The Van Halen Encyclopedia

Rating:
Summary: Keepin' it real with the Mighty Van Halen
Review: This here bookity book is chock full of smack diggity dumb ass shiznit, yo. Word up on the Van Halen tip: If you're looking for the mack daddy of all VH trivia - this is the bling bling. From Diamond Dave's pimpin' style to Eddie V's taste-alicious deep fried meat rings, this book keeps my homeslaps on the downlow. All my fly peeps keepin' it real on the skreet kick the ka-knowledge up in this biznatch.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent primer for new fans; wonderful source of informati
Review: Van Halen Encyclopedia By Gene Kelly

Van Halen burst on the music scene over twenty years ago and revolutionized Rock and Roll forever. Now, three lead singers later, and over 13 albums that's sales total over 65 million copies, comes the very first authoritative collection of data on the legendary band. The Van Halen Encyclopedia is over 365 pages of biographies; tour information, album notes, and random facts of this LA based group.

The book is divided in three sections, a timeline, alphabetical entries of a mass of information, and a detailed listing of every known appearance of Van Halen on their many world tours. The timeline serves as a quick intro into the lives of this band, and has entries as early as 1914. The alphabetical logs not only include info on each band member, but also of various magazine and television appearances, individual song entries, and the legend of the brown M&M's. Van Halen used to have in their contracts on tour that there would be a bowl of M&M's at every show, with the brown ones removed. If one were spotted, the band would then set off and demolish everything in sight. Their reasoning? Because of certain stage requirements that needed to be followed, the Brown M&M's were used to see if a promoter followed every item on a contract. Finally, a listing of every tour stop Van Halen performed at, including data for attendance, audio/video copies of each show, and random notes. A brief description of the setlist and tour is also provided.

Overall, the Van Halen Encyclopedia is a welcome addition to a music lover's collection. The book reads very well, and is not just a source for Van Halen fanatics. This book gives a very good account of what life is for a Rock Star, from simple contracts, all the way to promoting yourself and your music. It is a perfect book to curl up with your favorite songs and relax.