As great as that is/was, I'm not sure how that translates to the 'greatest' guitar player of all time. Amazing, yes- prodigal- absolutely- mind blown- you bet your ass- but THE greatest, it would have to include a bit more soul for my personal tastes, but that's just my opinion. Take it for what its worth- not much, he he. That was REALLY cool- but it gets kinda boring after the frist 3-4 minutes or so- just kinda wankin'/showing off, great as it was- it became insect music after a few min.
@Kingding6 ...and your point? I'm not bashing this brilliant player in ANY way, so please don't take it as such, I was simply referring to someone saying he was THE greatest.....which he was freakin' amazing...just not the greatest of all time. I have nothing but respect for the late, great Shawn Lane, period.
@Kingding6 yes, yes it is. I totally respect your opinion, especially on this one. Who am I to say he ISN'T the greatest? Can't really argue with ya on his abilities, so I won't. RIP Shawn!!! No matter your tastes or opinions, he was/is one of the all time greats on the instrument- I think we can agree there! Rock on.
Here he reminds of Legolas from the Lord of The Rings Trilogy (archer dude) lol. God bless Shawn Lane may he rest in peace. One of the greatest of all time in my opinion.
Can someone confirm if this was shot in Memphis in 1981? This looks like a show BOA did down at the Music Hall in Memphis when it was in the old Clear Pool bldg? Chris Craig was playing drums. The band was fantastic....Shawn was just coming into it. God Bless BOA!
Chip Crawford, George Sketaris or Keith May....are you out there? These guys were at the show.....
Fucking A! Shawn Lane was way ahead of his time in the shredding dept. I heard of Black Oak Arkansas but didn't know about Shawn Lane. I see how he was influential to P.G. and John Petrucci. Awesome talent!
I think his phrasing is still better here at age 17 than most shredders today twice his age. It is rare to see someone not only play that fast at his age but also as well and clean. Also, the keyboard guy was insane, too. Black Oak Arkansas must have been one badass band...
they were and still are, well, their legacy still is amazing haha, but comon, jim dandy kicked ass, then shawn lane and just wow, they had the southern thing with the swampy blues then shawn lane, i dont even know what genre to put him it and it was just amzing
Def ahead of his time at age 17 regarding shredding...
and i find it quite odd he only played on johnny cash and willie nelson when it came to session work with big names in the recording industry, that's just a peculiar fit.
What I love is that he still developed the ability to play notes that did not sound like string skipped triplets so early on. Triplets are great but you can always tell when they end and the next one starts or they always have the same kind of pull off. In some respects, Yngwie and Rustey Cooley have broken the mold but then after a while you can tell what they are going to do next. But with Shawn it was always what the hell is he doing next you can't tell when one lick is ending.
And of course the melodicism of a piece depends on how it was written, unless of course being improved on the spot then it depends solely n the player. As far as fastest picking is concerned, well that depends on what's being played. When it come to repeated patterns Van Halen style, then yeah, Shawn may have been the fastest, but when it comes to playing melodic runs interspersed with melodic arpeggios, I have to say Django Reinhardt is still the fastest ever and that with two working fingers!
sorry, cursed, but king's right. W/o phrasing and melodicism speed isn't much. In fact one of the fastest ever, Sir Ritchie (Blacmore who else?) himself says in an interview when he was around 15 he was into speed like every other young musician, but then it sort of becomes like having sex for two seconds. Ha, ha, ha! The interwiew's very funny and can be found right here on YouTube. But artha..'s right too. Shawn developed more phrasing as he got older.
The problem with just playing fast like this is, the is absolutely no phrasing. No note has anymore importance than the others. At about 4:40 there is a part that is pretty good. But to just play notes very fast with no emphasis on phrasing is not great. I know this is 1 clip and he is showing off, but I have seen other clips here and it becomes a habit for some players. Getting caught up in a speed contest without melodic solos. Fusion sonmtimes= Confusion
Dude, give me a break. First of all, I KNOW you've watched other Shawn Lane videos so I'm fairly certain this is the ONLY video you could even begin to pick a bone with. Secondly...unaccompanied guitar solos are supposed to be showing off. And thirdly...this is GOOD shredding. It's not that out of key, sloppy technique crap that you see passed off as "skill" in other players, and it follows a very discernible key and melody. Come on, there has to be SOME other player you can pick a fight about.
at 17 years old, this guy was outshredding frank gamble, allan holdsworth, john mclaughlin, malmsteem, al di meola and any other guitar player out there. unreal!!!
actualy, i was misinformed, this is BOA, i guess theres another vid out there where Shawn plays with another band, very similar licks, but the band name is slipping my mind right now, i know its 2 words,, hrmm, anywho, shawn came into this band at the WRONG time, they were startin to die out, but it got him far, after 4 yrs of touring.. man i love these guys
These guys influenced Van Halen big time. Lane influenced Eddie, and Jim Dandy influenced David Lee Roth as well. Van Halen grew up listening to an assortment of music; southern rock was just one facet. You can hear a lot of ZZ Top in their music. Or at least I can.
Got news for you man, EVH had no idea who Shawn Lane was. If he did, he would have probably given up guitar playing. Lane at 17 was better than EVH ever is, was, and ever has been. Sorry folks.
Ahh, there from the same era. Eddie had definitely heard of BOA, so by logical deduction he hade heard of Shawn Lane. Btw, Robert Fripp and Adrian Belew of King Crimson did runs like this, so it's not that unique.
