Van Halen (1978)

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"Eruption" is an Eddie Van Halen guitar solo that leads into "You Really Got Me," Van Halen's first single. It started as a warm-up exercise Eddie used. The band's producer, Ted Templeman, thought it would make a great addition to the album, so they included it.
Eddie ran his guitar through a cheap echo unit called a Univox to get the low growl at the end. He put a different motor in the unit to give it a distinctive sound. Eddie often took apart his guitars and processing devices to create new effects.
Eddie Van Halen's work on this song marked a giant leap forward in the progression of rock guitar. "His playing, especially on the instrumental, 'Eruption,' upped the game for everyone," longtime Guitar Player editor Jas Obrecht explained in the book Shredders! "The technique of tapping the fingerboard had been around for decades, but it was sparsely practiced, and almost always as a novelty. Eddie brought finger tapping into mainstream rock'n'roll."

"His impact was enormous," Obrecht added. "Within six months of the release of the first Van Halen album, young guitarists all across the country and in Europe - and especially Japan - were sporting copycat guitars and playing pale versions of 'Eruption.' But no one surpassed the original, because the real genius of Eddie Van Halen has always been in his hands and his imagination. I saw this myself one day in 1980, when Eddie showed me how he plays 'Eruption.' He did this with an unplugged Strat, and you know what? The whole song was there."
Rolling Stone magazine Issue 1054 asked Eddie Van Halen how this song came about: "We recorded our first record on Sunset Sound in Hollywood, and we were warming up for a weekend gig at the Whisky. And I was just rehearsing, and [engineer] Donn Landee happened to record it. It was never planned to be on the record. So the take on the record was a total freak thing. It was just an accident. He happened to be rolling tape."
Eddie Van Halen insisted there is a mistake in this song near the beginning. "Whenever I hear it, I always think, Man, I could've played it better," he said, making a great argument against perfectionism.
This song is often cited as one of the best guitar solos of all time. A 2001 Guitar World magazine poll had it placing #2, second only to "Stairway To Heaven." In their 2013 poll, readers picked "Eruption" as #1.
In the 2015 movie Minions, one of the animated title creatures (Stuart), blasts into this song, thrilling the crowd before smashing his guitar.

Comments: 89

Malachi from StockholmThe comments here crack me up. I ate, slept and worshiped EVH back in the early and mid-80's. So I do have an opinion on the topic. I also love Page. Slash can carry a tune. Eric Johnson is amazing, as is Nuno. There are currently about one million people on YouTube that can play guitar better than me. And I'm pretty good (Eruption is not a problem... Ice Cream Man, now that's a problem).

The fact remains that Page (and his contemporaries) play a complete different style of music than 80's rock. The solo in Hearthbreaker is not that fast (the one in Communication Breakdown is much faster).

But who cares how fast a solo is? If speed is the basis for judgement than no one can compete with Yngwie.
Bill from Reading, MaThis is heavily influenced by the beginning of the band Cactus' song "Let me swim". Van Halen seems to acknowledge that as they used to play a cover version of it.
Waterbound from Pasadena, MdTo Kaleo, Like the other poster..I just joined to leave a comment about your comment. Like many posters here, we all agree that Page is a great guitarist but your comment about Heartbreaker solo is not even remotely close. You either have no idea who Zeppelin or Van Halen are or play tamborine full time (or both).. Seriously, there are a handful of guitarist that have inspired so many and have solo's that you can hum because you memorized them from all the radio airplay and they have solos that are songs within a song with their own melodies and harmonies.. Page is one of those, Eddie is another..They like each other and Eddie was inspired by Page. Stop leaving comments that make you look like you are trolling and have no clue please. Thanks and I personally cannot wait to see Van Halen live in 2012!
Charles from Palo Cedro, CaEddie Van Halen saved rock and roll from the quagmire of the "easy listening" 1970's. In Eruption, I hear scales and arpeggios, yet, Van Halen, the virtuoso makes his music rock. I believe J.S. Bach would love to hear this Van Halen solo.
Dave from Lehigh Valley, PaThis piece is the most listened to Van Halen song on You Tube with over 6.4 million hits so far! In a guitar magazine interview years ago Eddie said that his recording engineer for his studio...adjacent to his home...was under instructions to roll the tapes anytime Eddie Van Halen's body crossed into the studio room and picked up any instrument. Apparently it paid off.
Jeff from Austin, TxI've probably listened to this track over 500 times, and still get goosebumps every time the tapping starts.

That's history on tape! That is the documented beginning of a new generation of guitar playing.
Boban from Skopje, Macedoniato IVAN,GRADEC:

- Vlatko Stefanovski and his band Leb i Sol is a Macedonian band, it has never been Serbian. Such a pathetic claim by your side.

