Van Halen

Discussion regarding other bands, movies, etc.
Post Reply
Message
Author
User avatar
kv
Posts: 8743
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2011 3:08 pm
Location: South Bay, SoCal

Re: Van Halen

#161 Post by kv » Fri May 24, 2013 5:07 pm

hey he didn't seem to get it lol

User avatar
Matz
Posts: 3958
Joined: Wed Aug 03, 2011 2:58 am
Location: Denmark

Re: Van Halen

#162 Post by Matz » Fri May 24, 2013 6:25 pm

still don't, wtf's an 'ite'? :scared:

User avatar
chaos
Posts: 5024
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2011 7:23 pm
Location: Boston

Re: Van Halen

#163 Post by chaos » Fri May 24, 2013 6:37 pm

He missed a key. He meant site. :lol:

User avatar
Matz
Posts: 3958
Joined: Wed Aug 03, 2011 2:58 am
Location: Denmark

Re: Van Halen

#164 Post by Matz » Sat May 25, 2013 3:18 am

:lol: ah I see

User avatar
Artemis
Posts: 10344
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2011 7:44 pm
Location: Toronto

Re: Van Halen

#165 Post by Artemis » Sat Oct 12, 2013 10:50 am

I'm putting this here because we don't have a seperate David Lee Roth thread.

I have to say I never liked this song. I always thought this song sounded like something Billy Joel would do. The cross-over to dancey-pop sound that DLR was trying to make didn't work for me. I think it's because I was expecting a Van Halen sound. I wasn't able to listen to Dave's solo material objectively. :noclue:

http://ultimateclassicrock.com/david-le ... end-songs/


Classic rock is about heavy hooks, power chords and tight harmonies. But it’s also about letting loose and enjoying the good times. And there’s no better time for that than Friday evening, when we pick up our paycheck, punch out of work and enjoy a couple days of much-needed rest and relaxation.

This weekend, as we near the paradise of 48 hours away from work, we’re reminded of a time when it looked like David Lee Roth was ready to forge a solid career away from Van Halen, leaving fans to sample a wealth of rock ‘n’ roll riches that included Diamond Dave solo hits like ‘Yankee Rose’ as well as ’80s VH classics such as ‘Best of Both Worlds’ and ‘When It’s Love.’ That moment was unfortunately short-lived, but few could have guessed it in early 1988, when Roth released his second solo outing, ‘Skyscraper,’ just a few months before Van Halen returned with ‘OU812.’

One of 1988′s more hotly anticipated rock records, ‘Skyscraper’ followed Roth’s full-length solo debut, 1985′s double-platinum ‘Eat ‘Em and Smile.’ And given that the new set of songs reunited the killer band Roth had assembled for ‘Smile’ — including Steve Vai on guitars, Billy Sheehan on bass and Gregg Bissonette on drums — fans were primed for another dose of the Dave they’d come to know and love. It came as something of a shock when they discovered that Roth had something slightly different in mind for ‘Skyscraper’ — specifically, a more keyboard-heavy sound that incorporated emerging pop trends at the expense of the rawer, more muscular sound he’d adopted for ‘Eat ‘Em and Smile.’

Although this approach paid immediate dividends when the album’s first single, ‘Just Like Paradise,’ broke the Top 10, Roth’s approach for ‘Skyscraper’ proved immediately divisive — and not just among fans. Sheehan, whose songwriting contributions to the earlier record were just as crucial as his distinctive bass sound, departed the band at the tail end of the sessions for the album, with Vai soon to follow. Sheehan talked about his days in the Roth band during a recent interview with Ultimate Classic Rock, and talked specifically about ‘Paradise’ in these additional comments, published exclusively here for the first time.

“I don’t even play bass on ‘Just Like Paradise’ — it’s all synth bass,” Sheehan recalled. “Dave had a vision. In retrospect, he was right — he thought this dance-music thing was going to be huge, so he wanted to kind of move the band over into that dance-beat kind of thing, so that was that synth thing. He was right — dance became huge. He foresaw the future and he was right. However, if you’re a rock band, the dance people don’t ever want to talk to you. And if you’re a rock band trying to do dance, they don’t care — they want to hear the dance people doing dance.”