Fripp and Belew might be able to do runs like Lane, but Lane does them constantly without stopping. Also, his phrasing is unbelievable. Lane could copy the exact phrasing of any guitarist perfectly when he played live. Also, as far as songwriting vs EVH, Lane didn't write hard rock pop songs like Van Halen did. Lane was a jazz-fusion player, much different. Paul Gilbert and Greg Howe knew what was up. The only person who comes close now is Rusty Cooley, but Cooley's composing sucks.
I'll put Eddie Van Halen's body of work up against Shawn Lane's any day. Any guitar shredder can play fast like Lane. Eddie's songwriting ability, musicianship, technique, and musical chops are better than Shawn Lane's, imo.
I am only talking about playing ability, of which Shawn is light years ahead of EVH. Lane said that he had his style down at age 15, the same style he used for the next 25 years, he just got faster. Also, of course EVH heard of BOA, DLR is a Jim Dandy copy (just check out the furry boots). Jim dandy did that 3-5 years before DLR ever did. Gene Simmons even said Van Halen reminded him of BOA (especially Jim Dandy), but just a lot better.
Whatever bro... The playing is cool and all, I guess.. sounds like a bees nest after a while... eddie had it all, chops, songwriting, etc.... this was more like musical gymnastics.
please my friend shawn lane was a speed freak and no more.van halen was the total package,speed,tone,phrasing,song writing,inventiveness, and influence on other guitarist's.you can go to guitar center and hear this shit.anyway al dimeola is the best he plays all this stuff on acoustic with no mistakes.mclaughin and paco are better then shawn too
Even Paul Gilbert said Shawn had AMAZING phrasing. Shawn was a speed freak in his early years, but he developed at an incredible rate like his last albums show, phrasing, feeling, technique, etc. Yeah, maybe Al and John are on that level too, but you can't take away credit from Shawn.
funny,within the first few minutes you can hear how shawn was inspired by EVH. He does a run that greatly resembles the run Eddie used in Spanish Fly. Shawn was like EVH and Holdsworth mixed into some "super" guitarist!
The thing that goes over peoples heads is that he was VERY capable of playing highly emotive music with incredible expression(jimi hendrix etc...) Incredible human being. Very modest to boot. Go figure. I think he just goes over peoples heads period though.
makes eddy van H look like an amateur! It would take a different brain to do that........unreal concentration........never seen anyone in person that could do that
He was supposed to be the fastest,but there's a guy who has the guinness for the fastest picking, although he just did it in one string and not playing any scale at all. So i think Shawn can be considered the fastest picker between the great guitar players.
he went way beyond Eddie Van Halen though lol... just goes to show that showmanship and some flashy tunes more often get noticed more than obvious skill.
amazing, but it seems like he was basing a lot of his licks on the Van Halen style of playing groups of six, pick the the first note hammer, hammer, then pick the last three when ascending. So either he was into Van Halen or they just did that alike.
True. Uli Jon Roth was doing stuff in 1975 that EVH took credit for in '78. I like EVH, but sometimes he acts like he invented guitar playing. I don't recall him doing any of this in 1979.
better than angilo at the age of 15 when i saw him in huntsville ,alabama,b.o.a. opened for nugent. was well on his way to being the best at that age!
I just realized something. This pre-dates Malmsteen in the US by 5 years. Yet, the music at times here is absolutely NEO CLASSICAL. So, why was this so unknown? Man, this guy rips Malmsteen, Gilbert, and the rest a new one. Now, I love Paul Gilbert, don't get me wrong, but this is just freakish.
This pre-dates Malmsteen in USA 3 years. Why is he unknown. We can argue that Malmsteen is diferent from others. Little more fluid and little more neo-classical in unique way. However, there is one more important thing. Malmsteen was great showman and leader since we first saw him, and here we see some 17 year old kid. Charisma...
How did Shawn go unnoticed for so long? This was while Van Halen was jerking around with that slow-ass Eruption? Give me a break. Shawn Lane was in the wrong band, wrong city, and with the wrong front man. He would be remembered as the greatest ever had he been in Van Halen or Ozzy. Wow.
yes, EVH and Paige and tons of others never could touch Shawn for technique and perhaps even musical ability but EVH had the sound and the inventive ideas for those crazy intros. On the down side, one can only take so many 32nd notes before it just becomes monotony.
I saw these guys (w/Shawn) open for Ted Nugent when I was 17. This was at the Omni in Atlanta. I liked BOA as much as the next guy, but was not really into them. But I remember Shawn--and he was about 14 or 15 (this was '78)--just killin' it. A freakish monster, even then. Seeing him years later with Jonas Hellborg and Jeff Sipe was cool, because he'd realy become so much more musical by then. What a waste of a talented cat, him being a junkie and all--and now he's dead.
Shawn didn't die because of his addiction to painkillers - which he quit - but his lung, skin, and joint problems which conspired against him. Of course, the fact he smoked didn't help. :(
OK...So at this point, Shawn Lane was playing the way he was...at the age of 17, and people still had Jimmy Page and EVH crammed up thier asses? I'm sorry both Page and Eddie were great revolutionary, but highly overrated players in my opinion...True genius always goes overlooked. Great video though...
You can clearly see on this video that Shawn already a STRING-SKIPPING GOD by 1980.. My favorite guitar player is Paul Gilbert, after watching this, I realize that Paul got the idea for this technique by watching Shawn.. Cuz Mike Varney showed Paul this clip when he got signed.
