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

[Trav86]

It all started earlier Stads.  Their manager's book, he wrote about Roth giving the business to Anthony and the 2 brothers fell in line..  During the 1984 tour, he was essentially a sideman. The way he was paid.  Seems he could never stand up for himself.

And he had his royalties for the 1984 album reduced also, didn’t he?

[Stadler]

It all started earlier Stads.  Their manager's book, he wrote about Roth giving the business to Anthony and the 2 brothers fell in line..  During the 1984 tour, he was essentially a sideman. The way he was paid.  Seems he could never stand up for himself.

I do remember there being a story - not a "story" per se, but an explanation - that early on the band played their instruments but also took on other duties.   Ed had the music and recording.  Alex had the business side of things.  Dave did some of the marketing, booking and artwork.  And one of the... not criticisms, but enlightenments, if you will, is that Mike didn't really have anything else but the bass playing and singing. He didn't write much, he didn't do any of the behind the scenes stuff, so...   And it's not like he didn't get his cut from the first six records, two of which are DIAMOND.  Later, when ROTH sued the band to get his share of royalties (2004-ish) Mike got cut out of certain credits, but he very well could have joined Roth in the lawsuit and demanded what was rightfully his.  They brought back Roth, not Anthony, so suing the brothers apparently isn't a dealbreaker.

[Trav86]

It all started earlier Stads.  Their manager's book, he wrote about Roth giving the business to Anthony and the 2 brothers fell in line..  During the 1984 tour, he was essentially a sideman. The way he was paid.  Seems he could never stand up for himself.

I do remember there being a story - not a "story" per se, but an explanation - that early on the band played their instruments but also took on other duties.   Ed had the music and recording.  Alex had the business side of things.  Dave did some of the marketing, booking and artwork.  And one of the... not criticisms, but enlightenments, if you will, is that Mike didn't really have anything else but the bass playing and singing. He didn't write much, he didn't do any of the behind the scenes stuff, so...   And it's not like he didn't get his cut from the first six records, two of which are DIAMOND.  Later, when ROTH sued the band to get his share of royalties (2004-ish) Mike got cut out of certain credits, but he very well could have joined Roth in the lawsuit and demanded what was rightfully his.  They brought back Roth, not Anthony, so suing the brothers apparently isn't a dealbreaker.

At the end of the day, they need Roth (or Hagar) and not necessarily need Mike. They eventually realized that.

[King Postwhore]

It all started earlier Stads.  Their manager's book, he wrote about Roth giving the business to Anthony and the 2 brothers fell in line..  During the 1984 tour, he was essentially a sideman. The way he was paid.  Seems he could never stand up for himself.

And he had his royalties for the 1984 album reduced also, didn’t he?

Yes.

It all started earlier Stads.  Their manager's book, he wrote about Roth giving the business to Anthony and the 2 brothers fell in line..  During the 1984 tour, he was essentially a sideman. The way he was paid.  Seems he could never stand up for himself.

I do remember there being a story - not a "story" per se, but an explanation - that early on the band played their instruments but also took on other duties.   Ed had the music and recording.  Alex had the business side of things.  Dave did some of the marketing, booking and artwork.  And one of the... not criticisms, but enlightenments, if you will, is that Mike didn't really have anything else but the bass playing and singing. He didn't write much, he didn't do any of the behind the scenes stuff, so...   And it's not like he didn't get his cut from the first six records, two of which are DIAMOND.  Later, when ROTH sued the band to get his share of royalties (2004-ish) Mike got cut out of certain credits, but he very well could have joined Roth in the lawsuit and demanded what was rightfully his.  They brought back Roth, not Anthony, so suing the brothers apparently isn't a dealbreaker.

I think it's obvious that Mike in a non confrontational kind of guy.  He's probably very happy playing with Sammy these days. 

[TAC]

This popped up in my youtube feed today..relevant.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dnFzRxD_G8

[Stadler]

This popped up in my youtube feed today..relevant.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dnFzRxD_G8

Sammy's no pussy, I'll give you that.

