Yeah they had Summer Nights before the Cabo taco head got the big break and turned Van Halen gay.
Yeah they had Summer Nights before the Cabo taco head got the big break and turned Van Halen gay.
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Terry (08-12-2022)
Summer Nights was good far as the instrumentation went.
It's sort of hard for me to speculate which 5150 tracks could have lent themselves to the CVH treatment, because that whole 5150 album always sounded terrible to me in terms of how it was mixed. But, yeah, Summer Nights and perhaps the 5150 track itself were the two on that album I could imagine CVH turning into something worthwhile. Good Enough and Get Up were okay in terms of the instrumentation. Maybe those also could have worked up with Dave and turned into decent CVH tunes.
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I can't remember if it was in Dave's CFTH book or an interview or what, but I sort of recall Dave saying that the first album Van Halen did with Hagar had the benefit of them using whatever demos and rehearsals CVH had undertaken in preparation for the follow up to 1984 and using that stuff as a springboard or template for the 5150 album.
Oh, that band top to bottom turned so PG-13 safe overnight after Hagar joined, it was shocking at the time.
It wasn't just Hagar, either. The music by and large lost a sense of urgency and edge. Maybe that was where Ed's head was at the time. I dunno. The band after Dave left...after the first 5150 single (Why Can't This Be Love?) came out in advance of the album...suddenly Van Halen became safe for the prudish, preppy snob high school girls who never put out - not even for their non-pot smoking jock high school boyfriends (maybe a little light petting strictly above the waist and over the shirt) - all of a sudden that crowd deemed Van Halen with Hagar to be acceptable. That crowd would literally say the band improved after Dave left.
The transition had sort of began 2 years prior with the Jump single, but at least that was followed up with Panama and Hot For Teacher. There wasn't any mistaking what Dave was singing about re: HFT, and it wasn't about Hallmark top 40 love sentiments...or Dreams.
Come on man. We are stretching it here. Dave had just come out with an EP with "Easy Street", "California Girls", "Just A Jigolo" and "Coconut Grove" on it. I doubt he was turning his nose up at much Ed brought to the table. If anything, I'd suspect Dave felt like anything Ed brought to the party, he could turn into a masterpiece.
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There were a couple of songs that it's rumored Dave had been given the music too already, from memory I think one was Summer Nights. Entirely different song with Dave coming up with the vocal melody (and lyrics) rather than the Hagar/Foreigner hybrid they ended up with.
Almost 40 years old and he's writing
Ain't no way I'm sittin' home tonight
I'll be out until the mornin' light
Just a hangin' 'round in the local parkin' lot
Oh, checkin' out all the girls, see what they got
Yeah they love it, when me an' the boys
Wanna play some love with them human toys
We wind 'em up n' let 'em go
Whoa oh yeah, whoa yeah, woo
Icky even then...
Last edited by Seshmeister; 08-12-2022 at 09:34 AM.
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Terry (08-16-2022)
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I also recall Dave saying that he had worked on "...half of that album" when asked about 5150 in interviews.
Based on the timeline.....I think they started working in the studio sometime in February 1985.
March-April, they worked on it some more but many arguments, etc. At this point Ed didn't want to work with Ted anymore. Donn of course was there.
My understanding is that Monk was let go in April 1985? I think so.
So CVH really started to unravel during the months of May-June....and sometime it was in maybe late summer Dave had that meeting with Ed and said its not working out etc.
Terry (08-12-2022)
It never got any better from there, just as what he brought to Van Halen wasn't an upgrade from what he had been doing prior.
He could never raise his game even after he joined Van Halen, not even in comparison to Roth but just his own lyrics on their own terms. He never had any game to raise beyond what he was already doing before he joined Van Halen.
Vinnie Velvet (08-12-2022),Von Halen (08-12-2022)
Dave was 100 percent right when he said in his book that the "chemistry turned rotten" which is why I truly believe if CVH took a hiatus and everyone did their own thing, including Dave and his movie deal and let Ed noodle with his idea of doing an album with various singers (a solo effort), it would've been good for the band.
They desperately needed time away from each other and a break from the touring which just amplified drink and drug usage.
Well, in 1985 they got that time they desperately needed away from each other.
Maybe if they took an extended break from each other following the conclusion of the 1984 tour the band would have lasted longer than it did.
Then again, they could have taken that break then ended up right where they were in early 1985 attitude-wise when they were rehearsing for their 7th album anyway.
By all accounts, Ed had pretty much reached the end of the line with Roth even before the 1984 album was released, much less the tour that followed. They all put their best faces on come showtime for the 1984 tour.