While ‘Just Like Paradise’ proved successful in the short term, its pop sheen — and the keyboard-heavy sound Roth used for ‘Skyscraper’ in general — likely hurt Roth’s rock credibility in the long run. “It’s pretty rare for somebody to break over from rock into dance,” Sheehan admitted. “It’s happened and it will happen, but it didn’t happen [here]. Dave, I credit him for having the guts to take a stab at it, because to be secure enough in your own mind to really make a stylistic move that’s quite dramatic like that and that takes a lot of guts. If the experiment would have worked, he would have been the king of the world. Unfortunately, it didn’t — but I’m glad he tried. I give artists a lot of credit who decide to take a left turn.”

Vai weighed in during a separate interview with the Van Halen News Desk, admitting that ‘Just Like Paradise’ “was too ‘pop’ for me, it was too ‘Glee,’ you know?” Asked about rumors that he hated the song, he responded, “‘Hate’ is a strong word. I didn’t hate it; I enjoyed playing anything that I played in that band. It just wouldn’t have been my choice. But I still enjoyed it, and I think I did a great job on it … But yeah, I wasn’t a fan of that song. I didn’t like it when it was written. I tried not to get it on the record. [Dave] liked it, and I did my best with it.”

Vai’s unwilling participation helped anchor the track, making it one of the more successful pop-rock hybrids on the record — not to mention a killer single whose rapid chart ascension was fueled by a suitably gonzo video featuring Roth on a four-day climb of Yosemite’s Half Dome mountain between standard performance clips (which co-starred Vai’s distinctive triple-necked heart-shaped guitar). Unfortunately, while ‘Paradise’ gave Roth his biggest self-penned solo hit, it would also serve as his final appearance in the Top 40. He’d continue to enjoy rock-radio airplay into the ’90s, but Vai and Sheehan’s departures ushered in an era of personnel turnover and commercial decline.

Still, even if those synths rubbed some fans the wrong way in 1988, they don’t sound too bad now — and that combination of Roth’s stacked vocals and Vai’s squealing electric leads still serves as a fitting send-off to another five days of working for the Man. We’ve been meant for this since we were born, UCR faithful, and you know what to do next: Scroll on up to that video at the top of the post, hit play, turn up the volume and let the weekend start now.

User avatar
Matz
Posts: 3958
Joined: Wed Aug 03, 2011 2:58 am
Location: Denmark

Re: Van Halen

#166 Post by Matz » Sat Oct 12, 2013 11:29 am

it's too pop like Vai says in the article but it features som badass guitar playing, I the album as a whole

User avatar
Pandemonium
Posts: 5720
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2011 3:18 pm

Re: Van Halen

#167 Post by Pandemonium » Sat Oct 12, 2013 7:03 pm

Matz wrote:it's too pop like Vai says in the article but it features som badass guitar playing, I the album as a whole
Just Like Paradise was a decent lightweight pop tune and easily the most radio-friendly track on that album but the album itself aside from that song, the almost prog-rock "Hina" and the excellent, bluesy "Damn Good Times" was a major letdown and really signaled the rapid decline of Roth's solo career.

User avatar
Artemis
Posts: 10344
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2011 7:44 pm
Location: Toronto

Re: Van Halen

#168 Post by Artemis » Tue Dec 02, 2014 12:31 pm

Hilarious article from The Onion


http://www.theonion.com/articles/cia-ad ... :1:Default
CIA Admits Role In 1985 Coup To Oust David Lee Roth


LANGLEY, VA—Shedding new light on a tumultuous period of upheaval that dominated international headlines nearly 30 years ago, the U.S. government declassified hundreds of documents Tuesday that confirm the CIA covertly organized and executed the coup that ousted lead singer David Lee Roth from Van Halen.