[KevShmev]

I think it's obvious that Mike in a non confrontational kind of guy.  He's probably very happy playing with Sammy these days.

This, without a doubt.  He is just a chill, laid back guy who wants to have a good time and play some tunes without all of the drama the brothers and Roth often brought/created.  I suspect that on some level Anthony was not happy when he was paid less, used less on some of the later albums, etc., but making a little less in a highly visible mainstream band like Van Halen was still far better than making the most in some new band trying to get itself off the ground and trying to scrap out any profits.   

[Stadler]

Okay, so I've finished my listening.  Tomorrow's the big day! We're rankin'!   

[Trav86]

I think it was Steve Rosen, a close friend of Ed’s, that I heard talking about the Mike situation on a podcast. What he was told from Ed was that he was always frustrated that Mike didn’t bring enough to the songwriting table. Ed and Al would jam out songs, and Dave would bring in ideas and lyrics. Mike would just show up and play to whatever they came up with. He wanted Mike to bring in ideas, but that just wasn’t him. Most bands have members who just play along and don’t bring anything to the table. But Ed held everyone to a higher standard. It was like, he expecting everyone to be as talented to him because I’m not sure if he really understand how extraordinary he was.

[King Postwhore]

And that is true because all sings were credited as Van Halen.  Sometimes resentment settles in when one sees it as "I'm doing more than the other guy."

[KevShmev]

Okay, so I've finished my listening.  Tomorrow's the big day! We're rankin'!

 

[TAC]

Just heard Hot For Teacher before a faceoff during the Bruins/Blues game!

[KevShmev]

[Stadler]

So... I'm doing every song, 125 or some-odd number, and the ranker says "you will have 523 comparisons".   The fourth one:  Sinner's Swing and Dirty Movies - IMPOSSIBLE! - and the sixth one, Blood And Fire and Little Guitars.  We'll see where they ultimately go, but all four have the potential to be Top 20 songs.  Not at this rate they don't!   HAHA.   This is not going to be easy. 

[KevShmev]

So... I'm doing every song, 125 or some-odd number, and the ranker says "you will have 523 comparisons".   The fourth one:  Sinner's Swing and Dirty Movies - IMPOSSIBLE! - and the sixth one, Blood And Fire and Little Guitars.  We'll see where they ultimately go, but all four have the potential to be Top 20 songs.  Not at this rate they don't!   HAHA.   This is not going to be easy.

Both are awesome, but Sinner's Swing! gets the nod due to "THE" drum fill being the tiebreaker. 

[Stadler]

Of course, then a few later was "Me Wise Magic" - another top song for me - and "How Many Say I" - let's be kind and say "not a top song for me".  I think I broke my keyboard on that selection!   

(No, I won't keep doing this; i just thought it was interesting how the process goes.)

EDIT:  Okay, one more comment.  I'm finding that some songs will likely be ranked lower not because they suck, but because they are... slight.   I LOVE "Intruder", but as a stand alone song, is it better than, say, some other song with full lyrics and a solo?  I don't think so.

[Deadeye21]

So... I'm doing every song, 125 or some-odd number, and the ranker says "you will have 523 comparisons".   The fourth one:  Sinner's Swing and Dirty Movies - IMPOSSIBLE! - and the sixth one, Blood And Fire and Little Guitars.  We'll see where they ultimately go, but all four have the potential to be Top 20 songs.  Not at this rate they don't!   HAHA.   This is not going to be easy.

I’d have to go Sinner’s Swing and Little Guitars. Not a fan of Dirty Movies, and although I have a soft spot for Blood And Fire, it’s not quite as high as Little Guitars was for me.

[TAC]

So... I'm doing every song, 125 or some-odd number, and the ranker says "you will have 523 comparisons".   The fourth one:  Sinner's Swing and Dirty Movies - IMPOSSIBLE! - and the sixth one, Blood And Fire and Little Guitars.  We'll see where they ultimately go, but all four have the potential to be Top 20 songs.  Not at this rate they don't!   HAHA.   This is not going to be easy.

