Van Halen appreciation thread

[King Postwhore]

You guys hear about this new book out about VH?  From various reviews I have read, it will make you hate everyone in the band except Michael Anthony.

That doesn't surprise me at all.  What Eddie did on VHIII to the 2004 reunion tour to Michael was deplorable.

[RodrigoAltaf]

You guys hear about this new book out about VH?  From various reviews I have read, it will make you hate everyone in the band except Michael Anthony.

That doesn't surprise me at all.  What Eddie did on VHIII to the 2004 reunion tour to Michael was deplorable.

Indeed. They forced Michael to give away his royalties, or else he wouldn't be allowed to join them on tour in 2004...and then kicked him out anyway for Wolfie to join. That, and erasing Michael's photos from the album covers (then being convinced to put him back in), were horrible moves.

And even being treated like that, does anyone see Michael complaining everyday in the press? Absolutely not... he's a class act indeed!

[cramx3]

You guys hear about this new book out about VH?  From various reviews I have read, it will make you hate everyone in the band except Michael Anthony.

That doesn't surprise me at all.  What Eddie did on VHIII to the 2004 reunion tour to Michael was deplorable.

Indeed. They forced Michael to give away his royalties, or else he wouldn't be allowed to join them on tour in 2004...and then kicked him out anyway for Wolfie to join. That, and erasing Michael's photos from the album covers (then being convinced to put him back in), were horrible moves.

And even being treated like that, does anyone see Michael complaining everyday in the press? Absolutely not... he's a class act indeed!

Nope, in fact he says he wants to do a reunion tour.

[Stadler]

Heh, of course.   Roth and Eddie are already easy to hate, because they are both total dicks.  Now, the Alex stuff could be a revelation since he has always struck me as the guy who did what Eddie wanted, but perhaps he is one of those guy who is a major dick behind the scenes that we never see (while Eddie being a dick is plain as day ).

Call me the oddball, but I'm not sure why Dave is the "total dick".  He's weird, and he's his own man, but if "Roth Van Halen" circa the 2010's is what's found on "A Different Kind of Truth", I'll take that over Van Hagar every day of the week, and twice on Sunday.  And while Mike is way underrated (I saw him in a club with Chickenfoot and he SMOKED) he's the bass player, and not "Chris Squire" or "Geddy Lee".   Perfect world, or nostalgia sake, sure, but give me "Blood And Fire" or "Big River" all day long.     

The knock is Roth blows and blah blah blah, but if you A/B the songs from the demo tapes (from '77, or so) they play those riffs/songs in the same key and at the same tempo, so he can't be doing TOO badly.   

[cramx3]

He really is that bad live.  He doesn't sing for the most part so no reason for the the rest of the band to change key/tempo.  He is an entertainer, I'll give him that. 

[Anguyen92]

He really is that bad live.  He doesn't sing for the most part so no reason for the the rest of the band to change key/tempo.  He is an entertainer, I'll give him that.

And he surprisingly knows a fair amount of Japanese history and culture.  There's a youtube video out there about him talking about the history about the start of Japanese wrestling (puroresu) which took place in the mid 50s, after WWII.

[PowerSlave]

Heh, of course.   Roth and Eddie are already easy to hate, because they are both total dicks.  Now, the Alex stuff could be a revelation since he has always struck me as the guy who did what Eddie wanted, but perhaps he is one of those guy who is a major dick behind the scenes that we never see (while Eddie being a dick is plain as day ).

Call me the oddball, but I'm not sure why Dave is the "total dick".  He's weird, and he's his own man, but if "Roth Van Halen" circa the 2010's is what's found on "A Different Kind of Truth", I'll take that over Van Hagar every day of the week, and twice on Sunday.  And while Mike is way underrated (I saw him in a club with Chickenfoot and he SMOKED) he's the bass player, and not "Chris Squire" or "Geddy Lee".   Perfect world, or nostalgia sake, sure, but give me "Blood And Fire" or "Big River" all day long.     

