VAN HALEN

PAGE UPDATED IN 2021

Reviewed:
- Van Halen (1978)
- Van Halen II (1979)
- Women and Children First (1980)
- Fair Warning (1981)
- Diver Down (1982)
- 1984 (1984)
- 5150 (1986)
- OU812 (1988)
- For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991)
- Live: Right Here, Right Now (1993, live album)
- Balance (1995)
- Best of Vol. 1 (1996, compilation)
- Van Halen III (1998)
- The Best of Both Worlds (2004, compilation)
- A Different Kind of Truth (2012)

- Tokyo Dome Live in Concert (2015, live album)


VAN HALEN          1978          (Warner Bros.)

- Standouts: The whole thing! 

With Eddie Van Halen's unexpected, tragic death towards the end of last year, I felt it was time to update this page. It was one of the first pages I made for this site back in 2017, and I've been going back and reworking most of my old posts from back then. I mean, it's now 2021, and every so often my opinion of a certain record does change over time, but I also feel I've gotten somewhat better at writing these reviews. Well, a little better at least.

So, Van Halen's 1978 debut then. It's legendary, plain and simple. It's also one of the first albums I went out of my way to actually buy, so it's kind of important to me personally. It plays a large part in my ever-expanding music collection. And as for the music - it was awesome in '78, and it's still awesome now! Obviously Eddie's guitar playing is major contribution to that opinion - well, FACT. His playing was mind-blowing for the time, with all the two-handed tapping techniques and divebombs in all his solos. This was the hottest guitar-related shit since Hendrix and wah-wah trademark. Can you imagine hearing the blistering instrumental 'Eruption' in 1978 for the first time?! Shit, it blew me away when I first heard it, and that was in 2005! Eddie's guitar hero status aside, the songs themselves kick ass, and David Lee Roth was the most charismatic and energetic frontmen for the time as well. Granted, he's not the best singer per say, but he has this huge macho aura, and he gave the band a sense of humour and party-style atmosphere. Coupled with Eddie, Roth-fronted Van Halen was a match made in heaven for rock fans. This is about as fun and hard rockin' as it gets!

'Runnin' With the Devil' might not be the fastest or craziest openers, but it's so direct, heavy and in your face that it sets the mood perfectly. The band always liked covering songs back then, and their cover of 'You Really Got Me' blows the Kinks' original out of the water for me. No disrespect to the Kinks or Ray Davies, but Van Halen's rendition is so fast, fun and turbocharged, it just breathes so much more life into a golden rock oldie! 'Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love' is up there as one of the best hard rock/heavy metal tracks to come out of the 70's. It's catchy, the playing is amazing, it sticks with you... they just don't make 'em like this anymore! 'Jamie's Cryin'' is slightly lighter and possibly marginally weaker than 'Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love', but it to was a chart-topper, and it's catchy as hell. The band fire on all cylinders once again with 'Atomic Punk', a song that just rips! Same can be said for 'I'm the One', which even has an acapella-style transition in it, for some good comedic fun!

The slowest number on here is easily the sleazy ballad 'Little Dreamer'. I guess this one is kind of tepid next to the majority of this album, but I still enjoy the hell out of it. I don't think the blues rocker 'Ice Cream Man' gets enough credit either - I dunno, I just think it's a ridiculously good time! Naturally, the record goes out with a huge bang with 'On Fire'. A fully-fledged, testosterone-fuelled rocker! The only negative I can think of is that the chorus in 'Feel Your Love Tonight' is a little too repetitive for my tastes, and borderline irritating if I'm in a mood. But I still like that track overall. 95% of the time I won't skip over it. 

Strangely, up until now I've pretty much always considered Van Halen to be a perfect hard rock album. Don't get me wrong, it's in the top five of all time - probably even the top three, but for the first time ever I'm not going to slap the ten out of ten score on it! 'Feel Your Love Tonight' is the culprit! Whatever. If you don't enjoy this record then I feel pessimistic about your tastes.

Adam's rating: 9.8/10

VAN HALEN II          1979         (Warner Bros.)

- Standouts: Everything. 

When I first heard Van Halen II all those years ago, my attitude towards it was lukewarm; obviously I had heard it not too long after I picked up the debut, which I loved. And while I always liked II, it wasn't until I got a little older that I really began to appreciate it. Well, to be honest, tracks like 'Somebody Get Me a Doctor' and 'D.O.A.' I always loved, but the fact this record doesn't quite have that "we're the new band in town, and we're the shit" kind of attitude that the debut had meant it wasn't blowing my head off in the same vein. Of course, this doesn't actually matter, because in reality the tracks on II are still top-notch from start to finish.

The album starts off with a moody mid-tempo rocker, 'You're No Good' (actually a cover, can't say I'm familiar with the Clint Ballard Jr....), and although it isn't as obnoxiously huge as 'Runnin' With the Devil' from the predecessor, it's still a nice little ditty. A deep cut, if you will. 'Dance the Night Away' is basically a pop rock ballad, but it's full of near-perfect vocal melodies and guitar leads. It's surprising just how thoughtful Roth-fronted Van Halen could be when they wanted, this tune is a absolute classic. I've already said I always loved 'Somebody Get Me a Doctor', which is the first blazing song on here where the band are actually getting their rocks off on. 'Bottoms Up!' is a fun and fast, boogie-style rocker that you've come to expect from this band.

I guess 'Outta Love Again' is a bit all over the place with it's unpredictable rhythms, but again, this is another deep cut. It's the kind of VH rocker that almost nobody talks about despite the fact it's totally kick-ass! The same can be said for 'Light Up the Sky'. One of the most interesting songs on the record is 'Spanish Fly'; on the debut Eddie gave us 'Eruption', the two-hand tapping showcase instrumental. With 'Spanish Fly', Eddie's very much unplugged, as this instrumental is a cool, albeit brief, flamenco sort of acoustic guitar tapping piece! It's damn cool! It's followed-up by the driving riffage of 'D.O.A.', which is prime 70's heavy metal. 'Women in Love' is a little more laid back once again, but the hooks are good, and it's still unmistakeably golden-age Van Halen. The closer, 'Beautiful Girls' is another feel-good, swingin' boogie-rocker.

While I still think the debut is the superior album, I really can't knock Van Halen II. Every track on here is great at the very least. Most of the Roth albums have made me feel good since I first discovered them at thirteen years of age, and now that I'm a fully-grown man with a penchant for drinking beer, it still makes me feel good and puts a smile on my face. This is a party album that still does it for me, and sometimes all I want is a good time when it comes to music. Sure, it's short. The whole thing lasts just over half an hour (like the majority of the David Lee Roth stuff), but if that's all it takes to put me in a good mood, then I'm cool with it.

Adam's rating: 9.5/10

WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST          1980          (Warner Bros.)

- Standouts: Once again, everything! 

