Hagar and bass player seek a fan to phone them

[Seshmeister]

http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.antimusic.com/news/13/September/06Sammy_Hagar_and_Michael_Anthony_To_Answer_Fans_I n_Radio_Special.shtml&ct=ga&cd=NTUzOTMxOTAzNTgwMjUzMzgy&cad=CAEYAA&usg=AFQjCNER4GxQ9EO1u0wV3-eU6s_JY6V9iw

Sammy Hagar has announced that he is recording a radio special this Monday to launch his new album, "Sammy Hagar And Friends", and he and his Van Halen and Chickenfoot bandmate Michael Anthony have invited fans to submit questions for the program.

The Red Rocker's website provided these details about how fans can submit questions "Fans can emailing questions NOW to sammyandmikeyquestions@gmail.com and, if yours is chosen, the producers will notify you via email. Please include your phone number, preferably a landline, so Sammy can call and put you on the air, sometime between 4 and 7 p.m. ET on Monday September 9. The show will start airing the weekend of September 21st."

Due September 24, "Sammy Hagar And Friends" marks the Red Rocker's first solo release in five years and sees him team up with a variety of artists, including Kid Rock, Nancy Wilson (Heart), Ronnie Dunn (Brooks & Dunn), Neal Schon (Journey, HSAS), Chickenfoot pals Chad Smith, Michael Anthony and Joe Satriani; Montrose bandmates Bill Church and Denny Carmassi, his solo band The Wabos and more.

More at the link above...



Someone should troll this... :)

[baru911]

Can somebody ask him why he's gained so much weight sense he left Van Halen? Is it depression or something else? It must be hard for him to fit into the Ronald McDonald outfits he used to wear from yesteryear.

[Nickdfresh]

Dear Sam, do you believe in our Second Amendment rights like Ted Nugent does and do you own a gun? And if so, can you please insert it in your mouth without eating it?

[Nickdfresh]

...

Someone should troll this... :)

It's prerecorded, which means he'll edit out the fans who ask him how it "felt to ruin Van Halen?".

[Igosplut]

If all his fans ask questions, It'll be easy. He'll only have to answer three....

[vandeleur]

I have a question , did he enjoy being in a van halen cover band .
Would he consider being in any other cover bands

[FORD]

Can somebody ask him why he's gained so much weight sense he left Van Halen? Is it depression or something else? It must be hard for him to fit into the Ronald McDonald outfits he used to wear from yesteryear.

Probably the fact that he's a man in his late 60s living on tequila and Mexican food might have a lot to do with it. :guzzle:

[sadaist]

Honest question.


Let's pretend I'm regular Joe fan of Sammy Hagar. What is the draw for me to buy this album? "...and friends?" Like it's something new & exciting? These are the same exact people he has been playing live & recording with for over a decade. I just don't see the draw here, even for a Hagar fan.

Just come out with a plain Sammy Hagar album with some rock tunes on it like he used to do. No Wabos, so tres amigos or whatever, no turkey gizzard, no Montrose, just regular Sammy Hagar playing rock music. No tequila, no Jimmy Buffet, no country music, no Van halen stuff, no Cabo. Regular old Sammy Hagar.

At least I could respect that.

[sadaist]

It's prerecorded, which means he'll edit out the fans who ask him how it "felt to ruin Van Halen?".



Apparently it felt like $80 million dollars....

[Seshmeister]

I would like to ask him how long they spent writing the Chickenfoot albums.

Maybe I'm completely wrong and they did sell well enough but it sounds like it was about an afternoon per album...

[Hardrock69]

It's prerecorded, which means he'll edit out the fans who ask him how it "felt to ruin Van Halen?".

What is stopping you? I mean, go ahead and call! And if you are only allowed to leave a message....so what? Why not call them like, 30 times a day for a few days and leave the message "Hey Sammy, how's it feel knowing you ruined Van Halen???" :lol:

[Hardrock69]

sadaist hit the nail on the head. :hee:

[Hardrock69]

By the way....so the sad bastard has to dream up some pathetic reason for fans to get interested in his rekkurd? Oooo! I might get a call from Spambot The Unimaginable!!!!:devildance:

Only the truly great artists can do a "duets" record and make it great....even when phoning it in....like Sinatra....Spambot can't sell the record on his own. This is campaign to save his record.

