I was in the house band on the main floor of The El Mocambo in Toronto in the late '70s, and we used to alternate our sets with the guests who were playing upstairs. Our other guitarist and I spent six nights (perhaps less) witnessing this mind-numbing young guitar player in Black Oak Arkansas. Today is February 10, 2024, and it's the end of my journey trying to find out who the hell that kid was. Thanks for once, Mr. Internet! I saw Shawn Lane and still continued to play guitar. That guy was a freak of nature, and I'm lucky to have witnessed it from ten feet away. My jaw is still sore. RIP, sir.
I was there....nobody was ready for this......he was the first shredder. This was early 1980 at a very small venue in Winter Park Florida. RIP Shawn Lane.
Wow, some of the comments. Remember people, this was a live show and not intended for obsessive consumption by internet guitar nerds four decades later. His studio work shows he was more than capable of producing memorable melodic phrases. Here it's "I'm a young guy with lots of energy blowing off steam". And its pretty amazing.
@@Rockandrollgeerageyeah that’s a perfectly fair point, but people calling it Soul less or noodly are annoying and usually can’t play anything more than a few basic blues licks.
@@ianstu1940 eh no actually - some of us have got sick of decades of this pointless plectrum athletics - noodling is harmless, do it in your bedroom, whatever - but this as serious music? After all these years? Is it one inch past the jazz greats of 1959? No. And that’s the problem - there is no advancement artistically beyond “yet more technique” and the latest boy wonder (women are too smart to fall for this lifetime commitment to scale meandering over “the changes”) showing us his boring chops (in his bedroom or an empty music shop). My argument is that this is no longer a world class music genre - historically it can’t even compete with pop phenomena- because of its drudgery and OCD level of emphasis on physical speed and dexterity it has become a freak show circus act at worst and at best it’s niche “sport” that has lost its focus on musical creativity. Really fast and precise scale/mode/changes gymnastics while impressive have lead to this deadend for the electric guitar. Mark my words, there will be Ph.Ds on this - it is a new socio-cultural reality - the degenerate development of vacuous technician-centred musical genres has lead to an artistic cul-de-sac from which there is no way out for the electric guitar.
Hard to believe that anyone could criticize this as just noodling 17 yrs old and in 1979. This is extraordinary.....and it does fill in some blanks for what many consider (myself included) one of if not the greatest rock guitarist/ musician of the 20th century. This kid became so imposing and intimidating that even much more commercially acclaimed players have stated that he was on another level. Period.
I haven't seen anyone criticize yet, but Jesus Christ, this dude was a god. Like if you were still around today even Guthrie govan can't really compete and he's considered the best modern day right now. Shawn Lane was an anomaly and everyone should know that, best ever. Go look up some of his more recent '90s jazz stuff. Even Allen Holdsworth has been recorded saying it was scary good.
Anyone who says he’s just noodling is clueless. Even if it was, this was miles ahead in 1979, plus he improved more and more over the next few years to become a monster player.
It's amazing how long Shawn went under the radar, playing the way he did. No one played like that back then, or even imagined playing like that back then in 1979. It took over four decades, 40 years, before anyone could even come close to playing like Shawn. Still, far off, NO ONE can! I've seen a "LOTs" of sloppy-ass wanna'bees in my day, trying to play as fast, with such accuracy. But none has ever even come close. Shawn was, and still remains, the (KING) of shred guitar. The most perfect guitar technician there ever was.
@@tedcabana Yep, two different Masters from the same era, Lane was obviously above everyone else in terms of skills and overall genius but Yngwie influenced every guitar player like EVH did (I mean in terms of technical skills and phrasing)
Wrong comment He is not underrated, he is rated the highest a guitar player can be rated What you mean is , he is not famous And junk and trash like the rolling stones ignore him
Nobody ever talks about Shawn. Know why?!! He scared the hell out of them that's why. 17 and destroying everybody. R.I.P. Shawn. You were the G.O,A.T. if there ever was one. My friend Joe who left this world 83 at age 19. Told me about this guy. When I finally saw him. Shock. Unbelievable!
Speeds not everything great playing but gets over the top and boring no soul it ups and downs and melody and breaks in music not just full blast all the time
@@raymondvaughan6262 Yeeeeeah, you betcha! The ol less is more theory. Right? sure. That is as good a cop out as any. Lol. Know who always says that? ?? People who can't give you more. I'll leave you with your thoughts, More or less.
I’m hearing Steve Vai licks in here from live at the Astoria and this is 1979. That’s how ahead of his time he was, you can hear Paul Gilbert’s method in here too but on another level. This musicianship is second to none and out of this world.