I would highly recommend Vlatko's songs. You can check out "Uci me majko karaj me" "kalajdzisko" - unplugged, as well as what was once one of the best rock songs in Yugoslavia - "Kao Kakao". There is a large amount of his songs, which I GUARANTEE will make you speechless. So , please enjoy.

Ivane, pa nabijem ti ga u usta seljacino.
Boban from Skopje, Macedoniato IVAN,GRADEC:

- Vlatko Stefanovski and his band Leb i Sol is a Macedonian band, it has never been Serbian. Such a pathetic claim by your side.

I would highly recommend Vlatko's songs. You can check out "Uci me majko karaj me" "kalajdzisko" - unplugged, as well as what was once one of the best rock songs in Yugoslavia - "Kao Kakao". There is a large amount of his songs, which I GUARANTEE will make you speechless. So , please enjoy.

Ivane, pa nabijem ti ga u usta seljacino.
Marley from Springfield, NjThis has a great solo and eddie is amazing. Comparing this to Stairway is wrong because they are different songs with their own style. Stairway to Heaven has emotion and eruption is all out shred.
G from Potomac, MdI think what I wrote is pretty funny. What's the difference between Coltrane/Bill Evans and all of us? While we sit around here analyzing and arguing about minutia they would have been playing scales and practicing. That's why they are legendary and we are a bunch of nobodies, me included. They knew that they could do better by playing, and that they didn't have to waste time transcribing other players and analyzing which was better in their opinion. Can you imagine Coltrane engaging in nonsense like this? Tell you what, after all this time spent arguing who is the best guitarist we've finally come across a definitive answer. NOT YOU!!!! I'm glad I'm not overcome with envy like the genius who posits that Eric Clapton is a "bad" guitarist. Riiiiiiight. If you're so good and he's so crummy, why don't you start a Clapton cover band, rip it up and improve upon his bad licks and make a name for yourself instead of trashing him? Because he has more talent in his pinky nail than you have in your whole body? Send me a link to your music at the iTunes store along with a discography of your major label releases. Why don't you post it for all to see so we can judge your merits relative to that "bad" player Clapton?
Vlatko from Veles, MacedoniaJust one comment regarding the person that says that Vlatko Stefanovski is serbian guitar player - WRONG WRONG WRONG. Vlatko Stefanovski is guitar player and ex-frontman of the Macedonian Rock&Folklor band Leb i Sol. So, he is from Macedoia not, Serbia; and YES - he is one of the gratest guitar player I have ever had a chance to hear.
G from Potomac, MdPlaying two chords in different keys is not defined as music? Since when? Have you heard of Miles Davis? Is the song So What (two chord figure played in two keys) not music? Are Bill Evans and John Coltrane not musicians? Very low level of discourse to be sure.
Nate from Provo, Uteddies to full of himself be "up there with hendrix and page". all he's done in this song is take other peoples styles and squish them all together and throw some gain on in it. it sounds cool. its fast. its good. but not as good as the gods.
Stan from Brisbane,Eruption starts out with fast standard rock guitar runs and ends up with the bach like tapping. Why it was such a hit with the metal rock dudes is because they never listened to anything outside of their own dumb teen metal stuff. If they had listened around they would have found out that Steve Hackett did the bach like tapping thing in 1971 with Genesis and tapping goes back way before that. EVH didn't even start tapping until 1976 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EiKtb0oYmY so don't believe that "he saw Jimmy Page and came up with it himself" stuff because he probably got it from Ace Frehley while he was working on demo tapes with Gene Simmons.
Stan from Spartanburg, ScTo Kaleo, dude(?), are you kidding? Heartbreaker is the sloppiest solo Page ever played. I'm a big fan of both eddie and jimmy and damn, i had to join this site and right back after i read that line of crap. Support your home state dude.
Stan, S.C.
Mark from Somersworth, NhPure genius that established Eddie as a trademark. Randy Rhodes wrote Suicide Solution the same way. He was just dicking around and Ozzy loved it. Both are blistering examples of human achievement, Eddie has hopefully gotta long future ahead of him as we await his new studio recordings with Dave. I hope he makes it because we don't need another dead hero.
David from Orlando, FlI recently attended a seminar put on by the National Guitar Workshop. Jazz virtuoso Larry Carlton was a featured artist/speaker. He was asked about this song and he stated that even though this is not a style that he plays, he really liked the song "even though, as a mature musician, I recognize that he [EVH] misses a few notes in this solo." I was stunned to hear that and immediately went home to listen to the solo through an electronic processor that lets you slow down real time sound. And, folks, I am sorry to confirm that Larry was right--Eddie does miss several sequential notes in the scales he basis the tapping run on. Oh well, at least he is human.
