100 Greatest Guitarists: David Fricke's Picks: Eddie Van Halen

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Eddie Van Halen

Aaron/Retna

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The sound-obsessed Van Halen makes even simple lines sound like towering chorales and pioneered all kinds of tricks, such as fingers hammering the fretboard. Van Halen sought something different from his rock peers: music that was defiantly arty, but never so much so that it lost touch with devastating hooks.