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General => General Music Discussion => Topic started by: KevShmev on January 26, 2020, 08:12:56 PM
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We can praise all things Van Halen if we want, but I wanted to start an appreciation thread specifically for OU812. Seems like it is always the red-headed step child of the Van Hagar era, but while it wasn't a favorite of mine for a long time, I love it now, and listen to it nowadays as much as any VH album (of any era).
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As much as I like the general heaviness of For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, OU812 has always been my favorite Van Hagar album. To me it's the one Van Hagar album that feels like a DLR Era album.
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Was never a big VH fan, but remember owning this cassette (other than the debut which I eventually got on CD - it is the only VH album I've ever owned) and played it quite a bit. Loved all the MTV play When It's Love got.
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Second favorite Sammy album. This one is a lot of fun. It feels like they are just letting loose, Sammy and Eddie were at the peak of their friendship, writing on Sammy’s patio at night, making some great music. I love Black and Blue and AFU, and Feels So Good. Actually, I kinda like the darkness of Mine All Mine. The only weak link on the album for me is Sucker in a Three Piece, and even that one isn’t bad.
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I love 5150/OU812/F.U.C.K.
I would agree OU812 sounds like it would have fit in during the Roth era. Fun album!!
Also Van Hagar is great workout music for me.
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fun album!
Feels So Good :tup
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Good album and IMHO the last one where Ed conisistently had the real fire (and variety) in his lead work that carried over from the Roth era. I was obsessed with VH at the time this came out and gravitated towards the heavier tracks such as AFU , Mine All Mine and Sucker..........a few fillers but a nice , varied album really. I understand why people might consider Sucker a throwaway but I loved the fun vibe and the solo is absolute classic Ed , extracting every last squeal out of his guitar. On subsequent albums Ed was often just recycling a bunch of pretty basic blues licks in many of his solos , with some obvious exceptions (Pleasure Dome , Feelin etc..).
I do wish the intro to Mine All Mine had a bit bigger sound , I thought that was pretty awesome but just lacking some balls.
I actually much prefer it to F.U.C.K. and it's probably the last album of theirs I would listen to without skipping tracks , although Source of Infection might tempt me :D
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You mention Pleasure Dome and to me, that is one Van Halen song I wish more people knew about. So awesome. The solo is one of my favorites of the Hagar era. No clue what the hell the song is about, but I love it
Isn’t OU812 also the last Hagar album where the band liked each other? I seem to remember reading in Red that after the OU812 tour, that’s where they started to not get along because Sammy wanted a break after that album.
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Good record that would be even better if you could hear Michael Anthony.
I especially like Mine All Mine, AFU and Feels So Good. Some variety on that record but (as always) some filler with mainly Source Of Infection and to a degree Sucker In A 3 Piece.
Good album and IMHO the last one where Ed conisistently had the real fire (and variety) in his lead work that carried over from the Roth era.
To each his own but I respectfully disagree, in my opinion on F.U.C.K. EVH knocks it out of the park with his guitar work and is showing why he is one of the most influential guitar player.
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I'll contribute by saying Finish what ya started is one of my favorite Hagar era songs. :tup
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I loved the album right away when I listened to it for the first time as a child and I actually love all their albums, because the key to a good VH album (to me) is Eddie and Alex, not so much the singers. (although Sammy had a different vocal style from DLR and Gary Cherone, almost similar to Robert Plant in some ways)
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Good record that would be even better if you could hear Michael Anthony.
I especially like Mine All Mine, AFU and Feels So Good. Some variety on that record but (as always) some filler with mainly Source Of Infection and to a degree Sucker In A 3 Piece.
Good album and IMHO the last one where Ed conisistently had the real fire (and variety) in his lead work that carried over from the Roth era.
To each his own but I respectfully disagree, in my opinion on F.U.C.K. EVH knocks it out of the park with his guitar work and is showing why he is one of the most influential guitar player.
you can hear him well (given that you use a good set of headphones) and yes, Eddie hits a home run on Fuck (everyone does actually IMHO), but IMHO Eddie had always been great on every VH album.
