Serious question...What has SAMMY HAGAR done that is actually any good?

[rocknrolldork]

Standing Hampton is a pretty solid effort. About 1/2 of Three Lock Box is decent. Saw him on the VOA tour, mainly because Krokus was opening up and I was really into One Vice at a Time. The dude did wreck VH, but the show I saw at MSA was pretty decent. Sammy always does stuff for his fans too. I can totally respect that as a musician and rock n roll fanatic. The sisters should have taken note of that. Hated 5150, 0u812, F.U.C.K., and Balance all from day 1. I walked out on the VH part of the Monsters of Rock show. Hardly any CVH stuff so I left. Dokken, Scorps and Metallica were good though. Saw the 2004 debacle because who knew if or when VH would ever tour again. To say it was terrible would be giving too much credit to them. Best part of the night was Ed, Al and Mike doing Somebody Get Me A Doctor and that was still way sloppy.

[Hardrock69]

I can't knock his success....but then, yes I can. Success at lame mediocrity is not really "success" at all. Just sheer luck.

[Unchainme]

Humans Being is badass solely for the reason it was Eddie kinda re-awakening back to his hard rock and roll state. Reading a bio on the song itself it kinda was sounding like Ed was getting pissed at Hagar for the whimpy lyrics he was putting out for the song itself and demanded something more heavy and dark. Probably one of the reasons he pushed his ass out of the band. "OH shit, "What is love"? what the fuck was I thinking? I co-wrote panama for christ sake!"

lets see..going down the list, Van Hagar songs I can tolerate:

Balance
Amsterdam (love ed's guitar in this)

FUCK
Right Now
Poundcake

OU812
nothing

5150
5150
Best of Both Worlds
The Solo and the(BLUE ANGELS) Video for Dreams..and only those parts only

I kinda dig "Rock Candy" from his days in Montrose, but other than that everything he's touched has been too cheese laden to enjoy. Mind you I mainly enjoyed those above songs IN SPITE of Hagar, mainly because Ed's just that damn good.

[Rikk]

Amsterdam (love ed's guitar in this)

Yeah, there's really good guitar in this. Shame that Sammy's lyrics are so fucking stupid that he pisses on the flowers. But it is a great guitar solo.

[Rikk]

I'd love to see a one-hour interview with Henry Rollins and Dave. Rollins isn't afraid to ask the hard questions, but he also fully understands the Tao of Dave and would let him roam freely. It would be an instant classic.

I'd love this too. Rollins is hilarious, but also insightful (and a friend of Dave's).

His LETTER TO ANN COULTER on YouTube is still freaking awesome.

[ZahZoo]

Geez... Re-title this thread. The Van Hagar 12 Step Cum Clean thread...

admitting that one cannot control one's addiction or compulsion to crap music;
recognizing a higher power (Diamond Dave) that can give strength;
examining past errors with the help of a sponsor (experienced member, aka Roth Army);
making amends for these errors;
learning to live a new life with a new code of misbehavior;
helping others who suffer from the same addictions or compulsions though public debauchery.

[Coyote]

learning to live a new life with a new code of misbehavior;

Sign me up!

[Nitro Express]

Humans Being is badass solely for the reason it was Eddie kinda re-awakening back to his hard rock and roll state. Reading a bio on the song itself it kinda was sounding like Ed was getting pissed at Hagar for the whimpy lyrics he was putting out for the song itself and demanded something more heavy and dark. Probably one of the reasons he pushed his ass out of the band. "OH shit, "What is love"? what the fuck was I thinking? I co-wrote panama for christ sake!"

lets see..going down the list, Van Hagar songs I can tolerate:

Balance
Amsterdam (love ed's guitar in this)

FUCK
Right Now
Poundcake

OU812
nothing

5150
5150
Best of Both Worlds
The Solo and the(BLUE ANGELS) Video for Dreams..and only those parts only

I kinda dig "Rock Candy" from his days in Montrose, but other than that everything he's touched has been too cheese laden to enjoy. Mind you I mainly enjoyed those above songs IN SPITE of Hagar, mainly because Ed's just that damn good.

Eddie said Humans Being sounds angry because he was pissed off at Sam. Ed also said he was pissed during the recording of Fair Warning and that is why some of the songs are so aggressive sounding. For kick ass rock and roll I guess you really piss off Eddie, toss him a guitar and push the record button.

[Unchainme]

really listening to songs like Amsterdam and Humans Being, with songs like Can't Get This Stuff No More and Me Wise Magic really made me wonder how the next real Van HALEN would have.

Album would have been in a much more different tone than previous records with Dave, more of a modern feel to them. '96 would have been the perfect time to strike too. Grunge was on it's way out and there was some what of a void in hard rock at that time too.

[fryingdutchman]

I never added my "hearty hello and how do you do?" to Rikk...

Excited for your big baby news, 'bro. Congratulations!

OK...back on topic.

[Zing!]

