Jump to content

Van Halen is finished per DLR

Moby Ric

By Moby Ric
in Music

 Share

Recommended Posts

Hate

Hate 20106

Posted
Posted
DLR was so much more than that, though. He was their mascot, their soul. Their marketer. Their early manager. He constructed the vision for what the band would be. He picked them up when they were down. He was often the only sober one, and sober often. An actual genius trapped in a rockstar dream. Having read a lot of work documenting their early years, it isn't an exaggeration to say that without DLR, none of us would've ever heard of Eddie Van Halen. There would've been rumors of this Dutch kid in Pasadena who could light the guitar on fire without it ever being burned, maybe an influence on some other band a decade after. But without DLR... there's no Van Halen. Not because of what he did on the stage, but what he did off of it.

We never saw the most brilliant things he did. We saw the results.

 

 

I can’t and won’t argue with any of that. I never implied that DLR wasn’t crucial to the success of VH. As someone who grew up in the 70’s and 80’s, I was a huge VH fan and DLR was a big part of that. I never really got into Van Hagar although there were a few good songs from that era. I’ve been a Sammy fan for many many years so I have immense respect for his abilities. To say that DLR was an entertainer and not a musician does not diminish his impact on VH or for that matter Rock & Roll for the last 40+ years, but there is no contest as far as who is the better musician between DLR and Sammy.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
tbone_

tbone_ 14110

Posted
Posted

So here’s a question: if you could have one guys career and whole life, which would you choose?

 

DLR - total rock god for about 8 years, meh solo career, total douche later on in life, R&R HOF

 

or

 

Sammy - nice run with Montrose, decent solo career, take over as singer for phase 2 of biggest rock band in the world, music isn’t as good as Phase 1, but you sell a bunch of records and make a bunch of money, make $100 million selling your tequila, and be a generally cool fucker into your 70s with shitloads of famous rockstars coming to your bar in Cabo to jam every year for your birthday, R&R HOF

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Topper13

Topper13 3258

Posted
Posted
16 hours ago, Hate said:

That's a pretty good summation, but I would put Sammy ahead of Montrose.  Standing Hampton alone should put his solo stuff ahead of Montrose.

The opening riff to Space Station #5 trumps everything Sammy did after Montrose. I'm not shitting on Hagar, he comes across as a straight up good dude, but come the fuck on.

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Topper13

Topper13 3258

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, tbone_ said:

So here’s a question: if you could have one guys career and whole life, which would you choose?

 

DLR - total rock god for about 8 years, meh solo career, total douche later on in life, R&R HOF

 

or

 

Sammy - nice run with Montrose, decent solo career, take over as singer for phase 2 of biggest rock band in the world, music isn’t as good as Phase 1, but you sell a bunch of records and make a bunch of money, make $100 million selling your tequila, and be a generally cool fucker into your 70s with shitloads of famous rockstars coming to your bar in Cabo to jam every year for your birthday, R&R HOF

 

After reading Noel Monks' book, I'm picking Dave. With a Penicillin shot. And a glazed doughnut, to go.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Onboard 2.0

Onboard 2.0 9083

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, tbone_ said:

So here’s a question: if you could have one guys career and whole life, which would you choose?

 

DLR - total rock god for about 8 years, meh solo career, total douche later on in life, R&R HOF

 

or

 

Sammy - nice run with Montrose, decent solo career, take over as singer for phase 2 of biggest rock band in the world, music isn’t as good as Phase 1, but you sell a bunch of records and make a bunch of money, make $100 million selling your tequila, and be a generally cool fucker into your 70s with shitloads of famous rockstars coming to your bar in Cabo to jam every year for your birthday, R&R HOF

 

Nice life for Sammy.  DLR is Van Halen .  Sammy was the guy who came in after DLR left. The iconic VH music came before Sammy .

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Goredho

Goredho 17395

Posted
Posted

Saw them with Bon Jovi opening at the Erwin Center during the 1984 tour.  Music was great, DLR sucked, especially compared to Jon Bon Jovi’a vocals.  Was he off or had his performance ability just degraded by that time?  I dunno.  Here is a full VH concert from 1982 where DLR was much better than what iI witnessed.

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
HenryJames

HenryJames 66038

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, Goredho said:

Saw them with Bon Jovi opening at the Erwin Center during the 1984 tour.  Music was great, DLR sucked, especially compared to Jon Bon Jovi’a vocals.  Was he off or had his performance ability just degraded by that time?  I dunno.  Here is a full VH concert from 1982 where DLR was much better than what iI witnessed.

 

Only the mediocre are always at their best.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 months later...
Pimphand

Pimphand 5733

Posted
Posted

DLR is your eccentric pull out the crack pipe let's go off the wall crazy lead singer where Hagar is your more chill get fucked up and have fun lead singer.

I like the DLR albums better overall but Sammy is always a better performer because he stays on point. I imagine the early years when DLR was young enough to handle his crazy better he was more entertaining live.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jimmyjazz

jimmyjazz 45887

Posted
Posted (edited)
21 minutes ago, Pimphand said:

I imagine the early years when DLR was young enough to handle his crazy better he was more entertaining live.

Best front man I ever saw, and that list includes Mick Jagger.  First headlining tour -- Van Halen II -- April 28, 1979 at The Checkerdome in St. Louis.  Absolute, balls to the wall insanity.  Could be the best show I ever saw, and it's certainly in the top 3.

Set list:

Quote

 

 

 

Edited by jimmyjazz
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
honolulu horn

honolulu horn 6158

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, HenryJames said:

Meh. Rock and Roll is a sprint not a marathon.

Exactly. I have no idea why the DLR vs Sammy debate ever gets into life after VH. Who the hell cares what Dave is like now, who did better afterward, etc? The question is which version of the band was better when both were in their heyday.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing


Football ... Basketball ... Baseball ... Other Sports ... Futbol ... 🤫995🤫 ... Gambling ... Movies & TV ... Music ... Hobbies ... Lulz ... Food & Travel ... Daily Texan ... Business and Markets ... Cloak Room ... Help ... For Sale ... Board Discussion ... Subscribe!... Donate!... Advertise... COOKIE MONSTER!

×
×
  • Create New...