Van Halen rumors of new album!!!

Dave's too old now for all the sexual innuendo jokes and is trying too hard to be hip. It's become creepy.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Dave's too old now for all the sexual innuendo jokes and is trying too hard to be hip. It's become creepy.

Agreed.

The DLR albums are fantastic...love them all. I have a bootleg from 1978 that I like a lot too. But live these days, he's a little too odd for me. It's not his vocals, it's his presence.

Wow, after hearing the live cuts you can really tell what a great backing vocalist Michael Anthony is (meaning he is missed!). I'll be skipping this one.

I agree with everything that's been said. I was glad to have seen them after they reunited with Dave. But the show itself was somewhat underwhelming. I'll be interested in hearing this live release once, but I can't imagine it's something I'll listen to again after that. I do like all of the studio albums though.

glassprison wrote:

I agree with everything that's been said. I was glad to have seen them after they reunited with Dave. But the show itself was somewhat underwhelming.

That's the same way I felt after seeing them live. I was so pumped, but the performance itself was a bit of a let down. Dave doing his schtick and the Van Halen brothers phoning it in for a paycheck. I'm glad we got a new studio album out of 'em though, even if it was re-worked demos and such.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

glassprison wrote:

I agree with everything that's been said. I was glad to have seen them after they reunited with Dave. But the show itself was somewhat underwhelming.

That's the same way I felt after seeing them live. I was so pumped, but the performance itself was a bit of a let down. Dave doing his schtick and the Van Halen brothers phoning it in for a paycheck. I'm glad we got a new studio album out of 'em though, even if it was re-worked demos and such.

ALL Van Halen albums are re-worked demos...

Let's not start this again. You know what I meant.

I know what you meant, it's just true. They did nothing on ADKOT that they didn't do already. They always comb EVH's tapes for song ideas. EVH doesn't write songs, he writes parts. Much of III dated back to Sammy's era, "Jump" was written before Diver Down...it happens all the time.

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

I know what you meant, it's just true. They did nothing on ADKOT that they didn't do already. They always comb EVH's tapes for song ideas. EVH doesn't write songs, he writes parts. Much of III dated back to Sammy's era, "Jump" was written before Diver Down...it happens all the time.

I think most bands do it, not just VH. The longer a band's been around, the more likely they are to go back to old demos and see if anything can be re-worked. The Scorpions and Aerosmith are just 2 off the top of my head that I know have mentioned in recent interviews that they've gone back to old material and livened it up for recent albums.

Joe Perry talked about it in his book. Sometimes an old riff or whatever wasn't fulled formed at the time and needed time to simmer for awhile. He goes back to old tapes and hears something that can now be used. Nothing wrong with that.

I'll admit when I first heard of bands doing that, it kinda rubbed me the wrong way. Felt like a cheat or something. But I got over it pretty quick when I realized I'm guilty of doing the same thing in work. Sometimes the design isn't right for a specific project, so I'll discard it until I find a project where it does. Or go back to old designs, tweek 'em a bit and use 'em as new graphics. The only difference is my old demos aren't posted on YouTube for everyone to criticize.

Funny thing about DKOT is my favorite tracks are the worked-over demos. The exciting thing about it was--especially after first hearing the disappointment that was Tatoo--hearing that opening riff of She's the Woman for the first time. The draw there for VH fans is the ability to hear modified versions of demos from the genesis of the band. That demo was a phenomenal collection; even original House of Pain with Alex's speed metal double bass kicked 1984's ass. So those songs were a welcome endeavor. They could do it again and I'd be more than happy.

Anyway, Roth sounds very meh on those samples. Now, I don't mind him sounding bad, because if I were to get my wish for the opening of the vaults and a live album from every album tour and festival during that era to be released--yeah, he's gonna sound like shit. Dude just wasn't a singer, and that's that. He was a showman, an entertainer, and his voice had enough character and charisma to compensate for his lack of skill. It added to the fun party that was the band's sound, a punkish F*ck the world kind of ambiance. I'll take that over the Hagar era any day.

The band of course also sounds dialed in. I don't doubt they're sick of playing their classics, so I can't blame them. I'll buy this as a completist, but I'm more interested in the remasters and whether their quality is higher than the last f*cked-up batch.