He was a Mozart like genius that simply put only comes along once every hundred years or so, he is so special, I’m so glad I can appreciate how special he was. As soon as someone discovers Shawn lane, there idea of guitar playing is thrown out the window!!
What timbre and phrasing are those at 16? Look at the opening fingers!!! Unbelievable! His way of playing was already unlike any great guitar player we've ever heard at 16! There is no comparison!
a friend of mine saw him in Montreal at the Club Montreal in 1980 , he was so impressed, he told me : this guy of Black oak arkansas can play like Van halen but with one hand, not two , on the neck ....lol....when i saw that video the first time i understood what my friend told me about ....
Never forget seeing this. Was expecting Black Oak. He put out a solo on a US Metal album a few years later. I’ll never forget that. Went to a small club in New Jersey. I had to ask Jim Dandy a few years later who that was. He said oh. You mean Shawn Lane. I said yeah. That’s it. From then on I looked for all I could find with him playing on it! RIP You sure made music incredibly!
@@mattstrat1 I’ll answer that question thanks. What Shawn, Andy Tanas, Billy Batte and also Jack Holder was the other guitarist all the dudes in this band were doing had no commercial appeal. There was no market whatsoever for this and Jim was and still is a very strange dude. I grew up in the same area and I have deep ties to this band. I know/knew almost everyone in this band and a few very personally. Also other members past and present and in between. The band has had probably close to a 100 members or more. Hell, I could of joined this band. I have a lifelong friend that’s currently in this band. Some of the incarnations were really special, but none of it has any commercial appeal and there was no pretext for this back then. Jim Dandy himself became sort of the poster boy for all kinds of executive jokes. He’s a very strange cat.
@@deividuque8065 I think Lane gives him a run for his money. Listen to these alternate picking parts. Holdsworth never did that - he kinda stuck to legato. Lane covered many deals with his technique
@@deividuque8065 I think you named the one and only guy who most all guitar hero's including Shawn Lane looked up to. Other than Holdsworth I can't really think of anyone else.
I really want to play like Shawn. It's kinda crazy to think that he was at this level at such a young age. Makes me kinda wonder about guitarists at his level and maybe even higher than him that we don't even know about.
@@ZOMBIELANDakaUSA I've seen some of his videos before and I think he's on par with Shawn. Really though his legato is just as fast but it sounds way smoother than Shawn's.
It’s speedy and cool… saw him in 91 small bar in Charlotte. I think the thing everyone is missing here, the hardest thing to do on guitar is write a memorable song that stands the test of time for millions of people. Shredding is a mechanical feat…easier than writing that song. That being said, dude was a great guitarist. That solo going around of him on hotel California is all you need to see. Dude had soul too.
@@jtu2434 Allan could have played at this speed if he wanted to. This kind of speed wasn't necessary for Allan to achieve the sound he was after. Obviously, someone of Allan's level of virtuosity could have achieved it had they wanted to and put in the hours upon hours of repetitious practice to achieve it. I love both Shawn and Allan, but I definitely rate Allan as having had far superior musicality, although both were incredibly musical.
yeh its the timeline of it thats just unreal, van halen was probably still trying to hide his tapping technique with the back to the crowd at this stage
Well, the point WAS to be show offy in this instance. Putting on a wild display for the crowd, and whatnot. Shawn had incredible musicality as well, up there with Holdsworth.
You know, I was Always into hearing shredders, but from all of the shredders I listened to Shawn lane is the only one who inspired me to leave guitar and not to pick it up
Then you never wanted to play to begin with. People like this inspire me. I'll never understand you people that say that nonsense. If you say it, you never wanted to play to begin with.
@@J.C... haha what? No dude, not at all I love guitar, I was always inspired by Big guitarrist, I've been studying for years now, I'm at a level unrecognizable from that comment 2 years ago, but what I said is true and is they way I felt when I first heard him, his level at guitar was unseen to me, I was always into Malmsteen, and I am to this day, and when I heard this my head exploded seeing the guitar limits being pushed further one more time, at the moment he was the first one to make me feel frustrated and not inspired, but just because of how unreachable that level was, now in terms of studies of theory I'm not that advanced, in terms of technique, I'm close to Shawn but of course not at his level. I have a lot to improve and I still stand for my comment, don't talk shit without knowing dude haha, everyone has ups and downs in the music journey, when I started singing I remembered what was like to feel bad about not being able to do a new technique, it was and still is tough, I still know I don't have to drop it
@@prickrick EVH was a massive influence on the guitar world but technically speaking, he is not comparable to Shawn Lane. Great clip. Thanks for sharing!
