Neil Young vs Eddie Van Halen

StuffnJunk
StuffnJunk Posts: 896
edited August 2008 in Other Music
Who do you prefer and why?

Who is "better"?

I think your answer says a lot about you as a person.
"I'll tell you what: If all I had was Pearl Jam, and I didn't have another band in the world, I would not be worried. Because in there is the essence of making great music. You don't have to use it all at once, but it's there." - Neil Young
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  • melodyman22
    melodyman22 Posts: 326
    Eddie Van Halen. Hands down is a better guitar player. I know Neil writes great songs. Also is very good on guitar. But if your talking Eddie vs Neil guitar wise. Van Halen by a mile.
  • NewDamage
    NewDamage Posts: 1,913
    Neil Young. Far superior songwriter and still making quality music 40+ years into his career.
    I am lost, I'm no guide. But I'm by your side...

    8/25/92, 10/4/96, 10/5/96, 9/1/98, 9/4/98, 8/4/00, 8/6/00, 4/15/03, 4/16/03, 10/6/04, 6/16/08
  • Them-Bones
    Them-Bones Posts: 518
    I like Neil's playing a lot more than Eddie Van Halen's, is Neil a more talented player than Eddie Van Halen? probably not, but Neil is one of my favorite guitarists, and I always thought they way Eddie Van Halen played was kinda cheesy.
    "If my thoughts, dreams, could be seen, they'd probably put my head, in a guillotine, but it's alright ma, it's life and life only."
  • Keir
    Keir Posts: 46
    Eddie Van Halen - cheese ball
    Neil Young - icon

    Enough said.
  • DeetroitBaasketball
    DeetroitBaasketball Posts: 379
    I'm not sure how you can even compare these two. They aren't even the same generation or genre....


    ...Neil Young.
  • Zoso
    Zoso Posts: 6,425
    Neil young by a landlside.. great songwriter possibly not as good technically as others but makes up for it with the sound and improvising.

    end thread.
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  • DCGARDEN
    DCGARDEN Posts: 515
    Better? at what?

    Van Halen is obviously the better guitar player, but if I had to choose one of theirs music to take with me on a desert island , it'd easily be Neil Young's
    I'll keep taking punches
    Untill their will grows tired
  • pandora
    pandora Posts: 21,855
    What? Neil for sure
  • digster
    digster Posts: 1,292
    Neil is probably one of my top three favorite guitar players of all time, and that is a list of which Mr. Van Halen is not a part. Young is my favorite type of guitar player; loud as fuck, heavy use of feedback and willing to move away to continuous pentatonic runs. Every note he plays bleeds emotion. I can't say enough about him, and if I could gain someone's guitar skills, I'd want his in a heartbeat.
  • robowski
    robowski Posts: 143
    its Neil - next question!
    As you live your life in sometimes quiet desperation, facing adversity and tragedy: if you have hope and love, that mixture helps you overcome that tragedy and go on with the rest of your life.”
    --Jack Lengyel
  • reversedarwinism
    reversedarwinism Posts: 1,151
    DCGARDEN wrote:
    Better? at what?

    Van Halen is obviously the better guitar player, but if I had to choose one of theirs music to take with me on a desert island , it'd easily be Neil Young's

    yeah, Neil Young - better music by far. I can see how it speaks volumes about the person. I laugh at the idea of prefering Van Halen, a mouth-breathing, balding-mullet cheeseball comes to mind. I do like VH, but its not even close to NY's music.
    bombs, dropping down, please forgive our hometown
  • reversedarwinism
    reversedarwinism Posts: 1,151
    digster wrote:
    Neil is probably one of my top three favorite guitar players of all time, and that is a list of which Mr. Van Halen is not a part. Young is my favorite type of guitar player; loud as fuck, heavy use of feedback and willing to move away to continuous pentatonic runs. Every note he plays bleeds emotion. I can't say enough about him, and if I could gain someone's guitar skills, I'd want his in a heartbeat.

