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  • Van Halen Rising

  • How a Southern California Backyard Party Band Saved Heavy Metal
  • By: Greg Renoff
  • Narrated by: Sean Runnette
  • Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (34 ratings)
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Van Halen Rising

By: Greg Renoff
Narrated by: Sean Runnette
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Summary

After years of gigging everywhere from suburban backyards to dive bars, Van Halen - led by frontman extraordinaire David Lee Roth and guitar virtuoso Edward Van Halen - had the songs, the swagger, and the talent to turn the rock world on its ear.

The quartet's classic 1978 debut, Van Halen, sold more than a million copies within months of release and rocketed the band to the stratosphere of rock success. On tour, Van Halen's high-energy show wowed audiences and prompted headlining acts like Black Sabbath to concede that they'd been blown off the stage. By the year's end, Van Halen had established themselves as superstars and reinvigorated heavy metal in the process.

Based on more than 230 original interviews - including with former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony and power players like Pete Angelus, Marshall Berle, Donn Landee, Ted Templeman, and Neil Zlozower - Van Halen Rising is the first book to tell the untold story of how these rock legends made the unlikely journey from Pasadena, California, to the worldwide stage.

©2015 Greg Renoff (P)2016 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Renoff's book is a thoroughly entertaining read that will appeal to every hard rock fan." ( Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about Van Halen Rising

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Turn it up to 11 just like spinal tap

Van Halen Rising by @GregRenoff. If you want to succeed in the music industry you better play your arse off like VH and learn piano 🎹 to get a classical grounding. I liked everything about this well-researched book.📚5/5🌟 #BookReview but if I could turn it up to 11 i would.

Follow me on Twitter for more reviews @zennyreadsalot

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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Interesting

Interesting book charting the rise of Van Halen. Not the best book about Van Halen but still worth buying.

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an absolutely awesome book

this is an absolute awesome inside in the start to greatness this book is also very inspirational for any guitar player / musician

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A MUST listen for old and new VH fans

I've been living with these guys in my head for 36 years. And I have gone through all the phases that VH fans have gone through, with all the genius and turbulence the band was mired in.

But I never really knew how hard it was for them to get to where they are. How much dedication they had to put in and how much adversity the faced. You can learn life lessons from listening to this book.

And most importantly the book humanises them in a way that none of the hundreds of interviews out there do. The book is about a bunch of young kids doing something extraordinary.

Loved it.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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every rock and metal fan should listen to this

this is a really interesting and entertaining book, well written and read. check it

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    5 out of 5 stars
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An amazing story of perseverance and greatness

Insightful as to how VH became one of the most important hard rock groups of all time due to EVH's musical brilliance and DLR's determination - cherished every second of it, Renoff delivers the goods

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Good but long & repetitive

A good book for Van Halen fans taking them up to early success. Quite long & repetitive. A lot of cover song yard parties discussed. I didn't realise the influence of Dave Lee Roth. Worth a listen.

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Interesting but limited

An interesting collection of interviews from a multitude of sources. Differs from other accounts of events as press interviews often do.

The narrator?was a little uninspiring.

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