ADKOT - Six Months Later

[78/84 guy]

True. I hear ya. I was just thinking those 2 albums. I listened to them more than anything when I was younger. I had a tape (still have it ! ) that had both albums in one. For me I almost can't listen too one without the other. Cradle was the first new VH song I remember hearing on the radio when I really started getting into them. So i stil love it. Might be the one song Ed used a keyboard on that worked for the bands real sound. I like I'll Wait but it ain't VH too me. Mean Street is their best song to me.

[Kristy]

A Different Kind Of Jewth was like your neighbor's annoying dog: yap yap yap. Big letdown. Big. Slop-poppy riffs, compiled with Roth's' horrendous and shot voice made for one disappointing listen. No need to wait and see if they get better. They won't. The time to forgo Halen is now before they embarrass their fans any further. Blue Oyster Cult stands a better chance of resurrecting their career.

[DLR Bridge]

Ye of little, well, actually no faith. I dug it. Give it an A, A-. If they follow it up, great. If not, we're good.

[Terry]

True. I hear ya. I was just thinking those 2 albums. I listened to them more than anything when I was younger. I had a tape (still have it ! ) that had both albums in one. For me I almost can't listen too one without the other. Cradle was the first new VH song I remember hearing on the radio when I really started getting into them. So i stil love it. Might be the one song Ed used a keyboard on that worked for the bands real sound. I like I'll Wait but it ain't VH too me. Mean Street is their best song to me.

I'll tell ya, straight-up, that I don't care for I'll Wait. It's really only of interest in showing a different aspect to Roth's lyrical approach, but the lyrics and melody are just too mild and meek for my tastes.

Cradle isn't a bad track, but for me definitely isn't representative of the best WACF has to offer.

Used to have a 2 albums on 1 cassette of WACF and Fair Warning years ago: wore that fucker down, big-time.

[Terry]

I like Tattoo. Grooves right along...nothing too distinctive going on instrumentally, but it's a good showcase for Roth.

[Kristy]

I gave it a relisten last night and yeah, I still feel the same about it.

[VAiN]

I gave it a relisten last night and yeah, I still feel the same about it.

And not a single fuck was given...

[Kristy]

Exactly. Not a single fuck was given in the recording of that dismal pile of shit.

[Headly1984]

I'll tell ya, straight-up, that I don't care for I'll Wait. It's really only of interest in showing a different aspect to Roth's lyrical approach, but the lyrics and melody are just too mild and meek for my tastes.

Cradle isn't a bad track, but for me definitely isn't representative of the best WACF has to offer.

Used to have a 2 albums on 1 cassette of WACF and Fair Warning years ago: wore that fucker down, big-time.

I'll wait - has great lyrics(seeing a top model & wanting her but knowing in a few months / yrs & she will be more ez to approach) & while not Simple Rhyme, it is a solid tune imho

..Cradle ?? omg.. Have you seen Jr's grades?.. that is in our rock nomenclature -classic !

[Headly1984]

yap yap yap. .

are we back in the Stones thread ?

[Rikk]

My order (and I've realized my opinions really vary from others'):

