Tell Me :
Talk
Van Hagar was the most successful era of Van Halen. Every Hagar album was a number one album (in the US).
Personally I only liked two songs of that era. I never really liked Sammy in VH, his solo albums are much better. The David Lee Roth era is the bomb.
Of course, VAN HALEN and 1984 are supreme. Sammy was the only sane person in the band. After BALANCE Van Halen basically ceased to exist. That tour was a disaster. Van Halen became a joke, equaling the idiocy of David Lee Roth with ease. Then the hits comp with two new DLR tracks... absolute lunacy.
The treatment of Michael Anthony is possibly the strangest behaviour of all.
Alex's character is equivalent to his drumming - cinder block rigid. The Van Halens were @#$%&*+ @##$%&$#. The Best Of Horrible Brothers!
Hi Gaslight, Van Hagar wasn't the most successful era just because they had 4 number 1 albums. All sold well right off the bat and then faded off. VH 1 and 1984 combined have outsold the whole Van Hagar catalog. My biggest dislike of the Hagar era was his refusal to sing any of the classic songs apart from Jump, Panama and You Really Got Me. At least when Cherone joined, they sang a lot of Dave era songs. Seen VH 8 times, 5 with Dave and 3 with Sammy.
It sucks the way they treated Mike. As far back as 82, they toyed with the idea of getting Billy Sheehan to replace him. He and his band Talas opened for VH in 81. He was DLR's bass player on Eat Em and Smile. Amazing seeing him and Vai together live! When MIke and Sammy toured as "The other half of Van Halen" that really pissed them off. I remember Eddie saying I'm one half and my brother's the other half.
Looking forward to reading the whole book.
They had an agreement that no one in the band will ever record with another artists. Ed said that the other three members were out of town so he couldn't let them know what he was doing.
Sorry, but no one was asking for anyone to guest on their music or do anything outside of the band besides Ed. Guy was a gifted genius. He was in demand and could whip up magic, as he did on Beat It. To say no one would record with other artists is just to keep him with them, and good for him for not listening to it and realizing it only applies to him.
Also, he figured no one would find out since it was a Michael Jackson album, totally different genre!
here's the unpaywalled link to the nyt article (that bye bye johnny already posted below the nyt link)
archive.ph
and here's the rolling stone article
archive.ph
I don't think Alex mentions "the agreement" in the recent article. But even if they had such an agreement, I am glad Eddie broke it. That agreement would have made a great scene out of SPINAL TAP. Rockandrollers are silly, sometimes.
EVH called it the band's policy not to play with other artist. Here he is in his own words.
In terms of a new release, immediate number one chart status, presence and the tours, the Hagar era was the most successful. They were bigger than ever, the biggest they'd ever be - the OU812 summer tour was their only stadium tour, they were everywhere.
I know VH and 1984 have outsold anything from the Hagar era but that took quite a while, rightfully so since they are must-have albums.
I prefer the DLR era. I had 5150 because of Best Of Both Worlds (ha ha... Highway To Hell via Eddie) and OU812 because of Finish What Ya' Started and the excellent Black And Blue but I could never get into the ballads.
Those albums disappeared somehow. The reissues of the DLR era sound excellent.
I think the weird thing with Van Hagar is they didn't have THE album that regardless of everything, people like that record. Like Back In Black with AC/DC. Really not much after that with Brian matters, but they did Back In Black with him so he's legitimate. Kind of similar with Black Sabbath and Dio. You can't really change singers that much, but if you have a big record once you do that kind of solidifies it. Van Hagar had a ton of hits, but the albums themselves weren't massively recognizable, at least not like today. Not in the way Van Halen and 1984 are. No matter how big Van Hagar got, they always played at least one Dave song (even though they had enough that they didn't really have to). When you go see Van Halen with Roth, everyone is like Sammy "who". You don't NEED it. Its a weird dichtomy with that band. Even stranger that Alex is now essentially saying it never felt "real". That was a huge portion of his life, and as you say arguably the most lucrative one. Original Van Halen eventually became this big thing, but I feel not until Sammy left.
Wow, yeah, that's a really good point, it is weird. There's certainly two groups of fans, or perhaps, there was. A run of hit singles, two live albums, endless tours. But not one huge album like VH or 1984.
Imagine how AC/DC fans would still feel if Bon Scott was alive but quit/got fired? And then...
The two VH hits comps are bizarre - the first one, the lamely titled "Volume One", is severely lacking songs yet it sold quite well. The second one, BEST OF BOTH WORLDS, is too all over the place, mixing eras instead of having disc one be DLR and disc two Sammy, but at least is a much better representation of the big songs. It didn't sell as well, either because it's a double album or by the time it came out not as many people cared anymore? Because Eddie was like a wind vane in a hurricane?
Only the second hits comp was with Sammy in the band - temporarily. The first one, ha ha, Sammy was fired and DLR... really stupid.
From what I understand Sammy had no issues singing Roth songs, it was more Eddie wanting to limit that, most likely because Eddie wanted to move on from the DLR era - it was a new band, after all. They didn't even sound like Van Halen with Sammy. Perhaps having another guitar player in the band changed Eddie's approach.
