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I just bought the UK rock mag MOJO, and it's a "special limited edition". "The Greatest Classic Rock Albums EVER: The Music that STILL ROCKS YOUR WORLD!" DAVID LEE ROTH & CLASSIC VAN HALEN are well represented in the magazine. The albums are not rated, nor is there a 1-50 of "the best". The albums are simply recognized as being STELLAR releases.
The Van Halen article starts with VH opening for Black Sabbath in 1978. Ozzy is quoted as saying "It was a terrible time. VAN HALEN walked all over us.", as in they kicked Sabbath's ass onstage. It goes on to talk about VH rising out of the L.A. club circuit to world wide superstars.
Dave goes out of his way in a '78 interview (quoted by the author) as saying, "VAN HALEN ain't no hippies. We're playing the '80's. Other bands are still doing the '70's."
In a new interview, DAVE goes on to talk about meeting up with the Van Halen Bros. The bros were "Superb musicians who could play anything, but they were covering The Who's Tommy, Led Zeppelin, the whole first side of Black Sabbath-nothing you could dance to. So it was simply a question of what do you play that accommodates all of this musicality as well as the demands of the audience? And I've always fancied myself as an anthropologist: what is the behavior of the TRIBE? What inspires the collective? I knew where to go play. I knew what to play, so consequently I WAS THE BOSS. And the combination was magic."
The article talks about how quickly VH albums were recorded, as to catch the LIVE aspect of the band. VH1 is noted for its raw sound and DAVE & EVH's star qualities.
The author recalls a review of a VAN HALEN show at the Selland Arena, Fresno, on the 22nd of Sept.
"DAVID LEE ROTH must be THE most active, energetic frontman on the rock circuit today. His jackknife leaps from the drum kit have to be seen to be believed...The music smacks of dirt, sex, booze, dope, and good times, and it's all very hyperkinetic. Dave's between song spiels are fast, repetitive, idiotic and downright honest...yet the females flock to him when he screams, grabbing at his legs onstage. Van Halen use all the old tricks, but the sound is definitely not stale. Most bands would refuse to follow this group onstage. Sabbath definitely should have thought twice."
The article then covers the rest of the DAVE years: The growing tension, the KEYBOARD vs. GUITARHERO feud, and finally the split. He sums up the aftermath: "As the rest of VAN HALEN declared in 1985 when they announcing Hagar as Van Halen's new vocalist," the band has lost a frontman, but gained a singer". True enough. There would be no more forgotten lyrics or cover versions. Instead there would be hit singles and albums curiously redolent of the bands that they had so effectively blown out of the water in 1978(He referred to STYXX and Kansas!). Neither DAVID LEE ROTH or VAN HALEN would ever sound so exciting again."
All in all, a cool article on DAVE & CLASSIC VH. Also included(with every artist covered in the mag) is a "top 10 list" of the artist' best songs.
ROTH ON!!!
The Van Halen article starts with VH opening for Black Sabbath in 1978. Ozzy is quoted as saying "It was a terrible time. VAN HALEN walked all over us.", as in they kicked Sabbath's ass onstage. It goes on to talk about VH rising out of the L.A. club circuit to world wide superstars.
Dave goes out of his way in a '78 interview (quoted by the author) as saying, "VAN HALEN ain't no hippies. We're playing the '80's. Other bands are still doing the '70's."
In a new interview, DAVE goes on to talk about meeting up with the Van Halen Bros. The bros were "Superb musicians who could play anything, but they were covering The Who's Tommy, Led Zeppelin, the whole first side of Black Sabbath-nothing you could dance to. So it was simply a question of what do you play that accommodates all of this musicality as well as the demands of the audience? And I've always fancied myself as an anthropologist: what is the behavior of the TRIBE? What inspires the collective? I knew where to go play. I knew what to play, so consequently I WAS THE BOSS. And the combination was magic."
The article talks about how quickly VH albums were recorded, as to catch the LIVE aspect of the band. VH1 is noted for its raw sound and DAVE & EVH's star qualities.
The author recalls a review of a VAN HALEN show at the Selland Arena, Fresno, on the 22nd of Sept.
"DAVID LEE ROTH must be THE most active, energetic frontman on the rock circuit today. His jackknife leaps from the drum kit have to be seen to be believed...The music smacks of dirt, sex, booze, dope, and good times, and it's all very hyperkinetic. Dave's between song spiels are fast, repetitive, idiotic and downright honest...yet the females flock to him when he screams, grabbing at his legs onstage. Van Halen use all the old tricks, but the sound is definitely not stale. Most bands would refuse to follow this group onstage. Sabbath definitely should have thought twice."
The article then covers the rest of the DAVE years: The growing tension, the KEYBOARD vs. GUITARHERO feud, and finally the split. He sums up the aftermath: "As the rest of VAN HALEN declared in 1985 when they announcing Hagar as Van Halen's new vocalist," the band has lost a frontman, but gained a singer". True enough. There would be no more forgotten lyrics or cover versions. Instead there would be hit singles and albums curiously redolent of the bands that they had so effectively blown out of the water in 1978(He referred to STYXX and Kansas!). Neither DAVID LEE ROTH or VAN HALEN would ever sound so exciting again."
All in all, a cool article on DAVE & CLASSIC VH. Also included(with every artist covered in the mag) is a "top 10 list" of the artist' best songs.
ROTH ON!!!
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