Van Halen III - OH NO GARY CHERONE!!!

ultmetal wrote:

Finally gave this one a good listen. It's not great, but it's not nearly as bad as people say it is. I honestly think that Gary's mature lyrics are just so different from the "reach down between my legs..." type of lyrics that band is known for that people just couldn't deal with it. There are actually a few decent songs on this album IMO.

I'll have to take your word for it. I heard it years ago as a new release and didn't like it then. Currently there are no plans to either purchase or hear this album ever, ever again.

All existing copies of this album should be gathered up, sealed in a lead container, put into a rocket and aimed at the sun.

hahahaha I don't know.... I wasn't crazy about this album but I didn't hate it. The song "Without You" was pretty good. There was some hit and miss songs on it but It wasn't all that bad and I dont even like Gary Cherone.

Listening to this CD tonight, it really is not that bad, the songwriting is not the best but I admire the fact that Van Halen was trying to stretch out beyond the party rock phase, but no one listens to Van Halen to ponder the deeper meaning and mysteries of life, if anything we listen to Van Halen to escape the b.s. of the real world.

I am not sure what direction this line up would have taken on their next album, I know that few tracks where recorded for the follow up Cherone led Van Halen album, when Cherone bolted, doubtful those songs will ever see the light of day.

I liked it the day it came out and I still like it, I wish they released the other half of the album but the leftover song 'That's Why I Love You' is good.

The only two stinkers on the album are 'Primary' & 'How Many Say I', this was more of an EVH solo album and I hate the riff to Ballot Or The Bullet b/c it's a detuned, rocked out version of the 'I Dream Of Jeannie' theme song. I do like the 6-string bass solo on 'Once'.

my biggest qualm from what I heard of the album was not the vocals, It just sounded like any other VH album just a diff singer nothing special IMO

Quote :

my biggest qualm from what I heard of the album was not the vocals

From what I remember, I didn't have a problem with the vocals either. I'm not a fan of Extreme or Cherone, but I think he's a good singer. He just had lack luster material to work with. The same could be said with the Blaze-era Maiden. Which I'd also fire towards the sun.

My problem with the vocals on this album is that they made ( or maybe the material called for ) Gary Cherone to ape Sammy Hagar in phrashing and vocal style, it makes me wonder why they fired Hagar in the first place.

Just from what i heard you can tell it was VH and the guitars sounded like they were pulled from different tracks and rearranged or something

As many said, I think the lyrics deterred people. Wasn't really that bad.

I heard a handful of songs from this album years after it was released. Not terrible but not very good. "Without You" sounds like Extreme.

I tried this album many times because I liked Extreme and I liked VH after DLR was out so I figured it was going to be a good meld of two good bands. I felt like a few of the songs were close to being actually really good, but they were missing something. I think this album was a victim of poor material, if VH had continued on with Garry Cherone I do think they would have found a fan base. In the end one of the biggest draws that they have is still part of the band Eddie is still in the band. They would have had to come up with a better album to follow this and Van Halen/ Van Hagar fans would have to realize that the Van Halen they know no longer existed it would have been a different band with the same name.

never heard it and I'm a big VH fan.

it's funny, because I tried to listen to this album *because* it didn't have the horny lyrics...and why is it people think there are only somber 'too serious' lyrics and then suddenly the only other kind are 'fun' lyrics? anyway..Gary Cherone's...nuances, I guess, in his voice, irritate me, much like Roth does. Overall I prefer his voice to Roth and he also did a great job on the live stuff and old stuff...stage presence aside that is. But he kept lapsing into this weird funk thing from Extreme that just made me kind of go 'ugh'. Musically this is a fairly interesting album. It isn't completely puke worthy or anything, but it's just kind of there most of the time, overall. I remember at the time EVH saying Cherone was his musical soul mate, and VHIII is the truest, most honest representation of who he is as a musician, and all of this gacky just-got-sober stuff. Who knows what's going on now.

