A newly resurfaced gig by Van Halen from 1975 at Pasadena High School finds the soon-to-be-superstar band ripping through a 30-minute set of covers of songs by the Rolling Stones, ZZ Top, Deep Purple and others. As reported by Loudwire, The 30-minute, eight-song soundboard recording of the band working out some of their favorites three years before the release of their debut album also includes an early version of the Women and Children First track “Fools,” then called “I Live With Fools.”
The rough-and-ragged chronicle of David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen and Michael Anthony features loose-lipped singer Roth engaging in some of his patented stage patter and tearing it up on the Stones’ “Brown Sugar,” which, of course, also features one of Eddie’s soon-to-be-legendary lightning fast guitar solos.
The set opens with ZZ Top’s “Chevrolet” and includes Deep Purple’s “Maybe I’m a Leo,” Edgar Winter’s “And We All Had a Real Good Time,” the James Gang’s “Walk Away,” Johnny Winter’s “Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo” and Sugarloaf’s “Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You.” Eddie Van Halen died on Oct. 6 at age 65 following a long battle with cancer.
Listen to the set below.