When people say "Of yeah Eric Clapton is the best guitarist of all time" and you just laugh at a teenager who is like 50x better from the same time period
@@ginjazz2836 Clapton's range of style and techniques fossilised decades ago. Some of his Cream stuff was mind-blowing, but after about Journeyman, he stopped dead in his tracks. Same old blues, blah blah blah. Jeff Beck passed him in 1976.
minuto 3:05 es el solo de guitarr de Angel of Destination de Galneryus... Syu entonces se ha inspirado en este jam??? o es que es parte de alguna cancion?
Tiene pinta de ser una pieza de música clásica en violín, por eso Shawn usó un efecto de ese tipo. Me informé que la pieza es de Tchaikovsky, Concierto en D Menor.
If he had seen the late 2000's with how good the sample scene had gotten for orchestration and percussion instruments, he would of done some moch up work so fast with such a great sound, with his virtusosness on the keyboard he could of pumped out so many notes and key trigger articulations with mod wheel expressions on a midi for daw.. Crazy video footage that would of been of him on is home studio rig doing live looping session 0.0
He already had the otherworldly technique before the 80s neoclassical shred. How did Shrapnel records not sign him even before Yngwie Malmsteen. By all accounts Shawn Lane was also a incredibly humble and king person, unlike the reputation of the Viking shredmaster......
Insightful comment in a way. Actually, it's kind of ironic that Shawn Lane was doing stuff on guitar in 76'(Two years before Eruption came out)- that would surpassed most today's shredders of today at such a young age.
@john cash Thanks! Took a listen. Interesting stuff. Alan of course leans very much to the fusion side and Shawn too a bit from this era. What do you think of Frank Marino circa 1978? Also another speedy player and in many ways -- though not as fast as Alan or certainly Shawn -- prefigured EVH a bit better than the other two insofar as he was doing rock.
I wish Troy Grady wouldn't keep his silence when asked to explain Shawn's picking hand technique... He names Batio as the one that turned him on to 2 way pick slanting but if I'm not mistaken McLaughlin and Shawn were ahead of him. It strikes me that he mentioned Allan Holdsworth as an influence, but I'm hearing a good bit of John McLaughlin blended with Holdsworth - In fact, I've never heard anyone stylistically evoke that latter man's unique note choices until this.
Is it just the video quality that it sounds like computer noises? Cause it sounds way faster than then what we hear from his playing in better footage?? Just an honest question
He plays so fast and clean it just stops sounding like a guitar anymore. That's how alien Shawn was when it came to speed... The second half must've been an harmonizer that made his guitar sound like a violin.
Is that a Westbury standard hes playing? i have one looks just like that, dont sound like that in my hands though! EDIT: bit of research it seems to be a Roland G-808
It wasn't outdated. That's a Roland guitar from 1977. It was 3 years old when this was recorded. That's how he gets the tone. Those guitars are worth thousands of dollars, if you can fine one in good condition. He later played Ibanez and finally Vigier before he passed.
Crazy how DLR was said to have ripped off the lead singer of Black Oak...I never knew they alsonhad such a guotar virtuoso... definitely faster than Eddie. BUT.....I definitley prefer Eddie... but Shawn was amazing! This however is a little too much for me.. Very very fast but hard to digest!! Also I think I heard the ending of Spanish Fly at 1:25.. very similar
I still think Yngwie had Shawn beat here. Yngwie was only 15 yrs old in 1978 and had a demo out called "Powerhouse" which show cased his incredible playing.
@@jameson3500 I disagree. I find Yngwies playing far more inspiring and musical than Shawn Lane. I find Buckethead even more so, he has surpassed them all imo.
@@AllforOne_OneforAll1689 Technically speaking, Shawn far surpassed Yngwie. I'm a fan of Yngwie myself, but Shawn could play things that Yngwie could not. Sean could also play any genre of music with emotion, Yngwie could not.
@@jameson3500 You're missing the point. Yngwie beat em all to the shred stuff and his music is rememberable for its melody. Shawn Lane has no memorable tracks despite his impressive playing.
@@jameson3500 Now Buckethead has surpassed them all. Even Shawn Lane couldn't believe he was able imitate an edited piece of piano music he made. Buckethead was able to replicate it on the guitar.
Bro, Holdsworth is beyond all of them by light-years. Shawn even said in a clinic that he probably would have just continued playing blues-rock licks before giving up the guitar entirely had it not been for him seeing Holdsworth live when he was 14.
