Eddie Van Halen’s love of Eric Clapton’s Cream-era guitar playing is well known. The guitarist talked in depth about learning Clapton’s licks and solos note for note in his first-ever interview, with Jas Obrecht, in Guitar Player’s July 1978 issue.
What’s less well known is that Eddie had also learned the Who’s Live at Leeds album down to each of Pete Townshend’s riffs and solos.
In a new interview with Professor of Rock, former Van Halen bass guitarist Michael Anthony recalled his first jams with Eddie and his brother Alex, saying he was particularly impressed by Eddie’s ability to perform Townshend’s parts perfectly.
“When I jammed with Eddie and Alex that first time, they played some of their original stuff,” Anthony explains. “They were going through these time changes, and I’m like, ‘Whoa! What a trip!’
What’s more, says Anthony, “He could play the whole Live at Leeds album, playing it note for note. It was just as good, if not better than Townshend!”
Released in 1970, Live at Leeds is celebrated as one of rock’s great live albums, and one that marked a turning point for the Who. By the dawn of the ’70s, they’d become known as one of rock’s greatest performance acts, but they had yet to release a live album. They were also concerned that the success of 1969’s Tommy rock opera had boxed them in as an art-rock group.
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The time was right for the Who to make a live album. They had recorded some shows from the Tommy tour but were unhappy with the sound. Early in 1970, they booked a pair of shows with the intent of recording them for an album. They included a February 14 concert at Leeds University and another the following day at Hull City Hall.
By this point Townshend’s stage gear consisted of 1968/’69 Gibson SG Specials in Cherry finish and a pair of customized master-volume Hiwatt CP103 “Super Who 100” heads, as well as a Shaftesbury Duo fuzz pedal. A WEM Copycat tape echo was applied to his guitar at the soundboard. Townshend would switch to using SG Specials in Polaris White finish in 1972. The SG would remain his main electric guitar until 1973, when he switched to the Les Paul Deluxe.
Townshend talent for coaxing a wide range of tones from such a simple rig was impressive. And, as it turns out, Van Halen wasn’t the only famous guitarist moved by Townshend’s work on Live at Leeds. Joe Satriani was blown away by the sound he was able to achieve from his gear, and picked the disc as one of the 10 albums that changed his life. He added that it would be his sole pick if he could choose only one.
When I see a performer just go crazy like that, I’m blown away. And his choices for guitar sounds are just unbelievable.”
“Pete Townshend, to me, is another one of those amazing musicians who put so much energy and originality into his playing,” Satch said. “He risks everything for the performance and the expression, which is another thing that I love dearly. When I see a performer just go crazy like that — and the fact that his rhythm playing is just unbelievable — I’m blown away. And his choices for guitar sounds are just unbelievable.
“It’s the whole thing with him. He’s such an original. So if I had to pick one album, it would be Live at Leeds because I can’t even fathom the fact that he’s got the guitar on the right side and the reverb and the tape echo in the center. It’s just the craziest thing. I still don’t understand how that band, with those three guys playing, made such a beautiful sound where you didn’t want for another instrument. I still can’t understand it. It’s pure magic.”
