Greetings to the toughest fan base on this or any other planet.
I wrote up a little review of Truth on my Facebook page. Here it is. I think it's a fair appraisal. No, I don't think every song is awesome, and maybe you won't agree with some of my comparisons, but this is coming from a 40-something fan whose first LP was VH II, whose dreams have finally, against all odds, come true, so please don't call me a know-nothing dick. What Truth is, is the first record put out under the Van Halen name that is worthy of that name since 1984. Oh, and I couldn't care less that they drew material from their demo days. Hallelujah, is what I say. Classic Van Halen is what we wanted, Classic Van Halen is what we got.
I am a Van Halen fan. Always have been, alway will be. And by Van Halen, I mean the band that David Lee Roth fronted, and now fronts again. No disrepect to Sammy Hagar; they became a huge pop success with him in the band. But it was simply a different band with him singing. "Why Can't This Be Love"? It can't be love, because this is Van Halen. Van Halen was never about love. To steal from Viv Savage, Van Halen was about having a good time, all the time.
Van Halen turns any car a turbo-charged soft-top convertible. When I turned 16, I got a rusted-out Volare to drive around (The Sin Wagon, to those whose memories go back that far). Soon after bolting on some aluminum siding to cover the brown, rust coloration, and painting it two-tone green, my grandmother got me a new car stereo, complete with cassette deck. At some point, Van Halen's "Women and Children First" and "Fair Warning" were released on a single cassette tape, an album on each side. Eventually, all of the printing on that tape was worn off from my flipping it over and over again. That gleaming white tape was my most prized possession.
And so, with Van Halen's new album with Roth, I have a new disc to wear out. There's no doubt that there are a few clunkers, but it would be unrealistic to expect perfection. This is the band, after all, that gave us "Diver Down," a 30-minute goof full of covers and instrumentals (plus a gem in "Little Guitars"). But with "A Different Kind of Truth" they have a delivered an album that takes any diehard classic Van Halen fan back to those days of driving around the block a few extra times, just so you could hear another song or two.
They get the mid-tempo, keyboard-filled tune out of the way with "Tattoo," which could be a decent song without the cringeworthy chorus. Judging by the rest of the album, it was almost as if the band felt obligated to make the first single accessible to a pop audience. The album has nowhere to go but up from here, and fortunately, it does.
"She's the Woman," the next track, is a direct throwback to their early days, and the riff could easily be confused for "Mean Streets." It's ok, but again falls victim to a shallow, shouty chorus. It's the first time we hear a classic Eddie solo on the record, though.
"You And Your Blues" hearkens back to the harmonies of "Women In Love" and "Dance The Night Away," albeit without the otherworldy backing vocals that Michael Anthony brought to the group way back when. I'll admit it: three songs in, I was getting worried.
At this point, the album begins a stretch of five songs that announce the return of the Mighty Van Halen. Some of the hardest, fastest tunes the band has ever recorded are found here. "China Town" starts the show with a driving double-bass drum, a wailing Eddie solo, and re-introduces the dangerous element found in "One Foot Out the Door," "Atomic Punk," and "Fools." Those of us who have been waiting a quarter century for Van Halen to return get our first taste.
The next tune, "Blood and Fire," is a candidate for the best track on the record. It's a textbook example of the summery hard rock Van Halen invented. Melodic and controlled through the first two verses, it leads into another memorable Eddie solo. "Now look at all of the people here tonight!"
"Bullethead" is another track from the band's earliest days, and reveals some of the punk roots that many casual fans may not know ever existed. Fast and hard, it actually seems to have more in common with "Shyboy" from Roth's "Eat 'Em and Smile" (itself a cover of a Talas song, Billy Sheehan's band prior to joining Roth and Steve Vai).
The proverbial pedal is kept to the metal with "As Is," another possibility for best song on the album, and a good candidate for their live shows. After a drum intro and chunking guitar strums, the track takes off into the stratosphere. The double-bass drums show up again, shouted choruses that are sure to engage the live crowd. And, though I hate to keep repeating myself, a classic EVH arpeggio. Roth's sly and winking lyrics shine on this song: "Love them all, I say, let Cupid sort them out."
"Honeybabysweetydoll" is Van Halen back in their experiemental days; "Tora! Tora!/Loss of Control" are a clear template for this rocker. My advice is to start with Track 4, crank the volume to max, and you won't have to touch the controls for five songs.
This is where the obvious filler tracks start to show up on the album. "The Trouble With Never" is another attempt to lighten the tone for a pop audience, again bringing in the classic harmonies during the chorus. But the song is generally a mess of endless riffs, and seems to be split into two. "Outta Space" actually has some tight playing in it, but the dated lyrics and repetition make it an easy skip.
Next is "Stay Frosty," or "Ice Cream Man II." Dave strums an acoustic for a verse or two before the full band jumps in with a kickass jam. If "Ice Cream Man" never existed, this song may have greater appeal, but it's hard to improve on the original.
"Big River" starts out with the familiar "G, G, G, G, G, . . ." bass line in "Running With The Devil." Eddie's solo starts to get into "Drop Dead Legs" territory, probably one of his greatest. It's also an easy singalong song, with uncomplicated lines and lyrics. If this track and "Stay Frosty" were placed directly after "honeybabysweetydoll," they would make an uninterrupted string of seven hard rock tunes that pick up where "Fair Warning" left off.
The albums ends with "Beats Workin,'" another vehicle for one more Eddie solo. Like "The Trouble With Never," this track suffers from a mashup of what feels like a Frankenstein monster of riffs. Alex does have the prescription, however, for more cowbell, as Eddie's noodling rolls along.
There are no singles on this record. To the average pop music fan, that might be a problem. To the diehards who have been starving for classic Van Halen, this is the return to form. My cassette player is now an iPhone; otherwise, I'm back in the Sin Wagon, taking another few extra laps around the block with the boys.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by mmrrname