Cool. Is that a difficult technique? I see the scales and they seem simple but his speed! I am sure Shawn learned from his peers of the sixties and seventies. Peace on!
Meh,,,you're all overlooking the superb washboard skills of one mr.Jim Dandy....his legato playing reminds me of Granny clampet...I swear that guy was a knob...the washboard...hell i almost wet myself when I saw the footage of that dick standing next to Shawn Lane and wailing away like a demented washer woman...whatta tool..!!!!
he is expressing speed of john petrucci style listen to metropolis ...dude no damn lie shanw lane is better than MAB i just have to say that if no one agress then fine
Well, that's true. I think Shawn's technique is a lot smoother a lot of the time, as well. It helps in my book that Shawn wasn't nearly so stuck up as Batio is.
yeah thats what im trying to say thanks for the correction .but i really dont like to diss other good guitarist cause there all doing what they do at there best casue i think that people shouldnt say shit like "oh petrucci is better than gilbert" i think thats bull shit cause there both great and some dont realized they both toured G3 together ..maybe people should think about that
yeah thats true ...half of the people that write comments like that suck at guitar
im just the kind of player that accepts every guitarist,.....that is unless they play emo,and modern rock...fuck that shit .if some one leave a comment that the dudes from that faggot band fall out boy is better than steve vai....i will definatly wail on there ass
toxicity, your a pud. And you only wish you could be steve vai, get a life. and my guess is, your probrobly not even a real guitar player, you probrobly just play because you think you'll be a cooler dude, when in all reallity, your not, peace.
um,.....now you just making yourself look like an asshole ...i never said i wish to be great as steve vai and i am realy guitar player idiot i have an ibanez s USA with IbzUSA dimarzio pickups...and to say that i jsut play to be a cooler dude is the most stupidest thing i heard someone say to me on youtube you really need to get a fucking life i always see people like you on youtube you just they type of people that i compare to the shit on my shoe
yeah right dude if you knew who i was youd be dreaming of eating that shit off your shoe.haha listen to you comment back all defensive like, what a puss.hahaha
.....wow you really know how to kill someones time .and to say im not a realy player is dumb...so your telling me that i should have stoped played in the very begining 4 FUCKING YEARS AGO...wow words dont describe how simple minded you are listen just shut the fuck up and what the video
Hey, its a kid!, he just want to get fun!! he hate stupids dogmatic critics,he is free,he shit on you! its a child!! society didnt fucked him like it fucked all you ! ONLY LISTEN
i thought it was a mistake when i first saw it but than i heard the playing and i knew it was shawn lane. its so sad how psoriasis can destroy someone.
I dont think because he was playing "Fast" that he was trying to play fast...he was just playing...if you like it..listen..if not ..turn off..Shawns efforts does not deserve some of the negative comments it has been receiving.
What's boring is the incessant whining about how "that's not that fast", or the comment below. Shawn Lane was a unique talent, with boundless technical abilities and an understanding of not only music theory but history. It's pointless to sit in electronic annonymity and snipe at one of masters of the instrument.
one of the things people seem to be forgetting in this 'yngwie vs. lane' camparison is that in this video, the dude was 17 for christsakes. Back then, there was no shred, no yngwie. I found myself thinking - y's his tone so muddy? once again, they didn't have high gain amps and they didn' scoop mids back then...considering all these things, this video is fucking amazing
Some people simply are innate geniuses born with freaky ability...Mozart, Beethoven, Einstein, Coltrane, Nash, Ramanujan, Nietzsche, Bernstein, etc. I truly believe Shawn Lane, though woefully unsung, belongs in this pantheon of genius minds. Incredible.
I saw these guys a bunch of times, but most memorable was opening for Sabbath at Convention Hall during Paranoid tour, in Asbury Park NJ, early Seventies. Saw Blue Oyster Cult a bunch of times at the Jersey Shore too (Sunshine In).
As great as that is/was, I'm not sure how that translates to the 'greatest' guitar player of all time. Amazing, yes- prodigal- absolutely- mind blown- you bet your ass- but THE greatest, it would have to include a bit more soul for my personal tastes, but that's just my opinion. Take it for what its worth- not much, he he. That was REALLY cool- but it gets kinda boring after the frist 3-4 minutes or so- just kinda wankin'/showing off, great as it was- it became insect music after a few min.
mrtonebone 1 year ago
@mrtonebone Bro...he was 17 here.
Kingding6 8 months ago
@Kingding6 ...and your point? I'm not bashing this brilliant player in ANY way, so please don't take it as such, I was simply referring to someone saying he was THE greatest.....which he was freakin' amazing...just not the greatest of all time. I have nothing but respect for the late, great Shawn Lane, period.
mrtonebone 6 months ago
@mrtonebone its all opinions, no he was obviously not the greatest of all time when he was 17, but for me he is the greatest player of all time.
Kingding6 6 months ago
@Kingding6 yes, yes it is. I totally respect your opinion, especially on this one. Who am I to say he ISN'T the greatest? Can't really argue with ya on his abilities, so I won't. RIP Shawn!!! No matter your tastes or opinions, he was/is one of the all time greats on the instrument- I think we can agree there! Rock on.
mrtonebone 6 months ago
A true phenom and prodigy if there ever was one. The greatest electric guitar player of all time.
Kingding6 1 year ago
I can only imagine how many hours per day Shawn practiced playing...
