Official top 50 Van Halen songs thread!! (Countdown has begun!!)

[TAC]

So Bosk, you really detest David Lee Roth? Is this what I'm getting?

[bosk1]

"Detest" is much too strong a word.  I'm just indifferent.  Not a fan.  That said, I do think he contributed to some good songs during his time with VH.  But have never been a fan of him or his schtick.

[Dream Team]

List sent. The singer breakdown surprised me a bit (I thought it would be more like 30/10/10). Mostly a result of some Sammy era songs not aging well for me.

Hagar: 22
Roth: 17
Cherone: 11

Though some of those are instrumental anyway!

You know, I can honestly never tell if you’re trolling or not. Only 17 Roth songs, and that includes ADKOT?

[TAC]

"Detest" is much too strong a word.  I'm just indifferent.  Not a fan.  That said, I do think he contributed to some good songs during his time with VH.  But have never been a fan of him or his schtick.

I think it got worse over time. The other day, I linked the Montreal boots of the '82 and '84 shows. Dave is quite different in the '84 show as he barely sings and basically just jumps around the stage, almost oblivious to what the BAND is actually doing. I can definitely see how they grew sick of his schtick.

I remember when they were on Rockline when 1984 was released. They were trying to present a party atmosphere on the show, but all they did was hoop it up and yipyap the whole time. It was quite annoying to listen to. And I was a huge fan.

As much as I remember liking Eat 'Em And Smile, and the subsequent tour, I never really stayed close to what DLR was doing. Without Eddie, he had no vehicle.

I generally enjoyed the Sammy Era. I only have my experience, but the DLR Era coincided with me coming of age, and that music resonated with me. 5150 was a bit lite for me at that time, and I was much more into metal in the late 80's. Still, I continued to buy the Van Hagar albums and go to the shows. They always remained very enjoyable.

[KevShmev]

Similar to how Chevy Chase was really funny in the late 70s and 80s and then he just stopped being funny in the blink of an eye, Roth's persona just suddenly stopped being amusing in the late 80s/early 90s.

[DragonAttack]

Similar to how Chevy Chase was really funny in the late 70s and 80s and then he just stopped being funny in the blink of an eye, Roth's persona just suddenly stopped being amusing in the late 80s/early 90s.

Wow!  Bingo!  The perfect analogy. 

But much earlier for both.

[HOF]

List sent. The singer breakdown surprised me a bit (I thought it would be more like 30/10/10). Mostly a result of some Sammy era songs not aging well for me.

Hagar: 22
Roth: 17
Cherone: 11

Though some of those are instrumental anyway!

You know, I can honestly never tell if you’re trolling or not. Only 17 Roth songs, and that includes ADKOT?

I haven’t heard ADKOT to be honest. I don’t own any of the DLR albums and thought Tattoo was pretty meh, so I didn’t bother.

I feel like I go out of my way to explain controversial takes, so no I’m not trolling. I don’t care for the DLR stuff beyond some of the hits and a few deep tracks here and there. I’m also not a big fan of his schtick, though admittedly Hagar’s isn’t much better. I prefer the more serious side of VH, rare as it may be. III had more of that than the prior two eras, and I genuinely think the music on it is great.

[TAC]

Similar to how Chevy Chase was really funny in the late 70s and 80s and then he just stopped being funny in the blink of an eye, Roth's persona just suddenly stopped being amusing in the late 80s/early 90s.

Chevy Chase was never funny though.

[Trav86]

I just sent you my list Kev.

[Stadler]

Similar to how Chevy Chase was really funny in the late 70s and 80s and then he just stopped being funny in the blink of an eye, Roth's persona just suddenly stopped being amusing in the late 80s/early 90s.

Even for me, who appears to be the Roth flagbearer, it wasn't perfect.  I liked him MUCH better in Van Halen.  A little Dave goes a long way, and he got sillier as he got older.   I dig the hungry, lean Roth more than I dig the Borscht Belt Vaudvillian Roth, though it was hints of that latter part that made the former part interesting.

