Van Halen Appreciation thread

[BigDHornfan 6545]

I know many will disagree and consider it blasphemy, but they were a much better band with Sammy. As good as the old DLR VH is, 5150 is their best album IMO.

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[The University 851]

hell no. as good as hagar was on 5150, he wasn't even in the same universe as david lee roth in his prime.

[deadshank 24652]

Nope.  Just nope.

 

[UTCzech III 2907]

You like the Johnny Depp Willy Wonka movie, don't you?

[ohchaucer 1443]

Quote

they were a much better different band with Sammy

FIFY.  This is where people get into all kinds of qualitative debates and my belief is that it isn't whether VH were better with one or the other, it's that VH to most people equals VH with DLR.  VH with Sammy was just a new and entirely different thing.  MY Van Halen was epitomized by Diver Down and 1984.  But I also like/appreciate a lot of the Sammy stuff and, in particular, 5150 was the best of that era because it was closest to 1984.  The general vibe of "Dreams" "Love Walks In" and "Why Can't This Be Love" was way more pop/sentimental, but a lot of the soundscape of it was just like "Jump."

Pointless to compare, IMO.

[ohchaucer 1443]

Also, DLR in his prime was a wacked out rock God who then just became wacked out.  Sammy was, is and always will be douchey (hair band Jimmy Buffett) but hey, man, that's cool, man.

[Chad Fuck 17657]

1984 was the peak.  What came after was good and popular.  But 1984 is da bestest VH evah.

 

 

 

 

 

[jimmyjazz 45877]

If you were 14 years old when their debut album was released, it's probably your favorite.  (Ahem.)

[BoomMF 1398]

Hagar Van Halen never had the swagger as Roth Van Halen.  With Hagar they were a good rock band. With Roth they were dangerous.

And musically, for entertainment AND import, nothing in the catalog compares to I, II, and 1984.  Nothing.

Edited April 5, 2018 by BoomMF

[TexasBeta 1261]

I don't think Fair Warning gets enough credit. That is a great album. I also love Women and Children First. I don't listen to anything post Diver Down. 

PS: Get off my lawn!

Edited April 5, 2018 by TexasBeta

[jimmyjazz 45877]

Here's the set list from the show I saw at The Checkerdome (St. Louis) on April 28, 1979:

• Light Up The Sky
• Somebody Get Me A Doctor
• Drum solo
• Runnin' With The Devil
• Dance The Night Away
• Beautiful Girls
• On Fire
• Bass solo
• You're No Good
• Jamie's Cryin'
• Feel Your Love Tonight
• Outta' Love Again
• Ice Cream Man
• Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
• Eruption + Spanish Fly
• You Really Got Me
• Bottoms Up!

Edited April 5, 2018 by jimmyjazz

[Underdog 28543]

Wife was a fan when he were dating, saw them at FEC early 80s, I didn't care too much for them but it was a good show from what I remember.  RWTD remains my favorite of theirs, crank it up every time I hear it. 

[irockalltherocks 55]

I like the Hagar VH catalog, but nothing touches their early work. For me, the first two albums were their best.

[mr. sunshine 2824]

59 minutes ago, TexasBeta said:

I don't think Fair Warning gets enough credit. That is a great album. I also love Women and Children First. I don't listen to anything post Diver Down. 

PS: Get off my lawn!

Throw in the first two albums, these two and that just about does it for me, VH-wise.  Top ten guitarist, underrated drummer and Michael Anthony could actually sing harmony, which Dave needed very, very badly

[BoomMF 1398]

If you haven't already and you're a fan of the band, check out the book Runnin' With The Devil: A Backstage Pass to the Wild Times, Loud Rock, and the Down and Dirty Truth Behind the Making of Van Halen by then manager Noel Monk.  Highly recommended.

Edited April 5, 2018 by BoomMF

[Duckman 82]

As other have said I really think of them as two different bands.    

 

Early VH was raw and powerful but towards the end they were going more pop.   

The Hagar years were fun, not groundbreaking in any way, but fun.

[TexasBeta 1261]

Here's the set list from the show I saw at The Checkerdome (St. Louis) on April 28, 1979:

• Light Up The Sky
• Somebody Get Me A Doctor
• Drum solo
• Runnin' With The Devil
• Dance The Night Away
• Beautiful Girls
• On Fire
• Bass solo
• You're No Good
• Jamie's Cryin'
• Feel Your Love Tonight
• Outta' Love Again
• Ice Cream Man
• Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
• Eruption + Spanish Fly
• You Really Got Me
• Bottoms Up!

 

 

The one song I’ve never seen live with Roth and one of my favorites.