No matter, he was out of his gourd like pumpkin seeds from a smashed pumpkin.
The hype when A DIFFERENT KIND OF TRUTH came out - the Van Hagar era was 100% absent from the website.
Eddie's ego was stuck at 6 years old.
I'm not taking sides, however these two things can exist simultaneously.
Both Sammy and Michael Anthony have reached out to Alex with zero response... both of those guys seemed to take the high road in all the Van Halen BS I feel that the Douche reference seems fit... He was asked to participate in the best of both worlds tribute in various rolls, instead of declining like a gentleman he remains silent then slings more crap in his book... Hilarious
I'm sure we all agree the original VH was the best... I personally thought Sammy was the perfect fit after Dave but...
Talk about your favorite band.
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OT: Alex Van Halen interview - Rolling Stone, October 15
Posted by:
bye bye johnny
()
Date: October 16, 2024 02:28
EXCLUSIVE
My Brother, Eddie Van Halen: Alex Van Halen Tells All
Not even death could break the bond they shared. For the first time, Van Halen's drummer is ready to talk about everything
By Brian Hiatt
October 15, 2024
[www.rollingstone.com]
--
Good stuff!
My Brother, Eddie Van Halen: Alex Van Halen Tells All
Not even death could break the bond they shared. For the first time, Van Halen's drummer is ready to talk about everything
By Brian Hiatt
October 15, 2024
[www.rollingstone.com]
--
Good stuff!
Re: OT: Alex Van Halen interview - Rolling Stone, October 15
Posted by:
RollingFreak
()
Date: October 16, 2024 10:40
The Van Halen camp is so screwed up. Alex won't mention Sammy Hagar's name, but also shits all over David Lee Roth for being super disrespectful. Says the heart of Van Halen has always been him, Ed, Dave and Mike, but Ed and Alex crapped on Mike for decades and tried to erase him from VH history. I'm sorry for Alex cause we all miss Eddie Van Halen, but everyone in Van Halen is totally nuts. Eddie is not the saint they try to paint him as. An incredible guitarist who had a talent for finding difficult people to work with, but he and Alex were as petty as a guy like David Lee Roth is. Just a group of self sabotagers, who happened to make great music. David Lee Roth was essentially a joke for two decades when he left VH, and Ed and Alex managed to give him the keys to the band when he returned and steer that ship. They kinda don't have anyone to blame but themselves, about who was in the band, about how it all turned out, the lack of a lot of things they ended up doing. They happened because of the people you guys hired, it happened because of the addictions Ed had.
Having said all that, Van Halen are great. Dave is one of the great frontmen and studio vocalist, Ed is an obvious top guitarist of all time, Mike had incredible backing vocals, and Alex was a monster drummer. Sammy is also great, though I love his solo work and never cared for his work with VH, but that's more to do than the direction they took than anything Sammy personally did. Dave Van Halen represents the most fun time in your life.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024-10-16 10:47 by RollingFreak.
Having said all that, Van Halen are great. Dave is one of the great frontmen and studio vocalist, Ed is an obvious top guitarist of all time, Mike had incredible backing vocals, and Alex was a monster drummer. Sammy is also great, though I love his solo work and never cared for his work with VH, but that's more to do than the direction they took than anything Sammy personally did. Dave Van Halen represents the most fun time in your life.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024-10-16 10:47 by RollingFreak.
Re: OT: Alex Van Halen interview - Rolling Stone, October 15
Posted by:
rollmops
()
Date: October 16, 2024 13:29
I don't understand Alex's argument that Eddie playing with Michael Jackson(solo on Beat it) was a mistake.
Eddie's work with Jackson integrated rockandroll to Pop music in the early 80's with high quality level standards. What is wrong with that? Be progressive, daring adventurous and aiming at success is part of rock and roll music anyway. Eddie was so powerful and most of all, he had a mind of his own.
Eddie's work with Jackson integrated rockandroll to Pop music in the early 80's with high quality level standards. What is wrong with that? Be progressive, daring adventurous and aiming at success is part of rock and roll music anyway. Eddie was so powerful and most of all, he had a mind of his own.
Re: OT: Alex Van Halen interview - Rolling Stone, October 15
Posted by:
Koen
()
Date: October 16, 2024 14:00
“Nothing nut” 
Re: OT: Alex Van Halen interview - Rolling Stone, October 15
Posted by:
Elmo Lewis
()
Date: October 16, 2024 15:37
I totally agree with the above comments:
Van Halen are great. Dave is one of the great frontmen and studio vocalist, Ed is an obvious top guitarist of all time, Mike had incredible backing vocals, and Alex was a monster drummer. Sammy is also great, though I love his solo work and never cared for his work with VH, but that's more to do than the direction they took than anything Sammy personally did. Dave Van Halen represents the most fun time in your life.
and:
I don't understand Alex's argument that Eddie playing with Michael Jackson (solo on Beat it) was a mistake. Eddie's work with Jackson integrated rock and roll to Pop music in the early 80's with high quality level standards. What is wrong with that? Be progressive, daring adventurous and aiming at success is part of rock and roll music anyway. Eddie was so powerful and most of all, he had a mind of his own.