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Very good album and Mine All Mine always was an incredible and a very unique song to me. That solo is so cool - drumwork behind it included :hefdaddy
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I know the song itself is sort of a cliche now, but the "take me down!" part of Cabo Wabo is Van Halen sugar at it's most distilled. I love that song. I thing "Carnal Knowledge..." is the better album artistically, but I am more connected to OU812; that's the tour I first saw Van Halen (one of the worst opening acts I've ever seen. Dead silent crowd until the singer - a woman - sarcastically kissed the... I think it was the keyboard player - also a woman - and the crowd gave a half-assed cheer. But I digress.)
This was the setlist:
A.F.U. (Naturally Wired)
There's Only One Way to Rock
Summer Nights
Panama
Bass Solo
Runnin' With the Devil
Why Can't This Be Love
Mine All Mine
Drum Solo
You Really Got Me
Finish What Ya Started
5150
When It's Love
Eagles Fly
I Can't Drive 55
Best of Both Worlds
Guitar Solo
Black and Blue
Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
Encore:
Cabo Wabo
Rock and Roll
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I heartily disagree with anyone calling Source of Infection filler or anything of the sort. That song is all kinds of fun, and pretty much sums up Van Halen in a nutshell: it rocks, it's about girls (sex), and Eddie's guitar is center stage. :metal :metal
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I had just started to come in to my own in '87 as far as transitioning to rock music as my preferred tastes. It took me sometime to latch on to 5150/Van Hagar, but when I did, this was the first album of VH's where I was a fan on release day. I could easily put this ahead of F.U.C.K. and Balance as my 2nd favorite Hagar-era album. No clunkers here at all.
And I'm with Kev... Source of Infection is all kinds of awesome.
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You mention Pleasure Dome and to me, that is one Van Halen song I wish more people knew about. So awesome. The solo is one of my favorites of the Hagar era. No clue what the hell the song is about, but I love it
Fantastic song on my favorite Van Halen record. OU812 is ok. I think the mix and production is of the time, and sorta poor, which mars it to my ears. But some real good tunes on there.
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You mention Pleasure Dome and to me, that is one Van Halen song I wish more people knew about. So awesome. The solo is one of my favorites of the Hagar era. No clue what the hell the song is about, but I love it
Fantastic song on my favorite Van Halen record. OU812 is ok. I think the mix and production is of the time, and sorta poor, which mars it to my ears. But some real good tunes on there.
The drum sound to me is very, very dated. But I love a lot of the songs on the album.
My favorite OU812 memory is from 7 years ago. Cabo San Lucas was a dream vacation for my wife - she was such a huge Sammy fan and always wanted to go to Cabo after falling in love with the song on OU812. So we booked a 5-day trip to Cabo and went in 2013. I was laying out by the pool at the resort in Cabo San Lucas, drinking way too many margaritas (all inclusive!) listening to this album. Hearing Mine All Mine always reminds me of that trip and laying out in the sun in Mexico.
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I'll cop to having listened to Cabo Wabo in Cabo San Lucas as well. Tourist! :loser: Haha. Beautiful place, though; I can see why Sam decided to live there (we passed his house at one point; lights were on!). The best scuba diving I've personally ever done.
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And I'm with Kev... Source of Infection is all kinds of awesome.
:metal :metal
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Thirded.
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While far from a perfect album, the highs on Balance are so freakin' high. It's a damn shame a 5th Sammy album never materialized.
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I was really proud/disappointed in myself that I was able to sing along to all of Source of Infection awhile back while driving, including all of Sammy’s “Whoas” “Whoops” and “Say what?!”
I do like that one. It’s like Get Up for me from 5150. Just good fun on a track
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While far from a perfect album, the highs on Balance are so freakin' high. It's a damn shame a 5th Sammy album never materialized.
Balance does have some great tunes, like The Seventh Seal, Take Me Back and Feelin', but it also has a few tunes that, while not bad, are ones I don't care if I ever hear again. Plus, Sammy's voice sounded blown out on that album, which I always thought was the result of touring non-stop on Carnal Knowledge and then the live album for several years straight. He sounded pretty weary as well on his first solo album post-VH, Marching to Mars, which I still like quite a bit regardless.