According to a preliminary analysis, the newly released information includes more than 1,600 pages of formerly top-secret material detailing the CIA’s clandestine plot to infiltrate the platinum-selling rock group and unseat the magnetic, impulsive musician from his leadership position in the spring of 1985. The documents reveal that the agency worked behind the scenes for years, beginning after the release of the disco-inflected “Push Comes To Shove” single in 1981, to foment the internal turmoil and unrest needed to destabilize the band and ultimately force Roth to step down from the American heavy metal act.

“As Van Halen’s creative direction became uncertain in the early 1980s, it became increasingly apparent that we would have to take the steps necessary to remove Roth from power,” said former Deputy Director of Central Intelligence John N. McMahon, describing the covert process by which he and his colleagues quietly forced a schism between the vocalist and members of the band’s inner circle in order to disrupt the dangerous cult of personality that had taken hold around the hard-rock frontman. “Well before the commencement of the Hide Your Sheep Tour, Roth had become too unpredictable, too brazen, and he was preventing the band’s sound from moving toward synthesizer-driven, radio-friendly rock. So, we felt we needed to act, and quickly.”

“Quite simply, our office determined that Roth was no longer fit to exercise control over Van Halen, and that his aspirations for the band were not aligned with the best interests of the American people,” he continued.

Dubbed Operation Diamond Cutter by the select top-ranking CIA administrators who orchestrated the plot, the confidential initiative reportedly sought to quietly undermine Roth’s influence within Van Halen and replace him with Sammy Hagar, a charismatic but largely inert puppet leader who agency officials were confident would be easily manipulated once installed atop the iconic rock group.

The CIA confirmed that it was able to exploit preexisting strains in the band by capitalizing on internal concerns over Roth’s long-term musical ambitions following the release of his solo EP, as well as pent-up tensions that had simmered for years after the lukewarm commercial and critical reception of Van Halen’s Fair Warning album. Additionally, American intelligence operatives succeeded in enlisting Roth’s manager and utilizing the double agent to convince his client that relinquishing his position would allow him to pursue what was portrayed as a budding and potentially prosperous film career.

“Based on the things we heard coming out of Van Halen’s studio at the time, we were given authorization from the highest levels of government to seek every possible avenue to subvert Roth’s command,” said one CIA operative speaking on condition of anonymity, claiming that the agency recruited and trained numerous groupies and entourage members to ply longtime Roth ally Alex Van Halen with alcohol in order to ensure that he was in no state to oppose the takeover. “Had we not moved when we did, there’s no telling what kind of detrimental effect Roth would have had on the band’s move into more mainstream pop territory and the state of rock music as a whole. We saw the opportunity to remove this uncontrollable megalomaniac from power while safeguarding the American people from his potent influence, and we seized it.”

“The last thing we wanted was to have another ‘Panama’ on our hands,” he added. :lol:

As revealed by the CIA, prior to Roth’s successful ouster from the group, the agency also funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars in untraceable funds through intermediaries to bankroll the production and distribution of such incendiary works as VOA and the “I Can’t Drive 55” single in order to bolster Hagar’s profile in the eyes of the band’s supporters.

Despite the prevalence of critics who question the legitimacy of the post-Roth Van Halen regime, McMahon said that he has “no regrets whatsoever” about the agency’s false flag mission.

“Overthrowing Roth was a risky, highly controversial maneuver, but I believe that history will justify our actions,” McMahon said, acknowledging that the coup ultimately proved ineffectual, as the vocalist’s departure merely ushered in a series of decreasingly competent replacements, culminating in Roth reclaiming his seat of power long after the band had ceased to have an impact in the international community. “This was a self-aggrandizing degenerate who needed to be toppled in order to bring stability to the band’s direction. We did what needed to be done.”

“That being said, none of us could possibly have foreseen that For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge would indirectly result from our actions,” he added, solemnly shaking his head.

User avatar
Artemis
Posts: 10344
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2011 7:44 pm
Location: Toronto

Re: Van Halen

#169 Post by Artemis » Fri Feb 13, 2015 5:52 pm

Listening to this interview right now... :thumb:
Even those who aren't into VH will enjoy this.