I was in the house band on the main floor of The El Mocambo in Toronto in the late '70s, and we used to alternate our sets with the guests who were playing upstairs. Our other guitarist and I spent six nights (perhaps less) witnessing this mind-numbing young guitar player in Black Oak Arkansas. Today is February 10, 2024, and it's the end of my journey trying to find out who the hell that kid was. Thanks for once, Mr. Internet! I saw Shawn Lane and still continued to play guitar. That guy was a freak of nature, and I'm lucky to have witnessed it from ten feet away. My jaw is still sore. RIP, sir.
what a story. that's amazing
"I Guess You Guys Aren't Ready for That Yet"
best comment.
“But, your kids are gonna love it”
🤣
😂🙏
I was there....nobody was ready for this......he was the first shredder.
This was early 1980 at a very small venue in Winter Park Florida.
RIP Shawn Lane.
100% agreed!
Was it the Fairbanks Inn?
Have you ever heard about Les Paul, John McLaughlin or Allan Holdsworth, Pat Metheny?
This is from the 70's pre EVH
@@Yourbankaccount😂
Wow, some of the comments. Remember people, this was a live show and not intended for obsessive consumption by internet guitar nerds four decades later. His studio work shows he was more than capable of producing memorable melodic phrases. Here it's "I'm a young guy with lots of energy blowing off steam". And its pretty amazing.
Yeah gotta love the bedroom players😂😂😂
I absolutely love the guy and respect his talent but I do think some of the super fast stuff can get boring for the non guitar nerds.
@@Rockandrollgeerageyeah that’s a perfectly fair point, but people calling it Soul less or noodly are annoying and usually can’t play anything more than a few basic blues licks.
@@ianstu1940 eh no actually - some of us have got sick of decades of this pointless plectrum athletics - noodling is harmless, do it in your bedroom, whatever - but this as serious music? After all these years? Is it one inch past the jazz greats of 1959? No. And that’s the problem - there is no advancement artistically beyond “yet more technique” and the latest boy wonder (women are too smart to fall for this lifetime commitment to scale meandering over “the changes”) showing us his boring chops (in his bedroom or an empty music shop). My argument is that this is no longer a world class music genre - historically it can’t even compete with pop phenomena- because of its drudgery and OCD level of emphasis on physical speed and dexterity it has become a freak show circus act at worst and at best it’s niche “sport” that has lost its focus on musical creativity. Really fast and precise scale/mode/changes gymnastics while impressive have lead to this deadend for the electric guitar. Mark my words, there will be Ph.Ds on this - it is a new socio-cultural reality - the degenerate development of vacuous technician-centred musical genres has lead to an artistic cul-de-sac from which there is no way out for the electric guitar.
I wish he was still here.
"The most terrifying guy of all time" - Paul Gilbert.
Amen! Even Paul can't explain how he played like that.
He was blowing away the Hollywood guitarist back then and not many knew it .
Hard to believe that anyone could criticize this as just noodling 17 yrs old and in 1979. This is extraordinary.....and it does fill in some blanks for what many consider (myself included) one of if not the greatest rock guitarist/ musician of the 20th century. This kid became so imposing and intimidating that even much more commercially acclaimed players have stated that he was on another level. Period.
ABSOLUTELY
Exactly so!
I haven't seen anyone criticize yet, but Jesus Christ, this dude was a god. Like if you were still around today even Guthrie govan can't really compete and he's considered the best modern day right now. Shawn Lane was an anomaly and everyone should know that, best ever. Go look up some of his more recent '90s jazz stuff. Even Allen Holdsworth has been recorded saying it was scary good.
@@robertbiggs4074 There are IG guitarists that are faster now and cleaner. I know sounds crazy but there are.
Anyone who says he’s just noodling is clueless. Even if it was, this was miles ahead in 1979, plus he improved more and more over the next few years to become a monster player.
It's amazing how long Shawn went under the radar, playing the way he did. No one played like that back then, or even imagined playing like that back then in 1979. It took over four decades, 40 years, before anyone could even come close to playing like Shawn. Still, far off, NO ONE can! I've seen a "LOTs" of sloppy-ass wanna'bees in my day, trying to play as fast, with such accuracy. But none has ever even come close. Shawn was, and still remains, the (KING) of shred guitar. The most perfect guitar technician there ever was.
Jason Becker and Buckethead are better and more musical...
Yngwie was playing like this and I'd argue is the better more melodic player.