The knock is Roth blows and blah blah blah, but if you A/B the songs from the demo tapes (from '77, or so) they play those riffs/songs in the same key and at the same tempo, so he can't be doing TOO badly.

The only time that I've seen DLR live was in the mid 90's. He played at a street festival (The Popcorn Festival in Marion, Ohio incase anyone is curious) in my home town. He was so bad that he was good, if that makes any sense. His voice was horrible, and I think that he was fairly well on his way to being drunk for most of the show. But he was definitely an entertainer. I'm not sure that anyone has really expected much more from him.

[RodrigoAltaf]

Dave WAS a total dick in the past, but he seems a lot more tame since he came back to VH. I remember an interview in the 80´s where he said "I try ro think of concept videos for Van Halen, but my drummer has a hard time understanding the concept". I could be wrong, but I think this was on the Late Night Show with David Letterman. However, since coming back he doesn´t say things like that anymore. Most likely, Eddie said "one strike and you´re out". He used to be great promoting the albums, but I didn´t see him do any interviews aside from one for Classic Rock Magazine in 2013.

I think that Roth never gets the recognition he deserves, ESPECIALLY from his own band. He crafted a whole image for the band, changed the wardrobe, the lighting, the stage antics and fireworks. Eddie was quite the intovert on stage before he joined, and played with denim pants and white shirts. Granted, this has nothing to do with the music itself, but VH was never "just" about the music. They created a whole lifestyle and a whole new genre of "party band from California", which would be imitated by many, but reproduced by none. And in the 80´s all guys wanted to be Roth, and all girls wanted to sleep with him. He may not have the best vocals, but his banshee screams were quite cool, and he put a lot of effort into improving.

It´s hard to say what would have happened to "Mammoth" - the band that turned into VH - if Dave hadn´t joined. But if I was to guess, I think Eddie would evolve into a Jeff Beck kind of guy, with appeal only to other musicians and/or a VERY selective audience, not the gobal phenomenon he became.

[SystematicThought]

Dave WAS a total dick in the past, but he seems a lot more tame since he came back to VH. I remember an interview in the 80´s where he said "I try ro think of concept videos for Van Halen, but my drummer has a hard time understanding the concept". I could be wrong, but I think this was on the Late Night Show with David Letterman.

Here ya go. Go to 4:15

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNWFokIw4sY

[King Postwhore]

I remember Dave on Entertainment Tonight saying that Van Halen was a cross of religion in hockey.

[KevShmev]

Okay, so that makes:

-David Lee Roth is the player who talks a good game, but will never fight or has to have others fight for him (Kris Draper).
-Alex Van Halen is the goalie who sits back there minding his own business, but will occasionally hack at opponent's legs with his goal stick.
-Sammy Hagar is the player who skates around the ice all game having a good time and never bothering anybody and then goes out to a bar and gets laid every night.
-Michael Anthony is the fourth line player who is overlooked because he isn't the enforcer, but is the guy who nobody hates, even on the other teams.
-Eddie Van Halen is the chicken shit star who loves to jab at people with his stick when they aren't looking, but never wants to really get physical with anybody, and can get away with it because he is THE star (Sidney Crosby). 

[King Postwhore]

I love you Kev.


Eddie = Crosby. 

[TAC]

-Sammy Hagar is the player who skates around the ice all game having a good time and never bothering anybody and then goes out to a bar and gets laid every night.

Joe Thornton.

[PowerSlave]

-Eddie Van Halen is the chicken shit star who loves to jab at people with his stick when they aren't looking, but never wants to really get physical with anybody, and can get away with it because he is THE star (Sidney Crosby).

Are you sure that you're not from Cleveland? I've never seen this much Pittsburgh hatred outside of someone that's from Northern Ohio.

[King Postwhore]

 

There is no such thing a  Columbus fan. 

[PowerSlave]

There is no such thing a  Columbus fan. 

