Before I start this review I want to tackle 2 issues.
Issue 1... These are old songs: Yes some (If not all) are old songs from the bands demo tape... Who cares? Bands have been doing this forever. I can't imagine writing what I think is a good song and having to just forget it because a record company exec decided they didn't like it and then I'd have to never touch it for years. Like I said... Bands have been revisiting old material forever.
Issue 2... Too high of an expectation: When a band makes a "come back" often they do so under much more scrutiny. We expect something that may be impossible to do. I try not to use old albums or back stories when I review a record. It's tough... But I try.
It's been 28 years since we have had a full album of new material from a David Lee Roth led Van Halen and 14 years since Van Halen released their last new material "Van Halen III" and though I think it's a good record over all it does suffer from some low points.
The album starts with the single "Tattoo"
I really didn't like the single when I first heard it. It sounded like DLR's solo stuff circa "Skyscraper". It's starting to grow on me with it's catchy pre-chorus though the repetitive chorus' are something I'm not a huge fan of.
"She's The Woman" a more of a boogie shuffle style of song. A lot more upbeat and rocking song over all. I am assuming this will be the next single as it has gotten the most play at the shows the band has been doing before the album release.
"You and Your Blues". Here is where you really start to miss Micheal Anthony as there is more focus on the backing vocals and they are a little flat. Musically it's solid, we do get DLR over singing a little, but it's a solid song.
"China Town" This song is a rave up type of a song, faster pacing but still somehow boring. Not a big fan of it.
"Blood And Fire" Another song that sounds pulled out of the solo DLR playbook circa "Eat 'em and Smile" era. It's not a bad song but too much Dave not enough everyone else.
"Bullethead" is a hard rocking number. And it's very messy. Think Van Halen meets punk rock. Would have been a good B-side.
"As Is" Sounds like a song that was supposed to be an instrumental that Dave scat sings over. The band sounds good, probably better without a singer though
"Honeybabysweetydoll" This could have been "eruption" like.... Shut up Dave please! His vocals add nothing of value here.
"The Trouble With Never" Good chorus, however the verses are awful. Sounds like a half baked throwaway track
"Outta Space" The song sounds recorded live in studio and has a very free feel to it. I would have made this the 1st single. Good track
"Stay Frosty" OK... I said I didn't want to compare this to old VH but this song is very reminiscent of "Ice Cream Man" off of their debut album. I can see this being a live favorite for years if they keep touring
"Big River" Another single worthy song. It has the best traditional structure of a song on the album. If they get to 3 singles I can't see why they wouldn't release it.
"Beats Workin'" The song starts with a little AC/DC rip off of "Walk All Over You" Then gets back to a VH sound. Chorus is catchy. Could be a big summer song. Should have been earlier in the album. Sequencing matters.
Over all I like the record. As I said, I'd re sequence it for a better flow but in this day I'm not sure that really matters. The keyboards are GONE! So if that was something you didn't like about "Van Hagar" then you will be happy. Also no sappy love songs. This is a heavier record for VH, more towards "Balance" then anything from DLR era VH. The band is solid, Dave could use a muzzle here and there (but that's kind of expected with him). If you buy the special edition you also get a 4 song video of the band sitting around doing an acoustic set. It's kind of nice seeing the laid back tone, though some interviews from the band would have been a cool addition.
If I have to give it a rating I'd say 7.5 out of 10. Not their best, but still better then most
I already gave a short review on my FB page. I can't agree more about the muzzle! Speaking of which you get 3 songs on the bonus DVD and 1 track of Dave babbling on about things in history and claiming he guided Reggie Jackson in his career Blah blah blah.... 1 great song, 2 good songs, a lot of background noise and 1 steaming pile of crap.(Song, not Dave) I rate 3 of 5 which is mostly due to Eddies guitar work. Dave keeps trying to make himself relevant and ends up dragging this album down. (PSSST..I miss Michael Anthony)
ReplyDeleteOOOps... Forgot the 1 track was an "intro" piece. Though for some reason it is listed as a track, lol
ReplyDeleteSo many things wrong with this review that I don't even know where to start. This rebuttal will probably be all over the map because of that, so my apologies right off the bat.
ReplyDeleteYou gave the record a 7+ out of 10, but from what I can tell, you like 3 or 13 tracks. Doesn't that rate the record somewhere near a 4 out of 10? Another thing was mentioning that you may have had your hopes up too high. I honestly don't get that remark for two reasons. 1) How is it Van Halen's fault that YOU raised your hopes too high? and 2) What on God's green Earth where you expecting?