Fat Freddy wrote:

I heard it once or twice years ago. Didn't do a darn thing for me. I felt kinda bad for Gary Cherone after all the backlash to that album, cuz I met him years ago while he was still in Extreme and he was a heckuva nice guy. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Mega ultra necro thread bump....
I finally bought a used copy of Van Halen III this past weekend to finish out their discography. Gave it a listen while walking my dog last night and ... (shrugs) meh.

My first-spin (in a very long time) impression: I was honestly expecting much worse. It's not a particularly good album, but it's not particularly bad either...its greatest sin is that it's dreadfully DULL.  

As it happens, I just finished reading Sammy Hagar's autobiography (Red), and he sez he and Cherone became friends after Gary's VH tenure came to an end.

According to what he heard from Gary, VH III was pretty much Eddie's solo album. Gary had little to no input into the making of the album -- Ed control-freaked his way thru the entire project and basically told Gary where to sit, where to stand, when to pee, and exactly how to sing everything.

I'll hang onto the CD (for now at least) since my VH collection is now complete with it, but I certainly don't think it's going to get much better on further listens.

Fat Freddy wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

I heard it once or twice years ago. Didn't do a darn thing for me. I felt kinda bad for Gary Cherone after all the backlash to that album, cuz I met him years ago while he was still in Extreme and he was a heckuva nice guy. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Mega ultra necro thread bump....
I finally bought a used copy of Van Halen III this past weekend to finish out their discography. Gave it a listen while walking my dog last night and ... (shrugs) meh.

My first-spin (in a very long time) impression: I was honestly expecting much worse. It's not a particularly good album, but it's not particularly bad either...its greatest sin is that it's dreadfully DULL.  

As it happens, I just finished reading Sammy Hagar's autobiography (Red), and he sez he and Cherone became friends after Gary's VH tenure came to an end.

According to what he heard from Gary, VH III was pretty much Eddie's solo album. Gary had little to no input into the making of the album -- Ed control-freaked his way thru the entire project and basically told Gary where to sit, where to stand, when to pee, and exactly how to sing everything.

I'll hang onto the CD (for now at least) since my VH collection is now complete with it, but I certainly don't think it's going to get much better on further listens.

Yup! Not a single memorable song or even riff or solo can be found on VHIII. Even the slog that was OU812 had its moments.

I had honestly never cared for Cherone. I mean, I like Extreme a lot, but his vocals bore me in either band.

How Many Say I is the weirdest, most absurd thing Ed has ever done (and thankfully sang).

I enjoy the songs Without You, Fire in the Hole, and Ballot or the Bullet. However, the problem is that the production makes it sound like it was recoreded in an echo chamber or something (see From Afar or Dirty Water Dog or A Year to the Day for examples of what I mean), with Fire in the Hole being the only "live" sounding song.

Very true about the production. I never understood why Ed went with Mike Post--a veteran TV theme producer with some music credits for Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers. WTF, right? Then again, Ed had a weird knack for choosing odd (or once choosing nobody) hands-off producers after 1984. Even Fairbarn felt a little corporate a name. Ted did a decent job at keeping them in shape musically and Ed gradually desired more control. The Templeman albums maintained a general shape and direction; everything after was all over the map. Ed wanted to be more of a songwriter, I think, than some jam band virtuoso. Oh yeah, bad taxes, drugs, alcohol, becoming a parent, marital voids--that stuff comes into play as well.

I have this theory that if Ed were to have released one more album under the VH moniker (lead singer doesn't matter) sometime after III, maybe after he and Val split, he would've had a collective akin to Neil Young's "Ditch Trilogy." It was a dark time, man. A dark time.

corplhicks wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

I heard it once or twice years ago. Didn't do a darn thing for me. I felt kinda bad for Gary Cherone after all the backlash to that album, cuz I met him years ago while he was still in Extreme and he was a heckuva nice guy. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Mega ultra necro thread bump....
I finally bought a used copy of Van Halen III this past weekend to finish out their discography. Gave it a listen while walking my dog last night and ... (shrugs) meh.

My first-spin (in a very long time) impression: I was honestly expecting much worse. It's not a particularly good album, but it's not particularly bad either...its greatest sin is that it's dreadfully DULL.  

