Amazon.com User Reviews Of Van Hagar Albums

**Unchainme** · 10-15-2005, 06:55 PM

5150 Cuntinued

Where have all the good times gone?,
September 27, 2003
Reviewer: "rockygotfingered" (Findlay, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
I am NOT a Sammy Hagar fan. After buying 5150, I was reminded why. After going home and locking myself in my room, I put 5150 in my cd player. Instead of the usual womanizing hard rock that I had come to love, I was greeted with Sammy Hagar screaming "Hello, baby." Please. After immediately skipping that track, the truth had set in - I had bought a poor man's Van Halen album. Why Can't This Be Love? Maybe because you're responsible for writing I Can't Drive 55? I listened to a few seconds of each song before taking 5150 out and wondering to myself, "What the hell was I thinking?" The cd gets one star because after hearing a preliminary version of Why Can't This Be Love, David Lee Roth left the band.

0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

Don't get me wrong...,
April 19, 2000
Reviewer: Isaac McPhee (Mt. Vernon, WA) - See all my reviews
Dont' get me wrong, I'm not the typical "Sammy Sucks, get Dave back" reviewer. I actually really like Sammy. This cd is just bad, with the exceptions of "Why Can't this be Love" and "Dreams". Otherwise, I couldn't find any catchy tunes at all on this cd. I only listened to it a few times and left it alone. My suggestion: Buy Best of Vol. 1 and get the good songs from this and others, and leave this album alone.

This is your father's Van Halen,
December 13, 1999
Reviewer: Jeremy Steffen (Seattle, Washington) - See all my reviews
While this band was a driving force in it's beginning, the fire that was instilled into the band left with its original lead singer. Love ballads covered this entire album. Ripping, inventive guitar was replaced by sappy synthesizers, and Eddie went from guitar wizard to mediocre pop star. This band changed after Dave left, and not for the better. If you want to rock, get Van Halen's first 6 albums, and David Lee Roth's solo albums (especially Eat 'Em And Smile and Skyscraper with Steve Vai, and his latest DLR Band). They carry the original Van Halen attitude.
They definitely should have changed the name to Van Hagar.

1 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

I can't even listen to the sample on the internet, July 3, 2005
Reviewer: o2miller (São Paulo, Brazil) - See all my reviews
Surely the popularity of the band didn't suffer, while their sound sure did. From the opening notes of the instruments and the singing this sounds completely different from when they had the other singer/writer. This is the House of Pain. Which was the last song recorded on the album 1984. Did they know something...!

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4 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

Sammy hagar is horrible, October 12, 2004
Reviewer: Edward (New Orleans, LA) - See all my reviews
This was sammy hagar's first album with Van Halen after Diamond David Lee Roth was kicked out and let me tell you this CD is so bad I threw mine in the trash can as soon as I heard the first song. Eddie Van Halen's choice of throwing DLR out of Van Halen was the worst decision of his life.

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1 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

Horrible Hagar Dumbs Down Van Halen, February 18, 2004
Reviewer: Christopher Fama (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

"U.S. prime, grade A stamp gauranteed" Those are the opening lyrics to Van Halen's 5150. If that isn't bad enough, the opening number "Good Enough" is a rewrite of "Panama" from 1984, substituting a much more constipated sounding group. I struggled to find a way to describe the sound of the new Van Halen as a band on this record - the heavily compressed guitars, the synthetic drums - but this term was the best I could do.
Sammy Hagar was a bad choice to replace David Lee Roth, who brought a certain crass intelligence to Van Halen. Sammy brought nothing to the table but a "good set of pipes" (he is really good at shrill screaming - if you think that's good) and lyric writing skills that would disgrace the bathroom wall in any suburban high school. But all you have to do is look the cover art for this CD versus any of the Roth recordings, and it pretty much tells the whole story.

If you can make it through "Dreams" on this album, you are a better man than I. And you're driving a Trans Am.

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3 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

Where have all the good times gone?, September 27, 2003
Reviewer: "rockygotfingered" (Findlay, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
I am NOT a Sammy Hagar fan. After buying 5150, I was reminded why. After going home and locking myself in my room, I put 5150 in my cd player. Instead of the usual womanizing hard rock that I had come to love, I was greeted with Sammy Hagar screaming "Hello, baby." Please. After immediately skipping that track, the truth had set in - I had bought a poor man's Van Halen album. Why Can't This Be Love? Maybe because you're responsible for writing I Can't Drive 55? I listened to a few seconds of each song before taking 5150 out and wondering to myself, "What the hell was I thinking?" The cd gets one star because after hearing a preliminary version of Why Can't This Be Love, David Lee Roth left the band.

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0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

Don't get me wrong..., April 19, 2000
Reviewer: Isaac McPhee (Mt. Vernon, WA) - See all my reviews
Dont' get me wrong, I'm not the typical "Sammy Sucks, get Dave back" reviewer. I actually really like Sammy. This cd is just bad, with the exceptions of "Why Can't this be Love" and "Dreams". Otherwise, I couldn't find any catchy tunes at all on this cd. I only listened to it a few times and left it alone. My suggestion: Buy Best of Vol. 1 and get the good songs from this and others, and leave this album alone.

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4 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

This is your father's Van Halen, December 13, 1999
Reviewer: Jeremy Steffen (Seattle, Washington) - See all my reviews
While this band was a driving force in it's beginning, the fire that was instilled into the band left with its original lead singer. Love ballads covered this entire album. Ripping, inventive guitar was replaced by sappy synthesizers, and Eddie went from guitar wizard to mediocre pop star. This band changed after Dave left, and not for the better. If you want to rock, get Van Halen's first 6 albums, and David Lee Roth's solo albums (especially Eat 'Em And Smile and Skyscraper with Steve Vai, and his latest DLR Band). They carry the original Van Halen attitude.
They definitely should have changed the name to Van Hagar.

What is this crap?,
September 4, 1998
Reviewer: A music fan
As everyone else, I was shocked when I heard that Diamond Dave was out. I decided to listen the Sammy stuff, though, and I have to confess that I was terribly disappointed! The people who claim a change was necessary and there will never be another Van Halen I album miss the point. Of course there will never be another VH I album, but the problem is that quality is gone. It is not because an artist has to evolve all the time not to spend his/her life playing the same tunes that he/she is to start playing worthless music. I think it is impossible to enjoy this record if you already know what was done before.

well, I liked it back then,
January 14, 2005
Reviewer: Da Man "Da Man" (Pekin, IL) - See all my reviews
there's two camps of Van Halen fans: Roth fans and Hagar fans (I've never met a Cherone fan). As history told us, Roth abruptly exited Van Halen in early 1985 for a solo career, Van Halen replaced him with Montrose frontman and solo star Sammy Hagar. Was the "Van Hagar" lineup a success? it depends.

5150 came out in mid-1986 and one-upped 1984 by going to #1 (but in all fairness, "1984" was #2 behind Michael Jackson's "Thriller", the biggest album of all time... 1984 still sold twice as much and spent a longer time on the charts). When I first the album in the late 1980's, I loved it, even tho I was a bigger fan of the DLR lineup, I did think 5150 was a rocking album.

However, as time has passed, 5150 has not aged very well. Even tho it's predecessor 1984 was also a product of the excessive synthesizer age, that album holds up very well and to this day, songs like "House Of Pain" and "Panama" STILL rock, and songs like "Jump" and "I'll Wait" still sound great, even if you can tell those songs are products of twenty years ago. On the other hand, many of the songs I thought rocked on 5150 just don't do it now.

I used to love "Good Enough", "Why Can't This Be Love", "5150" and "Summer Nights", but age hasn't been kind to these songs. Alex's electronic drums make this album very dated to the extent the music's lost it's enjoyment.

If you want a good "Van Hagar" album, try out "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge", that was the album they finally found their identity without Roth,

come on, you hate Sammy, don't you?,
May 3, 2004
Reviewer: robert a hanshew "bluepicasso" (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews
The downfall of Van Halen. No matter what Van Halen tell you. This cd is not Van Halen. Van Halen exists only with DLR. Buying this cd is like going to Dairy Queen ordering a chocolate ice-cream cone, and getting vanilla instead.

