We Have New Halen Material!!!!!!!!!!!!

[unchainedguitars]

This is true, but i'm sure a lot of it has to do with the bottle.
If Ed cleaned up, there's little doubt he could get his chops back in form.
But in a perverse sort of way (in part due to the subject matter. LOL.), it's interesting to hear Ed fight the guitar a little.
It was all so effortless in 1981, but here he is sort of playing on the edge of his capabilities. That, to me, is exciting.
I saw the 2004 tour, and there were lots of errors & flubs, but the magic in his fingers was never extinguished.
I'd rather watch Ed make mistakes, then hear Satriani play a million over-rehearsed phrygian scales all over the neck.
Alright, Satch sounds like a nice guy in interviews...i need to pick on another player.

[whiskeyhome]

I have a problem with his continuous use of the extended harmonics. You hear it in the new tracks and you here it in Twister. What is going on? He did it with Kenny Kneckshney, live, as well..... Is he amazed by how long he can hold a harmonic note? Where is Ed at in his playing? Is he at the Roger Waters level? I hope not

[Kozmoe]

I'm sure you're right, Unchained. And I enjoy hearing Ed play anything. There was a time when, every now and again, I'd get into a phase of listening to other guitarists, like Vai or Malmsteen, etc. They sound so precise and practiced, so schooled but bursting with energy and spontaneous at the same time. Then I'd think to myself, "Is Eddie really THAT good?"

So, I'd pull out some VH, a CD or a DVD, and always, my answer to my own question was "Fuck yeah, he's that damn good!"

But, in his own way, you know? I just don't know anymore... I'm not sure he can pull off his own stuff these days. I just wish he'd get his shit together so he could be back on top again. It's just like you said, he could do it. Man, I wish he would.

[Kozmoe]

Whiskeyhome, I agree. Somebody turned him on to that damn sustainer and he won't put it down. He's not even doing anything really interesting with it, just holding long notes. You'd think he'd at least be experimenting with the possibilities of the thing.

[unchainedguitars]

I wonder if he hits those extended harmonics simply to buy some time to figure out what he's going to do next.
In the old days, he'd just rip these long, off the cuff legato lines.
It was almost like he couldn't stop the ideas from just flowing out of his hands.

[whiskeyhome]

ya.. I agree..... What is wrong... Eddie never ever played a boring rythem for fuck sakes....Now, he holds a harmonic for 40 seconds?????????????? What is going on????????? I remember him saying that he would not strum a rythem chord during a song cause it was bullshit..... What happened to that ?

[unchainedguitars]

Man, i love havin' you guys on here, btw.
Kozmoe had interesting observation about Ed in comparison to guys like Yngwie & Vai.
My friend Paul & i used to study Nuno Bettencourt, Paul Gilbert & Vai, and actually question if Ed was still THE guy, ya know?
We had the George Lynch REH instructional video on the VCR, and again we had to wonder if Ed had been surpassed on the guitar front.
Ultimately, we'd throw on the live solo from "Live without a net" and then it would hit us both. Ed was still the king, no doubt!
It was so funny, because both of us would get to things like Meanstreet & Cathedral on the tape, and it seemed crystal clear how incredible a musician he was.

[Kozmoe]

Thanks, Unchained. I'm really glad I found this site.

That's exactly what I'm talking about, it used to be that no matter what any other guitarist did, no matter how fast they played or what technique they used, Ed outclassed them with sheer talent and musicianship, and a seemingly endless well of creativity.

[jane]

Hmmm maybe I should have put my take on the songs in here...oh well

[axewolfgang]

I wonder if he hits those extended harmonics simply to buy some time to figure out what he's going to do next.
In the old days, he'd just rip these long, off the cuff legato lines.
It was almost like he couldn't stop the ideas from just flowing out of his hands.

You know how when people look at an artist painting and sometimes don't get it, I think that is the case with Ed. He is brilliant and with brilliance there is sometimes eccentricity(is that a word). When ed uses the sustainer I remeber a story he told in an interview about his dad. Ed said when he was a kid he would lay in bed and could hear his dad practicing his instrument for hours on end. He said that his dad would play one note and hold it for what seemed like forever (probably minutes at a time). He said his dad would somehow get inside the note. It sounds like that is what ed is doing.