Michael Starr Five Van Halen deep cuts we should be listening to

[Seshmeister]

https://www.metaledgemag.com/lists/hey-michael-starr-from-steel-panther-tell-us-five-van-halen-deep-cuts-we-should-be-listening-to?fbclid=IwAR13MTg_YqwH4irNZZkq6BULQxU-J--mMT64CJkiRkwaY2gBFI9PdNctVy8

Hey Michael Starr from Steel Panther! Tell us five Van Halen deep cuts we should be listening to

The Steel Panther vocalist is a VH scholar
RICHARD BIENSTOCK

It may not be immediately obvious to the untrained eye or ear, but we're going to let you in on a little secret: Michael Starr, front man extraordinaire for L.A. glam gods Steel Panther, is - gasp! - a major Van Halen fan.

That's right, we said it. And now that we have, chances are you won't be able to unsee - or unhear - it. Dive into, say, just about any track from the Steel Panther catalog, and we're sure you'll agree. Or better yet, cue up the band's latest and greatest - that'd be the brand-new single, “Never Too Late (To Get Some Pussy Tonight),” from their forthcoming sixth studio album, On the Prowl - and prepare for Panther-style musical pyrotechnics.

Now that the cat - or, should we say, the panther - is out of the bag, we asked Starr to go deep with us on his VH love, and offer our readers some learnin' in the process. He was happy to oblige.

"Can you believe that there are songs by Van Halen that never got the love they deserved?" he told us. "Lucky for you I made a list of five deep VH cuts for you to have a listen to."

Check out Starr's picks below, and while you're at it, enter to win a signed vinyl copy of On the Prowl, as well as a Steel Panther 1987 guitar pedal, direct from the band and Metal Edge. Try your luck here!



1. "Sinner's Swing!" (Fair Warning, 1981)

"Fast, powerful and lyrically amazing. Added bonus: The solo is blistering. My high school best friends dad told us we couldn’t listen to it in his house because Dave said 'fucking.' Lol."


2. "In a Simple Rhyme" (Women and Children First, 1980)

"Melodies that touch your heart along with a great love story. Added bonus: They recorded this record in 2 weeks. It’s raw and powerful. Different kind of sound for them. I remember taking acid and listening to this song over 50 times."


3. "As Is" (A Different Kind of Truth, 2012)

"After nearly three decades between their last full-length record with David Lee Roth, this is a classic VH song, with everything you would expect from VH - killer solo and DLR screams. Added bonus: Wolfgang Van Halen’s first record with his dad."


4. "One Foot Out the Door" (Fair Warning, 1981)

"This is a deep cut. Lyrics are great but the best part of this song is the solo. Added bonus: It’s about pussy."


5. "Source of Infection" (OU812, 1988)

"This is a Sammy classic. Killer solo and killer screams by Hagar. And Michael Anthony’s harmonies and bass line is off the charts. Added bonus: Sammy sounds like DLR."

[Rikk]

1. "Sinner's Swing!" (Fair Warning, 1981)

This song is serious awesome. He's right. A truly-overlooked VH song (if there are any overlooked songs in the six-pack). I imagine (though don't remember) they played this on the FAIR WARNING tour, but would be seriously surprised if they dug this classic out during the latter days with Dave. And it's too bad if they didn't.

2. "In a Simple Rhyme" (Women and Children First, 1980)

Duh. Of course this song is awesome. When Cheese-heads try and argue that the original VH was more one-note than the middle-of-the-road Van Hagar era, that just proves their ignorance. This is how a (relatively) delicate Van Halen song SHOULD sound...not WHEN IT'S LOVE, LOVE WALKS IN, CAN'T STOP LOVIN' YOU, etc.

3. "As Is" (A Different Kind of Truth, 2012)

It's nice to see him point something out from ADKOT, and this is a cool song...but I don't like this song as much as YOU & YOUR BLUES, OUTTA SPACE, STAY FROSTY or BEATS WORKIN'.

4. "One Foot Out the Door" (Fair Warning, 1981)

See, I always viewed this as more of an experiment. It's just not my favorite VH song. It's cool...there really is only one track I don't like on the entire six-pack (DANCING IN THE STREET...I hate every version of that song cut by anyone). I even like Eddie's solo on this one. But I just don't see it as an overlooked classic.

5. "Source of Infection" (OU812, 1988)

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING? I point to this track as one of the biggest examples of just what was wrong with the Van Hagar era. Here, you have a furious piece of riffery...this music would have belonged on albums like FAIR WARNING or even 1984 (though the drum sound and the lack of bass make it sound pretty pussy). BUT THE VOCALS ARE A TRAVESTY!! You do some serious riffage in the studio and then hand the mic to a fucking idiot who screams "Woo-hoo!" and "Yeah!"...? Fuck you! Not only did the Cheeseface refuse to even write lyrics but he didn't even bother with a melody. And the really lame harmony-vocal chorus just ruins everything. This is a prime example of THIS BAND HAS A SERIOUS GUITAR-PLAYER BUT NOT MUCH ELSE. Seriously...there actually are a handful of actually pretty good Van Hagar songs (despite the singer trying to ruin them) and he picks this song? The rare times I hear this song, I always think of lost opportunities.

[Terry]

Source Of Infection was and remains a 2nd rate Van Hagar ripoff of Hot For Teacher. Michael Starr can lick my grundle re: that track.

Sinner's Swing! Yep.

In A Simple Rhyme. Yep.

As Is. One of the better tracks off of ADKOT, but I find I'm not listening to that album as much 10 + years on from it's release as I am the 6 pack stuff.

One Foot Out The Door. Yep, but ONLY if preceded by Sunday Afternoon In The Park.

[Vinnie Velvet]

Source of Infection is one of the worst Van Hagar songs ever.

Its like a sad parody of the once mighty CVH.

Eddie even sounds like hes trying to copy his greatest licks from the six pack but comes out with this drivel.

Its total garbage. And I didn't even get started on Hagar yet.

[Von Halen]

I wonder who was the source of Kristy's infection?

[Terry]

Jimmy Page?