1) BEATS WORKIN' - I've always been in love with the PUT OUT THE LIGHTS riff. Dave's new chorus vocal shows real melodic talent. Maybe not Ed's best guitar-work...but when this kicks in, I realize I'm driving 100 mph.
2) OUTTA SPACE - Again, always loved LET'S GET ROCKIN'. This is insane...great new lyrics.
3) BULLETHEAD - This just kicks in and it's over before you know it. Such a crazy, catch chorus. Didn't like it at all first hearing the album...but now a li'l ain't enough of this song.
4) SHE'S THE WOMAN - I used to write in old posts that if the band ever made a new album with Dave, they should resurrect this sucker. Should have been on the first album. Great version...great to see it officially out there.
5) BIG RIVER - Always loved BIG TROUBLE...the solo on this is superior. The new lyrics aren't necessarily an improvement.
6) STAY FROSTY - My wife's favorite on the disc. It's just amazing. I never thought the band was capable of writing material like this still. This song, more than any other, demonstrate how many other inventive moments we lost to all the Hagar/Cherone/drunken-stupor years.
7) YOU AND YOUR BLUES - Few songs on the album grew on me like this one. Lyrical references are superb...great descending riff on the pre-chorus. Great backing vocals.
8) CHINA TOWN - The most "1984-sounding" song on the album...with obvious reason (old Ripley demo). Dave is killer on this...not my favorite chorus, but man...the furious playing.
9) TATTOO - Yeah, now I like it. A lot. One of Ed's best solos on the album.
10) BLOOD AND FIRE - The single. Catchiest, most radio-friendly song. Then again, it wasn't a single. Fuckin' should have been. How did Dave write that amazing melody on the verses?
11) HONEYBABYSWEETIEDOLL - Not one of my favorites. It's okay. Great riff. The crazy rhythms help me enjoy this one...but it's one of the lesser moments.
12) AS IS - Yes, I know. Everyone fucking loves this one. Not me. To this day, I don't get it. Except for the fun drum intro (PANAMA live, anyone). Some good riffage...not crazy about the lyrics.
13) THE TROUBLE WITH NEVER - I never liked this song. Newer albums trying to sound like Hendrix don't work for me. Wah pedals really need a Kim Thayil atonal riff to work for me now...Hendrix and Clapton already owned the wah for me...I prefer listening to them play it. This song just doesn't work for me. It's catchy...but in a commercial-jingle kind of way. And I don't like the lyrics much. Only the amazing middle-part with the "Dance the Night Away" lyric works for me.

Okay...so, a different list to be sure. But it's honest. Still, I pretty much never listen to the album without listening to it beginning to end (my OCD side)...and I listen to the album a fucking helluva lot...especially the last two months or so.

[ashstralia]

ya lost me at 11

[ELVIS]

Too many songs...

[chuckjitsu]

My order (and I've realized my opinions really vary from others'):

1) BEATS WORKIN' - I've always been in love with the PUT OUT THE LIGHTS riff. Dave's new chorus vocal shows real melodic talent. Maybe not Ed's best guitar-work...but when this kicks in, I realize I'm driving 100 mph.
2) OUTTA SPACE - Again, always loved LET'S GET ROCKIN'. This is insane...great new lyrics.
3) BULLETHEAD - This just kicks in and it's over before you know it. Such a crazy, catch chorus. Didn't like it at all first hearing the album...but now a li'l ain't enough of this song.
4) SHE'S THE WOMAN - I used to write in old posts that if the band ever made a new album with Dave, they should resurrect this sucker. Should have been on the first album. Great version...great to see it officially out there.
5) BIG RIVER - Always loved BIG TROUBLE...the solo on this is superior. The new lyrics aren't necessarily an improvement.
6) STAY FROSTY - My wife's favorite on the disc. It's just amazing. I never thought the band was capable of writing material like this still. This song, more than any other, demonstrate how many other inventive moments we lost to all the Hagar/Cherone/drunken-stupor years.
7) YOU AND YOUR BLUES - Few songs on the album grew on me like this one. Lyrical references are superb...great descending riff on the pre-chorus. Great backing vocals.
8) CHINA TOWN - The most "1984-sounding" song on the album...with obvious reason (old Ripley demo). Dave is killer on this...not my favorite chorus, but man...the furious playing.
9) TATTOO - Yeah, now I like it. A lot. One of Ed's best solos on the album.
10) BLOOD AND FIRE - The single. Catchiest, most radio-friendly song. Then again, it wasn't a single. Fuckin' should have been. How did Dave write that amazing melody on the verses?
11) HONEYBABYSWEETIEDOLL - Not one of my favorites. It's okay. Great riff. The crazy rhythms help me enjoy this one...but it's one of the lesser moments.
12) AS IS - Yes, I know. Everyone fucking loves this one. Not me. To this day, I don't get it. Except for the fun drum intro (PANAMA live, anyone). Some good riffage...not crazy about the lyrics.
13) THE TROUBLE WITH NEVER - I never liked this song. Newer albums trying to sound like Hendrix don't work for me. Wah pedals really need a Kim Thayil atonal riff to work for me now...Hendrix and Clapton already owned the wah for me...I prefer listening to them play it. This song just doesn't work for me. It's catchy...but in a commercial-jingle kind of way. And I don't like the lyrics much. Only the amazing middle-part with the "Dance the Night Away" lyric works for me.