It's a damn shame that egos and addictions ruined this band. One doesn't have to look far to see how lucky we are to still have Mick, Keith, and Ronnie playing together at such a high level (Hackney Diamonds and the ensuing tour).
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024-10-16 15:39 by Elmo Lewis.
Van Halen are great. Dave is one of the great frontmen and studio vocalist, Ed is an obvious top guitarist of all time, Mike had incredible backing vocals, and Alex was a monster drummer. Sammy is also great, though I love his solo work and never cared for his work with VH, but that's more to do than the direction they took than anything Sammy personally did. Dave Van Halen represents the most fun time in your life.
and:
I don't understand Alex's argument that Eddie playing with Michael Jackson (solo on Beat it) was a mistake. Eddie's work with Jackson integrated rock and roll to Pop music in the early 80's with high quality level standards. What is wrong with that? Be progressive, daring adventurous and aiming at success is part of rock and roll music anyway. Eddie was so powerful and most of all, he had a mind of his own.
It's a damn shame that egos and addictions ruined this band. One doesn't have to look far to see how lucky we are to still have Mick, Keith, and Ronnie playing together at such a high level (Hackney Diamonds and the ensuing tour).
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024-10-16 15:39 by Elmo Lewis.
Re: OT: Alex Van Halen interview - Rolling Stone, October 15
Posted by:
GasLightStreet
()
Date: October 16, 2024 21:30
Quote
RollingFreak
The Van Halen camp is so screwed up. Alex won't mention Sammy Hagar's name, but also shits all over David Lee Roth for being super disrespectful. Says the heart of Van Halen has always been him, Ed, Dave and Mike, but Ed and Alex crapped on Mike for decades and tried to erase him from VH history. I'm sorry for Alex cause we all miss Eddie Van Halen, but everyone in Van Halen is totally nuts. Eddie is not the saint they try to paint him as. An incredible guitarist who had a talent for finding difficult people to work with, but he and Alex were as petty as a guy like David Lee Roth is. Just a group of self sabotagers, who happened to make great music. David Lee Roth was essentially a joke for two decades when he left VH, and Ed and Alex managed to give him the keys to the band when he returned and steer that ship. They kinda don't have anyone to blame but themselves, about who was in the band, about how it all turned out, the lack of a lot of things they ended up doing. They happened because of the people you guys hired, it happened because of the addictions Ed had.
Having said all that, Van Halen are great. Dave is one of the great frontmen and studio vocalist, Ed is an obvious top guitarist of all time, Mike had incredible backing vocals, and Alex was a monster drummer. Sammy is also great, though I love his solo work and never cared for his work with VH, but that's more to do than the direction they took than anything Sammy personally did. Dave Van Halen represents the most fun time in your life.
Van Hagar was the most successful era of Van Halen. Every Hagar album was a number one album (in the US).
Personally I only liked two songs of that era. I never really liked Sammy in VH, his solo albums are much better. The David Lee Roth era is the bomb.
Of course, VAN HALEN and 1984 are supreme. Sammy was the only sane person in the band. After BALANCE Van Halen basically ceased to exist. That tour was a disaster. Van Halen became a joke, equaling the idiocy of David Lee Roth with ease. Then the hits comp with two new DLR tracks... absolute lunacy.
The treatment of Michael Anthony is possibly the strangest behaviour of all.
Alex's character is equivalent to his drumming - cinder block rigid. The Van Halens were @#$%&*+ @##$%&$#. The Best Of Horrible Brothers!
Re: OT: Alex Van Halen interview - Rolling Stone, October 15
Posted by:
DGA35
()
Date: October 17, 2024 20:15
Quote
GasLightStreetQuote
RollingFreak
The Van Halen camp is so screwed up. Alex won't mention Sammy Hagar's name, but also shits all over David Lee Roth for being super disrespectful. Says the heart of Van Halen has always been him, Ed, Dave and Mike, but Ed and Alex crapped on Mike for decades and tried to erase him from VH history. I'm sorry for Alex cause we all miss Eddie Van Halen, but everyone in Van Halen is totally nuts. Eddie is not the saint they try to paint him as. An incredible guitarist who had a talent for finding difficult people to work with, but he and Alex were as petty as a guy like David Lee Roth is. Just a group of self sabotagers, who happened to make great music. David Lee Roth was essentially a joke for two decades when he left VH, and Ed and Alex managed to give him the keys to the band when he returned and steer that ship. They kinda don't have anyone to blame but themselves, about who was in the band, about how it all turned out, the lack of a lot of things they ended up doing. They happened because of the people you guys hired, it happened because of the addictions Ed had.
Having said all that, Van Halen are great. Dave is one of the great frontmen and studio vocalist, Ed is an obvious top guitarist of all time, Mike had incredible backing vocals, and Alex was a monster drummer. Sammy is also great, though I love his solo work and never cared for his work with VH, but that's more to do than the direction they took than anything Sammy personally did. Dave Van Halen represents the most fun time in your life.