Ivana from -, Czech RepublicThe best solo's are played live.
Stairway To Heaven,Crossroad,316...
And you can't say who is the best guitarist.EVH is the bes for tapping,Clapton paly so clean,but I think Beck is better.Jimmy Page,his bowing,he maybe didn't invented it but he was great.And yeah,Stefanovski is really great player but he is from Balkan...
Mark from Manchester, EnglandI forgot! Any u guy's heard Spanish Fly by eddie it's ace! Acoustic, lightning fast and erm whoar! lmao
Mark from Manchester, EnglandI grew up listening to blues like Clapton, John Mayall, Paul Butterfield blah same old! So i naturally play the blues (Guitar like everyone else) but when i turned 15/16 i heard Eruption on the Air Guitar cd (did u guys have that in the states??)and i was blown away, i'd never heard tapping and very little fast playing and i got into a frenzy and bought anything i could find that quite obviously had taken influence from EVH's example like Poison, Dio, Satch, Gilbert etc ect.
Anyone who criticises needs to take a look at modern music and see if anyone has revolutionised music as much as the old revolutionaries like Clapton, Hendrix and of course EVH.
And well done Eddie for kicking cancers arse! ha ha Rock 'n' Roll! x
Joe from Palos Heights, IlYeah, this song is ausome. Eddie's great, but a different kind of great than Hendrix and Page. Without Hendrix and Page, there would be no Eddie. There would be no Eruption. They started it all, and while people may look to this as the greatest guitar peice, you have to respect the gods of guitar, Hendrix, Page, Clapton. I'm not saying they're better or Eddie's worse I'm just saying this is one thing you just don't compare.
J from Jackson, GaIn my opnion, Eddie Van Halen is right up there with Hendrix and Page.
Joseph from Houston, TxThis is so dumb how is one going to compare halen to people like page and hendrix. You cant compare them. thats because there totly dif so who cares whats the best solo.
Jasen from Milford, MiA solo that gets little to no recognition is the solo in Hit The Lights by Metallica, that one is phenomonal
Wombat from Ouagadougu, Ilhendrix is the single most overrated guitarist in history. typical "dying-too-young" hype. same with cobain, except cobain just plain sucks. EVH has talent and soul...just no more liver.
Josh from Virginia Beach, VaKevin from Quebec, learn ur Zeppelin history, man!
Page stayed at the recording studio over night narrowing down the solos. he got to 3, couldn't decide and took a little from all three. himself.
Reuben from Amsterdam, NetherlandsWe once put our speakers on our balcony, faced them towards a junction 20 meters below, then played Eruption as loud as we could. I will never forget the faces of the people in their cars and on their bikes, stupified by the loudness.
Mone from Mar Del Plata, Argentinac´mon people. EVH is a pre-fabricated product, I mean is all about the hair, the ability, a solo is not made to show people how good you are. listen to all along the watchtower. i am a bassist but i can say that even if eruption is maybe harder to play, all along the watchtower is just better .EVH is not THAT cool, he didn´t invented anything, if any guitarist could be the greatest ever that´s jimi hendrix.
Kevin from Quebec, Canadaby the way stairways solo wasnt even performed by jimmy page he did like 20 different takes and they edited his solos all into one. Page had to listen to it and learn it to actually play it live!
Simon from Manchester, EnglandOk,It anoys me when people say that evh isnt as good of a player or that eruption isnt the best solo becausehe taps to create the illusion of speed....What! tapping is a skill and very hard to master which he did better tha anyone. Eruption is a very skillful solo but even if he does tap for speed it doesnt mean its a bad solo. The greatest riffs of all time are the easiest to play, iron man, smoke on the water ect.. but no one says there crap songs because there easy to play. My point is if eruption could be played by a 2 year old it would still be one of the greatest solos every. But to be honest it is very difficult to play, i play guitar and have only just got it down after months of practicing yet i learnt the solo to stairway to heaven another great solo in a day yet it doesnt mean one is betterthan the other.

One more thing is that EVH has the most amazing guitar sound that you can only ever come close to, and this is because of the way he plays. 30% Amp 20% guitar and 50% Eddie to get his sound, any way i hope iv made a point somewhere, long live EVH!

