New Van Halen album...

[AreaMan]

Anyone pick this one up or download it? I've heard good things, though their first single "Tattoo" was underwhelming.

Apparently they re-visited some old demos from the late 70s for inclusion on the album. I plan on picking it up tonight and hoping for the best.

 

[Huggy]

Heard it once. I am a huge fan of VH with Diamond Dave out front and while it certainly isn't up there with their best albums it has its moments. The old demos certainly give it a feel back to their first couple of albums. Michael Anthony is definitely missed here.

 

[Chef2]

I don't know about Van Halen, but I am certainly becoming fond of AreaMan's avatar.

 

[PCLoadLetter]

It's OK. Has its moments. If it came right after "1984" you'd be disappointed. 28 years later, it's as good as anyone could reasonably suspect.

 

[Gehrig]

I'm going to see them live in March, very excited.

Though, I've heard that they've put on some terrible shows in the past.

 

[Huggy]

It's OK. Has its moments. If it came right after "1984" you'd be disappointed. 28 years later, it's as good as anyone could reasonably suspect.

Agreed, it's got that patented VH rhythmic crunch, some decent shredding by Eddie and a fair approximation of Diamond Dave's vocals at their best and these days that's enough for me.

 

[KYSportsWriter]

I don't know about Van Halen, but I am certainly becoming fond of AreaMan's avatar.

Same here.

And "Tattoo" sucks. That song is awful.

 

[Bob Cook]

By the way, how did Kool and the Gang end up as their opening act?

 

[BDC99]

I don't know about Van Halen, but I am certainly becoming fond of AreaMan's avatar.

Same here.

And "Tattoo" sucks. That song is awful.

Thirded. On both counts.
AreaMan, care to comment?

Saw VH on the 2008(?) tour, and it was a fun show, but it was a little embarrassing watching Diamond Dave prancing around like that at his age, and the vocals weren't great. Will be picking this up, and I'm sure I'll enjoy and just be happy to have something new from them.

 

[NoOneLikesUs]

I don't know about Van Halen, but I am certainly becoming fond of AreaMan's avatar.

Same here.

And "Tattoo" sucks. That song is awful.

I'm 2/3 through the album and Tattoo is by far the worst thing on the album.

Yes, it has its moments. Never a huge Van Halen fan, but this is in the mold of the 70s stuff I did like. Very up tempo with a lot of cool guitar effects (remember those?).

 

[Captain_Kirk]

By the way, how did Kool and the Gang end up as their opening act?

Possibly the oddest pairing in the history of rock recorded music.

 

[Starman]

By the way, how did Kool and the Gang end up as their opening act?

Possibly the oddest pairing in the history of rock recorded music.

Not quite.

 

[hoopswriter]

I really like the album. It definitely harkens back to the old Diamond Dave days. The backbone of Van Halen - Alex on drums and now Wolfie on bass - is solid, and Eddie has some great licks. Dave's schmaltz is a little higher than back in the day, but for the most part, it's a solid album. Heck, just the fact I can share the excitement of a new Van Halen album with my 9-year-old -- who already plays part of Eruption on his electric guitar -- makes it worth it alone.

 

[BDC99]

Bought the album today even though I couldn't really afford to. I am really pleasantly surprised. I've only listened to the first 7 or 8 songs, but it's pretty good stuff. Tattoo is MUCH better when you don't have to watch that stupid promotional video and Dave dancing around like a dickweed at his age. The chorus of the song is lame, but it is growing on me.

As for the important stuff, where is AreaMan to give us the lowdown on the girl in the avatar? Some random gif or what? He is my new favorite poster. Unless that's his wife, in which case I apologoze and offer my congratulations for presumably outkicking his coverage.

 

[Huggy]

Klosterman reviews it, love these convoluted "Does he like or not?" kind of reviews that used to be a regular feature in Rolling Stone.

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7561092/judging-new-van-halen-album-different-kind-truth

To these ears, "Tattoo" is better than the new Springsteen single.

 

[John]

I have no interest in the new album, but seeing that it was coming out got me to buy the Best of Both Worlds album. I find Van Halen to be a rather forgettable band in a lot of ways, but it did produce a bunch of really good songs.

 

[Captain_Kirk]

A little story on the "Hot For Teacher" video. Lillian Muller--yum. Then, and apparaently now at 60:


http://awards.music.yahoo.com/blog/171-hot-for-teacher-star-surfaces-after-bands-grammy-buzz

 

[Captain_Kirk]

By the way, how did Kool and the Gang end up as their opening act?

Possibly the oddest pairing in the history of rock recorded music.

Not quite.

Exactly what I was thinking of when I made that post.

And VH and Kool and the Gang is still a weirder combo.

 

[BDC99]

The Tattoo video is brutal. DD as a clown in his 20s was fun. In his 50s he has become a cricature. The song without that image is fun, despite the sometimes dreadful chorus. She's a Woman is classic Van Halen, and I'm starting to really dig China Town.

 

[AreaMan]

Bought the album today even though I couldn't really afford to. I am really pleasantly surprised. I've only listened to the first 7 or 8 songs, but it's pretty good stuff. Tattoo is MUCH better when you don't have to watch that stupid promotional video and Dave dancing around like a dickweed at his age. The chorus of the song is lame, but it is growing on me.

As for the important stuff, where is AreaMan to give us the lowdown on the girl in the avatar? Some random gif or what? He is my new favorite poster. Unless that's his wife, in which case I apologoze and offer my congratulations for presumably outkicking his coverage.

Not my wife. It's a GIF of porn star Shay Laren. Glad you folks appreciate some good bouncin'!