The Van Halen Encyclopedia (Paperback)

by CJ Chilvers (Author)
Key Phrases: eagles fly, drum solo, little dreamer, Van Halen, David Lee Roth, Sammy Hagar (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
An extremely detailed history of the world's greatest rock band, Van Halen.

About the Author
C.J. Chilvers is the president of The Association of Music Writers and Photographers.

Product Details

• Paperback: 472 pages
• Publisher: IUniverse (January 29, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595166695
• ISBN-13: 978-0595166695
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #844,045 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't believe the hype!, July 1, 2001

By	Robert Quem (Belleville, Illinois) - See all my reviews

Pros: Well, it's got alot of trivia tidbits... Cons: Numerous errors and a big disappointment if you're looking for good info regarding bootlegs. The Bottom Line: Unless you're simply looking for some shallow trivia about Van Halen, it would probably be best that you avoid paying your hard earned money to get this book, Recommended: No --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I bought this because I thought it was gonna give me lots of juicy details about the plethora of VH bootlegs that are available on the WWW, but I was sadly mistaken.

I wanted a list of bootleg cdr's with track listings, track times, sound quality & performance ratings, but these are not in this book.

Some errors: ---Attributes "Man On The Silver Mountain" to David Bowie(!) instead of Ronnie James Dio & Rainbow. ---Spells Jimi Hendrix "Jimmy". ---Attributes "Nobody's Fault But Mine" to Edgar Winter instead of Led Zeppelin. ---On page 173 Lynyrd Skynyrd is spelled "Lynard Skynard". ---Says that "no known recording exists" for VH's cover of Trower's "The Fool And Me" when one does indeed exist on "Golden West Ballroom 1976".

Perhaps these errors seem trivial, but damn, you'd think that the author of a book about a mainstream act like Van Halen would know better...

I was deeply disappointed with this book and wish that I had instead spent my money on something by Bukowski or Crumb.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So jam-packed there's almost TOO much inforamtion, March 20, 2000

By	Tom Sundry (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Van Halen Encyclopedia (Hardcover)

The Van Halen Encyclopedia is what it says: a massive, encyclopedic accumulation of knowledge about the band. Perhaps only The Beatles are the only other band in rock history that have been written about in this depth -- and that's in several books. The VHE is the culmination of years of research about the band by author C.J. Chilvers, Official VH Website webmaster Brad Starks, and dozens of contributors. You'll have to read it for yourself to get a grasp of it's scope. It's an absolute A+ in my opinion. No other VH book ever written has even come close.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Makes a good doorstop, January 10, 2006

By	Todd (NY) - See all my reviews

Dull dull and dull. A guaranteed good time for anal retentive fans with no life. For the rest of us it's about as exciting as watching paint dry. No pictures, no band interviews, no opinions, no new info, nothing. Just a billion pages of information, about 10% of which is useful. The other 90% is just there to take up space. Save your money.