The Official Hard Rock / Classic Metal Music Discussion and Memorabilia Thread!

[bl5150]

I like most of their stuff up to and including OU812 and from there it's a bit more patchy.  You won't get any traction with some on those GGB and HoP references Tim as many seem to consider them filler - I love them myself , just saying.

I can also see where you're coming from in terms of 5150 seeming pissweak - knowing how much growing up with stuff affects me. I came along in VH terms in the years 84-86 when there was already a pop element to it and so some of the  wimpier songs (hopefully hefdaddy doesn't see this) didn't grate for me like they did for you.  But I totally get why they would've for a fan who had been with them from earlier on.

I also agree with you on the feel on OU812 , especially on songs like AFU, Sucker etc.........BUT (and you knew there was one) I don't get the love for Source of Infection.    There's some cool guitar on it , but even with my positive VH bias I struggle to get past Sammy's pathetic attempt at lyrics.  And lyrics don't ordinarily affect me much at all.

But this.......

Hey!
Alright!
Whoo! How 'bout 'cha now,
Come on
Oh yeah!
Dig it!
That's right.
Is everybody ready?
Let's go!
Up and down, around and 'round
In and out
Crank it, blow out
Ouch
Help me
Flip on over

I had switched off even before the chorus and flipped on out. 

[TAC]

Thanks for understanding, mate!

Yes, God some of the Sammy lyrics are just brutal. Spanked? Yikes.

Source of Infection is a ripper. But hey, I love Loss Of Control too!

GGB and Hop filler? Jump and Panama are the filler on that album.

[bl5150]

Thanks for understanding, mate!

Yes, God some of the Sammy lyrics are just brutal. Spanked? Yikes.

Source of Infection is a ripper. But hey, I love Loss Of Control too!

GGB and Hop filler? Jump and Panama are the filler on that album.

Spanked is a ripper























Just kidding

[TAC]

That's funny, but it illustrates one of my main issues with Van Hagar. What were they? A pop band? A hard rocking ripping band? Or a lame preteen humor band?

I get DLR era Van Halen had some of the same issues, but it just seemed more genuine to me.

[WebRaider]

It's a personal preference I guess. I just find way more personality on OU812, and much more enjoyable. It's much looser and much less, um, professional I guess. 5150 feels like corporate rock to me.
I was excited when it came out, but when I ever heard Why Can't This Be Love..I mean, what a piece of garbage. How do we do from House Of Pain and Girl Gone Bad to THAT??

I understand where you're coming from on the feeling from DLR VH to Hagar VH and I agree to some extent but... Did you listen to "When It's Love" off of OU812??? (or "Feels So Good" or "Finish What Ya Started" come back raw guitar please!!!) How is that any better in the frame of reference you're giving?  I "like" all the albums but I don't see how anyone can enjoy so much OU812 and disparage 5150 to that extent. I do get that its a personal thing so all good.

[bl5150]

I think Van Hagar's core stuff was good time rock like Summer Nights /Runaround with more commercial tinges for singles (like most bands).   

I always felt that much of the humourous side of Van Hagar was an attempt to retain some of what made classic VH great - sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't and felt forced.  In that regard I agree that it sounded much more natural when DLR was the man.

I probably expressed it better in my VH1 Top 50 write up but the humour of Van Halen was always a big attraction for me - even just stuff like all the "Ow", "Whoo" , laughs going on in the background of some of their songs.  Nobody else did it like that and even after listening for years I sometimes picked up new things going on.  Add that to the awesome attitude, songs and guitar playing and that's why they're my numero uno. 

I really like Van Hagar - just not quite as much as I love classic VH.

[TAC]

It's a personal preference I guess. I just find way more personality on OU812, and much more enjoyable. It's much looser and much less, um, professional I guess. 5150 feels like corporate rock to me.
I was excited when it came out, but when I ever heard Why Can't This Be Love..I mean, what a piece of garbage. How do we do from House Of Pain and Girl Gone Bad to THAT??

I understand where you're coming from on the feeling from DLR VH to Hagar VH and I agree to some extent but... Did you listen to "When It's Love" off of OU812??? (or "Feels So Good" or "Finish What Ya Started" come back raw guitar please!!!) How is that any better in the frame of reference you're giving?  I "like" all the albums but I don't see how anyone can enjoy so much OU812 and disparage 5150 to that extent. I do get that its a personal thing so all good.

When it's Love Blows. So let's get that out of the way.
Not in love with Feels So Good, but I do like Finish What You Started and Message In A Bottle. To me, there's a certain genuiness that is evident on OU812. A certain relaxfulness. I felt a lot of 5150 was a rock album by numbers. I just think OU812 breathes a little more.

I'm an extremely casual Van Hagar fan, and was back in the day. Though I saw them maybe a half dozen times, and were great shows, I was never that deep into them.