I was really proud/disappointed in myself that I was able to sing along to all of Source of Infection awhile back while driving, including all of Sammy’s “Whoas” “Whoops” and “Say what?!”
I do like that one. It’s like Get Up for me from 5150. Just good fun on a track
Get Up is a good one as well. Just a fun little rocker. :metal :metal
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I really love all of the Hagar VH albums. OU812 in particular is fantastic, and often overlooked.
I have a particular hard spot in my heart for Sucker in a 3 Piece.
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Ah, Sucker in a 3 Piece...another fun little rocker. I am sensing a trend. :metal
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Of the 4 albums it's ranks 3rd out of 4 for me.
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Of the 4 albums it's ranks 3rd out of 4 for me.
I sense a lack of appreciation in the above post. :biggrin:
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Listening to Power Windows during this time period will do that to a person.
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VH cancelled a couple of Michigan shows during the OU812 tour, so I ended up taking my future wife late on to Auburn Hills.
So, so, so disappointed during the Carnal Knowledge tour stop that seven tracks from that album were played (and on the 'Right Here' live release), and that they didn't play or include 'Back In Black'. The amount of times we threw a quarter in the jukebox after a softball game with the team and female friends was infinite. That tune is my album closer. Thank goodness I found the Tokyo live version. Such a fun, frickin' fun album. 'Finish What Ya Started' is such a hidden gem in the 'flow' of things. 'Mine All Mine'.....the lyrics still ring oh so sadly true today.
It's what I was hoping Queen would have striven for more at that time, when supposedly, 'hard rock' was on its way out. Yeah, right.
5150, OU812, and 'The Miracle' were my first three CD album purchases. Damn, they sounded so good without the hint of vinyl crackling throughout :D
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So, so, so disappointed during the Carnal Knowledge tour stop that seven tracks from that album were played (and on the 'Right Here' live release), and that they didn't play or include 'Back In Black'.
cos they're Van Halen? ;D
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So, so, so disappointed during the Carnal Knowledge tour stop that seven tracks from that album were played (and on the 'Right Here' live release), and that they didn't play or include 'Back In Black'.
cos they're Van Halen? ;D
:lol
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I love the Hagar albums of Van Halen. Not a huge DLR era fan, although I get why so many people are. Of the Hagar albums, I'd rank them F.U.C.K ~= OU812 > 5150 ~= Balance. First two listed are great, most songs I love mixed with some songs that are "good". The other two albums both have some amazing songs and then other songs that I can live without.
Poundcake was my introduction to hard rock (actually that song and Def Leppard "Let's Get Rocked" both were, on the same occasion). Not that I hadn't heard hard rock before, but that was when the switch was flipped.
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It's still hard to believe that Black and Blue was a "one tour and done" song, but I get why they played so many Carnal Knowledge songs on the tours for that album and the RHRN live album; that album was hugely popular and had five songs that got heavy airplay on the radio. Plus, there was so much time dedicated to solo spots (drum solos, guitar solo, bass solo, Sammy playing one or two solo songs) that it meant less regular songs. Heck, When It's Love was a monster hit in 1988, yet I am pretty sure it wasn't played either time I saw them with Sammy (on the RHRN tour and then the Balance one).
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While we are mentioning the Right Here Right Now Tour, can we talk about how awful that live album and VHS/DVD were.
It was filmed over two nights and they used footage from both nights, so Sammy and Mike change clothes a lot of times from shot to shot. The CD has the looped audience cheer as well that is really annoying. Live Without A Net is way better.
Anyways, just went back and watched Black and Blue live in Tokyo in 89. I really like that version. The band really seems to be having a lot of fun as well and Alex had that huge 360 kit. Good times
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While we are mentioning the Right Here Right Now Tour, can we talk about how awful that live album and VHS/DVD were.
It was filmed over two nights and they used footage from both nights, so Sammy and Mike change clothes a lot of times from shot to shot. The CD has the looped audience cheer as well that is really annoying. Live Without A Net is way better.
Anyways, just went back and watched Black and Blue live in Tokyo in 89. I really like that version. The band really seems to be having a lot of fun as well and Alex had that huge 360 kit. Good times
Agree with all that. LWAN was (I think) my first concert I owned on video - certainly my most watched.