@@AllforOne_OneforAll1689 Yngwie, and I both disagree.
@@tedcabana Yep, two different Masters from the same era, Lane was obviously above everyone else in terms of skills and overall genius but Yngwie influenced every guitar player like EVH did (I mean in terms of technical skills and phrasing)
The most underrated guitarist
Wrong comment
He is not underrated, he is rated the highest a guitar player can be rated
What you mean is , he is not famous
And junk and trash like the rolling stones ignore him
the most remarkable guitarist
the most legendary guitarist
Underrated? Shawn set the bar for the ratings lol.
Not underrated at all. He is absolutely recognized the world over for his genius.
Nobody ever talks about Shawn. Know why?!! He scared the hell out of them that's why. 17 and destroying everybody. R.I.P. Shawn. You were the G.O,A.T. if there ever was one. My friend Joe who left this world 83 at age 19. Told me about this guy. When I finally saw him. Shock. Unbelievable!
Speeds not everything great playing but gets over the top and boring no soul it ups and downs and melody and breaks in music not just full blast all the time
@@raymondvaughan6262 Yeeeeeah, you betcha! The ol less is more theory. Right? sure. That is as good a cop out as any. Lol. Know who always says that? ?? People who can't give you more. I'll leave you with your thoughts, More or less.
I’m hearing Steve Vai licks in here from live at the Astoria and this is 1979. That’s how ahead of his time he was, you can hear Paul Gilbert’s method in here too but on another level. This musicianship is second to none and out of this world.
One of a kind, magical skills way beyond anyone then and now! No one is in the same strata as he was.
I saw Shawn play at a small club in Jacksonville Fla in 1980 with the Jim Dandy Band. I almost quit playing guitar after that experience!
He was a Mozart like genius that simply put only comes along once every hundred years or so, he is so special, I’m so glad I can appreciate how special he was. As soon as someone discovers Shawn lane, there idea of guitar playing is thrown out the window!!
Piano player too, Birth of Neo Classical. And esoteric genious on many other levels besides music.
What timbre and phrasing are those at 16? Look at the opening fingers!!! Unbelievable! His way of playing was already unlike any great guitar player we've ever heard at 16! There is no comparison!
Shawn Lane and Jason Becker
He's definitely the prototype shredder. That was a lot of fun to watch. Thank you for sharing it!
THIS IS 1979 EVH HAD ONLY RELEASED THE FIRST ALBUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS IS BEYOND INSANE.
VHI was released in early 1978. VHII was released in early 1979.
@@warrenhammonds1093 oh you right you right. Still just dulls my point only a little.
Eddie had far more feel and melodic sensibility. Shawn did turn into a good composer but his notoriety was his shredding, strictly.
There is actually video of him shredding with BOA in 76-77 at 14 years old.
a friend of mine saw him in Montreal at the Club Montreal in 1980 , he was so impressed, he told me : this guy of Black oak arkansas can play like Van halen but with one hand, not two , on the neck ....lol....when i saw that video the first time i understood what my friend told me about ....
Best guitar shredder of all time!
Its a shame he has passed away so Young 😢. The BEST guitar player ever
he was so good. he took the guitar further than anyone at that time.
Never forget seeing this. Was expecting Black Oak. He put out a solo on a US Metal album a few years later. I’ll never forget that. Went to a small club in New Jersey. I had to ask Jim Dandy a few years later who that was. He said oh. You mean Shawn Lane. I said yeah. That’s it. From then on I looked for all I could find with him playing on it! RIP You sure made music incredibly!
How can you play like that back then at that age. And not have tons of recording companies not fighting over you.
read my post, it answers your pale question.
Frank Zappa Tinsel town rebellion will answer your question very precisely .
@@mattstrat1 I’ll answer that question thanks. What Shawn, Andy Tanas, Billy Batte and also Jack Holder was the other guitarist all the dudes in this band were doing had no commercial appeal. There was no market whatsoever for this and Jim was and still is a
very strange dude. I grew up in the same area and I have deep ties to this band. I know/knew almost everyone in this band and a few very personally. Also other members past and present and in between. The band has had probably close to a 100 members or more. Hell, I could of joined this band. I have a lifelong friend that’s currently in this band. Some of the incarnations were really special, but none of it has any commercial appeal and there was no pretext for this back then. Jim Dandy himself became sort of the poster boy for all kinds of executive jokes. He’s a very strange cat.
because that wouldn't sell records.
I met and heard Shawn play in December of 1980. Probably the best guitarists I've EVER heard, and I've heard more than just a few......