Van Hagar was the most successful era of Van Halen. Every Hagar album was a number one album (in the US).
Personally I only liked two songs of that era. I never really liked Sammy in VH, his solo albums are much better. The David Lee Roth era is the bomb.
Of course, VAN HALEN and 1984 are supreme. Sammy was the only sane person in the band. After BALANCE Van Halen basically ceased to exist. That tour was a disaster. Van Halen became a joke, equaling the idiocy of David Lee Roth with ease. Then the hits comp with two new DLR tracks... absolute lunacy.
The treatment of Michael Anthony is possibly the strangest behaviour of all.
Alex's character is equivalent to his drumming - cinder block rigid. The Van Halens were @#$%&*+ @##$%&$#. The Best Of Horrible Brothers!
Hi Gaslight, Van Hagar wasn't the most successful era just because they had 4 number 1 albums. All sold well right off the bat and then faded off. VH 1 and 1984 combined have outsold the whole Van Hagar catalog. My biggest dislike of the Hagar era was his refusal to sing any of the classic songs apart from Jump, Panama and You Really Got Me. At least when Cherone joined, they sang a lot of Dave era songs. Seen VH 8 times, 5 with Dave and 3 with Sammy.
It sucks the way they treated Mike. As far back as 82, they toyed with the idea of getting Billy Sheehan to replace him. He and his band Talas opened for VH in 81. He was DLR's bass player on Eat Em and Smile. Amazing seeing him and Vai together live! When MIke and Sammy toured as "The other half of Van Halen" that really pissed them off. I remember Eddie saying I'm one half and my brother's the other half.
Looking forward to reading the whole book.
Re: OT: Alex Van Halen interview - Rolling Stone, October 15
Posted by:
More Hot Rocks
()
Date: October 17, 2024 20:22
Quote
rollmops
I don't understand Alex's argument that Eddie playing with Michael Jackson(solo on Beat it) was a mistake.
Eddie's work with Jackson integrated rockandroll to Pop music in the early 80's with high quality level standards. What is wrong with that? Be progressive, daring adventurous and aiming at success is part of rock and roll music anyway. Eddie was so powerful and most of all, he had a mind of his own.
They had an agreement that no one in the band will ever record with another artists. Ed said that the other three members were out of town so he couldn't let them know what he was doing.
Re: OT: Alex Van Halen interview - Rolling Stone, October 15
Posted by:
RollingFreak
()
Date: October 17, 2024 20:26
Quote
More Hot RocksQuote
rollmops
I don't understand Alex's argument that Eddie playing with Michael Jackson(solo on Beat it) was a mistake.
Eddie's work with Jackson integrated rockandroll to Pop music in the early 80's with high quality level standards. What is wrong with that? Be progressive, daring adventurous and aiming at success is part of rock and roll music anyway. Eddie was so powerful and most of all, he had a mind of his own.
They had an agreement that no one in the band will ever record with another artists. Ed said that the other three members were out of town so he couldn't let them know what he was doing.
Sorry, but no one was asking for anyone to guest on their music or do anything outside of the band besides Ed. Guy was a gifted genius. He was in demand and could whip up magic, as he did on Beat It. To say no one would record with other artists is just to keep him with them, and good for him for not listening to it and realizing it only applies to him.
Re: OT: Alex Van Halen interview - Rolling Stone, October 15
Posted by:
More Hot Rocks
()
Date: October 17, 2024 21:53
Quote
RollingFreakQuote
More Hot RocksQuote
rollmops
I don't understand Alex's argument that Eddie playing with Michael Jackson(solo on Beat it) was a mistake.
Eddie's work with Jackson integrated rockandroll to Pop music in the early 80's with high quality level standards. What is wrong with that? Be progressive, daring adventurous and aiming at success is part of rock and roll music anyway. Eddie was so powerful and most of all, he had a mind of his own.
They had an agreement that no one in the band will ever record with another artists. Ed said that the other three members were out of town so he couldn't let them know what he was doing.
Sorry, but no one was asking for anyone to guest on their music or do anything outside of the band besides Ed. Guy was a gifted genius. He was in demand and could whip up magic, as he did on Beat It. To say no one would record with other artists is just to keep him with them, and good for him for not listening to it and realizing it only applies to him.[/quote
Sorry No. That's not what Eddie said. And I never said no one was asking anyone to guest. I'm just stating what EVH said.
Re: OT: Alex Van Halen interview - Rolling Stone, October 15
Posted by:
umakmehrd
()
Date: October 17, 2024 22:10
I loved both versions of VH Dave & Sammy - Eddie was the best so gifted yet so fragile - I'm not sure Alex is all there imo alot of this article seem off.
OT: Alex Van Halen interview - New York Times, October 16
Posted by:
bye bye johnny
()
Date: October 17, 2024 22:24
More promo for Alex's forthcoming book, Brothers
Eddie Van Halen Changed Rock History. Now His Brother Is Telling Their Story.
