1978

[sadaist]

I love them all and I want #7 to complete my collection. Oh, it's already been recorded. A couple songs in 96, 00, 02, some in the early 80's, etc. They just need to be slapped onto a disc.

EDDIE, GIVE US #7!
EDDIE, GIVE US #7!
EDDIE, GIVE US #7!
EDDIE, GIVE US #7!
EDDIE, GIVE US #7!
EDDIE, GIVE US #7!
EDDIE, GIVE US #7!

[floyd95]

vh 1 is a classic, very solid
vh 2 stands on its own, not quite as good, sounds unpolished
wacf solid album, still unpolished
fw production tightened up, sounds great, great songs
dd production is really taken up a notch, very professional, sounds like every note was carefully planned, i still loved it
1984 the 5150 studio lets this album down, i love the album, but doesn't sound as heavy as wacf, fw or professional as dd

i love them all, for different reasons, like having six kids w/different personalities, they each have the good and bad thing about them, but the good outweighs the bad or annoying - just my opinion

[floyd95]

the 5150 studio had to be the end of it all, power shift to ed and keyboardy ballady bullshit, wants to spend a year in the studio over producing, i think that killed the creativity, that and dave leaving

[POJO_Risin]

IF YOU COMPARE ALL OF THE ALBUMS TO NUMBER 1 BASED ON THE STYLE OF NUMBER 1...THEY DON'T COMPARE...

If you compare the albums for what they are...a seperate piece of what Van Halen is all about...the stand side by side...

they don't improve with every album...

they don't get worse...

It's like walking around a house...looking in a window as you go. The first window was that fucking stained glass motherfucker that you knew was crafted over the years, and once it was put in the house...was flat out perfect. The second window...VHII, was right next to the stained glass window...equally as big...just didn't take years to make...and lets you see inside a bit more...

the third window...WACF is one of those weird shaped windows on the second floor. You know...one of those kitchy, half circle windows that you just have to take a look into because you haven't seen one before.

The fourth window is the window into the bedroom...and when you look in...you realize there's a whole bunch of s&m goin' on...down and dirty...to the roots...

The fifth window...probably into the kitchen...makes you feel like home...been there before...but it's never been yours...now it is...

and the sixth window?...it's the window that has it all...a bit of stained glass, a bit of home...half oval at the top...sex rollin' behind it...it's the window that you end up looking into the most...

because it's right there in front of the house...

They were as good as they were going to be in 1974/75...but it's like a piece of gold...it's sure as fuck not 2-dimensional...there are many sides...

and it's value rarely goes down...

[POJO_Risin]

I don't think 5150 killed creativity at all...

I think Ed started taking something that led him to believe 2 things...

1. Dave was stealing the spotlight (of course...always)

and

2. They had to "grow up,"

as though 1984...when they were the biggest thing in the rock and roll world...period...

didn't prove that already...

I heard someone say that 1978...they were the biggest thing in the rock world...and that may be true...for you...

but in 1984...they were never any bigger...

they owned the rock charts/magazines/MTV/concert stage...everything...

and one the covers?

David Lee Roth...

period

[Nickdfresh]

Originally posted by POJO_Risin
I don't think 5150 killed creativity at all...

I think Ed started taking something that led him to believe 2 things...

1. Dave was stealing the spotlight (of course...always)

and

2. They had to "grow up,"

as though 1984...when they were the biggest thing in the rock and roll world...period...

didn't prove that already...

I heard someone say that 1978...they were the biggest thing in the rock world...and that may be true...for you...

but in 1984...they were never any bigger...

they owned the rock charts/magazines/MTV/concert stage...everything...

and one the covers?

David Lee Roth...

period

Very, very true.

And believe it or not, although I can't verify this since I only saw 'em in 84', but judging by bootlegs and stuff, they may have been at their best live in 1984. If not musically, then performance-wise. There was an enormous amount of tension energy in the band that needed to be purged creatively onstage, a sort of neurotic energy that people have when they're waiting for a bomb to go off. They weren't as united as musicians as they were in say the Fairwarning Tour or the 'Hide Your Sheep Tour,' but individually, they were at the top of their craft --when not heavily intoxicated that is.

