Van Halen Thread v. Where Have All The Good Times Gone

[BlobVanDam]

Getting back to W&CF for a minute, Loss of Control..what a waste of an awesome EVH lead. That lead that kicks in at the 6-second mark is awesome as hell, but it is the only redeeming thing about the song.  The rest of the song is a total letdown. 

Ugh, that song sums up my dislike for that album. So frustrating to listen to a cool start to a song, but then the rest comes across as nothing but a vocal piss take.

[SystematicThought]

my parents were at the live without a net show too!

Lucky folks! That DVD is absolutely awesome. So much energy!

Also, was the Ambulance Tour with Hagar or Cherone?

[KevShmev]

I don't think I've ever heard or seen the whole Live Without a Net show, but I remember MTV playing the crap out of Best of Both Worlds from that show back in the day.  I think that is why the studio version was such a letdown when I finally heard, as it paled in comparison to the LWaN version I was used to.

[Tick]

I don't think I've ever heard or seen the whole Live Without a Net show, but I remember MTV playing the crap out of Best of Both Worlds from that show back in the day.  I think that is why the studio version was such a letdown when I finally heard, as it paled in comparison to the LWaN version I was used to.

Yeah, both nights were amazing! Its hard to imagine Van Halen more fired up then they were those nights.

 Also, it was driving me nuts so I had to know what the hell DLR was singing as the first line of the chorus.
All I kept hearing is...

Squab meat salad





You'll all never hear those lyrics any other way again!

 

[TAC]

Getting back to W&CF for a minute, Loss of Control..what a waste of an awesome EVH lead. That lead that kicks in at the 6-second mark is awesome as hell, but it is the only redeeming thing about the song.  The rest of the song is a total letdown. 

Ugh, that song sums up my dislike for that album. So frustrating to listen to a cool start to a song, but then the rest comes across as nothing but a vocal piss take.

I disagree. I think it's quite quirky, but I think it works. I mean, it's no worse than Could This Be Magic. Loss Of Control kicks ass!

[BlobVanDam]

Getting back to W&CF for a minute, Loss of Control..what a waste of an awesome EVH lead. That lead that kicks in at the 6-second mark is awesome as hell, but it is the only redeeming thing about the song.  The rest of the song is a total letdown. 

Ugh, that song sums up my dislike for that album. So frustrating to listen to a cool start to a song, but then the rest comes across as nothing but a vocal piss take.

I disagree. I think it's quite quirky, but I think it works. I mean, it's no worse than Could This Be Magic. Loss Of Control kicks ass!

I won't disagree with that, but personally I don't find anything redeeming about that album. I love VH2, and I love Fair Warning, but WACF is a huge letdown for me.
I just can't stand the silly talking throughout the "verses". It's not musical, it's not lyrical, it's not memorable. It's just noise over a riff.

[Tick]

Getting back to W&CF for a minute, Loss of Control..what a waste of an awesome EVH lead. That lead that kicks in at the 6-second mark is awesome as hell, but it is the only redeeming thing about the song.  The rest of the song is a total letdown. 

Ugh, that song sums up my dislike for that album. So frustrating to listen to a cool start to a song, but then the rest comes across as nothing but a vocal piss take.

I disagree. I think it's quite quirky, but I think it works. I mean, it's no worse than Could This Be Magic. Loss Of Control kicks ass!

I really like W&CF, but when they sing Loss of control 3 times in the chorus its like nails on a chalkboard.

[Tick]

I was also thinking after watching the video, and not to mean but...
Its funny how David Lee Roth went from a young long haired hairy chested sex symbol stud doing acrobatic high kicks, to an awkward old guy with short hair who dances as disturbingly as Elaine Benes in Seinfeld and instead of big leg kicks his twirls a napkin and rolls his arms.

I'm sorry but its just funny to me.

[bosk1]

I don't think I've ever heard or seen the whole Live Without a Net show, but I remember MTV playing the crap out of Best of Both Worlds from that show back in the day.  I think that is why the studio version was such a letdown when I finally heard, as it paled in comparison to the LWaN version I was used to.

   What?  Dude, go find it immediately before we revoke your fogey card!  I'm not even a VH fan, and I think that's essential viewing.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Just got tickets for Philly.