Eddie Van Halen "Is Rock 'n' Roll All About Reinvention?"
Eddie Van Halen Shares Life Story, Van Halen Update at Smithsonian

"I’d love to make a studio record," guitarist says. "Depends on everybody’s timing. I don’t know what Dave [Lee Roth] is up to now"

https://soundcloud.com/z-calo-public-sq ... len-wimtba

User avatar
SR
Posts: 7838
Joined: Wed Aug 03, 2011 12:56 pm

Re: Van Halen

#170 Post by SR » Fri Feb 13, 2015 8:23 pm

Great interview. Much more respect for him. :rockon:

User avatar
Artemis
Posts: 10344
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2011 7:44 pm
Location: Toronto

Re: Van Halen

#171 Post by Artemis » Fri Feb 13, 2015 8:47 pm

There's a video of the talk available too.

Last edited by Artemis on Fri Feb 13, 2015 9:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
SR
Posts: 7838
Joined: Wed Aug 03, 2011 12:56 pm

Re: Van Halen

#172 Post by SR » Fri Feb 13, 2015 9:00 pm

Such an idiot, I am....Thanks! That does help with his demos/explanations a lot

User avatar
Artemis
Posts: 10344
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2011 7:44 pm
Location: Toronto

Re: Van Halen

#173 Post by Artemis » Fri Feb 13, 2015 9:06 pm

It's okay...I didn't think to look for a vid until you mentioned it.

User avatar
Matz
Posts: 3958
Joined: Wed Aug 03, 2011 2:58 am
Location: Denmark

Re: Van Halen

#174 Post by Matz » Sat Feb 14, 2015 3:43 am

Artemis wrote:Listening to this interview right now... :thumb:
Even those who aren't into VH will enjoy this.

Eddie Van Halen "Is Rock 'n' Roll All About Reinvention?"
Eddie Van Halen Shares Life Story, Van Halen Update at Smithsonian

"I’d love to make a studio record," guitarist says. "Depends on everybody’s timing. I don’t know what Dave [Lee Roth] is up to now"

https://soundcloud.com/z-calo-public-sq ... len-wimtba
great link, thanks. Beautiful to hear about his childhood and dad and how they came over on that boat

User avatar
Pandemonium
Posts: 5720
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2011 3:18 pm

Re: Van Halen

#175 Post by Pandemonium » Sat Feb 14, 2015 11:37 am

It's great to see Eddie has maintained his sobriety and health and this is probably the most articulate sit-down I've ever seen him do. The Q&A with the audience was also a treat.

However, anyone who knows Eddie knows he embellishes and flat out lies about certain things to suit his version of events. Probably the most glaring case in point is the comments about recording a new album and touring with Dave - he "doesn't know where Dave is" thus that's the hold up with touring and a new album which is flat out untrue. Which goes to Eddie's apparent view that he and his brother were 95% of the band and Roth and Hagar basically spiced up "their" tunes with lyrics and vox (and Michael Anthony apparently did nothing). It's just frustrating as a fan to continually hear how much music Eddie says they've produced yet they've somehow only put out one studio album (that was 2/3rds reworked pre-1978 songs) in the past 17 years.

User avatar
SR
Posts: 7838
Joined: Wed Aug 03, 2011 12:56 pm

Re: Van Halen

#176 Post by SR » Sat Feb 14, 2015 12:11 pm

Interesting assertions. I know nothing about vh. My first record was purchased this morning and it's a greatest hits album I got to listen to evh's style, evolution of style and harmonics he mentions in the interview. As an aside, his playing is great, great hooks, just fun stuff. It was just enough to allow me to get through the dismal vocals and lyrics. Great for the gym.

As for his lies, what contributions did the others make? As far as I could tell Roths are detrimental and the bass serves just a requisite utility (as do the drums). Too evh has had the power over the years to do exactly as he pleases with regard to lineup....effortlessly. Wouldn't other, major collaborators, have made those transitions much more difficult.