[POJO_Risin]

I didn't see the tours other than through boots other than "1984" either...

and I have to say...

that's a hard question to answer...

what year were they best live...

I'm going to run with 1984...because I saw that tour...

but bootwise...hmmm...

I'm actually curious about what some others have to say about it...

perhaps the tension combines with years of playing with each other put them at their best in 1984...

Curious as to what people think...

[Nickdfresh]

I've heard the playing was best, the tightest, on Fairwarning, but that's academic. they were tighter because they were more desperate maybe, I dunno.' Ed had the brownsound mojo goin at it's height. Maybe they still actually liked each other as more than co-workers you have to tolerate, but wouldn't spend more than six minutes with in a bar on a Friday night, who knows?

Anyhoo, other than the three Oakland vids, there's no soundboard on Fairwarning, though there's rumored to be some that exist. But that could be bullshit.

But hell, there's no 1984 soundboards being traded either. Ed has 'em stashed under his Smoking Loons™ empties in the basement.

[POJO_Risin]

Ah yes...the rumors...

heard many over the years...

as for spED...

we'll probably have to wait until he's dED to get them...

[ULTRAMAN VH]

I remember talking with several folks who were fortunate enough to see them play in 78, 79, and 80. My guitar teacher told me years ago that when he saw them in 80, he got so excited he ripped his chair from the floor. Several older friends said these guys were just giant killers, beating the snot out of the likes of Black Sabbath and Journey. I think they were at their best when they were the newbies on the scene. Just by watching the boots you could tell they were on a mission to take over the rock world and by 1984 the mission was accomplished. Shit the only reason Motley Crue held the belt was because VH was a no show in 85 and then in 86 the worst scenario ever weilded it's ugly head in the form of Van Hagar. I saw them in 84 and to this day it is the greatest show I have ever seen. The only thing that came close to it was the KISS Reunion tour in 96. But if the real VH REUNION had taken place in 96 it would have melted the Kiss tour into the ground.

[guwapo_rocker]

I would rank the Diver Down and 1984 tours as even performance wise.

They were both great shows. Although, if I remember correctly,

Ed playing the solo to Jump on the keyboard was a letdown.

But it's a blur to be honest.

[POJO_Risin]

It's very...very hard to rank ANY tour that you haven't seen live...

like I said...1984 was the single greatest experience that I ever saw live...

The biggest problem I have though is that I wonder what my experience would have been had I not been a teen...and as an adult (no doubt better)...

that being said...judging from boots I've seen...the swagger I saw in 1984 was second to none...

of course...being there before 1984 may have changed my opinion...

[Romeo Delight]

Originally posted by guwapo_rocker
Although, if I remember correctly,

Ed playing the solo to Jump on the keyboard was a letdown.

I remember the day after the concert, some people not letting go of this exact thing.

There were so many earth-shattering positives from the show and people are going on about how Ed didn't play his 20 second guitar solo in Jump.

Why?

I remember Little Guitars and how fucking cool that was live.

Hot For Teacher, Everybody Wants Some, Unchained for the opener with Roth doing 20 somersaults across the front of the stage.

How's that for an entrance?

[guwapo_rocker]

Because, as a guitar player I dug the solo, and I guess alot

of us were looking forward to him playing it.

[rustoffa]

Re: 1978

Originally posted by Skin_Walker
After VH1 it was over for me, VH2 sounded like polished up outtakes from VH1.

I like to think of WACF as the most un-polished album, it was cuntpleted in record time. No cheeseburgers and joints, just rain on the patio.

Legacy?

Arena rock got a facelift....posturing was out the window, and overalls didn't qualify as glam....ex-specially when they matched the geetar in front of 'em. You hear that Mangum fanatics? That's right. Black Oak Arkansas didn't have a knee-slidin', smilin', horse-whinneying geetarist! And on top of that? Their music sucked!!!

I saw Van Halen on the WACF tour. Jacksonville Colisseum.....lots of people smoking dope. Dave got hit with a roll of toilet paper, and busted out the "fuck your girlfriend" schtick.

Lucky me!