Van Halen - A Different Kind of Truth

Btw, "I want to be your knight in shining pick-up truck" What a great line that only Diamond Dave could deliver! I love it!

metalinmyveins wrote:

thejokeriv wrote:

The last three post have nailed it - "extreme fanaticism" has NOTHING to do with people liking the album. I have seen (via FB posts and talking to people about it outside of HoM) that the general consensus is that A Different Kind Of Truth is a GREAT album. That's coming from VH fan boys, casual fans, fans of rock music in general, people that gave up on VH after Roth left and expected the album to suck, people that hated or thought Tattoo was weak, etc, etc.

Don't like it? Well, don't listen to it!!!! Want to post you don't like it? Go for it, just don't be a jerk about it. It's like when you are in a room and one person is not happy, so they decide to be a douche bag and make everyone else around them unhappy too. No need for it!!!!!

Hey, if someone doesn't like it, at least explain your reasons for not liking the album. I probably won't agree with their assessment for not liking the album, but I will at least respect them for a constructing a cogent argument for why this album does not live up to the Van Halen name...

Exactly - I have no issue with that at all!!!!! It's when you start throwing in personal attacks on people that like an album that I have a problem.

I'm glad to see so many people like Honeybabysweetiedoll! Love this tune, it has so much attitude. The riff sounds like a sci-fi varaiation on Rainbow's Gates of Babylon.

Eddie's guitar tone wants to kill your Mother.

S.D. wrote:

Eddie's guitar tone wants to kill your Mother.

That's one thing that stood out to me even on laptop speakers...Eddie's tone was insane!!

I guess if I just had to sit in a bedroom of my parents house and log in, click a mouse, and dowload audio and video clips of Van Halen. I never would understand how nostalgia actually works
to most of the fanboys. We had vinyl, cassettes, 8-tracks and reel to reels. Then we had to catch the bands tour when it came through town once a year. In most cases, the drive was hours away and us kids had to pool resources together to make it work. Learning to play songs with other musicians, listening to a car stereo while playing frisbee with friends or while having sex with your girlfriend at the river was making those songs an integral part of living life and having fun.

This is not to be arguementative or saying anyone's opinion in invalid. It is merely another perspective. Hopefully, it may make a younger person understand how different it was back then.

The samples did the album no justice, in my opinion. Even the 90-second samples—which should be enough time to get a good feel of a song or songs—failed to do the songs justice. I don't know why, but it's the truth. Most of these songs need to be heard as whole works to really "get."

I was just as surprised as others when people began to praise the album. I assumed it was nostalgia and fan-boy enthusiasm. It's not, though. This is a damn good album.

I will say, though, Dave's voice is the weak link here. It's lost a lot of character over the years, which isn't unexpected, but it is unfortunate.

Eyesore wrote:

I was just as surprised as others when people began to praise the album. I assumed it was nostalgia and fan-boy enthusiasm. It's not, though. This is a damn good album.

I have LOVED Van Halen since high school...Hagar is my fave, but I have a LOT of love for the DLR era. I even enjoyed the Cherone era.

I went in expecting to be disappointed with the album because, like you said, the samples were weak. Then I heard the whole thing on Spotify and was VERY surprised at how much I enjoyed it. It's really good. "Tattoo" is still the odd man out, but if it was later on in the album it would make more sense.

So, I guess you could call me a "fanboy" (I even had homemade "5150" Reeboks in high school made with red & black magic markers)...but after being disappointed initially, and not expecting much, my opinion changed when I heard the whole thing...it works well.

Just bought it!!!!!! I threw the case in the glovebox so I wouldn't let song names prejudice
me one way or another and let it play! I'm on song 9 and I'm liking what I hear!!!!!!!!

I won't say that is an untrue statement, Ken...but A LOT OF character...I don't think so.

It's still 100% Diamond Dave. The talking and delivery and lyrical playfullness. There are no yelps or signtaure grunts and groans...I think maybe 2 but he still sounds good, I think.

I think he's just doing that thing that a lot of aging rockers are doing and keeping it in his range. Dokken does it live now as have others I've seen.

I think DEF LEPPARD needs to take note of this album and realize a geezerly band can put out a kick ass album of balls out rocking tunes...it CAN be done.

Shiney wrote:

I won't say that is an untrue statement, Ken...but A LOT OF character...I don't think so.

It's still 100% Diamond Dave. The talking and delivery and lyrical playfullness. There are no yelps or signtaure grunts and groans...I think maybe 2 but he still sounds good, I think.