One more thing try learning the solo to beat it and tell me hes not a good player....enough said
Cody from Oklahoma City, OkLook, I'll say it here at the beginning: Eddie is amazing! And those who say that fingertapping is something a two year old can do, bull. Tapping is a very precise art, trust me, I use it all the time. Is Eddie the greatest there has ever been? That's just something you can't measure. I mean, I LOVE Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Randy Rhoads, Eric Clapton, David Gilmour, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Angus Young, and Eddie, of course. But I love them all for different reasons and different aspects in their playing. But let's face it, Eddie is a guitar god. Seriously, any Classic Rock kicks the living hell out of todays bands. Ask those so-called "guitar players" to play any of Eddie's licks or any of those I mentioned above. THEY CAN'T BECAUSE ALL THEY DO IS PLAY TWE CHORDS IN DIFFERENT KEYS, AND THAT IS NOT MUSIC BY DEFINITION! However, those of us who practice in the art of classic riffs that are good enough, can lay down stuff these new guys wouldn't believe. God bless Eddie and our other surviving guitar gods. Those who've passed, God rest your souls. We'll never say anything else like you...
Theresa from Monticello, IaOk, first of all, yeah so Eddie didn't invent tapping, but he was the one who introduced it and he is the reason why thousands of people are using that technique today. And I'm sick of reading comments about how much someone likes this f'n classical music guitar player and why they are so good. This discussion board is supposed to be about how much EVH kicks a** at guitar. Eruption is hands down the best guitar solo ever, it may not have the soul of Hendrix, but you can tell the passion is there along with the skill. And thumbs up to Joey from Des Moines, whoever that low life was that said tapping is a skill that any 2 year old can do then I'd like to see you master it like Eddie did. And also you don't have to base how good you think Eddie is just on his tapping, he had plenty of other crazy sh*t up his sleeve that proves he is the best guitar player ever.
Joey from Des Moines, IaOkay, so here's the deal, Eddie Van Halen is the greatest guitarist that ever lived, those of you that think he is just a "fake" you're an idiot. And those who try to exactly copy his sound will never do it, because you can't. now did anyone read this comment: "Eddie Van Halen actually isn't that good at all. Everyone, he TAPS for those that don't play guitar tapping is a HUGE trick that sounds fast but a 2 year old can do it. For what you hear tapping is amazing but it's a true fantasy. Eddie is a fake. I'll leave it at that." - Blah, Edmonton, Canada} whoever was the idiot that said this needs a cat scan done. just remember, there are no van halen haters, there are only idiots. -K.R., United States
Stetson from Mesa, Azok you guys eruption is the greatest solo .
evh is the greatsest guitarist
he practically reinvented the electric guitar
if eruption wasnt made half of the people who play would have never picked up a guitar.eddie could play as fast as he could when he wasnt tapping.
he could tap anything. no one can even say they are close to being as good enough as him at tapping.
november rain.
heartbreaker .
are all good solos
eruption.
is the greatest
think of how hard it would be to create something like tapping and putting it on a record not knowing what people think. eddie is not only one of the greatsest giutar shredder but was also a great musician
Kel Leach from Bucksport, MeScott... it's not really how technical players get and what scales the use or don't use, how many people actually listen for a pentatonic scale? it's more about playing with emotion and channeling emotion through your fingers, into the strings, through the guitar and out the amp. I think that's why many people consider the blues influenced players like Clapton, Page or Hendrix to be great.
Scott from Detroit, MiListen. Eruption is a classic guitar solo. As far as it being the best ever? You've got to be kidding me. And as far as Clapton, OR Hendrix, or anyone else along those lines being the best ever, you also have got to be kidding me. You all need to get out there and listen some more to some more players.

Soooo Clapton can really use that pentatonic blues scale! Hooray, he must be the best guitarist ever! WRONG.

Page, Clapton, and Hendrix's solos , 99% of the time, is just repetative in the pentatonic scale. Their solos CAN be well-rounded, but most of them aren't. The Stairway To Heaven solo is simply different variations of a penatonic scale.

