Van Halen 2012 Album & Tour

rick1zoo2

Poncier wrote:

rick1zoo2 wrote:

Just announced a show here in Reading, PA on March 26 (apparently to replace the cancelled show at Penn State).

I am on the fence whether to go or not, tickets are pricy - $60 is the cheapest, can't beat having the show 5 minutes from home though.

VH was one of my first bands, I remember getting their first album when it was just about new after hearing them on the radio (I thought Dave was a black guy)

Go. You won't regret it.

I just couldn't do it. Had the tickets in the cart. Just couldn't see spending $140 on a pair. The arena holds about 7,000, I went for the cheapest seats, which are still great since it is a small arena, but still could just not do it. Oh well.

jrnyc

The new album is amazing. Definitely in the top 3 or 4 best VH albums ever. 13 songs, ranging from good to amazing. For them to come back after all these years and put out an album like this is pretty incredible. Anyone gets the chance to go see them, go. The show will be great and any chance to see a legend like EVH shouldnt be missed.

kenneth gossard

This album has some cool Eddie riffs but it's far from a great album...lyrics are shallow and diamond Dave sounds like a old wailing junk yard dog.......people embracing this album are embracing a memory of yesteryear and it speaks to how desperate we all are for a good rock album".........music is in a sad state

DewieCox

kenneth gossard wrote:

This album has some cool Eddie riffs but it's far from a great album...lyrics are shallow and diamond Dave sounds like a old wailing junk yard dog.......people embracing this album are embracing a memory of yesteryear and it speaks to how desperate we all are for a good rock album".........music is in a sad state

:? or they actually think it's a good album. I have no big personal tie to any VH music. I like some of their tunes, but I'm far from a big fan and I think this album is pretty good. Your critiques on Roth have always rang true. There's plenty of music, old and new, to sate my appetite for new(to me) sounds, so there's no desperation here.

DW44692

This album is badass. One of the best hard rock albums I've heard in a few years.

AllNiteThing

RedMosquito22 wrote:

AllNiteThing wrote:

Amazing album. :shock: I can't see another hard rock album coming close to this in 2012. This album is just surreal. I don't know how they could put out something so hard rocking and catchy with Dave after 28 years apart. Not to mention they are all almost 60 years old. Anyone who dismisses this album just hasn't heard it or is doing so to be contrarian. This is what hard rock is all about, folks.

Not my cup of tea. Glam metal never was.

They were influential on the 80's glam metal movement, but I'd hardly characterize Van Halen as glam metal.

maynardsux

Saw them tonight in Detroit and they killed it, playing for a solid 2 hrs.....still warming up to the new material but it translated well live.....if anything, Eddie is a master, absolutely on fire the entire night ("Unchained" and "Hot for Teacher" stole the show for me, as well as Ed's extended rendition of "Eruption")...check them out if you get a chance, they even got Kool and the Gang opening up :? Kind of an odd combination, but it worked, and hundreds of drunken cougars up and dancing couldn't be wrong, could they?

Travelar

maynardsux wrote:

Saw them tonight in Detroit and they killed it, playing for a solid 2 hrs.....still warming up to the new material but it translated well live.....if anything, Eddie is a master, absolutely on fire the entire night ("Unchained" and "Hot for Teacher" stole the show for me, as well as Ed's extended rendition of "Eruption")...check them out if you get a chance, they even got Kool and the Gang opening up :? Kind of an odd combination, but it worked, and hundreds of drunken cougars up and dancing couldn't be wrong, could they?

I'm glad to hear that it's translating well. I've been a bit worried about Dave's voice and how rough it's going to sound later on next month when I get to see them. They can do a lot of magic in the studio, but live is going to make it or break it.

kenneth gossard

DewieCox wrote:

kenneth gossard wrote:

This album has some cool Eddie riffs but it's far from a great album...lyrics are shallow and diamond Dave sounds like a old wailing junk yard dog.......people embracing this album are embracing a memory of yesteryear and it speaks to how desperate we all are for a good rock album".........music is in a sad state

:? or they actually think it's a good album. I have no big personal tie to any VH music. I like some of their tunes, but I'm far from a big fan and I think this album is pretty good. Your critiques on Roth have always rang true. There's plenty of music, old and new, to sate my appetite for new(to me) sounds, so there's no desperation here.

I must admit to some humble pie here.....gave it an honest listen and this is a legitimately solid record.... Way better after the third listen...Eddie is amazing

chadwick

http://youtu.be/_IxqdAgNJck
brown m & m's

nicely done dickface. i like vh. i find this both funny and terrible. ultimately, dave roth, you are a dick. your gigantic legal shit contract on how vh works sucks balls and makes you a scumbag.

Flagg

chadwick wrote:

http://youtu.be/_IxqdAgNJck
brown m & m's

nicely done dickface. i like vh. i find this both funny and terrible. ultimately, dave roth, you are a dick. your gigantic legal shit contract on how vh works sucks balls and makes you a scumbag.

I guess I'm lost. Not sure how this makes him a scumbag?

PKTrekGirl

maynardsux wrote:

Saw them tonight in Detroit and they killed it, playing for a solid 2 hrs.....still warming up to the new material but it translated well live.....if anything, Eddie is a master, absolutely on fire the entire night ("Unchained" and "Hot for Teacher" stole the show for me, as well as Ed's extended rendition of "Eruption")...check them out if you get a chance, they even got Kool and the Gang opening up :? Kind of an odd combination, but it worked, and hundreds of drunken cougars up and dancing couldn't be wrong, could they?

