New van halen

[ChiefWahoo]

I'll preface this with noting that my first VH awareness as a kid was when 1984 made them MTV stars. So I mostly heard (and kinda liked) the SH group in high school and college. I liked the "Right Now" sound and a lot off of Balance. Then I heard the early DLR stuff and loved the vocal harmonies and appreciated DLR's showman style a little more. Perfect coming from the 70s. But I've never been a fan of hard rock/light metal/wherever they fall. I enjoy the songs but don't drool over them. Saw them live once but from the back back row it could have been Hansen playing Guitar Hero for all I know.

I didn't care much for Tatoo when it was released. Only listened once but it wasn't my thing. Too slow for an opener after all these years. It definitely had the early sound, though. The rumors that these could have been B-sides from 1984 definitely make sense. Then I snagged the album last Thursday. Yeah, this IS DLR-era VH. I still haven't finished it all, but what I've heard is definitely classic Diamond Dave & Co. A lot of "Hot for Teacher" in the one song and etc, etc. If you miss the original sound, it's back. I'm definitely impressed. Let's see if they can do it live, though.

And someone ask Dave to leave the spandex at home this time.

 

[Member357]

I've been enough of a fan over the years to give the new stuff a try, so i've just ordered it. Not on Itunes, which is 50% more expensive than ordering online!

 

[joshua82]

It sounds like a bad wedding band doing a cover of a van halen tune that was never good enough to make it onto an album. No disrespect intended towards any VH fans.

 

[lungho]

I'd like to hear the rest of the album before passing final judgment but the posted song in question sounds like it was written and arranged by an VH tribute band. That opening riff isn't exactly what I'd expect from Eddie....a little too simplistic. However it beats the pants off ANYTHING from the 3 album.

 

[ChiefWahoo]

Whole album came out today.

Tattoo is trash. If that's all you've heard, wait. I'm not saying the whole thing will blow you away, but it's much better IMVHO.

 

[Blix]

Tattoo is the weakest track on the album for sure.

Personally, I think ADKOT rocks!

 

[lungho]

I'll probably end up giving the whole thing a listen but I can't imagine listening to VH without Michael Anthony's backing vocals. Mike and Ed's harmonies are/were every bit a part of VH as Ed's guitar or Alex's drums.

 

[Blix]

I'll probably end up giving the whole thing a listen but I can't imagine listening to VH without Michael Anthony's backing vocals. Mike and Ed's harmonies are/were every bit a part of VH as Ed's guitar or Alex's drums.

While I agree Mikes backing vocals was a huge part of their vocal sound, they still sound great, and Wolfgang makes up for it with incredibly solid bass playing.
I'd prefer Anthonys backing vocals for sure, but nothing we can do about that...

One thing is for sure, it's most definetely sounds like Van Halen. Never knew near sixties guys could rock that hard.

 

[cb91710]

Never knew near sixties guys could rock that hard.

Kiss, Ozzy, Dio, Metallica, Halford, Scorpions (okay, they fell on their face in the studio, but their live shows remained solid when they did their old material), of course Rush (admittedly, Geddy has lost his high range).

But when I think about my latest Metallica/Motorhead earworm, I often wonder if my father gets "Glen Miller" earworms

 

[Blix]

Kiss, Ozzy, Dio, Metallica, Halford, Scorpions (okay, they fell on their face in the studio, but their live shows remained solid when they did their old material), of course Rush (admittedly, Geddy has lost his high range).

But when I think about my latest Metallica/Motorhead earworm, I often wonder if my father gets "Glen Miller" earworms

Ah I forgot Dio, saw him a 3-4 years ago, man it was awesome. You're a bit hard on Metallica though, they aren't even 50 yet

 

[cb91710]

Ah I forgot Dio, saw him a 3-4 years ago, man it was awesome. You're a bit hard on Metallica though, they aren't even 50 yet

True... and they quit rockin' with Load

 

[oc_in_fw]

I often wonder if my father gets "Glen Miller" earworms

I am 43 and I do.

 

[christhach]

Been listening to the album since it came out. Man, I love it.

Fav tracks: She's the Woman, Big River (one of Eddie's best face melting guitar solos ever at 1:46, no kidding), Beat's Workin' and You and Your Blues...ah heck, I'll throw Stay Frosty in there cause it's a lot of fun (Dave's a riot).

Truly has the classic VH sound.

A final comparison appropriate for many in the VH generation (certainly for me anyway):

The Star Wars prequals - I wanted to love them. I had a sinking and hollow feeling after I watched them, but wanted to believe they were great. I read reviews that said they were great movies (with some minor flaws). I wanted the greatness of the series from my childhood to continue. With each re-viewing, I saw even more clearly what steaming piles of crap these movies were. They were so bad, they actually tarnished the greatness of the originals for me.

The new VH album - I wanted to love it. I had a sinking and hollow feeling after I heard "Tattoo", but wanted to believe the album could still be good. I wanted the greatness of this iconic band from my childhood to return. With each re-listening to the entire album, I heard even more clearly that this is truly classic Van-Halen...that Eddie has reverted back to his 70s/early 80s electrifying self...that they can make songs that amp me up in my car, put a smile on my face, and make me want to grab a babe and party.

No cool-aide drinking here guys, while not perfect, this is the real deal. And boy am I glad.