I always felt that much of the humourous side of Van Hagar was an attempt to retain some of what made classic VH great - sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't and felt forced.  In that regard I agree that it sounded much more natural when DLR was the man.

I probably expressed it better in my VH1 Top 50 write up but the humour of Van Halen was always a big attraction for me - even just stuff like all the "Ow", "Whoo" , laughs going on in the background of some of their songs.  Nobody else did it like that and even after listening for years I sometimes picked up new things going on.  Add that to the awesome attitude, songs and guitar playing and that's why they're my numero uno. 

I agree.

[KevShmev]

Van Hagar was great.  Man, those VH shows we saw in the 90s were so good.  I know many have an attachment to the original lineup, and that lineup did put out some great tunes, but the Hagar years just seem a little better.  Balance is so underrated.

[TAC]

Balance is an outlier to the other three albums I feel. It's feels a lot more serious. A good album, definitely.

[KevShmev]

That tour was great, too.  They busted out the song 5150 on it.

[TAC]

That tour was great, too.  They busted out the song 5150 on it.

I didn't go to that tour. I guessed I moved on from them by that point.

And I listed 5150 in my Top 10 Han Hagar songs, so cool.

[bl5150]

Balance is an outlier to the other three albums I feel. It's feels a lot more serious. .

Yep..........WHAM, BAM, Amsterdam. Hot damn 


But yeah , some of the more serious tracks have the cool , dark vibe of HUmans Being or even Fair Warning.  The JAP bonus track (unusual for VH) made my top 10 - Crossing Over.  Weird song but I grew to really like it.

[KevShmev]

Pleasure Dome might still very well my favorite VH song.  Just magnificent.

[bl5150]

Pleasure Dome might still very well my favorite VH song.  Just magnificent.

Made my Top 10 too   

[bl5150]

That tour was great, too.  They busted out the song 5150 on it.

I didn't go to that tour. I guessed I moved on from them by that point.

And I listed 5150 in my Top 10 Han Hagar songs, so cool.

If were to list favourite solos by EVH (and allow live versions) the reworked solo for 5150 on Live Without A Net would be right up there.  Awesome.

[wolfking]

I'm feeling pretty left out of this thread atm. 

I'm a very very casual VH fan, and I couldn't even tell you what albums I actually own.  I prefer the Sammy stuff though.  Might go through and see what albums I own and revisit them and post my thoughts.

[BlobVanDam]

Balance is an outlier to the other three albums I feel. It's feels a lot more serious. .

Yep..........WHAM, BAM, Amsterdam. Hot damn 

Man, you want to talk about bad lyrics. The one song on Balance that could have been great ruined by unlistenable lyrics.

The lyrics on Source of Infection were playful and silly. It's not like DLR era was high art in terms of lyrics either. But it's rock, so that's how it should be!

[bl5150]

Man, you want to talk about bad lyrics. The one song on Balance that could have been great ruined by unlistenable lyrics.

The lyrics on Source of Infection were playful and silly. It's not like DLR era was high art in terms of lyrics either. But it's rock, so that's how it should be!

Like I said above (aside from fitting the "vibe" of a song)  lyrics play about 1% (if that) in my enjoyment of a song unless they're just awesome or are bad enough to irritate me and Sammy has a habit of doing that occasionally 

In terms of Roth , I would rate him a very under rated lyricist.  Not so much in terms of early Van Halen but some of his solo stuff and especially on A Little Ain't Enough and A Different Kind of Truth , I think plenty of the lyrics are not only humourous but very clever.   

 

[BlobVanDam]

Man, you want to talk about bad lyrics. The one song on Balance that could have been great ruined by unlistenable lyrics.

The lyrics on Source of Infection were playful and silly. It's not like DLR era was high art in terms of lyrics either. But it's rock, so that's how it should be!

Like I said above (aside from fitting the "vibe" of a song)  lyrics play about 1% (if that) in my enjoyment of a song unless they're just awesome or are bad enough to irritate me and Sammy has a habit of doing that occasionally 

In terms of Roth , I would rate him a very under rated lyricist.  Not so much in terms of early Van Halen but some of his solo stuff and especially on A Little Ain't Enoguh and A Different Kind of Truth , I think plenty of the lyrics are not only humourous but very clever.   

 

I mostly feel the same about lyrics, it's mostly the subject matter that ruins that song for me, rather than the quality of the lyrics themselves.

Roth does write some clever lyrics, although some of them are also really ridiculous, especially on ADKOT. But it's rock silly, so I actually love it.

[Kwyjibo]

I don't have a problem if a song is radio friendly (whatever that means in the end) if the song is good. I think the Hagar stuff was more melodic and therefore maybe more radio friendly, because Hagar actually can sing melodies instead of just belting them out, and Hagar had much more experience in song-writing because of his solo career when he joined VH.