Literally no one else in 1979 was at this level of shredder. So ahead of his time.
allan holdsworth
@@deividuque8065 I think Lane gives him a run for his money.
Listen to these alternate picking parts. Holdsworth never did that - he kinda stuck to legato. Lane covered many deals with his technique
@@deividuque8065 I think you named the one and only guy who most all guitar hero's including Shawn Lane looked up to. Other than Holdsworth I can't really think of anyone else.
Yngwie Malmsteen
@@michaelcantinieri7890 Yngwie was playing shows in 1979? Doubt.
great to watch a healthy Lane, similar history as Becker
From Another Planet!
I really want to play like Shawn. It's kinda crazy to think that he was at this level at such a young age. Makes me kinda wonder about guitarists at his level and maybe even higher than him that we don't even know about.
@@ZOMBIELANDakaUSA I've seen some of his videos before and I think he's on par with Shawn. Really though his legato is just as fast but it sounds way smoother than Shawn's.
@Igor Capablanca he was talking about Marshal Harrison
Jason Becker too
@@DragonLord8642 Yeah, Marshall is absolutely insane.
Roy marchbank is epic especially with his knowledge of eastern music + experience in an uzbekistani orchestra
According to Wikipedia, Lane was born in March 1963 which puts this at least March 1980 (as the announcer says he is 17 years old)
Shawn turned 16 in march of 79. This would have been after March of 1980
@@andytanas That's what I said. At least March 1980 as that is when he turned 17.
It’s speedy and cool… saw him in 91 small bar in Charlotte. I think the thing everyone is missing here, the hardest thing to do on guitar is write a memorable song that stands the test of time for millions of people. Shredding is a mechanical feat…easier than writing that song. That being said, dude was a great guitarist. That solo going around of him on hotel California is all you need to see. Dude had soul too.
Absolutely amazing. 🕊
Legend!
dude was unfuckinbelievable! Diabolical speed and technique
Holy shit…..shawn was killing it back inthe 70’s!!
The G .O .A .T .
He was playing for like 5 years in this clip. LMFAO Insanity.
He was playing PROFESSIONALLY for 5 years. He had been playing guitar and piano since he was 7 or 8 years old.
This is incredible only guys like Allan Holdsworth and John McLaughlin were playing something similar at the time. And Shawn Lane was so young
They weren't even close to his speed either. Holdsworth had to catch up to Shawn and didn't succeed.
@@jtu2434 i think it's not even only about speed... Did they or anyone had already that big mastery over guitar at the time?
@@jtu2434 Allan could have played at this speed if he wanted to. This kind of speed wasn't necessary for Allan to achieve the sound he was after. Obviously, someone of Allan's level of virtuosity could have achieved it had they wanted to and put in the hours upon hours of repetitious practice to achieve it. I love both Shawn and Allan, but I definitely rate Allan as having had far superior musicality, although both were incredibly musical.
@@lex.cordis the kid was 17 years old dude
@@phillipfolis4399i wholeheartedly agree. Allan was Shawn’s hero. Shawn’s musical composition was never comparable to Allan’s. Not dissing Shawn.
One has to realize, yeah this is very show offy, but for a kid....anyone to play like this in 1979 is beyond ridiculous. Decades ahead of his time.
yeh its the timeline of it thats just unreal, van halen was probably still trying to hide his tapping technique with the back to the crowd at this stage
Well, the point WAS to be show offy in this instance. Putting on a wild display for the crowd, and whatnot. Shawn had incredible musicality as well, up there with Holdsworth.
guys like Allan Holdsworth and John McLaughlin were playing something similar at the time
Genius...period.
unbelievable shredding
superhuman abilities.
The Best of the best
3:06 Tchaikovsky
Also heard in Galneryus Angel of Salvation!
wow....didn't know ....thanks for the info...
I was there, it was awasome.
You know, I was Always into hearing shredders, but from all of the shredders I listened to Shawn lane is the only one who inspired me to leave guitar and not to pick it up
And that's weird - hearing this makes me want to practice.
Then you never wanted to play to begin with. People like this inspire me. I'll never understand you people that say that nonsense. If you say it, you never wanted to play to begin with.