It'd be easier to just straight-up tell you that Women and Children First is yet another quintessential Roth-fronted party hard rock album and leave it at that - it most definitely is, but let's talk about the songs anyway. The album opens with the bombastic, phase shifter-tinged 'And the Cradle Will Rock...' - for years, I thought Eddie got that sound from toying with his guitar and a phase shifter pedal, but it turns out it's actually an flanger-driven electric piano, played through a Marshall amp. Cool as fuck! Kind of what Jon Lord was doing when he played his Hammond organ through a distorted Marshall stack. And the song too, is killer of course. It has that Roth attitude written all over it; you gotta love that little break in the track, and his line "have you seen Junior's grades?". Pure Roth. In a way, I always thought he was sort of like an eccentric, American Bon Scott...

'Everybody Wants Some!!' is built around this fucking wicked jungle drum beat from Alex Van Halen, and the whole thing is just this dirty, heavy, drunken party rock anthem. Back when anthems had balls, and cheesy power ballads weren't quite in yet. 'Fools' is severely underrated - this song just rocks so damn hard, yet it also has this big, sleazy, goofy kind of quality to the stomping riffs as well as the vocals. You wouldn't ever catch Sammy Hagar singing on a track like this! It also has a really cool, lengthy guitar introductory solo that just explodes out of nowhere once things pick up. Ahh, and then you've got 'Romeo Delight'! Fuck me, what a ROCKER! You forget just how hard Van Halen could ROCK in those days!!! And I can't believe there's actually people out there that only know the poppy keyboard singles stuff like 'Jump' and 'Why Can't This Be Love'... it's albums like Women and Children First that showcase what this band were really about!

Yeah, I'm getting a bit excitable at this point, but when a band rocks this hard, how can I not?! Actually, we do go get a moment to breathe with 'Tora! Tora!', which serves as a quick instrumental introduction to the appropriately titled 'Loss of Control', which is, rather predictably, another blazing, fast and crazy rocker! The band do finally shake things up a little on 'Take Your Whiskey Home', which starts off a sleazy acoustic blues number in the same vein as 'Ice Cream Man', before Eddie plugs in and the song becomes what may as well be a more-than competent Southern rocker.

The slide guitar-led, honky-tonker 'Could This Be Magic?' is a good bit of fun; it has that sense of humour the band would later drop as they became more successful. As the band proved with 'Dance the Night Away' on Van Halen II, they know how to write a great pop rock song when they want to. And that's exactly what they did once again with 'In a Simple Rhyme'. Well, to be fair, this song does have more bite within the riffage than 'Dance the Night Away', but the pop melodies are definitely there. While I do find it odd that they decided to end the album with a slightly more radio-friendly number and not with a bang, this album wouldn't be complete with 'In a Simple Rhyme'.

And that's that. Another absolute 'banger of a hard rock record, and another early Van Halen album that makes me feel, well, good!

Adam's rating: 9.7/10

FAIR WARNING          1981          (Warner Bros.)

- Standouts: Everything, seriously! 

I've seen people label this album 'dark', but it's only dark when you consider that the majority of the Roth material are basically party albums. It has a slightly more serious and moody tone at times, sure, but no way is this 'dark'! 'Dark', to me, is stuff like the first Sabbath album, Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures or Nine Inch Nails' Downward Spiral. With Diamond Dave still on vocals, there's still plenty of fun and attitude to go 'round here, even if this isn't quite a party record.

With that out of the way, I'd like to say once again that this is another Van Halen album that I fucking love. This band were amazing during those earlier years - America clearly understood that judging by their sales figures, but they were never as big in the UK. Most people I know over here still have only ever heard 'Jump', 'Panama' and 'Why Can't This Be Love', and that Van Halen's career might as well just end with those hits. Ha! Anyone who likes to rock out on a regular basis, or even just from time to time, should check out Fair Warning along with every other album the original line-up recorded.

The opening track, 'Mean Street', is a hard-edged rocker that kicks your butt. And that crazy guitar intro is one of the coolest licks that Eddie ever laid down! This tune is one of the greatest Van Halen numbers of all time, if I say so myself. 'Dirty Movies' has a sleazy, kind of dirty beat, and the song plods along at a slower pace - but it's still gold. The lyrical subject matter is still pretty dumb despite the more atmospheric aura of the track of course, but with Dave on the microphone, what were you expecting? Ooh, and then there's 'Sinner's Swing!', which is such an in-your-face, cool and bombastic song that they even stuck an exclamation mark in the title! Yep, this is another corker, maybe the most fun track on the album. The dirtier atmosphere returns again with 'Hear About It Later', another more mid-tempo song with a very memorable and singalong chorus. There's a really cool Eddie solo in the middle, with a thumpin' rhythm section in the background from Alex and Michael Anthony. Aye, 'Hear About It Later' is another deep cut. 'Unchained' is probably the most well-known song on this album, and it's a totally kick-ass heavy metal tune. Great riff and a fist-pumping tempo... a song that just deserves to played LOUD every time.

An underrated song from this record would be 'Push Comes to Shove' - it's different for the band in that Mike's bassline (a GREAT bassline I might add, just sayin') has an almost disco-like quality to it, but the song itself is so sleazy and it manages to slot in with the rest of the music here perfectly. The final 'proper' song here would be 'So This Is Love?', which brings back some of the fun of the fist three albums. It's a brilliant pop rocker, with a very infectious, foot-tappin' beat.

The album gets a little weird for the remaining two tracks, 'Sunday Afternoon in the Park' and 'One Foot Out the Door' - but not necessarily in a negative way. 'Sunday Afternoon' is a very messy sludgy, keyboard/drum/bass-driven instrumental - it's an oddity in the Van Halen discography, but for Fair Warning, it works quite well. 'One Foor Out the Door' is cool while it lasts, but it's also short and kind of sloppy. It's driven by that same sludgy keyboard/drum sound of the previous track, and it has a surprisingly punk-like edge to it. Eddie's solo is great in it too, but then out of nowhere the song fades out just shy of two minutes. It really feels as if it should go on longer. Shame really.

For the most part I have very few problems with Fair Warning. It's as good as Women and Children First. In fact, some days I prefer the predecessor, and some days I prefer Fair Warning. It's the sleaziest, dirtiest, grimiest album in the Van Halen catalogue, and that's why it's awesome. 

Adam's rating: 9.7/10

DIVER DOWN         1982          (Warner Bros.)

- Standouts: 'Where Have All the Good Times Gone!', 'Hang 'em High', 'Little Guitars', 'The Full Bug', 'Secrets', 'Dancing in the Street', '(Oh) Pretty Woman', 'Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now)'

On paper, Diver Down sounds like it could be one of the laziest albums ever created: nearly half the record consists of covers, and a proportion of the originals are just short instrumentals/introductions. Yeah, I guess it is kind of a lazy effort, and in terms of the original Roth-era, it probably is the worst album they recorded. But ya know what? Who cares! The entire thing is some of the most fun you can have with a rock album! And you feel that in the music too, like the band themselves just wanted to put out another fun-lovin' party record after the sleazy Fair Warning.

