what song was shelved for dancin in the street?

[buckshotjenkins]

i read a long while ago that ed had a badass moog riff around the time that someone told him to adapt the idea to the silly cover dancin in the street. i wish ed play more cool thing like that, because altough the song is kinda lame the sound of the moog rocked. in fact if spam halen (that's great fellas) is done, and roth ain't in the sisters' cards, then i'd love to hear an instrumental album with some other musicians besides alica and rolly-polly boy. plus since i've discovered new things other than VH, i've decided that the clavinet is the funkiest sound around, and i know prince edward could go to town on one. solo record ed! no pussy ballads! i'll buy it.

[Panamark]

That song is the worst Van Halen cover, ever.

Hey Dude, look for "MOOG plays The Beatles"
Its a really old album, you would love it.

[academic punk]

i happen to like Dancin in the Streets...

Dave sounds he's having a good time with that one, like he's singing in the shower or something.

[Panamark]

I guess Ive never liked that song, especially the bisex version from
Jagger/Bowie.

[academic punk]

Originally posted by Panamark
I guess Ive never liked that song, especially the bisex version from
Jagger/Bowie.

Well, on that you're right. That version is just scary.

[Wolverine]

I know Could this Be Magic? knocked off a song on WACF...It's called "Unreleased" on the WACF Studio Sessions Bootleg!!

[Carmine]

Originally posted by The Godfather
I know Could this Be Magic? knocked off a song on WACF...It's called "Unreleased" on the WACF Studio Sessions Bootleg!!

Really GF??? I never knew that, anyway you can put this tune up? I'd like to hear it.

[academic punk]

Quick story re: VH's Dancin' in the Streets: That was Dave's insistence. Eddie has said he's never really liked the song - or the Motown sound in general - but Dave kept pushing for it.

One time Ed was playing around with the riff and the funky effect that VH's version is built around, trying to create a new song, and Ted Templeman (the producer of the entire six pack and Eat' Em) truned and said "Hey! That would be great for Dancing in the Streets!" Before Ed knew it, the entire band agreed, and he found himself stuck.

But Ed - being Ed - said, "Well, I don't want to do covers. I hate covers. If you're going to make me do this cover, then I insist we do "Pretty Woman", another cover. (I know, Ed's logic here does boggle more than a bit)

"Pretty Woman" - as far as Ed was concerned - was more VH's vibe in terms of lyrics, attitude, vocal approach, riffs, humor.

Ed happens to be right here: Pretty Woman IS unquestionably the stronger choice of the two. (I think Dave was plenty happy to record "Pretty Woman" though - he's always enjoyed doing covers and Van Halen-izing them)

whether they recorded the two covers originally trying to decide which of the two they would include on Diver Down, I don't know. Dave wrote lyrics to only four songs on the album - "Hangin' High", "Secretions", "Little Guitarists with Drinking Problems", and "The Bull Fug" - so it's apparent he was goign through a slight dry spell at the time. (maybe he was so busy learning how to play harp for the solo on "Bug")

[buckshotjenkins]

thank's y'all...i do love diver down. i love big bad bill, secrets, the full bug and especially the "ride out" ending of hang 'em high. that's why i love them...you just never know where they could take it, never knew what was coming next. sadly know we do know...

[EbDawson]

Originally posted by academic punk
Quick story re: VH's Dancin' in the Streets: That was Dave's insistence. Eddie has said he's never really liked the song - or the Motown sound in general - but Dave kept pushing for it.

Yes, Ed and Alex have cut that song down constantly. Then they include it in BOBWs. Go figure.

[wombattt]

Originally posted by Panamark
That song is the worst Van Halen cover, ever.

Yes, EVH says he hated it....& then they put it on their latest grab for cash hits.

another wonderful example of double-talk and contridictions from the Bros. VH.

[ode2keller]

Diver Down was a good fun CD. I mean think of when it was recorded!

good times ahhhhhhhhhhh

[tydhurst]

Diver Down is my favourite CVH album, but that cover's pretty shite!

[ODShowtime]

Originally posted by Panamark
I guess Ive never liked that song, especially the bisex version from
Jagger/Bowie.

That video is one of the worst productions, audio, or video, ever made. They must have had a bottle of KY jelly in the rider!

But I really like Dancin' in the Streets. That synth sound is freakin' awesome! It would have been cool to use that on a normal song though.

Seriously though folks, I think Dancin in the Streets has one of Eddie's best solos ever. No shit!

[wombattt]

Originally posted by EbDawson
Yes, Ed and Alex have cut that song down constantly. Then they include it in BOBWs. Go figure.

Filler song for the money grab....they probably did it to show how bad they were with DLR....in their warped drunk minds

[blueturk]

Here's Dave talking about both "Pretty Woman" and "Dancing In The Street", in Creem magazine, 1982 .

PRETTY WOMAN
"Something that is a different vocal sound for Van Halen, different guitar sound, but I don't think it's lost any of its torque. I don't think any of the humidity has been let out of the tires so to speak. It's just different – but not by device again. I remember when we were playing it back in the bar days and Eddie said, 'there's no piano and no acoustic rhythm guitar, how do we fill it up?' And I said, 'well try playing something like ‘Ticket To Ride’ and speed it up. Inspiration does not come from nowhere! You don't sit in a darkened room or an isolation tank and wait for a burst of light and the Hand of God to come down and hand you the scroll. I've tried that. And said fuck it, let's do 'Pretty Woman'! No seriously, what you do is borrow from somebody – no, you actually steal it – and you change the beginning and you change the end of it the way you like it and then you change the middle and it's all yours. And everybody says 'you can't do that.' Horseshit! They used to do that in the days of the classical composers. The great artists did that, so what's the difference? People want us to be original. I don't care 'what people want."

Side 2
DANCING IN THE STREET

"It's exactly what the title implies – something going on that was not immediately apparent to the eye. We've been. playing these lush vocal harmonies and so forth to make up for our lack of instrumentation – we don't have keyboards, we don't have three chicks in the background going 'shoop-shoop,' we don't have a Minister to introduce us and hold the towel. [Just back from a James Brown concert.] So we're forced to come up with what is now the Van Halen sound – it sounds like more than four people are playing when in actuality there are almost zero overdubs – that's why it takes us such a short amount of time to do it. If you listen to this song and that sound and what we're doing in there, and then go back and listen to the first album and all the way up again, then you'll see where it comes from."

[Vivian Campbell]

Eddie is brilliant on this song. A guitar solo during DITS, alone, is pretty damn cool.