Van Halen appreciation thread

[HOF]

Hard to believe it has been a year. RIP EVH

I will have to crank some Light Up the Sky on the way home here in a bit. 

Or A Year To The Day.

  No.

Fine, I’ll do it!

[KevShmev]

Don't get me wrong, I like III more than most even though it is still 11th on my list of favorite VH albums (ahead of only Diver Down), but going for something from that for a tribute to EVH on an anniversary would be like celebrating a DT anniversary by turning on You Not Me or Constant Motion.   You go for the good stuff, not the bottom tier. 

[HOF]

Don't get me wrong, I like III more than most even though it is still 11th on my list of favorite VH albums (ahead of only Diver Down), but going for something from that for a tribute to EVH on an anniversary would be like celebrating a DT anniversary by turning on You Not Me or Constant Motion.   You go for the good stuff, not the bottom tier. 

Nah, III is the good stuff!

But for good measure I listened to Light Up The Sky too. :-)

[KevShmev]

Don't get me wrong, I like III more than most even though it is still 11th on my list of favorite VH albums (ahead of only Diver Down), but going for something from that for a tribute to EVH on an anniversary would be like celebrating a DT anniversary by turning on You Not Me or Constant Motion.   You go for the good stuff, not the bottom tier. 

Nah, III is the good stuff!

But for good measure I listened to Light Up The Sky too. :-)

Listen to Fair Warning and OU812 as well, and you are on the right track. 

[DragonAttack]

Doing some get ahead stuff on my Queen discography, and came across these pics last night

Brian May, Tony Iommi, and Eddie in 1978. Van Halen opened for Black Sabbath in Munich



And this one years later



I know Brian and Tony have appeared on stage together.  Eddie played guitar with Brian on an EP in '83. 

Tony and Eddie ever join forces?

[RodrigoAltaf]

Doing some get ahead stuff on my Queen discography, and came across these pics last night

Brian May, Tony Iommi, and Eddie in 1978. Van Halen opened for Black Sabbath in Munich



And this one years later



I know Brian and Tony have appeared on stage together.  Eddie played guitar with Brian on an EP in '83. 

Tony and Eddie ever join forces?

Eddie wrote this riff and played on the album, but wasn't credited: https://youtu.be/FsISkgC9ndE

[DragonAttack]

Thank you.

And thanks for the link.  Good tune.

[Setlist Scotty]

https://blabbermouth.net/news/van-halens-lost-singer-mitch-malloy-celebrates-eddie-van-halens-musical-legacy-unchained-multi-camera-video

Gotta wonder "what if....?"

What if they would've continued with Mitch after the "reunion" appearance with DLR in 1996?

What if they would've discovered Mitch after DLR left in 1985 and he replaced DLR instead of Sammy? The guy is clearly in better shape than DLR and could do the material justice. Would VH have continued in a similar vein to what they had with DLR or would they still have gone the more "mature" route that they ended up going in with Sammy? We'll never know but it's an interesting thing to speculate about!

[RodrigoAltaf]

https://blabbermouth.net/news/van-halens-lost-singer-mitch-malloy-celebrates-eddie-van-halens-musical-legacy-unchained-multi-camera-video

Gotta wonder "what if....?"

What if they would've continued with Mitch after the "reunion" appearance with DLR in 1996?

What if they would've discovered Mitch after DLR left in 1985 and he replaced DLR instead of Sammy? The guy is clearly in better shape than DLR and could do the material justice. Would VH have continued in a similar vein to what they had with DLR or would they still have gone the more "mature" route that they ended up going in with Sammy? We'll never know but it's an interesting thing to speculate about!

He was a much better fit than Cherone, no doubt about it. But what ruined the band at the time was Eddie's continuing alcoholism, and the musical direction he chose to take on VH III. That was an Eddie Van Halen solo project, much more so than a band effort, and the end result is not that great.

[TAC]

So... Mitch Malloy replaced some dude in Great White, and then was replaced by Andrew Freeman. What happened to Jack Russel?

The whole thing sounds pathetic. So now he's in a VH tribute band? That's worse.

[RodrigoAltaf]

So... Mitch Malloy replaced some dude in Great White, and then was replaced by Andrew Freeman. What happened to Jack Russel?

The whole thing sounds pathetic. So now he's in a VH tribute band? That's worse.

Since he left the band, Jack has been touring as "Jack Russell's Great White". I know, lame.

Mitch recorded Panama with Van Halen, and one more song which would become "That's Why I Love You". This was done for VH III but was cut in the last minute.

[Stadler]

So... Mitch Malloy replaced some dude in Great White, and then was replaced by Andrew Freeman. What happened to Jack Russel?

The whole thing sounds pathetic. So now he's in a VH tribute band? That's worse.