GodOfEmptiness1155 1 year ago
Does anyone still thinks that Michael Angelo Batio is the fastest shredder of all time after watching this?
xuxis2008 1 year ago
@xuxis2008 MAB may not be the fastest, but he's darn sure one of the fastest, and one of the best too.
Whackooyzero 7 months ago
The keyboardist seems not able to play in the right key.
Dedalusalley 1 year ago
sweet
estavang11 1 year ago
Here he reminds of Legolas from the Lord of The Rings Trilogy (archer dude) lol. God bless Shawn Lane may he rest in peace. One of the greatest of all time in my opinion.
AyanRafique 1 year ago
What is the song beginning around 3:35??
4251268 1 year ago
Shawn Lane G.O.A.T.
shredder1965 1 year ago
RIP SHANE! You are missed
BOBCATBIKERBABE 1 year ago
Alot of people gave up guitar that night. And they wouldn't even think of feeling that way at a BOA concert before.
SmittyHeWasNumber1 1 year ago
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Black Oak is releasing a new album "Memphis Mean Tymes" some time this year. Check out bookerTbooker or their myspace for more info
BlackOakIsBack 2 years ago
One of the greatest guitar players ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
necrocago 2 years ago
i wish i could have been at all of these shows,d man!
SEMICHUCK 2 years ago
shit he was such a good lookin kid too!
sux0rz 2 years ago
That was INCREDIBLE!
Shawn mastered guitar by 17... GENIUS!!!
oilkills 2 years ago 2
This comment has received too many negative votes show
I'm sorry, but that was boring as fuck.
BOA is one of my absolute favorite bands, but seriously.
BulletWithYerName 2 years ago
Shawn was one of the first players that inspired me to play. Been rippin' ever since. RIP the greatest guitarist ever.
djrevdon 2 years ago
he was so handsome
eatingyourbreadcrust 2 years ago
what kind of finger anatomy is on 1:43?? in just late 70s while he is only 17!! reminds me malmsteen-johansson duets.
zopiklon 2 years ago 2
holy fuck shawn, are you kidding me?
steveandimrad 2 years ago 4
I play guitar and am 17, and this is brilliant to watch, but sooooo frustrating...
guitarmarsupial 2 years ago 6
hey man, there are grown men that can't even begin to touch this. you and me both brudda! : )
dasilvaj2008 2 years ago 4
best guitar player EVER......RIP Shawn....We miss U :(
chordaltapper 2 years ago 11
haha must have been fucking frustrating to be the second guitarist in that band...
...or the fucking greatest?
musicbymax 2 years ago 8
yeah, bittersweet for sure haha
jbeckforever 2 years ago
R.I.P. Shawn Lane (1963-2003)---
To be so young and to have mastered the guitar like that.......
thugpassion65 2 years ago 7
this was amazing then and is still amazing now
DaveDenver 3 years ago 5
Can someone confirm if this was shot in Memphis in 1981? This looks like a show BOA did down at the Music Hall in Memphis when it was in the old Clear Pool bldg? Chris Craig was playing drums. The band was fantastic....Shawn was just coming into it. God Bless BOA!
Chip Crawford, George Sketaris or Keith May....are you out there? These guys were at the show.....
Zipp43 3 years ago
Don't know where it was but that is
Chris Craig on drums
Kinley Wolfe on bass
Billy Batte on keyboards
1969petiepete 2 years ago
I cant help but to think...michael angelo batio. Just sounds like him to me.
223Sleepy 3 years ago
except shawn lane is 100000 times better than MAB
DaveDenver 3 years ago 13
no... michael angelo batio sounds like shawn...batio loved shawns playing
LnDgrthelefty 2 years ago 8
i've been watching this video since 2006 and it still blows my head up!
fizzlemagizzle 3 years ago
Amazing to watch & hear the true talent of a born virtuoso.
spacestate 3 years ago
Fucking A! Shawn Lane was way ahead of his time in the shredding dept. I heard of Black Oak Arkansas but didn't know about Shawn Lane. I see how he was influential to P.G. and John Petrucci. Awesome talent!
PaulC39 3 years ago 3
3:07 hes possessed damnit
stiffler1345 3 years ago
1:43 !!!!
cmon' that's awesome!!!
ljguitar91 3 years ago 9
ur right....hes in a catagory by him self...there will never be any one else ever to match hit musical grasp and ability
stiffler1345 3 years ago
I think his phrasing is still better here at age 17 than most shredders today twice his age. It is rare to see someone not only play that fast at his age but also as well and clean. Also, the keyboard guy was insane, too. Black Oak Arkansas must have been one badass band...
Desimodontidae 3 years ago 3
they were and still are, well, their legacy still is amazing haha, but comon, jim dandy kicked ass, then shawn lane and just wow, they had the southern thing with the swampy blues then shawn lane, i dont even know what genre to put him it and it was just amzing
eberg15101 2 years ago
Musta been all the steroids
JonDeth 3 years ago
Totally f-in amazing stuff!!