I also have no problem with songs like Feels So Good and Finish What You Started, the latter is just an example for the variety of the band. I mean they did songs like Big Bad Bill and others with DLR which aren't exactly hard rockin'. Why Can't This Be Love is a top ten song for me, so no complaint from my side. When It's Love and Can't Stop Loving You are cheesy bubble-gum songs I could do without.

Lyrics don't bother me as long as they are not very extremely exceptionally totally bad. Source Of Infection is just not a good song musicwise and therefore a better set of lyrics wouldn't have saved it.

I still can't and won't say which incarnation of the band is better because I can't. Both eras are outstinding and with Eddie's guitar playing on top they make for one of my absolute favorite bands.

PS: Girls Gone Bad is filler 

PPS: Even VH3 isn't as bad as people say.

[BlobVanDam]

VH3 is every bit as bad as people say. No redeeming qualities at all.

[Kwyjibo]

Well there is the  fat guy stopping a cannonball with his stomach on the cover, if that doesn't count, I don't know.

[BlobVanDam]

[bl5150]

I'm feeling pretty left out of this thread atm. 

Don't worry Kade only a few days until Dio..............................oh hang on .  Blob and Kwyjibo have just reminded me that I omitted VH 3 and so next week will be Van Cherone week - top 10 songs   

The best thing about VH3 is that I have one of those Ltd Ed. tins signed by the band and Mikey wrote "Brent Rocks!" on it. 

[Kwyjibo]

and so next week will be Van Cherone week - top 10 songs   

Are we gonna rank the album as well?

All humor aside, I really think that there are some interesting songs on the album, it's certainly not on par with Roth or Hagar albums, but it isn't a total trainwreck.

[wolfking]

I remember a vido clip from that Cherone album and it was alright from what I remember. 

Not a fan of Gary, his tone just doesn't work for me that well.  Sounds out of tune a lot to me.

[BlobVanDam]

I'm feeling pretty left out of this thread atm. 

Don't worry Kade only a few days until Dio..............................oh hang on .  Blob and Kwyjibo have just reminded me that I omitted VH 3 and so next week will be Van Cherone week - top 10 songs   

I couldn't even make an unranked top 12 favourite Cherone era songs, if you know what I mean.

[bosk1]

5150 feels like corporate rock to me.
I was excited when it came out, but when I ever heard Why Can't This Be Love..I mean, what a piece of garbage. How do we do from House Of Pain and Girl Gone Bad to THAT??

Okay, granted.  But how is that not a logical progression from 1984?  Take Jump, for example.  I'm not slagging it because it's a decent song.  But I wouldn't really put it beyond "decent."  Except that it is pretty catchy.  Why Can't This Be Love is a much better written song that Jump, IMO.  It takes where Eddie was going with Jump and just does it better. 

All in all, I don't care for Van Halen much these days, and I haven't for quite some time.  But 5150 was then, and still remains, my favorite album from them.

[bl5150]

Fans of Malmsteen style might be interested in this metallish release from Melodic Rock Records

The sample below is good but doesn't sound anything special to me - it does feature Mark Boals , his weave and Macro Minnemann so I'll be keeping an ear peeled.

https://youtu.be/3fL8W7XqhWo

Sorry no shirt today - sick as a dog with flu and spent most of the day in bed.  It might surprise you but I don't have red, white and black striped PJs.

[bosk1]

No shirt, no service.  Sorry.  That's the rule.

[bl5150]

 

No shirt, no service.  Sorry.  That's the rule.

   I don't seriously expect that anyone's hanging out for my shirt pics - just a bit of fun that adds to some discussion/memories every now and then. And at our ages anything that jogs the memory is good I reckon.

I'll do a double dose of Balance stuff tomorrow and then some VH3 on Sunday to get everyone in the mood for another band

[KevShmev]

The Cherone album is good.  Plenty of redeeming values on it.  That riff in Ballot of the Bullet alone is beastly.   Once is one of my favorite songs of any VH era, and Dirty Water Dog is particularly very good as well.  I can see why many hate it - it had a new singer AND was too experimental - but on merit alone, instead of comparing it to previous VH records, it is a good record.  Certainly better than the mediocrity they released with Roth a few years ago.

[TAC]

only a few days until Dio...............

[jjrock88]

only a few days until Dio...............

[Lowdz]

Fans of Malmsteen style might be interested in this metallish release from Melodic Rock Records

The sample below is good but doesn't sound anything special to me - it does feature Mark Boals , his weave and Macro Minnemann so I'll be keeping an ear peeled.

https://youtu.be/3fL8W7XqhWo

Sorry no shirt today - sick as a dog with flu and spent most of the day in bed.  It might surprise you but I don't have red, white and black striped PJs.

I thought that was ok. I have the last album cage Of Infinity, and that was really good. Played it as my workout music tonight (new year resolution still going strong!). Guitarist really wants to be Yngwie but he can write a good song.
Hope you feel better soon mate.