Ed's out of new Material

[Vanstonica]

Van Halen has run dry. If Ed really had "10 albums worth of material" they wouldn't be re-using songs with different singers, Like Spammy claimed "Can't Get This Stuff No More" was.

If Eddie really was writing as much as he claims he is, why would 3 of the last 5 albums they've put out be "greatest hits" of some sorts.

1) Van Hagar live
2) Balance (studio)
3) BOV I
4) VH 3 (which SUCKED)
5) Greatest Hits...again.

...doesn't look to me like a band that's exactly overflowing with new material. Why would Dave want to hitch his wagon to a band that is a few more empty stadium shows away from Poison??

[ALMOSTsaved]

I tend to think that Warner Bros were going to release this greatest hits regardless of a tour. I don't think Ed had any say so.

[pkolb]

Re: Ed's out of new Material

Originally posted by Vanstonica
Van Halen has run dry. If Ed really had "10 albums worth of material" they wouldn't be re-using songs with different singers, Like Spammy claimed "Can't Get This Stuff No More" was.

If Eddie really was writing as much as he claims he is, why would 3 of the last 5 albums they've put out be "greatest hits" of some sorts.

1) Van Hagar live
2) Balance (studio)
3) BOV I
4) VH 3 (which SUCKED)
5) Greatest Hits...again.

...doesn't look to me like a band that's exactly overflowing with new material. Why would Dave want to hitch his wagon to a band that is a few more empty stadium shows away from Poison??

Far be it from me to defend Sammy in any way, but I do recall Roth commenting about the Best Of songs that they had one song already tracked that needed vocals and they wrote one song from scratch. I'm assuming "Can't Get This Stuff No More" was the one that was already tracked.

That said, like you, I question the "10 albums worth of material" claim. I don't doubt that Eddie has loads of old half-conceived licks, chord progressions, and ideas - but fully developed songs suitable for Van Halen-style music? No.

[lms]

I tend to agree with Almost Saved, but also you need to keep in mind that Classic Van Halen still has all kinds of unreleased material. These guys are human. Alot of what they write is shit-and then you get lucky with a few good tunes. Further, it is common among artists to hate the work that actually makes them famous. Stephen King hated Carrie so much that he threw it away upon completion. His wife is the only reason that book ever got submitted to a publisher....Happens all the time. So, I am sure the material is there somewhere, what is lacking is someone to make the material come alive. Someone to sort through the shit, pick whats worthwile, and make those few changes that change a mess into a masterpiece.

[guwapo_rocker]

Ed was so drunk down at 5150 that he kept forgetting

what he did the night before. Therefore he kept redoing

the same songs over and over.

He thought he had 120 songs, but in reality he only had 3!!

[pkolb]

Originally posted by lms
So, I am sure the material is there somewhere, what is lacking is someone to make the material come alive. Someone to sort through the shit, pick whats worthwile, and make those few changes that change a mess into a masterpiece.

I'd prefer to hear Eddie's "shit" in raw form than full songs on a new album with Hagar. I'll bet there's some great guitar material, that gets ruined by the time they organize it, polish it in the studio, and let Sam at it. I hope the vault doesn't end up being like a Frank Zappa situation where Val and Wolfgang play Gail and Dweezil, sitting on the stuff and just throwing us a bone every once in awhile. Either way, Eddie will be dying soon, so we should find out fairly quickly.

[EmpyreLounge44]

yeah i bet the vault is a lot more bare than we all imagine it to be. I bet those "10 albums" is nothing but Ed and Al jamming, just guitar and bass with the occasional bass part that Ed layed down, since they werent talking to Mike in the downtime from 3 to the current tour. We wont hear that material until Eddie dies.

I agree that the Best Of probably was happening regardless, hence the claim in an article that the tracking was picked out already and they were probably asked if they wanted to submit anything new. I tend to think the reunion with Sammy was happening before the Best Of

[PerryLane]

Those Ed & Al jam's would be cool to hear for sure if they exist (which I'm sure they do).

I think the problem with them not getting more new material out is that Ed can't seem to think as simplisticly about his ideas that he needs to. That's where he needs Dave. To get those bits of riffs and ideas worked to form whole songs with a good, catchy punchline. That's what classic Van Halen was all about. Great riffs, and catchy tunes!
Where's the hook on these new Van Hagar tunes?? They seem forced and unnatural!

[EmpyreLounge44]

it's all about the hook, without that you are screwed. I spoke to an A&R guy about a year ago and asked him what he looks for, and he basically said if a 13 yr old girl cant sing your hook, your dead in the water and will struggle to sell...granted he was more of a "pop" guy but still kinda holds true.

I really think Ed is not interested in, or thinks about hooks when he is playing...he just kinda plays whatever which is good when it works, not so good if it doesnt

[Cathedral]

He's a loser with money...the worst kind if you ask me.
Ed hasn't written a good song since 1984, and i even question some of the things he was drifting to then.

He would be better suited for a new tv show called "When Great Rockers Turn Bad" Episode One: From Gold to Cold.

[DR CHIP]

Shit forget the new stuff...he can't even play the old....

[Terry]

Even if Warner Brothers were gonna put out both the Best Ofs/Greatest Hits without the consent of the band, there's just no denying that Van Halen's output lessened after the classic lineup split up.

Classic Van Halen - 6 studio albums in 6 years.

Post classic - 5 studio albums in just under twenty.

Let's say Ed was chomping at the bit to release new material, but didn't have the support of Warner Brothers unless Dave was in the band......nothing stopping EVH from going the indie route like Dave did.

I know, I know, Ed's gone through a lot of shit since 1999. Third singer left the band. Tongue cancer. Record label dropped the band. Wife left him.

Didn't stop him from hitting the links and popping up at NAMM shows did it?

In the last 8 years, the band has released two greatest hits compilations (counting the soon to be released Greatest Hits), one full length album and 5 new bonus tracks for the Best Ofs.

All the above tells me that Van Halen is just spent as a creative force.

Sad to say, but VH has morphed into just another one of the countless acts which go out on the road and flog their back catalog due to an inability to create new music worth listening to.

[L.S.D.]

Originally posted by Cathedral
He's a loser with money...the worst kind if you ask me.
Ed hasn't written a good song since 1984, and i even question some of the things he was drifting to then.

He would be better suited for a new tv show called "When Great Rockers Turn Bad" Episode One: From Gold to Cold.

So Eddie is a loser, yet you sit here on a internet message forem and bitch about his career and what he has accomplished?

I think you need to look in the mirror fuckface.

[Golden AWe]

[Big Troubles]

Originally posted by L.S.D.
So Eddie is a loser, yet you sit here on a internet message forem and bitch about his career and what he has accomplished?

I think you need to look in the mirror fuckface.

why would he need a mirror? He's not a washed up musician with shit for brains and brains for shit. Ed has lied over and over again and got filthy rich because of some of these lies. We bitch, because real fans care! Thats what this place is for. Jesus, I thought you were smarter than this.