Van Halen - A Different Kind of Truth

Metal Misfit wrote:

I have a feeling this is going to cause some problems...

In other words, nothing has changed in the relationship between DLR and Eddie Van Halen!

Eddie has stated that being able to play in the band with his son was his main reason for going back out on the road and recording the album, so I don't see him being interested in a full-fledged reunion.

I was pleasantly surprised by A Different Kind Of Truth, if that ends up being the last Van Halen album I think they went out with a good one.

I heard the postponement was due to Eddies health and Dave's vocals not being able to take the grind. Maybe they should scale it down to only a few dates with good breaks in between. I tend to agree that if they aren't up to it they shouldn't do it. I know the money is made on the road, but hey at those prices I'd rather buy a blue ray of a good concert. I hope they do another album. Eddie has talked about having so much stuff on tape piled up in his studio through the years.

S.D. wrote:

Eddie has stated that being able to play in the band with his son was his main reason for going back out on the road and recording the album, so I don't see him being interested in a full-fledged reunion.

Valerie (ex-wife) confirmed that, too. She said that if Wolfie had not done it, there would be no Van Halen at all at this point. So, basically, it all hinges on Wolfie. If he decided he did not want to do it anymore, Ed would be done. He doesn't have to tour...he just wanted to play with his kid.

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

S.D. wrote:

Eddie has stated that being able to play in the band with his son was his main reason for going back out on the road and recording the album, so I don't see him being interested in a full-fledged reunion.

Valerie (ex-wife) confirmed that, too. She said that if Wolfie had not done it, there would be no Van Halen at all at this point. So, basically, it all hinges on Wolfie. If he decided he did not want to do it anymore, Ed would be done. He doesn't have to tour...he just wanted to play with his kid.

I think Roth was the only one that needed to tour. Remember when he got a job as an ambulence driver? If he was smart, he'd just keep his yap shut and ride it out for all it's worth. But we know he can't do that. It just wouldn't be Diamond Dave, would it?

It's hard to believe Dave can't live on his earnings.

Dark Horseman wrote:

It's hard to believe Dave can't live on his earnings.

He doesn't, his father is a well known dr in Cali, and those early pics you see of Van Halen in an empty mansion before they got famous or even signed was owned by DLR, which was a gift to him from his father.

He did the medical thing to follow the family tradition and he did it for a little awhile and he said he enjoyed it.

manny wrote:

Dark Horseman wrote:

It's hard to believe Dave can't live on his earnings.

He doesn't, his father is a well known dr in Cali, and those early pics you see of Van Halen in an empty mansion before they got famous or even signed was owned by DLR, which was a gift to him from his father.

He did the medical thing to follow the family tradition and he did it for a little awhile and he said he enjoyed it.

I've always got the impression that Dave lives beyond his means. He's got that "Anything worth doing is worth overdoing" attitude. Yea, he made tons of money, but I think he just as quickly spends a ton of it too.

I don't think this needs it's own thread so I'm putting it here.

Similiar to the ZZ Top box set, here is all 6 DLR-era albums in one bargain-priced box set. No bonus tracks or anything different. Probably just louder.

http://www.amazon.com/Studio-Albums-1978-1984-Van-Halen/dp/B00B125QRS/ref=pd_ys_ir_m_7

Not sure who this set would cater to, but it's coming soon if you need it.

I really want to get to the bottom of why the VH catalog hasn't received a proper treatment like every other rock band out there. And where the hell is our live Roth era album. Instead we get this tripe.

The remasters didn't even have bonus tracks, for God's sake.

Excellent reissues were recently released on HDtracks in high resolution format. 24bit/96khz. These were transferred directly from the original stereo master reels without any post-production tinkering or added compression in the mastering process.

It would be interesting to know if they used the same source for this upcoming CD release, though sadly I'm sure they will add compression for that format.

S.D. wrote:

Excellent reissues were recently released on HDtracks in high resolution format.  24bit/96khz.  These were transferred directly from the original stereo master reels without any post-production tinkering or added compression in the mastering process.  

It would be interesting to know if they used the same source for this upcoming CD release, though sadly I'm sure they will add compression for that format.  

Wow. Never heard of this site before. This is very cool. Some questions:

1. How much do I lose, if anything, if I burn to CD?

2. I keep hearing FLAC as being ideal, but are there benefits to the other 3 formats?

3. You noted 96khz but there are also 192khz albums available there. Is it worth the extra $7?

corplhicks wrote:

Wow. Never heard of this site before. This is very cool. Some questions:

1. How much do I lose, if anything, if I burn to CD?

2. I keep hearing FLAC as being ideal, but are there benefits to the other 3 formats?

3. You noted 96khz but there are also 192khz albums available there. Is it worth the extra $7?

1. CDs cannot handle 24bit files, you have to convert the HDtracks files down to 16bit, 44.1khz to burn them to a standard audio CD. The best way to get these into physical format is to either burn them to a DVD or blu-ray. 24bit audio has 250x the resolution of standard CDs.