Oh, trust me. They're all around here. They're an interesting bunch 

[mikeyd23]

-Eddie Van Halen is the chicken shit star who loves to jab at people with his stick when they aren't looking, but never wants to really get physical with anybody, and can get away with it because he is THE star (Sidney Crosby).

Damn it Kev, even in the VH thread?! 

[KevShmev]

-Eddie Van Halen is the chicken shit star who loves to jab at people with his stick when they aren't looking, but never wants to really get physical with anybody, and can get away with it because he is THE star (Sidney Crosby).

Damn it Kev, even in the VH thread?! 

-Eddie Van Halen is the chicken shit star who loves to jab at people with his stick when they aren't looking, but never wants to really get physical with anybody, and can get away with it because he is THE star (Sidney Crosby).

Are you sure that you're not from Cleveland? I've never seen this much Pittsburgh hatred outside of someone that's from Northern Ohio.

Hey now, I rooted for the Penguins in the finals this year.  And in 2009, too!

[mikeyd23]

Hey now, I rooted for the Penguins in the finals this year.  And in 2009, too!

[Stadler]

Dave WAS a total dick in the past, but he seems a lot more tame since he came back to VH. I remember an interview in the 80´s where he said "I try ro think of concept videos for Van Halen, but my drummer has a hard time understanding the concept". I could be wrong, but I think this was on the Late Night Show with David Letterman.

Here ya go. Go to 4:15

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNWFokIw4sY

I think that's too literal an interpretation.   Knowing that Dave never answers a question seriously - EVER - if I'm Alex, I'm thinking "Dave being Dave" and laugh all the way to the bank.  That comment doesn't make him a dick.   

F*** this Penguins talk, go WHALE!

[KevShmev]

I don't see that being a dick comment either; that is just Roth being his usual smart ass self in the 80s. 

To slightly amend my statement, dick might not have been the right word to describe Roth.  He is a certainly a pompous ass, which you almost have to be to act the way he always has both off and on stage.  He's not an outright, vindictive dick like EVH, that's for sure.

[SystematicThought]

Balance turns 23 today. Released on January 24th 1995.

I find it to be one of their most underrated albums and one of my favorite Sammy era albums, and I love the Japanese exclusive Crossing Over. It's a dark and mature album and Eddie has a fantastic tone on this one. I would have loved to see where the band went had they not hated each other during the making of the album and subsequent tour, because this one saw them trending in a different direction (to me at least). Also, there's a lot of songs that were cut from this album that we'll never get to hear, although an instrumental version of a song became Can't Get This Stuff No More off of the Greatest Hits album.

[KevShmev]

I like Balance a lot, but it hasn't aged as well for me as most of the other VH albums.  In its quest to be a little bit of everything, to have, ya know, balance, it ended up lacking personality, for lack of a better term.

And when I first heard the album, I was convinced that Hagar had ruined his voice after touring for seemingly several years straight (on FUCK and then the live record).  He still sounds a bit hoarse way too much on this record.

That said, I do like The Seventh Seal, Feelin' and Take Me Back all a lot.

[cramx3]

There's a lot of good stuff on the album, but it doesn't rate too high compared to the rest of the catalog, but that's just due to strength of Van Halen's music and not a shot at this album.

My favorites are Aftershock, Amsterdam, Cant Stop Loving You, Not Enough, Seventh Seal

[Stadler]

There's a lot of good stuff on the album, but it doesn't rate too high compared to the rest of the catalog, but that's just due to strength of Van Halen's music and not a shot at this album.

My favorites are Aftershock, Amsterdam, Cant Stop Loving You, Not Enough, Seventh Seal

This.   

[WDADU]

Funnily enough, Balance is my favourte Van Halen record, and probably in my top-ten favourite records of all-time. Not only is every song fantastic, but the production on that record is fucking insane. Alex's kicks are tight, his toms are like rockets, and the snare is nice and poppy. Eddie has a nice, warm tone, especially on stuff like "Feelin'" and "Don't Tell Me What Love Can Do". This record doesn't get enough love, and I, too, would have loved to see where they would have gone after this record had Sammy hadn't split/gotten fired/whatever the hell happened there.