Okay...so, a different list to be sure. But it's honest. Still, I pretty much never listen to the album without listening to it beginning to end (my OCD side)...and I listen to the album a fucking helluva lot...especially the last two months or so.

I like your list. I'm with you on honeybaby. That one is a 2nd tier tune for me as well. I feel the same the way about Stay Frosty as you do As Is ((although I do love the Big Rock Finish in Stay Frosty), so I'd probably swap their positions. Also with you on The Trouble With Never. Outta Space just keeps getting better with each listen. Like you, I mostly listen to the cd in the given order, but when I'm feeling wild and crazy, I'll listen to it in Shuffle mode and that tends to produce some interesting results.

[DLR Bridge]

Any order will do for 1 through 12, then finish with As Is. The spooky, drive off into the darkness ending belongs at the end of the CD.

[chefcraig]

Any order will do for 1 through 12, then finish with As Is. The spooky, drive off into the darkness ending belongs at the end of the CD.

+1

[jhale667]

+1

Actually, +2

[PETE'S BROTHER]

have we discussed because maybe this is only the second album we/I * were able to get "hot off the presses" that it is so fuckin' fun!!







































* with the exception of zah and a few others...

[Halen High]

Favourite track today...As Is - an absolute belter of a song. As Is and HBSD are how I imagined a Dave-fronted Van Halen album would sound today, particularly after Dave's "the music is harder than before" comment, following those sessions back in the early 2000s.

But I love the fact that they brought to life some of those discarded gems from the 70s...when I first heard Big Trouble I thought it was arguably their best ever moment. I was blown away when I discovered they'd finally released it, reworked perfectly with more mature lyrics to suit where they are now.

I'm still listening to at least a couple of tracks everyday and play the album from start to finish once a week. When all the rumours of a new Van Halen album with Dave were confirmed, my expectations went through the roof, yet they managed to surpass them. I genuinely think it's a masterpiece.

[Halen High]

Any order will do for 1 through 12, then finish with As Is. The spooky, drive off into the darkness ending belongs at the end of the CD.

Great point and love that imagery; "spooky, drive off into the darkness." Yeah it is spooky and would have been absolutely perfect to close out the album.

[conmee]

Brethren and Sistren,

I listened to the entire album on my flight from Houston a couple weeks ago. What's great was Wolfgang's idea to dig up some old gems... Because many were forged in the heyday, it just comfortably makes its home next to the first six. Sometimes I listen to the albums in order, ADKOT following 1984 of course, and with the exception of maybe HSBD, the songs all have elements that call back to the halcyon days of youth, while at the same time sounding new. Almost compilation-like in that I hear elements of each of the first six in the different songs on ADKOT. It was a good strategy out of the gate for a first new album in decades.

BUT... I'm greedy, it's time for the follow-up!!!! And with how slow the damn engineering/mixing/mastering blah blah went LAST TIME, I hope they have 8-12 tunes in the can already, not counting ones they may have recorded for ADKOT. If so, I'm thinking we get a nice new album 30 years after 1984 right around Jan/Feb 2014... If ADKOT is the final release, I can live with that, the circle from childhood is complete, and I've seen the boys play new music and Full Bug, Women In Love, and GGB for the first time in decades. I can deal... but one more album would be fantastic.

Mind The Gap!©®™

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[Halen High]

conmee, when yoy say, "the songs all have elements that call back to the halcyon days of youth, while at the same time sounding new" - that's exactly how I feel when listening to ADKOT.

I think that was Dave's intention and perhaps even Wolf's. They certainly pulled it off.

I hope this talk of recording new music results in an album, rather than just a track or two for download or another bloody 'Best Of'!!!