DobBylan 3 years ago
what he hell? how can he stretch like that at 1:43?! lol
Its weird seeing him slim like this. Shame about all the health problems he had. He was so gd.
nomis101uk 3 years ago 2
HOLY... FUCKIN... SHIT :|
RacerXSuperhero 3 years ago
the part at the 3:58 is brilliant!
dasilvaj2008 3 years ago
Def ahead of his time at age 17 regarding shredding...
and i find it quite odd he only played on johnny cash and willie nelson when it came to session work with big names in the recording industry, that's just a peculiar fit.
jbrianfehr 3 years ago
What I love is that he still developed the ability to play notes that did not sound like string skipped triplets so early on. Triplets are great but you can always tell when they end and the next one starts or they always have the same kind of pull off. In some respects, Yngwie and Rustey Cooley have broken the mold but then after a while you can tell what they are going to do next. But with Shawn it was always what the hell is he doing next you can't tell when one lick is ending.
TheLostTruckDriver 3 years ago 3
And of course the melodicism of a piece depends on how it was written, unless of course being improved on the spot then it depends solely n the player. As far as fastest picking is concerned, well that depends on what's being played. When it come to repeated patterns Van Halen style, then yeah, Shawn may have been the fastest, but when it comes to playing melodic runs interspersed with melodic arpeggios, I have to say Django Reinhardt is still the fastest ever and that with two working fingers!
pokbacsi100 3 years ago
sorry, cursed, but king's right. W/o phrasing and melodicism speed isn't much. In fact one of the fastest ever, Sir Ritchie (Blacmore who else?) himself says in an interview when he was around 15 he was into speed like every other young musician, but then it sort of becomes like having sex for two seconds. Ha, ha, ha! The interwiew's very funny and can be found right here on YouTube. But artha..'s right too. Shawn developed more phrasing as he got older.
pokbacsi100 3 years ago
i love Shawn Lane, he was so talented!!!
i knew black ak arkansas was a southern rock band but in this video sounded more like a prog-rock band
anyway does anybody know what guitar is that? i like it very much
volorocker 3 years ago
Its an old ibanez i think! i cant remember what the model is though! They dont make em anymore
joeparkes 3 years ago
are these "Savage Innocence" videos from the "shawn w/ black oak arkansas (compilation)?"
SEMICHUCK 3 years ago
Shawn looks like Brad Pitt, and plays like a god.
pochankitty 3 years ago 5
I might add - 1:02 - YOWZA. Gorgeous!!
Scratch47 3 years ago
this is so incredible.
Shawn was an absolute prodigy!!
ljguitar91 3 years ago 2
Amazing how his technique was developed at such a young ae. He said that by 14 he was basically set as far as technique went.
nickwellings 3 years ago
The problem with just playing fast like this is, the is absolutely no phrasing. No note has anymore importance than the others. At about 4:40 there is a part that is pretty good. But to just play notes very fast with no emphasis on phrasing is not great. I know this is 1 clip and he is showing off, but I have seen other clips here and it becomes a habit for some players. Getting caught up in a speed contest without melodic solos. Fusion sonmtimes= Confusion
kingofthedeep 3 years ago
Dude, give me a break. First of all, I KNOW you've watched other Shawn Lane videos so I'm fairly certain this is the ONLY video you could even begin to pick a bone with. Secondly...unaccompanied guitar solos are supposed to be showing off. And thirdly...this is GOOD shredding. It's not that out of key, sloppy technique crap that you see passed off as "skill" in other players, and it follows a very discernible key and melody. Come on, there has to be SOME other player you can pick a fight about.
cursedlemon 3 years ago 5
DAMMIT
I GIVE UP
alexthewildebeest 3 years ago
I definitely just crapped myself
GuitarPlayerSkaterdu 3 years ago 2
mee too
subjulio 3 years ago 2
at 17 years old, this guy was outshredding frank gamble, allan holdsworth, john mclaughlin, malmsteem, al di meola and any other guitar player out there. unreal!!!
mdasilva06 3 years ago
Yes, this is Black Oak. That is Jim Dandy on the vocals in his grand ugliness.
trex257 3 years ago
actualy, i was misinformed, this is BOA, i guess theres another vid out there where Shawn plays with another band, very similar licks, but the band name is slipping my mind right now, i know its 2 words,, hrmm, anywho, shawn came into this band at the WRONG time, they were startin to die out, but it got him far, after 4 yrs of touring.. man i love these guys
bonzo462606 3 years ago
this isnt even BOA :S sorry guys
bonzo462606 3 years ago
These guys influenced Van Halen big time. Lane influenced Eddie, and Jim Dandy influenced David Lee Roth as well. Van Halen grew up listening to an assortment of music; southern rock was just one facet. You can hear a lot of ZZ Top in their music. Or at least I can.
cvjucla3 3 years ago
Got news for you man, EVH had no idea who Shawn Lane was. If he did, he would have probably given up guitar playing. Lane at 17 was better than EVH ever is, was, and ever has been. Sorry folks.
trex257 3 years ago 4
Ahh, there from the same era. Eddie had definitely heard of BOA, so by logical deduction he hade heard of Shawn Lane. Btw, Robert Fripp and Adrian Belew of King Crimson did runs like this, so it's not that unique.
cvjucla3 3 years ago
Fripp and Belew might be able to do runs like Lane, but Lane does them constantly without stopping. Also, his phrasing is unbelievable. Lane could copy the exact phrasing of any guitarist perfectly when he played live. Also, as far as songwriting vs EVH, Lane didn't write hard rock pop songs like Van Halen did. Lane was a jazz-fusion player, much different. Paul Gilbert and Greg Howe knew what was up. The only person who comes close now is Rusty Cooley, but Cooley's composing sucks.