I've heard all the hate toward Tattoo for weeks now and I just don't get it. One source said to me "The lyrics are stupid" and to that I say "Not if you really listen". If you watch the video of DLR explaining the lyrics to Tattoo, you'll find that they're actually not dumb at all. But on top of that I'd like to argue this; stupid by what standard?? Aren't we talking about the same band (Halen WITH Roth) that had a hit with Jump?? (Ya know... with it's deep and meaningful chorus of "might as well Jump! Go ahead and Jump!" and if that ain't deep enough for you, let me remind you of the second verse opener; "Ah Ah, hey you! Who said that? Baby, how you been?" deep stuff man.... almost Dylan-deep)
Tattoo to me (and the whole record for that matter) is EXACTLY what we asked for all these years. It's Diamond Dave getting back up front, doing what he does and the best rhythm section in biz backing him up.
Which brings me to my next point; what's with all the "I miss Michael Anthony" crap these days? Did I miss something or am I right in assuming Anthony shit the bed with both Chickenfoot records? Is it Michael Anothony's Earth-changing bass licks you miss? No. Couldn't be, because he's just not that good of a bass player as evidenced by the fact that Ed's kid completely out-classes him as a bass player left and right on this record. Is it Anthony's high pitched vocals? Maybe. But at that point I say this; you don't think Ed or Wolf couldn't have falsetto'd something up there to give it that same feel? Maybe they decided not to? I for one applaud the move to literally "keep it in the family". If you can play one single rock CD that's come out in the last decade where the guitarist, drummer and bassist gel like these guys do on aDKoT, I'll be shocked.
Back to David Lee Roth; what's with the idea that there's "too much" of him? Sorry but I honestly don't get that idea. DLR is, was and always will be an entertainer. It's what he was born to do. When you listen to You And Your Blues and/or The Trouble With Never, what would you like in Dave's place? Silence?
The last thing that comes to mind is that I don't understand insulting "bonus material". It's just that: BONUS MATERIAL. What would be the better alternative to the bonus material? None? The bonus material certainly doesn't detract from the overall package but it may or may not add anything which is certainly debatable. So what's the issue with it if it's "bonus"?
In the end, here's how I look at aDKoT: I wanted a new album from Van Halen. If I could get DLR to be at the helm, that would be a plus. I got that and on top of that, it's as good or better as pretty much any album they've done with Dave in the past out side of maybe VHI. Does it move mountains? Does it cure cancer? Nope, but the band who asked if I've seen Junior's grades, informed me that they don't feel tardy and served up one break ass soon as it was asked for couldn't be expected to deliver any of that in my opinion.
I liked more then 3 songs, I just hear 4 singles (including Tattoo) and all 3 should have been singles before Tattoo because they better represent the albums feel. I'd actually say I like 8 songs on the album with 3-4 of them being songs VH could be playing for years on tour. The expectations thing was not my thoughts. I was trying to make the point of people judging the record on preconceived notions in their heads. Much like "Chinese Democracy" people had in their heads what they wanted long before the release and when it hit the album could never reach their lofty expectations. I don't know that any album could.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest issue with Tattoo is that it doesn't fit with the record overall. It's a harder album for VH and the song is poppy/bluesy. Lyrics have rarely been Dave's strong point & VH fans know this very well.
I don't judge a record by who is on and who isn't necessarily, but by how it sounds to me. I didn't want a DLR record as much as I just wanted a good to great record. They gave me a good one.
The only mention of Micheal Anthony was the flat backing vocals in "You and Your Blues" Eddie can't sing well and VH III proved that I think. A little more melody in the backing vox would have been nice, but not a deal breaker.
There is a lot of DLR singing over instrumental breaks, too much for my liking. Dave was not always this way with VH. You have someone who many consider one of the, if not the best guitarist ever, I'd like to be able to hear him over yips and yelps.
I said positive things about the bonus disc. I only wish they included the interviews from some of the promo clips that surfaced online after the announcement of the album & tour.
I'll touch up on the points I made:
ReplyDelete#1: WE, is YOU, not ME... I haven't been begging for DLR, I've been begging for Van Halen. I'd love to edit the vocals right out and just listen to the band play ( Of course I'm sure if I did that, Dave would somehow show up and try to talk all deep to me while doing scissor kicks)
#2: I Miss Michael Anthony because I like the guy and I believe his backing vocals don't MAKE, but rather ENHANCE the Van Halen sound.