Even though there's a fair share of cover songs to sit through here, they're pretty damn good! They cover another Kinks tune, 'Where Have All the Good Times Gone!', and while it isn't quite as impressive as their rendition of 'You Really Got Me' from the debut, Dave and the boys really mould it as if it were their own. It's a fun, rockin' cover. You can't help but love their version of Roy Orbison's '(Oh) Pretty Woman' - it almost sounds like the band could be jamming on this one during a soundcheck or rehearsal! And I mean that in a good way! Then of course, there's 'Dancing in the Street' (which has been covered by a stupid number of musicians by this point). What the band have done with this cover is add a sort of disco rhythm to the song, and the result is another stupidly fun - and catchy - time. And speaking of fun covers, you also get 'Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now)', a song that originally came from the 1920's. The version here is an acoustic track; it's basically a joke song that you could easily a dance a little jig to, but its been pulled off so well that it doesn't matter. It's even got Eddie and Alex's father, Jan Van Halen, playing the clarinet on it! The last cover is a simple acapella vocal version of 'Happy Trails' (originally written by Dale Evans), and it's essentially just the band goofing off in a barbershop quartet fashion. It ends the album, and the guys even start cracking up when it finishes.

As for the 'actual original songs', they're pretty great, naturally. 'Hang 'em High' is a speedy, punky song that could easily have fit on any of the first three records. 'Secrets' is a more laid back, smooth pop rock kind of tune, full of excellent guitar and vocal melodies. Lovely. 'Little Guitars' is absolutely infectious in terms of both the vocal structures and Eddie's guitar playing. It's just one of those near-perfect songs. 'The Full Bug' is maybe my least favourite of the full-length originals, but it's still a very, very good rocker. Again, it sounds like it could fit on the first couple of Van Halen albums, and has a slight rockabilly vibe in there somewhere. I guess the only reason I think it's slightly weaker than the other originals is because of the harmonica solo; I'd rather hear Eddie rip another guitar solo, but ah well.

The remainder of the album is good, but clearly not what you came for. 'Cathedral' is an interesting little instrumental, whereby Eddie somehow managed to make his guitar sound like some kind of church organ, but it's hardly a standout of the record. 'Intruder' serves as an instrumental introduction to '(Oh) Pretty Woman', and is a drum and feedback-drenched opener to said song. It's fine, but it is just an intro. There's also a intro to 'Little Guitars' titled, uh, 'Little Guitars (Intro)'. It's a forty-second flameco-style acoustic guitar piece.

 Even though Diver Down is not quite as strong as the first four, you can hardly call this thing a disappointment. Maybe at the time it was, but the fact is I find Diver Down to be one of the most fun and feel-good albums in my entire collection. It's quirky! And there's never a dull moment to be had with it either. You owe it to yourself to buy a copy if you enjoyed anything else from the Roth-era.
Adam's rating: 9.4/10

1984          1984          (Warner Bros.)

- Standouts: 'Jump', 'Panama', 'Top Jimmy', 'Drop Dead Legs', 'Hot for Teacher', 'House of Pain'  

By this point the band were on top of the world; in the US alone, every album has at least been a Gold record, but this and the debut qualify both for Diamond status, which is pretty insane. It obviously helps that this is the album that spawned 'Jump' (along with a handful of other songs, which I'll get to later, but 'Jump' is off the scale) - a song which is unmistakeably a pop rock classic, but it bugs me that it's likely the song that most people seem to associate most with Van Halen. I'm sorry, but 'Jump' does not summarise this band! It's not even a guitar-focused track! Hey, remember that guy Eddie Van Halen? Yeah, we all remember him for his keyboard playing! NOT!!! If Van Halen gets played on the radio, about 80% of the time the song in question is 'Jump' (at least in the UK), a song that aside for the solo, is almost entirely keyboard/synth-driven pop rock, with the guitars taking a backseat. I could rant all day about 'Jump' - I mean, I like the song itself, but if anyone uses it as the basis for how they judge Van Halen, then they clearly need to get their head checked!

Now that 'Jump' is out of the way, let's discuss the rest of the songs. 'I'll Wait'. It's another heavily synth-led number. It's again, not a bad song, but definitely not a favourite of mine. It doesn't get me riled up in the same way 'Jump' does, 'cos at least it's not played to anywhere near the same extent, but it's still worth noting that it's NOT a favourite of mine. And obviously the main reason for that is because of the synths, and how dated it sounds because of them. Oh, and there's also that horribly plastic intro track, '1984', but at least it serves only as a brief opening to the record, and features no lyrics. Still worth noting however.

Thankfully, the remainder of the album is pretty amazing for the most part, and as good as anything that came before. There's not many driving songs out there better than 'Panama'! What a hard rockin' tour de force that one is! I have to crank that one to eleven! And who could forget the blistering 'Hot for Teacher'? And it ain't just Eddie who's on fire this time, Alex's drum work is absolutely off the hook! 'Hot for Teacher' is one of the coolest hard rock songs of all time, from the actual playing itself, to Dave's silly, juvenile lyrics. Also, there's the songs that aren't singles. 'Top Jimmy' is incredibly catchy, and it kinda manages to rock hard and be poppy and be punky all at the same time. It's good stuff. 'Drop Dead Legs' features some massive EVH riffage, and is the sleaziest thing on here. There's a slight whiff of AC/DC about it, but I mean that in the best way possible. 'Girl Gone Bad' is possibly the most forgettable track on this album, but the intro is cool, and even if I do find it to be less memorable than the rest of the songs, it's still a cool, punkish kind of cut. I've always thought 'House of Pain' was one of the more underrated songs in the Roth roster however. It's got one of the heaviest riffs Eddie ever came out with, and I sorta need that by the end of the record.

I must admit that 1984 is my least favourite David Lee Roth-fronted Van Halen album (well, save for A Different Kind of Truth that is). There I said it. The arena rock thing is really pushed to the max here, with the crisper production. I think songs like 'Panama' and 'Hot for Teacher' are incredible, but I'd dig 'em even more if the production was a tad rawer and more akin to that of Women and Children First than what they are here. I get that production values had increased because the band were at the centre of the mainstream by this point, but to me it had more of a negative effect for them overall. That said, the production is not obnoxiously glossy, and the majority of the actual songs are fantastic. Dave obviously thought he could make more money by going solo after 1984, so that's what he did. We wouldn't get another Van Halen album with him until 2012... you probably already know what happened in the next chapter for the band.

Adam's rating: 9.2/10

5150          1986          (Warner Bros.)

- Standouts: 'Good Enough', 'Get Up', 'Dreams', 'Best of Both Worlds', '5150', 'Inside'

5150, and, well, just about everything else that doesn't feature David Lee Roth, is a polarising album amongst fans. There's so many people out there that simply won't accept any record without Dave, even if his replacement was none other than Sammy Hagar. It's true, the band were a different beast without Roth, but you could already hear some stylistic changes seeping their way into the music on 1984, with synthy songs like 'Jump' and 'I'll Wait', as well as a bigger, more polished production job. Still, for every Roth fan Van Halen lost, they gained a new one with Hagar. 5150, like it's predecessor, sold ridiculously well and took the band to new heights. Fair enough if you don't like Van Halen with Hagar (often dubbed 'Van Hagar' by the Roth purists...), but you can't call Sammy 'untalented' or 'incapable'. The man had already done well with a solo career, and even started off in Montrose, whose debut album is easily one of the best and ahead-of-it's-time hard rock records of the 70's. In fact, according to an article about 5150 in Classic Rock I remember reading years ago, Sammy was already making roughly three times the amount of cash each member of Van Halen was making. 

