Whether you like his music or not words like overrated or not special are ignorance at its finest. The two most important guitar players in rock music... and that includes metal boys.... are Hendrix and VanHalen, by their importance alone they are special and earned their rateing. They didnt sit around 24/7 learning the riffs and licks of a hundred other guitar players, downloading tab from the internet or learning from tab books, spend years in music school studying, useing a machines to slow down the music so they could "figure it out", subscribing to guitar player, or buying every educational video around... they created the licks and riffs. Not only that I've yet to hear any songs with the astonishing self developed double stop rythmn technique Hendrix displayed in so many excellent songs. The eruption solo, forget about it, that was like out of the clear blue and Eddies riffs are still second to none, go learn the opening riff to 5150 and tell me where that came from. Eddie was a riff and groove king. Even as of 1990 there were few guitar players shellin out the total package as Eddie was, regardless this little shred or riff here and that one there that came from him or Yngwie (#3). Ever since its been a mix n match plus natural evolution of sounds and techniques brought to the table by Hendrix, VanHalen, and Malmsteen. Sure Zappa, MacLaughlin, DiMeola and possibly the yet obscure Holdsworth were on the ball but sorry I was listening to the Zappa, MacLaughlin, Morse and DiMeola through that time, they carried plenty of Wow factor but Eddie blew the doors off the building and Eddie ROCKED ! MacLaughlin and Zappa shed but much was highly abrasive with questionable feel. DiMeola smoked them all but feel was still lacking. Eddie had it all, riffs, groove, shred, tone, creativity and delivered it with a smile. Sorry but your wrong, any level headed, non egotistical guitar man knows the value of Eddie VanHalen and neither overrates him nor underrates him but accepts him for his hand in helping to level the mountain that Jimi knocked down.
make note the humble respect Eddie gives Les Paul who came decades before him.... suppose he should have stood there and said "Les... your overrated and nothing special"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VKwMEOIoyc