Disappointing,
February 11, 2003
Reviewer: A.J. Taylor (Sparta, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
Well, here it is, the great,grand, brand new Van Halen making their first album after Dave, and to be honest it's pretty lame. Not to say that 5150 is total garbage, but it sure doesn't live up to the Van Halen name, either.
First off, I must ask, WHAT IS WROMNG WITH THOSE DRUMS?? Those cheesy 80s electronic drums haven't aged well at all and showcase how much of a pop rather than rock record this was.
Next, Eddie's guitar playing is not up to par with any of the DLR-era albums(even Diver Down). The solos are lackluster and it just sounds like Eddie is disinterested.
I will admit that in terms of vocal range, Sammy Hagar is definitely superior to Diamond Dave. However, he lacks to prescence and more important, lyric-writing of Roth.
All of these factors, in combonation, make most of the more straight-ahead rock tracks on 5150 founder. The exceptions to this would be the generally acceptable title track and Get Up(despite the fact that its an obvious Hot for Teacher ripoff). This leaves the best tracks on the album as the singles(Why Can't This Be Love, Love Walks In, Dreams) as the best songs on the album. To be honest, they're all pretty good, but not at all like Van Halen.
To put a different perspective on it, compare 5150 to 1984. Where 1984 succeeded in incorporating pop elements into VH's music, 5150 totally overdoes it. Sammy was genreally unsatisfactory replacement for David Lee Roth and this album, more than any other, proves it. I heard once that Warner Brothers wanted Eddie to chantge the name of the band after Sammy joined in 1985. Had this been done i would've rated this album much higher than i do here, but since they kept the name, 5150 does not live up to the Van Halen name.

**Unchainme** · 10-15-2005, 06:58 PM

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OU812

Their second worst album., July 24, 2005
Reviewer: T. D. Ball (United States) - See all my reviews

The only album worse than this one, is Van Halen III. Even the title is stupid. When It's Love is a good song, but that's pretty much it. I've got nothing against Sammy Hagar, but I like David Lee Roth better. I think the rest of the band went downhill after he left too. If you're looking for a really good Van Halen album, get Fair Warning. It kicks A$$.

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4 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

sammy hagar sucks!!!! bring back dave!!!!!!!, April 12, 2004
Reviewer: Alex Scrodin (plattsburgh, NY) - See all my reviews
everybody knows van halen was way better when diamond dave was in the group. every single van halen song with sammy hagar that i have heard sounds like the something micheal bolton would sing. its clear that ou812 was intentionally made to be a hit. sammy hagar should be executed for making such bad music. what were the van halen bros and micheal anthony thinking letting sammy join the group????!!!!!! van halen is nothing without david lee roth. they made all they're best music when dave was the frontman. sammy should rot in hell. GO DIAMOND DAVE!!!!!!!!!!!!

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3 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

Strike Two!, March 21, 2001
Reviewer: Christopher Fama (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

Let's start with the cover: Van Halen impersonating the Beatles' famous LP cover. Ha Ha. Couple that with the stupid title and you have a great preview of the contents of this slap job recording. But it isn't funny in the end. It's sad.
Things start out poorly with the murky Mine All Mine. You can keep it, Sam. When It's Love takes another poke at the Beatles with it's Hey Jude ending, then it's straight into the tank with A.F.U (Naturally Wired). But it doesn't get any worse than Feels So Good which sounds like a Colgate commercial with it's "So Good" backround chirps. Is this Van Halen???

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3 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

Sammy Sinks in, November 21, 2004
Reviewer: Scott Rogers (Ga.) (Gainesville, Ga United States) - See all my reviews
OU812 seemingly a jab at David Lee Roth's Eat 'em and Smile" album lives and dies with Sammy Hagar. Now with Ed Van Halen firmly in control of the band and its image and, most importantly, the frontman, Van Halen soldiers on now mining the same genre that Sammy Hagar had mined years before, the "I'm a partying sex toy, but I'm also a serious musician" genre. Much of it doesn't work at all. The best track is the one I cringe at most when I hear it, "Whenit's love"....a "love walks in re-make", the STYXish syrupy ballad complete with Hagar's teenage lyrics. The clean picking Ed does on "Finish.." is definately fresh sounding, but onece again the insipid Lyrics of Hagar ruin this for any male music fan over the age on 16. Gone is Ted Templeman doing the producing chores and in is Don Landee. The sound is cleaner, more saturated than previous Van Halen, but classic VH is from the 1970s early 1980s and sound production values will change as decades pass. Hagar's strong pipes and a decent sense of melody is a far cry from Lee Roth's scat and wail crooning, but it's most certainly not an improvement in the end. However, In the end, Hagar's juvenile lyrics and his over the top delivery (re: all the "yeahs!" and "Heys", and "Come On!") really stall the mighty Van Halen instrumental engine. The songs come off as poor attempts at party music the band once knocked out at will in the studio and overall become entirely forgettable as years go by. If your a diehard Ed Van Halen afficianado you'll apreciate the good guitar. Everyone else should just ask for the check please.

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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

HAGAR CONTINUES TO MESS UP THIS BAND'S LEGACY, September 29, 2004
Reviewer: MICHAEL TAYLOR "SNAKEFIST2" (RICHMOND, VA USA) - See all my reviews
MORE OF THE SAME POP-ORIENTED SONGS THAT VAN HALEN HAS BEEN RECORDING IN THE SAMMY HAGAR ERA CAN BE FOUND ON THIS ALBUM. BY THE TIME THIS ALBUM CAME AROUND, VAN HALEN WAS STILL SELLING ALBUMS, BUT THE QUALITY OF VAN HALEN'S MUSIC HAD WENT DOWN. AND TO THIS DAY, THIS BAND IS STILL DOING SUB-PAR MUSIC. THE ALBUM, LIKE EVERY OTHER VAN HALEN ALBUM THAT DIDN'T FEATURE DAVID LEE ROTH AS THE SINGER, SUFFERS FROM SAMMY HAGAR'S AWFUL SINGING. BUT, ''FINISH WHAT YA STARTED'' AND ''SOURCE OF INFECTION'' ARE EASILY THE BEST SONGS ON THIS ALBUM AND THEY'RE QUITE CATCHY. BUT, MUCH OF THE REST OF THIS ALBUM IS BORING. THE MORE VAN HALEN WENT ON WITHOUT DAVID LEE ROTH, THE WORSE THEIR MUSIC GOT. IF THIS BAND WERE SMART, THEY WOULD GET RID OF HAGAR AND PERSUADE DAVID LEE ROTH TO SING FOR THEM AGAIN. SAD TO SAY, BUT VAN HALEN'S BEST DAYS ARE WAY BEHIND THEM. GO PICK UP A VAN HALEN ALBUM THAT HAS DAVID LEE ROTH OR PICK UP ONE OF DAVID LEE ROTH'S SOLO ALBUMS FROM THE 80S. THIS ALBUM ISN'T WORTH THE MONEY.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Just for the Hits, October 15, 2003
Reviewer: Chad Ouimette (Ottawa, ON) - See all my reviews
This album serves up the hits only. The rest of the songs have great guitar dynamics but that is the extent of it. "Cabo Wabo" is good, but not until you get to almost the end of the song, and that isn't cool. "Mine All Mine" is interesting, at the beginning of the song you don't know what you're in for, but the tone is a bit darker and it has kind of a catchy chorus. I use catchy losely, what I really mean it has a certain melody to it that appeals to me. It's not a bad album opener. Everything else is making me yawn. You may want to stick to the hits here, the fav has to be "When It's Love" and also "Feels So Good" those two songs make it worth the purchase, "Finish What Ya Started" is a good song as well. This album is too varied as far as good songs spread over ok songs thrown in with some terrible songs. It's too sketchy for me and is recommended for die-hards.

