I'm a rocker. I make no apologies for that. I'm a child of the late 60s who came up with arena rock in the 70s and 80s-and what always caught my ear was the virtuoso guitarists. I tried my hand at guitar more than once, and bass as well. Wasn't for me. So, all my inspiration and all the riffs I came up with in my head had but one outlet-harmonica. I'm a 'hybrid' blues player-I love, respect and appreciate the stylisitc trailblazing done by our forefathers. Then there's the rocker side of me, which cannot be denied. When left to my own devices, it's obvious in my playing. One such influence is Van Halen-not so much the speed of EVH's solos, but his attack-that ear-grabbing 'hey, it's my turn-listen up!' attack of his.
Well, the last time I actually liked a Van Halen album was in 1983, and that album was '1984', and yes-it was on vinyl, unless you opted for the new-fangled cassette tape. It was a brilliant album, both hits and non-hits(my fave was 'Drop Dead Legs'). After 1984, David Lee Roth went his separate way, and thus began the 'Van Hagar' era. With the exception of the first album, which had some high points, I will sum the next almost-30 years up in one non-word:meh. I won't even bring the short-lived and ill-conceived Gary Cherone venture into this discussion.
Fast forward to now, Diamond Dave is back in the fold, Wolfgang Van Halen has taken the bass role from Micheal Anthony, laying down virtuostic chops the likes of Billy Sheehan...and they've never sounded better.
Van Halen-'A Different Kind of Truth'...I like it. I'm crankin' it through my headphones now. Maybe tonight I'll give some of the rhythm licks a whirl on harp.
Bobo, thanks for the compliment, and let's rock on-just don't do too much headbanging-that shit hurts now. NC-Tattoo is the worst song on the album, IMHO. but, I'll show you mine... ---------- Todd L. Greene
I may have leaned a little hard - Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Rainbow, Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Queen, etc...
I also love Rob Zombie & White Zombie, Korn, Marilyn Manson, Motley Crue and just about anyone at Ozzfest (which I have attended multiple times)...
I think It would be great to catch the latest round of Van Halen. It was never the same without Diamond Dave...(I liked his "Eat 'em and Smile" album too)
I continue to try my hand at guitar, but enjoy the acoustic route of rhythm guitar hacking out a groove, but those solo licks do call from my past - no doubt.
got tickets for monday night at the palace of auburn hills. i am a bit hesitant. i saw them when they first toured back in 78(?) and they were great. but i got older, they got older, i've done lots of drugs, they've done lots of drugs.... i worry that they just wont be what i remembered. sort of like the "you cant go home" saying. i cant believe david lee can still command the stage as he once did.
Also a rocker saw them back in 78 also! opened for black sabbath.blew sabbath away, saw the 6 time with Sammy I'll take Sammy everytime.listen to the new cd , if thats what you want to call it .bunch of demo that didn't make the cuton mean streets,one of their best albums I must say.eddie still rocks ,top 5 greatest.but Dave a worse singer then he was 30 years ago.can you even here Wolfgang?and they can never replace michaels backup vocals,that completes the classic v h sound,heard theyre using a tape of his vocals. I'll stick with the new chickenfoot a smoking album I must say.
Last Edited by on Feb 17, 2012 7:18 PM
I remember (sort of, after all it was the 70's) thinking "Who the hell is Van Halen?" when they opened for Black Sabbath. I agree, they blew them off the stage!
My favorite Van Halen is still the older stuff, like "Jamie's Cryin'".
I agree that Sammy Hagar just couldn't replace the audacious energy of DLR...I mean not many dudes have the self conciousness shutoff valve to enable them to rock out in butt-cheekless spandex with Charro style bells! Few have the energy he had.
In 1984 I listened to a shitload of rock on the radio and on MTV while I was skipping school and smoking that boat, but I was so hell-bent to rebel from my Junior High Catholic school experience that I was starting to listen to the so-called "hardcore" punk of that time...Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Jody Foster's Army, Scratch Acid, and a plethora of other nihilistic bands.
Around '86 and '87 that stuff started to dry up, then it was some of the hard speed and death metal like Slayer, Metallica, Megadeth, Celtic Frost, as well as some rap like Public Enemy and NWA.
I still root that stuff up every now and then because I think that energy is like crack or heroin, and once you get hooked, you are forever marked! ---------- Shane,
I don't think so eharp, maybe that did it but Van Halen is the only ones I've heard doing it.
My stick's internet reception sucks down here in the basement I'm staying in in Dallas or I'd do some looking up on the web.
That song to me is the epitome of all that is great about the original Van Halen.