trex257 3 years ago 2
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I'll put Eddie Van Halen's body of work up against Shawn Lane's any day. Any guitar shredder can play fast like Lane. Eddie's songwriting ability, musicianship, technique, and musical chops are better than Shawn Lane's, imo.
cvjucla3 3 years ago
I am only talking about playing ability, of which Shawn is light years ahead of EVH. Lane said that he had his style down at age 15, the same style he used for the next 25 years, he just got faster. Also, of course EVH heard of BOA, DLR is a Jim Dandy copy (just check out the furry boots). Jim dandy did that 3-5 years before DLR ever did. Gene Simmons even said Van Halen reminded him of BOA (especially Jim Dandy), but just a lot better.
trex257 3 years ago
Whatever bro... The playing is cool and all, I guess.. sounds like a bees nest after a while... eddie had it all, chops, songwriting, etc.... this was more like musical gymnastics.
blood5150 3 years ago
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please my friend shawn lane was a speed freak and no more.van halen was the total package,speed,tone,phrasing,song writing,inventiveness, and influence on other guitarist's.you can go to guitar center and hear this shit.anyway al dimeola is the best he plays all this stuff on acoustic with no mistakes.mclaughin and paco are better then shawn too
themetalgod21 3 years ago
Even Paul Gilbert said Shawn had AMAZING phrasing. Shawn was a speed freak in his early years, but he developed at an incredible rate like his last albums show, phrasing, feeling, technique, etc. Yeah, maybe Al and John are on that level too, but you can't take away credit from Shawn.
artha5 3 years ago
funny,within the first few minutes you can hear how shawn was inspired by EVH. He does a run that greatly resembles the run Eddie used in Spanish Fly. Shawn was like EVH and Holdsworth mixed into some "super" guitarist!
zackvanhalen 3 years ago
The thing that goes over peoples heads is that he was VERY capable of playing highly emotive music with incredible expression(jimi hendrix etc...) Incredible human being. Very modest to boot. Go figure. I think he just goes over peoples heads period though.
EJsigstrat 3 years ago 3
makes eddy van H look like an amateur! It would take a different brain to do that........unreal concentration........never seen anyone in person that could do that
greggfranks 3 years ago
It seems odd for a Southern rock band to turn out a Fusion dude , i had no idea he actually played fusion riffs in BOA
McMinnManiac 3 years ago
Boa? is that a song from Black Oak Arkansas
this is the first time EVER that ive seen him in his early years my god he looks like a whole different person
kotzen081 3 years ago
BOA=Abbreviation For 'B'lack 'O'ak 'A'rkansas.
DonConMainManDon 3 years ago
HOLY SHIT!!!!
People were crediting Edward Van Halen with invention of shredding?
My question is why?
Shawn Lane was ahead of him!
CYCLOPSONE 3 years ago 5
the neo of the music world
ljguitar91 4 years ago
Maybe the fastest picker ever ?
Mustment 4 years ago
i think so, i never heard faster playing like this
bakinek 4 years ago
He was supposed to be the fastest,but there's a guy who has the guinness for the fastest picking, although he just did it in one string and not playing any scale at all. So i think Shawn can be considered the fastest picker between the great guitar players.
artha5 3 years ago
dang
guitarsrule1 4 years ago
Good god. Some of those stretches alone are INSANE. This guy is ridiculous.
baseballnolie34 4 years ago
HOLY MARY MOTHER OF GOD!!!!!!!!!! I had heard that Shawn was good, but damn... damndamndamn... My brain has been permanently altered...
tsuei05 4 years ago
And suddenly, I need a new pair of pants and a fresh manthong. This is incredible!
steveplaysbass 4 years ago
he went way beyond Eddie Van Halen though lol... just goes to show that showmanship and some flashy tunes more often get noticed more than obvious skill.
preludioenigmatico 4 years ago
amazing, but it seems like he was basing a lot of his licks on the Van Halen style of playing groups of six, pick the the first note hammer, hammer, then pick the last three when ascending. So either he was into Van Halen or they just did that alike.
preludioenigmatico 4 years ago
Might as well Jump!
natasmu 4 years ago
"What year was this?"
That was about 79-80.
gregwroms 4 years ago
wow my cousin always told me there were way better players than Van Halen and those other stars around their time.
i guess now i believe him.
In2Infinity 4 years ago
True. Uli Jon Roth was doing stuff in 1975 that EVH took credit for in '78. I like EVH, but sometimes he acts like he invented guitar playing. I don't recall him doing any of this in 1979.
Jasong9573 4 years ago
better than angilo at the age of 15 when i saw him in huntsville ,alabama,b.o.a. opened for nugent. was well on his way to being the best at that age!
cfuller85 4 years ago
hes like michael angelo!!
