Official "A Different Kind of Truth" Album Review Thread

[VHscraps]

here is the the link for it

http://www.metro.co.uk/music/889785-...or-second-week

Ah - the UK. Good news, though. Number 4 in the UK would be one of their highest placings, if not their highest ever.

[tjvhou812]

oh its the uk... then its still has a chance

[BumBahDeeDah]

My quick, no time to get in-depth review?

WOW, WOLF REALLY IS A "SEXY CAT"!

[sonrisa salvaje]

Of course they don't mention that 1984 was only kept from #1 due to Thriller's incredible run at number 1 for like a year? Maybe more? Personally, i don't give shit whether it reaches number 1 or not. No amount of sales is going to demonstrate how great this record actually is. 7 pack is a given. My expectations were left in the dust and out of rearview mirror sight early Tuesday morning. Guys, this is unbelievable.

[DONNIEP]

I didn't get to pick up the new record yesterday like I planned. Wound up only having time to go to one place - Walmart!!! Damn I hate that place!! So I look all through their shittly little music section then I say to the punk kid holding the register down in the music section, "I'm looking for the new Van Halen record." To which he replies, "What's Van Halen?" This was just what I needed to hear after the day I'd had... So, I go to Best Buy today at lunch and whaddaya know - they have a nice little display set up with the new VH CD. I just stood there for a minute, just looking at it. So I snag my copy and seriously consider stealing the cardboard promo-card thing with the album logo on it. I finally get back to work, slide this CD in the computer and put on my shitty headphones and hit play. HOLY SHIT!!!! I was hoping for a good record, and after hearing the clips I expected a great record. But this? This???? This is the best fucking thing I've heard since I bought 1984 at the Record Bar 28 years ago!!! This record kicks ass from the start all the way past the end. And when it was over I was just sitting there, twitching and all glassy eyed with this dumb-ass, goofy smile on my face, just shaking my head...28 years we waited and damn if they didn't fucking deliver!!! I'll drink to that!

[fifth element]

a different kind of truth (cont.)

van halen, as a band, had used up eight of their nine lives. This was it. Sure, ed has the vault of music with ten albums worth (epically plundered now), but that music would never see the light of day without first giving the fans what they wanted. This has been a sticking point with the van halen brothers for nearly thirty years. As professional musicians, who can blame them? You want to live in the current, in the now – record and document what is relevant in your life today, not eons ago. But first things first. You need the fans before you can have the music. The fans wanted ‘a different kind of truth,’ and this band, our band, delivered. We can now have closure for the last 28 years of silence. We can properly appreciate and validate all those long-suffering years where we were convinced nothing – short of the two ’96 tracks – would ever happen again. We forgive you. We love you like we did all those years ago. I know it’s not manly to admit your love for something – but let’s be honest here. We’re family, right? We can say ‘i love you’ without blushing.

To alex van halen: Thank you for the thunder. You’ve never wavered, through good times and bad, and have proven that even rock stars, including drummers, can have class. To eddie van halen: I’m proud of you for conquering your demons. You are an example to all, musically inclined or not, and your fret-work on ‘a different kind of truth’ will be studied like mozart. Sounds like schmaltz, right? It’s not. You raised the bar. Again. When we chant “eddie! Eddie!” at your concerts, we mean it with all our collective hearts. To david lee roth: Thank you for your undying devotion to this band. You never gave up, you never stopped believing, even when many of us did. Your lyrics are like poetry, and your lifestyle is worthy of an action hero. You’ll always be my hero – and some day my kid’s hero as well, and you can take that to the bank. And finally, to the most important member of this quartet: Wolfgang van halen. Thanks kid, for loving your dad. I believe without a shadow of a doubt that that is why we’re even having this conversation at all. You resurrected the greatest american rock and roll band of all time and saved a good soul worth saving. I know you will live in the shadow of a former member to some, but in my book your playing was epic, and your dedication to your father even more so. You have earned our respect. Take a bow, kid.

Ladies and gentlemen, i give you…the mighty van halen

can a brutha get an amen?!?!

amen!!!!!

[chi-town324]

theres gonna be haters....fuck em

[FALCO]

Having had to go through the questionable sounding Official Clips, YouTube Clips, and Best Buy feeling the need to make me suffer an extra day on their delivery... got home at 11:30 this morning to find ADKOT waiting at my door... nice!!!