I seem to recall being pissed off that Good Enough was listed on the packaging but wasn't on the vid ?
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I don't think I've ever seen the RHRN live video, but my brother and cousins watched Live Without a Net non-stop back in the day, so I saw them more times than I can count. To this day, I cannot listen to the studio version of Best of Both Worlds; it seems so limp and lifeless compared to that live version. MTV played that video of Best of Both Worlds (taken from the concert) like crazy.
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Of the 4 albums it's ranks 3rd out of 4 for me.
I sense a lack of appreciation in the above post. :biggrin:
It was a big letdown after 5150 though the tour was killer.
Of the 4 albums it's ranks 3rd out of 4 for me.
I sense a lack of appreciation in the above post. :biggrin:
I never take advice from a dude that was in a coma in the 80's.
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Of the 4 albums it's ranks 3rd out of 4 for me.
I sense a lack of appreciation in the above post. :biggrin:
It was a big letdown after 5150 though the tour was killer.
How could anything be a let down after 5150? 5150 blew big chunks. It has aged OK, I'll give it that.
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I don't think I've ever seen the RHRN live video, but my brother and cousins watched Live Without a Net non-stop back in the day, so I saw them more times than I can count. To this day, I cannot listen to the studio version of Best of Both Worlds; it seems so limp and lifeless compared to that live version. MTV played that video of Best of Both Worlds (taken from the concert) like crazy.
You're not missing much. Go check out Top of the World from that DVD on YouTube. That one showcases the random clothes changes, Alex's horrible drum triggers, one second Sammy is crawling on the ground, the next he's doing a He Man pose as the background has a shit ton of pyrotechnics, which one second the VH logo is on fire, the next shot it's not on fire. It's just really poorly done. I remember when I was 8 and was watching that DVD, I thought it was really cool. Now, not so much. It's kinda cheesy. I think it may be the added firework noises and effects :lol
LOVE Live Without A Net though. I think you've mentioned before Kev, that you or your brother saw that tour and it wasn't that great because they didn't have much Sammy material to play and they fooled around a lot more. It's good that the film doesn't show that, the Best of Both Worlds interlude where they spray paint the shoes, the extended Summer Nights, my favorite Alex solo. It's just really good.
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Of the 4 albums it's ranks 3rd out of 4 for me.
I sense a lack of appreciation in the above post. :biggrin:
It was a big letdown after 5150 though the tour was killer.
How could anything be a let down after 5150? 5150 blew big chunks. It has aged OK, I'll give it that.
You may be in the 5% that thought that. That album killed.
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Why can't this be love ?
So lame.
Compared to Yankee Rose. I'm sorry, but DLR won Round 1. Tour wise as well.
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I'll take Give Me A Bottle of Anything and a Glazed Donut....To Go
over
Hello BAAAAAAABY
But I'll take 5150 over Eat Em and Smile. It is amazing though who DLR had in his backing band though.
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And yet 2 albums in he shot his load.
I love DLR VH. But he only had 2 albums worthwhile. No longevity.
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And yet 2 albums in he shot his load.
I love DLR VH. But he only had 2 albums worthwhile. No longevity.
A Little Ain't Enough is under rated IMO.
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I'd argue just 1
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And yet 2 albums in he shot his load.
I love DLR VH. But he only had 2 albums worthwhile. No longevity.
A Little Ain't Enough is under rated IMO.
It was the beginning of the end. I lived it. Even Tim can't deny it.
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I think I lived it too :lol
I agree in terms of his popularity but as a songwriting effort I would have it up there (at least) with anything he released. Would've been interesting to see where things went if Becker has kept his health :'(
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:lol
You old bastard.
Sales say it all. Dave fizzled. It took Eddie to derail VH inthe late 90's.
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Why is it that a lot of people prefer Diamond Dave era over Sammy era and there seems to be more fanfare for that period, yet they never got a #1 record with Dave, that all came with Sammy, 4 in a row. Did they appeal to more people? Was it the Sammy fan crossover? Is this a dumb question to even ask?