Now does anyone know if Cafe Wha? was pro audio recorded? I would settle for a "Van Halen Live at Cafe Wha?" CD, with two new bonus tracks.

[78/84 guy]

Café Wha was too short for me. But would still love to have it. I don't understand why a early 07 or 08 show hasn't been put out when Dave was singing good and Ed was on. Some of those shows were really good. I don't think we will ever get one from last year the way Dave was off.

[conmee]

Brethren and Sistren,

I think they could cobble together songs from different shows to make a good DVD from last year. I don't think any one complete show would work, since Dave was hit or miss between air conditioning vent rage and not singing songs in original range, but at least for Oakland, which I felt in general was a C+/B- in the vocal department, if memory serves (I'll review my notes) I thought he pulled off Panama, ATBL, ICM, and Women In Love (this song he did very well mainly because it was in a manageable range and it was a song in which he didn't run around and dance and kick, just leaned up next to drum riser or sauntered over to Edward).

Maybe pick the best performances possible from the tour and you could compile a nice DVD. Not as fluid as a single show, but could give shout outs to the fans in various cities, and show different crowds/venues/reactions.

Mind The Gap!©®™

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[hambon4lif]

2 major points....
The Trouble With Never: "Every Einstein's assigned a Tweetledee and Tweedledumber"
.....that's an amazing zinger of a line! "He who knows how will always work for he who knows why"
Once again, Roth wrote something that went the beyond the brothers depth of perception....

Blood And Fire: Although the chorus might be borderline corny, the "Told ya' I was coming back! ...say ya' missed me....say it like ya' MEAN IT!!!" still gives you the chills,

This is a phenomenal album!!!

[hambon4lif]

And if you fucked the woman you were with last night to the rhtym of 'Honeybabysweetiedoll"....not to worry, they will call you back the next day.....they always do.

Stay Frosty,motherfuckers!!!!!

[Halen High]

Café Wha was too short for me. But would still love to have it. I don't understand why a early 07 or 08 show hasn't been put out when Dave was singing good and Ed was on. Some of those shows were really good. I don't think we will ever get one from last year the way Dave was off.

Yeah Cafe Wha was a short performance, but Dave sounded very good and the setting was so cool with a very interesting story behind it. I think it would make a great DVD release IF it came with something else.

I agree with you on the 2007/08 tour...particularly '08 when Eddie re-appeared looking and sounding great. I don't know why they didn't release anything. Maybe they thought Wolfie was carrying too much puppy fat and it didn't come across well with Dave, Eddie and Alex looking all ripped and scarey-skinny! He looks good now but Dave's vocals are hit and miss. Although Dave could help himself by simply keeping to his range.

[DLR Bridge]

The Trouble With Never: "Every Einstein's assigned a Tweetledee and Tweedledumber"
.....that's an amazing zinger of a line! "He who knows how will always work for he who knows why"
Once again, Roth wrote something that went the beyond the brothers depth of perception.

This is a phenomenal album!!!

He actually says tweetle dumb and tweetle dumber. I don't think that line is as subtle as the correlation that can be made between Dave and the bros. in CGTSNM. If he truly is poking at them within the lyrics again, that is one ballsy move, when considering how far they all have come to burry their proverbial hatchets.

And yes, this is a phenomenal album. Keep'em comin' boys.

[sonrisa salvaje]

The only difference between this album and the six pack is that i don't have memories of partying to it with beers and backseat escapades. This record is right up there.

[conmee]

The only difference between this album and the six pack is that i don't have memories of partying to it with beers and backseat escapades. This record is right up there.

Exactly... most fans' memories now are divorce, mortgages they can't afford, drinking light beer because of their burgeoning midsections, resentful children, rising college and healthcare costs, impotence, loosepussytence, saggytitstence, baldingtence, incontinence, etc... or in my case, whores and nose candy. "I don't wanna grow up, I'm a coke and hoes kid!"

