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There are various things I disagree with on this and they are a bit ignorant on some stuff but I have some sympathy with the argument that it's not that Dave couldn't sing the songs close to the albums it's that he chooses to sing the songs differently and that is not a good choice to make...
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I've long felt it wasn't Dave's loss of the ability to perform the material within a range that retains the spirit of the songs... He probably thinks he's just being creative but his approach neither plays to his vocal strengths nor improves on what are already really great songs that don't need embellishments.
Either no one has the heart to tell the man it terribly sucks or he's lost the ability to recognize it himself.
If there's a potential benefit from this release... it may motivate Dave to go back to what worked in the first place with the songs."If you want to be a monk... you gotta cook a lot of rice...”Comment
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How many times has Dave said in interviews about people going to a Beethoven concert wanting to hear 'Da Da Da Dah'.
If Eddie came up with a new riff to Panama who would want him to play that live instead?Comment
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I'm sure it can get boring performing the same shit 35 years... but then again if people freely pay you millions of dollars to do so, then try to do it well. If your heart isn't into it... be man enough to walk away and own that."If you want to be a monk... you gotta cook a lot of rice...”Comment
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I think the problem is more of Dave having serious vocal problems on the last tour due to being ill the entire time...
My guess is the higher notes were easier for him and the lower range is what gave him the most trouble...
At some points on the Youtubes, Dave is visibly upset that he's having trouble...Comment
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Not to mention the blower rants...Comment
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I never said anything about being washed up... nor that he was suffering from an illness or that he lost the level of singing ability he chose to put into his performances 7 years ago.
I don't believe he's lost much, if any, of his singing ability from the 2007 performances to 2013 in Japan. If so, at worst maybe just a 1-3% fall off.
It's my opinion that Dave has consciously chosen to embellish his vocal performances with that high octave bullshit and baritone half-assed opera vibrato crap thinking he's being creative and cute. Hey, it's his masterpieces to fuck up if he wants to and the band allows it.
Add to that... Dave's immersed himself in certain aspects of Japanese pop culture and their retarded, yuck it up comedy schtick. Throw that in a blender with Southern California rock star bravado and the end result is something ugly and embarrassing to watch/listen to. Especially for a guy performing classic rock standards in his 60's... Think bald, 80 year old Jerry Lewis on crack fronting an 80's hair band...
What I'm trying to say is this isn't a performer who lacks the ability to sing... it's Dave the "Entertainer" who's reinvented an act that doesn't work nor retain the Van Halen vibe."If you want to be a monk... you gotta cook a lot of rice...”Comment
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Dave IS the Van Halen vibe...
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I do... I've also followed a clear and visible progression.
In 2006... Dave participated in that Strummin with the Devil Bluegrass project. I'm pretty sure he worked with a vocal coach and some really talented musicians who took the core melodies of the Classic Van Halen tunes from the studio releases and transposed those into bluegrass compositions. That was some really good work and they captured both vocals and musically the Van Halen vibe of each song. That refined focus showed up in Dave's singing quite clearly.
In 2007/8... Dave performed vocally at a higher level than he ever did the previous 20 years. Two factors played into that... proving he deserved to be back fronting Van Halen but I think more-so that the work he did on Strummin focused his singing more aligned with the original melodies within the VH material.
In 2012... Dave was still pretty much on but started wandering creatively and I think his work on ADKOT influenced his performances to a higher energy amperage... which tends to drive him into that high octave crap which kills most of his classic tune vocals. Chinatown is great example... he barely pulls it off in the studio version and struggled 98% of the time with that live. Head from there right into DNTA and Dave lacks the throttle control to make the transition.
Best way to describe his vocal transformation was it went from sultry, smooth whiskey soaked... to too much RedBull and Pop Tarts. Given Dave's personality he lacks the control to transition between those modes smoothly. Add Japanese creepy culture and 2013 is the result..."If you want to be a monk... you gotta cook a lot of rice...”Comment
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tree speakAnother one of those classic genius posts, sure to generate responses. You log on the next day to see what your witty gem has produced to find no one gets it and 2 knotheads want to stick their dicks in it... Well played, sir!!Comment
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