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Why is it that a lot of people prefer Diamond Dave era over Sammy era and there seems to be more fanfare for that period, yet they never got a #1 record with Dave, that all came with Sammy, 4 in a row. Did they appeal to more people? Was it the Sammy fan crossover? Is this a dumb question to even ask?
I think when you have a lengthy original/classic era of any band it's often going to the case. And to be fair 1984 sold as many records as 5150 and OU812 put together - the only thing keeping 1984 from topping the charts was Thriller which Ed also played on. Even Diver Down sold as many as OU812 and VH1 (in subsequent years) has ended up selling as many as 5150 and Ou812 put together.
So I think the discussion about No1's looks a bit different in that context.
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A Little Ain't Enough is a great record.
Live Without A Net was video only, so for me Right Here Right Now was the first "official" VH live record. And I loved it and played the shit out of those cds. It is heavy on the FUCK songs, but as that is a stellar album I don't really mind. I could do without the solo spots, especially that ultra bass thing which is mostly noise.
The video with the random clothes changes is silly. I've not seen it for a long time, but wasn't that done only for Jump, the single? And the rest wasn't spliced together, or at least not that obvious?
Live Without A Net was too short, several songs were omitted and instead of showing the lengthy spray painting of some woman's shoes, they could have put some more songs on the tape. And the solo spots were there also, and bass and drums weren't that interesting for me. Other than that it's a good concert video, and I like that Sammy played guitar for some songs and Eddie really played keyboards instead of just triggering a background tape.
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How could anything be a let down after 5150? 5150 blew big chunks.
You are clearly a crazy person.
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Why is it that a lot of people prefer Diamond Dave era over Sammy era and there seems to be more fanfare for that period, yet they never got a #1 record with Dave, that all came with Sammy, 4 in a row. Did they appeal to more people? Was it the Sammy fan crossover? Is this a dumb question to even ask?
They were different eras, though. maybe it was my age, but when I first heard VHI - "Eruption!" - and I was a teenager and wishing I was even cool enough to be in the same ROOM as David Lee Roth, it was a cultural experience. "You know you're semi-good lookin'...."; man, every date I went on was the equivalent of "WOW YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL! I'M IN LOVE!" Dave was THE MAN! He didn't even care if he had to pay for it! WTF! Then when Sam's version came around, it was a different time. Add in that Sam - as much as I love his solo stuff - doesn't do the smut as well (seriously? "Oh, you ate one, too?"). Dave was filthy and it came off as funny, Sam (in VH) was filthy and it came off as.... filthy (seriously? "F.U.C.K."?). In 1981, no gave fuck one about whether an album went "no. 1" or not, it was all about the Saturday night party. Only in the MTV era was "no. 1" even recognized.
I would also add this note:
VHI Diamond (10+x Platinum)
VHII 5x Platinum
WACF 3x Platinum
FW 2x Platinum
DD 4x Platinum
1984 Diamond (10+x Platinum)
Average: 5.7x Platinum
5150 6x Platinum
OU812 4x Platinum
F.U.C.K. 3x Platinum
B 3x Platinum
Average: 4x Platinum
For the record, Eat 'Em And Smile SMOKES 5150; there I easily skip 4 out of the 9 tracks on 5150, sometimes 5. The only song I skip on EEAS is "That's Life".
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At the time, I definitely liked DLR solo debut more than Van Hagar debut. Over the years though, I gravitated to 5150 over Eat 'em... which was actually my very first CD purchase. Part of the issue is Ee&S is only 31 fuckin minutes. It's great, but too short.
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Eat 'Em And Smile SMOKES 5150
DOES NOT COMPUTE
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Why is it that a lot of people prefer Diamond Dave era over Sammy era and there seems to be more fanfare for that period, yet they never got a #1 record with Dave, that all came with Sammy, 4 in a row. Did they appeal to more people? Was it the Sammy fan crossover? Is this a dumb question to even ask?