I will admit that I still easily prefer Van Halen with Roth overall, but to be honest, I've always liked the Hagar era too, albeit for different reasons. There's plenty of songs from this lineup that I totally dig. Obviously there's a fair amount of one's that I find questionable as well, but what I'm trying to say is, I don't think Sammy ruined Van Halen... unlike some.

As for 5150, there's some great songs on here. There's also a few things I take issue with, but on the whole I like this album. And Sammy's always been a great frontman with a very distinctive voice. Obviously he doesn't have the party animal tendencies of Roth, but for cyring out loud, this is the man who sang on Montrose's debut! An album I gave a 9.5/10!!!

Uh yeah, anyhow - the great songs. I can rock out to opener 'Good Enough'. That song gets things going rather well indeed. It actually starts the album off on a fist-pumping rocker, unlike 'Jump' with 1984. And 'Get Up' is really cool. Very fast, very frantic, kinda like 'Hot for Teacher', only without the humour, and not as good of course. Still pretty damn cool though. Ironically, I actually really like 'Dreams'! Should I be embarrassed to admit that? I dunno. I mean, it might as well be a power ballad with those massive keyboards and cheesy lyrics, but Sammy really is better suited for this sort of thing than Dave ever was - and that chorus is so, so memorable. So hearing a song of this nature on a Van Hagar album just seems easier to accept, somehow. I guess it is a sort of a guilty pleasure of mine, even if I do think the band did go overboard with the ballads around this point in time. I think 'Best of Both Worlds' is really good too. Yeah it's another extremely catchy rock ballad, but it's actually driven by Eddie's guitar this time. The last song that maybe qualifies as classic Van Halen is the title track. It's a fairly tame 'rocker', but the vocals are great, the melodies are nice... just a nice kind of summery rock song in general.

Good, but not great tracks in include 'Summer Nights', which has a sort of bluesy swingy rhythm in the riffs, and manages to make me feel good most days, so that's something. Closing track 'Inside' ain't too shabby either. It has a very funky, groovy bassline that plays throughout, and ends the album quite nicely. Of course, I also have to mention the slushy ballad 'Why Can't This Be Love'. It was a huge hit for the band, but to be honest, I've always found it to be quite annoying. On a good day, I'll listen to it and maybe even enjoy it, but it really isn't one of my favourites. And yet somehow I like 'Dreams'! Explain that! At least I tolerate 'Why Can't This Be Love' more than 'Love Walks In' - this the only track on 5150 that I deliberately skip over 99% of the time. Of the three synthy ballads, this one's aged the worst, and to me has more in common with Survivor or Journey than even Sammy Hagar-fronted Van Halen. Bleh. Predictably, the production is very 80's - shiny, glossy, not exactly what you'd call 'raw'. It is what it is. I suppose I'm quite forgiving simply because the album sounds exactly how I expect it to sound anyway. 

All in all though, 5150 just about qualifies as a great album in my books. There's enough tracks on here that I will regularly listen to within a VH playlist. And aside from 'Love Walks In' and (sometimes) 'Why Can't This Be Love', the rest of the songs here I find to be good at the very least. Van Hagar could still be great, just for different reasons to Van Lee Roth (hmm, that doesn't quite have the same ring to it...). It's an era that really needs to be heard by every newcomer to Van Halen. Maybe you'll dig it too.

Adam's rating: 8/10

OU812          1988          (Warner Bros.)

- Standouts: 'Cabo Wabo', 'A.F.U. (Naturally Wired)', 'Finish What Ya Started', 'Black and Blue', 'A Apolitcal Blues', 'Source of Infection'

The follow-up to 5150, and an album that I always used to prefer to it's predecessor. In fact, since I was in school, I always considered OU812 (the title being an obvious joke directed at David Lee Roth and his 1986 solo debut Eat 'Em and Smile...) to be the best Sammy Hagar-fronted Van Halen record. After sitting down and hearing 5150 again from start to finish in 2021, I realised that there's only one song on the album that I straight-up dislike, and another that I think is mediocre. I pushed the score up from a 7.1 to an 8. That's a significant increase, and a respectable score in my books. So naturally, I was quite excited to hear how OU812 would fare. Would this album - which I already thought was pretty great - do any better?

Umm, for the most part, not really. But that's okay! Like I said, I always liked OU812 anyway. I always thought it was weird to open this thing with 'Mine All Mine' though. It's an annoyingly catchy pop rock anthem, very slick, very sleak, very finely-tuned... honestly not a bad song in the slightest, just a lightweight kind of way to kick things off. Comparatively, 5150 began with 'Good Enough', which rocked me at least. 'Mine All Mine' is a nice song, just not what you were expecting for an opener. But whatever. The next track is predictably a slushy keyboard love ballad, 'When It's Love'. And even more predictably, I don't particularly like it. I get these kinds of soppy ballads were an easy way to make a big buck in the 80's, but they make me want to vomit after a while. That's all I have to say about that one. Thankfully the faster hard rock tones of 'A.F.U. (Naturally Wired)' are cool, but not as cool as the chunky, sleazy, sludgy 'Cabo Wabo', which, at seven minutes, is one of the longest songs the band ever wrote. 'Cabo Wabo' is pretty awesome, maybe my favourite track on here. The lyrics are your typical 'getting drunk on the beach, checking out all the hot chicks' kind of affair, but this is Van Halen after all. And like so many of their songs, it has a summery kind of vibe, and it makes me feel good! Sometimes that's all I want!

Eddie's playing on the up-tempo rocker 'Source of Infection' is mighty impressive, and very nearly brings back the intensity of the fist few albums. Sadly however, the next song is another one I almost always skip - 'Feels So Good'. Dated, dumb, keyboard pop. Barely even sounds like Van Halen to be honest. The good news is that the weaker songs end there. 'Finish What Ya Started' is a favourite of mine (at least from this era). Eddie's pickin' is super infectious, it almost has a country-type sound going for it. But it's fuckin' great! And unlike 'Feels So Good', it still sounds like Van Halen, well, Van Hagar at least. I really like 'Black and Blue' as well, a sloppy, bluesy, messy rocker, but a very good one. A gem. The last two songs are maybe a little weaker, but still competent overall. 'Sucker in a 3 Piece' admittedly did not need to last six minutes, but on the whole it's a solid mid-tempo rocker. The band sound as if they're having fun on the closing blues piece 'A Apolitical Blues'; they hadn't really done anything like this since Diver Down!

The production is still very 80's as you'd expect, but I do like Eddie's guitar tone more here than I did on 5150. As for the songs, well, I'd say they're mostly on par with the last album. 'Cabo Wabo' and 'Finish What Ya Started' in particular, are excellent. Yep, I still like OU812.