I did not do every song. Not for Rush or the DT threads either. No way I could put myself through all of that. But the Ranker does give you fits. I ran the DT and Rush ones twice and adjusted from there.

For this one, I only ran it once and then made manual adjustments.  I went through each album and made nominations for the ranker. I think I only had like 56 songs to go through.

[Stadler]

Don't answer if you want to hold it for the reveal, but how did you deal with the intros and snippets?  I feel like the bottom 20 is going to be just 0:40 soundscapes and Van Halen III.   

[TAC]

Don't answer if you want to hold it for the reveal, but how did you deal with the intros and snippets?  I feel like the bottom 20 is going to be just 0:40 soundscapes and Van Halen III.

I didn't include them. Come to think of it, I didn't even include Eruption. I should've made an exception for that I guess.

I also think Intruder is really cool, as is Sunday Afternoon In The Park, but they are not Top 50 material. Like I said, I really just nominated enough songs to cover the top 50. I wasn't beating my head against a wall to figure out if a song should be #110 or #118.

[devieira73]

Don't answer if you want to hold it for the reveal, but how did you deal with the intros and snippets?  I feel like the bottom 20 is going to be just 0:40 soundscapes and Van Halen III.

I didn't include them. Come to think of it, I didn't even include Eruption. I should've made an exception for that I guess.

I also think Intruder is really cool, as is Sunday Afternoon In The Park, but they are not Top 50 material. Like I said, I really just nominated enough songs to cover the top 50. I wasn't beating my head against a wall to figure out if a song should be #110 or #118.

All of that, except that I think VHIII has 33:07 minutes that are really good.

[TAC]

Don't answer if you want to hold it for the reveal, but how did you deal with the intros and snippets?  I feel like the bottom 20 is going to be just 0:40 soundscapes and Van Halen III.

I didn't include them. Come to think of it, I didn't even include Eruption. I should've made an exception for that I guess.

I also think Intruder is really cool, as is Sunday Afternoon In The Park, but they are not Top 50 material. Like I said, I really just nominated enough songs to cover the top 50. I wasn't beating my head against a wall to figure out if a song should be #110 or #118.

All of that, except that I think VHIII has 33:07 minutes that are really good.

I think that's the half hour between when the producer pushed record and the band finally realized they should start playing.

[Stadler]

Don't answer if you want to hold it for the reveal, but how did you deal with the intros and snippets?  I feel like the bottom 20 is going to be just 0:40 soundscapes and Van Halen III.

I didn't include them. Come to think of it, I didn't even include Eruption. I should've made an exception for that I guess.

I also think Intruder is really cool, as is Sunday Afternoon In The Park, but they are not Top 50 material. Like I said, I really just nominated enough songs to cover the top 50. I wasn't beating my head against a wall to figure out if a song should be #110 or #118.

All of that, except that I think VHIII has 33:07 minutes that are really good.

I think that's the half hour between when the producer pushed record and the band finally realized they should start playing.

Or the half hour after the album finishes where you sit in complete silence wondering where the hell the past hour went and can you ever get it back?

[devieira73]

Kev, I'll send my list closer to the deadline, just to make sure if half of VHIII will be in it... 
In fact now I'm hearing better the SH era to make sure what songs will make the list. But it's taking shape as 30 from DLR era, 18 from SH and 2 from GC. When I make this kind of list, as a personal criteria, I like to consider also a fair proportion between the albums and eras that I like more, besides rating the songs individually. Listening to VH discography, it really confirmed that my favorite album is ADKOT (I know this is FAR MORE controversial than liking half of VHIII...) and, from SH era, is Balance. Interesting that those albums were made apparently when the band was more dysfunctional than ever.

[Deadeye21]

I have heard tell of a way to get your hour back from listening to VHIII, but no man has ever dared to try it. It is said that the cure is much worse than the disease in this case, and even the mere mention of it could drive a man i n s a n e.