So glad to hear the live show was good too. This record is fabulous, IMO. Van Halen's best record since '1984', as far as I'm concerned. I've listened to it a dozen or so times through, and I still can't pick a favorite song - it's, like, an 8-way tie.

There is simply nothing better than listening to Eddie Van Halen shred his way through this record. Makes me all warm and happy inside!

I won't be able to go to a show since it would cost me thousands of dollars for airfare, hotels, etc....but I am glad to hear that they are rippin' it up!

Poncier

PKTrekGirl wrote:

So glad to hear the live show was good too. This record is fabulous, IMO. Van Halen's best record since '1984', as far as I'm concerned. I've listened to it a dozen or so times through, and I still can't pick a favorite song - it's, like, an 8-way tie.

There is simply nothing better than listening to Eddie Van Halen shred his way through this record. Makes me all warm and happy inside!

!

This record is miles better than 1984. Really no weak tracks where 1984 had a few.
Its probably only surpassed as a whole by the first 2 albums (this coming from a guy who loves Fair Warning and Women and Children First, but both have some weak points to go along with the band's finest tracks).

I agree its quite difficult to pick a favorite, right now if forced to I'd probably go with Honeybabysweetiedoll, the song just cooks.

Of The Aggie

I've tried listening to this album but just can't get into it at all. You can definitely tell the songs that started out as demos from their earlier albums. Picked up a copy of Women and Children First on vinyl and just relished how great they were in back in the day.

PKTrekGirl

Poncier wrote:

This record is miles better than 1984. Really no weak tracks where 1984 had a few.
Its probably only surpassed as a whole by the first 2 albums (this coming from a guy who loves Fair Warning and Women and Children First, but both have some weak points to go along with the band's finest tracks).

I agree its quite difficult to pick a favorite, right now if forced to I'd probably go with Honeybabysweetiedoll, the song just cooks.

I wasn't all that crazy about Drop Dead Legs...but I think the rest of 1984 is pretty solid. But of course, your mileage may vary.

As to this record, I think all the tracks are solid. Tattoo might be the weakest of all, oddly enough...but even that is a fairly decent song on it's face - it's only 'weak' because the rest of the album is so utterly stellar!

I think if I had to pick just one favorite as of today, it would probably be 'As Is". But tomorrow it could be any one of several other songs. Outta Space, Stay Frosty, Big River, She's The Woman, China Town, and Bullethead are all very high on my list...as is your selection above.

Bottom line: I like any song where I get to hear Eddie Van Halen Shred The Universe. And especially so given the rough few years the guy has had. I LOVE seeing Eddie Van Halen take back his rightful place as the King of Shred. And doing it in such a breathtaking 50 minute set as this....as if to say "Why did anyone ever doubt me?! This, my friends, is what I was BORN to do!"

And She's The Woman and Stay Frosty do get bonus points for sporting lyrics that ONLY DLR singing in Van Halen could sing and get away with. The lyrics of those songs, to me, are just hilarious. In a good way...being as how I spent the early part of the 1980's sitting in front of MTV and laughing my butt off at the Hot For The Teacher and Panama videos.

Poncier

Drop dead Legs and Top Jimmy are fairly weak, and honestly I can't stand Jump (there's a story behind that, it has to do with a neighbor playing the 45 incessantly for months).

And "As Is" is right up there on the new album for me.

PKTrekGirl

Well, I actually like Top Jimmy - mostly because Eddie is the best part.

And I like Jump too...but I know what you mean about hating a song after a neighbor (or radio station) does it to death. Been there.

Flagg

You and Your Blues is definitely my favorite. That little groove in the bridge is something Van Halen has always done better than almost anyone. And the solo is just mean and bitter sounding, like the lyrics. Great song. Best backing vocals on the album too. You and Your Blues, She's the Woman, and Outta Space remind me the most of the classic Van Halen sound. Great album all the way through though.


And I agree that only DLR can get away with cheesy lyrics. That sort of goofiness mixed with the serious musicianship skills of the band is what has really been missing over the years. I like Sammy and all, but DLR's trippy, showman, carnival ringleader, pseudo-philosophical musings were an integral part of that band and it is nice to have him back.

Horos

Poncier wrote:

Drop dead Legs and Top Jimmy are fairly weak, and honestly I can't stand Jump (there's a story behind that, it has to do with a neighbor playing the 45 incessantly for months).

And "As Is" is right up there on the new album for me.

Man I really dig the way Drop Dead Legs jams out at the end. For me House of Pain is the weak track. On the other hand Girl Gone Bad is one of my all time fave VH tracks.

Sweet Oblivion

Flagg wrote:

You and Your Blues is definitely my favorite. That little groove in the bridge is something Van Halen has always done better than almost anyone. And the solo is just mean and bitter sounding, like the lyrics. Great song. Best backing vocals on the album too. You and Your Blues, She's the Woman, and Outta Space remind me the most of the classic Van Halen sound. Great album all the way through though.

Same here. Really love Dave's lyrics and vocals on it.

In regards to 1984, I'd concur with those who say Drop Dead Legs is the weakest. Still like it but pales in comparison to the rest. I really like Top Jimmy and House of Pain. Girl Gone Bad is great as well.