"Ooo lets have a bunch of people on it who are even more famous than I am....or at least as famous....or not as famous....whatever....so I can make it an all-star record and actually make the suck all better....." :baby:

"Then I can call the fan of my choosing and they can tell me how great I am when I know that in reality I suck.....then I can thank them for buying my record, and listen to them blather on and then say Yeah yeah bye.....*click* zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.............."

[Hardrock69]

:lmao:

[Halen High]

I would like to ask him how long they spent writing the Chickenfoot albums.

Maybe I'm completely wrong and they did sell well enough but it sounds like it was about an afternoon per album...

I don't know the latest figures, but I remember Chickenfoot III had US sales of 84,000 when it entered its final week on Billboards top 200 album chart. For a 'supergroup' with a lot of promotional effort behind it, I think that's a pretty ordinary commercial outcome. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of Satriani fans dropped off after hearing the first album.

I believe their first album sold 'well' (500,000?) but was heavily discounted - almost given away not that long after its release - and since then hard rock album sales have fallen drastically.

[Halen High]

In a September 6 interview with CBS, Sammy admitted that a lot of the music he made with Van Halen is not worth playing again.

Referring to his work with Van Halen, Sammy said, "I will play 'Right Now' and 'Finish What Ya Started,' 'Why Can't This Be Love,' 'Dreams' for the rest of my life...There are a lot of songs that I won't," he said. "But those songs will be played for the rest of my life because they were great, great, great."

There are a lot of Van Hagar songs that he won't revisit? Wow...what an admission.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-207_162-57601367/sammy-hagar-on-new-album-and-his-days-with-van-halen/

[sonrisa salvaje]

Sammy and Kid Crock are the ultimate leeches so not surprising to see them sucking each other off on this record.

[Hardrock69]

Wish he would not revisit any of them. Period.

[DLR Bridge]

In a September 6 interview with CBS, Sammy admitted that a lot of the music he made with Van Halen is not worth playing again.

Referring to his work with Van Halen, Sammy said, "I will play 'Right Now' and 'Finish What Ya Started,' 'Why Can't This Be Love,' 'Dreams' for the rest of my life...There are a lot of songs that I won't," he said. "But those songs will be played for the rest of my life because they were great, great, great."

There are a lot of Van Hagar songs that he won't revisit? Wow...what an admission.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-207_162-57601367/sammy-hagar-on-new-album-and-his-days-with-van-halen/

Surprisingly, in his book, he did seem genuinely embarrassed about some of the lyrics he offered up in those days. I would bet that this recent admission is a way of distancing him from some of his shittiest work ever without putting the full blame, or any blame for that matter, on himself. The man is top notch at not claiming responsibility for anything that went bad in Van Hagar, which was pretty much everything.

[DLR Bridge]

There are a lot of Van Hagar songs that he won't revisit? Wow...what an admission.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-207_162-57601367/sammy-hagar-on-new-album-and-his-days-with-van-halen/

The last paragraph says it all. The "trick" he learned when he left Van Hagar was to make money while being on vacation. And of coarse, his life is a vacation. The guy finally admits to completely ripping off Buffet. Great guy.

[Zing!]

"Mr. Haggar, I really liked you on that one Montrose album. My question is, how did it feel to perform 'Jump' for ten years, and why, during the course of 1986-1996, could you never convince Edward Van Halen to drop it from the setlist? You could have done us all a tremendous favor. Thanks for calling and good luck with your novelty album!"

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Invisible Man®©™ knows I'll bash Bette at every conceivable opportunity, but I give him credit for at least doing this....

Ever seen DLR or the VH boys do a moderated Q & A with the fans ??


Didn't think so.....

[Terry]

On some level, it probably does irk Hagar that he'll always be considered by many as an average talent and not even close to being the definitive singer for Van Halen. I'd be willing to bet, though, that the boatloads of money he has made is an ample consolation. To read Hagar's book, you'd think the guy really does believe that what he and Eddie Van Halen did was on the same level as Jagger/Richards, Page/Plant and Lennon/McCartney, when the reality was that it wasn't even as good as it was with the previous lead singer.

[vandeleur]

Yeah, I always think hagar as a singer reminds me of the old john Lennon joke when someone asks is ringo the best drummer in the world and Lennon replies he isn't even the best drummer in the Beatles .

[Va Beach VH Fan]

On some level, it probably does irk Hagar that he'll always be considered by many as an average talent and not even close to being the definitive singer for Van Halen. I'd be willing to bet, though, that the boatloads of money he has made is an ample consolation. To read Hagar's book, you'd think the guy really does believe that what he and Eddie Van Halen did was on the same level as Jagger/Richards, Page/Plant and Lennon/McCartney, when the reality was that it wasn't even as good as it was with the previous lead singer.


