Was/is Van Halen really that great a rock band? I mean, these guys are responsible for "Jump".

[Tommy_Carcetti]

"Jump"--quite possible the worst synth-rock piece-o-craporama ever. And for all you DLR purists, DLR had his fingerprints all over over this stinker, so that's no excuse. There's no excuse for "Jump"--none.

"Jump" automatically discredits any argument for Van Halen as one of rock's greatest bands.

[azmouse]

1. They also recorded "Panama"

:puke:

I like the early albums of Van Halen but the last few weren't very good.

[NewJeffCT]

2. Their first two albums were excellent, their next two

had some very good songs like "And the Cradle Will Rock" and "Unchained", but were only okay overall...

Success obviously went to their heads, which led to their eventual demise.

[redqueen]

3. They're way overrated.

Not as overrated as Kiss, but still way overrated.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

4. It's all about context

Remember, when the first V.H. album was hitting the airwaves, disco was in its final round of death-rattles. Looking back now, there are a lot of campy, so-bad-it's-good aspects of disco that can be enjoyed in the same ways that an Ed Wood movie like "Plan Nine From Outer Space" can be enjoyed.

But at the time? The question on many lips was "When are we gonna hear some ROCK AND ROLL again?"

And when "Eruption / You Really Got Me" came blasting out of FM radio speakers all over the country and we didn't know who these guys were, we WANTED to know. The genius of that version...not counting the "Eruption" into itself...was the fact that the band played the song very, VERY close to the Kinks' original, just louder. I remember thinking "Wow, the Kinks never sounded THIS good..."

As Frank Zappa might have put it, they were just another band from L.A....what Van Halen really lacked was heart in place of ego. They had the determination to work the clubs, they had what it took to impress Gene Simmons of KISS to the point where he paid for their first demo tape...but they were in it to get high, to get laid, to be able to buy Porsches, and they got all of that.

Remember "Diver Down?" The album was something like 28 minutes long and half of it was cover versions. A band with heart, a band that gives a rat's ass about the fans, doesn't issue albums like that.

The Hagar thing was a marriage of convenience for both acts, a way to keep the cash flowing. Same thing for the Roth reunion. Big amps, no heart. And Eddie's kid on bass.

[MAGICBULLET]

9. Diver Down

is a great album!!

5 of the 12 songs are covers and all really good ones too. Maybe it could've done without 'Where Have All The Good times Gone?'. However, the way they introduce 'Pretty Woman' with that massive jam 'Intruder' is just as creative as any cover I've heard the band do...not to mention that in a mix it works perfectly when blended with 'Rebel Rebel' by Bowie. Believe me, DJs love bands like Van Halen b/c they keep people moving, which is what's great about their version of 'Dancin' in the Streets'
I agree with what Eddie said about it too -

"It takes almost as much time to make a cover song sound original as it does writing a song. I spent a lot of time arranging and playing synthesizer on 'Dancing in the Streets,' and they just wrote it off as, 'Oh, it's just like the original.' So forget the critics! These are good songs. Why shouldn't we redo them for the new generation of people?'

[SoxFan]

10. "Wow, the Kinks never sounded THIS good..."

You've never heard the Kinks play live.

Every bit as loud as Van Halen.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

11. Yes, I found that out later...

...but at the time, my only frame of reference was the original "You Really Got Me" chirping out of the crappy little AM radio speakers of my youth.

:toast:

[FKA MNChimpH8R]

28. The Kinks killed in concert!

Saw 'em back in the late 1970s with the old Argent rhythm section of Jim Rodford (bass) and the woefully under-appreciated Rob Henrit on drums. They were fabulous, and they were loud! Ray is one of rock's great showmen.

[SoxFan]

36. Saw them in 1983

Caught them at the Worcester Centrum when they were touring in support of "State of Confusion". It was the R. Davies/D.Davies/Rodford/Gibbons/Avery lineup.

Ray was a remarkable frontman, shifting from proto metal berserker to music hall comic and back again as though it were the most natural thing in the world. He even brough new charm to the uber-creepy child molester song "Art Lover".

[old mark]

5. Eddy is THE power behind the band - he dictates every note played

by to bassist and drummer.
He is also a very egtistical, nasty guy, not unlike Axl Rose.

He is a talented guitarist, but a lousy person.
They did a few decent things on some of their later albums, but not many.
mark

[Fire Walk With Me]

6. We find these truths to be self-evident..

[Sebastian Doyle]

7. First four albums were perfect.

5th album had too many covers, but they were well done, and the originals more than made up for it. 6th album was great despite the flaming synth pop turds "Jump" and "I'll Wait".

But even those songs were better than anything the tequila salesman ever came up with. Like this sorry assed Hallmark card plagiarized piece of shit......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNtTtj3QeUo

I mean, when Eddie's not even playing guitar on the goddamn song, can you even call it "Van Halen"??

[ColbertWatcher]

27. I have to agree.

Even though Diamond Dave turned into a Diamond Douche, nothing beats Van Halen I.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzB-3oKIfRw

[MAGICBULLET]

8. I love early Van Halen

Runnin With the Devil is amazing...and yes they are a very great rock band.

It's amazing what people consider to be catchy music made by talented musicians because most of the times the least cerebral music makes for the most enjoyable. Like Rush, they are talented but horrible to me and really make me sleepy, but go figure so many people love it. I can't say I can give them credit for any real songwriting skill, just technical prog-rock that is very easily forgotten.
Van Halen never pretends to be deep or poignant. They're like a lounge rock party band and they serve their purpose.

