Do we expect too much?

[howie]

They will never look or sound like the eighties again...

And they are all millionaires because of you and me...why do they need to appease anybody?

It's not even the same band anymore...

Roth from 78 to 84 doesn't compare to the Roth of the day...and neither does Ed....

What is it we want so badly?

[ThrillsNSpills]

Quality. Nobody does it like they do and we all know what they are capable of musically. It comes down to the tunes whether or not it will be an instant classic.

[VAiN]

Quality. Nobody does it like they do and we all know what they are capable of musically.

Pow.

Exactly... I just want quality.. show us how you guys can do it. That's all I want... Oh, and a solid tour behind it would be nice as well.

[Terry]

It's not 1984 anymore, for sure.

CVH is gone.

Even if Mike Anthony came back, the circumstances today are just different. It's to be expected.

Far as the band owing their audience something, well, if they're charging $100 a pop for concert tickets, there is an implicit agreement that ALL of the band will be in a condition to give the best performance they're capable of. Ed may have been able to deliver the goods thirty years ago while drunk. He can't anymore, so he needs to sober the fuck up enough to play the goddamn songs correctly. I don't buy it for a minute when someone says "well, being too drunk to play is SO rock and roll"...seeing Eddie Van Halen shitfaced these days isn't like being at, say, the US Festival; it's not some historic rock moment. When 'Van Halen' are taking the stage these days flogging the oldies, people are paying to hear the tunes played properly. If I want to hear Eruption played badly, I can watch ANY number of wannabes on youtube doing that for free (there's one upside to the technological revolution - now I don't have to leave the house and go down to the local guitar center to hear strangers fumbling Eddie's licks).

Far as a new album, I don't expect 'Fair Warning 2'. What I'd like to hear is an honest effort with tangible traces of energy and enthusiasm, regardless of result.

Honestly, for me the band ended in 1985. There was a shot in 1996 of rekindling it, but that chance was blown, and they waited too long. What the band has done since Roth rejoined, in terms of pace and content, may well the best they're capable of...or the best they're willing to do, which amounts to the same thing. A bit sad that the bar has to be lowered for them now, but the chances they're gonna come up with something that approaches the intensity of CVH are very slim.

The best one can hope for is that they don't release something that embarrasses the CVH legacy any worse than any of the post-1984 output already has. Seemingly not too tall of an order, but considering Roth's last two solo releases (Dave ain't blameless here), Van Halen 3 and the tracks for BOBW, these guys might fucking well be tapped out.

If that IS the case, they should just call it a day, open the vaults and go onto other things.

There's plenty of aging, once-great rock bands out there now busking it with half-assed attempts at channeling former glories. Van Halen need not be one of them.

[howie]

Hopefully there won't be a cover of "Hot Dog and a Shake"...

[ashstralia]

it saddens me mostly because my other favourite band, iron maiden, are still producing great tunes, touring, and bringing it live. why not vh?

[kwame k]

it saddens me mostly because my other favourite band, iron maiden, are still producing great tunes, touring, and bringing it live. why not vh?

Man....it'd be soooooo much easier being a Maiden die hard than a CVH fan!

[sadaist]

Man....it'd be soooooo much easier being a Maiden die hard than a CVH fan!

Well, the 2 Eddies a few years back shared the same dentist.

[kwame k]

Set that one right up for you!

[DLR Bridge]

Far as a new album, I don't expect 'Fair Warning 2'. What I'd like to hear is an honest effort with tangible traces of energy and enthusiasm, regardless of result.

Sounds extremely doable. I'll take a platter of that. I'm hoping for some experimentation, but I don't expect they'll reinvent themselves too much. The whole 'give the people what they want' corner they're painted into has the potential to stifle creativity, somewhat. That's when things can get all ham fisted. They have to create not giving a shit about what we want. In that regard, I'm glad they've cut us completely out of their loop. I Just never thought we'd be waiting four years for a result. Hell, I'm not even lookin' for a hit, though, from the sounds of this Interscope deal, one can only imagine they are. That label doesn't particularly cater to cult following only type bands. In any case, I just hope it's not too late for Van Halen to veer down the avenue of a more Cheap Trick type career. Record new music, keep yourself out there and remain faithful to your fans. What a novel idea. Not necessarily rocket surgery, is it?

[DONNIEP]

Do I expect too much? Damn right I do. I expect the Mighty Van Halen to retake their place as the greatest rock band in the world! I expect them to put out a record that blows me away. I expect them to overcome the fact that Ed's kid is in the band, because daddy said so. I expect Dave to take the reins and overwhelm the media - and I expect Dave to tell Eddie fuck you very much, I'll talk to whomever I want to, whenever I want to. I expect the three of them to put on a tour of the world, tour until the wheels fall off the bus, and then to tour some more. And then I expect them to finally get the whole band back together and toss Wolfie out on his ass. Yep, I expect too much.

[Nitro Express]

Some guitarist are amazing to watch even when they are old fucks. Les Paul was always a pleasure to watch until he passed away and I still enjoy watching that corpse Keith Richards after all these years. Eddie just hasn't been up to snuff live since the Van Halen 3 tour which he played great but had the wrong frontman and the new songs sucked warthog shit.

[twonabomber]

i don't mind threads like these. it's the "they owe us!" ones that i think are really dumb.

[ashstralia]

i don't mind threads like these. it's the "they owe us!" ones that i think are really dumb.

agree mate. they could have imploded after 3 albums, and then we'd be on some other bands site debating this... no-one owes anyone anything.

[ashstralia]

Man....it'd be soooooo much easier being a Maiden die hard than a CVH fan!

it is.