It also doesn't help when you have tools like Eddie Trunk dish out blatant lies like "they were more successful with Sammy"...

Of course, I shot his ass down on Twitter for that, but he's said it dozens of times for his buddy.....

[Kristy]

Hope your Trailer Park '13 Tour works out for you, fatso.

[Halen High]

The last paragraph says it all. The "trick" he learned when he left Van Hagar was to make money while being on vacation. And of coarse, his life is a vacation. The guy finally admits to completely ripping off Buffet. Great guy.

Reading this interview, it's hard to believe this guy once fronted one of the most street-cred bands in rock n' roll history.

[Halen High]

It also doesn't help when you have tools like Eddie Trunk dish out blatant lies like "they were more successful with Sammy"...

Of course, I shot his ass down on Twitter for that, but he's said it dozens of times for his buddy.....

A lot of people look at Van Hagar's 'four number one albums' status and fail to see the bigger picture behind that statistic...starting with ordinary overall sales despite a highly commercial approach. Those sales were even more disappointing as 'Van Halen' had been established as the biggest name in hard rock by 1985, and Van Hagar was around during the genre's most popular era. Finally, and worst of all, with Sammy they ceased to be an influence, particularly from OU812 onwards. They very quickly lost their cred with their peers who preferred to only talk about 'the Roth era' or 'Old School VH'....

Of course, Eddie Trunk doesn't mention any of this...

More successful? What a joke.

[Halen High]

Surprisingly, in his book, he did seem genuinely embarrassed about some of the lyrics he offered up in those days. I would bet that this recent admission is a way of distancing him from some of his shittiest work ever without putting the full blame, or any blame for that matter, on himself. The man is top notch at not claiming responsibility for anything that went bad in Van Hagar, which was pretty much everything.

I haven't read his book, other than the excerpts provided by fans at the VHND. There was one comprehensive list exposing all the lies, compiled by a guy who actually likes Sammy! Yeah I'm surprised he's faced up to his lyrical short-comings. But Eddie and Alex hired him and let him get away with it for years...

[DLR Bridge]

I remember that list. The guy's name was Adam, right? He completely tore S.H. a new one. I was shocked to here he was a fan, too.

[Halen High]

Yeah that's right. I used to annoy him for refusing to be a 'love all eras' fan. But it was honest of him to do that list. I still have it for background research purposes lol.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

A lot of people look at Van Hagar's 'four number one albums' status and fail to see the bigger picture behind that statistic...starting with ordinary overall sales despite a highly commercial approach. Those sales were even more disappointing as 'Van Halen' had been established as the biggest name in hard rock by 1985, and Van Hagar was around during the genre's most popular era. Finally, and worst of all, with Sammy they ceased to be an influence, particularly from OU812 onwards. They very quickly lost their cred with their peers who preferred to only talk about 'the Roth era' or 'Old School VH'....

Of course, Eddie Trunk doesn't mention any of this...

More successful? What a joke.


AND, let's not forget what prevented 1984 from reaching #1 that year....

Fucking Thriller !!!

Just the best selling album in history !!!

[envy_me]

A lot of people look at Van Hagar's 'four number one albums' status and fail to see the bigger picture behind that statistic...starting with ordinary overall sales despite a highly commercial approach. Those sales were even more disappointing as 'Van Halen' had been established as the biggest name in hard rock by 1985, and Van Hagar was around during the genre's most popular era. Finally, and worst of all, with Sammy they ceased to be an influence, particularly from OU812 onwards. They very quickly lost their cred with their peers who preferred to only talk about 'the Roth era' or 'Old School VH'....

Of course, Eddie Trunk doesn't mention any of this...

More successful? What a joke.


EXACTLY!!!
With Dave they were extraordinary. They were up there with Queen. With Hagar they were just average. Down there with Bon Jovi and other shitty average bands.

Imagine what legendary status they would have had if they went through 80s with Dave as the frontman.

[DLR Bridge]

EXACTLY!!!
With Dave they were extraordinary. They were up there with Queen. With Hagar they were just average. Down there with Bon Jovi and other shitty average bands.

Imagine what legendary status they would have had if they went through 80s with Dave as the frontman.

Well put.

