Oh man, where to begin on this post. I’ve written and rewritten so many drafts on this it’s not even funny. But after catching some clips from their opening night of their 2015 tour I’ve decided to once again change my tune. Ah, the life of a fan!
Soooo… let’s try and fast forward somewhat. Growing up, I really didn’t get hip to Van Halen until their second album when “Dance The Night Away” was played on the local “top hits” station (this was before I switched to the local rock one). Loved the song but it took another couple of years before VH really grabbed hold and knocked me on my ass. By that time I’d purchased the debut album, wore it out, bought II and Fair Warning, and caught the live videos for “Unchained”, “Hear About It Later”, and “So This Is Love?” and the VH love affair was on. Bought 1984 and liked it (never really LOVED it) and also caught the tour which was killer but for me the David Lee Roth shtick was wearing thin. Yeah, yeah, yeah… guys wanted to be DLR and girls wanted to be with DLR. Naaaaah… I wanted to be Edward Van Halen!
So jump ahead a couple of years- Roth is out and former Montrose man Sammy Hagar is in. Fandom was still in full swing although the music was a bit different and EVH concentrated more on songwriting with Hagar rather than the mountainous riff rock of the earlier years (which I did miss but there was still a lot of goodness, only different). Plus, I saw VH with Sammy twice with the 5150 tour being one of the best I’ve EVER seen: the band was ON FIRE (pun intended) and their onstage vibe was second to none. These guys absolutely loved being up on stage together. Popularity continued to rise, concerts sold out, hit records were made. But after three more studio albums things fell apart with Sam and then-
(dramatic pause)
SOMETHING happened. Well, not something but a lot of things. To cover everything that’s happened since Hagar left in the late 90s would be one of the greatest soap opera miniseries in history. But for those unfamiliar you can Google the following: Van Halen MTV Reunion 1996, Gary Cherone Van Halen singer, Ray Danniels Van Halen, Sam and Dave tour, Sammy Hagar Van Halen reunion, Michael Anthony out of Van Halen, Wolfgang Van Halen, David Lee Roth Van Halen reunion, Edward Van Halen Billboard article… and that seems to be just the tip of the iceberg. There has been so much turmoil around the band since that time that in many ways it’s ruined my fandom. Backstabbing, he said/she said, put downs, it’s all there: what was once the MIGHTY VAN HALEN is now something else altogether. But what?
In some ways, Van Halen 2015 is a unique beast. For the past eight or so years Wolfgang Van Halen (Edward’s son and Alex’ nephew) has admirably handled the bass duties previously anchored by Michael Anthony. Granted, Mike’s backup vocals were always an integral part of VH songs but Wolfgang does a very good job. In many ways, he seems to have saved Van Halen (the band AND his father) via his presence and his enthusiasm- word has it that Wolfgang is the one picking the setlist over the past few years. It is obvious that father loves having his son around and it shows. As musicians, these three are locked down tight and Ed’s playing is the best that it’s been in years. As for the vocals, however…
What in the hell is Roth doing with some of these songs? Don’t give me “ahhhh, Dave NEVER sang anything right back in the old days… you know, his line was ‘I forgot the fuckin’ words, maaaan”. Sure, he never sang it right but he had a coolness factor and was at least in the pocket singing the correct melodies but what he’s doing nowadays is an abomination. Case in point, listen to “Dance The Night Away” from their recent performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPVEAPki2YA
Maybe even worse, listen to him on their recently released Tokyo Dome In Concert
What IS that? I mean, the band is TIGHT and Ed is on fire (which is why I listen to VH to be honest) but WTF? C’mon Dave, gimme a break! I understand your range is gone, those cool yelps from the old days are no more, but why are you butchering the melody lines??? Not only that, but you’re not in step with the rest of the band! It’s embarrassing.
Oh well, no use crying over spilled milk. Van Halen as a musical entity is solid and well worth the $$$ to go see live but vocally will likely be hit or miss depending on the tune. And yes, I miss Mike, I miss Sammy, but we should all be most fortunate that Edward Van Halen is alive and well after the health scares of the past and we should be thankful for the role Wolfgang has played in keeping the Van Halen name alive today.
ironriot.blog 
Well written, well said, and I agree almost perfectly – except for perhaps at least Dave’s performances on the studio albums, which you only briefly allude to here but what I now view as extraordinary in their overall vocal character.
Let’s face it. Apparently, the guy has almost always kind of sucked live, let alone from what we’ve read Eddie say about him taking endless cuts in studio to get a quality take (thank God for Ted Templeman to drag it out of him, I’m guessing)!
Still, in returning to those original 6 records today, I never realized how distracted I was by the Van Halen brothers musicianship (no offense to Michael, especially his golden-throated harmonies which, indeed, Wolfgang manages to handle with eerie similarity these days, along with his dad’s completely underrated vocals as well).
Fact is, IMHO, DLR was truly one amazing studio vocalist. I mean, NOBODY sounds like he did on those records! As pure works of bombastic rock art, those records are peerless in their overall talent, confidence, and character (or should I say cockiness and arrogance showmanship?). Not even Zeppelin had that much machismo, much of that down to DLR (even though he TOTALLY stole his whole shtick from Jim Dandy without a doubt, and probably a lot from Elvis and Robert Plant!) but so what? He took something cool and just amplified it.
It’s just a real shame that he couldn’t/can’t translate it to the stage vocally. Karate moves, dancing, and swiveling hips might get it done for the ladies, but a band THIS GREAT really deserves someone who can actually carry a tune. What a shame.
But I’d still love to see them again, haha!
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