The Who Album That Eddie Van Halen Loved, With Michael Anthony Claiming He Could Outplay Townshend “Note For Note”

Eddie’s Love for The Who

Eddie Van Halen’s love for classic British rock was no secret. One early sign was Van Halen’s powerful cover of “You Really Got Me” by The Kinks on their debut album. But there was another British band that left a bigger mark on young Eddie — The Who. According to bassist Michael Anthony, Eddie was such a fan of the band that he studied Pete Townshend’s playing in detail.

In a recent interview with Professor of Rock, Anthony talked about the first time he played with the Van Halen brothers. “When I jammed with Eddie and Alex that first time, they played some of their original stuff,” he said. “They were going through these time changes and I’m [thinking], ‘Whoa! What a trip!’”

Outplaying Townshend, Note for Note

Anthony said both brothers left a big impression on him. “They were great players,” he said. “They really impressed me… [Eddie] could play the whole Live at Leeds [The Who] album, playing it note for note. It was just as good, if not better than [Pete] Townshend!”

Even though Eddie and Alex were more skilled than many other musicians at the time, Anthony didn’t back away. Instead, he welcomed the challenge. “They were putting me through time changes, and I was really digging it because it was something new to me,” he shared.

Keeping Up with the Band

Anthony pushed himself to keep up with the group. He worked hard to learn everything they were playing. “Every day at rehearsal, I’d be learning,” he recalled. “Just cramming songs in because we’d be auditioning for little clubs around the area.” He ended up learning over 300 songs, both covers and original material.

As Van Halen started gaining attention, their unique style also caught the ears of other musicians. Anthony remembered how David Lee Roth warned them that some people were secretly listening outside their rehearsal space. “Friends of his that play guitar would sit outside our little rehearsal garage and listen to us,” Anthony said. “They’d be out there listening to what Eddie was doing because they knew that he had something going on that they weren’t doing.”

Hiding Eddie’s Tricks

To stop other bands from copying Eddie’s technique, Roth came up with a simple idea. “Dave used to tell him, ‘hey, when you play solos… turn your back to the audience because you don’t want these guys to see what you’re doing!’” Anthony explained. “So a lot of times Ed would do that!”