Van Halen - A Different Kind of Truth

Ok, just got my copy. I pre-ordered and hoped they'd ship it in time to arrive on the release date, oh well. I didn't listen to any of the samples cause I wanted to hear the album complete. I did however read this entire thread. First impression is I like it, a lot. The base is way more forward than previous albums and the drums are further back. The songs are good and yes it is classic VH only 30 years later. So far first run I like them all. Stay Frosty is really freakin cool. Did you hear Eddie tearing it up a' la Spanish Fly meets Ice Cream Man. Eddie's tone is a cross between II and 3. I was hoping his rythem work would come straight out of 78, but that's a bit much to hope for given he now has a corp. custom rig and years of late nights ringing in his head. The VH swagger is all over the place, that fella can tear it up.....Welcome to China Town. Dave is right on time with his usual vocal performance. I'm happy and think it is a killer album. I'll reserve further comments until I've had time to digest this truth.

So at the risk of sounding totally green...all these years of being into rock and metal, I've never really gotten into Van Halen. I love Kiss, Ratt, etc.....so I'm sure I would dig VH, but have just never really checked them out beyond the hits. Where should I start?

JaguarBlaze wrote:

So at the risk of sounding totally green...all these years of being into rock and metal, I've never really gotten into Van Halen. I love Kiss, Ratt, etc.....so I'm sure I would dig VH, but have just never really checked them out beyond the hits. Where should I start?

My advice would be to start with the S/T.

tohostudios wrote:

JaguarBlaze wrote:

So at the risk of sounding totally green...all these years of being into rock and metal, I've never really gotten into Van Halen. I love Kiss, Ratt, etc.....so I'm sure I would dig VH, but have just never really checked them out beyond the hits. Where should I start?

My advice would be to start with the S/T.

yeppers

JaguarBlaze wrote:

So at the risk of sounding totally green...all these years of being into rock and metal, I've never really gotten into Van Halen. I love Kiss, Ratt, etc.....so I'm sure I would dig VH, but have just never really checked them out beyond the hits. Where should I start?

At the beginning and keep going chronologically. Skip 'Balance' and 'III'.

JaguarBlaze wrote:

So at the risk of sounding totally green...all these years of being into rock and metal, I've never really gotten into Van Halen. I love Kiss, Ratt, etc.....so I'm sure I would dig VH, but have just never really checked them out beyond the hits. Where should I start?

Dude, I bought my first AC/DC album two years ago. I bought my first Motorhead album last year. I've never owned or heard a Thin Lizzy album.

Eh. It happens. Have no shame! Haha.

JaguarBlaze wrote:

So at the risk of sounding totally green...all these years of being into rock and metal, I've never really gotten into Van Halen. I love Kiss, Ratt, etc.....so I'm sure I would dig VH, but have just never really checked them out beyond the hits. Where should I start?

- Van Halen
- Van Halen II
- Women and Children First
- Fair Warning (If you were to get one album this should be it)
- Diver Down
- 1984
- 5150
- For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
- A Different Kind of Truth

All of those albums are excellent. Skip the rest.

Eyesore wrote:

JaguarBlaze wrote:

So at the risk of sounding totally green...all these years of being into rock and metal, I've never really gotten into Van Halen. I love Kiss, Ratt, etc.....so I'm sure I would dig VH, but have just never really checked them out beyond the hits. Where should I start?

Dude, I bought my first AC/DC album two years ago. I bought my first Motorhead album last year. I've never owned or heard a Thin Lizzy album.

Eh. It happens. Have no shame! Haha.

...just kidding, as I just got into Motorhead, Thin Lizzy and UFO in the last 2 years.

Eyesore wrote:

Better than anything on the new VH.

No way! Btw, this is not a personal attack on you Eyesore, but to me this song is average at best and completely forgettable. I thought the chorus was the pre-chorus. The song was about to explode into something exciting and memorable, but then it just kind of fizzled out right back into that semi boring riff. If this is as good as Chickenfoot III gets, then it's really not worth exploring further.


Van Halen SMASH Chickenfoot! I mean really. Van Halen with DLR sound so loose. They've delivered an energizing set of songs with flash and balls, and make it sound effortless.