As it happens, I just finished reading Sammy Hagar's autobiography (Red), and he sez he and Cherone became friends after Gary's VH tenure came to an end.

According to what he heard from Gary, VH III was pretty much Eddie's solo album. Gary had little to no input into the making of the album -- Ed control-freaked his way thru the entire project and basically told Gary where to sit, where to stand, when to pee, and exactly how to sing everything.

I'll hang onto the CD (for now at least) since my VH collection is now complete with it, but I certainly don't think it's going to get much better on further listens.

Yup! Not a single memorable song or even riff or solo can be found on VHIII. Even the slog that was OU812 had its moments.

I had honestly never cared for Cherone. I mean, I like Extreme a lot, but his vocals bore me in either band.

How Many Say I is the weirdest, most absurd thing Ed has ever done (and thankfully sang).

Nothing great on VHIII, but it's an album best taken in very small doses. I tend to listen to my collection on shuffle, so I get a song here and there, and I don't mind it then. In small doses, the songs—some of them, anyway—come off much better.

As for Cherone, he's a phenomenal singer. In any band.

Eyesore wrote:

corplhicks wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

I heard it once or twice years ago. Didn't do a darn thing for me. I felt kinda bad for Gary Cherone after all the backlash to that album, cuz I met him years ago while he was still in Extreme and he was a heckuva nice guy. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Mega ultra necro thread bump....
I finally bought a used copy of Van Halen III this past weekend to finish out their discography. Gave it a listen while walking my dog last night and ... (shrugs) meh.

My first-spin (in a very long time) impression: I was honestly expecting much worse. It's not a particularly good album, but it's not particularly bad either...its greatest sin is that it's dreadfully DULL.  

As it happens, I just finished reading Sammy Hagar's autobiography (Red), and he sez he and Cherone became friends after Gary's VH tenure came to an end.

According to what he heard from Gary, VH III was pretty much Eddie's solo album. Gary had little to no input into the making of the album -- Ed control-freaked his way thru the entire project and basically told Gary where to sit, where to stand, when to pee, and exactly how to sing everything.

I'll hang onto the CD (for now at least) since my VH collection is now complete with it, but I certainly don't think it's going to get much better on further listens.

Yup! Not a single memorable song or even riff or solo can be found on VHIII. Even the slog that was OU812 had its moments.

I had honestly never cared for Cherone. I mean, I like Extreme a lot, but his vocals bore me in either band.

How Many Say I is the weirdest, most absurd thing Ed has ever done (and thankfully sang).

Nothing great on VHIII, but it's an album best taken in very small doses. I tend to listen to my collection on shuffle, so I get a song here and there, and I don't mind it then. In small doses, the songs—some of them, anyway—come off much better.

As for Cherone, he's a phenomenal singer. In any band.

Oh, no doubt about Cherone; dude's got major skill and was (is?) on the top of his game. Just that his voice doesn't pop out for me. I've never really been able to understand it. Some great vocalists don't really hit my radar the way they do others. Although I will echo what Manny said in that Cherone seemed to be reaching for a bit of Hagar-mimicry on III. But from the live clips I've seen he was also an outstanding frontman for the tour.

I may try and and digest the songs on III the way you suggest sometime. I've always been an album guy, start to finish, but maybe one random song a day, might get more mileage. Except How Many Say I. Not touching that turd again.

Cherone was a terrible mismatch for the vibe of a band like Van Halen. And his voice didn’t have the charisma of his predecessors. It’s like the guy that is singing in STP now. Sure he can sing, but he doesn’t have that magic chemistry to stand out.

They should have called this album Close But No Hagar.

Louder wrote:

They should have called this album Close But No Hagar.

Louder wrote:

They should have called this album Close But No Hagar.

I'm going to make a point of checking out a bootleg of the tour they did with Cherone just to hear how he sounded on the non-VH III material.

That album was terrible though. When I was putting together a VH comp earlier this year and hoping to get at least one song from every album, I couldn't find anything on this one worth including.