Van Halen at their absolute best

rossyamaha

I'm sure someone will disagree but this was VH (the whole band) at the top of their game. Right then, right there. 

octatonic

I agree- I always preferred the Van Hagar period.

Fortheloveofguitar

octatonic;1106484" said:

I agree- I always preferred the Van Hagar period.

Sammy was the man and was the best period.

I actually prefer DLR solo material when he was writing with Vai than his time with VH

Sambostar

Never heard such a better tune to clear the humid air, about frustrated relationships and staring through steamed up windows in carpark laybys eh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnS4jX9samo

TheMarlin

I typed Van Halen into google earlier, and saw a list of past/present member via Wikipedia.

Wiki insists that Garry Glitter was briefly in Van Halen!?!  That can't be right, can it?  Or, is it someone taking the mickey.

Marlin

thomasross20

VH rock!!

exocet

TheMarlin;1106872" said:

I typed Van Halen into google earlier, and saw a list of past/present member via Wikipedia.

Wiki insists that Garry Glitter was briefly in Van Halen!?!  That can't be right, can it?  Or, is it someone taking the mickey.





Marlin

Wikipedia is easily edited and often takes a while before malicious edits are corrected.

Prior to my old Rugby club 2009 tour to Delft in Holland commenced, an email discussion about Robert Van Der Graff broke out...God knows how. This was produced in evidence....


https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robert_J._Van_de_Graaff&oldid=270539182

mudslide73

I like Van Hagar but it's nowhere near DLR era for me.

5150 and Carnal Knowledge are good but they're not Fair Warning or Women and Children First imo. No contest at all.

littlegreenman

The first few VH albums, then the DLR with Steve Vai. The rest is as much mush as most rock for me.

rossyamaha

Don't get me wrong. I love DLR. Eat Em And Smile and Skyscraper are 2 of my all time favourite albums ever. 

Fortheloveofguitar

rossyamaha;1106939" said:

Don't get me wrong. I love DLR. Eat Em And Smile and Skyscraper are 2 of my all time favourite albums ever. 

+1

Those two albums are awesome.

littlegreenman

rossyamaha said:

Don't get me wrong. I love DLR. Eat Em And Smile and Skyscraper are 2 of my all time favourite albums ever. 

The only 2 albums I still have on vinyl!...

Fortheloveofguitar

littlegreenman;1106947" said:

rossyamaha said:

Don't get me wrong. I love DLR. Eat Em And Smile and Skyscraper are 2 of my all time favourite albums ever. 





The only 2 albums I still have on vinyl!...

Think I've even got the Spanish version of Eat em and smile too

peteri

Studio albums - you can't knock VH1 or 1984, just amazing and changed so many ideas. 5150 was a great album. Live - Van Hagar by a mile, DLR has never seemed to be able to keep his ego in check enough to actually sing. Sammy was the real deal and their live video showed how good as a band they were then (and all that Michael Anthony did) Now they're just a car crash in slow motion to me. DLR isn't even pretending to sing anymore it's just embarrassing and Eddie seems to have lost the sheer joy of it. Just a series of (very good) tricks bolted together. Did enjoy the clip where Dave split his nose and they tried to keep playing and DLRs autobiography is a great summer holiday read

viz

Fortheloveofguitar said:

littlegreenman;1106947" said:

rossyamaha said:

Don't get me wrong. I love DLR. Eat Em And Smile and Skyscraper are 2 of my all time favourite albums ever. 





The only 2 albums I still have on vinyl!...

Think I've even got the Spanish version of Eat em and smile too

"Como? Bueno déjame no mas subir la acera para echarle yo un ojo. Huy que bella. Me refiero a la Yankee Rose!"

Eat em and Smile is one of my favourites too. But that f.u.c.k. era was not bad - runaround is superb on that live DVD. 00:55:00

axisus

Van Halen for me:

first two albums were amazing in the context of the time. Rarely play them now though.

Others with Roth: never got massively into. Diver Down was very thin on content.

Hagar era: loved all that stuff. Kick ass songs. 

Cherone: Very underrated album, amazingly it's probably my favourite now!

Last one with Roth: great album

axisus

Interesting comments on Eat em and smile and Skyscraper.

For me EEAS was utter brilliance (if a little short). A perfect album, and the best ever pairing of guitarist and bass. The interplay was stunning.

Skyscraper was a big disappointment for me. Production not as good and the magic was lost between Vai and Sheehan. I can't even remember if Sheehan played on it now or if Bisonnette had come in at that point? Either way, the bass was low in the mix and uninspired. That album should have been epic but somehow Roth killed it.

fretmeister

Sheehan quit because DLR told him to 'only play traditional rock bass.

thomasross20

I loved the Roth solo albums. 

DLR VH was best for me. 

Van Hagar was really polished and still awesome. 

FelineGuitars

For me I prefer Roth era VH ...first 2 albums and 1984 in particular (some good tracks on he other 3 too but not as consistent)

I really liked Sammy as a solo artist but felt a lot of his VH stuff didn't grab me as much in the main part (your mileage may differ), although I really liked the Balance album . I think Eddie's guitar was often lost in a sea of chorus  or whatever effect  and it wasn't till balance that it got all gritty and angular again (in my opinion)

However Hagar's book ...RED ....is so worth reading . What a great guy he comes over as in the main part.

Roth solo - Eat Em and Smile was the best (it was effectively classic Van Halen but with a new lineup) - Skyscraper was a big disappointment for me because of the mix and because Vai's guitar was buried under way too many FX for my liking 

Fretwired

@rossyamaha .. that's a great video .. not seen it before .. Eddie's on fire.