By the way, eharp, I owe you a harp, dude! I haven't forgot. I swear to got I'm going to beat Harrison Harmonicas turn around time on that! Note to self next time I return to Austin! ---------- Shane,
While the VanHalen brothers were searching for a clue in 1985,Diamond Dave was charting number 4 on the Billboard charts with "Eat Em and Smile" with Steve Vai,Billy Sheehan and Garry Bissonette. In 1988 ,Dave charted number 6 on Billborad with "Skyscraper"- VanHalen and Sabbath cant be compared-"blew Sabbath off the stage"? I seriously doubt that-Tony Iommi can be credited with pioneering a lot of the Heavy Metal riffs everyone else,including Edward VanHalen ,copped. They are two distinct and seperate sounds-Sabbath is real Heavy Metal-VanHalen would be catagorized as Heavy Rock.
Last Edited by on Feb 17, 2012 8:44 PM
but it was/is van halen that kept going. david lee got by on his charisma and then disappeared.
didnt vh also have another singer for 1 or 2 albums?
btw- i, too, saw vh steal the show from sabbath in detroit. iit was a case of youth and enthusiasm against complacency and drugs.
happened with ac/dc opening for thin lizzy. definitely a smaller venue and thin lizzy not being as big as sabbath, but ac/dc and little angus young rocked the place and really had no intention of stopping. the management cut their power to get them off the stage. thin lizzy never had a chance! they didnt even get thru their first song before being boo-ed off the stage.
'Van Hagar' was commercially successful-but it was such a deviation from the previous DLR days, and the songs had Hagar's cheesiness all over them...I just didn't like them as a unit. I liked DLR's solo work, especially 'Eat em and Smile'-I'm a big Steve Vai fan, too, and he played axe on that outing.
I work with a young guy(fairly young-27)who grew up in the 90s and early 2000s-he learned playing guitar on his own, but only to commercially spoon-fed music. He cannot play a solo. We talked about it, and he says it's because guitar was almost exclusively a rhythm instrument in most of what he came up with. Sad. ---------- Todd L. Greene
Jamie's Crying but Jannie's Got a Gun. VH and Aerosmith, respectively.
Yeah, I've got Van Halen, older Aerosmith, Metallica, Guns and Roses, Def Leppard, Quiet Riot (hey, I was a kid, cut me some slack), Triumph, Dio, all that stuff. :)
'It's better to burn out, than fade away' may be the most ironic lines in rock history, since Def Leppard eventually evolved into almost easy listening rock.
Rocker is not the same to every one, i saw Jimi Hendrix,Cream and johnny winter all within 4 months in the 60`s in a arena ...and because of that i play guitar.and at the same time i saw Muddy Waters and that got me blowin` harp,and i haven`t stopped any of it...
Beatles Stones The Who Led Zep CCR Aerosmith The Doors The Kinks Cream Van Halen Pearl Jam Black Crowes David Bowie The Animals Jimi Janis Cocker Otis Redding Bowie Springsteen J. Geils Band Dylan Deep Purple Sly and the FS CSNY Bob Seger Skynyrd Allman Bros Grand Funk RR Santana Chicago Warren Zevon
Have I forgotten anyone? Damn right I have, probably about another 200 bands/artists.
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I love rock and roll, put another dime in the jukebox, baby!!!!!!!!!!!
The rock or pop rock, country rock and progressive rock concerts we've been to over the past 5 years are Rush,Yes,Stevie Nicks,Genesis, Coldplay, Heart, Charlie Daniels Band, The Outlaws, The Guess Who and The Black Crowes ...Caught Queen a while back with Paul Rodgers fronting the band, they delivered the goods, All those shows were winners...
This post is like Yiddish to me. I am the polar opposite of anything at all to do with big hair acid heavy overdriven hard core rock and roll. 60's 70's or any other decade or otherwise.
I couldnt tell you 5 songs that van halen sings. (well, maybe 5 but only because i was subjected to them endlessly on the radio)
Thinking back, I did buy a def leppard album. but the chances are it was because a girl i liked thought they were cool.
70's and 80's Country music begat 70's - 90's R&B and a lifetime of untapped soul begat the blues. That's my path.
I still remember a classmate bringing in the first Van Halen album to school back in '78. His older brother went out to California and had heard about them.
That first album is a classic with a fresh gutiar sound. I liked each album after the first a little less until 1984 came out. I thought the 1984 album was too commercialized and the song Jump was MTV pop music crap.
I never got into Van Hagar although I have seen and thoroughly enjoy Sammy's solo work.
I read in one of the original comments that DLR left the band. From what I have read and heard, it was more of Eddie's ego not wanting to get upstaged by DLR's presence on stage. Like David or not, he had charisma.
After watching the latest VH video that was posted, I am not impressed with their new stuff.
On a side note, a band I saw a couple of times in the early eighties was Triumph. I thought Rik Emmrtt was one of the most under rated guitar players back then.
Last Edited by on Feb 23, 2012 5:31 PM
"Lay it on the Line" was one of my favorite songs. I used to listen to it over and over again with a speaker on each side of my year. Triumph was great.
I remember seeing a photo of Dave interviewing girls for the video. They were all wearing bikini's, he was kicked back at this table viewing the models and the photographer took a picture from behind one of the models, between her legs and there sat Dave with a smile. I believe she qualified. Van Who?