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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

No, it doesn't work this time either, May 20, 2003
Reviewer: L. B. Ivarsson (Rock City) - See all my reviews

On a T-shirt I read "Give me Van Halen or give me head". If you give me "Van Halen I" and "Van Halen II", I might consider the options, but if it's about this album, I sure wouldn't hesitate going for the head thing. What happened? Van Halen started out as a great band but have gradually lost it. And bringing on Sammy Hagar sure didn't make things better. "OU812" is just mediocre at best. The opening track, "Mine all mine" is the albums' highlight.

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4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

My Last Van Halen Album, January 4, 2001
Reviewer: Bob Waskiewicz (Wintersville, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews

I just can't get into Sammy Hagar's singing with Van Halen.He has a OK voice,but somethings missing.I've even enjoyed some of his own recordings,but 0U812 will be my last Van Halen CD.1984 was a Masterpiece.The band was a fun group,now there old Men,singing about Doing it untill we're "Black and Blue." What a joke."Finish What Ya Started," was the reason I bought this CD in the late 80's.It's the best cut on the album.If anyone wants to buy this record from me, you can have it for a buck.

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4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

Weak, irregular and too pop..., May 3, 2000
Reviewer: M. D. Fonseca "carmarthen" (Zunder) - See all my reviews

THe opener track "Mine all Mine" is very good, with a great vibe. Then comes "When It's Love"... well, it's a good ballad, be you a fan of ballads or not. Then the rest is strange, weird, irregular, a freak. THe worst Hagar album.

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3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

Worst Van Halen album, January 24, 2000
Reviewer: Clinton (UA, Ohio) - See all my reviews
Its the worst Van Halen album next to Van Halen II and Van Halen III. I'm glad I bought this used. 5150, F.U.C.K., and Balance bite this album in the balls. "When It's Love," "Cabo Wabo," and "Feels So Good" (their attempt to sound like Steve Winnwood or Genesis) are the only good ones. Others might be adaquate or well below normal.

**Unchainme** · 10-15-2005, 08:38 PM

Awwwww, F.U.C.K.

This albums sucks, September 18, 2004
Reviewer: truth teller (NYC) - See all my reviews
C'mon man. If you're buying this album you got problems. Van Halen used to be good. Just let go like I did and accept the fact that Van Halen is not the same band as it used to be. Alex doesn't drum the same anymore,Eddie doesn't play like he used to, Dave is gone so the song writing isn't the same, and Mike Anthony is just there. In my opinion anything after "1984" sucks and just continues to get worse as the years move on. If you don't believe that you're living in denial.

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1 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

Total Abortion!, March 8, 2004
Reviewer: A music fan
This is not just one of the worst Van Halen Albums, this is one of the worst Albums ever. The new lead vocals are awful. The songs are slapped together. This album will even make you long for the VanHagar erra.
It is a sad sad day for Van Halen fans.

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4 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

Ha ha, you bought this album, August 26, 2000
Reviewer: C. Neely (Santa Cruz, CA) - See all my reviews

Im so sorry you bought this album. If you want, I can come over to your house and slap you if you want. Just drop me a line.

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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Boring album, September 24, 1999
Reviewer: sixtyone@sk.sympatico.ca (Saskatchewan,Canada) - See all my reviews
Way back when, Van Halen rocked and had attitude. Now their brand of rock is stale and tasteless. Conclusion: an album by a band past it's prime; only for die hard fans and Van halen completists.

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4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

Hagar the Horrible, September 13, 1999
Reviewer: A music fan
It was the best of times,it was the worst of times. Hagar helped bring out the worst. This album proves their best days are definitely behind them. After eight years, the album seems boring and predictable, especially comparing it to their old stuff.

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2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

Hagar likes small children., September 10, 1999
Reviewer: A music fan
O.k. All you taints out there who gave this 5 stars,you must be deaf or have no knowledge of music whatsoever.Hagar is a poodle haircut bastage.Either get dave back,or give up already.

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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

The ruination of Van Halen, August 14, 1999
Reviewer: A music fan
Sammy Hagar is the death of Van Halen....how could you replace a man like David Lee Roth with Sammy Hagar....I don't get it....if you do..tell me

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the end is near, October 8, 2005
Reviewer: Jukebox Hero (Allendale, IL United States) - See all my reviews
Van Halen's F.U.C.K. is one of VH's weakest moments with Sammy Hagar. I have the previous Van Halen albums with Sammy Hagar and find them to be pretty good, but this one stinks! There are a couple of really good songs like Poundcake, Top of the World, and Right Now, but the remainder of the album is boring.

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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Change of direction, June 10, 2005
Reviewer: Zoltomar Starfire (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
The first VH album I ever bought was 5150 followed by 0U812. I then went backwards enjoying the DLR albums as well. This album is -not- what I wanted to hear next. It has taken me -years- to come back to it and I still don't like what I hear. There are a few good songs to be found on this album...but my least favorite VH album for sure.

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Good if compared w/ other Van Hagar albums, March 8, 2005
Reviewer: AsTheWorldBurns - See all my reviews
I can't believe how many people are giving this album rave reviews! Although Hagar's lyrics are more mature than Roth's, they are also much more bland. Eddie seems to have turned in to more of a rythm guitarist here as his crazy guitar solos and tapping segments are absent here. I can't even understand what Hagar is saying in Poundcake. Maybee this is a good album next to other Van Hagar music, but compared to the origonal Van Halen, and other relatively good rock and roll groups of the time, this album seems very plain. On the other hand, if you like Van Hagar, go for it. It's one of their better albums.

**Unchainme** · 10-15-2005, 08:42 PM

If one of the mods can move this to VH/DLR discussion I'd be happy

rubbish, September 18, 2004
Reviewer: truth teller (NYC) - See all my reviews
This album gets 1 star because ZERO wasn't available. This is not the Van Halen I knew growing up. I personally think Van Halen should've tired after "1984" came out and when Dave quit. At least we could've remembered them as a good rock band. Now I have to defend Van Halen by telling people they were actually good at one point in history pre Sammy Hagar. Hate me if you want for writing this review- but you know it's true. This album sucks big time. Eddie and Alex don't even sound good anymore. Alex's beats aren't interesting anymore and sound all the same-SERIOUSLY!! I love early Alex and Eddie- but this is wack!!!!

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1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

terrible, bad sounding, corny, September 10, 2004
Reviewer: arnold Layne "d" (New york, NY) - See all my reviews
The final death knell in my Van Halen fanaticism. I grew up loving this band, but with each susequent release, I realized how I had outgrown them and how they had lost their steam.

First, the sound. This album sounds like it was recorded (porrly) in a studio and then a loop of a 500,000 person audience was played over it. Kiss Alive 1 was a more believable sounding live album.....and most of it wasn't live!! At not one point does it feel like there is any connection with the audience. This think makes Live Without a Net seem intimate.

Second, Sammy. Oh, Sammy Sammy Sammy. You stink bro. Your between song banter is the most moronic I have ever heard. Your screams are forced and your lyrics stink.

The guitar sound: Way too distorted. What the hell IS that crap? If any of you have ever heard the Pasadena 77 bootleg, you KNOW that this can't be the same band or guitar player. I don't care if it's 15 years later!!!