Adam's rating: 8/10

FOR UNLAWFUL CARNAL KNOWLEDGE          1991           (Warner Bros.)

- Standouts: 'Poundcake', 'Judgement Day', 'Runaround', 'Top of the World' 

Hmm... well, the departure of David Lee Roth sucked, but I still think those first couple of albums with Sammy Hagar are very solid overall. A couple of sketchy and badly-aged tracks here and there, but I find them to be mostly great. When the 90's came, things started to deteriorate however. Don't get me wrong, For Unlawful Carnage Knowledge (which Sammy wanted to call 'FUCK', but the label disapproved of it, hence the longer title... which still spells 'F.U.C.K.' when abbreviated!) has some decent material going for it, maybe even a few classics. But obviously there's no way in hell it was gonna recapture the magic of the Roth era. And frankly, 5150 and OU812 are better records too.

On the plus side, the album starts off with 'Poundcake', an absolutely killer cut. Eddie's come up with new tricks - on 'Poundcake' he's rockin' it with a Makita power drill, for the intro at least! Yep, 'Poundcake' rocks me, it's big arena hard rock done properly. 'Judgement Day' is a decent fast song, and does keep the intensity rolling with that pummelling main riff. 'Runaround' is also a Van Hagar favourite of mine - a very catchy, fun, singalong rocker. A thumbs-up from me. 

There's definitely a handful of tracks here that I think are really solid then, and to be honest, the majority of this album really isn't bad either, just a bit generic and passionless at times - even compared to the first two albums with Sammy. 'Spanked' just kind of goes nowhere. It's listenable alright, and is built around a big, chunky, groovy bassline, but it plods along with little in the way of energy. 'In 'n' Out' and 'Man on a Mission' are fine too I guess, the former drags on just a little too long, but is a passable stadium rocker. The latter is a tad more enjoyable with a rockin', funkish riff/rhythm. Both these songs are alright, but certainly bordering on filler. See, this is what I meant when I used the words 'generic' and 'passionless' when describing some of the songs on F.U.C.K. (that abbreviation never fails to make me chuckle) - there's a few tracks here and there that just don't quite capture the spirit of what this lineup achieved with the previous two records. The Roth purists can claim all they want that Van Halen never made a good album with Sammy Hagar (or that other guy in 1998... spoilers!), but 5150 and OU812 are great albums for what they are. They were made up of (mostly) great songs, plain and simple. A chunk of For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, in a way, feels like leftovers from it's predecessors.

'The Dream Is Over' is marginally better. Not great by any stretch of the imagination, but not bad. Good driving music. I used to hate 'Right Now', but I don't think it's one of their worst ballads anymore. The guitar solo is great, and even though it has it's share of piano/keyboard melodies in there, it's nowhere near as slushy as something like 'When It's Love' or 'Love Walks In'. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I outright enjoy 'Right Now', but it I do find it to be listenable at the very least. 'Top of the World', the final track on here, is rather good however. Not quite a classic like 'Poundcake' or 'Runaround' for me, but it's definitely more enthusiastic than the last bunch of songs. It's an upbeat pop rocker with great hooks that leaves me feeling quite good, so that's nice.  

A definite low-point is 'Pleasure Dome', which is unnecessarily long at almost seven minutes. It's like they were trying to pull off another 'Cabo Wabo', only this time it doesn't really work as a lengthy song because the track itself is notably less tuneful than 'Cabo Wabo'. Alex plays this frantic, frenzied drum beat beneath Eddie's drawn out guitar lines, and the whole thing just doesn't really work for me. It's not really horrible as such - it might have worked if it was significantly shorter - but it's lacking in any real hooks and the longer playtime just makes me wanna skip forward.

I wasn't too sure how I wanted to score this one. In the end, I left it with how I originally scored it. It has a small selection of great songs, a couple of good ones and a bunch of filler. Harmless, listenable filler at least. I think the changing-demographics of the 90's may have been unkind to Van Halen, like it was to so many other bands from the 70's and 80's. They were gonna run out of steam eventually, but even so, I'd still say this album is worth checking out for 'Poundcake' alone.

Adam's rating: 7.3/10

LIVE: RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW          1993          (Warner Bros.)

Ehh... was never too crazy about this two-CD live album. Tons of songs from For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge - literally TEN of them. I get that this was recorded in 1992 when they were still promoting the album, but fucking hell that's TEN out of the ELEVEN tracks on the album!! I don't think F.U.C.K. is a bad album or anything, but it's not exactly up there as one of their strongest works. Too many filler tracks. I can't imagine I'm ever gonna meet a fan anytime soon who thinks it's the one of the best Van Halen albums. Thing is, I wouldn't even mind if the bulk of the setlist consisted of only Van Hagar tracks - it does anyway of course, just not the one's I'd like to hear. Occasionally you get the odd Roth tune in there too ('Jump', 'Panama', 'Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love' etc.)...

The thing that always baffled me though, is that this was literally the only live album the band ever put out. Well, until 2015 that is. Imagine how awesome it'd have been if they'd released something during the early days, when they were a wild party rock band. I wouldn't be surprised if a live Van Halen album from, say 1981, would now be hold some kind of legendary status among live records. I mean, I'm sure there's a load of bootlegs from that period out there, but still... why?!

The good news is that the band sound pretty decent, albeit for the wrong reasons. Makes sense when I found out that Eddie re-recorded his guitars in the studio, since they were supposedly out of tune during the actual performances. This meant Sammy's original vocal performances were now out of tune, so then he had to go back into the studio and sing over the whole concert again. So what you're getting here is a live album that's not really a live album, featuring 90% of one of their weakest records within the setlist.

Think I'm gonna go look for some bootlegs now, bye.
Adam's rating: 5.4/10

BALANCE          1995          (Warner Bros.)

- Standouts: 'The Seventh Seal', 'Amsterdam', 'Big Fat Money', 'Baluchith...whatever it's called' 

Balance still isn't going to win over the die-hard Roth fans, so if you are one of those people, then stop reading. Those that can appreciate the Sammy Hagar-version of the band, well, you might as well stick around. 1991's For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, to me, was good but not great. A teaspoon of classics while the rest was just pretty good. However, a spark was definitely missing somewhere, and to be frank, what I just said about F.U.C.K. may just apply to '95's Balance too. Like I said though, I certainly don't find the last album to be 'bad'. Far from it. And there's a few songs on Balance that always make the Van Halen playlist for me. 

