This Chinese zither cover of Michael Jackson’s Beat It comes complete with a rework of Eddie Van Halen’s epic guitar solo
You’ll wanna be startin’ guzheng after watching this
Known for her virtuoso covers of songs by the likes of The Eagles, AC/DC and Guns N’ Roses, Moyun has now used her considerable prowess on the guzheng, a Chinese zither, to perform an exemplary version of Michael Jackson’s Beat It.
It’s a pretty stunning reimagination - and yes, the guitar solo, which was originally recorded by Eddie Van Halen, is in here too.
Despite her success - her YouTube videos have racked up millions of views - Muyon has maintained relative anonymity, never showing her face during her performances.
Recalling the time that Eddie Van Halen recorded his parts for Beat It, engineer Bruce Swedien told Future Music in 2009: "The highlight for me was the guitar solo. That guitar solo is incredible - when Eddie [Van Halen] came in to play, he was in Studio B at Westlake and I was in Studio A with Michael and Quincy [Jones], but I went in there when he was tuning and warming up and I left immediately. It was so loud, I would never subject my hearing to that kind of volume level! I didn't record that solo, I hired his engineer - I figured his hearing would probably be a little suspect right now anyway. I then did the mix after it was recorded.”
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I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it.
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