Van Halen 101 [Paperback]

Abel Sanchez (Author), Brian May (Foreword)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"All told, Van Halen 101 is a terrific encapsulation of Van Halen's storied musical career." -Ken Sharp -- Friday Morning Quarterback, October 2005

"Extraordinary... sets a new standard in how to write a book about an important rock musician." - Arend Slagman -- stevelukather.net, August 2005

"Sanchez has done some extensive work... the Brian May foreword alone is worth the money you'll spend." -Niclas Müller-Hansen -- Metalshrine.se, November 2005

"The exhaustive artist tributes make Van Halen 101 stand out from the pack." -Greg Prato -- Classic Rock Magazine, January 2006

"This book is an incredible read. Very, very highly recommended." -Murat Batmaz -- seaoftranquility.org, October 2005

"This is the most comprehensive VH guide written to date." -Dave White, Top 10 Classic Rock Books Of 2005 -- classicrock.about.com, Nov/Dec 2005

"Van Halen 101 is a book about dudes, by a dude, written for other dudes." -Lucas Aykroyd -- The Georgia Straight, October 2005

"Essential for any serious Van Halen fan." - Martin Popoff -- Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles, Jan/Feb 2006

"You can't go wrong with this killer crash course." - Jude Gold -- Guitar Player Magazine, January 2006

'Recommended Reading' -- Rock 'n Roll Hall Of Fame, Spring 2007

From the Author

For as long as I can remember I've followed and supported Edward, Alex, Dave, Sammy and Mike (respect to Gary as well). They truly wrote the soundtrack to my life. When I learned of Edward's health issues a few years ago (hip replacement, cancer, etc.) I was quite moved. No one likes to see their heroes suffer. This led to my reaching out to the music community to come together and honor this man who's given so much to the world through his music. The response was amazing. The end result is this book. Although it was designed to be a loose rollicking shootin' the sh*t type of read I do apologize for the occasional typo and/or repetitive statement. I scratched and clawed to cobble this thing together over the course of two years and was not able to have it properly edited. My four-hundred page 175,000 word text was released to the public completely unedited and untouched. Warts and all I'm very proud of this project and can without hesitation say it came from a truly honest place. If you want dirt please look elsewhere because I have far too much respect for this group of men to dish dirt about them and their loved ones. If you want a truthful representation of their history, music, impact and influence then here it is. Thanks again and god bless.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 412 pages
• Publisher: Author House (September 13, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1420878867
• ISBN-13: 978-1420878868
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,291,637 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars An arena rock-sized dissapointment!!, January 10, 2006

By 

The Casual Critic (Des Moines, IA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Van Halen 101 (Paperback)

The only reason I didn't give this book a 1/2 star is because it's not an option when picking the rating. I'm not one who usually jumps on reviewer chatboards to tell people how I feel, but I'm a big Van Halen fan, and was really excited to read this book, and was dissapointed to the point where I felt the need to warn the Van Halen fans of the world. If you're looking for a kick a** biography on this band...keep looking. It might not ever come, but not having anything at all is better than wasting your time and money on this bloated, 400 page turd.

The writing in this book is juvenile to the point of insulting. I don't mind coversational writing styles if it is done well, but it's like this author had only 5 different phrases to choose from in order to describe events in this book. When the term to describe Gary Cherone "...he can sing his d**k off!" appears twice within a couple pages, you have to wonder if the publisher of this book even has an editor on staff.

And ok, I get it, when the first Van Halen album was released in 1978 it ushered in a whole new era in rock music and single handledly reinvented the electric guitar. If I didn't know that the first time you said it, I sure as h*ll knew it by the fifth time I read it.

No interviews with the band members, no classic photos of the band, and I'm not even sure the facts I was given in the book were accurate. When the author uses the terms "I'm pretty sure..." and "I'm guessing..." on multiple occassions, it kinda feels like I'm being told stories by the old stoner guys back home who saw Van Halen in concert back in '81.

The history of the band feels like it was investigated using old Guitar World magazines, and classic video footage from MTV News. The discography section is redundant, and self-serving.
And the chapter entitled "Too Many Notes" should have been scrapped before publishing...again, where's the editor? Who cares if "Eruption" had 850 notes, and "Voodoo Chile" had 1000 notes?!! The only saving grace is the tribute section at the end. But even then, it only takes the first 20 or so "Eddie Van Halen is the best of all times" to get the point.

Van Halen fans, I know we haven't had much to cheer about in the last few years but stay strong, avoid this book, throw on your greatest hits CD and keep hoping for the "real" reunion tour sometime soon!!

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Complete Waste of Time (AND MONEY)!!!!, October 28, 2005

By 

Mark "Mark" (New York ,USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Van Halen 101 (Paperback)

Do not buy this book, unless you don't know how do a Google search. In that case, buy it and you'll be blown away by how well researched it is. If you CAN find your way to a search engine, type in Van Halen and learn a whole lot more about a once great band. Crappy books like this are just another example of the crap EVH and company have been giving their fans since Van Halen III.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars VERY disappointed., December 26, 2005

By 

D. Carlton "Stormtrooper" (Santa Fe, NM) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Van Halen 101 (Paperback)

I am a huge Van Halen fan. I've seen them live several times and started playing guitar because of Van Halen. I'm saying this because this review is coming from someone who loves this band. I absolutely HATED this book. The writing style is so unprofessional that I simply couldn't believe an editor would publish a book like this. Envision if you will Lawrence from "Office Space" telling you a bunch of Van Halen stories that he heard. Sure, it's supposed to be conversational, but it was just plain annoying. An example of the style might read, "This marshall amp was awesome dude. If you ask me, it belongs in the f#%ing Smithsonian!" I'm not exaggerating that at all. The entire book reads like that and it all comes off as some 45-year old trying to relive the glory days. If when you read that, you were annoyed, you will find this book annoying. If you lifted your fist in the air and yelled 'Hell Yeah!', you will love this book. For a book called "Van Halen 101", it couldn't 'feel' any less like a textbook since all of the info comes across a speculation.

My biggest problem overall was with the writing style, but the content really wasn't too original either. I'm reading DLR's Crazy From The Heat autobiography again and it much of the stories and information in 101 is lifted out of that book. By the way, that book is bar none a better book. If you've never read any of the Van Halen biographies out there, then this will all seem new. Otherwise, it's the same info you've heard before, told horribly.