JcShredder 4 years ago
except not a cheesy d-bag
bucketlesshead 4 years ago
lets not get carried away....shawn was unlike any other player...pure genius and i dont use the term loosely
mikerowland1 4 years ago 2
His tone is amazing!!
joeparkes 4 years ago
I just realized something. This pre-dates Malmsteen in the US by 5 years. Yet, the music at times here is absolutely NEO CLASSICAL. So, why was this so unknown? Man, this guy rips Malmsteen, Gilbert, and the rest a new one. Now, I love Paul Gilbert, don't get me wrong, but this is just freakish.
donharrold 4 years ago
This pre-dates Malmsteen in USA 3 years. Why is he unknown. We can argue that Malmsteen is diferent from others. Little more fluid and little more neo-classical in unique way. However, there is one more important thing. Malmsteen was great showman and leader since we first saw him, and here we see some 17 year old kid. Charisma...
phileasfogg07 4 years ago
What year was this?
mrc1212 4 years ago
How did Shawn go unnoticed for so long? This was while Van Halen was jerking around with that slow-ass Eruption? Give me a break. Shawn Lane was in the wrong band, wrong city, and with the wrong front man. He would be remembered as the greatest ever had he been in Van Halen or Ozzy. Wow.
donharrold 4 years ago 3
yes, EVH and Paige and tons of others never could touch Shawn for technique and perhaps even musical ability but EVH had the sound and the inventive ideas for those crazy intros. On the down side, one can only take so many 32nd notes before it just becomes monotony.
professorgreibowitz 4 years ago
I saw these guys (w/Shawn) open for Ted Nugent when I was 17. This was at the Omni in Atlanta. I liked BOA as much as the next guy, but was not really into them. But I remember Shawn--and he was about 14 or 15 (this was '78)--just killin' it. A freakish monster, even then. Seeing him years later with Jonas Hellborg and Jeff Sipe was cool, because he'd realy become so much more musical by then. What a waste of a talented cat, him being a junkie and all--and now he's dead.
scrapingteeth 4 years ago
Shawn didn't die because of his addiction to painkillers - which he quit - but his lung, skin, and joint problems which conspired against him. Of course, the fact he smoked didn't help. :(
Scratch47 3 years ago
too bad Shawn didn't get paid per note. HEHEHHEHEHEHE
professorgreibowitz 4 years ago 4
LOL, I really liked that. Thanks for that.
dandan321 4 years ago
OK...So at this point, Shawn Lane was playing the way he was...at the age of 17, and people still had Jimmy Page and EVH crammed up thier asses? I'm sorry both Page and Eddie were great revolutionary, but highly overrated players in my opinion...True genius always goes overlooked. Great video though...
Yaaheydood 4 years ago 3
el pionero y el mas espectacular guitars del mundoooo!!!!
aguante laneeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!1
DOBLEEJE76 4 years ago
You can clearly see on this video that Shawn already a STRING-SKIPPING GOD by 1980.. My favorite guitar player is Paul Gilbert, after watching this, I realize that Paul got the idea for this technique by watching Shawn.. Cuz Mike Varney showed Paul this clip when he got signed.
bdw118 4 years ago
Cool. Is that a difficult technique? I see the scales and they seem simple but his speed! I am sure Shawn learned from his peers of the sixties and seventies. Peace on!
peaceonearth777 4 years ago
Meh,,,you're all overlooking the superb washboard skills of one mr.Jim Dandy....his legato playing reminds me of Granny clampet...I swear that guy was a knob...the washboard...hell i almost wet myself when I saw the footage of that dick standing next to Shawn Lane and wailing away like a demented washer woman...whatta tool..!!!!
Ozeshin 4 years ago
I saw this guy in 1980 in Toronto with Black Oak Arkansas. This video is probably from around that time. He blew my mind.
berniedexter 4 years ago 2
This comment has received too many negative votes show
looks like he ate a few twinkies after this gig....
loverools 4 years ago
Fuck Off!
If You Have Nothing Too Intelligent To say, Shut The fuck up...
He Had a Disease
You Just Can't Make Fun Of That
jeveuxjouer 4 years ago 2
I have to watch this like once a month or so.Insane.I actually like this better than some of his later stuff.That lick at :57......just incredible.
giantrobot9000 4 years ago
Shredding is wild but gets boring very quickly. Unless perhaps you have some acid in your head.
BabyComeOn93 4 years ago
I'd hate to be the rhythym guitar player
kingofthedeep 4 years ago
looks sped up, that or that keyboardist is god in discuse.
BigOleBill 4 years ago
technically, its very impressive for 17 years old, but musically, this aint shit compared to the songs who wrote when he got older
fuckyalife 4 years ago
incredible playing!! how does someone manage to be so relaxed while playing like that! just superb.
Greebo111 4 years ago
If you're NOT relaxed, it fucks up your technique. Really.
abyssalservant 4 years ago 2
I couldn't agree more. I know. I'm guilty of tension and it's a speed KILLER. Well put!
billmeedog 4 years ago
how can anyone knock shawn lane ? what the fuck !!
funkyspunkmonkey 4 years ago 2
He was pretty good when he was young. :)
Thecommentdick 4 years ago
he is expressing speed of john petrucci style listen to metropolis ...dude no damn lie shanw lane is better than MAB i just have to say that if no one agress then fine
toxicity28 4 years ago
I agree.
abyssalservant 4 years ago
thanks but i take back what i said ....there both good player its just that shawn has more felling ..ok there we go
toxicity28 4 years ago
Well, that's true. I think Shawn's technique is a lot smoother a lot of the time, as well. It helps in my book that Shawn wasn't nearly so stuck up as Batio is.
abyssalservant 4 years ago
yeah thats what im trying to say thanks for the correction .but i really dont like to diss other good guitarist cause there all doing what they do at there best casue i think that people shouldnt say shit like "oh petrucci is better than gilbert" i think thats bull shit cause there both great and some dont realized they both toured G3 together ..maybe people should think about that
toxicity28 4 years ago
Yeah. We all have moments of completely sucking, too . . . and then we hit shit that shines. *shrugs*
abyssalservant 4 years ago
yeah thats true ...half of the people that write comments like that suck at guitar
im just the kind of player that accepts every guitarist,.....that is unless they play emo,and modern rock...fuck that shit .if some one leave a comment that the dudes from that faggot band fall out boy is better than steve vai....i will definatly wail on there ass
toxicity28 4 years ago
toxicity, your a pud. And you only wish you could be steve vai, get a life. and my guess is, your probrobly not even a real guitar player, you probrobly just play because you think you'll be a cooler dude, when in all reallity, your not, peace.