[Stadler]

List sent. The singer breakdown surprised me a bit (I thought it would be more like 30/10/10). Mostly a result of some Sammy era songs not aging well for me.

Hagar: 22
Roth: 17
Cherone: 11

Though some of those are instrumental anyway!

You know, I can honestly never tell if you’re trolling or not. Only 17 Roth songs, and that includes ADKOT?

I haven’t heard ADKOT to be honest. I don’t own any of the DLR albums and thought Tattoo was pretty meh, so I didn’t bother.

I feel like I go out of my way to explain controversial takes, so no I’m not trolling. I don’t care for the DLR stuff beyond some of the hits and a few deep tracks here and there. I’m also not a big fan of his schtick, though admittedly Hagar’s isn’t much better. I prefer the more serious side of VH, rare as it may be. III had more of that than the prior two eras, and I genuinely think the music on it is great.

Look, if you don't like Roth, you don't like Roth, and nothing on ADKOT is going to radically change that.  But I do know this:  I HATED Tattoo when I first heard it.  Thought it was embarassing and I thought it was a joke.  I couldn't imagine what Ed was thinking.  But then I heard the whole album, in context, and Tattoo has really grown on me, and the album itself is one of my favorite Van Halen records.  Dave is on FIRE on that record, IMO, and I think Wolfie kind of lit a fire under dad's ass.  It's worth a listen, even if just for Blood And Fire.

[jammindude]

I can absolutely testify…Tattoo is the worst song on the album, and actually is made even worse by the fact that it doesn’t even sound like anything else on the album.

It’s really odd. It was almost like they made a really fantastic Van Halen album, and then at the last minute decided that it lacked a cheesy single so they threw it on there as an afterthought.

[TAC]

It’s really odd. It was almost like they made a really fantastic Van Halen album, and then at the last minute decided that it lacked a cheesy single so they threw it on there as an afterthought.

Well, they did that with Jump when they made 1984.

[wolfking]

Had a run through VH2. Eh, not bad.

[TAC]

Had a run through VH2. Eh, not bad.

Great stuff on that album. Eddie crushes it.

[bl5150]

Light Up The Sky      I used to play that a few times by itself first and then listen to the rest.

[wolfking]

Light Up The Sky      I used to play that a few times by itself first and then listen to the rest.

That was by far the best songs on my listen, easily.

[The Realm]

List sent. The singer breakdown surprised me a bit (I thought it would be more like 30/10/10). Mostly a result of some Sammy era songs not aging well for me.

Hagar: 22
Roth: 17
Cherone: 11

Though some of those are instrumental anyway!

You know, I can honestly never tell if you’re trolling or not. Only 17 Roth songs, and that includes ADKOT?

I haven’t heard ADKOT to be honest. I don’t own any of the DLR albums and thought Tattoo was pretty meh, so I didn’t bother.

I feel like I go out of my way to explain controversial takes, so no I’m not trolling. I don’t care for the DLR stuff beyond some of the hits and a few deep tracks here and there. I’m also not a big fan of his schtick, though admittedly Hagar’s isn’t much better. I prefer the more serious side of VH, rare as it may be. III had more of that than the prior two eras, and I genuinely think the music on it is great.

Look, if you don't like Roth, you don't like Roth, and nothing on ADKOT is going to radically change that.  But I do know this:  I HATED Tattoo when I first heard it.  Thought it was embarassing and I thought it was a joke.  I couldn't imagine what Ed was thinking.  But then I heard the whole album, in context, and Tattoo has really grown on me, and the album itself is one of my favorite Van Halen records.  Dave is on FIRE on that record, IMO, and I think Wolfie kind of lit a fire under dad's ass.  It's worth a listen, even if just for Blood And Fire.

I agree with this. I also hated Tattoo when I first heard it but it has definitely grown on me. Once I had the whole album and gave it a few spins it all came together. Overall it is a really strong record.

[TAC]

Light Up The Sky      I used to play that a few times by itself first and then listen to the rest.

Brent, you better be making a list and joining in!!!!