And the imagining of all of the 'woulda coulda shouldas' of classic Van Halen is all part of our sickness. Enjoy!

[Kristy]

AND, let's not forget what prevented 1984 from reaching #1 that year....

Fucking Thriller !!!

Just the best selling album in history !!!

Thriller was and always will be a much better album than 1984. Halen's 1984 was over fluffed Templeton junk. Don't even attempt to compare the two.

[Fairwrning]

Thriller was and always will be a much better album than 1984. Halen's 1984 was over fluffed Templeton junk. Don't even attempt to compare the two.

I can honestly say I have never compared the two.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Thriller was and always will be a much better album than 1984. Halen's 1984 was over fluffed Templeton junk. Don't even attempt to compare the two.


No one was comparing the two....

I said that the only reason that 1984 DIDN'T reach #1 on the album charts was that Thriller sold fucking 42 million albums....

[Kristy]

And how much did 1984 sell?

[DLR Bridge]

I can honestly say I have never compared the two.

Like comparing pizza to ice cream. Both great in different ways.

[ThrillsNSpills]

Of course this would have obviously stolen the number one slot from both of them had it been released in '84.



the masterful "Pammie's on a Bummer" by Sonny Bono.
it's got it all, the writing, instrumentation, brilliantly executed vocals.

consider it punishment for something you got away with.

[Halen High]

Thriller was and always will be a much better album than 1984. Halen's 1984 was over fluffed Templeton junk. Don't even attempt to compare the two.


They can't be compared. Two great albums. Two distinct genres, despite some crossover on both.

I would say that for artistic merit, Thriller probably represents Michael Jackson at his peak, while most of us don't see 1984 in the same terms for VH.

But no, 1984 is hardly "junk". It's a brilliantly composed and hugely influential work containing some of Classic Van Halen's finest moments.

[Halen High]

No one was comparing the two....

I said that the only reason that 1984 DIDN'T reach #1 on the album charts was that Thriller sold fucking 42 million albums....

And wasn't ADKOT denied number one by another monstor pop album?

[Seshmeister]

And how much did 1984 sell?

You mean how many?

Over 12 million, twice as many as the top selling Van Hagar album.

[Igosplut]

They can't be compared. Two great albums. Two distinct genres, despite some crossover on both.

I would say that for artistic merit, Thriller probably represents Michael Jackson at his peak, while most of us don't see 1984 in the same terms for VH.

But no, 1984 is hardly "junk". It's a brilliantly composed and hugely influential work containing some of Classic Van Halen's finest moments.

I really dislike 1984 but this is a very good sinopsis of that album....

[Terry]

EXACTLY!!!
With Dave they were extraordinary. They were up there with Queen. With Hagar they were just average. Down there with Bon Jovi and other shitty average bands.

Imagine what legendary status they would have had if they went through 80s with Dave as the frontman.



I dunno. My rationalization is that Classic Van Halen were already slightly past their peak even by the time Diver Down rolled around, much less 1984.
They may have possibly become even more popular had Roth stuck around, and there's no dismissing the massive commercial appeal of 1984, but it's not necessarily my favorite album from the band. Considering where the music was heading on an instrumental level, and where it did go after Roth left, I don't think the Van Halens (and by this I mean basically Eddie) felt like they really wanted to keep reinventing the hard rock wheel with subsequent releases and topping themselves. In terms of that type of frantic/energetic hard rock, Van Halen as a band went as far as they could with Dave. Sammy Hagar was better-suited for Ed's developing commerical approach.
When I listen to 1984, I don't hear everyone in the band working together to the level I did on previous records. It sounds too often like what it actually was: the Van Halens putting what they wanted to do down first, then Roth taking those results in the form of demo tapes and writing lyrics to it afterwards.
The proof is in the pudding of what Van Halen and Roth released immediately after the split. With EEAS, Roth was still prepared to engage in the sonic assault early CVH was known for. With 5150, the Van Halens clearly weren't. Although in fairness to Van Halen post-1984, even Roth himself as a solo artist never surpassed CVH for me. Came much closer to the CVH magic than Van Hagar ever did, to be sure, but there you are.