Mind The Gap!©®™

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[sonrisa salvaje]

Exactly... most fans' memories now are divorce, mortgages they can't afford, drinking light beer because of their burgeoning midsections, resentful children, rising college and healthcare costs, impotence, loosepussytence, saggytitstence, baldingtence, incontinence, etc... or in my case, whores and nose candy. "I don't wanna grow up, I'm a coke and hoes kid!"

Mind The Gap!©®™

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You just summed up the sales figures for the album as well. Most people just move on from music. I hate to say that but of all the friends that i had and still keep up with, only a couple of them still actively seek out music from the people they listened to in their teens and early twenties. The side effects of moving at the speed of life i suppose.

[conmee]

S.S.

I think that is true for the most part. Music played such an important part of childhood and college, but over time, you wonder why a lot of people just start listening to "adult contemporary" or "jazz" and other non-descript shite. I guess kids, calls from creditors, 24 hour news and business reporting become the "soundtrack" for adulthood which is a shame. Not for everyone, but for many. For those of us with a passion for music or just really strong memories of Van Halen, for instance, we continue to cherish and revel in the music. But for many of my colleagues and coworkers over the past 10-15 years, music just isn't a high priority for them, or they've been jaded and desensitized by their children's music selection. Van Halen represents a carefree, fun, energetic time, and for most in the throes of middle-age, I think those three adjectives generally don't apply with much, if any, frequency. So why get all amped up with a cool album, only to put the headphones down, look around, and exclaim, "Fuck! What the hell happened to my life?!?!"

Mind The Gap!©®™

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[PETE'S BROTHER]

and not cause of the music

[conmee]

P.B.

If you're referencing back to sales figures, there's two sides to that coin... "because of the music" in the sense that it really comes from a different era. Sure the sound's been updated somewhat, but by and large, ADKOT appeals "mostly" to existing fan base, and the DLR/VH fan base in particular. So that's a shrinking market for the most part. Net-new fans there are I'm sure, but not sufficient quantities to really GROW the fan base. One could argue that given the mostly large attendance at shows indicates there are sufficient fans, but they only want to hear the classics is also valid. I think a huge part of the sales performance for ADKOT was the poor timing on Interscope's part in releasing it so close to the Grammy's which gave Adele momentum with all her wins. No, people didn't buy Adele's album in lieu of ADKOT, but the marketing engine behind Adele drowned out messaging for all the other artists those few weeks post-Grammys. Either release the album well before the Grammys, include a segment or somehow showcase Van Halen, or wait a couple weeks post-Grammys so that ADKOT didn't have to go up against post-Grammy momentum. And of course, I think the single biggest reason, more so than the music, is the fact that Michael Anthony wasn't a part of it. I personally don't miss MA enough that I wouldn't buy the album or enjoy it, but I know that being able to market a legitimate REUNION©®™ would have given the band additional momentum, regardless if the music was identical.

Then there's the "because of the music" in reference to the songs being sub-par. I think they hold up well v. the catalog for most fans. DLR's voice holds up well for his age and the abuse he's put it through, and the band is super tight, despite working with mostly ancient material from EVH's vaults. Even with an all-new album of killer original, currently written music, I'm not sure how much more successful the album would have been considering it's just not a type of music currently high on most listeners' lists and MA's absence.

But given all those headwinds and challenges, I think it performed pretty well. And in the end, I still enjoy listening to recent music with 3 out of 4 of my childhood heroes...

Mind The Gap!©®™

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[PETE'S BROTHER]

P.B.

If you're referencing back to sales figures, there's two sides to that coin... "because of the music" in the sense that it really comes from a different era. Sure the sound's been updated somewhat, but by and large, ADKOT appeals "mostly" to existing fan base, and the DLR/VH fan base in particular. So that's a shrinking market for the most part. Net-new fans there are I'm sure, but not sufficient quantities to really GROW the fan base. One could argue that given the mostly large attendance at shows indicates there are sufficient fans, but they only want to hear the classics is also valid. I think a huge part of the sales performance for ADKOT was the poor timing on Interscope's part in releasing it so close to the Grammy's which gave Adele momentum with all her wins. No, people didn't buy Adele's album in lieu of ADKOT, but the marketing engine behind Adele drowned out messaging for all the other artists those few weeks post-Grammys. Either release the album well before the Grammys, include a segment or somehow showcase Van Halen, or wait a couple weeks post-Grammys so that ADKOT didn't have to go up against post-Grammy momentum. And of course, I think the single biggest reason, more so than the music, is the fact that Michael Anthony wasn't a part of it. I personally don't miss MA enough that I wouldn't buy the album or enjoy it, but I know that being able to market a legitimate REUNION©®™ would have given the band additional momentum, regardless if the music was identical.