Both eras were wildly popular, and while many would argue that the Roth era has aged a lot better, especially fans from that era who are still throwing a fit that the band did so well with Sammy, to me it is splitting hairs as to which is better. If I am listening to the Roth stuff, I always think, "This is the better era," but then when I am listening to the Sammy stuff, I think," Wait, this era is better!" I am a big fan and still enjoy the heck out of both eras. :hat :hat
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Like both eras but that’s because I only really got into Van Halen in the Hagar era, my first VH album was Carnal Knowledge so I didn’t have the Roth attachment that existing fans would’ve had. I was on a big guitar kick at the time with Satch and Vai so I thought I ought to give Eddie a go. Carnal Knowledge is still my favourite VH album.
OU812 has it’s moments but I find a lot of the songs to be skippable. I like a power ballad from the likes of Bon Jovi and Journey but never enjoyed the VH ones so When It’s Love does nothing for me. Not a fan of Cabo Wabo or Finish What Ya Started and don’t like the sleazy Black and Blue.
My favourites on the album were always the more guitar heavy ones AFU, Sucker In a 3 Piece and Source Of Infection. Yeah I know that’s kinda sleazy as well but I don’t think I ever really paid that much attention to the lyrics apart from the chorus. Black and Blue just sounds sleazy with the riff and everything, similar to Spanked on Carnal Knowledge which I also don’t like. I think Dave got away with that stuff a bit better as it seemed more tongue in cheek and fun whereas Sammy just seemed a bit too old to be singing that stuff, sounded a bit creepier. Just my opinion though. I never disliked the album but not my favourite either.
Balance similarly was patchy but had better high points for me, I absolutely love Seventh Seal, one of my favourite riffs ever by any band. I even liked the song they did for Twister that was ultimately the final straw for the band.
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Billy Sheehan said in an interview that he was asked to be the bass player in Van Halen on 3 separate occasions. Once in 1981, again in 1984 and most recently when he hung out with both brothers. I feel bad for Michael Anthony. Mikey’s voice is an iconic piece of Van Halen’s sound. Sad that they were trying to replace him for so long.
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Billy Sheehan said in an interview that he was asked to be the bass player in Van Halen on 3 separate occasions. Once in 1981, again in 1984 and most recently when he hung out with both brothers. I feel bad for Michael Anthony. Mikey’s voice is an iconic piece of Van Halen’s sound. Sad that they were trying to replace him for so long.
I agree.
I saw the headline to that Sheehan story yesterday. I should go back and check it out.
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Billy Sheehan said in an interview that he was asked to be the bass player in Van Halen on 3 separate occasions. Once in 1981, again in 1984 and most recently when he hung out with both brothers. I feel bad for Michael Anthony. Mikey’s voice is an iconic piece of Van Halen’s sound. Sad that they were trying to replace him for so long.
The brothers shabby treatment of him in the last 20 years aside, I can almost understand why they were looking to replace him in the earlier 80's. As integral as he was to their vocal harmonies, Michael Anthony was and is a pretty average bass player, and maybe they thought they could do more musically if they had a much better bass player. I don't think it is an unfair stance at all.
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Maybe it's me, but I saw the Wolfgang-version of VH live and didn't miss Mike Anthony even for a second. I'm not saying Mike sucks - I saw him with both VH (on the OU812 tour) and Chickenfoot (club tour for the first album) and you don't play with Eddie, Satch, Chad Smith, Jason Bonham, Sammy Hagar, Neal Schon, and Deen Castronovo if you can't play your instrument - but for me, he's not the integral piece of the Van Halen puzzle.
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The only integral pieces to the VH puzzle was DLR and Eddie. But those early Van Halen albums are fantastic on all levels, and those background vocals are so unique, they definitely stand out to me.
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I, Fair Warning and 1984 are all fantastic, I will give you that.
II and Women and Children First both fall under the "good" banner, with Diver Down being merely "pretty good."
How's that for semantics? :P
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I’d probably throw Alex into the puzzle box for integral piece of the Van Halen picture. His sound is so recognizable and iconic to me that without his sound, it wouldn’t be the same. When I was 5, I wanted to play drums because of Alex Van Halen.
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I, Fair Warning and 1984 are all fantastic, I will give you that.
II and Women and Children First both fall under the "good" banner, with Diver Down being merely "pretty good."