In the end I'm sure we'll all have to agree to disagree. Before it was Van Halen vs Van Hagar. Now, I guess, it will be new Van Halen vs Chickenfoot. But it's really no contast imo. Van Halen smote dat Chickenfoot ass!

Havent read the whole thread, but someone's got an update just how much of the album is reworked old previously unused material?

stpatrik wrote:

Havent read the whole thread, but someone's got an update just how much of the album is reworked old previously unused material?

Looks like about 2/3 of it....at least...maybe more. But, as has been stated many times in this thread, all VH albums are written this way.

Regarding Chickenfoot.....they fail to live up to expectations and it's memebers should go back and do what they do better. 1)write good instrumental albums 2)play drums in the Peppers 3)not do much of anything besides whatever the other members in whatever band I am in tell me to do. and 4)badmouth the last band I fronted and try to drum up publicity for my current one by offering an opinion that nobody agrees with.

All you kiddiez listen to your elders

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

stpatrik wrote:

Havent read the whole thread, but someone's got an update just how much of the album is reworked old previously unused material?

Looks like about 2/3 of it....at least...maybe more. But, as has been stated many times in this thread, all VH albums are written this way.

Thanks. Yeah, thats cool; after all, who cares as long as its good stuff? If its good it should be released anyways. But I was curious, because Sammy went on record saying this about the new VH: "I think they chose to take the easy route and take some of their old stuff and and re-record it instead of writing new songs." Plus "To me, it makes a strange statement, it kind of says, 'We don't have anything, we're not a band anymore, we're not creative.'"

Granted, Sammy's been talking so much about VH it seems he has issues. Still the above is interesting as it gives the idea that indeed the albums Sammy were on were not made up by a major portion of ideas off of old demos. Did Eddie change ways of songwriting with Sammy on board? Obviously the music was different, but the use of ideas I mean.

Here's the article: http://www.radiometal.com/en/article/chickenfoot-the-red-rocker%E2%80%99s-explosive-cocktail,56414

stpatrik wrote:

Havent read the whole thread, but someone's got an update just how much of the album is reworked old previously unused material?

If Dave can be believed, it's all old material.

stpatrik wrote:

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

stpatrik wrote:

Havent read the whole thread, but someone's got an update just how much of the album is reworked old previously unused material?

Looks like about 2/3 of it....at least...maybe more. But, as has been stated many times in this thread, all VH albums are written this way.

Thanks. Yeah, thats cool; after all, who cares as long as its good stuff? If its good it should be released anyways. But I was curious, because Sammy went on record saying this about the new VH: "I think they chose to take the easy route and take some of their old stuff and and re-record it instead of writing new songs." Plus "To me, it makes a strange statement, it kind of says, 'We don't have anything, we're not a band anymore, we're not creative.'"

Granted, Sammy's been talking so much about VH it seems he has issues. Still the above is interesting as it gives the idea that indeed the albums Sammy were on were not made up by a major portion of ideas off of old demos. Did Eddie change ways of songwriting with Sammy on board? Obviously the music was different, but the use of ideas I mean.

Here's the article: http://www.radiometal.com/en/article/chickenfoot-the-red-rocker%E2%80%99s-explosive-cocktail,56414

Yeah, but they wrote that way w/ Sammy too. EVH & AVH are always writing/demoing. Now, granted, with Sammy maybe they were using newer tapes, but they still were never a band that all 4 stood in a room and wrote new songs from the ground up for a new album...they always went to the tapes. Sammy has even said in the past he would arrange the parts & write lyrics to the music EVH & AVH put together.

stpatrik wrote:

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

stpatrik wrote:

Havent read the whole thread, but someone's got an update just how much of the album is reworked old previously unused material?

Looks like about 2/3 of it....at least...maybe more. But, as has been stated many times in this thread, all VH albums are written this way.

Thanks. Yeah, thats cool; after all, who cares as long as its good stuff? If its good it should be released anyways. But I was curious, because Sammy went on record saying this about the new VH: "I think they chose to take the easy route and take some of their old stuff and and re-record it instead of writing new songs." Plus "To me, it makes a strange statement, it kind of says, 'We don't have anything, we're not a band anymore, we're not creative.'"