But then again, Hagar-era Van Halen is my favourite Van Halen, so perhaps I'm a little biased. Whose dick gotta get sucked for a proper Hagar-era reunion? Probably Eddie's...

[RodrigoAltaf]

Funnily enough, Blalance is my favourte Van Halen record, and probably in my top-ten favourite records of all-time. Not only is every song fantastic, but the production on that record is fucking insane. Alex's kicks are tight, his toms are like rockets, and the snare is nice and poppy. Eddie has a nice, warm tone, especially on stuff like "Feelin'" and "Don't Tell Me What Love Can Do". This record doesn't get enough love, and I, too, would have loved to see where they would have gone after this record had Sammy hadn't split/gotten fired/whatever the hell happened there.

But then again, Hagar-era Van Halen is my favourite Van Halen, so perhaps I'm a little biased. Whose dick gotta get sucked for a proper Hagar-era reunion? Probably Eddie's...

I love that album too. Funny you mentioned Alex - when I bought this album, I thought "why isn´t anyone pointing out how awesome Alex sounds here?". I´m not an expert, but I think he´s done stuff on this album that you don´t see in any other VH release. Sammy reaches the stratosphere in Don´t Tell Me (What Love Can Do) too. In my opinion, their mistake on this album was to use two ballads as singles, and everyone thinks that´s all there is on the whole album. Oh, and this has one of the most underrated songs in their catalogue, Aftershock.

[Mosh]

The best songs are awesome, some of the best they ever did. Unfortunately, there's also a lot of weak material that ends up dominating the album and places it toward the bottom of their discography along with VHIII.

[Kwyjibo]

I like Balance a lot, but it loses a bit of steam towards the end. Not necessarily because the songs are bad but the track order could be better, imo. My favorites are probably The Seventh Seal, Don't Tell Me (What Love Can Do) and Feelin'. Funny enough I find the often praised Aftershock to be one of the weakest tracks of the Van Hagar records.

[RodrigoAltaf]

Funny how when Balance was released,  Eddie made a point of mentioning he was clean and sober after many years, and cut his hair by himself just to mark that change into sobriety. In his memoir, Sammy said that during the recording of that album, there was a hole in one of the walls at 5150 studios where Eddie kept his cocaine stashed...

[a51502112]

EVH has been my musical hero since 1984 was released. I just read that Satriani has been asking him to join the G3 tours for years, but Ed's not into it. That would be incredible to see.

[cramx3]

EVH has been my musical hero since 1984 was released. I just read that Satriani has been asking him to join the G3 tours for years, but Ed's not into it. That would be incredible to see.

That would blow the tour up, I'd totally see that.  That last Van Halen tour was still one of the most packed concerts I've been to at my local amphitheater.   

[RodrigoAltaf]

EVH has been my musical hero since 1984 was released. I just read that Satriani has been asking him to join the G3 tours for years, but Ed's not into it. That would be incredible to see.

That would blow the tour up, I'd totally see that.  That last Van Halen tour was still one of the most packed concerts I've been to at my local amphitheater.

Yeah, that would be amazing indeed. But Ed´s work ethic is crazy. He took months to record only three songs for their "Best Of" when Sammy returned in 2004. I think that he´s made a fortune selling the 5150 amp and his guitars, and now is just not interested in going on the road anymore.

[RodrigoAltaf]

Hey, it's Eddie's birthday today!!!

[KevShmev]

But then again, Hagar-era Van Halen is my favourite Van Halen, so perhaps I'm a little biased. Whose dick gotta get sucked for a proper Hagar-era reunion? Probably Eddie's...

Eh, I don't think that would be worth a damn anymore. The brothers clearly dislike Michael Anthony for God's know what reason, and Hagar would only do the reunion if he was a part of it, so you'd basically have them doing it for money with no real camaraderie.  Those kind of reunions are rarely worth a damn.