[WilliamMunny]

List sent. The singer breakdown surprised me a bit (I thought it would be more like 30/10/10). Mostly a result of some Sammy era songs not aging well for me.

Hagar: 22
Roth: 17
Cherone: 11

Though some of those are instrumental anyway!

You know, I can honestly never tell if you’re trolling or not. Only 17 Roth songs, and that includes ADKOT?

I haven’t heard ADKOT to be honest. I don’t own any of the DLR albums and thought Tattoo was pretty meh, so I didn’t bother.

I feel like I go out of my way to explain controversial takes, so no I’m not trolling. I don’t care for the DLR stuff beyond some of the hits and a few deep tracks here and there. I’m also not a big fan of his schtick, though admittedly Hagar’s isn’t much better. I prefer the more serious side of VH, rare as it may be. III had more of that than the prior two eras, and I genuinely think the music on it is great.

Look, if you don't like Roth, you don't like Roth, and nothing on ADKOT is going to radically change that.  But I do know this:  I HATED Tattoo when I first heard it.  Thought it was embarassing and I thought it was a joke.  I couldn't imagine what Ed was thinking.  But then I heard the whole album, in context, and Tattoo has really grown on me, and the album itself is one of my favorite Van Halen records.  Dave is on FIRE on that record, IMO, and I think Wolfie kind of lit a fire under dad's ass.  It's worth a listen, even if just for Blood And Fire.

My thoughts, word for word.

Look, I'm not going to 'try' and convince anyone that VHIII is worth revisiting (even though I enjoy the record), but if you haven't given ADKOT a spin, you are missing out. Not only does the record 'sound' fantastic, everyone is on fire ( ) throughout.

Just do yourself a favor, skip straight to 'She's The Woman,' and let the band take it from there (still think that should have been the album opener).

[KevShmev]

Everyone can do their top 50 however they like, but I feel it's a bit weak to at least not give all or most of the catalogue a listen before doing it for this exercise rather than ignoring a big chunk of it. But that's just me.  Again though, your favorites are your favorites.

I with you guys on A Different Kind of Truth. While the mix is a little hot, the songs are mostly there.  I do think Tattoo is mostly blah, although there are a few good moments, but the back half of it is crazy good.  The four-song run of The Trouble with Never through Big River is awesome.

[HOF]

Everyone can do their top 50 however they like, but I feel it's a bit weak to at least not give all or most of the catalogue a listen before doing it for this exercise rather than ignoring a big chunk of it. But that's just me.  Again though, your favorites are your favorites.

I with you guys on A Different Kind of Truth. While the mix is a little hot, the songs are mostly there.  I do think Tattoo is mostly blah, although there are a few good moments, but the back half of it is crazy good.  The four-song run of The Trouble with Never through Big River is awesome.

I’ll give ADKOT a spin just to see what’s up. But including anything from it would have been pretty unlikely (and not much different than including something from A View From The Top of The World in our DT lists, which was prohibited). I am familiar with all the other DLR albums and did do some spot checking on songs I wasn’t that familiar with before ranking.

[Dream Team]

Everyone can do their top 50 however they like, but I feel it's a bit weak to at least not give all or most of the catalogue a listen before doing it for this exercise rather than ignoring a big chunk of it. But that's just me.  Again though, your favorites are your favorites.

I with you guys on A Different Kind of Truth. While the mix is a little hot, the songs are mostly there.  I do think Tattoo is mostly blah, although there are a few good moments, but the back half of it is crazy good.  The four-song run of The Trouble with Never through Big River is awesome.

Yup. I bet at least 6 songs from that album will make my list.

[Dream Team]

Also, I need to point out that in going through my list there is no explicit bias against Hagar - I just genuinely enjoy the earlier albums more, plus ADKOT. I love the emphasis on guitar, not synths, and the hooks and energy of the songs. So I'm not going out of my way to exclude Hagar songs, but right now there's only 2. 

