Keyboard "Eruption" (was Guitars Good, Keboards bad)

["T.W. Hartnett" <hartnett.t@apple.com>]

I respond to Paolo Valladolid:

>> >> > There's no "Eruption", that I know of, in the keyboard world--a 
recorded
>> >> > moment which changed the way the instrument, and the role of the
>> >> > instrument would be viewed for the next decade.  
>
>"changed the way the instrument... would be viewed..."
>
>This only applies to keyboard players.   
>
>Just like "Eruption" changed the way the guitar is viewed... only in the
>view of guitarists for the most part.  Is "Eruption" of any significance
>at all to, say, drummers, or sax players?  How about music lovers who
>don't play any instruments?
>
>My guess is "No" for both questions.

What I was trying to say was, yes, only for guitarists, and I suppose 
electric guitarists.  I don't think (and I'm not a big Van Halen fan, so 
this isn't Eddy worship) that the importance of "Eruption" can be 
overstated from that perspective.  It's repeatedly cited as a standout 
moment in the history of the electric guitar (which is almost the history 
of electric rock guitar).  In the same way that Hendrix' "Star Spangled 
Banner" changed the way people thought of the instrument (although I 
suppose SSB was just the capstone of the whole Hendrix revolution--the 
electric guitar as a instrument related to, but seperate from the 
acoustic guitar, or amplified archtop), "Eruption" was a musical 
statement which changed the direction of the electric guitar for decades 
to come.
Someone, I can't remember who, said that "Eruption" was the declaration 
that electric guitar was going to be difficult for now on, as opposed (I 
suppose) to the dominance of the blues-box soloing approach which had 
become so common throughout the '70's.

For electric bassists, I believe that Jaco Pastorius' first solo album 
occupies a similar role.  Acoustic guitarists might cite Leo Kottke's 
first album, "6 and 12 String Guitar".  These moments do exist, and I'm 
trying to find out what the keyboard equivalents are.  The guitar press 
frequently compiles lists of noteworthy albums and even solos--is there 
no equivalent in the keyboard world?

> 
>> >> Actually, there was an 'Eruption' of the Keyboard world...the first 
>song
>> >> on ELP's 'Tarkus' album, and unlike VH's, this one's in 5.
>> >> Dave
>> >>   
>> >There is also Eddie Jobson's "Presto Vivace" from his UK days. 
>> >An amazing piece.
>> >    Doug Michael
>> 
>> Now I'm confused--is the ELP piece actually called "Eruption"?
>
>Come on Travis, you know better than that... ^_^

No, I'm dead serious.  Although ELP wasn't one of my favorite prog bands 
of the '70's, I'm not familiar with the album cuts, only the AOR tracks.  
If it isn't on ELP's Greatest Hits, I haven't heard it.
I also don't think that UK's music had the sort of widespread impact that 
I'm looking for here, without commenting on its merits.

>
>Just giving you a hard time, though I appreciate the Devil's Advocate
>role you've assumed in these discussions (intentionally or not).
>
>> Is this, and the UK piece, considered a piece of music so influential 
>to 
>> the keyboard world that teenagers play it to the considerable annoyance 
>> of music shop staff, family, and neighbors, or are these just pieces 
>that 
>> you're pointing out as noteworthy keyboard statements that you 
>personally 
>> enjoy?
>> 
>> Travis
>
>Going back to your "Eruption" example for guitarists, I'd say that piece
>is only influential to guitar players and even then only to those who
>actually care for it.  I just don't see guys like David Lindley or young
>flamenco players giving two bits about "Eruption".

I'm sure that Lindley is quite aware of Eruption, and probably can play 
around a bit with the two-handed technique.  God knows, he can play 
stringed things with frets in just about any other way.  Young flamenco 
players probably don't know or care, but in this discussion, I'm probably 
referring to electric guitarists from North America or Europe.  Most of 
them don't give two bits about Paco de Lucia, but that doesn't deny his 
stature within the flamenco world.  However, western pop music has found 
its way almost everywhere in the globe, flamenco has not, and I'm think 
that "Eruption" has had a direct or indirect effect on more people than 
Paco, be it through Van Halen's music itself, or the many, many players 
who were inspired by him.

Travis