Question to some of the older people on here

[lztom]

I'm not old enough to have been around when DLR left Van Halen. I'm interested to know about what people thought, firstly, when he quit the band and, secondly, when Hagar was announced as the replacement? Was it completely heartbreaking when you first heard Why Can' This Be Love or did you hold out that maybe some of the new stuff would continue in a CVH mould?

[squib]

In the end you look back and say The 5150 cover was gay but the band was gayer and then Eddie fucked up his teeth

[POJO_Risin]

My first thought was fuck...

then I was actually okay with it...

I figured Van Halen would get a new singer...and I'd get 2 versions of a great band...

when EEAS came out...I was 1/2 right...

and I didn't know much about Hagar...other than a few tunes...and new he played guitar...so I was intrigued a bit...

but when that first song came out...Why Can't This Be Love...I remember thinking that my band was singing ballads...then I bought the fucking thing...and liked a tune or two right off the bat...Summer Nights...and...can't remember now...but think there was another that I like...

but a few weeks later...I had listened to it maybe 4 or 5 times...and new that Van Halen was done for me in that incarnation other than a listen here and there...

and some shows...

Of course...over the years...you listen to Hagar talk about HIS version...and it makes you want to throw up...and watching spED's spiral into hell has been painful...

but yeah...my initial reaction was the potential for 2 albums ever 2 years...

but such is life...

[guwapo_rocker]

When I first herd it was Hagar, I thought the second guitar thing

might be kinda cool. I didn't realize he would turn the band into REO

Speedwagon in a matter of months.

[DavidLeeNatra]

mostly the same what pojo said...

changing line-ups were a "natural" thing these days...singers changed, guitar players were replaced...I wasn't that shocked at all...and dave was THE man these days...

I only knew hagar for some vids and didn't care at all...I was open for what would come...what came was 5150...I listened once and couldn't stand it...I watched the video to DREAMS and thought "WHERE IS THE BAND?" then came EEAS and I knew there was only one road left for me...one more thing that irritated me a lot was all the mudslinging coming from the VH camp towards dave...

after that I watched "live without a net" once and thought that something was wrong. I didn't buy their "we are so happy with each other, now" thing they pretended to have onstage...

and I remember being in a club, asking the DJ to play van halen's JUMP! and he played why can't this be love instead and I was pissed...

[Terry]

First I remember of finding out Hagar was gonna be Van Halen's new singer was watching Farm Aid in the summer of 1985. Sam and Ed did a version of LZs Rock and Roll, with Hagars touring band backing them. It sounded good. Figured that the new band would be decent. Wasn't a hardcore Hagar fan prior to him joining the band, but had heard more than enough of his stuff to know who he was. At that point, I was heavily into Van Halen primarily because of Eddie and what he was doing guitar-wise. Always dug what Roth did (was never one of those who said "Roth can't sing, he's the weakest part of the band," and there were more than a few even back then who said that kind of thing), but to me back then the guitar playing was my central focus when I listened to Van Halen.

Between the announcement that Roth split and 5150 coming out, there was about 10 months of press, most of what I read being in the form of EVH interviews, where Ed was repreatedly saying that Sam was just a better singer than Dave, that Ed was being held back by Roth's vocal limitations, how much better the band was now that Dave wasn't there...

Man, hearing Why Can't This Be Love was just a "what the fuck is THIS shit?" moment, and the rest of the album wasn't much better. Hagar was trying to act like Roth in his mannerisms, had developed this annoying screech, and even the tunes that were hard rock just sounded like they had been done before, and better...plus, the production values just plain stunk. Those electronic drums sounded frickin' terrible...nobody I hung with thought the band was as good anymore (the word 'gay' was liberally applied to the new lineup), and EEAS was more up our alley than Van Hagar ever would be.

[ULTRAMAN VH]

I was devastated when Roth left. I tried to keep an open mind and purchased both 5150 and EEAS. Just 2 years prior I had seen VH in 84, and it was an incredible show. From the music down to the production and stage show you really got your money's worth. My buddy and I saw Van Hagar 1st and it was like a member of the family had died. They say change is good but not this time. The show really sucked, The stage was stripped bare and the charismatic entertaining frontman was replaced by a lethargic middle aged 2nd string frontman. Most of the set was 5150 material and Hagar solo shit. Very little DLR era material was played. We left early and walking through the parking lot, we were just in shock that are favorite band was gone. In the fall it was Roth's turn and we checked out Dave and his new band at the Capital Center in Landover. The EEAS band roared out of the gate with UNCHAINED and Dave yells out , "What do you think of the new band so far" The crowd went fucking crazy. And if you were wondering where the stage show went, DLR took it with him. I was never crazy about Steve Vai's tone, but he and Sheehan just kicked ass. It was a very entertaining show and hand's down better than VanHagar. But it was just not the same. Dave and Ed had a chemistry that could not be replaced by Hagar or Steve Vai. Classic DLR era VH will always rule.