The opening track, 'The Seventh Seal', is really powerful. It has this huge, soaring arena rock feels, and it certainly kick-starts the album off on the right path. Someone wrote a review of this album (I don't remember who) and compared 'The Seventh Seal' to early U2. He's right, in a way. However you feel about U2 these days, I think it's generally accepted that they were a great band in their earlier years, and surprisingly, the U2ish vibes don't affect 'Seventh Seal' in any negative way. I also really like 'Amsterdam' - it's a reminder that Sammy could be fun with Van Halen, just in his own way! This is a nice, feel-good, sludgy, catchy rocker with lyrics about, well, the reason why all men go to Amsterdam! Cool song. 'Big Fat Money' I enjoy too - it's almost comparable to the Roth era! It's a fast track with an old-school, party rock n' roll style. Hell, if Dave had sang on it, it'd probably be even better. Either way, it's certainly a highlight for me. I do quite like 'Aftershock' as well. It's not one of the best songs the band penned with Sammy, but it's a solid hard rock cut with some good riffs. The guitar instrumental 'Baluchiterium' is very good, it really sounds like something Joe Satriani would play. Heh, seems morally wrong to be comparing EVH to Joe - both are amazing guitarists, and both have their own style - but for some reason, part of me could easily hear this instrumental on albums like Satch's Not of This Earth or The Extremist! 

Obviously there's a share of ballads to sit through on this record. 'Can't Stop Lovin' You' is just... meh. At least this was the 90's, so the synths are gone at this point, but even so, I get 90's Aerosmith vibes from this track. And that's not a compliment from me this time! I only dig 70's Aerosmith! Predictably, 'Can't Stop Lovin' You' was this album's hit. Worse than 'Can't Stop Lovin' You', is the second ballad, 'Not Enough'. Groan! This is a very piano-focused ballad that makes me cringe. For some reason, it has a weird introduction called 'Strung Out', originally recorded by Eddie in 1983, and it's basically just him throwing all kinds of shit onto an old piano for a minute and a half. The last ballad, 'Take Me Back (Deja Vu)', I like more than the other two, but it's barely a highlight for me. This one has a slight 90's alt. rock style going for it, but maybe that's just because of the acoustic guitars? I dunno.

A song I'm on the fence with is 'Don't Tell Me'. I like the chugging rhythm of the verses, but the chorus gets on my nerves sometimes. You go into the track thinking it's going to be a darker kind of rocker, but the chorus treads into power ballad territory. Ehh... sometimes I can enjoy this song, but sometimes I just feel like skipping over it. 'Feelin'' is a moody closer that drags on a bit, and the plods along, but at least that guitar solo is great stuff.

One thing Balance does better than it's predecessor is the production. For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge still had a very 80's, echoey, reverby sound despite being released in '91, and given that the band were moving away from any 80's clichés at that point (synths, keyboards etc.), it probably could've benefited with the sharper production of Balance. Sonically, this is not a bad album at all. Don't get me wrong, I don't automatically hate the big reverb sounds of certain 80's records (couldn't imagine some albums without that sound, examples: Black Sabbath's Headless Cross and Judas Priest's Defenders of the Faith), but I'm glad Balance wasn't produced in that particular style. 

When all is said and done, I still think I prefer the last album. 'The Seventh Seal' is awesome, 'Amsterdam' and 'Big Fat Money' are cool, that instrumental is really nice, and the only songs I outright dislike are 'Can't Stop Lovin' You' and 'Not Enough'. But there's a really noticeable lack of energy on this album that I just cannot gloss over. For the most part, I think this CD is pretty good overall, but listening to it all in one go can be a chore at times, and that's because there just isn't quite enough really solid tracks for it to be a legitimately good album. 

As it happened, Balance was to be the last Van Halen album with Sammy Hagar. Eddie said he quit to spend time with his wife and new-born child, Sammy said he was fired because he was spending too much time away from the band to be with his wife and new-born child (or something). Either way, Sammy reunited with the band in '03 for a couple of years, but from what I can tell his relationship with the Van Halen brothers was sour right up until the weeks before Eddie's death in 2020. Since Van Halen, Sammy's basically taken Michael Anthony with him and been involved in all kinds of great bands with top-tier musicians like Jason Bonham, Joe Satriani and Chad Smith, as well as his own solo projects. 

Adam's rating: 6.9/10

BEST OF VOLUME 1          1996          (Warner Bros.)

In general, most compilation's aren't worth picking up for fans. Chances are they'll already have all the songs, but this one's different. Fourteen predictable tracks covering both the Roth and Hagar eras, but on top of that, there's three extras that weren't featured on any of the studio records. The first is 'Humans Being', a track recorded in 1996, and the last thing Sammy recorded with the band before he split for the first time. Apparently it was written for the film Twister with Bill Paxton (RIP) - I definitely watched that film in my school years, but I don't remember it being particularly good... anyway... 'Humans Being' is a good song. Just a nice and straightforward rocker with an excellent solo. If it had been on Balance, I'd have probably given that record a 7/10, but ahh well. Solid track.

The remaining exclusives were written specifically for this compilation, and surprisingly, see the band reunite with David Lee Roth! Dave never stuck around sadly, but he would at least record again some years later... but that's another bridge we'll cross later. The two new tracks are 'Can't Get This Stuff No More' and 'Me Wise Magic'. Both are decent, but certainly not in the same league as well, anything Roth was doing years earlier. If anything, musically these songs sound like they could fit on For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge or Balance, only with Roth on vocals. They're decent songs for sure, but they're not exactly Van Halen in party mode, which is what you want when Dave's in command! Regardless, I'd still say the fans should pick up this CD purely for those three songs. I can only assume a 'Volume 2' was intended to be released at some point, but it never did. Instead, we got a different compilation in 2004.

VAN HALEN III          1998          (Warner Bros.)

- Standouts: 'Without You', 'Dirty Water Dog', 'Fire in the Hole', 'Year to the Day', 'Ballot or the Bullet' 

My God does this album have such a biblically awful reputation! Some people literally act as if Van Halen III is one of the worst records ever made, and I never understood why. Sure, I can see why a lot of fans might not like it, but come on... it's not that bad! The Roth fans may not have appreciated Mr. Hagar, but I guess even they couldn't argue against Sammy's credibility. He's a legit rock n' roller with an impressive career, and you really can't deny that whether you enjoy the stuff he was doing with Van Halen or not. But when Sammy exited after the Balance album, Eddie recruited Extreme vocalist Gary Cherone into the band. Admittedly, Gary doesn't exactly hold quite the same iconic status as Sammy or Dave, so I guess the Roth fans felt as though they could say anything they want about him. Don't get me wrong, Gary is no Dave or Sammy. But to say he outright sucks just seems wrong to me.  I can't say I'm the biggest Extreme fan - there's a few songs I like throughout their discography, and I've even got a few of their albums in my collection, but I always found them to be something of a poor-man's Van Halen at the end of the day. But I never had a problem with Gary Cherone as a vocalist, and I never found it particularly strange that Eddie settled on him to fill in the singer slot during the 1996-99 period.

Seriously though, some of the reviews I've read of this album over the years basically claim III to be one of the most catastrophically terrible albums in rock n' roll history. And yet almost every single one of these idiots also goes on about how good Eddie's guitar playing is throughout the record. Surely that automatically means the album is worthy of a higher score than the usual 1-3/10 ratings it usually gets. This is a Van Halen album after all!

I remember buying a used copy of this album from a market stall the first time I went to Bloodstock festival way back in 2010. I had heard how bad it supposedly was, but I wanted a copy for collection purposes. And honestly, even the first time I listened to it back then, I'm fairly certain I got some enjoyment out of it. In no way is this a classic record, but I've heard countless albums that are far worse. I don't ever remember hearing III and thinking "wow, that was shit". No sir.