blogbog 4 years ago
um,.....now you just making yourself look like an asshole ...i never said i wish to be great as steve vai and i am realy guitar player idiot i have an ibanez s USA with IbzUSA dimarzio pickups...and to say that i jsut play to be a cooler dude is the most stupidest thing i heard someone say to me on youtube you really need to get a fucking life i always see people like you on youtube you just they type of people that i compare to the shit on my shoe
toxicity28 4 years ago
yeah right dude if you knew who i was youd be dreaming of eating that shit off your shoe.haha listen to you comment back all defensive like, what a puss.hahaha
blogbog 4 years ago
.....wow you really know how to kill someones time .and to say im not a realy player is dumb...so your telling me that i should have stoped played in the very begining 4 FUCKING YEARS AGO...wow words dont describe how simple minded you are listen just shut the fuck up and what the video
toxicity28 4 years ago
please dont cry anymore toxicity, i dont want bad karmma because of you. peace dude
blogbog 4 years ago
ha you cant even spell karma right
so i suggest you gather up bitch
toxicity28 4 years ago
Hey, its a kid!, he just want to get fun!! he hate stupids dogmatic critics,he is free,he shit on you! its a child!! society didnt fucked him like it fucked all you ! ONLY LISTEN
zaratustrav 4 years ago
i thought it was a mistake when i first saw it but than i heard the playing and i knew it was shawn lane. its so sad how psoriasis can destroy someone.
lethalinjection666 4 years ago
I dont think because he was playing "Fast" that he was trying to play fast...he was just playing...if you like it..listen..if not ..turn off..Shawns efforts does not deserve some of the negative comments it has been receiving.
desertChild 4 years ago
i came
pochankitty 4 years ago
Amazing!! great !! and fast !! too young .. lol ..
aliceshrestha 4 years ago
What's boring is the incessant whining about how "that's not that fast", or the comment below. Shawn Lane was a unique talent, with boundless technical abilities and an understanding of not only music theory but history. It's pointless to sit in electronic annonymity and snipe at one of masters of the instrument.
WhammyDiver 4 years ago 2
Fastest doesn't mean the best,,
miko162k6 4 years ago
BORING!!!
prandtastic 4 years ago
you think so...lets hear what YOU can do.
desertChild 4 years ago 2
one of the things people seem to be forgetting in this 'yngwie vs. lane' camparison is that in this video, the dude was 17 for christsakes. Back then, there was no shred, no yngwie. I found myself thinking - y's his tone so muddy? once again, they didn't have high gain amps and they didn' scoop mids back then...considering all these things, this video is fucking amazing
501404 4 years ago
Yep you are right 100%
desertChild 4 years ago
Fast don't mean good neither does repetition,but I like some of it
Remember this Schenker and Roth rule and played with a lot more emotion
kingofthedeep 4 years ago
How do you define "playing with emotion" if you can put it into words..then you dont get it.
desertChild 4 years ago
nobody cant touch that lick
ishredpotatoes 4 years ago
Just remember,this is before Randy Rhodes and Yngwie Malmsteen!
stratman1967 4 years ago
right on!!!!
bgrassiskewl 4 years ago
Some people simply are innate geniuses born with freaky ability...Mozart, Beethoven, Einstein, Coltrane, Nash, Ramanujan, Nietzsche, Bernstein, etc. I truly believe Shawn Lane, though woefully unsung, belongs in this pantheon of genius minds. Incredible.
wallybox 4 years ago
damn...
fizzlemagizzle 4 years ago
Wow, I never knew Shawn used a Roland guitar synth.
kevinm4435 4 years ago
Holy fucking shit! Michael Angelo Batio can't even play that fast now and he's 50 somthing!
tweekin001 5 years ago
yea and most ppl still insist that hes the fastest in the world, without realizing that he was rated that like 15 yrs ago
paganinionspeed 4 years ago
R.I.P.
TonySatriano 5 years ago
tommy aldrege on drums too this is awesome
thomassutra 5 years ago
that's shawn for you... impeccable playing. whoever the keyboardist is, he's ridiculous, too...
reggietheporpoise 5 years ago
I saw these guys a bunch of times, but most memorable was opening for Sabbath at Convention Hall during Paranoid tour, in Asbury Park NJ, early Seventies. Saw Blue Oyster Cult a bunch of times at the Jersey Shore too (Sunshine In).
pretzelbrigades 5 years ago
insane...crazy a human being can do that. look at his face when he plays, he's not even straining. nuts
BlooBeluga 5 years ago
Yyyyaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwnnnnnn. Give me Jimmy Henderson, that's fucking rock and roll.
beowulven 5 years ago
this is fusion fool
digitised 5 years ago
that fucker means bidness
chosen1here 5 years ago
jealous kid.
ishredpotatoes 5 years ago
man he was special. R.I.P Shawn
tomofnoise1 5 years ago
This dude must have gotten so much pussy circa 1980-1989.
quisp2112 5 years ago 2