During his appearance on AXS TV’s Vinyl Obsession podcast, Mötley Crüe guitarist John 5 shared his deep admiration for some of the albums that shaped his musical journey. Chief among them was Van Halen’s self-titled 1978 debut and KISS’s “Love Gun”, albums that brought him lots of memories and revelations that continue to influence him.
John 5’s introduction to Van Halen came through sheer curiosity and a bit of luck. “I bought this from cover alone, because it said ‘Gene Simmons’, and he worked on the record,” he explained. “And I remember putting this on, and I think maybe this record was the one that maybe gave me the biggest shock, because of the sound. Now, I was already playing guitar. And it was, like, ‘Whoa.’ It was like seeing a car, but then seeing a race car. You’re, like, ‘Whoa.’ I mean, Eddie’s guitar playing really freaked me out. And then with Dave’s vocal and the sound and everything… Without these four guys, it wouldn’t be the same — with Mikey’s vocals and his playing and Alex’s playing.”
Eddie Van Halen’s guitar work left a lasting impression on him. “I remember I would get on Eddie’s rig and I would get on his guitar rig, and it’s all in the hands — 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, because there was an attack and there was a certain way he hit the strings. Same thing with Yngwie Malmsteen or people like that. They have a certain swing to them or a certain attack. And that’s how it was with Van Halen.”
Another pivotal album for John 5 was KISS’s “Love Gun”. The memory of discovering it is as vivid today as it was decades ago. “I remember this vividly, going through Sears, and I was seven years old. It was June. And because the record was just coming out and there was a big display. Remember in the record stores when they had huge displays and they had all the records… And I just remember getting it and taking it home and playing this record and loving it.”
Much like with Van Halen, the album’s cover art initially drew him in. “I bought this from the image alone,” he admitted. “And a lot of people, a lot of musicians I know did the same thing. It was “Destroyer”, though, for them; that was the record that did it for them. But this was everywhere. So when you walked, that’s what you saw — you could not see it.”
Reflecting on the band’s marketing genius, he added, “These guys were masters of marketing — really. So after I got this and listened to it and obsessed with it, then I got everything — Destroyer and the debut and Hotter Than Hell and Dressed To Kill. Now, Dressed To Kill, it was funny because I thought — I mean, I was so young; I was seven years old — and I thought Dressed To Kill was the first record ‘cause it was black and white. And I didn’t know, ’cause I used to love watching all the monster movies and I understood that they were very old and it was before color, but I thought Dressed To Kill, which is the third record, was their first record ’cause it was black and white.”
His youthful misconceptions didn’t end there: “This is what a stupid kid I was. I used to think when they played KISS on the radio, which was rare, I used to think that they would go to the radio station, set up, play, and then leave,” John 5 said with a laugh. “So whenever they had KISS playing on the radio station, I was, like, ‘We gotta get to the radio station. KISS is playing at the radio station.’ So I was so stupid. I just thought that all these artists would just go, ‘Hey, what’s up, Ted Nugent? We’re gonna play our song.’ But in my defense of stupidity, it kind of happened like that in the ’50s and things. When they were on the radio, they would go and they would play live. It was those old shows.”