[ThrillsNSpills]

I didn't know anyone who was a Hagar fan at the time. I knew he did a project with Neal Schon that wasn't horrible. (lol, quite the sales pitch)
but it was hard rock at least.
Van Hagar was hyped to death at the time. I remember asking a friend what he thought of Why cant this Be Love and he said it sounded like a car commercial.

"It's Got what it Takes" , etc.

It all just sounded too safe or something. The old albums had this feeling that it could fly apart at any time. It was raw powerful and dangerous; not overproduced. 80's music in general seemed more calculated, more produced, and more formula oriented.

Dave was the pioneer of selling the hell out of his latest project and had a gift of servin it up in your face and making it that much more entertaining. He could build on the music and whip the crowd into a frenzy.
In retrospect I think the VH's oversold Sammy out of fear, and you can't blame them.

[Matt White]

Same as most...

Saw Farm Aid...wasn't diggin it...held out that 5150 might be alright...

Remember vividly driving around...listening to it straight thru....

Chucked the cassette out the window in disgust.....

"They ruined my favorite band" was my reaction...

Held out hope that DAVE 7 the sisters would patch things up...but the sisters talked shit aboot him in that ROLLING STONE cover story....

Saw the 5150 tour...cuz I was a EDWARD VAN HALEN freak as well....

Was under impressed.....

[frets5150]

Originally posted by Matt White
Same as most...

Saw Farm Aid...wasn't diggin it...held out that 5150 might be alright...

Remember vividly driving around...listening to it straight thru....

Chucked the cassette out the window in disgust.....

"They ruined my favorite band" was my reaction...

Held out hope that DAVE 7 the sisters would patch things up...but the sisters talked shit aboot him in that ROLLING STONE cover story....

Saw the 5150 tour...cuz I was a EDWARD VAN HALEN freak as well....

Was under impressed.....

DAVE 7 ? Oh you forgot to hit the SHIFT KEY.I'm like who's DAVE 7 ...:D

[sadaist]

I remember right before Hagar joined VH, he was getting a lot of air time on MTV for the 55 video. Where he wears that gay red jumpsuit and had hair like the singer from Loverboy on a bad day.

When the radio first played Why Can't This Be Love, I didn't like it. My first reaction was the synth was going to be through the whole album just because Jump was a hit. Bought the album and liked about 3 songs. I think you could really tell the Dave influenced ones that were already written before Sammy came in.

The 5150 tour was much better than the album. Minus the Dave bashing, it really had a lot of energy and fun. I think they were just trying so hard to prove to the world that they could do it without Dave.

On that note, the Eat Em And Smile show was 1,000 times better. Dave was at his pinnacle on that tour. Even better than previous VH tours I saw him on. His videos were also much better. You could really tell who the creative one was.

[BrownSound1]

I was heartbroken when Dave left Van Halen. However, I did give Van Hagar every reasonable chance to become a favorite of mine, but they fell short. WAY short. I didn't like the production of 5150 at all. I thought the guitar tone was awful, when compared to the previous albums. Some of the songs aren't so bad, but Dreams and Love Walks In just drive me up the wall. Of course I gave them the benefit of the doubt, and blamed it on it being their first album with Hagar. You know...them getting to know each other musically.

I think Pojo summed it up pretty good with his "2 favorite bands" line. That is what we hoped for, but it didn't quite turn out that way.

When Eat 'em and Smile came out I quickly realized that Dave was responsible for a lot more of the VH sound than he's ever credited for. Sure Ed wrote the riffs, don't make any mistake about it, but the overall sound has a lot to do with Dave. The attitude of classic VH is ALL Dave...PERIOD. Ed and Al cried for years about how it was all bad with Dave, but every live shot I've ever seen of those guys they were having FUN. There's an old clip of Dave and Al DJ'ing a radio show, and they were having a blast. For them to lie and say it was never fun is total bullshit.

Now, I'm sure you're wondering where our rancor for Hagar comes from. For me it is in the fact that he joined in on the bashing of Dave from day one. Who the hell is he to bash someone he didn't even know? Plus Sammy always felt insecure when it came to Dave. Like EVH said, "Sammy was like the second wife who wanted to pretend the first wife never existed." His refusal to sing the old tunes is unforgivable in my book. His entire time in VH was riding the wave created by the first 6 albums. Not once did he ever say those tunes were great, or anything like that. He only sang what he was made to sing. Cheeseball motherfucker!

[POJO_Risin]

I remember Ed and Sam at Farm Aid...wow...forgot about that...
...

remember thinking how freakin' weird it was to see Ed at fucking Farm Aid...

wow...an inauspicious beginning...

[sadaist]

Remember the Hot For Teacher video ending? Dave became a "game show host". Well, it's not a game show, but he is a "host" of a radio program. Eddie ended up in a straight jacket and mental institution. WOW! They sure were close with those predictions :-)

[POJO_Risin]

Very well said BS1...very sell said...

it's funny...I remember buying 5150...and hoping that Why Can't This Be Love was singular...

it wasn't...

I did remain hopeful...but fucking Hagar is just painful...a fucking fake motherfucker if ever there was one...