I saw Andrew Freeman front Last In Line; he's good.  But I'm a Jack Russell guy (vocally).  As a person he's a mess and a half, but my god can that man sing. 

But yes, the whole "Great White" saga is pretty pathetic.

[Deathless]

So... Mitch Malloy replaced some dude in Great White, and then was replaced by Andrew Freeman. What happened to Jack Russel?

The whole thing sounds pathetic. So now he's in a VH tribute band? That's worse.

Mark Kendall talks about it a bit https://blabbermouth.net/news/great-whites-mark-kendall-says-reuniting-with-jack-russell-was-never-a-consideration-for-us-to-go-back-to-that-it-just-feels-dark After what they've done with Terry Illous and now Mitch Malloy, I'm inclined to think it's more than just "Jack is in bad shape and we don't want to revisit that..."

I've seen some videos of Russel lately and he is bad physical shape, but his voice is definitely still there. Sad.

[devieira73]

Finally!
https://store.rhino.com/en/rhino-store/artists/van-halen/the-collection-ii-5cd/603497832217.html

[Kwyjibo]

As I see it, the only "real" rarity is Crossing Over. And even that was released before.

And I wonder if they were able to make the bass on OU812 more audible. That record is the only one that had some issues with the sound in it's original form imo.

But even if they did, that's is not enough for me to buy the whole thing.

[devieira73]

Well, I think all Hagar songs on Best of Vol.1 and The Best of Both Worlds really improved a lot - so I'm very happy with the remaster of all the albums. But I also think that the final solution for OU812 would be remix it, no doubt.
Interesting that a bit after the release of Balance, I bought a second hand japanese edition for a nice price, that has Crossing Over, so, in my very especific case, also it's not much of a rarity for me.

[Stadler]

As I see it, the only "real" rarity is Crossing Over. And even that was released before.

And I wonder if they were able to make the bass on OU812 more audible. That record is the only one that had some issues with the sound in it's original form imo.

But even if they did, that's is not enough for me to buy the whole thing.

It'd be kind of nice to have all of those on one CD, but honestly, I have all that.   And it's kind of... I don't know, cheating to say that A Apolitical Blues and Baluchitherium are "rarities"; I have those both on the original CD releases.

[Max Kuehnau]

Exactly. My guess is that they went with what had been the original vinyl running orders. I have them all too btw, including those on the Twister soundtrack.

[Kwyjibo]

I never knew that they were left off of the vinyl. A Apolitical Blues sure has the feel of a bonus song, but not a rarity and Baluchiterium for me was always a regular album song.

And those three songs from Best Of Both Worlds aren't exactly rare either. I bet that a lot of people who bought that compilation did it mainly, because they wanted to hear those songs (me included). Not that they were really great.

[cramx3]

As I see it, the only "real" rarity is Crossing Over. And even that was released before.

And I wonder if they were able to make the bass on OU812 more audible. That record is the only one that had some issues with the sound in it's original form imo.

But even if they did, that's is not enough for me to buy the whole thing.

It'd be kind of nice to have all of those on one CD, but honestly, I have all that.   And it's kind of... I don't know, cheating to say that A Apolitical Blues and Baluchitherium are "rarities"; I have those both on the original CD releases.

Yeah, I was thinking that to myself as well 

I can't say I care for the release, but for those who want these, that's great.  I'm a big Van Hagar fan so releasing this is good for folks like myself.  I don't think I've ever heard Crossing Over though.  I also already have the Best of Both worlds CD.  (for the reason Kwyjibo stated).

[devieira73]

As I see it, the only "real" rarity is Crossing Over. And even that was released before.

And I wonder if they were able to make the bass on OU812 more audible. That record is the only one that had some issues with the sound in it's original form imo.

But even if they did, that's is not enough for me to buy the whole thing.

It'd be kind of nice to have all of those on one CD, but honestly, I have all that.   And it's kind of... I don't know, cheating to say that A Apolitical Blues and Baluchitherium are "rarities"; I have those both on the original CD releases.

I also thought including those 2 songs as rarities very forced.

[gazinwales]

The vinyl box set are all single LP records, OU812, FUCK and Balance are all over 50 mins, thus too many grooves and lower quality.
Kind of defeats the remastering for 'better' sound by squashing the music on to two sides of vinyl.

[Kwyjibo]

I must say that Respect The Wind is a really beautiful and great instrumental. Good to see it included here.

There's rumours that Eddie left behind a shitload of tapes with ideas, licks, riffs, whatever, that he recorded in his studio over the years. I always imagine, that some instrumental pieces, like the above mentioned, could be on there and if someone would dig through those tapes and release some of the more worked out ideas, that would get my blood pumping.

But maybe it's all just rough sketches and some noodling, that isnt that interesting.

[cramx3]

I must say that Respect The Wind is a really beautiful and great instrumental. Good to see it included here.