The guitarist and drummer formed the core of the powerhouse band. After Eddie died of cancer in 2020, Alex stayed quiet, but he’s breaking his silence in a new book.
By Richard Bienstock
Oct. 16, 2024
[www.nytimes.com]
[archive.ph]
Eddie Van Halen Changed Rock History. Now His Brother Is Telling Their Story.
The guitarist and drummer formed the core of the powerhouse band. After Eddie died of cancer in 2020, Alex stayed quiet, but he’s breaking his silence in a new book.
By Richard Bienstock
Oct. 16, 2024
[www.nytimes.com]
[archive.ph]
Re: OT: Alex Van Halen interview - Rolling Stone, October 15
Posted by:
DGA35
()
Date: October 17, 2024 23:53
Quote
More Hot RocksQuote
rollmops
I don't understand Alex's argument that Eddie playing with Michael Jackson(solo on Beat it) was a mistake.
Eddie's work with Jackson integrated rockandroll to Pop music in the early 80's with high quality level standards. What is wrong with that? Be progressive, daring adventurous and aiming at success is part of rock and roll music anyway. Eddie was so powerful and most of all, he had a mind of his own.
They had an agreement that no one in the band will ever record with another artists. Ed said that the other three members were out of town so he couldn't let them know what he was doing.
Also, he figured no one would find out since it was a Michael Jackson album, totally different genre!
Re: OT: Alex Van Halen interview - Rolling Stone, October 15
Posted by:
Spodlumt
()
Date: October 18, 2024 05:14
Thanks for the paywalled articles!
Re: OT: Alex Van Halen interview - Rolling Stone, October 15
Posted by:
ProfessorWolf
()
Date: October 18, 2024 10:21
Quote
Spodlumt
Thanks for the paywalled articles!
here's the unpaywalled link to the nyt article (that bye bye johnny already posted below the nyt link)
archive.ph
and here's the rolling stone article
archive.ph
Re: OT: Alex Van Halen interview - Rolling Stone, October 15
Posted by:
rollmops
()
Date: October 18, 2024 13:10
Quote
More Hot RocksQuote
rollmops
I don't understand Alex's argument that Eddie playing with Michael Jackson(solo on Beat it) was a mistake.
Eddie's work with Jackson integrated rockandroll to Pop music in the early 80's with high quality level standards. What is wrong with that? Be progressive, daring adventurous and aiming at success is part of rock and roll music anyway. Eddie was so powerful and most of all, he had a mind of his own.
They had an agreement that no one in the band will ever record with another artists. Ed said that the other three members were out of town so he couldn't let them know what he was doing.
I don't think Alex mentions "the agreement" in the recent article. But even if they had such an agreement, I am glad Eddie broke it. That agreement would have made a great scene out of SPINAL TAP. Rockandrollers are silly, sometimes.
Re: OT: Alex Van Halen interview - Rolling Stone, October 15
Posted by:
More Hot Rocks
()
Date: October 18, 2024 19:24
Quote
rollmopsQuote
More Hot RocksQuote
rollmops
I don't understand Alex's argument that Eddie playing with Michael Jackson(solo on Beat it) was a mistake.
Eddie's work with Jackson integrated rockandroll to Pop music in the early 80's with high quality level standards. What is wrong with that? Be progressive, daring adventurous and aiming at success is part of rock and roll music anyway. Eddie was so powerful and most of all, he had a mind of his own.
They had an agreement that no one in the band will ever record with another artists. Ed said that the other three members were out of town so he couldn't let them know what he was doing.
I don't think Alex mentions "the agreement" in the recent article. But even if they had such an agreement, I am glad Eddie broke it. That agreement would have made a great scene out of SPINAL TAP. Rockandrollers are silly, sometimes.
EVH called it the band's policy not to play with other artist. Here he is in his own words.
Re: OT: Alex Van Halen interview - Rolling Stone, October 15
Posted by:
GasLightStreet
()
Date: October 18, 2024 19:58
Quote
DGA35Quote
GasLightStreetQuote
RollingFreak
The Van Halen camp is so screwed up. Alex won't mention Sammy Hagar's name, but also shits all over David Lee Roth for being super disrespectful. Says the heart of Van Halen has always been him, Ed, Dave and Mike, but Ed and Alex crapped on Mike for decades and tried to erase him from VH history. I'm sorry for Alex cause we all miss Eddie Van Halen, but everyone in Van Halen is totally nuts. Eddie is not the saint they try to paint him as. An incredible guitarist who had a talent for finding difficult people to work with, but he and Alex were as petty as a guy like David Lee Roth is. Just a group of self sabotagers, who happened to make great music. David Lee Roth was essentially a joke for two decades when he left VH, and Ed and Alex managed to give him the keys to the band when he returned and steer that ship. They kinda don't have anyone to blame but themselves, about who was in the band, about how it all turned out, the lack of a lot of things they ended up doing. They happened because of the people you guys hired, it happened because of the addictions Ed had.
Having said all that, Van Halen are great. Dave is one of the great frontmen and studio vocalist, Ed is an obvious top guitarist of all time, Mike had incredible backing vocals, and Alex was a monster drummer. Sammy is also great, though I love his solo work and never cared for his work with VH, but that's more to do than the direction they took than anything Sammy personally did. Dave Van Halen represents the most fun time in your life.
