Van Halen?

[urinalcakemix]

I was wondering what our fellow forumers think about Van Halen, or Van Hagar. Opinions, comments, anything - just talk about Van Halen!

There one of meh favorite bands - but there like never mentioned here. SO.....

 

[v01c354nd51gn5]

...erruption is cool

 

[OfSinsAndShred]

VH is one of my favorite bands. I consider them the perfection of rock - loud, fast FUN. Eddie was one of the 3 guys that turned the world of rock guitar on its ass, so he's the man. Right now I've been listening to "Unchained" and "The One" like a madman. Fuck Hagar, btw.

I used to be able to play Eruption, but I haven't touched it in a while.

 

[Connauch]

fun rock, I dig it :cool

 

[urinalcakemix]

Wow - props to anyone who can pull Eruption off ... imagine saying you could play that 30 years ago....

 

[Zax666]

Right now I've been listening to "Unchained" and "The One" like a madman.

Unchained is megacool.

 

[Cyclopssss]

God, Van Halen!!! The band that turned me to hardrock. I bought the single 'Running with the devil' in 1979, and played it to death. 'You really got me' (Kinks cover) was on the B side and I loved that one as well. I bought the first VH album and it was everything I expected it to be....and More! The Atomic Punk! Jamie's Crying, On fire, all those classics. I played VHII untill it was litterally unplayable (vynil, remember those?) 'Somebody get me a doctoooooorrrr' Great stuff. They died a little when DLR left, I thought. Too bad Edward is going through health problems, he's one of my all time heroes.

 

[Pharaoh]

A lot of kids were turned on to talented musicians, and it was great, and Ed inspired MANY young guitarists. Yeah, I liked them......till Sammy came in. I only liked him in Montrose, but IMO, he just didn't fit in right with VH.

 

[Snowmaker]

They were good, ... for their time.

 

[Dado-x]

I have nothing good to say about them or Eddie, so I'll pass on this one.

 

[scanner313]

The Roth era was when they made all their good music. Once Sammy joined the band they became pop/rock, which is fine as long as you weren't a trend setting hard rock band first. If you were, it totally sucks!

 

[Gonfeldurok]

1984 rocks me hard.

I need to get another VH album though

 

[urinalcakemix]

Get their first one, then Women and children first.

 

[OdinsCourt]

One of my favorite bands of all time! I have all their stuff. Some of my favorite albums of all time are 5150, F.U.C.K., OU812, Van Halen, 1984, etc.

And I prefer Sammy over DLR as a singer any day. He crushes Diamond Dave on EVERY level - technically, emotional delivery, crowd interaction, personality, talent, etc. Dave is a flat out d***. I've seen Van Halen and then I've seen the Sammy/Dave co-headlined tour. And live (where it counts!) there is no contest. Dave has lost it. He's a jerk, he has no skills, he's burnt out, he couldn't remember the words, he couldn't sing (forget on key, it was just mumbling almost monotone) and that's that. Sammy on the other hand, is just "one of the crowd". He's a fan that sings for a living. He has a fun attitude, is talented, and it shows. He has a KILLER voice, and tears it up live!

I will admit that the music made in the Roth-era was more energetic, had more attitude, were generally better songs, and was more groundbreaking. However, you can't blame that on the singers. Van Halen has always been Eddie's band. By the time Hagar came around, Eddie wanted to be pop - he wanted a stable career and chart topers. He was older, and his priorities had changed. It happens to most every band - you can't be a bunch of angry kids defying the world forever!

Have you ever heard Sammy's solo stuff? Man, it smokes! He is almost as good a guitar player as Eddie (ever see VH live when Eddie did keys and Sammy did guitar?). DLR's solo stuff was hit or miss, but it was only hit because of Vai and Sheehan. Sammy is song writer; David is a leach.

Anyway, that was a bit of a ramble. I like Van Halen from both eras, and both have their pros & cons. However, if given a choice, I'd take Sammy. That guy is amazing. One of the best vocalists around!

 

[OfSinsAndShred]

Nice post, Odin's. It's nice to see someone intelligently defend Hagar. The man may be a better singer, but I can't stand the music that came out of that era, even if it was Eddie's doing. I'm a guitarst, so I'm always going to irrationally love old Ed.

What Van Halen song do you guys think my band should learn next? We learned "You Really Got Me" back when we had shitty members and couldn't learn anything else, , so now we're ready to take on the real VH. I was thinking Unchained, Hot For Teacher, or Panama.

 

[sincrawler]

Van Halen is great! I do prefer the Roth era musically. Eddie was/is one of my guitar idols. But I agree with OdinsCourt that Hagar is a better singer.

 

[SevenString]

of sins:

if you want coolness, i say do "light up the sky", "atomic punk", or "hot for teacher" as you suggested.

if you want women to go nuts, do "dance the night away"

 

[Dado-x]

Have you ever heard Sammy's solo stuff? Man, it smokes! He is almost as good a guitar player as Eddie

Sammy Haggar was and always will be a superior guitarist to EVH.

 

[Serge...]

VH is one of my favorite bands. I consider them the perfection of rock - loud, fast FUN. Eddie was one of the 3 guys that turned the world of rock guitar on its ass, so he's the man. Right now I've been listening to "Unchained" and "The One" like a madman. Fuck Hagar, btw.

I used to be able to play Eruption, but I haven't touched it in a while.

Who are the other 2?

 

[OfSinsAndShred]

Who are the other 2?

Hendrix and Yngwie. Just my opinion, and I'm not saying they're the best. I don't even like Hendrix. But those 3 were the ones who changed the way everyday people AND guitarists look at the instrument.

Sammy Haggar was and always will be a superior guitarist to EVH.

He might be a better player, but he's not as original, revolutionary, or FUN.