2. Flac is fine, it's lossless compression so there are no sound quality issues. I use Apple Lossless (alac) which is essentially the same as flac it just works better in iTunes.

3. While being able to tell the difference between 16bit & 24bit is fairly easy, once you get into the higher sample rates it becomes much more dependent on what system you are listening on and how attuned your ears are. It's much more difficult to tell between 96khz & 192khz.

Also, check your hardware you are using to playback these files. My computer soundcard has a maximum output of 96khz using the analog output, so any files sampled higher are just downsampled automatically to 96khz. So for the time being it would be a waste for me to buy the 192khz files.

As an audophile-in-training, I thank you for this.

Zombie thread! Back from the dead! Urrrrrrgh....braaaaaiiiins....

Just sayin' that I picked up a second hand copy of A Different Kind of Truth earlier this week super cheap....threw it on for its first spin today, not expecting much from it to be honest.... and y'know what? It's pretty kickass. I'm on spin #3 so the tracks are just starting to "gel." I had been keeping my expectations low for this CD but I gotta say I'm pleasantly surprised.

I still enjoy this release and play it from time to time. Thanks Freddy for reminding me of it I think I will listen to it today.

Fat Freddy wrote:

Zombie thread! Back from the dead! Urrrrrrgh....braaaaaiiiins....

Just sayin' that I picked up a second hand copy of A Different Kind of Truth earlier this week super cheap....threw it on for its first spin today, not expecting much from it to be honest.... and y'know what? It's pretty kickass. I'm on spin #3 so the tracks are just starting to "gel." I had been keeping my expectations low for this CD but I gotta say I'm pleasantly surprised.

It's a good album. Not amazing, not their best, but definitely one that warrants repeated listens.

I loved it their best album since '1984', you know the last studio with DLR back in the day

I still spin it about as much as every other VH album, which is at least once a week. I have a few nitpicks, but not enough to get in the way of my enjoyment of the album. Dave could've toned down the spoken word bits (makes for a fun drinking game, however), the mix is a little cluttered, Alex's drums has a tad less character, and the whole album is too long and in need of trimming (I usually skip Tattoo and You and Your Blues; the latter sounds like a Hagar-era tune), and the packaging and title are rather generic. I'm kind of up in the air with Roth's lyrics--he sounds too "beatnik" here compared to the more colorful, thematic hipness of the old tunes. One thing I've noticed but not registered as a complaint is how wildly skilled and different Wolfie's playing is from Mike. Instead of sitting on and around the tonic, he's practically a virtuoso. It shows even more on the Tokyo Dome concert. So that changes the sound a bit from the traditional VH approach, but it's different in a good way.

Do I prefer to listen to the original demos rather than what's been retooled here? Absolutely. But DKoT still hits that sweet spot I'm so familiar with.

I think Wolfie might be a better bassist but I'm wondering how good Mikey woulda been had the VH's allowed him to be like I'm sure they allow Wolfie. I really like 'Tattoo' & 'You And Your Blues'. All in all a damn fine album.

corplhicks wrote:

the whole album is too long and in need of trimming

I think they knew that this might be a last hurrah, so I'm glad that they shoved as many songs as they could on there.


I still enjoy this album and its miles better than any Van Hagar album...................

akeldama wrote:

I think Wolfie might be a better bassist but I'm wondering how good Mikey woulda been had the VH's allowed him to be like I'm sure they allow Wolfie. I really like 'Tattoo' & 'You And Your Blues'. All in all a damn fine album.

I'd bet money EVH played the bass on the album...he played bass on a lot of the past albums.

Decided to spin this one again and I still think it’s a kick ass album. Listening now I can agree that EVH probably played bass on the album but wouldn’t surprise me if WVH did. How has this album aged for HOM?

I find it mostly meh, couple good songs is all.

Quote :

Decided to spin this one again and I still think it’s a kick ass album. Listening now I can agree that EVH probably played bass on the album but wouldn’t surprise me if WVH did. How has this album aged for HOM?

I just revisited it a week or so ago. I liked it much more than I thought I was going to. I couldn't even make it through front to back the last time I tried to listen to it. I still think "Tattoo" was a bad lead single and opening track.

Overall I think the guitar work is absolutely stellar, but Dave's voice gets really annoying when he goes up into the higher/shouting register. I like when he stays restrained, like on "As Is."