[devieira73]

Relistening the first 5 albuns - that I Iistened less than the others, since I followed VH closely since Hagar joined the band - and it’s really hard to compare the best of Roth era with Hagar/Cherone era. The Roth era is so visceral, has so much energy and driven by those incredibly guitar riffs… but I still love the more melodic and elaborated VH that emerged after that. So I can see my list being almost equally splited between the 2 eras (but I think my fave VH song is still one from Hagar era…).

[TAC]

Light Up The Sky      I used to play that a few times by itself first and then listen to the rest.

That was by far the best songs on my listen, easily.

 

[Trav86]

Light Up The Sky      I used to play that a few times by itself first and then listen to the rest.

That was by far the best songs on my listen, easily.

 

Before the last tour, they hadn’t played that song since 1979.  Imagine being at that first 2015 show, and they walked out and opened with that monster.

[KevShmev]

Everyone can do their top 50 however they like, but I feel it's a bit weak to at least not give all or most of the catalogue a listen before doing it for this exercise rather than ignoring a big chunk of it. But that's just me.  Again though, your favorites are your favorites.

I with you guys on A Different Kind of Truth. While the mix is a little hot, the songs are mostly there.  I do think Tattoo is mostly blah, although there are a few good moments, but the back half of it is crazy good.  The four-song run of The Trouble with Never through Big River is awesome.

I’ll give ADKOT a spin just to see what’s up. But including anything from it would have been pretty unlikely (and not much different than including something from A View From The Top of The World in our DT lists, which was prohibited). I am familiar with all the other DLR albums and did do some spot checking on songs I wasn’t that familiar with before ranking.

Cool. Just skip Tattoo and remember that most of the best songs are later in the album. 

Relistening the first 5 albuns - that I Iistened less than the others, since I followed VH closely since Hagar joined the band - and it’s really hard to compare the best of Roth era with Hagar/Cherone era. The Roth era is so visceral, has so much energy and driven by those incredibly guitar riffs… but I still love the more melodic and elaborated VH that emerged after that. So I can see my list being almost equally splited between the 2 eras (but I think my fave VH song is still one from Hagar era…).

Even though I love both eras, I know what you mean.  All of those albums with Roth early on are majorly guitar-driven with Eddie spitting fire killer riffs and leads from every direction (even on 1984, where the synth songs are still in the vast minority), while the first two Sammy albums were heavier on the synths and had more of that 80s sound with lesser bottom end and less beef in the overall mix.  F.U.C.K. was back to rocking hard, with the good mix to boot, but EVH's brown sound is absent, so it's a bit of an anomaly in that regard.  Balance is probably the one Sammy album that sorta sounds like the early albums, and even that is a bit of a stretch. 

[HOF]

I gave ADKOT a listen. It’s a really strong effort for sure, and Eddie and Alex do seem to be in top form. Roth was rough in places, but better than I thought he’d be and considering his age I thought he sounded good. Now, 90% of a singer I don’t love in the first place is still going to ding the songs for me, but it was an impressive performance overall.

The two highlights for me were Blood and Fire and Big River. There are others I liked as well, but those are the ones I could see having a chance at the top 50 on first listen. A few places I did think, “this would be better with a different singer or as an instrumental,” but for the most part it sounded like classic VH and that means Roth and all that comes with it. I can definitely see how if Roth is your guy, people would like this album a lot.

[Trav86]

I became a fan with the Hagar-era. The Roth-er stuff made them my favorite band. At least until I discovered DT. As someone on another forum said before, “The Hagar-era was a great band, the Roth-era was MY band!” 

[TAC]

Here's an awesome website for fans of the DLR Era..
https://www.themightyvanhalen.net/

[KevShmev]

Where is the site for fans of the Cherone era?

[TAC]

Where is the site for fans of the Cherone era?

Right here.

[KevShmev]

Where is the site for fans of the Cherone era?

Right here.

I knew I was headed for a heartbreak even before I clicked on that.

[TAC]

Where is the site for fans of the Cherone era?

Right here.

I knew I was headed for a heartbreak even before I clicked on that.

Apparently couldn't pull one over on you.