 

 

 

 

 

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[DoobieWah 1431]

I never saw them until '08 during the one of the DLR reunion tours. It was OK, but I knew it couldn't hold a candle to the old days.

[Hunchback 51]

No love for Gary Cherone? Or Eddie's vocals on "How Many Say I" from VHIII?
(ducks)

Seriously, I think I personally prefer the Sammy-era but I have nothing negative to say about the DLR-era. They were definitely a force and Eddie an other-worldly talent but their slicker/poppier/more produced stuff just resonates better with me.

[BigDHornfan 6545]

This was badass of them to do as a payback for Sammy having to cancel their gig at a Texxas Jam.

Senior year in HS.    It was insane in the West End.  Don't think DPD ever allowed anything that big down there again except the Super Bowl Parade in 93.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6U7OOFvRmc

[HenryJames 66031]

 I'm a rocker through and through. Here's a list of my favorite bands: AC/DC, Van Halen not Van Hagar, Skynyrd, Def Leppard...

[Wild Bill 324]

haha.....nope.  For my money this was the best.

[Deej 76748]

The only correct answer is DLR-era Van Halen.

Sammy Hagar is the Guy Fieri of rock and roll. 

[NWBuck 8551]

1 hour ago, Deej said:

The only correct answer is DLR-era Van Halen.

Sammy Hagar is the Guy Fieri of rock and roll. 

Apt description is apt:

[T’Boo Ted Marshall 2730]

I can appreciate the Red Rocker and what he brought to the group. I like many of those jams but DLR was it.

 

[TexArcher 37761]

Agree with others that they're two different bands.  I like both.  But early VH is the winner, and it's not just the vocalists: all of Eddie's best guitar work is in the early VH stuff, too.

Edited April 8, 2018 by TexArcher

[WhatTheBuck 28771]

Van Hagar sucked. Van Halen's first album was their best. 

[jimmyjazz 45877]

If you're in your early 50s or older you surely recall the palpable "what the fuck is this?" nationwide reaction to their debut album.  It completely knocked the cobwebs off what was becoming a pretty formulaic approach to rock, with all kinds of increasingly precise, bombastic bands ruling FM radio (Boston, Styx, Kansas, Journey, Fleetwood Mac, REO Speedwagon, Steely Dan, The Eagles, Toto, Foreigner, etc.).  

[tbone_ 14105]

I love a good Dave Vs Sammy Van Halen debate...

The original Van Halen lineup straight up changed the rock and will world forever. Just fantastic stuff. And better than the Sammy stuff in all accounts.

However, as I've stated many times before, I think the Sammy VH stuff just doesn't get near the credit it deserves. That was a great band and they wrote some damn great songs. And frankly I think Eddie deserves a ton of credit for realizing it was over with Dave and having the courage to blow it up and go the direction they did.

Also I've never understood the Sammy hate. Dave definitely had more of the dangerous rock and roll swagger in the early years than Sammy. But Dave is the douchebag, not Sammy.

[tbone_ 14105]

Admittedly I've always been a Sammy fan. Whoever mentioned 14 years old before is on to something - I was 14 and standing about 15 feet from Sammy doing his thing with Gary Phil and Electric Bill Church at the Texas Jam in 83 when it all clicked. Sammy, Ted Nugent, and Ric Emmet came out and did some Zeppelin covers to close his show right before Styx came out and killed the crowd with fucking Mr Roboto. That's the day it all really started for me.

 

[Deej 76748]

Any 70 year old still wearing the bleached out hair and puka shell necklaces is probably a douchebag.

[jimmyjazz 45877]

I've seen Sammy a couple of times, along with many interviews.  He is definitely the archetypal Wooderson 70's man-child.  That said, he has a phenomenal nose for business, he's a very talented guitar player and singer, and he seems to be an incredibly nice guy.  I have no problem with him.

To be honest, VH was never going back, even with DLR, once 1984 came out.  It was just such a monumental shift in their sound.  I can't blame Sammy for helping them expound on that theme.  I just don't like it very much.

[tbone_ 14105]

Any 70 year old still wearing the bleached out hair and puka shell necklaces is probably a douchebag.

Whatever. I see a 70year old that's doing life pretty right.

[HenryJames 66031]

Sammy lives a pretty fucking charmed life.

[Nole-4-Life 801]

Sammy was the better singer and musician but Roth in the early days was a showman without peer.

 

 

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[Hunchback 51]

Whatever. I see a 70year old that's doing life pretty right.

I wouldn't mind owning a tequila brand and a bar in Cabo and having all my rock star friends come jam with me every year for my birthday.

