Hagar and bass player seek a fan to phone them

[DLR Bridge]

The average lunatic fan like myself and so many others do have this imaginary follow up to 1984 playing out in our heads. Romantically, it would have been an amazing continuation of their hard rock to pop rock transition. That's sounds like a potential disaster, but a necessary risk none the less. They were dominating on the air waves and the TV. Many bands that have endured have gone full tilt pop music before reverting back to their roots. Case in point, U2 and their ponderous, perhaps drunkenly recorded, Pop. They rebounded from a flop with perseverance. Had Van Halen with Dave released a follow up chock full of I'll Waits, it would have been received with mixed reviews, but that's not something that ever stood in their way. A solution would have been there. If only they hadn't grown so damn sick of each other, Dave and Ed.

[Halen High]

I'm another one of those "lunatic" fans. Had the original band not broken up and even if they still released the next album in 1986, including the same tracks but with Dave's very cool and different vocals and lyrics (other than Love Walks In and Get Up - replaced with We Die Bold and Light In The Sky), produced three videos in the style of what Dave came up with for 1984 and EEAS and embarked on the inevitable world tour...I think it's fairly safe to say that the tour would have been one of the biggest in rock history and the album sales would have exceeded '1984'.

I remember how huge Van Halen was in Australia back in '85, and how much the interest had waned in just a few years. Hard rock/metal fans in Australia and the world were eagerly anticipating the next Van Halen album and tour...then everything got diluted. In 1985, VH were THE coolest hard rock band on the planet with a street cread up there with ACDC and Led Zep. By the end of the '80s, you had to convince people they were still a good band, which I tried to do until I finally accepted my loyalty was blind and I'd been kidding myself.

[Seshmeister]

I dunno. My rationalization is that Classic Van Halen were already slightly past their peak even by the time Diver Down rolled around, much less 1984.
They may have possibly become even more popular had Roth stuck around, and there's no dismissing the massive commercial appeal of 1984, but it's not necessarily my favorite album from the band. Considering where the music was heading on an instrumental level, and where it did go after Roth left, I don't think the Van Halens (and by this I mean basically Eddie) felt like they really wanted to keep reinventing the hard rock wheel with subsequent releases and topping themselves. In terms of that type of frantic/energetic hard rock, Van Halen as a band went as far as they could with Dave. Sammy Hagar was better-suited for Ed's developing commerical approach.
When I listen to 1984, I don't hear everyone in the band working together to the level I did on previous records. It sounds too often like what it actually was: the Van Halens putting what they wanted to do down first, then Roth taking those results in the form of demo tapes and writing lyrics to it afterwards.
The proof is in the pudding of what Van Halen and Roth released immediately after the split. With EEAS, Roth was still prepared to engage in the sonic assault early CVH was known for. With 5150, the Van Halens clearly weren't. Although in fairness to Van Halen post-1984, even Roth himself as a solo artist never surpassed CVH for me. Came much closer to the CVH magic than Van Hagar ever did, to be sure, but there you are.

I think the pussification of VH would have been greatly slowed down if not prevented by Roth staying at the helm.

With Roth still in the band you don't get Templeman replaced by a limp wristed balladeer or the rush to the soccer mom demographic by the dwarf master of cheesy mediocrity.

The conflict between singer and guitarist continues bringing the best out of both so that you don't end up with grown men pastel onesies and lyrics about unrequited love affairs with alien proctologists.

[envy_me]

I can't see them opening for Bon Jovi with Dave in charge. They wouldn't even have the same audience as Bon Jovi with Dave.




And as much as I hate Max Martin, maybe VH should do what BJ did and let him write a song or two, for the commercial success.

[Zing!]