I have a feeling that Dave might not have been 100% aware of how fed up Eddie was with him as was the actual case come spring 1985. Maybe Roth was 100% aware but figured it was just Eddie bitching and it wasn't anything that was going to ultimately be fatal far as the band breaking up.
I dunno. Always felt like there was unfinished business with CVH, because they broke up while they were still on top. Felt that way to me at the time, anyway. Van Halen at the time was my favorite band. They had just come off one of their biggest selling albums, their biggest single and a sold-out tour. How could they, you know, break up?
Now, my perspective is that clearly there wasn't any unfinished business. Van Halen had those 6 years and 6 albums with Roth, and that was it. Bit of a tease in 1996, but they couldn't put it together beyond the 2 tracks. Yeah, Roth eventually rejoined in late 2006 and the band sans Anthony started touring again, but it was nostalgia at that point. Reverberations or echoes of when Van Halen had peaked decades ago. The ADKOT album was nostalgia. You'd get a few nostalgic glimmers here and there during 2007-2015 of how fucking great CVH had once been, but Van Halen ended in 1985. Didn't want them to at the time, and I can't say if they ended for the right reasons or not, but Van Halen ended in 1985.
But you know, 6 great albums in 6 years isn't a bad legacy or whatever you want to call it. 6 great albums that still resonate with me to this day.
I agree on all points.
Just a sad reminder of what could’ve been.
They all fucked it up in my opinion. Al would’ve lived his dream of his band being as big as Led Zeppelin.
As they certainly were charting in that direction.
Monk by early ‘85 was already looking to book stadium shows cause the demand for VH was just so big at the time. They just couldn’t keep playing multiple arena nights. The next logical step was stadiums.
And they also could’ve expanded their footprint in Europe and built upon their popularity in South America.
But the Van Halen’s didn’t want to tour outside North America for too long and Dave didn’t like playing stadiums.
Dumbasses. All of them.
Terry (08-14-2022)
In commercial terms, it seemed like there was nowhere to go but up for Van Halen in early 1985. Especially after the success of the 1984 album and the Jump single, which broadened the audience in popular terms. All those CFTH videos catapulted Roth into probably his biggest limelight moment of pop culture stardom. 1984-1985 was the year Van Halen/Roth crested the wave.
I'm not sure the band even then were quite at the point where they could have sold out stadiums across the US solely on the strength of their name alone along the lines of Zeppelin in 1977 or the Stones in 1981. Maybe. Maybe not. If not, they were close. Perhaps more likely in 1985 would have been a tour part large arenas, part stadiums (same as Zep '77 / Stones '81), with the stadium gigs having a name opening act.
Yeah, probably ego, ambition and various pills, powders and potions all combined to halt Van Halen's ascent to even greater commercial heights. I don't really consider the failure of that coming to pass as much of a shame as the music ending.
Vinnie Velvet (08-15-2022)
I'll give some credence to the F A T little Wolf Man defending his family name. At the same time it's his family name that got him to where he is today without much in the way of paying any doooos. Because paying doooos is what the music biz is all about. The F A T Wolf Boy has some talent but there nothing original or groundbreaking about it like was the case with his daddy. The dude plays tiresome trad rock with a pinch of pseudo-metal here and there. He will not carry on any legacy of the family name but live off his percentage of Eddie's royalties become another F A T southern Californian trust fund shithead once his record contract runs day.
Look for him to go on his mother's food show as the F A T kid who "eats healthy"
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Terry (08-16-2022)
Wolfe doesn’t drink or smoke but he’s been obese his whole life. He was even fat when he was little. He probably already has signs of heart disease. Type 2 diabetes isn’t far off. I’ve seen people like Wolf drop dead in their early 50’s from both.
Wolf is just there. Sure he might beat the drums better than his dad did and he might construct whole songs, write lyrics and sing but there’s no magic or wow factor to it. Like many schmucks Wolf seems to use social media for both a psychiatrist and a punching bag. Not smart. Anyways will he be around in ten years? If he is nobody will care. *yawn*
Van Halen were talented enough that they could have taken a year or two off and get their shit straightened out. Roth could have done some solo stuff. Ed and Al were always too anal about band members doing side projects. When you saw Dave you always thought Van Halen whether it was just him or the band. They should have taken two years off and then hit us with a great new album and tour. VH was big enough the grunge thing was no threat to them. VH got burned out and tired of each other and fell apart from the stinky vibes all that bullshit causes.
Terry (08-16-2022),Vinnie Velvet (08-15-2022)
Many bands break up because of health related reasons. The get sick of each other.
Terry (08-16-2022)
Cocaine is a hell of a drug. VH were burnt. They needed some R&R. The problem is record labels don’t see things that way and artists needed fuck you! money to have any freedom. I’m not sure how much fuck you! money VH had in 1984. It sounds like their overhead and substance abuse were eating a lot of the profits.