Van Hagar was the most successful era of Van Halen. Every Hagar album was a number one album (in the US).
Personally I only liked two songs of that era. I never really liked Sammy in VH, his solo albums are much better. The David Lee Roth era is the bomb.
Of course, VAN HALEN and 1984 are supreme. Sammy was the only sane person in the band. After BALANCE Van Halen basically ceased to exist. That tour was a disaster. Van Halen became a joke, equaling the idiocy of David Lee Roth with ease. Then the hits comp with two new DLR tracks... absolute lunacy.
The treatment of Michael Anthony is possibly the strangest behaviour of all.
Alex's character is equivalent to his drumming - cinder block rigid. The Van Halens were @#$%&*+ @##$%&$#. The Best Of Horrible Brothers!
Hi Gaslight, Van Hagar wasn't the most successful era just because they had 4 number 1 albums. All sold well right off the bat and then faded off. VH 1 and 1984 combined have outsold the whole Van Hagar catalog. My biggest dislike of the Hagar era was his refusal to sing any of the classic songs apart from Jump, Panama and You Really Got Me. At least when Cherone joined, they sang a lot of Dave era songs. Seen VH 8 times, 5 with Dave and 3 with Sammy.
It sucks the way they treated Mike. As far back as 82, they toyed with the idea of getting Billy Sheehan to replace him. He and his band Talas opened for VH in 81. He was DLR's bass player on Eat Em and Smile. Amazing seeing him and Vai together live! When MIke and Sammy toured as "The other half of Van Halen" that really pissed them off. I remember Eddie saying I'm one half and my brother's the other half.
Looking forward to reading the whole book.
In terms of a new release, immediate number one chart status, presence and the tours, the Hagar era was the most successful. They were bigger than ever, the biggest they'd ever be - the OU812 summer tour was their only stadium tour, they were everywhere.
I know VH and 1984 have outsold anything from the Hagar era but that took quite a while, rightfully so since they are must-have albums.
I prefer the DLR era. I had 5150 because of Best Of Both Worlds (ha ha... Highway To Hell via Eddie) and OU812 because of Finish What Ya' Started and the excellent Black And Blue but I could never get into the ballads.
Those albums disappeared somehow. The reissues of the DLR era sound excellent.
Re: OT: Alex Van Halen interview - Rolling Stone, October 15
Posted by:
RollingFreak
()
Date: October 18, 2024 22:50
Quote
GasLightStreetQuote
DGA35Quote
GasLightStreetQuote
RollingFreak
The Van Halen camp is so screwed up. Alex won't mention Sammy Hagar's name, but also shits all over David Lee Roth for being super disrespectful. Says the heart of Van Halen has always been him, Ed, Dave and Mike, but Ed and Alex crapped on Mike for decades and tried to erase him from VH history. I'm sorry for Alex cause we all miss Eddie Van Halen, but everyone in Van Halen is totally nuts. Eddie is not the saint they try to paint him as. An incredible guitarist who had a talent for finding difficult people to work with, but he and Alex were as petty as a guy like David Lee Roth is. Just a group of self sabotagers, who happened to make great music. David Lee Roth was essentially a joke for two decades when he left VH, and Ed and Alex managed to give him the keys to the band when he returned and steer that ship. They kinda don't have anyone to blame but themselves, about who was in the band, about how it all turned out, the lack of a lot of things they ended up doing. They happened because of the people you guys hired, it happened because of the addictions Ed had.
Having said all that, Van Halen are great. Dave is one of the great frontmen and studio vocalist, Ed is an obvious top guitarist of all time, Mike had incredible backing vocals, and Alex was a monster drummer. Sammy is also great, though I love his solo work and never cared for his work with VH, but that's more to do than the direction they took than anything Sammy personally did. Dave Van Halen represents the most fun time in your life.
Van Hagar was the most successful era of Van Halen. Every Hagar album was a number one album (in the US).
Personally I only liked two songs of that era. I never really liked Sammy in VH, his solo albums are much better. The David Lee Roth era is the bomb.
Of course, VAN HALEN and 1984 are supreme. Sammy was the only sane person in the band. After BALANCE Van Halen basically ceased to exist. That tour was a disaster. Van Halen became a joke, equaling the idiocy of David Lee Roth with ease. Then the hits comp with two new DLR tracks... absolute lunacy.
The treatment of Michael Anthony is possibly the strangest behaviour of all.
Alex's character is equivalent to his drumming - cinder block rigid. The Van Halens were @#$%&*+ @##$%&$#. The Best Of Horrible Brothers!
Hi Gaslight, Van Hagar wasn't the most successful era just because they had 4 number 1 albums. All sold well right off the bat and then faded off. VH 1 and 1984 combined have outsold the whole Van Hagar catalog. My biggest dislike of the Hagar era was his refusal to sing any of the classic songs apart from Jump, Panama and You Really Got Me. At least when Cherone joined, they sang a lot of Dave era songs. Seen VH 8 times, 5 with Dave and 3 with Sammy.