There's rumours that Eddie left behind a shitload of tapes with ideas, licks, riffs, whatever, that he recorded in his studio over the years. I always imagine, that some instrumental pieces, like the above mentioned, could be on there and if someone would dig through those tapes and release some of the more worked out ideas, that would get my blood pumping.

But maybe it's all just rough sketches and some noodling, that isnt that interesting.

I'd love if Wolfie did something like that, but he seems to want to carve his own path and not rely on his father's work.  Maybe one day that changes.  I just have to think the people who have access to these would be limited meaning someone like Wolfie would be the only one who could do such a thing. 

[jammindude]

At one point, he even made an announcement where he pretty much blasted the fan community for treating him as if it was his duty to release that material. He was really upset because he feels like he doesn’t “owe” the fans anything, and he was pretty sick of the entitled attitude.

I’m sure he might cool his jets and decide something sees the light of day at some point, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.

[HOF]

I think Wolfie was recently quoted as saying his dad released everything he wanted to release while he was alive so there may not be anything else coming. He did make it sound like it was more up to Alex than him as far as what gets released under the VH name though.

Here is the quote:

AllMusic: Are there any updates as to if/when you may be going through your father's vault of unreleased music?

Van Halen: "As far as that, Al is certainly the decision maker in that process. I'm just kind of there to help him decide and help what he wants to go through – as sort of being the person in place of my father, in his absence. But when it comes to that, I know my dad was vocal of that in the past, he released everything he wanted to release. So, when it comes to stuff that hit the cutting room floor, that would certainly have to be a serious conversation to have – if anything is actually worth releasing. So, we'll just have to see. I certainly wouldn't hold your breath."

https://bravewords.com/news/wolfgang-van-halen-on-opening-up-eddie-van-halen-s-vault-of-unreleased-music-i-know-my-dad-was-vocal-of-that-in-the-past-he-released-everything-he-wanted-to-release#

[Mosh]

That box kinda seems like a ripoff to me. When I bought the Van Hagar albums on CD, I got them at Wal Mart for $5 each, pretty sure those are still in print and if not they are easily found at a used CD store. Same with the "rarities." That Best of Both Worlds is still easy to find and if you really want Humans Being on CD I'm sure you can find the Twister soundtrack no problem. Also songs from the main albums as they were released on CD and are currently available on streaming do not qualify as rarities. 

Crossing Over is probably the only thing that would be challenging to find. If nothing else, this just kinda shows how dry the well is for archival Van Halen stuff. I guess they could at least include some unreleased live tapes or something with this. $50 is pretty silly for what is primarily bargain bin albums though.

[Samsara]

Count me in the group that thinks these are a silly money-grab.

It's cool that some of these records are being reissued on vinyl. I've been waiting for For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge on vinyl for years. But guess I'll have to wait until they eventually release them all individually. I'm sure it'll be a bit down the line.

But these rarities are not..."rarities" for all the reasons already stated by many of you above. Even "Crossing Over," I nabbed that CD single a few years back at the local record store for cheap. It's cool that they are going on vinyl (but I did note that one of the Sammy 2004 tracks is not on the vinyl - so watch that), but all this is, is a money-grab that the label is doing because Wolfgang is starting to really make a name for himself. When he played the old VH stuff at the Taylor Hawkins tribute, it set off a firestorm. And the label is cashing in.

I'll pass, and continue patiently waiting for For Unlawful on vinyl...

[WardySI]

Agree to some degree but don't think the entire idea of reissues / remasters is purely a money grab, fans of the Hagar era have been complaining and asking for these for years. 

What I do think is a money grab is only releasing them as a box set which obviously returns a big chunk of coin from the outset but unfair for fans that can't afford to buy them like that or only need one or two records to complete their original collections...

Personally on the fence as am also only needing a couple these and agree these rarities are far from being rare.

All that said would happily just settle for remastered 5150 and OU812 CDs as those I've been waiting on for a long time.  Hopefully they sound improved \m/

[Kwyjibo]

I have all VH records, I had them on vinyl, then bought them on cd. The only one I would maybe buy again is OU812 when the remix/remaster is a vast improvement in sound, but even then it has to be at a reasonable price.

No use for a boxset at all.

[devieira73]

Do you know if this box set has only the covers and CDs? From the pictures, it seems like that it won't have any booklet of the albums.

[Fonzie]

The Roth box is about £16 now. When the price of the Hagar box drops below about £25 I’ll get this.

[devieira73]

The Roth Box set has booklets?

[gazinwales]

No the Roth set is cardboard sleeve only, no booklet.
Most of these type of box sets that I have are all the same no booklets and minimal bare bones packaging.

[devieira73]

Thanks! So I guess the Hagar set will be the same way.