If you think about it, what seperates the good guitarists from the great guitarists are those who use pentatonic scales SPARINGLY and who offer a much broader variety rather than the typical blues scales...players like Van Halen, John Petrucci, Allan Holdsworth, Alex Lifeson (Rush), Brian May (Queen). Those are the guys who really know how to write a solo, not Clapton!
Mike from Denver, Cobobby from Tampa--start naming the solos done by Clapton and Hendrix versus those done by Eddie. Solo-wise, there's no comparison. Hendrix and Clapton came up with great, memorable riffs and tunes, but most people wouldn't notice if the solos to most of their tunes were played different than on the original recording. They tended to play blues riffs off the cuff when it came to their solos. Eddie's were usually composed, and you know if they aren't being played right. As far as solos go, Eruption is among the top five that lead guitarists will try to learn note for note--do a google search on videos/clips that people post of themselves playing, and you'll find EVH comes up far more than Hendrix and Clapton combined. If a soloist can play Eruption nearly as well as EVH, you know he's got some pretty serious chops. If a blues/rhythm player can play Hey Joe like Hendrix, you know he's got some pretty good rhythm and blues chops.
Oliver from Danbury, CtThis is the most innovative and influetial guitar song of all time by the greatest and most innovative Rock guitar player of all time - Eddie Van Halen. No one contributed more to the guitar than Eddie. ( tapping,artificial harmonics,volume swells, the reason for the floyd rose patent, the drop-d tuna device, the "whammy bar" dives and screams, etc.) He is also the only guitar player who has his guitar sound named in the music industry. (Quincy Jones named Eddie's sound the "Brown Sound" during the "Beat It" recordings.)This one piece of music changed the entire way the guitar would be played after 1978. No guitar player before or after had such an impact.
Robb from Hamburg, NyYeah, well my feeling is that if he invented tapping and it's so "easy" then why did everyone copy him? It is an easy way to sound good, but he thought of using it the way he did first. If you invient something, you can use it how you want and as much as you want. Need I mention the diffucult parts he plays that aren't tapping? Listen to all the parts before the tapping in this solo. keep in mind, this was 1978. No one sounded like this at all! By 1979, 100,000 people at least tried to sound like him. Give him his props he changed guitar playing at least as much as Hendrix did.
Dave from Latham , NyEVH is good...I like his use of bluesy lines too...But, if you really want to see some extreme tapping look at Greg Howe. He can tap 3 octave scales in multiple directions
Dave from Latham , NyIMO, this solo really has inspired more virtuoso rock guitarists than any other song; having said that, Steve Lukather is the best electric player ever IMO.
Shanky from Pune, IndiaWell yes Eddie has got some talent but Clapton,Page and Hendrix are gods!!
Bobby from Tampa, Flmike from denver says Hendrix was a great rhythm/blues player so is Clapton
but neither were phenom soloists a al Eddie......
Hey mike, which Hendrix and Clapton are you listening too? Ever watch the full Woodstock set? Eddie could never pull a set like that off. Great gutar player no doubt, but Hendrix was God and Clapton Jesus.
Rob from Vancouver, CanadaWhy not ask Eddie who HE thinks is the best. He'll
tell you its Alan Holdsworth.
Mike from Denver, CoThis is probably the best 'stand-alone' rock solo ever done. Naturally it won't have the same effect as a solo that's part of a song, so it's stupid to make that comparison. The tapping part is easy once you know how, and most guitar players can play it--but EVH perfected the technique and made it mainstream. But you guys that say Eruption is easy because the tapping part is easy obviously haven't tried to play the rest of the solo--THAT'S the hard part. And you can't realistically say this is the best solo ever, as it depends on the genre of music, etc. I've played A LOT of solos from different guitarists, and I'll say this: EVH combined speed and a RHYTHMIC FEEL that almost no other guitarist has been able to--just read transcriptions of his solos, and it DOES NOT fit the rigid timing of players like Hammet & Yngwie (though they are great in their own right.) Hendrix was a great rhythm/blues player, and so is Clapton, but neither were phenomenal soloists a la Eddie. Eddie has a sense of timing that is almost unrivaled. Unless you've played these guys' stuff, you just don't know what you're talking about.
Mike from Washington, OkWhat about Jeff Beck? Anywayssss....I got to witness EVH live during the 1984 tour. It was exciting for a 16 year old skipping class to buy tickets for everyone! He is good....but I did not play guitar THEN. I play now, now I have the advantage of hindsite. I liked pete townshend then too. (odd?) After teaching myself to play and watching Joe Satriani play "the mystical potatoe groove thing"(spelling?) I have changed my mind/opinion. After all this? Who is my greatest guitar player of all time? Its me of course!
Blah from Edmonton, CanadaEddie Van Halen actually isn't that good at all. Everyone, he TAPS for those that don't play guitar tapping is a HUGE trick that sounds fast but a 2 year old can do it. For what you hear tapping is amazing but it's a true fantasy. Eddie is a fake. I'll leave it at that.