[DLR Bridge]

The average lunatic fan like myself and so many others do have this imaginary follow up to 1984 playing out in our heads. Romantically, it would have been an amazing continuation of their hard rock to pop rock transition. That's sounds like a potential disaster, but a necessary risk none the less. They were dominating on the air waves and the TV. Many bands that have endured have gone full tilt pop music before reverting back to their roots. Case in point, U2 and their ponderous, perhaps drunkenly recorded, Pop. They rebounded from a flop with perseverance. Had Van Halen with Dave released a follow up chock full of I'll Waits, it would have been received with mixed reviews, but that's not something that ever stood in their way. A solution would have been there. If only they hadn't grown so damn sick of each other, Dave and Ed.

[Halen High]

I'm another one of those "lunatic" fans. Had the original band not broken up and even if they still released the next album in 1986, including the same tracks but with Dave's very cool and different vocals and lyrics (other than Love Walks In and Get Up - replaced with We Die Bold and Light In The Sky), produced three videos in the style of what Dave came up with for 1984 and EEAS and embarked on the inevitable world tour...I think it's fairly safe to say that the tour would have been one of the biggest in rock history and the album sales would have exceeded '1984'.

I remember how huge Van Halen was in Australia back in '85, and how much the interest had waned in just a few years. Hard rock/metal fans in Australia and the world were eagerly anticipating the next Van Halen album and tour...then everything got diluted. In 1985, VH were THE coolest hard rock band on the planet with a street cread up there with ACDC and Led Zep. By the end of the '80s, you had to convince people they were still a good band, which I tried to do until I finally accepted my loyalty was blind and I'd been kidding myself.

[Seshmeister]

I dunno. My rationalization is that Classic Van Halen were already slightly past their peak even by the time Diver Down rolled around, much less 1984.
They may have possibly become even more popular had Roth stuck around, and there's no dismissing the massive commercial appeal of 1984, but it's not necessarily my favorite album from the band. Considering where the music was heading on an instrumental level, and where it did go after Roth left, I don't think the Van Halens (and by this I mean basically Eddie) felt like they really wanted to keep reinventing the hard rock wheel with subsequent releases and topping themselves. In terms of that type of frantic/energetic hard rock, Van Halen as a band went as far as they could with Dave. Sammy Hagar was better-suited for Ed's developing commerical approach.
When I listen to 1984, I don't hear everyone in the band working together to the level I did on previous records. It sounds too often like what it actually was: the Van Halens putting what they wanted to do down first, then Roth taking those results in the form of demo tapes and writing lyrics to it afterwards.
The proof is in the pudding of what Van Halen and Roth released immediately after the split. With EEAS, Roth was still prepared to engage in the sonic assault early CVH was known for. With 5150, the Van Halens clearly weren't. Although in fairness to Van Halen post-1984, even Roth himself as a solo artist never surpassed CVH for me. Came much closer to the CVH magic than Van Hagar ever did, to be sure, but there you are.

I think the pussification of VH would have been greatly slowed down if not prevented by Roth staying at the helm.

With Roth still in the band you don't get Templeman replaced by a limp wristed balladeer or the rush to the soccer mom demographic by the dwarf master of cheesy mediocrity.

The conflict between singer and guitarist continues bringing the best out of both so that you don't end up with grown men pastel onesies and lyrics about unrequited love affairs with alien proctologists.

[envy_me]

I can't see them opening for Bon Jovi with Dave in charge. They wouldn't even have the same audience as Bon Jovi with Dave.




And as much as I hate Max Martin, maybe VH should do what BJ did and let him write a song or two, for the commercial success.

[Zing!]

Musically Ed had some interesting things guitar-wise on 5150, even if I hated his tone on that album. I'm sure changing his sound so drastically was an intentional F-you to his CVH legacy. He did seem to lose a his guitar-god status by 1986 and tended to become a bit redundant with his playing on preceding Van Haggar albums, often changing his sound to make up the difference. OU812 was a drunken, sloppy mess of an album, but his playing rebounded on the bloated next one (some songs only held back by the vocals, like Judgement Day). But back to 5150 - I doubt Dave and Ted would have been on board with the cheese ballads Ed cooked up. After 1984, making an album with even one keyboard song would have been a tough sell, and the arguments and in-fighting would have been intense if Dave had stayed. Ed had the perfect partner in Haggar in that he had a guy that knew he was an average talent just lucky to be in the hottest band in the world at the time - meaning he had him by the balls and could get him to agree to pretty much anything he wrote musically.

[DLR Bridge]

Oddly enough, ADKOT and 5150 have a similarly over compressed guitar sound. If a 1986 CVH release meant a hand full of Blood & Fires to balance out a hand full of I'll Waits, I'd take it over Why Can't Love Walk Inside My Dreams On Both Worlds.