In short, stay away

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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

For Die-Hard Fans Only, August 27, 2001
Reviewer: PressFocus (Wilmington, Delaware USA) - See all my reviews
When this album was released in 1993, Van Halen remained one of the few hard-rock acts of the 70's that could still fill a hockey rink with 20,000 fans on a regular basis. The band's knack for crafting catchy, melodic, guitar-powered rock keeps their (mostly male adolescent) fans happy, and makes them a staple of AOR radio. Thus, Van Halen's niche near the top of the hard-rock heap is insured. It's a shame that "Right Here, Right Now" was the first live album in the band's then 16-year history. It would have been interesting to compare the first incarnation of V.H. (with lead vocalist David Lee Roth) with the second (featuring Sammy Hagar on lead pipes). While Hagar is a decent singer, he is also one of the most obnoxious, unoriginal front men in rock. On "Right Here, Right Now," when he's not mumbling his song introductions, his R-rated stage banter sounds as if it were scripted by the screenwriters of "Spinal Tap." Some might argue that Roth wasn't much different, but Roth was a class clown who didn't mind poking fun at his own persona. In comparison, Hagar comes off like a smug jerk. And Roth was a better singer to boot. From the evidence on "Right Here, Right Now," however, it seems like the members of Van Halen are happy to put their early days behind them. Only four of the collection's twenty-four tracks are from the David Lee Roth period. Hagar even blows the lyrics a few times to suggest how little they matter. Musically, Van Halen remains in top form, with premier guitarist Eddie Van Halen leading the way. He remains one of the true originals in hard rock. The word "original" however, describes little else about the package. Anyone who's witnessed more than three rock concerts in his life should be familiar with that oldest of concert cliches - the instrumental solo. On "Right Here, Right Now," each of the three instrument-playing members of Van Halen takes center stage to (yawn) demonstrate his musicianship and wow the audience with his command of his instrument. A drum, guitar, and even bass solo might thrill a few 15-year-olds in concert, but on record such excess will more likely inspire either a nap or a migraine. Sure, Eddie's a great guitarist, but eleven minutes of riffs and runs is tedium ad nauseam. While the overall sound quality of the CD leaves much to be desired, most of the songs come across okay, performed in faithful-to-the-original versions. A weak cover of the Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again" is the only "new" track, obviously included so that something previously unavailable could be released as a single. If you're a big Van Halen fan, you're better off buying the concert video that accompanies this package. Otherwise, if you already have the studio albums, pass.

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Are you other reviewers DEAF??, August 24, 2001
Reviewer: Matt "mattfl1" (Naples, FL United States) - See all my reviews
The performances on this album are great. I would love to be able to listen to this album and enjoy it, but I just can't. I can't enjoy it. Why? It's because it sounds like it was recorded on a "My First Sony" tape recorder. The sound quality is AWFUL! This album should go down in history as the poorest quality live recording *ever*. It's muddy and all drowned out sounding. A concert recorded on professional equipment should sound far better than this does; I've heard bootlegs that concert-goers have captured on portable cassette recorders that sound better than this. I still hang on to it because I'm one of those guys that likes to have *everything* a band puts out. I haven't listened to it in years, though. It's *that* bad.

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1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

A Boring Sleeper, February 9, 2000
Reviewer: A music fan
Too long on the Sammy and guitar noise although that is Eddie's trademark sound if you like a lot of it. Save your money for the earlier stuff with Roth.

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1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

Boring,boring,boring, September 24, 1999
Reviewer: sixtyone@sk.sympatico.ca (Saskatchewan,Canada) - See all my reviews
I bought this CD, listened to it twice and then pawned it. Repeated listenings of this performance are impossible. It is so boring and stale. I also owned the live video, and never got through it once. Wait for a live Van Halen album during the David Lee Roth era. It's your only hope.

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A poor live record, June 6, 2005
Reviewer: Some Gravity (Indiana, USA) - See all my reviews
After Van Halen was standing on top of the world afer the release of their third album with Sammy Hagar on lead vocals,1991's "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge",some exciting news came for most Van Halen fans(the fans that still listened to the group once Sammy Hagar was their lead singer):VH was going to record and release a live record! The news was exciting,however,the album is not. Read on for my review of this:

Pros:

Eddie Van Halen's guitar solo-Van Halen(Eddie,not the band)is,without question,one heck of a guitarist,and a Van Halen live album or a VH concert without a guitar solo by Eddie would just be unacceptable.

The sound on the album is good-it is always dissapointing to hear a live record that suffers poor sound quality,however,the sound on this album is good and saves the cons of this album that I'm going to mention later on in this review.

You get to hear Van Halen perform one of Sammy Hagar's solo songs,"Give To Live"-it would have been more exciting to hear them put something like "Your Love Is Driving Me Crazy" or "I Can't Drive 55" on here,especially since the Hagar solo song that appeared on the DVD for this album was "Where Eagles Fly"(kind of another con about this album,although I intend to have three pros and three cons listed in this review)but "Give To Live" is a nice and pretty song,and it was a nice touch for VH to include Sammy Hagar solo songs in their setlist for this album.

Cons:

Ten out of the eleven songs off of "For Unlawful Carnal Knowlege"are here-that was absolutely stupid for Van Halen to go with that decision. When you release a live album that was recorded around a tour for an album you just released,there is the latter way to put songs from your previous record on there,the correct way to do it,and the sloppy way to do it. An example of the latter way:Slaughter releasing their "Eternal Live" live record and not putting any songs on their live album from the album they had just put out before their live record("Revolution"). An example of the correct way to do it:when Warrant released their live record "Warrant Live:1986-1997" they included four songs from the album("Belly To Belly")that had come out right before they made their live record.An example of the sloppy way to do it:Van Halen choosing ten out of the eleven songs off of "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" to be on this record. I know that they saw a lot of success with that album,but does anyone mind telling me why they did overkill with the tracklist for the songs coming off of that album for this album???!!!

Only three songs from the Roth era("Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love","Jump",and "Panama")are here-again,very stupid,especially since two of those songs(Love and Panama) were the only two Roth songs that appeared on Van Halen's "Live Without A Net" DVD(which also featured Hagar on lead vocals)-when they were shooting the concert for that video/DVD,that was their first tour with Sammy Hagar,so it doesn't upset me that there only two Roth songs on that DVD(especially because even though I like Hagar,I'm a bigger Roth fan then I am a Hagar one)but since Hagar had been with the group for about seven or eight years when this album was being made,it was inexusable to only include three songs from the Roth era on this album.

The drum solo by Alex Van Halen and the bass solo by Michael Anthony-Alex has a talent with the drums,and Mike has a talent with the bass,but only have one solo during the concert and give the honor of doing it to Eddie-the bass solo and the drum solo could have been replaced by two actual songs.

Overall:
This album could have been much better than it turned out. Van Halen really got sloppy with this album-let's just hope that they make a new studio record(especially since Sammy Hagar is their lead singer again!)and hopefully someday make another live record that has a good amount of material from both the Roth and Hagar eras of Van Halen without overkill of songs from a certain album.

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0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

Almost a disgrace to Van Halen, May 12, 2004
Reviewer: A music fan
I bought this CD thinking all these great songs would be fun to listen to. I've listened to Van Halen on the radio for a couple decades now and I expected at least radio quality with a "background" of audience noise. But instead I got what sounds like a microphone being in the MIDDLE of the audience. The great Van Halen is drowned out by all the white noise of screams. I wish I never bought this and bought the original albums instead. In fact, that is my goal now, to replace it with the originals.

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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

Great sound, weak track listing, July 23, 2003
Reviewer: John Alapick (Wilkes-Barre, PA United States) - See all my reviews

Live: Right Here, Right Now is one of the best sounding live rock albums ever produced. However, it suffers tremendously from too many indulgent solos and way too many tracks from the uneven For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge album. Many of the tracks sound just like the studio versions sounding like a greatest hits album recorded live with a poor tracklist.

The album does contain many of the hits from the Sammy Hagar era such as "Right Now", "When It's Love", "Why Can't This Be Love", and "Dreams" among others. The album also contains two of his solo hits, "One Way To Rock" and "Give To Live." While these are both good tracks, his signature song "I Can't Drive 55" is noticeably absent. Eddie Van Halen's solo "316" is surely an excellent showcase on the album but Michael Anthony's "Ultra Bass" is way too long and Alex Van Halen's drum solo is nothing spectacular. One senses these were pretty impressive to see live but sound indulgent on a live album.

The album also suffers from featuring no less than 10 tracks from For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge and very little from the David Lee Roth era skipping completely over Van Halen II, Women and Children First, Fair Warning, and Diver Down. The addition of tracks such as "Dance The Night Away", "Beautiful Girls", "Everybody Wants Some", "Take Your Whiskey Home", "Unchained", "Mean Street", and "(Oh) Pretty Woman" and limiting down to 3 tracks from For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge would have helped this album big time. Hagar's singing on the few Roth-era tracks are decent but lack Roth's charisma. On a high note, their version of "Won't Get Fooled Again" is certainly one of the high points of the album. It's a shame that with all their strong material, they couldn't come up with a better live album. It reminds of you how Led Zeppelin released the lackluster live album The Song Remains The Same after releasing at least six classic albums with the only real difference being that this album sounds much better.