But my brain don’t work proper, so, it didn’t work so goodly on me

[Stadler]

Given that I made some manual changes, was satisfied, and submitted to Kev, as I went back and counted singers and albums, I'm already dissatisfied!  So many good songs got left off the final list...

In any event...

Roth:       36
Hagar:     13
Cherone: 1

VH I: 10
VH II: 8
WACF: 1
FW: 5
Diver Down: 4
1984: 3
5150: 3
OU812: 3
Carnal: 3
Balance: 4
GHits: 1
VH 3: 1
ADKOT: 4

[TAC]

I know which WACF song you picked, and it's likely just as high on my list, but you are severely underrating the rest of that album.

[Dream Team]

So full confession I had never heard Balance and had largely forgotten the one before it except the singles. After listening to both of those I can see a few songs making the cut. Some sick playing by Eddie.

[Stadler]

I know which WACF song you picked, and it's likely just as high on my list, but you are severely underrating the rest of that album.

Even I feel like I agree with you.  I have two other songs that could have been in the Top 50 but I couldn't readily pick something to move down.  Maybe something from I or II, but those records are just SO friggin' good. 

[TAC]

I know which WACF song you picked, and it's likely just as high on my list, but you are severely underrating the rest of that album.

Even I feel like I agree with you.  I have two other songs that could have been in the Top 50 but I couldn't readily pick something to move down.  Maybe something from I or II, but those records are just SO friggin' good.

That was their current album when I became a fan. If I recall, I believe my 8-track edited out the ending of Take Your Whiskey Home.

Take a song like Loss Of Control....the band is on fire on that. It's ferocious. Probably not making anyone else's list though.

[KevShmev]

Kev, I'll send my list closer to the deadline, just to make sure if half of VHIII will be in it... 
In fact now I'm hearing better the SH era to make sure what songs will make the list. But it's taking shape as 30 from DLR era, 18 from SH and 2 from GC. When I make this kind of list, as a personal criteria, I like to consider also a fair proportion between the albums and eras that I like more, besides rating the songs individually. Listening to VH discography, it really confirmed that my favorite album is ADKOT (I know this is FAR MORE controversial than liking half of VHIII...) and, from SH era, is Balance. Interesting that those albums were made apparently when the band was more dysfunctional than ever.

See, I am the opposite. I pick the songs I like the most and let the chips fall where they may.  They usually end up to where I think, "Okay, yeah, my favorite albums have the most and least favorites the least," but sometimes I get surprised and end up thinking that maybe I like an album more or less than I thought.  And then of course sometimes the whole is greater than the sum, especially with concept albums where there may be a bunch of songs that are not top shelf ones when isolated on their own, but are great within the context of the record, but that is not really a VH thing, is it?

[KevShmev]

I know which WACF song you picked, and it's likely just as high on my list, but you are severely underrating the rest of that album.

Even I feel like I agree with you.  I have two other songs that could have been in the Top 50 but I couldn't readily pick something to move down.  Maybe something from I or II, but those records are just SO friggin' good.

That was their current album when I became a fan. If I recall, I believe my 8-track edited out the ending of Take Your Whiskey Home.

Take a song like Loss Of Control....the band is on fire on that. It's ferocious. Probably not making anyone else's list though.

As much as I like W&CF, its representation isn't great on my top 50 either.  Feels like an album full of a bunch of 8s and a few 7s, while almost every other album has at least a handful or 9s and 10s.

[The Realm]

OK, I have submitted my list (well I think I have anyway) - sorry Kev for stuffing it up.

My song representations:

Roth: 33
Hagar: 17

Albums:

VH: 10
VHII: 7
WaCF: 3
FW: 4
DD: 1
1984: 6
5150: 7
OU812: 2
Carnal: 6
Balance: 2
ADKoT: 2

[Deadeye21]

Take a song like Loss Of Control....the band is on fire on that. It's ferocious. Probably not making anyone else's list though.

You’d be mistaken if you think no one has Loss of Control.

[KevShmev]

9 lists entered into the spread sheet thus far, and we are already down to just two songs that have made all of them.