It sucks the way they treated Mike. As far back as 82, they toyed with the idea of getting Billy Sheehan to replace him. He and his band Talas opened for VH in 81. He was DLR's bass player on Eat Em and Smile. Amazing seeing him and Vai together live! When MIke and Sammy toured as "The other half of Van Halen" that really pissed them off. I remember Eddie saying I'm one half and my brother's the other half.
Looking forward to reading the whole book.
In terms of a new release, immediate number one chart status, presence and the tours, the Hagar era was the most successful. They were bigger than ever, the biggest they'd ever be - the OU812 summer tour was their only stadium tour, they were everywhere.
I know VH and 1984 have outsold anything from the Hagar era but that took quite a while, rightfully so since they are must-have albums.
I prefer the DLR era. I had 5150 because of Best Of Both Worlds (ha ha... Highway To Hell via Eddie) and OU812 because of Finish What Ya' Started and the excellent Black And Blue but I could never get into the ballads.
Those albums disappeared somehow. The reissues of the DLR era sound excellent.
I think the weird thing with Van Hagar is they didn't have THE album that regardless of everything, people like that record. Like Back In Black with AC/DC. Really not much after that with Brian matters, but they did Back In Black with him so he's legitimate. Kind of similar with Black Sabbath and Dio. You can't really change singers that much, but if you have a big record once you do that kind of solidifies it. Van Hagar had a ton of hits, but the albums themselves weren't massively recognizable, at least not like today. Not in the way Van Halen and 1984 are. No matter how big Van Hagar got, they always played at least one Dave song (even though they had enough that they didn't really have to). When you go see Van Halen with Roth, everyone is like Sammy "who". You don't NEED it. Its a weird dichtomy with that band. Even stranger that Alex is now essentially saying it never felt "real". That was a huge portion of his life, and as you say arguably the most lucrative one. Original Van Halen eventually became this big thing, but I feel not until Sammy left.
Re: OT: Alex Van Halen interview - Rolling Stone, October 15
Posted by:
GasLightStreet
()
Date: October 19, 2024 05:36
Yep.
It's convenient for Alex to say such.
Reality can't be denied.
Whatever. It's how Alex feels. I get that.
Imagine if one day Keith said, You know what...
Way heavier than anything Van Halen ever did but just the same.
Still, extremely disrespectful to deny Sammy Hagar - it was Eddie's idea. Alex was all in. 4 number one albums... sold out area (and one stadium) tours for quite a long time.
Alex is bitter. He can't and won't acknowledge anything post-1984.
Beyond absurd. He's a total douche.
It's convenient for Alex to say such.
Reality can't be denied.
Whatever. It's how Alex feels. I get that.
Imagine if one day Keith said, You know what...
Way heavier than anything Van Halen ever did but just the same.
Still, extremely disrespectful to deny Sammy Hagar - it was Eddie's idea. Alex was all in. 4 number one albums... sold out area (and one stadium) tours for quite a long time.
Alex is bitter. He can't and won't acknowledge anything post-1984.
Beyond absurd. He's a total douche.
OT: Alex Van Halen interview - Billboard, October 18
Posted by:
bye bye johnny
()
Date: October 19, 2024 16:25
‘If I Start Throwing Dirt, It’ll Never End’: Alex Van Halen on Why He Didn’t Want His ‘Brothers’ Book to Be a Tell-All
"Before I die I would like to at least partially set the record straight."
By Gary Graff
October 18, 2024
[www.billboard.com]
"Before I die I would like to at least partially set the record straight."
By Gary Graff
October 18, 2024
[www.billboard.com]
Re: OT: Alex Van Halen interview - Rolling Stone, October 15
Posted by:
More Hot Rocks
()
Date: October 19, 2024 18:57
Many Van Halen Camps
The Eddie and Alex Camp
The David Lee Roth Camp
The Sammy camp
The Gary Cherone I don't have a camp, camp.
and The Michael Anthony will you be my friend camp.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024-10-19 19:00 by More Hot Rocks.
The Eddie and Alex Camp
The David Lee Roth Camp
The Sammy camp
The Gary Cherone I don't have a camp, camp.
and The Michael Anthony will you be my friend camp.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024-10-19 19:00 by More Hot Rocks.
Re: OT: Alex Van Halen interview - Rolling Stone, October 15
Posted by:
GasLightStreet
()
Date: October 19, 2024 19:31
Quote
RollingFreak
I think the weird thing with Van Hagar is they didn't have THE album that regardless of everything, people like that record. Like Back In Black with AC/DC. Really not much after that with Brian matters, but they did Back In Black with him so he's legitimate. Kind of similar with Black Sabbath and Dio. You can't really change singers that much, but if you have a big record once you do that kind of solidifies it. Van Hagar had a ton of hits, but the albums themselves weren't massively recognizable, at least not like today. Not in the way Van Halen and 1984 are. No matter how big Van Hagar got, they always played at least one Dave song (even though they had enough that they didn't really have to). When you go see Van Halen with Roth, everyone is like Sammy "who". You don't NEED it. Its a weird dichtomy with that band. Even stranger that Alex is now essentially saying it never felt "real". That was a huge portion of his life, and as you say arguably the most lucrative one. Original Van Halen eventually became this big thing, but I feel not until Sammy left.