[KevShmev]

Okay, I take it back.  I think I saw the bulk of it back in the day when my brother owned it on VHS and would watch it constantly back when he first started playing the guitar and was a diehard EVH fan at the time.  I don't think I ever sat down and watched it, but I caught probably all of it here and there.  Also...

Getting back to W&CF for a minute, Loss of Control..what a waste of an awesome EVH lead. That lead that kicks in at the 6-second mark is awesome as hell, but it is the only redeeming thing about the song.  The rest of the song is a total letdown. 

Ugh, that song sums up my dislike for that album. So frustrating to listen to a cool start to a song, but then the rest comes across as nothing but a vocal piss take.

I disagree. I think it's quite quirky, but I think it works. I mean, it's no worse than Could This Be Magic. Loss Of Control kicks ass!

Blasphemy.  Could This Be Magic? is great! That chorus is so much fun to sing along to.  "Sail away with someone's daughter!"

[TAC]

I don't think I've ever heard or seen the whole Live Without a Net show, but I remember MTV playing the crap out of Best of Both Worlds from that show back in the day.  I think that is why the studio version was such a letdown when I finally heard, as it paled in comparison to the LWaN version I was used to.

   What?  Dude, go find it immediately before we revoke your fogey card!  I'm not even a VH fan, and I think that's essential viewing.

I don't know about that, though Van Hagar may have won the war, DLR easily won Round 1. The Eat 'em And Smile tour crushed the 5150 tour. I actually felt bad for Van Halen at the time.

[bosk1]

I don't know about that, though Van Hagar may have won the war, DLR easily won Round 1. The Eat 'em And Smile tour crushed the 5150 tour. I actually felt bad for Van Halen at the time.

I didn't and still don't.  The 5150 tour was huge, and VH did very well by it.

[KevShmev]

I don't think I've ever heard or seen the whole Live Without a Net show, but I remember MTV playing the crap out of Best of Both Worlds from that show back in the day.  I think that is why the studio version was such a letdown when I finally heard, as it paled in comparison to the LWaN version I was used to.

   What?  Dude, go find it immediately before we revoke your fogey card!  I'm not even a VH fan, and I think that's essential viewing.

I don't know about that, though Van Hagar may have won the war, DLR easily won Round 1. The Eat 'em And Smile tour crushed the 5150 tour. I actually felt bad for Van Halen at the time.

And by the early 90s, DLR was struggling to fill arenas, while Van Hagar kicked ass live for years with the F.U.C.K. and then Right Here, Right Now tours.

But getting back to the Eat 'Em and Smile/5150 time period, Van Hagar didn't do themselves any favors by not doing any real videos for that album.  Meanwhile, EE&S was Roth's second studio album in as many years, and he was getting tons of MTV airplay with videos like Just a Gigolo, California Girls, Yankee Rose and Goin' Crazy.  That did wonders for Roth's early solo years.  Roth, to his credit, had a knack for making hilariously fun videos back then.

[Tick]

I don't think I've ever heard or seen the whole Live Without a Net show, but I remember MTV playing the crap out of Best of Both Worlds from that show back in the day.  I think that is why the studio version was such a letdown when I finally heard, as it paled in comparison to the LWaN version I was used to.

   What?  Dude, go find it immediately before we revoke your fogey card!  I'm not even a VH fan, and I think that's essential viewing.

I don't know about that, though Van Hagar may have won the war, DLR easily won Round 1. The Eat 'em And Smile tour crushed the 5150 tour. I actually felt bad for Van Halen at the time.

Really? Is that an opinion or a fact? I thought 5150 was huge for the band and bigger then solo Dave. Maybe its because I didn't embrace solo Dave and I loved the 5150 album. It was certainly some of Eddies best and most inspired work, imo.

[skydivingninja]

Listened to the new single (had no idea they had one until I saw a youtube ad).  Um, I don't like it.  Old Van Halen isn't stuff I listen to normally, but its fun and I can enjoy it.  This didn't have any real bounciness or energy to it. 

[KevShmev]

Hmmm, looking it up, 5150 went to number 2 on the billboard album charts, while Eat 'Em and Smile peaked at number 4, and the biggest hit from 5150, Why Can't This Be Love?, went to number 3 on the top 40 charts, while Yankee Rose was Roth's biggest hit from his album, peaking at number 16.