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Boring, June 24, 2003
Reviewer: R. Short "robertsathard" (United States) - See all my reviews

I remember being all jazzed that one of my favorite bands was finally releasing a live album....I got home Put the Van Halen Right Here Right Now CD in the stereo, turned it up, laid back, and fell asleep. There are several problems with this live release. First of all most of the songs are lacking in energy. Van Halen can be an excellent live band but most tracks sound like those let's hurry up and get this over with kind of gigs. Ain't Talking Bout Love in particular lacks bite. The cover of Won't Get Fooled Again is not up to Van Halen standards. Also, the bass solo, pretentiously named Ultra Bass, is totally unnecessary. Michael Anthony at best is a mediocre bass player. In his solo he doesn't really play his instrument. He just makes a lot of effect noises. Yeah. In 1987 Van Halen released a video called Live Without A Net from the 5150 tour. Too bad that was not released with a companion CD. That recording is far superior to this dreck. This CD is about has fun as listening to a concert from the t shirt stand in the parking lot.

Sorry some sheep reviews are mixed in.

**fret_buzz_blues** · 10-15-2005, 11:57 PM

Now THIS is proof that Van Hagar SUCKS!!!!

**Matt White** · 10-16-2005, 12:03 AM

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

That brought a tear to my eyes Unchainme!!!

BRILLIANT thread!

BRAVO Sir!!!

**Unchainme** · 10-16-2005, 12:11 AM

BOBW? I Don't Think So.

Hagar Singing Roth Tracks? Are they out of their minds?, December 6, 2004
Reviewer: G. A. Casas "bert_casas" (Miami, Florida) - See all my reviews

Eddie Van Halen, although a gifted guitarist, apparently doesn't know what the fans want - a live Dave Era Album. I'm sure somewhere, deep in the 5150 vault is a screamingly, loud blast from the past. A testament to what this band used to be - the baddest band on the planet. Instead, we get badly sung versions of DLR era songs by a fat slob who obviously hates singing them.

If I wanted to hear classic VH songs butchered by an obnoxious drunk, I'd go to a kareoke bar. This album is prime example of Eddie trying to tell us what to like. Sorry Ed - I'm just not buying it, and the smart fans won't buy it either.

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3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

Bad Packaging, RIP OFF, Same old stuff nothing new, WRONG, November 28, 2004
Reviewer: Vandora Mack "V Mack" (IL United States) - See all my reviews

This release is typical of Van Halen releases, they give there fans nothing new. I guess they are saving up for the box set, For $20 you figured you'd get some unreleased tracks or rare photos, maybe some good vintage live cuts. What do you get? This is the best of Van Halen but without the guitar pick and with three new LACK LUSTER songs that sound like they were written in three minutes. And Artwork thats similar to bad grade school finger painting. IF YOU ALREADY HAVE THE VH CATALOG STAY AWAY FROM THIS. A WASTE OF MONEY...

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7 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

A casual fan's response, November 22, 2004
Reviewer: Jenner Roberts (San Antonio, TX USA) - See all my reviews
I don't know the David Lee Roth vs. Sammy Hagar controversy very well, and I've picked up on the songs from Van Halen/Van Hagar over the years from the rock stations and MTV. But even I've heard "Eruption/You've Really Got Me Now" in that order, which just tears up the speakers! Got me first interested in VH, and I'm outside of the battleground to appreciate what both Roth and Hagar brought to the table. They are Van Halen and Van Hagar respectively, with such different sounds, and I like both eras.

But, when I saw that the compilation interrupted "Eruption" with the 3 new tracks (don't really care for them either) instead of segueing into "You Really Got Me Now," that irritated the bejeezus out of me. When I went back to Amazon.com and saw a completely different track listing for both discs, why, that just turned me as red as the cover. Put the latest 3 tracks at the end of Disc 2; throw out the live tracks since they're redundant! And the Amazon.com listing looks like the DLR-Disc 1 and SH-Disc 2 format that other reviewers have suggested. I would've appreciated that instead.

And finally . . . the brothers Van Halen couldn't even put a picture of Roth in the compilation? They couldn't put one Cherone-sung song in? This is very petty, and also not representative of the "worlds" these discs claim to portray. Sad. What, did DLR do their sisters, steal their girlfriends, kick their dogs and stiff 'em with the bill?

Minus 1 star for the misleading track listing and "Eruption" interruption. Minus 1 star for the uncrediting of Roth and for leaving Cherone in the cold. Minus 1 star for the new tracks and live track redundancy. Minus 1 star for general irritability at feeling ripped off.

Eddie, you're still a guitar god, but please leave your differences at the customer's door.

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2 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

I only bought this for the Sammy stuff...., October 30, 2004
Reviewer: mike crawley "actually my real name but i'm don't give out my credit card number" (flushing mi.) - See all my reviews
...because I already own the six albums with David Lee Roth on vocals. I have always been of the opinion that Van Halen threw away their greatness when Dave left/got fired from the band. Although the warning signs were on the wall with 1984, with 5150 and Sammy's induction into the band Van (Hagar) became a hack corporate rock band; no different than say Journey or Foreigner. Although Sammy wasn't totally to blame, it was a path he had taken in his solo career long before that and alot of the Van (Hagar) songs sounded more like Sammy solo releases with a guest appearance from the greatest guitarist alive. It was a pity and I weep for Eddie, Alex and Michael's poor judgement.

However, although they had a few good songs left in them, I quit buying the Van (Hagar) albums after OU812. Since those purchases were on cassette I figured I would buy this and put together a decent one disc Sammy compilation. Mission accomplished (although I would have liked Human's Being and Summer Nights to be on there too)

As for the 2 disc set itself and it's relative merits or demerits....

The fact that they chose to treat Dave the way they did (probably with smiles on their faces and giving each other high fives) is sad, a testament to their lack of character.

The fact that they chose to mix up the running order ruining any sense of flow, pitting Sammy against Dave (where Sammy comes up on the short end nearly every time) is a testament to their lack of intelligence.

The fact that they chose to add three live versions of Dave songs sung by Sammy that WERE ALREADY PRESENT IN THEIR ORIGINAL VERSIONS is a testament to the contempt that they must surely hold for their audience.

The fact that the new songs are kinda suck is a testament to the fact that they too, like Dave, are has beens and should've quit while the last vestiges of their reputations were intact.

Lastly, the fact that there are no Van (Cherrone) songs are included is a testament to .... I don't know what?.... how about the fact that it was a period better to be forgotten.

In closing I think Messrs. Van Halen, Van Halen, Anthony and Hagar owe us one huge apology. They should pay out of their own pockets to have this album recalled and replaced (in the same excellent packaging) with one that has a chronological running order, the live songs replaced with the Sammy songs I mentioned earlier and the new songs erased from our memory. They also should allow Dave equal space in the liner notes to tell his (admittedly equally pithy) side of the story.

Oh by the way, in no instance should Eruption be seperated from You Really Got Me ever again (unless Dave Davies tries to give Eruption a go).

Thank You for letting me get this off my chest.

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1 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

DLR Rules..., October 20, 2004
Reviewer: J. Cain "Ronnoc" (Ohio, USA) - See all my reviews

I agree with the previous comment that: "The Dave-Sam-Dave sequence is a bit annoying, they should have at least separated them into their own discs. Then you could use the Sam disc as a coaster."

Plus, the new tracks are lame (Up for Breakfast? Pleeeeeaase)and Sammy singing mock up versions of DLR-era songs? With no DLR pics? Gimme a break, please.