Like basically every other Van Halen album post-Roth, this disc has at least a handful of tracks that I genuinely like. I like the short opening instrumental, 'Neworld'. It's quite a gentle, mellow little acoustic piece that as always, displays Eddie's talents as a musician. It serves as an introduction to the first proper song on here, 'Without You'. And ya know what, I like this one too. It's a good rocker with more great guitar playing from Eddie, good hooks, catchy melodies. Kinda long at six and a half minutes, but it's good overall. And it's never really taken me that long to get used to Gary's voice. If anything, he sort of sounds like a mixture of Sammy and Dave. I'll admit that he lacks the charisma of Roth, and he can't sing quite as well as Sammy either, but he still knows what he's doing. And contrary to how Classic Rock magazine described his voice in an article I remember reading years ago, he definitely does not sound like a drowning man! Alright, that description did make me chuckle.

'One I Want' is fine with me, for the most part. The lyrics are garbage, that much is true (https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/1903226/Van+Halen/One+I+Want), but the guitars are great once again, and it's a hooky rocker with a slight pop sensibility. I quite like 'From Afar' too. This track is a little moodier, and I can't quite pinpoint exactly why I get a sort of grunge aura from it, but I do. It's memorable either way. 'Dirty Water Dog' - this tune's really not bad either! If anything, it's kinda fun! It has more great guitar playing from Eddie on it, this time more in line with the country-ish picking style of 'Finish What Ya Started' from OU812, which is no bad thing. Well, it isn't as good as 'Finish What Ya Started', but I still enjoy it. 'Fire in the Hole' though, is a very good song. The main riff that kicks in is excellent, and I'd say that this is probably my favourite track on the album. I can't really think of anything I genuinely don't like about it. 'Ballot or the Bullet' is solid too, frankly. Some good use of slide guitar in it, especially for what is a heavy rocker.

Naturally, there's ballads to sit through on this album. 'Once' is way, way too fucking long (nearly eight minutes in total). Yeah, I don't like this one - it's a slog to sit through. Most of the melodies throughout the track don't even sound like Van Halen. It has a really 90's pop feel overall with that smooth keyboard rhythm in the background, and I don't mean that in a positive way. And I will say this time that Gary sounds stupid on it. He sings in the same nature as he does on the rockers, and it's really off-putting. 'Josephina' is the second ballad, and it's much better than 'Once'. It's still not great or anything (not really a favourite of mine), but at least Gary adjusted his voice and mellowed out to match the music for this one. And musically it's better too - great electric and acoustic guitars from start to finish. And it's not as long either! That said, I can't call it a highlight even if it is at least listenable. 

Following up 'Josephina' with another ballad was a stupid move - 'Year to the Day' has some wonderful clean guitars from Eddie yet again, but the song's a bit on the long side. It's Eddie's attempt at an eight and a half minute epic - even longer than 'Once'! However, I will say that this track's length is probably it's only real issue; fortunately I like the bulk of the music on 'Year to the Day', even if it does drag after a while. Unlike the ballads from the Hagar era, the one's on III are much less cheesy both musically and lyrically, so that's cool. The verses are softer and darker, while the chorus is loud and abrasive. Not too sure the last song, 'How Many Say I' was a good idea however. Eddie decided to sing this one, for some reason. Well, I use the term 'sing' loosely - he can't sing! It's more like spoken word, aside from the chorus. Not good! Though not quite the worst thing in the world either, kind of sounds like something an ageing, late-career Bob Dylan would sing if he wrote a piano ballad. 

A noticeable difference, aside from the inclusion of Cherone of course, is the lack of Michael Anthony on bass. He only played on three of the songs here ('Without You', 'One I Want' and 'Fire in the Hole'), and Eddie took over for the majority of the bass duties on the record. For that reason the album's a lot weaker in terms of the backing vocals. Mike was a really good backing vocalist - Van Halen vocal harmonies are instantly recognisable, and it's obviously lacking in that department on III. Some people even go to the point of branding this album as an Eddie Van Halen solo effort. Personally I wouldn't go that far, even with him handling the vocals on 'How Many Say I'.

In the end, I really DO NOT hate this album like a lot of people do. I mean sure, it's far too long (sixty-five minutes in total!), 'Once' sucks ass and I could probably do without 'How Many Say I'. Obviously Gary's not in the same league as either Dave or Sammy. But I don't have any beef with the man either - he did his job on this record fairly well overall. And to be honest, I unironically like Van Halen III. There's more songs in total that I like on this record than on For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge or Balance. To me, the tracks are more fleshed-out here, the guitar work on the whole is arguably the best in a long time, and there's certainly less filler by comparison. If you wanna go ahead and tear this album a new one, be my guest. But you have to at least hear it for yourself first before you can go around claiming that 'Gary Cherone joining Van Halen was one of the biggest mistakes in rock history'. And I've heard that in the live perspective, Gary was great for that three year period he was with the band - him being several years younger probably added more energy to the shows, and it was his idea to bring back some of the deep cuts from the Roth era back into the setlists.

Adam's rating: 7.5/10

THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS          2004          (Warner Bros.)

This two-CD compilation isn't a perfect representation of Van Halen, but it holds some significance with me personally. I remember my mum buying it for me as a birthday gift in '05 when I was thirteen years old and my music collection probably only consisted of AC/DC's High Voltage and Back in Black, Led Zeppelin IV, Black Sabbath's Paranoid, Iron Maiden's Number of the Beast and Deep Purple's In Rock. I loved the songs 'Panama' and 'Jump', so adding Van Halen to the collection seemed like a safe bet. Needless to say I was hooked, Van Halen became one of my favourite bands and I immediately went out and bought both the debut album and 1984.

Despite how important this compilation is to me personally, given that I've been familiar with the band's entire discography for many, many years now, it definitely has it's problems. The title is obviously a nod to the song of the same name from the 5150 album, but it's also a literal representation of what this package is trying to do - give you the best of both the David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar eras of the band. For the majority of either disc, the songs drift in and out of both Dave and Sammy tracks, which is admittedly kinda cool. But if I'd have compiled this package, I'd have swapped a lot of these songs for others! Most of the Hagar tracks chosen are singles, and just so happen to be ballads. If you've been reading this page up until now you'll know that most of the Van Hagar albums had two or three ballads, while the rest of the songs consisted of rockers. This compilation almost makes it seem as if the only thing Sammy did with the band was ballads, which is certainly not true. Give me 'Amsterdam' or 'Seventh Seal' from Balance over 'Can't Stop Lovin' You' any day of the week. Or 'Cabo Wabo' instead of 'When It's Love' from OU812 for that matter. 

Another issue I have is that there are thirty-six tracks in total, and only sixteen of 'em are Roth songs! They're basically all classics of course, because pretty much everything they ever did with Dave on the mic was gold, but come on!! And why isn't there anything from Van Halen III? The essay in the CD booklet doesn't even mention Gary Cherone! Yeah I know a lot of fans weren't keen on that era, but I like Van Halen III, and I don't give a fuck what anybody else thinks. I stand by the fact I think it's a good record.  