#3: What would I like to hear in it's place? More music, less Dave. Is it too much to ask someone to allow musicians to play or even stand out on a song without someone putting in a screech or a hey or a wahoo? As Aerosmith once said, "Let The Music Do The Talkin'"
#4: It's not really BONUS material, because it wasn't FREE, it cost more money to get the "DELUXE" material. Though it was cool to see VH acoustic... Once again, too much Dave Diarrhea mouth. (and uncomfortable embarrassment when he tries to be witty with Wolfie.)
Old songs....Why? Why old songs? Whenever i see a band do this and Greg is right they do it and have done it forever. I always say to myself " If it wasn't good enough to go on the record back then? Why is it good enough now?" I've listened to this record a few times now and my opinion hasn't changed. This record is substandard at least lyrically and most definitely vocally. Musically they are as tight as ever but i'm sorry they've been working on this album for how long? Dave has really started to get on my nerves as he seems to have spent a vast majority of his time since the end of the last tour trying to come up with more one liners and cute catch phrases than working on his lyrics and strengthening his vocal cords. The guy is 57 years old and his Diamond Dave Schtick is really all he seems to have left. I'm sorry guys I expected so much more from them. Tom
ReplyDelete@Chris; I hear you on some people not wanting or caring if DLR came back. I was/am a fan of the Hagar era and my two favorite VH records (F.U.C.K. and 5150) come from that line up. But again, I have to say that Dave is Dave, always was, always will be. And looking at it from the perspective, I wasn't expecting him to come in and try to be someone else.
ReplyDeleteI also hear you on Michael Anthony and my issue with that wasn't even directed at you and/or Greg really. The mainstream press keeps mentioning it and it bugs me. I really believe that if "they" (the press) weren't told MA isn't on this record, they would've had no clue he wasn't, so I don't get constantly mentioning it on their part.
I also concede to you point about the bonus material. I didn't realize that in most cases, the consumer is being asked to pay $5 more for the bonus content. Again, it's still up to each person whether they think a couple acoustic tracks are with the extra $5 or not but still, I realize that "bonus" doesn't mean "free" in this case.
"The keyboards are GONE! So if that was something you didn't like about "Van Hagar" then you will be happy"
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard the whole album yet, but there are some really stand out keyboards in the lead single Tattoo. I don't know how you missed that.
And saying that keyboards is a Sammy Hagar thing, have you not heard the song Jump, along with several other songs on the album 1984 that also feature keyboards...? Just sounds like an unfair dig at Sammy, when the keyboards were already there before he entered the VH camp.
The keyboards did pre-date Sammy however that is one of the reasons for the split. Dave hated them.
ReplyDeleteI think they wrote more solid poppy songs with Sammy. I like pieces of all 3 versions of VH
I finally picked up the CD yesterday, so I can finally comment on this. I did grab the bonus version, but I can't comment much on the extras yet, since I haven't watched it yet. I have seen the videos they've posted online, which I assume are the same (from descriptions I've read).
ReplyDeleteAs for the main CD, overall, I would agree with a 7/10 rating. I like the music, but have a hard time getting into it. I've listened to it several times now, and I'm having a hard time finding a track that I love. Oh, and don't mistake me listening to it several times, as a contradiction of my opinions of this album. I've had several CDs lately, that I don't appreciate until I've given them a couple listens.
Sorry Russ, but I do miss Michael Anthony. It's the background vocals. Sure, Eddie/Wolfie could have done something to provide similar vocals. Why didn't they? I found several moments where I felt background vocals would have helped strengthen DLRs vocals (as they always have in the past). So, was it just Anthony's vocals, or also his ability to know where to place them? He certain doesn't make/break a song, but he's part of the sound that I've always loved with VH.
I'm a bigger fan of the DLR days, than I am of the Hagar days. I didn't like Sammy trying to make every song like he's singing to his woman. I'd like to challenge Sammy to make a song without the word Babe or Baby in it ;) So, I was excited to have Dave back, but for me, Dave needs to change how he uses his vocals now. Obviously he's aged, as many of my favorite vocalists have. He seems to be aware that he can't hit the same notes anymore, but rather than avoiding the high notes and screams, he still attempts them, and flattens them out just as they are about to peek. It disconnects me from the tune, every time he does it. I think that's where some people get their DLR irritation. I doesn't destroy the experience for me, I just wish he would make some adjustments to stay in the ranges he can still perform.
I also disagree that it's good to 'keep it in the family'. In this scenario, it puts everything into Eddie's hands. What Eddie wants, he'll get. Alex just goes with the flow, and do you think Wolfie is going to tell his Dad that something sucks? Dave is out numbered and probably doesn't have much weight in any musical choices. Obviously, Eddie has been in control for a while, either way though. I think that's why VH3 sucked. It wasn't Gary Cherone that made that album suck. It was Eddie 'experimenting' and no one telling him that it wasn't working.