Musically Ed had some interesting things guitar-wise on 5150, even if I hated his tone on that album. I'm sure changing his sound so drastically was an intentional F-you to his CVH legacy. He did seem to lose a his guitar-god status by 1986 and tended to become a bit redundant with his playing on preceding Van Haggar albums, often changing his sound to make up the difference. OU812 was a drunken, sloppy mess of an album, but his playing rebounded on the bloated next one (some songs only held back by the vocals, like Judgement Day). But back to 5150 - I doubt Dave and Ted would have been on board with the cheese ballads Ed cooked up. After 1984, making an album with even one keyboard song would have been a tough sell, and the arguments and in-fighting would have been intense if Dave had stayed. Ed had the perfect partner in Haggar in that he had a guy that knew he was an average talent just lucky to be in the hottest band in the world at the time - meaning he had him by the balls and could get him to agree to pretty much anything he wrote musically.

[DLR Bridge]

Oddly enough, ADKOT and 5150 have a similarly over compressed guitar sound. If a 1986 CVH release meant a hand full of Blood & Fires to balance out a hand full of I'll Waits, I'd take it over Why Can't Love Walk Inside My Dreams On Both Worlds.

[envy_me]

I don't think ADKOT is what it could have been/should have been when it comes to songs. Maybe what they had as songwriters has faded. I think they realize that themselves considering that they are using old material.

[chuckjitsu]

I think the results speak for themselves when Ed does things his way without any resistance from a Dave or a Templeman- you get the shlocky ballads of the Hagar era or general disasters like III. To me, the Van Halen albums with Dave clearly show that Ed does his best work when working with a foil- somebody who challenges Ed instead of simply going along.

I once read an interview with Chuck D. of Public Enemy where he was asked to describe what Flavor Flav added to the PE albums. He said that he couldn't really put in to words what he added, just that he added that "special something" to the albums. That's how I feel about Dave and Van Halen. He adds that "special something" that just elevates the Dave era over the Hagar era. Ed did some interesting work in the Hagar era (not counting the When It's Love type crap), but the Hagar era just lacked that "special something" and that made them far less interesting than the Dave era.

[DLR Bridge]

I don't think ADKOT is what it could have been/should have been when it comes to songs. Maybe what they had as songwriters has faded. I think they realize that themselves considering that they are using old material.

I think, song wise, the CD was a gift for the die hards. If there is to be a follow up, it would be interesting to see if they've got a modern day Dance The Night Away up their sleeve. I doubt they're interested in fishing for a mainstream hit, but I don't doubt that they are capable of creating one. This is a natural born summer time band. All they have to do is craft a tune in the pop vain if they want. I was listening to Beats Workin' this morning and was noticing how poppy and catchy the chorus was. Had the verse been more catchy and understandable, I'd say that could have been a great summer radio tune.

[Zing!]

When I listen to Beats Workin', I always find myself wanting Dave's higher register voice buried in the mix and his lower register (he's singing over himself) brought to the front.

[vandeleur]

The highlight on ADKOT for me is blood and fire .
It's lyrics are almost a not even subtle wink to the old school fans .
It's catchy and if they had of promoted it correctly .... Er promoted even .
Could have been a hit .

[FORD]

Yep, even my sister the Bible thumping religious fanatic recognized "Blood and Fire" as a Van Halen song the first time she heard it blasting out of my stereo. And she's not a VH fan by any stretch of the imagination.

[DLR Bridge]

When I listen to Beats Workin', I always find myself wanting Dave's higher register voice buried in the mix and his lower register (he's singing over himself) brought to the front.

Totally. The Indeedido voice is just too coarse. Surprising since Dave's always been cognizant of how the guitars should sound in order to be more 'girl friendly'. Do chicks dig that kinda singing? Me doesn't think so. The mellow baritone always was and always will be the best way to go.

[Jérôme Frenchise]

Totally. The Indeedido voice is just too coarse. Surprising since Dave's always been cognizant of how the guitars should sound in order to be more 'girl friendly'. Do chicks dig that kinda singing? Me doesn't think so. The mellow baritone always was and always will be the best way to go.

May Dave hear ya... He would, the way you put it.

We're a bunch around here to complain about it, at THE fan site of his, so it must have come up to his ears now, let's hope so...

... unsure VH would last much longer like this.

[envy_me]

China Town is my favourite.


Beats Working is an old one, right? Maybe that's why it's catchy