How's that for semantics? :P
I meant, as a group. Diver Down blows...so there's that. :P
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I’d probably throw Alex into the puzzle box for integral piece of the Van Halen picture. His sound is so recognizable and iconic to me that without his sound, it wouldn’t be the same. When I was 5, I wanted to play drums because of Alex Van Halen.
If Alex is integral, then Michael Anthony is. I agree that Alex is underrated, but let's face it. It was the DLR/Eddie show.
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While we are mentioning the Right Here Right Now Tour, can we talk about how awful that live album and VHS/DVD were.
It was filmed over two nights and they used footage from both nights, so Sammy and Mike change clothes a lot of times from shot to shot. The CD has the looped audience cheer as well that is really annoying. Live Without A Net is way better.
It wasn't actually live.
Eddie and Alex re-recorded and fucked around with everything so hard cuz they wanted perfection so when they'd "fix" one thing it would mess up another thing and so on. They had Sammy re-do all of the vocals as well since now that everything else was changed he had to change. Sammy was very upset about this and didn't want to do it but eventually did one take of the entire concert. It's all in Sammy's book "Red", which is an awesome read. The final release is just a studio album made to sound live.
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Oh, I do remember reading that in the book. It is such an awful live album, it doesn’t even reflect the setlist they played those nights, there are several songs missing. You can watch them record Won’t Get Fooled Again live in 5150 on YouTube. It’s kinda sad.
I wonder if his monologue during Panama was from that night or re-recorded again, that’d be awkward.
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I remember our local rock radio station (KSHE-95) playing the VH cover of Won't Get Fooled Again a ton from that "live" record. I didn't care for it. It feels like one of those songs that no one should try to cover, and I say that as someone who likes the song more than I love it.
I meant, as a group. Diver Down blows.. so there's that. :P
I don't think Diver Down is that bad, as it does have a handful of good tunes, but it has the lowest highs of any of the 7 albums they did with Roth.
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The only real integral part of Van Halen is Eddie Van Halen, not to take away from the others, but what made them unique is Eddie's guitar playing, no one played like that. Sure, DLR had a great part in them becoming famous, with his ego and his stage antics and Alex is a great drummer and Mike is at least a solid bass player, but none of them has such a distinctive, never heard before style.
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Will take all this period, the first couple DLR records and all the Van Hagar albums, all of them still regular plays although those Roth and first two Hagar records all in desperate need of remastering...
In respect to the OP while 5150 would probably take the win for nostalgic reasons, these days OU812 is my preferred Van Hagar and has been for a long time. The heavy hitters are where it's at, Mine All Mine is the perfect opener, both Sucker and AFU are magnificent and agree the take it or leave it Source Of Infection actually works surprisingly well. Of course love the kicking back Cabo Wabo and Black And Blue, neither have lost anything over the years and gotta shout out for the I'll Wait throwback of Feels So Good which often gets looked over albeit a sensational tune it is and deserves a look in. In fact my least liked song is the usually much loved Finish What Ya Started go figure.
So for arguments sake ranking 5150 and OU812 equal and both essential. I'd then put F.U.C.K. slightly ahead of Balance, the former the more complete but somewhat one directioned album (Judgement Day was IMO worth the price alone however) and the otherwise great Balance slightly behind due to too much filler (Seventh Seal and Aftershock however two of the best Hagar era songs, and Lordy me how great an album would it have been had they managed to write and include the very epic Humans Being and closed the album with the Japan bonus track Crossing Over right?)
Anyway yes, still enthusiastic with OU812 ;)
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I don't understand anyone saying that Michael Anthony wasn't essential to VH. Like, it doesn't compute.
I get preferring DLR to SH, or vice versa. But Anthony's high vocal harmonies, regardless of who was the frontman, were almost as much of the VH sound as Eddie's playing. His bass playing was good, but his vocals are what made him essential.
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Finally!
Thank you hef.
Sorry, every person in the Classic era is essential to the Van Halen sound
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I remember our local rock radio station (KSHE-95) playing the VH cover of Won't Get Fooled Again a ton from that "live" record. I didn't care for it. It feels like one of those songs that no one should try to cover, and I say that as someone who likes the song more than I love it.