[Zavulon]

12. Couldn't agree more with the OP.

"Jump" was one of the worst songs ever written, and Van Halen should at least spend some time in Purgatory for it. Hagar, too, since he performed that shit on stage.

[originalpckelly]

13. Considering I love that song...

I tend to disagree with you.

[baby_mouse]

34. Me too! Although the lyrics can also be read another way.

[quakerboy]

14. No.

I saw them last year. No. A thousand times no.

[originalpckelly]

16. They suck ass now, but they were great back in the day...

Now it's really more about the fans getting to see their old favorites and hear those songs blaring over the loudspeakers. I saw Roth and Hagar when they did their little tour together, Hagar was much better. I don't even know how Roth can get on a stage anymore and charge for it.

[quakerboy]

21. I have my doubts

Music is music. Its not just the presentation, their music itself is not enjoyable. IMO

[Sebastian Doyle]

23. I thought they were great last year. Exactly one year ago tonight, in fact

Worst goddamn weather in years. Worst flooding in this state in the goddamn century. But NOTHING was gonna keep me from seeing a concert I'd waited 23 goddamn years to see. And while the ticket price sucked, (like all concert ticket prices have sucked since Fear Channel monopolized concert promotions) it was well worth everything else I had to go through to get there. And I'd do it again.

Now if they'd just make a damn record already........

[quakerboy]

24. Wierd

Im glad someone enjoyed it. I saw them in Portland. I was a bit wierded out by the kid on the stage, the fact they still dress as if they were 20, and a number of other things

[Sebastian Doyle]

25. Wolfie on stage did seem out of place.

Especially when you actually thought about the fact that he wasn't even BORN the last time they toured together. But he sounded alright from where I was, which was pretty much front and center. Not in the front row, but just a few back.

I wish Eddie would get over his problems with Mike Sobolewski like he did his problems with Dave, but as bass playing goes, Mike wasn't exactly John Entwistle or Jaco Pastorius. It was his backing vocals that were his best contribution to the band, and even those were essentially a creation of Ted Templeman in the studio.

I'd really like to see Mike and Ted back on board when they make a record, but after the last 24 years, I've learned not to hold my breath with this band.

[baby_mouse]

35. "Might as well jump". Bit ambiguous, really, isn't it? When you think about it.

Not, perhaps, as optimistic as on initial appearance.

[pokerfan]

15. They can't all be gems

1978 Van Halen 10x Multi-Platinum
1979 Van Halen II 5x Multi-Platinum
1980 Women and Children First 3x Multi-Platinum
1981 Fair Warning 2x Multi-Platinum
1982 Diver Down 4x Multi-Platinum
1984 1984 10x Multi-Platinum
1986 5150 6x Multi-Platinum
1988 OU812 4x Multi-Platinum
1991 For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge 3x Multi-Platinum
1993 Live: Right Here, Right Now 2x Multi-Platinum
1995 Balance 3x Multi-Platinum
1998 Van Halen III Only went Gold

[ddeclue]

17. I liked all of their albums..

Eddie Van Halen has to be one of the best guitar gun-slingers of all time.

Favorite songs:

Dreams
How Do I Know When It's Love
Right Now
Jump

[InvisibleTouch]

18. It's not a bad song.

Not one of my favorites (I'm not really a VH fan), but not bad.

[jobycom]

19. Great band, Cool song.

Always the negative vibes, Moriarity.

[MrSlayer]

20. 1984 was the end of Van Halen.

Although the "Hot for Teacher" video was great.

I disagree that DLR was responsible for the horrendous change in sound. It was EVH who wanted to bring in the castrating keyboards. The prior releases varied from good to great.

[Sebastian Doyle]

22. Fuck the keyboard shit. THIS is what Van Halen was really all about!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJVDSsoM9II

[enigmatic]

26. Hate/Hated Them

I'll take Karl Precoda of The Dream Syndicate over Eddie Van Halen every day of the week..

[mitchum]

39. Now ya talkin'! Great guitarplayer

Wynn's a nice guy, but the Dream Syndicate became a different,and far inferior, band with his departure.
Precoda didn't even bother to answer when Wynn sent him a query a few years back about playing on the anniversary of "Days of Wine and Roses"
Because he is cool.

[Connonym]

29. I've seen them live 3 or 4 times and I love most of their music

I guess that makes me a dork or a dork with poor taste in music :shrug:

[FKA MNChimpH8R]

30. I was never a big fan

EVH was the first "virtuoso" guitarist who never seemed to put anything of himself into his soloing; it was all about showing off blind chops and impressing the chix. He did a pretty good job at the latter, managing to marry (and eventually alienate) the gorgeous Valerie Bertinelli, but his playing was ultimately about pyrotechnics rather than feeling. Eric Johnson could eat his lunch, smack his ass and call him Sally without breaking a sweat. I'm not even going to get in to the likes of Steve Howe, Robert Fripp or John McLaughlin, all of whom could kill EVH dead on the spot in terms of technique.

[MrSlayer]

32. I disagree. EVH is an innovator and plays with much feeling.

He's done shit that gives me gooseflesh. It's not only slow slides into incredibly tasteful notes that move.

[swag]

31. That is one suckass band

[Sebastian Doyle]

33. Ain't got no money, no house on the hill

tell me honey, will your lovin pay my bills?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvK0AA5QR_c

[DinahMoeHum]

37. They've never been the same since David Lee Roth left.

He may have been a sexist pig, but he was funny.

:evilfrown:

[JVS]

38. Van Halen is the name of a great guitar player, the bands forming around him have varied in quality.

[ACTION BASTARD]

40. Their best album was also their first. Every song was killer no filler

Everything after that...not so much.