@@J.C... haha what? No dude, not at all I love guitar, I was always inspired by Big guitarrist, I've been studying for years now, I'm at a level unrecognizable from that comment 2 years ago, but what I said is true and is they way I felt when I first heard him, his level at guitar was unseen to me, I was always into Malmsteen, and I am to this day, and when I heard this my head exploded seeing the guitar limits being pushed further one more time, at the moment he was the first one to make me feel frustrated and not inspired, but just because of how unreachable that level was, now in terms of studies of theory I'm not that advanced, in terms of technique, I'm close to Shawn but of course not at his level. I have a lot to improve and I still stand for my comment, don't talk shit without knowing dude haha, everyone has ups and downs in the music journey, when I started singing I remembered what was like to feel bad about not being able to do a new technique, it was and still is tough, I still know I don't have to drop it
@@aliensporebomb I explain a bit more in the answer to the comment below you
Where tf did this come from? Unbelievable playing by the GOAT!
private amateur video....i love Van halen but at that time Lane was already better than him....i think....
@@prickrick EVH was a massive influence on the guitar world but technically speaking, he is not comparable to Shawn Lane. Great clip. Thanks for sharing!
@@danielhoward8195 ....for sure i agree but at that time so much guitar player loved his technique....that's it....for sure not comparable to Shawn...
Noone was doing this in 1979. EVH was there, but Shawn was ahead of Malmsteen, Gilbert, Vai and the rest.
guys like Allan Holdsworth and John McLaughlin were playing something similar at the time
Notice the mic man, he is jim dandy man, this is just awesome /,,/
Love the Roland synth guitar
Amazing. . .
When people say "Of yeah Eric Clapton is the best guitarist of all time" and you just laugh at a teenager who is like 50x better from the same time period
Eric was from the 60s
define "better"
Clapton's Tasty Licks to Shawn Lane's nonsense noodling. I'll take Clapton any day
@@ginjazz2836 Clapton's range of style and techniques fossilised decades ago. Some of his Cream stuff was mind-blowing, but after about Journeyman, he stopped dead in his tracks. Same old blues, blah blah blah. Jeff Beck passed him in 1976.
@@GreenDistantStar music is subjective it's not a contest
Alien, and nowbody talking about him
At 17 he was already better than almost everyone else whose ever played
guys like Allan Holdsworth and John McLaughlin were playing something similar at the time
true...but Holdsworth and McLuaghlin were a lot older at the time@@joanstone6740
minuto 3:05 es el solo de guitarr de Angel of Destination de Galneryus... Syu entonces se ha inspirado en este jam??? o es que es parte de alguna cancion?
Tiene pinta de ser una pieza de música clásica en violín, por eso Shawn usó un efecto de ese tipo. Me informé que la pieza es de Tchaikovsky, Concierto en D Menor.
If he had seen the late 2000's with how good the sample scene had gotten for orchestration and percussion instruments, he would of done some moch up work so fast with such a great sound, with his virtusosness on the keyboard he could of pumped out so many notes and key trigger articulations with mod wheel expressions on a midi for daw.. Crazy video footage that would of been of him on is home studio rig doing live looping session 0.0
Jaw dropping!
Thanks ! so good to see that !
Shawn really Knew his oneness with God
He was God
impresionante
El número uno no hay duda
He already had the otherworldly technique before the 80s neoclassical shred. How did Shrapnel records not sign him even before Yngwie Malmsteen. By all accounts Shawn Lane was also a incredibly humble and king person, unlike the reputation of the Viking shredmaster......
each holy notes with a super strongly hand opening
I’ve never heard anyone play that fast before 😮.
Just a year after Van Halen's debut and Eruption dropped.
Insightful comment in a way. Actually, it's kind of ironic that Shawn Lane was doing stuff on guitar in 76'(Two years before Eruption came out)- that would surpassed most today's shredders of today at such a young age.
@@thesonicarkh-angels7735 Yeah, I agree. There were other pre-VH shredders, but this is surprisingly modern.
@john cash Will have to check out Soft Machine. I know Holdsworth generally, but not Soft Machine.
@john cash Thanks! Took a listen. Interesting stuff. Alan of course leans very much to the fusion side and Shawn too a bit from this era. What do you think of Frank Marino circa 1978? Also another speedy player and in many ways -- though not as fast as Alan or certainly Shawn -- prefigured EVH a bit better than the other two insofar as he was doing rock.
Wish that recording was a lil clearer...but fk, he"s amazing
1:28 This is the lick that Paul Gilbert likes to use. but not as good as shawn.
He’s Paganini reincarnated.
2:29 haha I swear you can hear that lick in Frenzy
I wish Troy Grady wouldn't keep his silence when asked to explain Shawn's picking hand technique... He names Batio as the one that turned him on to 2 way pick slanting but if I'm not mistaken McLaughlin and Shawn were ahead of him. It strikes me that he mentioned Allan Holdsworth as an influence, but I'm hearing a good bit of John McLaughlin blended with Holdsworth - In fact, I've never heard anyone stylistically evoke that latter man's unique note choices until this.