All REAL vh fans should check out www.classicvanhalen.com

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3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

In my words, October 16, 2004
Reviewer: stringfelowhawk "stringfelowhawk" (Va Bch, Va) - See all my reviews
First: Thankyou to B.J. Oconner for a well thought out review.
Second: It seems this band went from "Ahead of its time" with Dave to a decade behind the times with Sammy. I won't knock either singer. But this is unmistakable with those 3 "new" songs. Didn't realize Van Hagar was grunge.
Third: The only way they could sell this album was by alternating songs. If they split it up Dave era and Sammy era, the only way Sam would get any royalties is if he bought every copy himself because all 5 of Van Hagar's fans couldn't possibly buy enough to save Sam's ego.
Fourth: Don't tell me I'm not a "true fan" because I don't fawn over the poetic felonies that they committed between 86-96. And while they may have toured as "Van Halen", it was in name only.
Two bands, two sounds, two attitudes, two genres that share the same name.
Fifth: Sam singing Dave songs is blasphemy by definition and in extremely poor taste. You don't claim Judas sacrificed himself on the cross for our sins like Jesus did. An analogy, not comparison.
Sixth: I truly believe Van Hagar would have been better received by DLR fans had he gone the Brian Johnson route and embraced DLR's legacy with the band like Brian did with Bon Scott. He alienated fans by trying to dismiss 1978-1984 as an inferior product to his. It has become painfully obvious throughout the last 20 years that Classic Van Halen has outlived the Van Hagar "hair band" version with overwhelming proof by popularity and rock radio play lists. I've heard "Its About Time" once on the radio, the day it was released and the call in response was so undeniably, universally hated they have not played it since.
Seventh: Is it really so hard to believe they would leave out VH3 when they went out of their way to forget Diamond Dave? That pisses me off to the point I want to become violent. That's like Black Sabbath trying to dismiss Ozzy. They won't be in the Hall of Fame because of Hagar. They will be for Classic Van Halen and if they try to, it should be written into law they never again release another chord. And lyrically, Sam can not hold Diamond Dave's witty pen.

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0 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

The real Van Halen, October 8, 2004
Reviewer: M. Bevia (Newport, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

I think the DLR Van Halen is the "ONLY" Van Halen, and I consider Roth a very talented songwriter. I dont like the Hagar Van Halen. For all you who want to hear ONLY Van Halen, purchase DLR Van Halen CDs only and rock on. All DLR Van Halen CDs are 5 stars!!!

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2 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

Boycott, September 23, 2004
Reviewer: DrGrafenberg - See all my reviews
Do not buy this album. Sammy Hagar has no right fronting (& ruining)what was the best rock band in the world.
David Lee Roth IS Van Halen, and until he is back in his rightful place...avoid, shun & boycott anything to do with Sham Halen. Everything they have done without Dave just sucks!

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2 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

Dave or the Grave, Baby!!!, September 22, 2004
Reviewer: Cathedral "Look, I'll pay ya for it, what the ****" (Ohio) - See all my reviews
I am perplexed at some of the supportive reviews to this garbage of a "Best Of" compilation. Maybe that's why there are so many used copies available so soon after release?
C'mon people, "It ain't Van Halen without David Lee Roth" and the Lying Dutchmen sunbathing in denial that Spammy is better is an insult to anyone who ever wore a VH Bandana on their heads and chanted the name "Eddie" in his Pre-5150 prime.
The 3 new songs (if you can call them SONGS) TOTALLY SUCK!

Not a single one of the new tracks even comes close to comparing to anything that was released on the first 6 albums and no Die-Hard VH fan could convince themselves of that.

Edward Van Halen has become the punchline of his own joke of a legacy, and instead of buying their garbage when it can't even be packaged right we should be forgetting them and remembering what they used to be when the word "Mighty" was the only descriptive term that applied to that band.

If you really want the best tunes off this waste of space money grab, then support the original lineup by purchasing any and/or all of the first 6 albums put out by the band when they were fresh, full of fire, and actually worth reaching for the wallet.

They put live versions of Roth tunes with Spammy singing on them in this set, tell me that doesn't just spit in the original fans face.
Band history? How can you even say it is covered when Dave is all but forgotten beyond his tracks, which are of a quality that a 4th rate singer like Spam Hagar could not, and never will be able to produce.

What you have here folks is a desperate attempt at shunning David Lee Roth by the brothers again while reaching for that all mighty dollar.
Don't be a "sheep", leave this release on the shelves where it never should have been in the first place.

Don't waste your money on this. Take the family out for dinner and at least do something worth while with your cash...Van Hagar doesn't deserve it with this release and the time has come to stop supporting a less than stellar shadow of what a real legendary band used to be with Diamond David Lee Roth.

Roth On!

Our Own Cathedral Posted a Review, Congrats Cath.

**Unchainme** · 10-16-2005, 12:14 AM

Now The DVDs, live Right Here Right now,

WHY does Van Halen have to do this to their fans?, July 19, 2005
Reviewer: Some Gravity (Indiana, USA) - See all my reviews
I have one question to ask--WHY does Van Halen have to do this to their fans? This is pathetic--what kind of moron(no,not Eddie,Alex,Mike,or Sammy--I'm referring to the person who made this)would film two of one band's conerts and mix the concerts all on one DVD? They should have just released the two conerts on two DVDS in one package--who wants to see Sammy Hagar singing a song from the David Lee Roth era of Van Halen in a red cocunut shirt and shorts on,and then,two minutes later,see Hagar sing another Van Halen song from their era with David Lee Roth with a different pair of shorts on and no shirt on(well,not exactly,that was just an example of what this DVD is like--you know what I mean by that)! Save up some cash,go grab the LIVE WITHOUT A NET DVD and Van Halen's VIDEO HITS VOLUME ONE DVD,and then hope that Eddie Van Halen,Alex Van Halen,and Michael Anthony will have enough decence and class to release a more proper Van Halen DVD that gives more recognition to David Lee Roth than it does to Sammy Hagar(no offense--I like Sammy Hagar,but how many times have Eddie,Alex,and Mike been giving more recognition to their replacement lead singer than they have been to their original lead singer? Surprisingly,this time,a great band and great music result in a bad DVD.

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13 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

Release the US Festival 1983 show!!!!!, September 30, 2003
Reviewer: M. Kupper "hfiuwrhfi" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

We want a high quality DVD performance with Dave!!! This DVD is crap.

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2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

worthless, July 5, 2003
Reviewer: A viewer
I love Van Halen, but this is a joke!, it's not a real concert, in many parts it's kind of a playback!, you see them playing the same song and they're dress different! (they use footage from several nights I guess).
Bottomline: Don't waste your money, just listen to the cd.

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0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

What a Joke!, April 9, 2003
Reviewer: J. Saadia "sampdoria" (Buenos Aires, Argentina) - See all my reviews

I love Van Halen, but this is a joke!, it's not a real concert, in many parts it's kind of a playback!, you see them playing the same song and they're dress different! (they use footage from several nights I guess).
Bottomline: Don't waste your money, just put listen to the cd.

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1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

Bring out Live Without A Net on DVD, August 25, 2002
Reviewer: A viewer
I think Eddie Van Halen is one of the greatest, most inovative rock guitarists in the history of Rock & Roll. Hoever, this DVD pales in comparison to Van Halen's previous Live Without A Net VHS tape. The way the concert film was edited totally ruins this DVD concert experience. As others have pointed out, every few seconds, the band's clothes and guitars change... then change back... and then change again... within the same song! How stupid and distracting! I'm glad that the director who butchered this concert DVD introduced himself at beginning of the film, because I'll be sure to remember his name and avoid any of his other projects.