Granted, Sammy's been talking so much about VH it seems he has issues. Still the above is interesting as it gives the idea that indeed the albums Sammy were on were not made up by a major portion of ideas off of old demos. Did Eddie change ways of songwriting with Sammy on board? Obviously the music was different, but the use of ideas I mean.

Here's the article: http://www.radiometal.com/en/article/chickenfoot-the-red-rocker%E2%80%99s-explosive-cocktail,56414

I am a Hagar fan but in this case he is full of crap, in many interviews he has stated Eddie Van Halen has a seemingly endless supply of tapes with riffs, half ass ideas, etc, that would be the basis of what they would craft songs out of. I am sure alot of the ideas on some of those Hagar era tunes may have been ideas that started during DLR era, and it was at that time Hagar's job to turn these riffs into songs, like DLR does now in the band.

I like the new VH a lot. The only flaw (imo) is most of the lyrics (although there is a few remnants of the old Roth charm). The Music is great and I also have no problem with Dave's singing either (although a tad rusty)...

That's the only credit i'll give to Chickenfoot. Sammy's lyrics are better. I feel like Satriani is holding back way too much compared to what Eddie displayed on the new VH album. And for me the guitars are always where it's at.

Troublezone wrote:

I like the new VH a lot. The only flaw (imo) is most of the lyrics (although there is a few remnants of the old Roth charm). The Music is great and I also have no problem with Dave's singing either (although a tad rusty)...

That's the only credit i'll give to Chickenfoot. Sammy's lyrics are better. I feel like Satriani is holding back way too much compared to what Eddie displayed on the new VH album. And for me the guitars are always where it's at.

Let's face it to TZ, neither Hagar or Roth are the Bob Dylans of the metal world, the difference is Roth's personality is so huge, then he can sell just about any song no matter how ridiculous the lyrical content maybe.

I think it's funny that for years fans talked so much trash about Van Halen. Now, after years and years of waiting, Van Halen finally put out a new album—which is quite good—and there seems to have been a call to arms. Fans are ready to battle! Haha.

Eyesore wrote:

I think it's funny that for years fans talked so much trash about Van Halen. Now, after years and years of waiting, Van Halen finally put out a new album—which is quite good—and there seems to have been a call to arms. Fans are ready to battle! Haha.

There is truth to that. VH have a very loyal fanbase. I imagine everyone had their fingers crossed that they wouldn't repeat the VH III mishap.

Such a loyal fanbase that many refuse to acknowledge a large part of their discography

Dave's personality is the real difference between the two eras, he has the ability to "SELL IT" like few others in the hard rock world, it adds a sense of abandon and recklessness to the proceedings...and I think that attitude inspires the band to greater heights. That rooster-sure swagger is only present when DLR is fronting the band.

...when Hagar is on vocals it just doesn't work for me at all. When Dave is behind the wheel it's a badass muscle car...with Hagar it's a Volvo station wagon.

S.D. wrote:

Dave's personality is the real difference between the two eras, he has the ability to "SELL IT" like few others in the hard rock world, it adds a sense of abandon and recklessness to the proceedings...and I think that attitude inspires the band to greater heights. That rooster-sure swagger is only present when DLR is fronting the band.

...when Hagar is on vocals it just doesn't work for me at all. When Dave is behind the wheel it's a badass muscle car...with Hagar it's a Volvo station wagon.

S.D. wrote:

...when Hagar is on vocals it just doesn't work for me at all. When Dave is behind the wheel it's a badass muscle car...with Hagar it's a Volvo station wagon.

Souped up a little....Come on, Sammy isn't that bad.

metalinmyveins wrote:

S.D. wrote:

...when Hagar is on vocals it just doesn't work for me at all. When Dave is behind the wheel it's a badass muscle car...with Hagar it's a Volvo station wagon.

Souped up a little....Come on, Sammy isn't that bad.

I didn't say he was bad, but it's a different ride entirely. That Volvo is a real safe ride, gets great gas mileage and won't frighten your children.

Dave might crash you into the wall at 130mph, but DAMN the ride is fun while it lasts.