Van Hagar to work to

[BootinUp]

Gotta work on a car, the yard, or house. Crank the Van Hagar and get her done.

[mr_lebowski]

1. That's probably my favorite Van Hagar song, actually ... and 5150 is a badass album, I don't care

what anyone says ... I think it's as good as any of the ones with DLR, excepting Van Halen, which stands on it's own.

It was all downhill after that, but 5150 features some of Eddie's VERY BEST friggin guitar work (the intro to this very song ... is killer), and every song is solid on it (though I'd be okay never hearing Dreams again).

I saw 'em on that tour, too

[Glamrock]

2. As god as any with DLR?

You just lost every bit of respect I ever had for you dude.

[mr_lebowski]

3. I said except VH, the first record ... obviously, that is their best work ...

But yeah ... as an entire album? First off, most of their pre-Hagar records are <30 mins, total. 5150 is more like 45 mins, iow, more like an actual, whole album, not a couple singles with some filler.

Diver Down & Fair Warning are slim, slim efforts, with only a few good songs (though the best, like Unchained, are very good). 1984 ... I honestly really only like Hot for Teacher, Panama, and Drop Dead Legs. Top Jimmy's okay.

Honestly, I'd probably go:
1) VH
2) VH2
3 (tie)) Women and Children First
3 (tie)) 5150

I can dig just hating the idea of Sammy as the singer, I much prefer DLR, but looking at the actual musical accomplishment of each album, I think 5150 ranks among their best. Eddie was damn inspired and came up with TONS of great licks for that disc.

No shit, if you love Van Halen, how the hell can you not love this song? Friggin' everything that made them great, AFAIC ... (best Alex performance EVER if you ask me ... he just destroys on this one)

[BootinUp]

4. Depends on my mood. VH was my favorite band growing up

Top Jimmy is my driving song, they wrote it for me.

[Glamrock]

6. No Boots

The Dude is just wrong on this one. Period!
(Just fucking with you Mr. lebowski. :hi

[mr_lebowski]

9. One of my best VH memories ...

It was 1979, I was living in Hong Kong.

Lot of times, records from the US could take a while to hit the HK record shops back then. The first VH album was one such record. However, there was available a tape in the shops that was sort of a K-Tel (remember them?) compilation called '100% Rock' ... it featured, among others 'Runnin' With The Devil' and 'Jamie's Cryin', along with, IIRC, 'Tush', and 'The Zoo', and some others.

Anyways, everyone I knew had that friggin' tape cause it was the only recording of new-ish hard rock hits you could get. I'm sure it was a total 'HK Pirate Tape' kinda deal, nothing legit that's for sure.

So, on a school camping trip out to LanTao Island, our whole class ... all the HKIS 7th graders ... got onboard the Ferry ... and me and a group of buddies quickly discovered that there was a table-top Galaga video game on the boat, and we all gathered round it with our HK$1 coins and started playing. I busted out my little Sanyo boom box and put it on the edge of the table, and cranked up 'Running With The Devil' ... and got the party started.

And I shit you not, we just sat there like a buncha girls and rewinded the tape and played that song over and over and over to pump us up for our Galaga game ... until finally, at about the 10th time probably, this like 70 year old British Man and his Wife, dressed like something outta a Sherlock Holmes movie, came up, and the dude asked us, in a very formal and polite, yet forceful, British tone "Pardon Me, but would you boys mind playing ... a DIFFERENT SONG?"

And we all laughed and from then on we stopped rewinding Running With The Devil and letting the rest of the tape actually play.

[Glamrock]

5. You know I'm just bustin your balls baby.

And I agree with what you said about some of those records. They were pretty "eh". My main problem with Van Haggar was the change in sound. It just didn't feel or sound like VH no Mo. Maybe it was the synth, or Sammy's voice, but it sounded like a whole different band to me.

Really Dave's Eat Em And Smile was one of the great "Van Halen" records. Picked up where '84 left off. And then he did Skyscraper. Blech. What a horrible horrible album.

[mr_lebowski]

7. See my addition of 5150 ... go back and listen to the title track again ... probably been awhile ...

You telling me ... that's really a 'change in sound' for them?

Yeah, different vocals, but that is ALL VH right there, man. That intro KILLS ...

[Glamrock]

8. Yeah, it's primarily the voice I think.

Dave was such a ham. And it came out in his vocals. To me, Van Halen was Dave's vaudeville, comedian, Louis Prima style accompanied by Eddie. I've always felt Dave was more Van Halen than either of the Van Halens. Which is why, IMO, Eat Em and Smile sounds more like a VH album than 5150. That's as clear as I can explain where I'm coming from. Plus, as you know, I'm a singer. That's always where my main focus is. And Sammy never had what Dave had. Maybe it was his ego, maybe it was the Louis Prima swing style he brought to Rock n Roll in the late 70's. But there was only one Diamond Dave. And, dare I say, there's been dozens of Sammy's. (You know what I mean. That's not meant as a slight towards Haggar. He's just never have the shine ya know)

But I will always respect you opinion brother. You do realize, yeah?

[mr_lebowski]

10. Oh, I get all you're saying, 100% brotha ...

Dave's 'camp' and OTT style was a HUGE part of VH's charm, no question.

And VH went downhill without him ... but I carve out 5150 as an exception. It's jarring, the difference, and you do kinda have to 'adjust your mindset' that the band is essentially changed, and not for the better, overall. Hagar's voice ... it's much more a generic, classic rock style.

But Eddie and Alex were on fire for that album, every song has a good hook, and overall, it's just a REALLY GOOD rock and roll record ... even if it doesn't entirely feel 'right' to call it Van Halen anymore.

I kinda felt they'd been slacking/coasting a bit since Women and Children, and with 5150, they came out swinging, with something to prove ... they were still a monster of a band, even without Roth. And I think they succeeded ... that *one* time

[Glamrock]

11. It's a shame.

The original VH was such an amazing group. I mean, goddamn! But it was bound to end. With the personality Dave had, there is no way, no way people could stand to be around him for life. But without that obnoxious personality, there's no Dave. Catch-22. Way I understand it, Steve Marriott was like that too.

Speaking of Dave, you heard his bluegrass thing? Awful. Just awful.