Van Halen New Album
#176
Re: Van Halen New Album
Seeing Dave without a mic stand....that's gotta change!! Like others have said, he seems like he doesn't really know what to do with his arms/hands. I kept waiting for jazz hands!
Wolfie just seems so out of place. VH was always the ultimate party band, but you just don't get that vibe from this lineup, IMO. But, I'm still going to see them just so I can hear the classics that they didn't play with Sammy.
On that note, it would be interesting to hear Dave try and tackle stuff like Amsterdam, Black and Blue or Runaround.
Wolfie just seems so out of place. VH was always the ultimate party band, but you just don't get that vibe from this lineup, IMO. But, I'm still going to see them just so I can hear the classics that they didn't play with Sammy.
On that note, it would be interesting to hear Dave try and tackle stuff like Amsterdam, Black and Blue or Runaround.
#177
Re: Van Halen New Album
With the non-Wolfie crew all pushing 60, this is better than it has any right to be. And if that's really Wolfie playing bass, that kid is going to be a major force as bass players go. Billy Sheehan won't live forever and there are very few solid bassists who can hold up a single guitar band. This kid is good.
DLR is hilarious on HFT. "Here, have some chocolate from a stranger."
DLR is hilarious on HFT. "Here, have some chocolate from a stranger."
Last edited by Traxan; 02-10-12 at 01:35 PM.
#179
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: Van Halen New Album
I am sure he is that good considering his musical lineage.
#180
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Van Halen New Album
It's gotta be rough for Wolfie. Out on tour with the ultimate rock and roll party animal (Roth) with your dad and uncle looking over your shoulder. Probably doesn't help him much either when he looks out at all the middle age guys in the audience and realizes that they used to beat off to posters of his mom.
#183
Senior Member
Re: Van Halen New Album
The album fuckin rock's. Wolfie should grow a mullet and a beard so he would look more like michael anthony just to fuck with him and the audience.
#184
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Re: Van Halen New Album
I've been in a solid VH groove after listening to the new one a lot, and I'd like to catch them on tour, but it's $168.75 for good seats. I didn't even pay that much for KISS! I know there are cheaper seats, but I don't do cheaper seats. Pit, orch... or nothin'!
#185
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Re: Van Halen New Album
I was pretty skeptical after hearing Tattoo. I almost skipped the album. But I've been waiting for this for too long to ignore it when it was finally released.
Well, I've finally run through it twice and I have to say, it's AWESOME! I felt like I was in highschool again. I absolutely love that they went back to their old sound. In my opinion, these guys just blew away every rock band out there today (sad really).
My only gripe is that some of the lyrics are pretty lame. But I've never listened to Van Halen for the lyrics. Eddie's playing and just the sound of this album are unbelievable. Strangely, I didn't miss Michael Anthony at all.
At first, I too was pissed that they wasted 28 years. But I've let it go. I'm just ecstatic right now.
Dave better not fuck this up. I really want to see what the next album (presumably new material) will be like.
Well, I've finally run through it twice and I have to say, it's AWESOME! I felt like I was in highschool again. I absolutely love that they went back to their old sound. In my opinion, these guys just blew away every rock band out there today (sad really).
My only gripe is that some of the lyrics are pretty lame. But I've never listened to Van Halen for the lyrics. Eddie's playing and just the sound of this album are unbelievable. Strangely, I didn't miss Michael Anthony at all.
At first, I too was pissed that they wasted 28 years. But I've let it go. I'm just ecstatic right now.
Dave better not fuck this up. I really want to see what the next album (presumably new material) will be like.
Van Halen was the first band I ever got into and they were my favorite band during the 80s. Over time, the quality of their music began to drop and then they fell off the map entirely. I began to wonder what I ever saw in them in the first place. Well, with this album they are back to being my favorite band. This album is their best since 1984 (and I like Sammy).
One more thing, Dave needs to work on his stage performance. He's kind of hard to watch.
#186
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Re: Van Halen New Album
Personally, I'd have given the album a higher rating, but I think that Rob Sheffield pretty much nailed it with his Rolling Stone review. If you haven't read it yet, here it is...
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/al...truth-20120209
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/al...truth-20120209
#187
Moderator
Re: Van Halen New Album
^ Yeah, after reading the review, not sure where the 3.5 star rating came from. Reads as though it's at least a 4-star (if not 4.5) review.
#188
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Re: Van Halen New Album
VAN HALEN's new album, "A Different Kind Of Truth", sold 187,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 2 on The Billboard 200 chart.