I'm not disagreeing with you, but just as observation, when I saw the Def Leppard/Kiss double bill, WGFA was that intro music for Leppard, and when the keyboard part happened, they switched to playing live, and Leppard finished the song. It was not The Who, but it was cool for what it was. Then during Kiss's set, during Lick It Up they also played a snippet of WGFA and and it also wasn't The Who but was cool for what it was.
I'm not sure in all my years of seeing shows that an opener played the same song as the headliner in the same show.
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Will take all this period, the first couple DLR records and all the Van Hagar albums, all of them still regular plays although those Roth and first two Hagar records all in desperate need of remastering...
In respect to the OP while 5150 would probably take the win for nostalgic reasons, these days OU812 is my preferred Van Hagar and has been for a long time. The heavy hitters are where it's at, Mine All Mine is the perfect opener, both Sucker and AFU are magnificent and agree the take it or leave it Source Of Infection actually works surprisingly well. Of course love the kicking back Cabo Wabo and Black And Blue, neither have lost anything over the years and gotta shout out for the I'll Wait throwback of Feels So Good which often gets looked over albeit a sensational tune it is and deserves a look in. In fact my least liked song is the usually much loved Finish What Ya Started go figure.
So for arguments sake ranking 5150 and OU812 equal and both essential. I'd then put F.U.C.K. slightly ahead of Balance, the former the more complete but somewhat one directioned album (Judgement Day was IMO worth the price alone however) and the otherwise great Balance slightly behind due to too much filler (Seventh Seal and Aftershock however two of the best Hagar era songs, and Lordy me how great an album would it have been had they managed to write and include the very epic Humans Being and closed the album with the Japan bonus track Crossing Over right?)
Anyway yes, still enthusiastic with OU812 ;)
Nice post. :tup :tup
Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think the band ever played Feels So Good live. That is a crying shame.
I'm not disagreeing with you, but just as observation, when I saw the Def Leppard/Kiss double bill, WGFA was that intro music for Leppard, and when the keyboard part happened, they switched to playing live, and Leppard finished the song. It was not The Who, but it was cool for what it was. Then during Kiss's set, during Lick It Up they also played a snippet of WGFA and and it also wasn't The Who but was cool for what it was.
I'm not sure in all my years of seeing shows that an opener played the same song as the headliner in the same show.
Makes you wonder if that was planned or if it was just a coincidence.
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First time I saw KISS was the Asylum tour, and they play WGFA for the encore. I was like WTF? It was a short set and I thought they should've given that time to their own material.
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Kiss playing covers rather than their own material can only be a good thing. :P
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(https://media2.giphy.com/media/3ofT5QLN8WW2kXPXNu/giphy.gif)
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I just saw that film for the first time this past holiday season! Solid Christmas flick.
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I just saw that film for the first time this past holiday season! Solid Christmas flick.
The first time?? Shit that's one movie my family always agrees on. I'm generally not a Wil Ferrill guy, but that movie is pretty much perfect.
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Finally!
Thank you hef.
Sorry, every person in the Classic era is essential to the Van Halen sound
Whilst that may be true, I would say that if you put Eddie with any other 3 guys, I’m listening to it. If you put the other 3 guys in a band, without Eddie, I’d have zero interest unless I particularly liked the guitar player.
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How could anything be a let down after 5150? 5150 blew big chunks.
You spelled "5150 is easily the best Van Halen album of all time" wrong.
As for the thread topic, I'm late to the party, but that's because I've been struggling for something positive to say. VH was a very hit-and-miss band, and that album was a miss for me, despite that I really liked the two albums on either side of it.
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How could anything be a let down after 5150? 5150 blew big chunks.
You spelled "5150 is easily the best Van Halen album of all time" wrong.
As for the thread topic, I'm late to the party, but that's because I've been struggling for something positive to say. VH was a very hit-and-miss band, and that album was a miss for me, despite that I really liked the two albums on either side of it.
Totally with Bosk on this one. Every word. 5150 and For Unlawful are *the* Hagar albums for me. And yes, VH in general is often hit or miss for me.
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I just saw that film for the first time this past holiday season! Solid Christmas flick.
:omg:
It is *the* Christmas essential movie for the jingle.family. Every Christmas Eve since it came out.