(Gibson) Popular Van Halen fan site Van Halen News Desk has pulled back the curtains on the band's 1981 classic Fair Warning for a look at Eddie Van Halen's isolated guitar tracks, as the site marks the album's 30th birthday.VHND.com began a week of special Fair Warning coverage on April 29, the anniversary of its release. On April 30, the site featured an excerpt from a 1996 Guitar World article written by Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan in which he explains his love of the album: "This was a tired and taxed band, and if the lyrics and guitar riffs have anything to say, it is that they were living a freaky nightmare world of freaks, bleaks, decadents and hollowed souls. This is Van Halen blues as they lived it," Corgan wrote.
VHND.com reader and longtime Van Halen fan Scott Esman's look at the album is accompanied by guitar-only YouTube clips which use files extracted from the Guitar Hero: Van Halen game. The files give listeners a rare first-hand peek into EVH's creative process on the groundbreaking album, while Esman painstakingly dissects the compositions and performances as a whole. more on this story