[envy_me]

I don't think ADKOT is what it could have been/should have been when it comes to songs. Maybe what they had as songwriters has faded. I think they realize that themselves considering that they are using old material.

[chuckjitsu]

I think the results speak for themselves when Ed does things his way without any resistance from a Dave or a Templeman- you get the shlocky ballads of the Hagar era or general disasters like III. To me, the Van Halen albums with Dave clearly show that Ed does his best work when working with a foil- somebody who challenges Ed instead of simply going along.

I once read an interview with Chuck D. of Public Enemy where he was asked to describe what Flavor Flav added to the PE albums. He said that he couldn't really put in to words what he added, just that he added that "special something" to the albums. That's how I feel about Dave and Van Halen. He adds that "special something" that just elevates the Dave era over the Hagar era. Ed did some interesting work in the Hagar era (not counting the When It's Love type crap), but the Hagar era just lacked that "special something" and that made them far less interesting than the Dave era.

[DLR Bridge]

I don't think ADKOT is what it could have been/should have been when it comes to songs. Maybe what they had as songwriters has faded. I think they realize that themselves considering that they are using old material.

I think, song wise, the CD was a gift for the die hards. If there is to be a follow up, it would be interesting to see if they've got a modern day Dance The Night Away up their sleeve. I doubt they're interested in fishing for a mainstream hit, but I don't doubt that they are capable of creating one. This is a natural born summer time band. All they have to do is craft a tune in the pop vain if they want. I was listening to Beats Workin' this morning and was noticing how poppy and catchy the chorus was. Had the verse been more catchy and understandable, I'd say that could have been a great summer radio tune.

[Zing!]

When I listen to Beats Workin', I always find myself wanting Dave's higher register voice buried in the mix and his lower register (he's singing over himself) brought to the front.

[vandeleur]

The highlight on ADKOT for me is blood and fire .
It's lyrics are almost a not even subtle wink to the old school fans .
It's catchy and if they had of promoted it correctly .... Er promoted even .
Could have been a hit .

[FORD]

Yep, even my sister the Bible thumping religious fanatic recognized "Blood and Fire" as a Van Halen song the first time she heard it blasting out of my stereo. And she's not a VH fan by any stretch of the imagination.

[DLR Bridge]

When I listen to Beats Workin', I always find myself wanting Dave's higher register voice buried in the mix and his lower register (he's singing over himself) brought to the front.

Totally. The Indeedido voice is just too coarse. Surprising since Dave's always been cognizant of how the guitars should sound in order to be more 'girl friendly'. Do chicks dig that kinda singing? Me doesn't think so. The mellow baritone always was and always will be the best way to go.

[Jérôme Frenchise]

Totally. The Indeedido voice is just too coarse. Surprising since Dave's always been cognizant of how the guitars should sound in order to be more 'girl friendly'. Do chicks dig that kinda singing? Me doesn't think so. The mellow baritone always was and always will be the best way to go.

May Dave hear ya... He would, the way you put it.

We're a bunch around here to complain about it, at THE fan site of his, so it must have come up to his ears now, let's hope so...

... unsure VH would last much longer like this. :(

[envy_me]

China Town is my favourite.


Beats Working is an old one, right? Maybe that's why it's catchy :biggrin: :sleazy-smiley:

[FORD]

Beats Working is an old one, right? Maybe that's why it's catchy :biggrin: :sleazy-smiley:

Yep, it goes all the way back to about 1976 or so.......


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDwJVd32y6I

...except the lyrics, of course.

[Igosplut]

about unrequited love affairs with alien proctologists.

Where the fucks a good alien anal probe when ya need one???

[Jérôme Frenchise]

"Beats Workin'" has that slight Kiss vibe... But I'll have it over anything Kiss ever made.

Maybe Dave could have sung it lower and left the higher tone to the backing vocals - just like in the good old days,
back when it sounded just perfect.

The solo and outro kick some serious ass.

[Terry]

I think the pussification of VH would have been greatly slowed down if not prevented by Roth staying at the helm.

With Roth still in the band you don't get Templeman replaced by a limp wristed balladeer or the rush to the soccer mom demographic by the dwarf master of cheesy mediocrity.

The conflict between singer and guitarist continues bringing the best out of both so that you don't end up with grown men pastel onesies and lyrics about unrequited love affairs with alien proctologists.