EDIT: Thinking over what I just said and I have to correct myself. Roth DID have his moments where he showed considerable skill. He's pretty damn smooth on Jamie's Cryin'. The whole story behind Little Dreamer counts. His sense of melody is usually strong like on Little Guitars. In other words, when the band goes mellow (which are moments that I love) Dave is apt at adapting to more competent efforts in delivery. So he should be appreciated for that.

I always liked Roth's performance of the song In A Simple Rhyme from Women and Children First. He was never a great singer, but he's not a bad singer either. He has a distinctive voice which sometimes is all you need (see Ozzy).

Yep, the vocals are pretty raw.... it's sounds better in person than on a recording.

For the record, had a great time when I saw them on this tour

It never bothers me when a band releases a new album and they have reworked or rehashed old demos or ideas, because they are just that, demos, snippets, parts, etc. and are now fleshed out. I know I do this with writing where I have stuff I pick up and put down on and off over time. It's hard for someone to go back and write music or lyrics like they did 10,20,30 years ago because they were in a different mind set at that time. I wonder if when a band or artist claims they are "going back to their roots" or the new record is a "throwback" to the old days, this is what they mean?

What bothers me is the "re recording" of something in its entirety. I know why bands do it (for a variety of reasons) but I don't have to support it. I don't hate it because it is their material, but it just leaves me feeling let down or even cheated.

S.D. wrote:

I always liked Roth's performance of the song In A Simple Rhyme from Women and Children First.

That's a great example. He lazily half-sings the verses but picks it up like gold for the chorus. The combo really works and tops off the entire pop sundae that [brilliant] song is.

Also another good example of what SoF is talking about since it was a reworked demo as well.

I think DLR is a better singer then he is giving credit for, he sounds great on the covers of 'California Girls', 'Coconut Groove', has a great sense of melody, and if live he does not hit all the notes, so what, this is rock n roll not opera.

Just saw it on iTunes preorder and it is $12.99 plus you get Runnin With The Devil and Panama as instant downloads if you preorder.

Dave's voice is just fine with me. I like these two samples and will get the cd bundle and the lp bundle for my brother. Re-working demos is how songs get made. Ideas get bounced around, sometimes for years before they are realized. Very few, go into recording sessions with absolutely nothing and hope that the ideas will flow on-demand. Demos are exactly that, and simply because they are leaked, somehow doesn't make them anymore than that, a demo.

"Unchained" is really hard to listen to: Dave yelling "Whoa yeah! ooh yeah! Unchain me babe" over and over again against terrible backing vocals. Based on live footage of the show it sounds like they didn't re-record any of the vocal parts. It's honest, but I don't see myself ever making it through this entire double-disc set.

Have to hear it - if they actually 'captured it'.
It did make me wonder why the hell they waited sooooo long -
to release a live - package.
KISS did it every 3 lps - lol -

Every live boot I've ever heard with Unchained shows it was one of the worst songs they couldn't pull off live, thanks to Dave. It seems it was always a train wreck. The only cool part is where Dave would acknowledge the city ("Hey Fresno! How the F*ck do you DO?!"). Of course being there no one cared about lack of quality.

This is kinda cool. Back in Feb. 1987, Valerie Bertinelli-Van Halen hosted Saturday Night Live and husband Eddie showed up for a surprise jam with the SNL band. Check it out...

MetalGuy71 wrote:

This is kinda cool. Back in Feb. 1987, Valerie Bertinelli-Van Halen hosted Saturday Night Live and husband Eddie showed up for a surprise jam with the SNL band. Check it out...

OH do I remember this, but not when it originally aired (I was, like, seven at that time). It was one of those Comedy Central SNL marathons, early-mid-90's. A time of cable boxes that resembled alarm clocks and DVR meant nothing to anyone. I was binging on a marathon one day and this particular episode came on, and once Ed made his arrival I jumped up and SCREAMED like some fan girl. My entire family came rushing into my room thinking I had opened a door to hell or somethin'. I just yelled out, dancing like mad, "EDDIE'S ON THE TV! EDDIE'S ON SNL!" Parental lectures ensued.

Sorry, had to share...