Jak from New York, NyEruption is the reason why a whole generation of junior high kids picked up the guitar. No doubt about it; i was one of them. If you want only technical skills, go to malmsteen or his clones. If you want the whole package of soul, passion, and emotion, go to Hendrix. If you want a happy medium, go to EVH. EVH has fun with his songs in a way that neither Hendrix nor Malmsteen do. that said, Hendrix remains God, because he IS the whole package, and that matters; and in a way that EVH - god bless him - could never be. But when I want to sell my friends on classic rock, its Eruption that I have them listen to. Their jaws drop, and they start to take the whole genre seriously. Once they're hooked, I can lead them to Hendrix to give the attraction a deeper meaning. After that, they've got religion for life.
Duffy from Yakima, AlI think he used an early cort guitar prototype and a pignose amp for that song.Maybe a little fuzz box too,I dont know for sure.I can't stand that ugly evil thing called Jimmy Page.What woman would want to be with him? And for solos, anything by devo just blows all the above away! Eddie knows what girls want and that's good looks,great solos,great songs and fuzz box solos!
Bobby from Tampa, FlWhen deciding which solo is the "best" it can never be nailed down to one song because of the fact that it is a subjective decision. In other words, a matter of taste. In my opnion (which we all know are like buttholes), Eruption is a fantastic technical solo. It deserves all of the rave reviews that it gets. I feel, however, that a solo should be a part of a whole. Eruption is not. It is a fantastic solo, but that is all. There are none of the other ingredients that comprise a song, and without that, a guitar solo stands twisting in the wind. A solo brings out emotion and feeling. While I am awed by the technical skill of Eruption, that is the only feeling I have for it. It does not make me think or reflect or anything else. I hea it and say "wow this guy is good", then forget about it 10 seconds later. Stairway, on the other hand, (which i am using as an example) the solo there brings the song to an emotional climax to the listener. Same can be said of other great solos (Freebird, Crossraods, Little Wing, etc). These solos take the entire song to a high point. EVH is a great guitar player, but I think that he lacks emotion and soul. As for his technique, Listen to Stanley Jordan. He does the technique, but has emotion and soul. This is my opinion.
"opinions are like buttholes:everyone has one and they all STINK!"
Alex from Philadelphia, PaEveryone seems to forget the solo by Kirk Hammet of Metallica on the song "One"...
Jordan from Shokan, Nyin answer to coreys question about what is so great about stairway to heavens solo,it i think its the greatest guitar solo ever because the song itself has such an epic weight and brilliance to it that hasn't ever been matched, and when you add the solo, the playing itself is excelent, and fiendishly difficult(maybe not as much so as eruption), and was so well written and executed by page. maybe if it was by itself or in another song, it wouldnt have the same greatness and importance, but since it was the topper for the song, i think it was just icing on the cake and made the song even more incredible. this is the greatest song ever recorded.
Kyle from Anna, OhGreatest Guitarist of All Time?? Jimi Hendrix! Period. No discussion. No opinion. Hard cold fact. Then Clapton, then Page, then Eddie Van Halen. But greatest of all time?? Still Hendrix!!!
Scott from Riverton, UtLets face it, they don't call him King Edward for nothing. If we all had the chance to be the fly on the wall at 5150 and watch him create we'd be even more blown away than just Eruption. Who else would grab a Makita screwgun, put it up to a pick-up and make a hit.
Ivan from GradacHas anyone here ever listened to Vlatko Stefanovski from serbian band Leb i Sol,or Radomir MihajloviÃ? Toèak from Smak?
For those who do love Eric Clapton, you all probably didn't know that when he got award for best world guitarist,he refused it.He said that there is a better one guitarist from himself in Serbia and his name is Vlatko Stefanovski.
For those who love speed,Petrucci,Malmsteen,Van Halen just check out Leb i Sol song called Akupuktura,Mamurni ljudi or UFO.There is no way someone could compare Eruption or Trilogy(Malmsteen) with something like this.I have listened Jason Becker,Yngwie Malmsteen,Satriani,Vai,Van Halen,Page,Allman brothers and there is nothing like this.Only thing is that Stefanovski is from Balkan and only a few people have listened to him.If anyone likes he can download these songs on www.nostalgija.net but it is all in Croatian so you'll need a lot of time to download it or simply try with Kazaa or something.
Corey from Woodstock, VtI cant keep it to myself anymore. what is so great about stairways's solo? In terms of sound and speed, Free bird easily tops them all. Eruption, I consider to be the second greatest guitar solo, just because its not that long.
Wade from Houston, TxThere's a lot of criteria for what comprises a great guitar solo. In terms of pure awesomness and technicality, Eruption definitely tops everything. In terms of taste and tying their solos into songs Eric Clapton and to a lesser extent David Gilmour are pretty much unparalelled.