Terry (08-16-2022)
Yeah true. Good point.
I believe it was an interview Pete Angelus did not that long ago where he said that they really needed a break after consistent touring and recording. So yeah VH was burnt out but could they afford to stay away for three years? We will never know for sure.
It was two years anyway by the time 5150 was released. Whats another two years?
Nitro Express (08-17-2022),Terry (08-16-2022)
Another thing that crosses my mind is that had Roth stayed in the band in 1985, it'd be hard for me to imagine that Warner Brothers would have been encouraging about the band taking 2 years (or more) to release a follow-up album to 1984. After Roth left, obviously WB had to give the band some slack time wise because they had just changed lead singers.
I say that because while I don't know the specifics of Van Halen's record deal back then I'm assuming it was along the general lines of a lot of other bands at the time, where the record companies got their biggest cut of the profits off album sales vs. then-typically a comparatively much smaller percentage of tour revenues.
When reading about the pressure WB exerted on the band and their producer over the nearly two-year gap between Diver Down and 1984 - pressure that intensified as 1983 wore on - it'd be reasonable to assume WB would be even more anxious to have a follow up to 1984, which sold far better than Diver Down did. Because what do record companies know beyond striking when a band is hot?
Kristy (08-16-2022)
To me, there was a freak show element when the news that he was the band's bass player was initially made public. Especially because in the fall of 2006 'Van Halen' and Eddie were a mess, so the news that Ed's 15-year-old kid was now in the band was a WTF reaction. A reaction I had when that first publicity photo was released in early 2007 through the 2007 press conference and even the show I saw a year later. WTF in that it was just more than slightly bizarre, but by then more than slightly bizarre had been Van Halen's modus operandi since Hagar left in 1996 anyway.
Once the first Roth reunion tour had concluded, it was as you said for me, in that Wolf was just...there. Unlike the first Roth reunion tour where when I did look at him onstage it was that weird freak show vibe, by the ADKOT album/tour I paid little to no attention to what he was doing.
Overall, I still think his being in the band was a positive thing in that I imagine it helped motivate Eddie to pull himself together. In that aspect, him being in the band was helpful. Outside of that, him being in the band isn't something I think made the band sound any better on a musical level than any other competent bass player would have.
There were certainly other ways to fill the time gap that would've made some money for WB.
Dave suggested a live album I believe - as he said "we have tapes" - along with maybe working up one or two new songs ( not that hard to do - something like She's the Woman could've been done back then). A live release from VH in '85 would've sold big in addition to them even doing one video for said "new song".
But the Van Halens didn't want to do a live album.
Nothing was working communication wise between Roth and VH at the time. By the time Monk was let go - there was no one to even try to mediate the situation. The band was in a freefall.
Last edited by Vinnie Velvet; 08-16-2022 at 11:50 AM.
Van Halen was not your ordinary band. They were a legendary act with one of the top five guitar players in the world. They could stay out of it for three years easy and when they came back it would be HUGE! Think about it. No VH for three years and then a new album, new videos on MTV and a world tour. What would you do in 1988? It would beat the hell out of that gay 0U812 poodle puff garbage.
Yeah the Van Halen’s were difficult to deal with. I think they created a situation that frustrated Dave so much he basically said fuck it. Crazy from the Heat was well received. MTV loves me. The hell with you guys. Ego is a hell of a thing too but with the Van Halen’s anyone without that last name was less. There was some nepotism and that later became very apparent.
He stood there at that 2007 press conference like a chubby schlub.
He slowly wandered around onstage in 2007 like a chubby schlub.
Zero stage presence, as you said. I honestly can't even recall being aware in 2012 that he was performing onstage with the band, because it literally didn't occur to me to look his way.
All of the members of the original VH had stage presence. They were hungry (Not for twinkies). They truly enjoyed their craft and it showed onstage. Ed was probably the happiest guitar player ever. I don't think anyone smiled as much while playing onstage as Ed did.
Wolf is too brooding. He almost seems like he's doing it because he's a Van Halen, not because of any sort of hunger for it. But he never had to work for it like the rest of the band did. He's like the spoiled rich kid that takes over daddy's company just because he's the son. While I am grateful he helped get Ed and Dave back together, in hindsight, Ed should have kept Mike and made Wolfgang form his own band and be the opening act. They'd have still gotten preferential treatment, but at least he'd have had to somewhat earn his place on that stage. He had no stage presence with VH. He has no stage presence now. He's a fine musician, but there is no chemistry in his band, because they aren't really a band. They are live, session musicians.