Regardless, I think Roth and Van Hagar both did pretty damn well in the mid to late 80s.  I remember the day after Roth was here on the Skyscraper tour in '88, I was in high school, and I saw a ton of kids wearing concert t-shirts from that show the next day at school.

[TAC]

@ Tick...an opinion.

@Kev, first off, I love Could This Be Magic!
Like I said, VH clearly won the war after the split. I was very disappointed in 5150. And those tours you spoke of were incredible shows. I hardly ever missed an opportunity to see VH.

[hefdaddy42]

Could this be magic, or could this be love?

Could this turn tragic? You know that magic often does!

[KevShmev]

Speaking of high school and VH, I knew a guy back then (cannot remember his name..it has been that long ) who used to always have his walkman on in between classes - yes, a walkman - and he listened to Alex Van Halen's drum solo from one of those tours non-stop, and always talked it up as the best rock drummer in the world.  And I knew a few others who often called him that as well, but once I got into Rush and other bands in the early 90s, I was like, "What were those guys thinking?"  I mean, he was a very good drummer in his day, but one of the best ever?  I don't see it. 

[bosk1]

I don't disagree with you, Kev.  But in the guy's defense, most fans of VH back then would most likely have exposure to a somewhat limited pool of drumming (guilty as charged), and I can understand the argument coming from that limited perspective that Alex was one of the best. 

[BlobVanDam]

Best? No, but I'd definitely call him one of my favourite rock drummers. He does a lot of great ride cymbal work, and I love his swung double kicker, and he always played HARD. VH isn't the kind of band for flashy drumming. He played what the song called for and wasn't always just playing a straight up rock beat.

[Tick]

Best? No, but I'd definitely call him one of my favourite rock drummers. He does a lot of great ride cymbal work, and I love his swung double kicker, and he always played HARD. VH isn't the kind of band for flashy drumming. He played what the song called for and wasn't always just playing a straight up rock beat.

I also think Alex is great. Drumming is more than just fancy fills, its also the feel a drummer has. Alex has an undeniable grove that makes him a great drummer.

[TAC]

Alex was great!

[SystematicThought]

Those bass drums were (are) huge! His OU812 kit was a monster as well.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

As far as EE&S goes, Roth had one of the single most ass-kicking backing bands possible on that album.

[SystematicThought]

He really did. Vai, Sheehan, and Bisonette. Really good

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

It truly doesn't get a hell of a lot better than that.

[SystematicThought]

And every single one of those guys except for Roth is associated in some way with Dream Theater

Vai- Jammed on Prog Nation 09 in LA, guest on Repentance, and Mangini drummed for him for a bit
Sheehan- Explorer's Club, MP's worked with him, and was on the Working Man tribute CD that had a few DT members on it
Bissonette- Played in a group called Jughead that Sherinian was involved with

[bosk1]

Portnoy and Petrucci also played with all of those guys on G3 tours.

[ZBomber]

Listened to the new single (had no idea they had one until I saw a youtube ad).  Um, I don't like it.  Old Van Halen isn't stuff I listen to normally, but its fun and I can enjoy it.  This didn't have any real bounciness or energy to it.

Pretty much my thoughts as well. The song was dreadful, really.

[hefdaddy42]

As far as EE&S goes, Roth had one of the single most ass-kicking backing bands possible on that album.

No doubt about that.  I kind of wish that band had kept together.  Although the musicians may have eventually gotten bored playing the kind of stuff that DLR would want to play.

Well, they would always have side projects to work that out, I suppose.  Sheehan, for one, is ALWAYS playing with SOMEONE. 

[TAC]

As far as EE&S goes, Roth had one of the single most ass-kicking backing bands possible on that album.

Which is why the live show killed the 5150 tour. It was more like watching Van Halen, than actually watching Van Halen.

[lonestar]

cant get on youtube here, i cant wait to hear it. is it a musical equivalent to indiana jones 4?

Best way to put it.  What a boring song.

[KevShmev]

I don't disagree with you, Kev.  But in the guy's defense, most fans of VH back then would most likely have exposure to a somewhat limited pool of drumming (guilty as charged), and I can understand the argument coming from that limited perspective that Alex was one of the best.

Agreed.  Plus, as someone who grew up watching MTV in the 80s, the beginning of Hot for Teacher was the most badass drumming I heard growing up.