The Page vs. EVH comparison is a tough one. EVH is definitely more innovative and more influential than Page(unlike EVH, Page didn't create an army of long-haired rockstar wannabe clones). On the other hand, EVH was massively influenced by Page and EVH himself has said that the Heartbreaker was his inspiration for making Eruption.

For all of you who like Eruption and guitar solos that are similar, I advise looking into instrumental music by Steve Vai, Eric Johnson, Joe Satriani, etc - especially Steve Vai if you're looking for pyrotechnics more than creativity.

...but ultimately it's difficult to say whether Clapton's best or EVH is best or whatnot. That's like asking if Britney Spears or Tupac is better; it's a completely different kind of music. Clapton has never expressed any kind of interest in fast tapping solos. EVH paid his dues to Clapton (especially with the song Bluesbreaker on the Starfleet Project album) but moved on to create his own style. Innovation and style are what make the greatest guitarists as great as they are. You can have a guitarist like John Petrucci of Dream Theater or Yngwie Malmsteen that is virtually unparalelled technically, but they're nothing compared to guitarists like Eric Clapton who laid down the foundation for what they would come to later master.

Also classic rock fans - try Jeff Beck. He's one of the greatest guitarists ever and gets very little credit.
Cal from Escanaba, MiEruption is damn good. Though, the only two things I don't really like about it is that; for one, it just seems kind of show-off..ish. It's great to know that he has that kind of skill in tremelo picking and consistancy in his PO's and HO's, but how feasable is it to play something like Eruption in every song? It just makes me think that VH's producer only put it on the album to show of his pride and joy [Eddie] as a guitarist, not so people could listen to it on the radio. The other thing that annoyes me is how many people think that he's playing it in the style of a classic solo, basically meaning without the tremelo picking, and think he is just picking that fast normally... which would be impossible. Those are the same people usually though that believe anyone who's ever picked up a guitar should be able to play something like Eruption, and are just too much of "posers" to do so. Eruption would be in my top 10, but I do believe there are better solos out there than it, by David Gilmour, Hendrix, and Page for instance. And whoever below me was flaming Eric Clapton and Page and saying they just steal old blues licks or whatever... just shut up, eh?
Jim from Dallas, TxI think the lyrics Rock!
Matt from Chicago, IlEruption is the greatest guitar solo ever written. All of you people that think that Slash's November Rain solo, or that Page's Stairway to Heaven solo are better solo's than Eruption are wrong. Someone said in their comments that Eddie's tapping technique is a cheap way of playing guitar, well yes it is in every single one of his solo's but only for a short time, and it really isnt even cheap, I have played guitar for 9 years now and its really hard to do. Also Eric Clapton is a horrible musician. You can't even call him a musician, all he does it steal old blues guitarists licks and uses them for his one. He can play the guitar pretty well but you cant call him a musician. EDWARD VAN HALEN IS THE GREATEST GUITARIST EVER. SECOND GREATEST IS RANDY RHOADS. JIMMY PAGE AND ERIC CLAPTON ARENT EVEN IN MY TOP 10.
Tom from Freiburg, GermanyHe didn't bother what everybody else had done before - he simply re-invented his instrument. He is the Thomas Edison of rock guitar.
John from Millersville, MdEric Clapton DOES do a lot of cover material, however, his original stuff is, in my opinion, his best. He has the range to go from soulful blues to distinct rock, and is without a doubt a better guitarist than Page or EVH. Those two can do incredible things with their fingers, but for each other finger tap or slide they just get closer to noise. Clapton is a brilliant guitarist, in terms of mechanics, style, and sound, and a superior song writer. He is the virtuouso of the 20th ventury.
Nothere from Kansas City, MoThis beats stairway to heaven
Nothere from Kansas City, MoTruely Unbeatable solo , Page , Slash , No one is going to be able to ever beat it. Best solo ever hands down.
Andy from Chelsea, AlEric Clapton is not a musician, he is a mime..He basically steals entire riffs from BB King and other musicians.While he is capable of playing guitar, to say that he is a "Musician" or mention passion is a joke.
John from Sanfransisco, CaBy the way you can e-mail me at lmonkey@sonic.net and my name isn't john its Lance. At first i didn't feel like posting my info on the web.
John from Sanfransisco, Ca"Heartbraker" has one of the fastest one handed solos of all time, but EVH can hit the most notes in the least amount of time while making it sound great.
John from Sanfransisco, Ca If you havent heard "Rock You Like A Hurricane" By scorpions than you don't know what a great solo is.
Matt from Pawtucket, RiThis is actually not the only all-guitar-solo song Eddie made. "Spanish Fly" from Van Halen II is similar to this, but on a Spanish guitar, and "Cathedral" from Diver Down is all this thing where he presses down on the neck, but instead of using a pick, he moves the volume knob around for this weird church organ-ish sound. He plays all three in the guitar solo on the DVD Live Without a Net.
