<p>Oddly, for a band built around the greatest rock guitarist of his generation, it was a song powered by a synthesizer riff. Equally notable was the fact the band&rsquo;s album 1984 would also have made it to the top were it not for Michael Jackson&rsquo;s Thriller &ndash; on which Eddie Van Halen had played the stinging solo for Beat It. But elsewhere on 1984 there was plenty of Eddie&rsquo;s customary guitar pyrotechnics in songs such as Panama, Hot For Teacher, Drop Dead Legs, Girl Gone Bad and House Of Pain &ndash; the latter originally written and recorded in demo form before the release of the band&rsquo;s explosive, game-changing debut album in 1978.</p>
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<p>Eddie&rsquo;s 1984 tone was distinct from his early sound, but he used largely the same gear. The original Frankenstrat was mostly retired for this album in favour of the banana-headstocked Kramer 5150, but the magic Marshall Plexi was still his only amp. Eddie did use his Eventide harmoniser on every song, but it was not as prominent as it would become on later albums. &ldquo;I used it mostly to split my guitar signal so it came out of both sides,&rdquo; he commented.</p>
<p>The guitars were single-tracked with few overdubs, making it almost unique among rock albums of the time. And there was another unusual aspect to 1984, as explained in a recent TG interview by Joe Satriani, who is now set to play some of the landmark tracks from the album when he tours this year with former Van Halen members Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony, plus drummer Jason Bonham.</p>
<p>&ldquo;What makes this album so interesting is the fact that there are guitars that are not totally in tune,&rdquo; Joe said. &ldquo;But,&rdquo; he added with a laugh, &ldquo;good luck trying to get as good a take as that!&rdquo;</p>
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