Drummers You Just Can’t Beat: # 23 – Alex Van Halen
Drummers You Just Can’t Beat is an occasional series here at Off The Tracks.
Allow me to argue the point that the great Alex Van Halen from the even greater Van Halen was in fact, underrated. That might sound crazy, but by virtue of the fact that he played in a band his whole adult life with his brother, one Edward Van Halen, essentially the creator of a whole new lexicon for modern electric guitar, he was automatically compromised to more of a supporting role than might otherwise have been the case. I believe that Alex loved that supporting role. I was even lucky enough, some 20 years ago, to speak with him — he told me that it was the joy of his life to be in a band with his brother; to be there to watch the magic happen. And it is indeed the role of a drummer — any truly good drummer — to support. To be in the background, sometimes heavy lifting, sure. But not spotlight-stealing.
Still, Alex Van Halen was sometimes written about as part of a lazy rhythm section, soft or lacking in dynamics. Nothing could be further from the truth. He and Michael Anthony locked the fuck right in! He and Michael Anthony carried a lot of the weight of the songs, with two show ponies out front for the first decade of the band’s existence — and really for the whole duration of the group.
Anyway, you go back and listen to the David Lee Roth years in particular, the first six albums, and you hear a lot of great rhythm section funk and strut. There’s grit and soul to the playing, and there’s also great space. They knew not to get in the way, they knew they had a magician playing lead guitar who would pull rabbits form hats, and fling multi-coloured scarves in the direction of the songs. (But was also one hell of a rhythm player, and songwriter — maybe the real genius of Van Halen is that through all the swagger and epic ‘coolness’ they always had what anyone else in that sub-space of the genre ultimately lacked: Fucking Good Songs!)
Alex got to create a couple of amazing signature songs - Hot For Teacher of course. But mostly, it was Eddie doing the signature licks and tricks. Though, when you listen in for Alex, you really hear a dynamic drummer. He was always given the big solo live, and had the big kit, and he was most certainly influential, but he still played a second-fiddle role just by virtue of being in a group with Ed. He loved that, as said. And he certainly always said that himself. But I wonder if he was more deserving of more praise. And perhaps we’re better to listen not to his live drum solos, and Hot For Teacher but to the tight groove of Jamie’s Cryin’ or the ‘ecstatic’ fills on Dreams, or even Jump, for that matter.
There’s proof on nearly every song — and most certainly in those early years, there’s a hunger across the whole band.
But when Sammy Hagar comes in to replace Roth, and Eddie moved to experimenting more with keys, and filling songs out with piano parts or writing more ballads, in some ways that’s when you really hear the genius of Alex Van Halen. He had a bit more space when there was a bit less guitar, and he stole a moment or two to really shine.
I know it’s churlish to provoke with this, but I sometimes think Alex Van Halen deserves some of the drummer love given to Neil Peart. For he’s closer to him than say Tommy Lee. And though Peart fans will dismiss both that comment and even the hint of any attempt at competition, I’d argue that Van Halen offers so much more more in terms of groove.
Anyway, he’s forever one of my absolute drum heroes. So here’s to Alex. I just wanted to salute him and add him here to the list of Drummers You Just Can’t Beat!