Much like his brother Eddie, he sounds good on recordings, but those do not hold a candle to what he can do live. I saw them live this past Saturday, and Alex did a 10 minute long improv solo. It was one of the most amazing, astounding, complex, creative, beautiful (enough adjectives?) things that I have ever heard. It was too good to describe. The rhythms were so complex that you couldn't even process them. It was almost to good to be true. Now, you may discredit me because I am a 13 year old kid, but (not to brag), but I know more about classic rock than any kid my age. In conclusion, Alex Van Halen is NOT OVERRATED! If anything, he is far UNDERRATED. Do yourself a favor, and see them play live before criticizing, because (as good as they are), the recordings do not say anything about the musical genius of the Van Halen brothers