I'll break my review in 2 parts: Songs and Production.

Songs:
COMPLETELY BLOWN AWAY!!! Putting this CD in the player was like the first time I put a needle to my friends brothers copy of Van Halen I as were were sneaking through his RECORD collection back in 1981 (also discovered Black Sabbath's Heaven and Hell)

This CD reminds me of a modern day 'Appetite For Destruction'. Guns N Roses covered so many different vibes on that record, yet you still knew it was GnR.

This Van Halen CD is so ridiculously diverse, obviously because with the reworked demos (which I personally thought was a BRILLIANT FUCKING way to bridge into today) we are listening to an almost 35 year span of THE MIGHTY VAN HALEN!!!

To paraphrase quote George Costanza "The Mighty Van Halen was angry my friends"...

This is such a ferociously aggressive piece of work, that it's hard to put into words. I have found myself constantly saying "Am I really listening to this?". Van Halen has brought everything they had to the table and completely killed it. I'm reading quotes like "not hooky enough, etc"... I have no idea what the fuck people are listening to??? Obviously, if you are only familiar with Jump and Panama, then you shouldn't even be reviewing this CD, because it is SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT... although, Blood and Fire fits perfectly in with that 'cool summer vibe' that Van Halen was popular for, so again, I can't take what some of these people are writing seriously...

The insanely tight playing of the Drums, Guitars, and Bass (hoping that it is Wolf on Bass... because if it is, I cannot praise his playing enough... tasty, recklessly dead-on out of control... and if not, still sounds tight as hell) are something to be marveled at... the CD cover fits perfectly, because as I have stated on a few threads, these tunes are like a runaway freight train... The Drum and Bass-work, as well as that of the sometimes dueling Guitar and Bass-work (actually very Sheehan/Vai-esque in some spots) are amazing... yet when EVH is doing his thing, there is no doubt who is the Master Of 6 Strings And 10 Fingers is - and who everyone else tries to come close to... his playing sounds inspired, angry, determined, etc, etc... but it also sounds rejuvenated and like he is, dare I say, enjoying himself???

... and then there is David Lee Roth, the Ringleader... again, contrary to what some 'in the know' are writing, his lyrics on this CD are ridiculously clever... and to put it mildly FUCKING GREAT!!! (coming from one who writes lyrics and loves to try to input the element of thought and multi-meaning in a word or line) ... his delivery, phrasing and sense of melody in many of the spots are absolutely brilliant... as for the vocals, I am a HUGE DLR fan, but also not a 'sheep' so I can be objective... I think that he sounds very very good considering all the factors that can affect a voice after almost 40 years... are there a few cringe worthy moments? Honestly, yes, but not many... a few times when Dave goes into the upper register it sounds a bit strained, however, there are other times when he sounds quite strong there... personally, half of Beats Workin' doesn't work for me vocally, but the "That Beats Workin' Baby" part has killer 70's all over it, so that actually saves the song for me... but other than that, DLR is every bit the swagger, style and attitude of The Mighty Van Halen... his vibe on HBSD is amazing, as is that killer shriek before EVH's last solo... and for those who think DLR 'was never a good singer - only style' I say REALLY listen to 'You And Your Blues' and even closer to 'Big River'... I don't think he's EVER sang a better line than the way he sings "No Evil Woman Got A Hold On Me, Ain't Goin' To Heaven Anytime Soon" in YAYB and he sings the FUCK out of Big River and is dead-on ridiculous... yes, DLR is known for being the 'Showman', but Christ the guy can sing!!!

He really brings to life EACH AND EVERY song and (maybe because I am a singer and like to really vibe on the vocals) I find myself digging and anticipating listening to the story DLR is telling in each song... painting that picture... and there are not many singers today that make me stop and actually listen and vibe on what they are bringing... there is true emotion and passion there, and while the total 1978 voice is not there, he has brought the 1978 meets 2012 voice along with 35 years of being David Lee Roth... which many in the business today can only hope to imagine to come close to...

Honestly, NOT ONE bad song on this CD!!! Have actually found myself NOT skipping Tattoo, as now in full song order, it works for me... every song is my favorite at the time of listening!!! \m/ \m/

I'll pause to say I hope this is making sense, cause I have the headphones on cranking ADKOT as I type, so sorry if I am rambling DLR style...