Imran from Petaling Jaya, MalaysiaI'm 14 and my friends are the typical POP-Rock lovers. My love of classic rock is heavily crticised by the. Eruption has to be one of the best guitar solos ever and when I ask my friends to listen to it, they heed no word I say. By the way, one of my friends say that Cream sucks. HUH?
John from Louisville, KyHey People.!!!! , PLEASE LISTEN TO : Bobby Yang Plays Eruption....On your search bar just punch in with one space between each word ....like this : bobby yang plays eruption.....this is wayyyyyyyyy..>>fantastic...Thankyou EVH
Swansong200 from Calhoun, GaClapton has had some pretty unparalleled solos but no one says anything about him, it's always Layla this or Layla that. Listen to Crossraods from Wheels of Fire. Best solo ever from possibly the greatest guitarist ever. Eddie plays with skill, but Clapton plays with, what only a select few have, skill and passion!
Kaleo from Los Angeles, CaTo all who think this is the best guitar solo in classic rock, two words: Page, Heartbreaker - except in this chicken picked 'eruption' of barnyard buttrock, Jimmy doesn't rely on frenzied tap-hammer-pulloff cheeziness for speed that is the signature of Eddie Van Halen's solos. If dexterity with musical scales and modal innovation is the premise for this argument, Page has EVH covered hands down. Don't get me wrong, EVH is a virtuoso Flamenco-style guitarrist, but please believe, Page blows the spandex off any of that boy's solos. And please don't anybody EVEN bring up Dream Theater; those guys get spanked too, no contest.
Bob from Kelowna, CanadaStairway to heaven and november rain are cake compared to eruption skill wise. The only solos i believe that beat this are"play with me" from extreme(on the soundtrack of Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure,) and "Cliffs of Dover" by Eric Johnson. If you're a fan of insane guitar solos then the other two will blow your mind as much, if not more, than eruption.
Brandon from Painesville, OhBrett good job on getting your friends to listen to real music, I got my friends into Classic rock.
(Rap stands for Retards attempting poetry)This is a pretty good solo, YOu got to see Van Halen without a net they are awesome live.
Jp from Kelowna, CanadaBest solo hands down... truly amazing
Jennifer from Fredericton, CanadaGood job Brett from OK! I did almost the same thing here lol.
Brian from Portland, OrEddie's tapping technique actually dates back as far as the 1950's. He didn't invent it, but he was the one to bring it so much popularity.
Ben from Adelaide, Australiaa great guitar solo. not quite as good as stairway to heaven or november rain but it is one of the greatest i have had the pleasure of experiencing.
John from Portland, MdJust wanted to let you know that the song Michael J Fox's character, Marty McFly plays a song that Eddie van Halen recored specifically for Back to the Future and it is not part of eruption in any way
Randell from Mounds, OkIn an interview with EVH he says that when he gets up really high on the neck of his guitar he made a mistake. Eddie didn't know that he could try to record it again because it was his first record. The version on the album is the better of the two takes that he recorded.
Randell from Mounds, OkWhen VH first started out Alex suggested to Eddie that he should play his solo's with his back faced towards the crowd so no one could copy his style of tapping.
Brian from Toronto, CanadaTruly one of the best guitar solos ever recorded. Its astounding how wonderful it sounds. Also check out the Dire Strait's "Sultans of Swing" for another song GREAT guitar solo.
Brett from Moore, OkI'm 16 years old and i love classic rock!! In my computer class, a lot of people think that classic sucks. They are into new rock (witch for the most part sucks). Well one day I told one of them to play Eruption. Once that song started, they just stood their shooked. It was so funny looking at their face. Now I have them listening to Zeppelin, Skynyrd, Halen, Sabbath, GNR, and Eagles. The fact of the matter is that this is one of the greatest solos of all time. The only one that I can of that is better is Free Bird.
Peter from Montrose, DcHe is amazing.
Paul from Greenwood, ScEddie utilizes a finger-tapping style of playing that he has all but patented. You find others playing that way before him (Ace Frehly in the Shock Me solo from Kiss Alive II for one), but Eddie took it to new levels. One of the Kramer guitars EVH played actually had a back plate that folded out allowing the guitar to rest face up allowing Van Halen to play it more as a piano than a guitar. The key to his success has always been inovation and getting great sounds out of his equipment. He uses harmonics and amazing fingering to get his signature sound. For my money, this is the best solo from anyone on any record. There may be better pickers, but they didn't capture it like this one.
Eddie from Lachine, MiEddie used to warm up with this before a performance, but his manager heard it and asked him to record it.
Adam from Toronto, CanadaThat isnt a copy of Eruption he plays, its an Untitled piece Eddie Recorded for this movie
John from Cheshire, EnglandMichael J Fox's character in "Back to the Future" plays a copy of "Eruption" through a walkman to convince his father that he is from outer space.

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