Veteran photographer Neil Zlozower and Chronicle Books take us back in time with
this exclusive excerpt of the new book about the man who changed guitar forever.
In this studio pic from the late ’70s, bassist Michael Anthony lays down his indelible vocal harmonies and plunks a Fender P bass through five Ampeg SVT heads while Edward defiantly picks his Frankenstein guitar in its black-and-white, pre-Floyd Rose incarnation. Ed is surrounded by six Marshall 4x12 cabinets and a World War II bombshell housing two Univox EC- 100 Echo Chamber units. An Echoplex tape delay, an MXR Phase 90, and a 100-watt Marshall Super Lead head lie at his feet, while a single-cutaway Danelectro leans against the head and a Strat-style with a Danelectro neck stands neglected behind him.
hen it comes to iconic images of Edward Van
Halen—the man who revolutionized our con-
cept of hard-rock tone and technique from the
first notes of 1978’s “Eruption”—no one has snapped
more arresting shots than veteran rock photographer Neil
Zlozower. In his latest Chronicle Books offering, Eddie Van
Halen, Zlozower serves up a smorgasbord of shots—some
that devoted fans will recognize if they looked closely at,
premierguitar.com
say, the Diver Down liner notes or LP sleeves, and oth-
ers that will be revelations to even hardcore fans. In this
exclusive Premier Guitar excerpt, we bring you five of the
most compelling images out of the 200+ in the book, and
we’ve paired them with five of the book’s many quotes from
Eddie’s musical contemporaries. Where appropriate, we’ve
also added information about gear in the photos. Ladies
and gentlemen, Mr. Eddie Van Halen.
