Current Mötley Crüe guitarist John 5 appeared on a new episode of the AXS TV’s Vinyl Obsession podcast and shared his top five most influential albums. Perhaps not surprising with John being such a talented axman in his own right, but among his choices was Van Halen’s 1978 self-titled debut.
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According to John, who is a huge KISS fan, he bought the Van Halen album because of “the cover alone,” which he said mentioned Gene Simmons. Simmons, who is thanked in the album’s liner notes, often is credited with discovering Van Halen.
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It was the music, though, particularly the late Eddie Van Halen’s playing, that made the biggest impact on John.
“I think … this record was the one that maybe gave me the biggest shock, because of the sound,” he explained. “Now, I was already playing guitar, and it was like, ‘Whoa!’ It was like seeing a car, but then seeing a race car. [Eddie’s playing] really freaked me out, you know.”
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John added that all of the band members were an integral part of what made Van Halen’s music so outstanding.
“[W]ith [David Lee Roth’s] vocal and the sound of everything, without these four guys, it wouldn’t be the same,” he maintained. “You know, with [bassist Michael Anthony’s] vocals and his playing, and [drummer] Alex [Van Halen’s] playing.”
John 5 on Eddie Van Halen’s Unique Playing Style
John then talked about why no other guitarist could play the instrument quite like Eddie Van Halen.
He explained that he once had the opportunity to play guitar through Eddie’s rig, and discovered he wasn’t able to get the same sound. According to a Guitar Player magazine article, John 5 got to try out the rig around the time Van Halen released its A Different Kind of Truth album in 2012.
“I would get on Eddie’s guitar rig, and it’s all in the hands, you know,” he said. “It’s just in the hands. It’s in his attack. It’s in his playing. That’s why he sounds like Eddie. That’s why… when people play other people’s music, you can hit all the notes, but it’s just different with certain players, like Eddie. … [T]here was an attack and there was a certain way he really hit the strings.”
About John 5’s Connection with Van Halen
Of course, John 5 wound up forging a close connection with at least one Van Halen member when he joined Roth’s backing band in 1998. He played and co-wrote many songs on Roth’s fifth solo studio album, DLR Band.
John also co-wrote one song (“Thug Pop”) that appeared on Roth’s most recent solo album, Diamond Dave (2003).
Meanwhile, in recent years, Roth has been releasing a series a tracks on which he collaborated with John 5 several years ago as standalone digital singles.
John 5’s Other Top Album Picks
The four other albums John 5 chose for his top-five picks were Pink Floyd’s The Wall and Wish You Were Here, Joni Mitchell’s Blue, and KISS’ Destroyer.
About John 5’s 2025 Plans
John 5 has a one-off joint concert lined up with ex-Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman on January 24, 2025, in Santa Ana, California.
John also will be playing a previously announced 11-date Las Vegas residency with Mötley Crüe at the Dolby Live venue. The shows run from March 28 through April 19.
In addition, Mötley Crüe will co-headline (with Def Leppard) the first day of the two-day Boardwalk Rock 2025 festival on May 17 in Ocean City, Maryland.
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