I ask sincerely because as a non fan, but a person who's always had an ear tuned to music trivia, his assertions seem plausible.

User avatar
Artemis
Posts: 10344
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2011 7:44 pm
Location: Toronto

Re: Van Halen

#177 Post by Artemis » Sat Feb 14, 2015 1:19 pm

Since I'm not really a VH fan either, I can't speak about the contributions and goings on of members past or present.

With regards to David Lee Roth, I think he made a contribution by attracting many females to VH. He was a great showman, very charismatic, and good looking. When VH was coming out in the 70s, they seemed more of a band that guys would like. Sort of like ACDC, Judas Priest, and Sabbath. Anyway, I remember sisters of friends who had this poster in their bedroom. I think it was inside one of the albums.


Image

I remember this one too.

Image

User avatar
SR
Posts: 7838
Joined: Wed Aug 03, 2011 12:56 pm

Re: Van Halen

#178 Post by SR » Sat Feb 14, 2015 2:35 pm

Artemis wrote:Since I'm not really a VH fan either, I can't speak about the contributions and goings on of members past or present.

With regards to David Lee Roth, I think he made a contribution by attracting many females to VH. He was a great showman, very charismatic, and good looking. When VH was coming out in the 70s, they seemed more of a band that guys would like. Sort of like ACDC, Judas Priest, and Sabbath. Anyway, I remember sisters of friends who had this poster in their bedroom. I think it was inside one of the albums.


Image

I remember this one too.

Image
Well, there is that. :thumb:

User avatar
Pandemonium
Posts: 5720
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2011 3:18 pm

Re: Van Halen

#179 Post by Pandemonium » Sat Feb 14, 2015 3:53 pm

SR wrote:Interesting assertions. I know nothing about vh. My first record was purchased this morning and it's a greatest hits album I got to listen to evh's style, evolution of style and harmonics he mentions in the interview. As an aside, his playing is great, great hooks, just fun stuff. It was just enough to allow me to get through the dismal vocals and lyrics. Great for the gym.

As for his lies, what contributions did the others make? As far as I could tell Roths are detrimental and the bass serves just a requisite utility (as do the drums). Too evh has had the power over the years to do exactly as he pleases with regard to lineup....effortlessly. Wouldn't other, major collaborators, have made those transitions much more difficult.

I ask sincerely because as a non fan, but a person who's always had an ear tuned to music trivia, his assertions seem plausible.
There's no denying Eddie's unique style of playing (especially his on-the-fly amazing rhythm playing through the 80's which is often overlooked nowadays), his instantly recognizable tone and ability to come up with great riffs album after album is *the* biggest, longest lasting and most consistent piece of the Van Halen legacy. But early on, especially with the original Roth era lineup, Roth's charisma, especially onstage and the almost Beach Boys-like harmonies (see: "Jamie's Cryin'" "Dance The Night Away") thanks in large part to bass player Michael Anthony played a crucial part on the overall sound and appeal of the band. The vastly different musical tastes and styles between Roth and Eddie, and to a lesser extent Eddie and Sammy Hagar are really what set Van Halen apart and ahead of uncounted rock bands at the end of the 70's and influenced for better or worse, influenced uncounted guitarists and bands through the 80's to the present. Another thing you note, unlike just about any other rock band when Van Halen debuted, they were really "fun" both on record and live.

When Van Halen started out, Dave pretty much steered the ship. Dave picked most of the covers they played as a club band. It was only in the early 80's with Van Halen becoming a world class band and Eddie getting accolades as *THE* guitarist of his generation that Eddie started aggressively taking control of the band, building his home studio so he could create and record on his terms, pushing HIS music (often keyboard based) and publicly butting heads with Roth, eventually culminating in Dave leaving the band.