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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

Director and Editor Mitchell Sinoway ruins this concert!, August 7, 2001
Reviewer: Griffin Neubauer (Menasha, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Van Halen Live: Right Here Right Now is the absolute worst product ever put out by VH. It is even worse than VH3 with Gary Cherone. Director and Editor Mitchell Sinoway took two nights of filming and intercut them to supposedly get the best performances of each song from both nights. This in itself is not unusual in the making of concert films. The Rolling Stones have been known to film up to four nights to get the best version of a particular song. What usually happens however, is that the bands take great care to wear the same clothing on multiple nights to create the illusion that what was filmed occurred on one particular night. Sometimes someone forgets however and a performer is seen to be wearing different clothing from song to song. Although sometimes disconcerting, the viewer believes that the performer changed clothes during the course of one night to make a dramatic statement or possibly for an encore. Mitchell Sinoway ruins Right Here Right Now by intercutting clips from multiple nights within the same song! One minute we see Sammy Hagar wearing a T shirt, then two bars later in the same song he doesn't have a shirt on and his pants have changed! Two bars later he has the T shirt on again! This is the most annoying editing I have ever seen. I couldn't believe VH would allow this trash to be released. The song "Finish What You Started" is particularly offending. Every bar the bands clothing and the color of Eddie's guitar changes! This is not brilliant editing as another reviewer wrote, this is pure stupidity on the part of Mitchell Sinoway. He opens the video by the way. He's this fat pudgy guy with sunglasses who is kicked back in his chair with his hands behind his head. He goes on to tell us about all of his years in film. What an arrogant jerk! Why would a nobody director open up a concert video of the mighty VH anyway? Why would Mitchell Sinoway even think we would care how many years he has in film? We came to see VH, not him! This is obviously the case of a wannabe trying to weasel their way into the spotlight on VH's coattails. And then he goes on to ruin the video with his moronic editing! A lot of good all his years in film did him! David Lee Roth would never have stood for ... like this!

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0 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

Van Hagar finally loses the plot., December 26, 2003
Reviewer: Flanger (California) - See all my reviews
This DVD starts well for about 8 minutes and then slowly puts the watcher to sleep. Bits and pieces cut up to make up a concert. It's obvious to me that VH cannot play a concert through without things going wrong. Eddie's guitar solo piece is particularly disappointing as he makes so many mistakes. The other disappointment is that he has not written any additional original guitar solo work since the 'without a net' video. Shame Dave Lee Roth never released a live DVD when he was with Steve Vai. It would have made Van Hagar look like a bunch of amateurs.

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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

Dissappointing! Come on, guys! You can do better than this!, December 2, 2001
Reviewer: "seannorcal" (Granite Bay, CA United States) - See all my reviews
I love Van Halen and have (literally) every CD Van Halen has ever released. However, I was incredibly dissappointed with this DVD. While the sound is excellent, any avid Van Halen fan will have all of these songs, especially the live versions if they bought the corresponding CD, Van Halen: Right Here, Right Now.
The video quality is not only poor (dark, fuzzy and poorly lit), but it does not even match the real audio track. Yes, every attempt was made to match video of Sammy and Eddie with the songs, but it is very clearly dubbed. I've watched this DVD maybe twice, and now it collects dust on my shelf. As far as I can tell, this entire collection of footage was recorded over SEVERAL concerts and was created ENTIRELY in the editing room. Having recently purchased a flawless, high quality, close-up and AUTHENTIC Peter Frampton DVD recently (Frampton Plays Detroit), the quality of the two productions simply can't be compared. If you love loud, crystal clear, high quality sound that matches high quality video in an AUTHENTIC concert setting, don't buy this Van Halen DVD--instead BUY FRAMPTON.

Van Halen will come through (I'm sure) with a higher quality DVD with better production techniques (they need to hire the guy who did Frampton!), but of course, we'll have to wait for their next big tour! Who knows, maybe Eddie can patch up things with either David Lee and/or Sammy for one giant Farewell World Tour. If so, you can bet that a comprehensive, high quality video and audio DVD would FLY off the shelves. Until that time, though, I'd pass on this DVD and wait!!!

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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

Someone should be ... for this, June 18, 2001
Reviewer: Mr. Gerald Johnson (Calgary, Alberta Canada) - See all my reviews
This DVD is a disgrace. A monumental screw up of the highest order. You wouldn't think it would be possible to take a concert by one of the best hard rock groups that ever existed and turn it into a disaster.. but they've done it.
How, you may ask? By sheer arrogance and stupidity. The "powers that be" decided that a mere Van Halen Concert wasn't good enough. They were going to make it "better". What they did was to take footage of two separate concerts and merge them into one. The video is hacked together from the two concerts, constantly switching back and forth. They don't hide this fact, they announce it right at the start, like they were proud of it. On the surface it may sound like a good idea but as you watch the concert it quickly progresses from a novelty to a minor irritation to a major turn-off.

The problem is this: What you really want from a concert video is the feeling of being there. You want the illusion that you are a part of the concert, that it is a real event and that you are there. This ... merging of two separate concerts completely destroys any possibility of this. Even the clothes they are wearing become major distractions. In a few seconds the singer's clothes change back and forth so fast you can't even begin to figure out which is the 'real' video (which you would suppose matches the soundtrack) and which is the 'alternate' video (which I guess is supposed to be more 'lively' or 'interesting' for that split second). In other words it jumps back and forth so much that EVERYTHING looks fake.

To sum it up: It was a stupid idea. It effectively ruins what would have been a superior concert video. Every time I try to watch it I get so mad I want to put my fist through the screen. Please Please Please... just let us see the bands! Keep your clever ideas on how to improve an artist's art to yourself! These artists have reached the pinnacle of popularity for a reason. They have the gifts we want to see, NOT the editorial meddling of wanna-be film makers.

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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Horrible sound on an amazing concert..., December 28, 2000
Reviewer: Esteban Villanueva (Cd. Satelite, Edo. de Mex. Mexico) - See all my reviews
It's incredible the bad quality of the sound of this DVD. Sammy Hagar voice is extremely low. A shame! It's a better video the 'Live without a Net' VHS. Would love to see that in DVD!!

**Matt White** · 10-16-2005, 12:16 AM

"Sad. What, did DLR do their sisters, steal their girlfriends, kick their dogs and stiff 'em with the bill?"

Now...THAT'S COMEDY!!!

**Unchainme** · 10-16-2005, 12:19 AM

of 2 people found the following review helpful:

WHY does Van Halen have to do this to their fans?, July 19, 2005
Reviewer: Some Gravity (Indiana, USA) - See all my reviews
I have one question to ask--WHY does Van Halen have to do this to their fans? This is pathetic--what kind of moron(no,not Eddie,Alex,Mike,or Sammy--I'm referring to the person who made this)would film two of one band's conerts and mix the concerts all on one DVD? They should have just released the two conerts on two DVDS in one package--who wants to see Sammy Hagar singing a song from the David Lee Roth era of Van Halen in a red cocunut shirt and shorts on,and then,two minutes later,see Hagar sing another Van Halen song from their era with David Lee Roth with a different pair of shorts on and no shirt on(well,not exactly,that was just an example of what this DVD is like--you know what I mean by that)! Save up some cash,go grab the LIVE WITHOUT A NET DVD and Van Halen's VIDEO HITS VOLUME ONE DVD,and then hope that Eddie Van Halen,Alex Van Halen,and Michael Anthony will have enough decence and class to release a more proper Van Halen DVD that gives more recognition to David Lee Roth than it does to Sammy Hagar(no offense--I like Sammy Hagar,but how many times have Eddie,Alex,and Mike been giving more recognition to their replacement lead singer than they have been to their original lead singer? Surprisingly,this time,a great band and great music result in a bad DVD.

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13 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

Release the US Festival 1983 show!!!!!, September 30, 2003
Reviewer: M. Kupper "hfiuwrhfi" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

We want a high quality DVD performance with Dave!!! This DVD is crap.

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2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

worthless, July 5, 2003
Reviewer: A viewer
I love Van Halen, but this is a joke!, it's not a real concert, in many parts it's kind of a playback!, you see them playing the same song and they're dress different! (they use footage from several nights I guess).
Bottomline: Don't waste your money, just listen to the cd.

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0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

What a Joke!, April 9, 2003
Reviewer: J. Saadia "sampdoria" (Buenos Aires, Argentina) - See all my reviews

I love Van Halen, but this is a joke!, it's not a real concert, in many parts it's kind of a playback!, you see them playing the same song and they're dress different! (they use footage from several nights I guess).
Bottomline: Don't waste your money, just put listen to the cd.