    Yes, Eddie Van Halen is a great player, but I too would rather listen to Neil's playing. Every note bleeds emotion - exactly right.
    bombs, dropping down, please forgive our hometown
  • annenomies
    annenomies Posts: 165
    Neil Young by far! His guitar skills and song writing are incredible
  • norm
    norm Posts: 31,146
    this is like comparing antarctica vs thumbtacks
  • Jellyrolls
    Jellyrolls Posts: 523
    If you are asking who is the better guitarist, then Halen is the clear winner. Neil Young is nowhere in the same atmosphere with Eddie Van Halen, and that is no opinion. But most people here will say Neil just because Eddie Vedder has told them that Young is the greatest thing.
  • digster
    digster Posts: 1,292
    Jellyrolls wrote:
    If you are asking who is the better guitarist, then Halen is the clear winner. Neil Young is nowhere in the same atmosphere with Eddie Van Halen, and that is no opinion. But most people here will say Neil just because Eddie Vedder has told them that Young is the greatest thing.

    No, this is not the case at all. Technicial proficiency is not all that is required to play the guitar; if so, Steve Vai or someone of his ilk would be the greatest guitar player in music history. But that's not all that is required, particularly in rock and roll. This type of music, and this instrument requires that you speak and scream through your instrument, that you make the song even greater than it is and compliment your solo so that it is complimented by the song. This is the largest cliche in the world, but it's true; it's not how many notes you play, but the notes you DO play, and the notes you do not. Eddie Van Halen does quick, lightning-fast runs. Good for him. Neil Young, on the other hand;

    1. Has strayed away from a typical rock and roll lead guitarist sound.
    2. Has established a signature sound, so when you hear a Neil Young solo, you know who it's coming from.
    3. Has developed his talents so the solos heighten the emotions of his incredible songs, never overwhelming them but making them even stronger.

    Go ahead and take Eddie Van Halen; you can have him. And yes, I would feel this way about Neil Young's guitar playing abilities even if I had never heard about Eddie Vedder, considering I've felt this strongly about Neil since before I've been a fan of Pearl Jam. So that point of your argument is moot.
  • Edved82
    Edved82 Ireland Posts: 1,279
    Neil, as a songwriter and guitarist, is up there with the greatest ever, the man lives through his guitar and his songs. Eddie van Halen has the technique maybe, but Neil has the soul and the emotion, which is far more important than technical proficiency
    "...though my problems are meaningless....that don't make them go away...."
  • Anon
    Anon Posts: 11,174
    Jellyrolls wrote:
    But most people here will say Neil just because Eddie Vedder has told them that Young is the greatest thing.
    Hahahaha dude. You are so wrong. You're in the musicians and gearheads forum now. Not the Porch. Most of us are musicians (or at least wannabes ;)) and as much as you may think we would like to lick eddies nuts on a daily basis, we are not eddie clones and we do have a brain of our own. Just sayin....

    Carry on...

    Edit: Ooops. This WAS in the musicians forum but it's now been moved to the other music forum. Uhm.....
    ok :)
  • The Long Road
    The Long Road Posts: 183
    Jellyrolls wrote:
    If you are asking who is the better guitarist, then Halen is the clear winner. Neil Young is nowhere in the same atmosphere with Eddie Van Halen, and that is no opinion. But most people here will say Neil just because Eddie Vedder has told them that Young is the greatest thing.


    Wrong! The question was "who is better?". Neil's songwriting skills are far superior than Van Halen's. I'll go even further and say thet Van Halen is the most overrated band in the history of Rock and Roll. Guitarists like Van Halen that are technically great doesn't mean they are great songwriters. I have this argument all the time in regards to Neil Peart. Everyone says he's the best ever. I totally disagree. He's a great technical drummer, but there are many more drummers out there that are technically sound...BUT ADD FEEL! Same goes with EV Halen.
    "All the rusted signs we ignore throughout our lives"--Ed
  • jamie uk
    jamie uk Posts: 3,812
    StuffnJunk wrote:
    Who do you prefer and why?

    Who is "better"?

    I think your answer says a lot about you as a person.


    Huh?
    It's like saying what's better...origami or kung fu ? the most pointless question I ever saw. lol :p
    I came, I saw, I concurred.....

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