[Deej 76748]

I wouldn't mind owning a tequila brand and a bar in Cabo and having all my rock star friends come jam with me every year for my birthday.

I agree, but age gracefully. I think this guy did a nice job after abandoning the bad dye jobs of the late 80's and 90's.

[TexasBeta 1261]

I get the Sammy stuff but like it’s been said, Roth is one of the premier front men in rock history.

 

Plant

Jagger

Mercury

Scott

Roth

 

?

 

 

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[honolulu horn 6158]

7 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

I've seen Sammy a couple of times, along with many interviews.  He is definitely the archetypal Wooderson 70's man-child.  That said, he has a phenomenal nose for business, he's a very talented guitar player and singer, and he seems to be an incredibly nice guy.  I have no problem with him.

To be honest, VH was never going back, even with DLR, once 1984 came out.  It was just such a monumental shift in their sound.  I can't blame Sammy for helping them expound on that theme.  I just don't like it very much.

Exactly how I feel.

[honolulu horn 6158]

I met Hagar-era Van Halen at the FEC when I worked as a security guy for their dressing room around 1991. They were cool as hell. I thought it would be a wild scene but they were totally tame, professional, but fun and cool. Eddie came out and warmed up for the show in a folding chair across from me -- talk about a holy shit moment. I told him he was my hero and he just smiled and said, "Yeah, I get that a lot." He signed stuff and was just generally very cool.

End humblebrag.

[Hunchback 51]

Roth is one of the premier front men in rock history.
 
Plant
Jagger
Mercury
Scott
Roth
 
?

No arguments with your list and maybe these are more "metal" than rock but I'd throw in Bruce Dickinson and Rob Halford to help fill out a top 10 list.

[BoomMF 1398]

Mercury is the A1 standard for rock front men imo. In the group that despite technical deficiencies should be considered for inclusion in an all-time super group is Roth. Morrison is in that same subset.

[tbone_ 14105]

Idk man. I think mick jagger and Robert plant may have something to say about the A1 standard.

[0xdeadbeef 1645]

Let's all keep in mind that by 1985, this was DLR:

 

I love me some VH, and the early stuff was awesome, but nobody wanted an album of that DLR.

 

 

 

[BoomMF 1398]

2 hours ago, tbone_ said:

Idk man. I think mick jagger and Robert plant may have something to say about the A1 standard.

That's their right.  Freddie can sing circles around both those dudes, especially Jagger, and brings equal levels of on-stage panache.  Yeah, Plant in his prime is the only other dude that I think can challenge for A1. Dude was force of nature and had arguably a more marketable look.

But Mercury checks ALL the boxes.  And he doesn't just check some of those boxes, he's the king of some of those boxes.

[NWBuck 8551]

1 hour ago, BoomMF said:

But Mercury checks ALL the boxes.  And he doesn't just check some of those boxes, he's the queen  of some of those boxes.

Fixed for accuracy on several dimensions 

[Hunchback 51]

Let's all keep in mind that by 1985, this was DLR:
 
I love me some VH, and the early stuff was awesome, but nobody wanted an album of that DLR.
 
 
 

Maybe I didn't want to hear that album but that video played a not-insignificant role in my early adolescence.

[Cheeseweasel 26438]

On 4/5/2018 at 2:31 PM, jimmyjazz said:

If you were 14 years old when their debut album was released, it's probably your favorite.  (Ahem.)

I was 12. But yeah, it's still in my top 5. Honestly, I remember the exact place I was when I heard this album for the first time. People forget that in 1978 we were smack dab in the middle of "disco fever". Thank God for VH1

[jimmyjazz 45877]

12 minutes ago, Cheeseweasel said:

I was 12. But yeah, it's still in my top 5. Honestly, I remember the exact place I was when I heard this album for the first time.

I do too.  Myself and a few friends were already getting into audio, mostly mid-fi stuff like Pioneer silver series, etc.  My buddy Stu's dad taught acoustics and they built a set of homemade speakers, and Stu invited us all over to hear this new album he had just bought.  He put it on the turntable, cranked his receiver, and when that choir of car horns came on and descended into the bass guitar, those homemade speakers made it through one note before crapping the woofers out on the second.  

[Moby Ric 2058]

VH will always be one of the greatest bands ever.  Changed music, and for the record Fair Warning is the best VH album..  DLR era was incredible, but DLR had to go.  Hagar took VH to another level.  I saw VH on one of their last tours with DLR. Eddie was spot on, but Roth really is not good live.  He spent 20 minutes talking about his fucking sheep dogs.  Saw Sammy Hagar with his band the Circle recently.  He is 70 and can still bring it live.