Okay - time for my 12-step. Yes, I was just a bit too young to see Van Halen in their glory days (besides, Iowa wasn't a high priority for them back then...) I have four older brothers so VH's first album, Diver Down, and 1984 were always around - I would discover VHII, WACF, and their masterpiece, Fair Warning, for myself. I was as big of a classic Van Halen fan as you could get from the time I was old enough to follow rock until April 1st, 1985 - room covered in VH posters, music playing at all times, drawing the classic =VH= logo on desks at school. You know - THAT kid. We all had our bands. Some kids in junior high were Motley, others were Kiss, some were Dokken or Ratt, etc. I was Van Halen. Classic Van Halen - and still am. But like I said - I just missed seeing them live so...

So 5150 was the next best thing and my first rock concert. I was really into that album at the time and, although I haven't listened to it in years, I think I could still tolerate hearing 5150, Dreams, and Best of Both Worlds if only in a nostalgic kind of way. I always thought Standing Hampton was a decent album and Three Lock Box had its moments, but I've never really dug much of Hagar's other solo stuff - although I haven't heard any of his new stuff since Marching To Mars. I thought OU812 was a let-down after 5150 - lacked the energy and attitude of the first Van Hagar album (although Al's drums were back to normal and I liked Ed's tone better on their second effort than on 5150) but Feels So Good was a horrid song and I defy anyone to listen to it without feeling saccharine overload. Sucker In A 3-Piece had the best music - very old school Ed, but again - Hagar's lyrics derail the song. I always thought For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge was crap and still do. It took them forever to make that album and other than Judgement Day I thought it was flat, boring, and uninspired. The Right Here, Right Now "live" album is basically another studio album and it's a shame that it's still the only 'official' live album from Ed, Al, and Mikey. Balance was a slight rebound from the tepid For Unlawful, the sound was better anyway and Ed rips on Amsterdam - but Hagar's lyrics are silly and the song I liked best isn't even on the album (Crossing Over). I've never heard completely the three tracks on the BOBW compilation, so I can't really comment on them, but from the little I could stomach I don't think I'd like them very much. Up For Breakfast is one of the most god awful rock songs ever conceived and Hagar should be ashamed for putting his name on it.

I used to somewhat dig Hagar back in the 80's - thought his tune Heavy Metal was bitchin - but anymore he's just a loud-mouthed jerk that can't stop running his mouth - making it embarrassingly obvious that he's still riding the coattails of VH for all it's worth, making me wish he'd just permanently retire to Cabo and never come back. So there it is: Roth is king - I've made amends - hope this helps others come clean, cause man I feel dirty talking so much about the Hagarita at the preeminent Roth website. Long live Diamond David Lee Roth! Bring on 3/4 of the Mighty Van Halen!

[twonabomber]

I used to somewhat dig Hagar back in the 80's - thought his tune Heavy Metal was bitchin - but anymore he's just a loud-mouthed jerk that can't stop running his mouth - making it embarrassingly obvious that he's still riding the coattails of VH for all it's worth, making me wish he'd just permanently retire to Cabo and never come back.

if there ends up being a new Chickenshit tour, we all need to contact the rock writer at our local newspapers and challenge them to not ask Sammy any VH questions, to turn the interview back toward Chickenshit if Sammy strays into VH talk, and to call him out on things like his lies about platinum albums.

[rocknrolldork]

really listening to songs like Amsterdam and Humans Being, with songs like Can't Get This Stuff No More and Me Wise Magic really made me wonder how the next real Van HALEN would have.

Album would have been in a much more different tone than previous records with Dave, more of a modern feel to them. '96 would have been the perfect time to strike too. Grunge was on it's way out and there was some what of a void in hard rock at that time too.

CGTSNM and MWM are really pretty crappy throwaway tunes that sound like b-sides of the Hagar-era stuff. It was great to hear new stuff w/both Ed and Dave, but those tunes pretty much blow and (at least for me) can be lumped into the Jump, Pretty Woman, I'll Wait category. VH started to lose me with 1984 and totally lost me with 5150.

[DONNIEP]

CGTSNM and MWM are really pretty crappy throwaway tunes that sound like b-sides of the Hagar-era stuff. It was great to hear new stuff w/both Ed and Dave, but those tunes pretty much blow and (at least for me) can be lumped into the Jump, Pretty Woman, I'll Wait category. VH started to lose me with 1984 and totally lost me with 5150.

I can agree that CGTSNM and MWM weren't up to par for Van Halen. I like them both, but they could have done better. But the first time I heard Me Wise Magic on the radio I nearly ripped the knob off the radio! I could NOT believe that I was hearing Van Halen with Dave again! Ah, what could have been...

[jhale667]

I can agree that CGTSNM and MWM weren't up to par for Van Halen. I like them both, but they could have done better. But the first time I heard Me Wise Magic on the radio I nearly ripped the knob off the radio! I could NOT believe that I was hearing Van Halen with Dave again! Ah, what could have been...

Same here, I was just stoked to hear Dave back with the band, though in hindsight the tunes are not really 6-pack material. My first listen story is funny too...was workihng for a music marketing firm back then, and my boss calls me and another VH freak in the office - unbeknown to us, he had an advance copy of the singles. He hits play and says "Guess who this is!" For th "MWM" intro we're like "This sounds like someone trying to sound like Ed", and he says "Wait for it..." then when DLR's voice kicked in we were like "NO WAY!!!" This was like a week before the MTV fiasco IIRC...we were extremeely excited for that first week though...