Production:
Although having recorded 4 full CD's in professional studios, and having been around name producers, engineers, etc... I will admit I am still not a real 'tech audiophile' so I will try to give a mix of Pro Singer/Normal Guy vibe on this... the last time I was in a studio was 1998, so obviously alot has changed... seems like technology changes by the second... OK...

TO ME: Yes, the CD is "loud" ... seems like even the non full throttle songs are full throttle in your ears... which is NOT a bad thing to what I am hearing as I listen to this CD on my studio headphones... it is going to be alot of "to each ears their own" ...

Would I have preferred a bit of breathing room and a bit more 'Color'? YES (I see color based on what I hear if that makes sense)... Obviously, depending on what equipment is used to record, master, etc, you will get so many different results its stupid... I recall when we recorded our first CD half was on an old Neve board in CA and half on an even older board (can't remember the name) in Germany... the sound on that CD was 'deep' to me, almost 3D... when I listen to it I see 'deep blues, purples' ... kind of like the vibe I get when I listen to VHI and WACF... when we did our 2nd CD, it was on an SSL board (the board of choice at the time) and I felt our 2nd CD was flatter, less depth, more 2D and all around more 'tan, gray' sounding (I didn't care for the sound) ... that is the vibe I get when I hear Eat 'Em and Smile, and also a bit of the vibe when listening to ADKOT (yet only partially... mostly in regards to the dryish vocal production)

I think the ONE thing I would have done (my opinion) was since the instruments are so massive and thick (and a bit dry), I would have given DLR's vocals a bit of depth, wetness, atmosphere, etc... to my ears, the musical production (while not exact) has a bit of the Fair Warning vibe to it... and Dave's vocal sound on Mean Street compliments the vibe there on that record ... also, I love the way Dave's voice was produced on 'Can't Get This Stuff No More' ... again, a bit of reverb, delay and depth... also mixed just a hint less 'Up Front'... sometimes on ADKOT it seems like his vocals are a bit too up front and clipping out as if a limiter kicks in... an example is in 'Big River' when he sings 'All my big ideas done' and 'That river belongs to me' when he holds those notes BRILLIANTLY - it would have been nice to have them fade out, a bit of reverb, as opposed to just clip ending...

I know it gets nitpicky, and honestly, ADKOT is beyond brilliant, but since it an honest review, I do like the CGTSNM, EWS and Mean Street style of vocal production, effects, etc than the Eat Em And Smile dry up in your face sound...

That being said, I cannot say enough how blown away I am by the entire effort as a whole of A Different Kind Of Truth... this is such a sonic monster, it deserves to be recognized and I hope that it is finally the right time for Van Halen to save music in 2012!!!

To THE MIGHTY VAN HALEN I say:

(To quote David Lee Roth)

Thanks for the Dream...
- FALCO

\m/ \m/

[ELVIS]

Too long for me...

[Mr Walker]

Too long for me...

All due respect to Falco... this made me laugh.

[Sensible Shoes]

Finally got a copy - playing Stay Frosty over and over. Amazing that Eddie Van Halen can take a simple 1-4-5 progression and turn it into something most amazing.

[FALCO]

All due respect to Falco... this made me laugh.

All good... after 28 years wanted to give the CD the respect it deserved...
I can be wordy \m/ \m/

[ELVIS]

It's cool...

[sadaist]

Of course they don't mention that 1984 was only kept from #1 due to Thriller's incredible run at number 1 for like a year? Maybe more? Personally, i don't give shit whether it reaches number 1 or not. No amount of sales is going to demonstrate how great this record actually is. 7 pack is a given. My expectations were left in the dust and out of rearview mirror sight early Tuesday morning. Guys, this is unbelievable.

They could have brought John Lennon & Elvis back to life for a duet album with the Beatles and still no one would have knocked Thriller off #1. Monster album. I mean fuck...Thriller! No one was beating that.

[jhale667]

"That's too much like fancy book-learnin'..."

All good... after 28 years wanted to give the CD the respect it deserved...
I can be wordy \m/ \m/

Hey, I liked it - you put a lot of thought into it, cool technical insight as well.