The only songs I think I may end up 'skipping' on this CD, would be Chinatown, Stay Frosty, and Honeybabysweetiedoll. Chinatown starts off great, but after the musical intro, it goes downhill for me. Stay Frosty, I agree, is just like Ice Cream Man, but without the fun lyrics.
I know this comment sounds really negative, but it's just constructive criticism. Like I said, there isn't much that I latched onto with this album, so not much 'positive' to balance out the negative. It's a good album, and I'd still rather listen to it, than Justin Beiber. It'll be nice in my mp3 circulation, but I don't see myself listening to this as a whole too much down the road.
-Dan
Once again I feel the need to clarify; I believe the people I know and speak to about music on a regular basis when they say they miss Michael Anthony. What I'm talking about is Joe Blow DJ or Music Critic mentioning it when I'm certain they wouldn't even know unless someone told them ahead of time. Having said that, I think there IS some promise in the backing vocals on tracks like She's The Woman, The Trouble With Never and You And Your Blues.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I honestly don't think Eddie is getting everything his way on this. I've read and heard from pretty reliable sources that one of the things that took this record so long to make was that Wolf went head to head with Ed on what it should sound like. From what I understand, Wolf is a BIG fan of the first 5 VH records and only wanted to be involved if this record was going to be in that vein. I completely understand what you're saying and that fear, but I really think (at least) Wolf is having a say that's different from Ed's.
As for DLR, I don't know what else to say. My entire argument for Dave remains the same; Dave is Dave, take it or leave it. I still cannot understand criticizing DLR/VH lyrics. If you compare the lyrics on this record to anything Dave's done with VH prior (or his solo career for that matter) how on Earth was anything prior superior to what's on aDKoT? I think there's plenty of clever little things on the record lyrically (see/hear: You And Your Blues) but again, when compared to anything he's done in the past, I don't see how there was any bar set for lyrical greatness.
P.S. I hate when VH discussions seem to always taper off into a Sam Vs Dave pissing contest. I'm very glad to see that outside of a couple of mentions necessary for comparisons, that this discussion has been free of that. Along those lines, THANK YOU Dan for pointing out that it was NOT Gary's fault that VH3 sucked. lol
-R
Don't worry, I get that you were throwing out statements toward the more generic public. I just wanted to provide an answer why I missed Michael Anthony.
ReplyDeleteI do truly hope that Eddie the other members speak up when they should. I actually felt, that on THIS album, Eddie was more interested in getting another album out, and less about trying to control things. I think that's why Dave had so many vocals on this album... or at least, that's kind of how it felt, compared to past VH/DLR albums.
And I agree, just like people can't mention Obama, without someone bringing up Bush, it seems like when someone brings up DLR, it somehow has to switch to a Sammy comparison. If my reference to Sammy was taken that way, it's not what I meant to do ;) As you mentioned, I just wanted it point out that I'm not an 'anti Dave' kind of guy.
I am soooo happy to be in a discussion group that doesn't blame the VH3 train wreck on Gary! Gary Cherone is a great Vocalist & Songwriter who will never get mainstream credit for his ability because of the stain left by VH3. The VH concerts with Cherone was some of the best, most high energy shows I'd seen from a Van Halen concert.
ReplyDeleteJust got done watching the extra videos, and yeah, it's basically what they posted online, which is cool. Just not sure it's worth an extra $5.
ReplyDeleteIt was kind of hard watching Dave. You could tell he is still packed up with energy, and they made him contain himself in that chair ;) You could tell he was enjoying himself, and I was glad to see that.
Eddie, once again, made playing guitar look so easy. Playing Panama, it almost looked as though his body is just there as a prop for his arms. There were a few moments, when he looks at Dave, then over to Alex, where the look on his face looks like, "can you believe this guy?". Couldn't tell if it was good or bad thing though. He did seem to be enjoying himself though.
It did seem like Dave forgot some of the words to Panama though. I know at some points, he was intentionally mixing things up, but I thought at the beginning, he had some of the words wrong.... or maybe it was just me.
Again though, cool DVD, but I wouldn't recommend anyone to buy it, but DO go watch them online.
Gary Cherone's biggest issue was not having a big enough personality for this band. His vocals and writing were fine, but whoever put a lead mic in front of Eddie should be out of the music biz forever! LOL
ReplyDelete