Is it just the video quality that it sounds like computer noises? Cause it sounds way faster than then what we hear from his playing in better footage?? Just an honest question
Or does he have some kind of harmonizer as an effect?
He plays so fast and clean it just stops sounding like a guitar anymore. That's how alien Shawn was when it came to speed... The second half must've been an harmonizer that made his guitar sound like a violin.
This is into an Early Yamaha synth, Pat Metheny and John McLaughlin also had one. It's basically a midi pickup into a aynth
Is that a Westbury standard hes playing? i have one looks just like that, dont sound like that in my hands though!
EDIT: bit of research it seems to be a Roland G-808
Great, now I have to clean up the rest of my face from the walls.
He sounds like he’s tapping but it’s single note alternate picking wow
I didn’t know he played for black oak Arkansas
That head bob.
Little Paul Gilbert was only 13
When this happened
Jason Becker already play yet?
@@mixmixture7049 nope, becker is younger than gilbert
Those stretches are hurting my hand just thinking about it!
Phenomenal even using an old outdated guitar and he still sounds the same
It wasn't outdated. That's a Roland guitar from 1977. It was 3 years old when this was recorded. That's how he gets the tone. Those guitars are worth thousands of dollars, if you can fine one in good condition. He later played Ibanez and finally Vigier before he passed.
Crazy how DLR was said to have ripped off the lead singer of Black Oak...I never knew they alsonhad such a guotar virtuoso... definitely faster than Eddie. BUT.....I definitley prefer Eddie... but Shawn was amazing! This however is a little too much for me.. Very very fast but hard to digest!! Also I think I heard the ending of Spanish Fly at 1:25.. very similar
I had no idea he'd played with BOA.
Way ahead of it's time. Yngwie before Yngwie.
Beyond even Yngwie. WAY BEYOND.
Around the Van Halen debut? Hmm Dave . Whom bit off of whom?
Weird that he's playing a Roland Guitar Synth. G-303 I believe.
He played it for years.
I still think Yngwie had Shawn beat here. Yngwie was only 15 yrs old in 1978 and had a demo out called "Powerhouse" which show cased his incredible playing.
Maybe here, but Shawn surpassed Yngwie in the end.
@@jameson3500
I disagree. I find Yngwies playing far more inspiring and musical than Shawn Lane. I find Buckethead even more so, he has surpassed them all imo.
@@AllforOne_OneforAll1689 Technically speaking, Shawn far surpassed Yngwie. I'm a fan of Yngwie myself, but Shawn could play things that Yngwie could not. Sean could also play any genre of music with emotion, Yngwie could not.
@@jameson3500
You're missing the point. Yngwie beat em all to the shred stuff and his music is rememberable for its melody. Shawn Lane has no memorable tracks despite his impressive playing.
@@jameson3500
Now Buckethead has surpassed them all. Even Shawn Lane couldn't believe he was able imitate an edited piece of piano music he made. Buckethead was able to replicate it on the guitar.
Did he ever explain why his 1st and middle fingers were always so far apart?
Shawn Lane, Jason Becker, Guthrie Govan, and Matteo Mancuso are the 4 Horsemen of sick-ass guitar nonsense. They can not be fucked with.
You forgot to mention scott mishoe..
@@carvinsmith8068 You must be that guys alt account or something. That dude is not on the same level.
Bro, Holdsworth is beyond all of them by light-years. Shawn even said in a clinic that he probably would have just continued playing blues-rock licks before giving up the guitar entirely had it not been for him seeing Holdsworth live when he was 14.
Of the newer ones, besides Matteo Mancuso, we have to mention Max Astro and Josh Meader too.
guys like Allan Holdsworth and John McLaughlin were playing something similar at the time
mama.... I gotta hot.... SOLO! doh.
Ahead of the curve for the Wow generation
Definitely different then Ruby Star that is for sure.
Better than eruption just Shawn using a clean tone instead of some sweet distortion.
He's handed down some of this savant talent to the likes of Max Ostro and others.
He picking teknik must ve the best ever
He could play like that at 17?!? Holy hell…
Wow
Age 17 this was 1980 not 1979
Correct in the fall of 1980. At Valley West in LA
0:00
Buckethead was doing this at 9 yrs old in 1802
Eddie who.....? Yngwie what....?
Just Roads that classical back ground