I'd have to agree that had Roth stayed a CVH follow-up to 1984 probably wouldn't have sounded like 5150, even from an instrumental standpoint.
Van Halen always had a degree of pop sensibility even when Roth was at the helm...one would imagine that the synth-creep wouldn't have been quite as upfront had Roth stuck around, and the non-synth tunes would have a bit more distinction and personality to them: outside of the 5150 title track, none of the non-synth tunes are distinctive to my ears.
I'd also agree that the very presence of Dave in the band would have pushed the Van Halens to play a little harder, even if mostly out of anger and desperation. The band got very comfortable very quickly when Hagar joined, and a lot of the sonic fury was lost as a result.

[Hardrock69]

Where the fucks a good alien anal probe when ya need one???

I am sure Spambot could point you in that dubious direct-shun.

[Terry]

I don't think ADKOT is what it could have been/should have been when it comes to songs. Maybe what they had as songwriters has faded. I think they realize that themselves considering that they are using old material.

Not too sure about that. As Is, which as far as I can tell wasn't reworked from any old demos, was a pretty excellent track.

Going forward, I wonder if the lukewarm reception ADKOT got in terms of sales would put a damper on the band even wanting to bother with another full-length album.

[Igosplut]

I am sure Spambot could point you in that dubious direct-shun.

I meant HIM, not me Rock

[DLR Bridge]

Going forward, I wonder if the lukewarm reception ADKOT got in terms of sales would put a damper on the band even wanting to bother with another full-length album.

I don't follow any of that stuff. Was it really only lukewarm in sales? I'm sure all of the free downloading didn't help.

[Hardrock69]

Well, you gotta figure as well that spreading it around the net just gave it a better reputation, and I bet it had better sales as a result, as it IS a stellar album!

[Zing!]

Is 500,000 sold lukewarm these days? I thought that was shithot sales in the download age? Am I wrong on that? Unless you give your album away for 99 cents like Chickenscatch, a half a mil ain't easy to come by anymore unless you're an autotuned corporate slut. Yes or no?

[DLR Bridge]

Sounds good to me. Not the .99 Chickenshit, the other thing.

[Halen High]

Is 500,000 sold lukewarm these days? I thought that was shithot sales in the download age? Am I wrong on that? Unless you give your album away for 99 cents like Chickenscatch, a half a mil ain't easy to come by anymore unless you're an autotuned corporate slut. Yes or no?

Someone at the Links was tracking sales for VH and other major hardrock/metal artists throughout 2012 and 2013, and I think ADKOT turned out to be the best selling hardrock/metal album released over the last two years. The last figures I saw for ADKOT were a few months ago...about 420,000 (US) and 1m worldwide, or getting close to that globally. So yeah I'd say that in the current climate of diminishing sales/popularity for hardrock/metal, ADKOT did very well commercially.

[Halen High]

Sounds good to me. Not the .99 Chickenshit, the other thing.

I believe the rules have since changed and albums discounted to that level are no longer counted as official sales?

[Halen High]

I don't follow any of that stuff. Was it really only lukewarm in sales? I'm sure all of the free downloading didn't help.

Same here but I was curious this time to see how an album like this would go in today's market, and after all these years without Dave. It was an album for the hardcore fans - we love it and that's what really counts.

[DLR Bridge]

Totally agree HH. It came with virtually no "top 40 hit" material what so ever. To have nearly a million in sales based on minimal air play of Tattoo and a few building banners (lol), I'd say they did alright.

[78/84 guy]

It didn't do the numbers say Black Ice did, But VH screwed themselves I.M.O. Shit younger rock listeners didn't even know who was in the band at this point. Must younger people I know don't even know who Roth is ! He was out of the band and not doing much on his own anymore. They might know the voice but not the face. Hag was still in mags and on the radio with the Journey version of VH. A lot of older fans are raising kids and working. Not sitting on VH.com. It's a good album that people will slowly pick up over the years. Tattoo was a bad single to reach kids. Chinatown would have kicked ass out of the box I.M.O.

[Karma86]

I personally Liked David Lee years myself. Van Hagar was good for what they did. Had a few hits and they were successful but it wasn't Van Halen. I agree the younger generation didn't really know at the time that Dave was the lead singer or who he was. Dave was busy being an EMT and enjoying other life lessons lol. Tattoo was air played on our rock station here in Minny (I listen regularly) Roughly 4 times! that sucks because the album deserves more recognition than that. Instead they play there older stuff, either way its fine by me I like it all!