Phil X

Agreed - that just blew me away. To be clear the guitar not the vocals LOL

Aloha !

It's not doing much for me either. I won't say he's a bad guitar player, but that guitar solo is pretty much the exact guitar solo Don Felder and Joe Walsh play, with the exception of the last 20 odd seconds. There's nothing special about that, really.

Salaam Aleikum,
Sebastiaan

Didn't do much for me. Agree with Seb, it's pretty much like the original but without the soul...

Guess this is why I was always more into guys like Richie than EVH. Technically a great performance from Phil, just like he did with Jovi but it's a session player's solo... a VERY good session player but still.

You think Eddie plays without soul?

I'd say that.

EvH is an enormous talent but for me, personally, there's little heart in what he does. Doesn't mean it can't touch the person listening but in my opinion, it leaves me amazed at his skill and completely cold.

He's the total opposite to a raw guitarist who attacks the instrument, like Joe Perry.

Completely agree, that's the best post i've seen on here in ages.

Ah fair enough mate. This is not a Van Halen forum and I respect your opinion anyway.

Phil X isn't anywhere near as good as Van Halen though, and to be honest for different reasons he isn't anywhere as good as Richie at his best either. In fact, I think X is a bit shit, but I don't want to get flamed by some who think he is amazing just cause he stepped in.

While I'm sure there are people who are making the argument that Phil is better because he stepped in, I firmly believe Phil is a better player than Richie is NOW. Or at least the last ten years. The past is a totally different argument, Richie has just gotten very sloppy in his playing. Sometimes he shines but it's a lot of bum notes and repetitive scales.

I am the first to say that Richie has fallen a long way. It has been a long time since he impressed me, and worse than that he is as you say, sloppy (beyond belief sometimes). That's why I qualified what I said with at his best, which I admit has been a long time gone.

That said, I am not entirely sure I prefer Phil X. He is in better technical shape, but does nothing for me, just like Richie doesn't at the moment.