Wow, yeah, that's a really good point, it is weird. There's certainly two groups of fans, or perhaps, there was. A run of hit singles, two live albums, endless tours. But not one huge album like VH or 1984.
Imagine how AC/DC fans would still feel if Bon Scott was alive but quit/got fired? And then...
The two VH hits comps are bizarre - the first one, the lamely titled "Volume One", is severely lacking songs yet it sold quite well. The second one, BEST OF BOTH WORLDS, is too all over the place, mixing eras instead of having disc one be DLR and disc two Sammy, but at least is a much better representation of the big songs. It didn't sell as well, either because it's a double album or by the time it came out not as many people cared anymore? Because Eddie was like a wind vane in a hurricane?
Only the second hits comp was with Sammy in the band - temporarily. The first one, ha ha, Sammy was fired and DLR... really stupid.
From what I understand Sammy had no issues singing Roth songs, it was more Eddie wanting to limit that, most likely because Eddie wanted to move on from the DLR era - it was a new band, after all. They didn't even sound like Van Halen with Sammy. Perhaps having another guitar player in the band changed Eddie's approach.
No matter, he was out of his gourd like pumpkin seeds from a smashed pumpkin.
The hype when A DIFFERENT KIND OF TRUTH came out - the Van Hagar era was 100% absent from the website.
Eddie's ego was stuck at 6 years old.
Re: OT: Alex Van Halen interview - Rolling Stone, October 15
Posted by:
RollingFreak
()
Date: October 19, 2024 21:43
Van Halen buy into whatever era they're selling. When Dave is there, its full Dave and nothing else exists. When Sammy was there, they @#$%& HATED Dave. Listen, I went to a Van Halen reunion 07 show. I freely was like "Sammy Hagar Van Halen is not my Van Halen. THIS is why I come." I love Sammy, I just don't care for his Van Halen material, which is largely Eddie and the band's fault. Sammy sounds great on the stuff. His solo stuff is great and Montrose, but Van Halen to me is Dave. I don't deny Sammy doesn't exist, its just not for me. For Alex to essentially deny it ever happened or to dismiss it all, when he was in the band, is laughable.
Re: OT: Alex Van Halen interview - Rolling Stone, October 15
Posted by:
Koen
()
Date: October 21, 2024 18:15
Here is a guy who is still grieving his younger brother’s passing and wrote a book about it.
And then someone calls him a douche…
And then someone calls him a douche…
OT: Alex Van Halen interview - The Guardian, October 21
Posted by:
bye bye johnny
()
Date: October 21, 2024 18:19
Alex Van Halen on his brother Eddie: ‘I’m not done dealing with this yet’
In the new book Brothers, the drummer writes candidly about life in the spotlight alongside his late sibling and their many highs and lows
Jim Farber
October 21, 2024
[www.theguardian.com]
In the new book Brothers, the drummer writes candidly about life in the spotlight alongside his late sibling and their many highs and lows
Jim Farber
October 21, 2024
[www.theguardian.com]
Re: OT: Alex Van Halen interview - Rolling Stone, October 15
Posted by:
treaclefingers
()
Date: October 21, 2024 19:14
Quote
Koen
Here is a guy who is still grieving his younger brother’s passing and wrote a book about it.
And then someone calls him a douche…
I'm not taking sides, however these two things can exist simultaneously.
Re: OT: Alex Van Halen interview - Rolling Stone, October 15
Posted by:
TheflyingDutchman
()
Date: October 21, 2024 19:48
Actually two unpretentious Dutch speaking guys from Holland. 
God bless Eddie. What an amazing player he was.
God bless Eddie. What an amazing player he was.
Re: OT: Alex Van Halen interview - Rolling Stone, October 15
Posted by:
umakmehrd
()
Date: October 22, 2024 00:36
Quote
Koen
Here is a guy who is still grieving his younger brother’s passing and wrote a book about it.
And then someone calls him a douche…
Both Sammy and Michael Anthony have reached out to Alex with zero response... both of those guys seemed to take the high road in all the Van Halen BS I feel that the Douche reference seems fit... He was asked to participate in the best of both worlds tribute in various rolls, instead of declining like a gentleman he remains silent then slings more crap in his book... Hilarious
I'm sure we all agree the original VH was the best... I personally thought Sammy was the perfect fit after Dave but...
OT: Alex Van Halen interview - Los Angeles Times, October 21
Posted by:
bye bye johnny
()
Date: October 22, 2024 16:27
Alex Van Halen doesn’t ‘sugar coat’ complex relationship he had with Eddie in new book ‘Brothers’
By Marc Weingarten
Oct. 21, 2024
[www.latimes.com]
[archive.ph]
By Marc Weingarten
Oct. 21, 2024
[www.latimes.com]
[archive.ph]
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