Van Halen are my all time favourite band and I literally have a room in my house full of memorabilia , but I can't help but think that appearing on live TV at this point (and this new live album) are a big mistake. I finally had my chance to see them with Roth last year together with Aerosmith and - it pains me to say - Aerosmith blew them off the stage. And Roth was close to embarrassing with his gum chewing, screeching and old Uncle Dave dance moves.
I'm the first to admit.....DLR has the hardest gig in rock - trying to pull off their party rock from the 78-84 period at around 60 yo. And that's without taking into account his vocal limitations.
It's a miracle that they produced something as good as ADKOT and , as far as I'm concerned , the best that VH fans can hope for (and perhaps the band's best hope of making the best of it going forward) is:
1) Start digging into the vaults and release some of those old demos officially (like "Zero") ,
2) As above but with live footage. I've seen great quality footage from'79 where Roth is not only remembering the fucking words but is nailing every single note - one of the best live performances I've ever seen. And from a guy who ,let's face it , isn't renowned for his vocal abilities.
3) Perhaps in the studio environment , one last album is a possibility.
I won't be listening to the new live album or chasing down TV footage. I'd rather remember them as the greats they were.