Brad Tolinski

A very good, but not quite 'epic', popular history, particularly for the details of guitar designers and company connections. Less good on the brief mentions of the guitarists who used and adapted them, but only because there are so many detailed biographies on them already. I was surprised that there was no mention at all of the unsurpassed guitar experimenter Adrian Belew of King Crimson (although Robert Fripp gets half a sentence), while Eddie Van Halen gets a chapter. It would also have show more been nice to have more photos of guitar designs. show less

Eruption is primarily based on a collection of interviews with Eddie Van Halen and other individuals from his inner circle, making it more like a collection of magazine articles than a chapter-by-chapter biographical history. This is not surprising, as the authors Brad Tolinski and Chris Gill come from the world of guitar magazines. It also should not be a surprise that the book goes into great detail about a lot of guitar minutiae. Satisfying the craving for gory details is the raison show more d'etre of Guitar World and presumably every other hobby magazine out there. On the upside, this perspective means we get a lot of interesting details about Van Halen's "Frankenstrat," possibly the most famous individual musical instrument of the past half century.

There is plenty about Eddie's creativity and process as a songwriter, his innovations in guitar playing technique, and his technical innovations in electric guitars and amplification. Unfortunately, there is also all too much about the strife and struggles of being in an enormously famous rock band in the 80s and 90s, as you would typically find in articles at the time. One gets the impression that it's no fun being a rock star at all.

Overall, worth a read for rock guitar nerds. show less

What a fascinating book! This well-researched history of the electric guitar provides a wealth of information regarding the history of both technical aspects of the instrument but also the personalities that contributed to the electric guitar's ascension to the pinnacle of rock, jazz and blues. The writing is engaging and there are nuggets of information scattered throughout the book that come as a surprise even to a long-term aficionado. Highly recommended for all those interested in the show more guitar and music history. show less

*well-written and essays are easy to read
*must read book for all Jeff Beck fans
*raw and inspiring - learned so much more about him - and I thought I know a lot already
*highly recommend