David Lee Roth is a really polarizing frontman. Most people either love him or hate him, both sides have valid opinions why. I agree that his voice is cringe worthy these days and if anything, he has become even more eccentric and flat out nutty then ever before. But he still brings a certain balance to Eddie and the band by being such a weird fucker that a guy like Sammy Hagar never did simply because Hagar is so bland and one dimensional as a writer and artist despite the fact he's a vastly superior singer to Roth. Once Hagar was in the band, it really became "Eddie's Band" allowing Eddie to indulge in more typical "rawk" music, heavy on the sappy keyboards. Without the creative tension between Eddie and Dave, the music lost it's edge and a lot of the spontaneous humor as well.

Addressing original bass player Michael Anthony, it's really kind of weird how Eddie has really soured on Anthony when the guy is widely regarding as one of the nicest, most down to earth musicians in rock n' roll. I know the history goes way back to the beginning of the 80's when Eddie whined that Mike didn't contribute to the songwriting process (which was true) and even gave serious thought to replacing Mike with Billy Sheehan among a couple other bass shredders during the Roth era. And of course there's the whole deal through the late 80's and 90's when Mike's share (they originally has a 4x25% songwriting and band shares credit split between the band members) was whittled down (with Mike's blessing) to the point he was a salaried musician for the awful '04 Hagar reunion tour after which Eddie really talked trash about Mike, calling him "Hot Sauce Sobolewski (his real last name)" because Mike was shilling his brand of hot sauce in '04. I even get that Eddie wants to play with his son, keep the whole band "in the family" so to speak. But man, the very public way he viciously turned on Mike, even to the point having his website erase Mike's image from the VH1 cover and replacing it with his son in '07, you'd think Mike screwed Eddie's wife or something.

User avatar
SR
Posts: 7838
Joined: Wed Aug 03, 2011 12:56 pm

Re: Van Halen

#180 Post by SR » Sat Feb 14, 2015 4:31 pm

Well, that's all interesting. This is from Hagar (whom I despise as a musician) but have immense respect as a business man. He could buy and sell all of the others combined just from his non music ventures. He thinks Eddie's decisions are both wrong, but have led him into some fairly serious ethical hot water....

http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/sammy- ... van-halen/

User avatar
SR
Posts: 7838
Joined: Wed Aug 03, 2011 12:56 pm

Re: Van Halen

#181 Post by SR » Sat Feb 14, 2015 4:32 pm

Oh, and what I really enjoyed on panama was the knowledge gained from the interview that that "odd" noise in the middle is actually Eddie's '72 Lamborghini. Sounded great

User avatar
Artemis
Posts: 10344
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2011 7:44 pm
Location: Toronto

Re: Van Halen

#182 Post by Artemis » Sat Feb 14, 2015 4:49 pm

'Panama' reminds me of high school. I had an art teacher, Ms Chivalo, who loved the album 1984 and often played it while the class worked on their projects. We had a record player in the class but she didn't let any of the kids touch it. :lol:

User avatar
SR
Posts: 7838
Joined: Wed Aug 03, 2011 12:56 pm

Re: Van Halen

#183 Post by SR » Sat Feb 14, 2015 5:24 pm

I actually hate the song, but that part is really cool to me now. I was a senior in '84 and I was a complete music snob.....nothing but punk, some new wave, The Who, Zep, The Kinks, etc.

VH wasn't a party I wanted to go to. Such an idiot. :lol:

User avatar
Matz
Posts: 3958
Joined: Wed Aug 03, 2011 2:58 am
Location: Denmark

Re: Van Halen

#184 Post by Matz » Sat Feb 14, 2015 5:37 pm

Artemis wrote:'Panama' reminds me of high school. I had an art teacher, Ms Chivalo, who loved the album 1984 and often played it while the class worked on their projects. We had a record player in the class but she didn't let any of the kids touch it. :lol:
I hope this post goes viral and teachers everywhere pick up on this. Sounds like the way to go. Never heard of anything like that before :lol:

User avatar
SR
Posts: 7838
Joined: Wed Aug 03, 2011 12:56 pm

Re: Van Halen

#185 Post by SR » Sun Feb 15, 2015 8:57 am

Havin a blast with this GH's album. :wiggle:

Post Reply