Customer Reviews

Little Guitars: Tribute to Van Halen

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Even though this complication wasn't as good as i expected, it was very interesting too see how other artists sang and played Van Halen tunes, if you want to hear it for free go to www.classicvanhalen.com where you can dl it, then decide if you want to buy it or not.

I bought this tribute album for a couple reasons. 1. I LOVE Van Halen. 2. I have a similar tribute album for Alice Cooper that was produced by Bob Kulick that totally ROCKED! 3. I was anxious to hear some of the artists renditions of Van Halen. Problems arose when I figured out that each song was almost a carbon copy of the original. The artists weren't allowed to do THEIR interpretations of the music. The only 2 that seemed to have some amount of creative liberty were George Lynch on Panama and Dweezil Zappa on Unchained. Jake Lee who played on Runnin With The Devil said in an interview that he was told how to play the song. The Alice Cooper album had a lot more creative liberty it seems. I would have loved to hear Lynch, Reb Beach, and a couple of others have a lil more of their own influence in their playing. The 2 best vocal interpretations were Jani Lane on Panama (he has such a raw power in his voice) and Jeff Scott Soto who is the only person I've heard who can perfectly mimic Dave's patented screams. My favorite song on this cd is So This Is Love. It wasn't a carbon copy, but it was still close enough to do justice.

I didn't know what to expect when I got this CD, but some of it isn't bad and some of it is. I loved Unchained, Dance the Night Away and Atomic Punk. I liked Light up the Sky except that it sounded like Yngwie Malmsteen was trying to sqeeze every lick known to man into one solo, but the overall sound was good. The rest of the tracks were pretty good for the most part except for Running with the Devil, So This is Love and Little Guitars. Jake E. Lee's guitar work and solo in particular aren't very good on Running with the Devil. The solo is nothing even slightly resembling the original. I also didn't care much for the guitar work and tone in So This is Love either, but everything else sounded okay. And lastly, Little Guitars sounds like it was recorded in a home studio for $200 in someone's basement, although the arrangement and musicianship were good. These are just my opinions though so check it out for yourself.

...I also bought this album because I like Van Halen and like a previously had
bought another tribute album that had been produced by Bruce Kulick, which was
REALLY good (Bat Head Soup - Ozzy Tribute if anyone is interested). Apparently
Bruce was asleep at the board when this was recorded. It's terrible! If you like
Van Halen, DON'T BUY THIS ALBUM! It is an insult to good music.

Good Lord, I'm surprised assjack Eddie hasn't sued for the utter embarrassment this is for practically everyone involved with this project. To each their own, I suppose, but between the negative reviews (thanks for the heads-ups) and the sampling of the songs, I know well enough to stay away from purchasing. For non-straight reading of a VH song that's worth some time, check Lee and the Press-On Nails' swing version of "Hot for Teacher." That one's a tribute, not just some carbon-clone cover that all the songs on LITTLE GUITARS are.

I usually despise tribute albums, but once in a while I check them to see if some version of a beloved song by one of your favorite rock artists receives a new spin, a new touch.

In this case, nothing hapenned. Bob Kulick Tribute Enterprises delivered a perfunctory tribute album, where all the songs seem exactly like their original versions. Useless.

This album is a tribute to Van Halen.The album is featuring: jack russell,mark slaughter,jani lane,jeff stott soto,gunner nelson(who covered pretty woman from Roy Orbison with matt nelson)john corabi.......and the guitarists are:REB BEACH,blues saraceno,george lynch,malmsteen........ If you like these artists and 80'hard rock you will love this album(but not a perfect tribute album) The best covers are unchained,panama,pretty woman

These songs were all played as nearly exact copies of the originals -- a shame the artists lacked any room to improvise.

THAT SAID HOWEVER, I LOVE THIS ALBUM FOR ONE REASON -- BACK IN 1985 VH WERE LOOKING FOR A NEW SINGER I WAS PRAYING THEY'D HIRE JOE LYNN TURNER AS RICHIE BLACKMOORE GOT BACK WITH DEEP PURPLE AND PUT RAINBOW ON HOLD -- OPPORTUNITY LOST FOREVER.

JOE LYNN TURNER SOUNDS GREAT HERE, PROVING TO ME MY HUNCH WAS RIGHT -- JOE LYNN TURNER WAS A PERFECT FIT FOR THIS BAND.