Then there's the "because of the music" in reference to the songs being sub-par. I think they hold up well v. the catalog for most fans. DLR's voice holds up well for his age and the abuse he's put it through, and the band is super tight, despite working with mostly ancient material from EVH's vaults. Even with an all-new album of killer original, currently written music, I'm not sure how much more successful the album would have been considering it's just not a type of music currently high on most listeners' lists and MA's absence.

But given all those headwinds and challenges, I think it performed pretty well. And in the end, I still enjoy listening to recent music with 3 out of 4 of my childhood heroes...

Mind The Gap!©®™

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long winded mutha....oh, you're done?

i'm glad we share those three adjectives

[conmee]

Back in the day, Pojo and I would write mini-novels... when 1,000 posts was a legitimate milestone... ah, the GOOD OL' DAYS©®™....

Mind The Gap!

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[PETE'S BROTHER]

P.B.

If you're referencing back to sales figures, there's two sides to that coin... "because of the music"

nope, knew you were talkin' about folks stuck in lives they didn't really want.

just clarifyin' you weren't referrin" to how folks went thru these steps with vhIII

only to put the headphones down, look around, and exclaim, "Fuck! What the hell happened to my life?!?!"

[conmee]

I think they put the headphones down with VHIII and exclaimed, "What the hell happened to this band!?!?"

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[78/84 guy]

You just summed up the sales figures for the album as well. Most people just move on from music. I hate to say that but of all the friends that i had and still keep up with, only a couple of them still actively seek out music from the people they listened to in their teens and early twenties. The side effects of moving at the speed of life i suppose.

A lot of people moved on from music my age. People I know that loved music ! My buddy was over to watch the Wild lose with me the other night (LOL) and asked me what the hell was hanging on my wall. I told him it was the new Van Halen album. I Framed it. And he say's I didn't even know they put an album out. But had heard Tattoo & She's The Woman on the radio a few times. This is a guy that had up to 4 to 10 pairs of tickets in his dresser drawer in the mid to late 80's for almost every rock concert that came through town ! He went down and bought them and we would just pay him back. I wasn't surprised in the least he didn't know. He still listens to stuff, but it's all the old stuff. He doesn't sit on the internet looking at older band websites to see if they are still releasing stuff, and the radio sure as hell doesn't play new song's by older bands ! Not for long anyways. I gave him my c.d. He went home and listened too it and texted me that he thought it was a great album. He is to busy raising his kid, paying bills, and doing bullshit house work to pay attention anymore. I told him to keep the cd !

[bru87tr]

A lot of people moved on from music my age. People I know that loved music ! My buddy was over to watch the Wild lose with me the other night (LOL) and asked me what the hell was hanging on my wall. I told him it was the new Van Halen album. I Framed it. And he say's I didn't even know they put an album out. But had heard Tattoo & She's The Woman on the radio a few times. This is a guy that had up to 4 to 10 pairs of tickets in his dresser drawer in the mid to late 80's for almost every rock concert that came through town ! He went down and bought them and we would just pay him back. I wasn't surprised in the least he didn't know. He still listens to stuff, but it's all the old stuff. He doesn't sit on the internet looking at older band websites to see if they are still releasing stuff, and the radio sure as hell doesn't play new song's by older bands ! Not for long anyways. I gave him my c.d. He went home and listened too it and texted me that he thought it was a great album. He is to busy raising his kid, paying bills, and doing bullshit house work to pay attention anymore. I told him to keep the cd !

You are a true friend.