Dave or Sammy?

Banned · Post by **Banned** » Saturday Jul 24, 2004

FatVin wrote: I don't know about the rest of you but after Sammy split, it occurred to me that maybe Dave wasn't the problem in Van Halen.

So true. I like the younger, rowdier Van Halen, but is it really Sammy's fault that they mellowed with age? They were headed in that direction anyway - Sammy just happened to be the guy behind the mic when they hit their "power ballad" years.

If anything, Sammy's no-frills rock craftsmanship may have kept the whole thing together. His songs are always tight and focused. VH3 could have used a little more of that focus.

J Michaels · Post by **J Michaels** » Saturday Jul 24, 2004

April wrote:sorry, J, but I gotta go with Str8h8 on this one. Though I probably wouldn't call them "glam", I hate them anyway.

I have no problem with people not liking their music, but to say they are nothing but a "glam band stuck in the 80s" is woefully ignorant of any sense of msuic or its history and development..... You can like it, you can hate it, but at least have an informed idea about something's place.

str8h8 · Post by **str8h8** » Saturday Jul 24, 2004

Eyeliner short of glam...whoop-dee-doo! They are still one of the queerest pieces of shit ever.

lonewolf · Post by **lonewolf** » Sunday Jul 25, 2004

Even if (just) vocalists are generally lazy, egotistical (nah, they're not that smart-change to egocentric), womanizing "rock stars" and don't bother to help load or unload the equipment and expect to just walk into a gig 5 minutes before showtime and have no clue what key we musicians are in...I still think that the character of a band is the sound of the lead vocalist. This is especially true of when DLR left Van Halen. It's like trying to replace Bon Scott (sorry Brian, ya just ain't Bon) or Steve Walsh or (for chrissakes) Jim Morrison. Ronnie J.D. is a virtual metal god, but that was not Black Sabbath.

Van Halen ceased to be Van Halen when DLR left.

I've been a Sammy fan since the early 70s, but unfortunately for his VH experience, most bands have 20 years to make their 1st and 2nd albums and 6 months for every album thereafter. To his credit, Sammy had already done 1st & 2nd albums TWICE. Most of Eddie's (groundbreaking) best work was done before Hagar got there. The Van Hagar stuff is good, but its Van Hagar, not Van Halen. Musically, Van Hagar is superior, but damn it, Van Halen was a lot more fun and it was new.

Yes, I just got back from the bars, so don't bother hassling me about the 1st paragraph, because I won't remember it anyway (see Alzheimer's). If you take offense at the 1st paragraph, then START SHOWING UP TO UNLOAD the F'ing truck.

(in other words, if you help to unload the truck, it does NOT apply to you)

FatVin · Post by **FatVin** » Sunday Jul 25, 2004

I was talking about "attitudes and Ego's" within Van Halen not neccesarrily being Dave or Sammy's fault. I mean, C'mon it's Dave then Sammy then, maybe Dave then Gary then Sam Again. Maybe singers aren't the problem.

Van Halen and "Van Hagar" are two Very Different bands, they both have virtues and they both have weaknesses and I honestly do like them both.

Here's the thing, (god, do I hate to admit this) Lone Wolf is right when he says that the lead vocal is the charachter of the band and most of the time when you have a great band going strong and you replace a lead singer, it's a disaster.

Think about this, those guys who are out passing themselves off as Lynyrd Skynyrd, and they's got the original singer's brother. It's not the same.

bassist_25 · Post by **bassist_25** » Sunday Jul 25, 2004

I think that Johnny Van Zant is three times the vocalist than his brother. Either way, it really doesn't matter to me; right now, Lynyrd Skynyrd is just jumping on the Classic-Rock-Cash-In-On-Our-Previous-Glory tour, that so many bands are doing right now. (okay, they released that one album) I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that; in the words of Dee Snider, "Who better to cash in on our legacy, than us?" As I said in another thread, that whole Doors:21st Centry thing is pretty lame, but it's ultimatley the fans who go to ticketmaster and buy the seats. If people didn't come out and see these shows, they wouldn't happen.

lonewolf · Post by **lonewolf** » Sunday Jul 25, 2004

Yep, Vinny, I think you're right about the "egos and attitudes" in VH. The breakups and fighting always seems to focus on one individual. If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck and waddles like a duck, its probably a duck.

Chemistry might also have something to do with it (this phrase has 2 meanings).

I'd like to call your attention to the noise thing. It looks OK and I would like to get your read on it.

tornandfrayed · Post by **tornandfrayed** » Sunday Jul 25, 2004

David Lee Roth

I really like Dave's work with Van Halen. I think that when Van Halen came out it was awwesome.

Sammy Hagar

I really like all of Sammy's stuff. He has put out some bullshit but he has put out a lot of stuff! And who wouldn't want to go hang out with Sammy and the boys at Cabo Wabo!

Dave is freaky now! He looks like some type of freakin alien!

Gary Cherone? Who?

April · Post by **April** » Monday Jul 26, 2004

hey J, did not mean to offend....I don't have anything bad to say about VH's musicianship or place in pop culture history, it's just that personally, their songs annoy the hell out of me.

J Michaels · Post by **J Michaels** » Monday Jul 26, 2004

April wrote:hey J, did not mean to offend....I don't have anything bad to say about VH's musicianship or place in pop culture history, it's just that personally, their songs annoy the hell out of me.

I got that from your previous post - no offense taken. It's like my take on Bob Dylan - great songwriter, huge influence on many and on rock in general, but I can't stand his voice.

Colton · Post by **Colton** » Wednesday Jul 28, 2004

anyone say this yet?
"Oh god! Neither!"

i love eddies guitfiddl'n tho

DisturbedViking · Post by **DisturbedViking** » Wednesday Jul 28, 2004

I have 2 say Dave

JayBird · Post by **JayBird** » Thursday Jul 29, 2004

Sammy...it's just that when he sings those power ballads, I feel as though he's singing them to me!

No, in all honesty, I do prefer Sam. I agree that he took the band to a new level. I just can't stand Dave's, "my shit don't stink" attitude. After that whole MTV award thing when they tried getting him back in the band(possibly), I lost all respect for that "center of attention" junkie.