I grew up loving Van Halen - one of the first albums I remember buying was 1984. Yet, after I started playing guitar and bringing home guitar mags, I started to pick up the fact that Eddie was totally full of himself. Years of interviews full of his egotistical statements, claiming that everyone was copying his style. I always got annoyed by that, especially after reading him say that he didn't listen much to other players. I can't stand musicians that are always trying to act like they are God's gift to our ears - Little Richard is another good example...It's really too bad to see such an incredible talent whose personality and lifestyle keep him from being able to perform and make great music like he once did - I gave up on Van Halen long ago in the days with Sammy, just after ou812 came out - they started to sound less like great hard rock and more like corny beer commercials, and those lame ass keyboards were just the whizz washing down the shit...
I saw a recent video of Eddie playing thru a half stack in front of a small crowd, and he was mumbling and nervously kept returning to the amp to tweak it, and he came across as a demented amateur. His playing was pretty sketchy, too - he was doing all his old tricks, sloppily, and kept stopping and starting each little thing he played.
I think Eddie could have been a beloved guitar hero, and instead, his fame and talent went to his head and he became an addicted recluse whos ego and control issues made him noone wants to be around. It's just sad.