I think he's just doing that thing that a lot of aging rockers are doing and keeping it in his range. Dokken does it live now as have others I've seen.

I think DEF LEPPARD needs to take note of this album and realize a geezerly band can put out a kick ass album of balls out rocking tunes...it CAN be done.

Right, he sounds good. When I talk about character, I'm talking about those yelps and grunts and stuff. And his lower register is a bit lower now, which I think is less appealing. But again, still good.

And you can't really say these are old dudes putting out a rockin' album as if they wrote it today. These are old tunes. I'd like to hear what these cats could write today, from scratch.

I like Van Halen all eras of the band, but I loved the original DLR line up, it is the line up I grew up with and those songs served as the soundtrack to my misspent youth.

They were better singers, including his replacements Hagar and Cherone, but no one and I mean no one could match Roth in terms of being the ultimate frontman to the ultimate party band. When Roth walked out the door, IMO he took his humor and attitude with him. I loved '5150', and other Hagar albums but it was not the same for me.

I remember when the original line up did those two new tunes on the Greatest Hits album, I was excitied, the songs were killer and to me it sounded like Van Halen.

In all honestly if they had released an album of polka tunes, I would probably find some reason to love it, and when I finally saw Van Halen with DLR fronting the band in 2007, it was an excellent show, and had been waiting for the band to reunite with him.

Eyesore wrote:

And you can't really say these are old dudes putting out a rockin' album as if they wrote it today. These are old tunes. I'd like to hear what these cats could write today, from scratch.

Not all of the tunes are old. "As Is" and "Honeybabysweetiedoll" are apparently fresh compositions, maybe a couple others as well.

OK, being a big DLR-era fan and a major post-DLR detractor (I HATE VanHagar!), should I pick this up or not?

tohostudios wrote:

OK, being a big DLR-era fan and a major post-DLR detractor (I HATE VanHagar!), should I pick this up or not?

In a heartbeat. It's probably closest to "Fair Warning" in spirit.

S.D. wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

OK, being a big DLR-era fan and a major post-DLR detractor (I HATE VanHagar!), should I pick this up or not?

In a heartbeat. It's probably closest to "Fair Warning" in spirit.

Sold!

Just ordered it for less than $9 ppd.

tohostudios wrote:

S.D. wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

OK, being a big DLR-era fan and a major post-DLR detractor (I HATE VanHagar!), should I pick this up or not?

In a heartbeat. It's probably closest to "Fair Warning" in spirit.

Sold!

Get it!!!!! You won't regret it!!!!

I Just picked this up at Best Buy, along with the Metallica E.P! Life is good...

chewie wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

S.D. wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

OK, being a big DLR-era fan and a major post-DLR detractor (I HATE VanHagar!), should I pick this up or not?

In a heartbeat. It's probably closest to "Fair Warning" in spirit.

Sold!

Get it!!!!! You won't regret it!!!!

Thanks. Just ordered it. Cheap too.

Got the "regular" CD at WalMart ($11.88). Have only played a couple of tracks. Skipped over tattoo since we've all heard it. "She's The Woman" is excellent! Sounds like classic VH.

By the way, I have no preferance to the vocalist. I love both Sammy & Dave. 5150 is my all time favorite VH album followed by 1984. All eras are good to me!

Mike

S.D. wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

And you can't really say these are old dudes putting out a rockin' album as if they wrote it today. These are old tunes. I'd like to hear what these cats could write today, from scratch.

Not all of the tunes are old. "As Is" and "Honeybabysweetiedoll" are apparently fresh compositions, maybe a couple others as well.

Not according to Dave. He said they're all old songs, from like between '74 to '76.

And "As Is" has way too much "Hot for Teacher" in it, which suggests it's also old. And if "Honeybabysweetiedoll" is new, then it doesn't say much to me because I think that song is pretty turdly.

I read a different article that stated those songs were newer than the others.

...and Honeybabysweetiedoll is AWESOME. Come on Ken, you like EVERYTHING! How can you not like that tune?

S.D. wrote:

I read a different article that stated those songs were newer than the others.

...and Honeybabysweetiedoll is AWESOME. Come on Ken, you like EVERYTHING! How can you not like that tune?

I don't know. Haha. I definitely don't dig it, though.

Quote :

By the way, I have no preferance to the vocalist. I love both Sammy & Dave. 5150 is my all time favorite VH album followed by 1984. All eras are good to me!

I'm with you here.

Just got the deluxe version today. I like it better than both Chickenfoot records.