Wolfgang Van Halen has reiterated his claim that too many guitarists are unable to look past the flashy aspects of his dad’s playing, highlighting another facet of his virtuosity that doesn’t get enough recognition.
On a new episode of the Cody Tucker Show, Wolfgang champions a rather different aspect of his dad’s musicality.
“I think everybody looks at him as Mr. Tap, and he’s Mr. Shred, but I think that’s just a flavor of what he did,” he explains (via Blabbermouth). “And I think it’s the fact that he was such a good songwriter and rhythm guitar player, which allowed him to be the shredder guy on top of it.
“There are plenty of people who are just great shredders, and they’re just running through scales and stuff, and that’s not as interesting,” he adds, echoing recent comment he made about the appeal of Taylor Swift's music.
Wolfgang also singles out another underrated guitarist in his book, AC'DC's lesser-championed Young brother, Malcolm.
He says, “Obviously, Angus is very in your face and dancing around, while [Malcolm] was just in the back, but I think he is the greatest rhythm guitar player in history. He just had such a grit, and he’s absolutely one of my favourites.”
In related news, Wolfgang recently spoke to Guitar World about his dad, Allan Holdsworth, and his unintentional Van Halen-isms, and explained his two distinct approaches to tapping.
