10 Greatest Rock Instrumentals
6. Cathedral - Van Halen
On every Van Halen record, fans could normally expect a track where Eddie Van Halen asserts his guitar dominance. From the absolute craziness of "Eruption" to him assaulting an acoustic guitar flamenco-style in "Spanish Fly," each solo felt like the musical equivalent of the toy that you find in your cereal box. While Diver Down may be a hit-or-miss record from the band's classic period, "Cathedral" is one of the more inventive experiments the band had undertaken.
When going through his pedals one night, Eddie found something cool by bringing up the volume on his guitar right after he hit a note, which resulted in this organ-like sound. Immediately inspired by this new technique, he started to weave together chords and melodies until he had a coherent piece of music to distort. Completed in one take, "Cathedral" starts off with drawn out chords before going into a few runs that make you feel like you're about to take flight.
Though the song was amazing on the record, it did a number on the guitar Eddie used for the session, which can be heard at the tail end of the track when his volume knob gives out. It may not be the safest practice for the electric guitar, but with songs that sound this beautiful, it's almost worth it. Almost.