When you were a child, dreaming of being a wailing guitarist, bathed in the spotlight of the stage, very rarely did you have your school uniform on. But AC/DC‘s Angus Young has made it a part of his identity for decades.
The duck-walking riffmaster is one of the most beloved guitarists of his generation, pounding out rhythms and solos that have hit the airwaves and remained there for the last four decades. With that said, it is easy to see how Young could be considered an aficionado.
Like a lot of lovers of hard rock, and that is exactly what Angus Young is, the guitarist has a lot of appreciation for Van Halen. AC/DC may have cut their teeth in the heavier moments of punk rock’s dying embers, generating a new sound that clanged through the radio like a freight train, and Van Halen may have flirted more casually with being a pop powerhous, but Young has often showered Van Halen’s leading man in praise.
Eddie Van Halen is routinely recognised as one of the greatest guitarists of all time, and Young is one player who has happily contributed to such acclaim. “Eddie was a guitar wonder, his playing pure wizardry,” Young shared following the Van Halen man’s passing.
For Young, the guitarist was not just a monumental musician for his own band but for the entire community. “To the world of music, he was a special gift. To those of us fortunate enough to have met him, a very special person. He leaves a big hole in a lot of hearts. To the Van Halen family, my heartfelt sympathies,” Young said.
“AC/DC played on a bill with Van Halen back in 1978, 1979 for a Bill Graham Day on the Green show,” explained Young as he noted his first moments recognising the talents of Van Halen. “I didn’t know much about Van Halen then, except that I remember seeing film clips of them. Especially Eddie playing the solo piece, ‘Eruption’, I was very impressed. I didn’t meet Eddie until years later, when there was a Monsters of Rock open-air festival in England. I was shocked to hear he liked my playing. Because I’ve never rated myself as a guitarist.”
“‘Eruption’ is a favourite track. He’s got everything characteristic of his playing in that song. There’s a bit of everything. When Jimi Hendrix came along it was like, ‘Where did this guy come from? I think that was the same feeling as with Edddie. When Eddie appeared on the scene, every guitarist I ran into said, ‘You’ve gotta hear this guy!” Angus Young said.
Young went even further and compared the six-string maestro to the instrument’s greatest of all time: “He turned the rule book upside down in terms of his approach. There was a lot of experimentation to his playing. Eddie also crosses into that avant-garde thing, which puts him in the same category as Hendrix”.
There’s perhaps no greater compliment than being recognised by your peers, but if there was, it might well be one of those highly-regarded peers pitching you at the same level as one of the mighty deities of the field.