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1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

Bring out Live Without A Net on DVD, August 25, 2002
Reviewer: A viewer
I think Eddie Van Halen is one of the greatest, most inovative rock guitarists in the history of Rock & Roll. Hoever, this DVD pales in comparison to Van Halen's previous Live Without A Net VHS tape. The way the concert film was edited totally ruins this DVD concert experience. As others have pointed out, every few seconds, the band's clothes and guitars change... then change back... and then change again... within the same song! How stupid and distracting! I'm glad that the director who butchered this concert DVD introduced himself at beginning of the film, because I'll be sure to remember his name and avoid any of his other projects.

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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

Director and Editor Mitchell Sinoway ruins this concert!, August 7, 2001
Reviewer: Griffin Neubauer (Menasha, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Van Halen Live: Right Here Right Now is the absolute worst product ever put out by VH. It is even worse than VH3 with Gary Cherone. Director and Editor Mitchell Sinoway took two nights of filming and intercut them to supposedly get the best performances of each song from both nights. This in itself is not unusual in the making of concert films. The Rolling Stones have been known to film up to four nights to get the best version of a particular song. What usually happens however, is that the bands take great care to wear the same clothing on multiple nights to create the illusion that what was filmed occurred on one particular night. Sometimes someone forgets however and a performer is seen to be wearing different clothing from song to song. Although sometimes disconcerting, the viewer believes that the performer changed clothes during the course of one night to make a dramatic statement or possibly for an encore. Mitchell Sinoway ruins Right Here Right Now by intercutting clips from multiple nights within the same song! One minute we see Sammy Hagar wearing a T shirt, then two bars later in the same song he doesn't have a shirt on and his pants have changed! Two bars later he has the T shirt on again! This is the most annoying editing I have ever seen. I couldn't believe VH would allow this trash to be released. The song "Finish What You Started" is particularly offending. Every bar the bands clothing and the color of Eddie's guitar changes! This is not brilliant editing as another reviewer wrote, this is pure stupidity on the part of Mitchell Sinoway. He opens the video by the way. He's this fat pudgy guy with sunglasses who is kicked back in his chair with his hands behind his head. He goes on to tell us about all of his years in film. What an arrogant jerk! Why would a nobody director open up a concert video of the mighty VH anyway? Why would Mitchell Sinoway even think we would care how many years he has in film? We came to see VH, not him! This is obviously the case of a wannabe trying to weasel their way into the spotlight on VH's coattails. And then he goes on to ruin the video with his moronic editing! A lot of good all his years in film did him! David Lee Roth would never have stood for ... like this!

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0 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

Van Hagar finally loses the plot., December 26, 2003
Reviewer: Flanger (California) - See all my reviews
This DVD starts well for about 8 minutes and then slowly puts the watcher to sleep. Bits and pieces cut up to make up a concert. It's obvious to me that VH cannot play a concert through without things going wrong. Eddie's guitar solo piece is particularly disappointing as he makes so many mistakes. The other disappointment is that he has not written any additional original guitar solo work since the 'without a net' video. Shame Dave Lee Roth never released a live DVD when he was with Steve Vai. It would have made Van Hagar look like a bunch of amateurs.

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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

Dissappointing! Come on, guys! You can do better than this!, December 2, 2001
Reviewer: "seannorcal" (Granite Bay, CA United States) - See all my reviews
I love Van Halen and have (literally) every CD Van Halen has ever released. However, I was incredibly dissappointed with this DVD. While the sound is excellent, any avid Van Halen fan will have all of these songs, especially the live versions if they bought the corresponding CD, Van Halen: Right Here, Right Now.
The video quality is not only poor (dark, fuzzy and poorly lit), but it does not even match the real audio track. Yes, every attempt was made to match video of Sammy and Eddie with the songs, but it is very clearly dubbed. I've watched this DVD maybe twice, and now it collects dust on my shelf. As far as I can tell, this entire collection of footage was recorded over SEVERAL concerts and was created ENTIRELY in the editing room. Having recently purchased a flawless, high quality, close-up and AUTHENTIC Peter Frampton DVD recently (Frampton Plays Detroit), the quality of the two productions simply can't be compared. If you love loud, crystal clear, high quality sound that matches high quality video in an AUTHENTIC concert setting, don't buy this Van Halen DVD--instead BUY FRAMPTON.

Van Halen will come through (I'm sure) with a higher quality DVD with better production techniques (they need to hire the guy who did Frampton!), but of course, we'll have to wait for their next big tour! Who knows, maybe Eddie can patch up things with either David Lee and/or Sammy for one giant Farewell World Tour. If so, you can bet that a comprehensive, high quality video and audio DVD would FLY off the shelves. Until that time, though, I'd pass on this DVD and wait!!!

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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

Someone should be ... for this, June 18, 2001
Reviewer: Mr. Gerald Johnson (Calgary, Alberta Canada) - See all my reviews
This DVD is a disgrace. A monumental screw up of the highest order. You wouldn't think it would be possible to take a concert by one of the best hard rock groups that ever existed and turn it into a disaster.. but they've done it.
How, you may ask? By sheer arrogance and stupidity. The "powers that be" decided that a mere Van Halen Concert wasn't good enough. They were going to make it "better". What they did was to take footage of two separate concerts and merge them into one. The video is hacked together from the two concerts, constantly switching back and forth. They don't hide this fact, they announce it right at the start, like they were proud of it. On the surface it may sound like a good idea but as you watch the concert it quickly progresses from a novelty to a minor irritation to a major turn-off.

The problem is this: What you really want from a concert video is the feeling of being there. You want the illusion that you are a part of the concert, that it is a real event and that you are there. This ... merging of two separate concerts completely destroys any possibility of this. Even the clothes they are wearing become major distractions. In a few seconds the singer's clothes change back and forth so fast you can't even begin to figure out which is the 'real' video (which you would suppose matches the soundtrack) and which is the 'alternate' video (which I guess is supposed to be more 'lively' or 'interesting' for that split second). In other words it jumps back and forth so much that EVERYTHING looks fake.

To sum it up: It was a stupid idea. It effectively ruins what would have been a superior concert video. Every time I try to watch it I get so mad I want to put my fist through the screen. Please Please Please... just let us see the bands! Keep your clever ideas on how to improve an artist's art to yourself! These artists have reached the pinnacle of popularity for a reason. They have the gifts we want to see, NOT the editorial meddling of wanna-be film makers.

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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Horrible sound on an amazing concert..., December 28, 2000
Reviewer: Esteban Villanueva (Cd. Satelite, Edo. de Mex. Mexico) - See all my reviews
It's incredible the bad quality of the sound of this DVD. Sammy Hagar voice is extremely low. A shame! It's a better video the 'Live without a Net' VHS. Would love to see that in DVD!!

Ha-Ha

**Unchainme** · 10-16-2005, 12:28 AM

Amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/6302374340/ref=cm_rev_next/102-3476426-1476948?%5Fencoding=UTF8&customer-reviews.sort%5Fby=-SubmissionDate&n=130&s=dvd&customer-reviews.start=11

When's Dave going to release this on DVD?, It would blow anything The sisters have ever released on DVD away.

**mentalpancake** · 10-16-2005, 07:26 PM

Originally posted by Unchainme
Boring,boring,boring, September 24, 1999
Reviewer: sixtyone@sk.sympatico.ca (Saskatchewan,Canada) - See all my reviews
I bought this CD, listened to it twice and then pawned it. Repeated listenings of this performance are impossible. It is so boring and stale. I also owned the live video, and never got through it once. Wait for a live Van Halen album during the David Lee Roth era. It's your only hope.

Yeah, because I'm sure they'll be a Roth-era live CD soon.

**jero** · 10-18-2005, 04:13 AM

And we know it! LOL!

**LockedandLoaded** · 10-18-2005, 01:06 PM

Give Unchainme five stars, and a sticky! This is brilliant. Posting the amazon reviews of Van Hagar "too close to mommy music" was a great idea.

Amazon.com User Reviews Of Van Hagar Albums

Amazon.com User Reviews Of Van Hagar Albums

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