The Worst Hagar-era Van Halen record

I bought Van Halen I
It was the best damn record I ever owned
TG&Y 1978

Two hand tapping guitar technique
Really got me off eruption yeah
Ain't talkin' 'bout love, I'm on fire

Tomorrow may come
Tomorrow may never come again
Can't you hear Jamie cryin'?
She's runnin' with the devil alone, alone

I bought Women and Children First
Fair Warning and Van Halen II
Dance the night away

1984 my favorite record yeah I wore it down
Might as well jump, might as well jump

Is this what you wanted, Sammy Hagar?
Sammy Hagar, is this what you wanted, man?
Dave lost his hairline but you lost your cool buddy
Can't drive 55

I'll never buy your lousy records again, again, again
Never again, never again, never again, never again
Never again, never again, never again, never again
Never again, never again, never again, never again
Never again, no no no

I am surprised anyone would love 1984 yet hate Van Hagar. The songwriting is similar and similarly poppy. I do understand loving the first 4 and hating Van Hagar.

Balance was the worst...has some very dark songs on it and didn't really hit me as a fun Hagar/van halen record...

MetallicSeminarian wrote:

I am surprised anyone would love 1984 yet hate Van Hagar. The songwriting is similar and similarly poppy. I do understand loving the first 4 and hating Van Hagar.

I'm not a fan of 1984 except for Panama and Hot for Teacher. House of Pain was nothing like the original demo, Jump wore off its novelty, and the rest of the songs are over-polished filler.

For me it's Balance.

All of them   


I actually thought F.U.C.K was ok.

corplhicks wrote:

MetallicSeminarian wrote:

I am surprised anyone would love 1984 yet hate Van Hagar. The songwriting is similar and similarly poppy. I do understand loving the first 4 and hating Van Hagar.

I'm not a fan of 1984 except for Panama and Hot for Teacher. House of Pain was nothing like the original demo, Jump wore off its novelty, and the rest of the songs are over-polished filler.

See, you're consistent

Balance, though I never hated Van Hagar. Especially F.U.C.K. which IMO is a great album no matter what you naysayers spew about it .

DallasBlack wrote:

Balance, though I never hated Van Hagar. Especially F.U.C.K. which IMO is a great album no matter what you naysayers spew about it .

It is really good (don't know if I'd go as far as great) and seminal for me since it was the first VH album I ever owned (and of course it dominated MTV). But Templeman did a great job with the sonics on that album, and Eddie retired the meandering, mad scientist experimentation that made the previous two albums so out of touch. It was an upfront, honest-to-god sort of record that harkened back to better days. And Right Now has tons of power to it.

5150 is my favorite VH album of any era. I cant tell you how many times I watched the Live Without A Net VHS tape from that tour when I was still barely in kindergarten.

tohostudios wrote:

Where's the "All of them" button?

That wouldn't fit the question. They can't all be the worst unless they're all equally as bad. But in that case they would technically all also be the best. [/pedantry]

I am not surprised alot of people picked 'Balance' but I personally loved the album, it had a darker vibe (at least by Van Halen standards) then anything they have released before or since.

I voted 'OU812' its not a terrible album, but its their worst album with Hagar, and their cover of the Little Feat tune 'Apolitical Blues' was a disaster

manny wrote:

I am not surprised alot of people picked 'Balance' but I personally loved the album, it had a darker vibe (at least by Van Halen standards) then anything they have released before or since.

I voted 'OU812' its not a terrible album, but its their worst album with Hagar, and their cover of the Little Feat tune 'Apolitical Blues' was a disaster

Agreed on all counts.

Voted for OU812, but not because it's bad. Probably just the least listened to of the studio albums. I don't have the live album.

I'm surprised by the votes for Balance. I thought that one was great.

James B. wrote:

All of them.   I dig solo Sammy and DLR Van Halen, but both together... not so much

Yup.....

Looks like Balance and OU812 are tied. About what I expected.

As for 5150, I enjoy the singles off the album (Dreams is a guilty pleasure) but the rest of the album, which I suppose is half, is all over the place and not the tight little R&R package they were known for. Most of all, though, I hate Alex's drums. Yuck.

It's beeen ages since I listened to any of them. (I don't have the live one, so can't make a fair comment)
Anyway, I voted Balance. For me, with that album, there was nothing that really clicked. The other three all are able to capture a moment in time with me that Balance never did. May have to give it another chance since a few of you are defending it.