Terry (08-17-2022),Vinnie Velvet (08-17-2022)
Well, I don't know about that. When I saw them live he had one hell of a smug stage presence. With thousands and thousands of dollars in instruments and stage gear none of which he broke a sweat to earn and knowing no major musical manufacturer would sponsor him apart from his daddy he brought no energy to the band. I saw them live in 2004 when Mikey was blowing S P A M M Y at least he had some interaction with the audience. I have nothing against the F A T Wolf Boy but when you're given the keys to daddy's Ferrari without ever having a job in your life chances are good he's going wreck it and would have if Ed did not buy a farm.
Terry (08-17-2022)
I couldn't say for sure if he was smug about it, although as you say he may well have been smug about his sense of entitlement. He just slowly wandered around onstage. I dunno...maybe that's what he is comfortable doing or can't be bothered to exhibit an ounce of showmanship or doesn't feel showmanship is important because he never had to display any to get into the band in the first place. I don't really have anything against him, but I could never really have much of anything for him, either, for the same reason as you said: he brought no energy to the band. Would have been one thing if he actually worked a bit onstage. I do seem to recall something along the lines of Wolfgang being the one to pick the setlists, so if nothing else Wolfgang's suggestions resulted in those deeper CVH cuts getting an airing and the setlists changing from tour to tour to tour. I guess there's that. I just never felt at any point during 2006-2015 that the band was somehow any better where it counted - playing music onstage - because of Wolfgang being there.
I think it would have been better along the lines of what Von said, where Wolfgang could have facilitated Dave getting back into the band but encouraged his dad to get Mike back, too. If Wolfgang is a fraction as savvy about the internet and what is said on Van Halen fan sites as he comes off as being, he damn well knew what people wanted to see was CVH back together. And that could have happened in 2012...or 2015, It didn't take three tours with Wolfgang before an overture to Anthony was made. THAT is damned ridiculous.
Broader view: whatever. Van Halen is over. What was, was.
Vinnie Velvet (08-17-2022),ZahZoo (08-18-2022)
He’s a brat with some musical talent. There’s nobodies on You Tube that can outperform Wolf in every way but their last name isn’t Van Halen. At least he’s doing something and not spending all his time eating Cheetos, playing video games and stiring shit on Twitter. Anyways I could care less about the lame fuck.
Terry (08-17-2022),Vinnie Velvet (08-17-2022)
Vinnie Velvet (08-17-2022)
I just bought a ticket to see Ed play and Ed didn’t disappoint. I enjoyed seeing Al play too, he was great as well. Dave was past the sell date but hey, it was fun to see him up there. Wolf added more weight to make sure the stage wouldn’t blow away.
Terry (08-17-2022)
At the Red Rocks show in 2015 I couldn't hear him which is weird at a place like Red Rocks where you can hear every musical nuance. Eddie was fantastic. You could distinguish every note and his tone was more than self-evident. Problem was the same with Roth's voice which was shot and innervating as fuck but that's another story. Most bass I remember from that show was from Alex's double kick and those seemed to be miked up. The F A T Wolf Boy just stood there like a zombie John Entwistle although nowhere near his playing skill level. I guess nepotism has it rewards like the whole Jason Bonham where his dad was a world famous drummer so he must be a world famous drummer, too. See how that works? Eddie and Alex should have hired someone. I don't care if it was session musician and kept them in the back kind of like what The Doors did. The majority of the people at that show all wanted to see Eddie, not an smug little shit who played basic bass lines with daddy's money
Sure, you can make an solid argument that he has talent but personally I see nothing special or original about the guy. He sounds like every other metal bar band in the past 30 years.
Too many effects an no personality. Utterly boring. Jimmy "The Asshole" Page plagiarized riffs like this only he was smart enough to make a melody out of them.
I couldn't hear his bass in 2008 unless Ed stopped playing and Dave stopped singing. His bass was way down in the mix. And the backing vocals were augmented by pre-recorded backing tracks.
In 2012 my recollection was that he was a little louder in the mix than he had been the previous tour, but I wasn't paying much attention to him.
Never thought Jason Bonham was a world-class drummer, either. Just a guy who copped his father's style.
I'm not gonna bother watching the Mammoth clip, because nothing I heard from the album made me want to hear any of it live, although it was good that you included it. Wolfgang, from what I've heard, is about as talented as any other number of professional musicians in his age bracket. My reaction to the Mammoth album was basically what it would have been if the group were a bunch of Joe Blows From Idaho and I stumbled across the music on YouTube, which is basically a shoulder shrug, Wasn't "the worst music EVER" or whatever, but bland and forgettable.
Kristy (08-18-2022)
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