The good news is that much like Best of Volume 1, The Best of Both Worlds is still worth owning for the fans simply because of the three exclusive studio tracks on offer, all of which were recorded with Sammy during his reunion stint in 2003-05. 'It's About Time' is a nice and straightforward hard rock song with good hooks, 'Up for Breakfast' is a silly innuendo-smothered rocker, but it's really fun and will likely make you feel good. 'Learning to See' is a little heavier and edgier, with a brooding sensibility. In short, I like all three of the tunes, and if the band had recorded an album during this period, I'd have probably liked it a lot if these songs are anything to go by. 

A DIFFERENT KIND OF TRUTH          2012          (Interscope)

- Standouts: 'She's the Woman', 'China Town', 'Blood and Fire', 'Bullethead', 'As Is', 'Stay Frosty', 'Beats Workin''

Roth had actually reunited with the band on multiple occasions before this studio album was recorded. But aside from a studio track or two (most notably the one's on that Best Of compilation), we went nearly three decades before he actually made another record with the band. So yeah, uh, we got this one in 2012, titled A Different Kind of Truth. Obviously there was a lot of hype and anticipation for this album, and for good reason. Unlike AC/DC fans, who generally appear to be more accepting of Brian Johnson as a replacement for Bon Scott, Van Halen fans are overall far more divided over David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar. Fans of both eras exist, I myself am evidence of that, but there's evidently a lot of Roth fans out there who just won't accept anyone other than Dave in this band.

Despite this thing not being recorded 100% by the original lineup (Michael Anthony had left at this point, and Eddie's son Wolfgang had taken over bass duties), I liked this album a fair bit on release, and I still enjoy it now. The Roth fanboys were basically calling it a return to form, which is fair enough if you didn't like any of the Hagar or Cherone material. But when you compare this album to the original records with Dave, it's still not technically a return to form. Let's be real here - it's nowhere near as good as any of those golden oldies, and I don't really see how it could've been given just how legendary those records are. But make no mistake, I'm not really criticising A Different Kind of Truth for that reason - this is still a very solid record overall.

I do remember 'Tattoo' being the first single from the album, and coming out a month or so before it's launch. A lot of fans didn't seem to like it at the time if I recall, including me. It left people with a lukewarm reception, so it's weird that the band decided to make it the first track on the album. Over the years however, this song has grown on me. I guess the backlash 'Tattoo' received was down to the surprisingly simplistic riffs and irritatingly catchy poppy chorus. I dig it nowadays, probably because the band sound like they're having a blast playing it. And it's definitely got Dave's eccentric, fun charm all over it. Yeah, it's fun alright. Not as fun as track two, 'She's the Woman', however. I think once this song kicked in, the fans must've all sighed in relief. Guitar-heavy, 'Unchained'-esque Fair Warning-era Van Halen, that's what this is. And fair play to Wolfgang, that bassline is fucking awesome, one of the highlights of the song!

'You and Your Blues' is a little more serious. Not exactly a ballad, but not really a party anthem either. I'm not gonna call it 'modern-sounding', but, uh, it kinda does have a slightly more modern sheen compared to the first two tracks. Not a favourite of mine, but it's still enjoyable, and the vocal harmonies are good. 'China Town' is more of what you want; a damn fast rocker with a Fair Warning vibe once again, which is never a bad thing. The heavy jams of 'Blood and Fire' are cool, and 'Bullethead' is a short but sweet, hard-hitting speedy rocker with a punk-like sensibility. Oh, and 'As Is' kicks ass! Probably one of the heaviest songs they've ever come up with, and like so many of the classic tunes  from all those years ago, it has one of those quieter intermissions in the middle of the track where Dave just talks for a few moments. Great stuff! 'Honeybabysweetiedoll' has some interesting basslines on it, and is one of the sleazier, murkier moments on here. The opening main riff to 'Outta Space' sorta reminds me of 'Panama', but the song itself does not feel like a deliberate throwback. It's another solid cut on here. 'Stay Frosty' starts off as a fun little acoustic number before evolving into a fully-blown party animal, much like 'Ice Cream Man' from the debut. The riffs in the last song, 'Beats Workin'' almost sound a bit like 'D.O.A.' from Van Halen II, only slowed down. It gives the track this really cool, kind of funky rhythm. Another decent track.

This is a darn solid record, and I almost feel guilty by only giving it an 8/10 (although 8 is a very respectable score). But when I look at how this album compares to the rest of the discography, I almost never turn to this record when I want to hear some Roth-fronted Van Halen. I'll nearly always go with, well, anything from the debut up to 1984. And forgive me for saying this, but I still think I prefer the first two Hagar albums over this as well. There's just not enough songs on here that really stand out to me as classics, as good as they are. It's also a lot longer than the older LP's. It's fifty minutes long; by comparison, almost all the original albums were around the half-hour mark. Kinda lengthy for what is just a hard rock album at the end of the day.

That said, I can hardly label A Different Kind of Truth a 'disappointment'. Diamond Dave is back, he sounds good and he's brought his ego along with him. Eddie's playing is superb as expected. The production is bass-heavy and not compressed in the slightest. Thank fuck Rick Rubin wasn't involved! Also, the band aren't directly ripping themselves off by essentially recycling riffs or melodies from thirty years ago. Well, apart from 'Stay Frosty' that is, but I still like that one. The sad news is that this was the only studio album we got from the band after Dave reunited, and subsequently was the last Van Halen album that we got in general. What also sucks is that this band almost never played the UK. Why?! The bulk of their albums sold well in the UK, and not once did the opportunity ever arise for me to see them. And now with Ed sadly gone, I never will be able to say that I've seen Van Halen live.

Adam's rating: 8/10 

TOKYO DOME LIVE IN CONCERT          2015          (Warner Bros.)

Finally, a serviceable Van Halen live album! One with David Lee Roth on vocals too! Of course, I'd have much preferred to have had an official one from the early 80's, or possibly even late 70's, but this'll have to do I guess. Tokyo Dome Live in Concert was recorded in 2013 in, well, Tokyo. So this is obviously a late-career live album, and for that reason Dave himself doesn't sound as great as I'd like him too - he was already well into his 50's, so I can't really be too harsh on that front. He sounds the way I'd expect him too, to be honest. The actual musical performances are pretty damn good however, with Eddie still burnin' it up with his axe (check out the eight-minute 'Eruption' solo). And the band are tight - Eddie's son Wolfgang does a great job replacing Michael Anthony on bass, even if the backing vocals aren't the same anymore.

The setlist is what you'd expect really - two discs of nothing but Roth classics, plus a few newer cuts from A Different Kind of Truth ('Tattoo', 'China Town', 'She's the Woman'), all of which sit within the playlist quite nicely. No real 'deep cuts' to be found, but seeing as this is the only official live record with Roth that we ever got, it's not really a problem. No idea what's up with the album cover. The show wasn't recorded on a cruise ship!

Adam's rating: 8/10