#189
Re: Van Halen New Album
With the non-Wolfie crew all pushing 60, this is better than it has any right to be. And if that's really Wolfie playing bass, that kid is going to be a major force as bass players go. Billy Sheehan won't live forever and there are very few solid bassists who can hold up a single guitar band. This kid is good.
DLR is hilarious on HFT. "Here, have some chocolate from a stranger."
DLR is hilarious on HFT. "Here, have some chocolate from a stranger."
#191
Re: Van Halen New Album
It will plunge at least 60-70%(if not more) next week as grammy sales will spike for other artists. Then 25-50% weekly declines after that 12 weeks of chart life is probably all it has so based on those calculations about 425,000-500,000 total sales in the US.
Not a fan of the CD but really thought it would have sold more.
#192
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Re: Van Halen New Album
Best guess is that 500,000 is all that can be really be expected. Actually in this day and age it will be lucky to even get that far based on the chart history for these kinds of bands.
It will plunge at least 60-70%(if not more) next week as grammy sales will spike for other artists. Then 25-50% weekly declines after that 12 weeks of chart life is probably all it has so based on those calculations about 425,000-500,000 total sales in the US.
Not a fan of the CD but really thought it would have sold more.
It will plunge at least 60-70%(if not more) next week as grammy sales will spike for other artists. Then 25-50% weekly declines after that 12 weeks of chart life is probably all it has so based on those calculations about 425,000-500,000 total sales in the US.
Not a fan of the CD but really thought it would have sold more.
Of course the other factor to take into consideration will be how much Whitney Houston album sales will spike due to her passing. That's going to be something else that no one thought of or considered happening, which will play havoc with the charts.
#193
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Van Halen New Album
I heard Whitney has 5 of the top 10 sales... or something like that. But as the VH tour keeps churning, their sales should be fine. Any news on how ticket sales are going? A local rock radio station was giving away tickets for a week.
#196
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Van Halen New Album
Concert review: Van Halen at the United Center
Van Halen was pretty much all business Friday at the sold-out United Center, and that’s saying something when that eternal hedonist, David Lee Roth, is involved.
The ’70s metal giants are back with three-quarters of their original lineup, with Eddie and Alex Van Halen joined by Eddie’s 20-year-old son, Wolfgang, on bass. They were an impressive power trio, throwing up a brick wall of sound with the youngest Van Halen in particular stepping up his game. On a 2007-08 tour, Wolfgang was an understandably timid teenager replacing band cofounder Michael Anthony. On Friday, his vocal harmonies were strong and sure, and his bass playing was agile enough to slip between Alex’s stampeding kick drums and Eddie’s slaloming guitar leads.
On a spare stage, backed by a wall of amplifiers and an IMAX-style video screen that essentially blew up the on-stage proceedings to Godzilla proportion, the band slammed out 24 songs in two hours. No fuss, few frills, only a confetti shower for the closing “Jump.” With the exception of some piped-in keyboards and a rhythm guitar track on one song, the band did all the heavy lifting itself. This was the kind of ballad-free heavy that suggested a grand piano being dropped from a 20th-floor window, closing in on the pavement with intimidating size and speed.
Sometimes it looked a little too much like work, especially for the normally flamboyant Roth. He entered with a scarf-and-glitter outfit befitting a circus barker and a broad grin. But he was soon complaining about the weather conditions (“There’s some kind of blower … shut it off!”), his microphone, the need for a water bottle – he was distracted presence for most of the show. Once a showman who was as much about acrobatics as singing, Roth focused exclusively on the latter this time.
He moved stiffly, without much bravado. No jumping, strutting, preening – compared to his former jive-talking, jive-walking self, he was positively inert. Instead, he tried to point his voice in the right direction, and about half the time he nailed the high notes. Otherwise, he sounded ragged and strained. It’s early in the tour, but you have to wonder how well his voice will hold up two months down the road. Or his attitude. In the future, he might try spending more energy on his performance than chewing out the band’s roadies.
Only a handful of tracks from the quartet’s latest album, “A Different Kind of Truth,” infiltrated the classics-heavy set list. With their shout-along choruses, “Tattoo” and “She’s the Woman” sounded pretty much like the old Van Halen, and why not? Several of the “new” tunes were recycled from the band’s early demos. What the fans paid to hear were the likes of “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love,” “Runnin’ With the Devil” and “Panama,” which endure as flashpoints for a generation on familiar terms with shag carpets and boogie vans. Not everything has aged as well, though. “Hot for Teacher,” for example; it’s difficult to defend that one remaining on the play list now that Roth is no longer in spandex.
Still, even the tritest songs had Eddie Van Helen playing on them, and that’s almost always a good thing. After a decade of health problems and intra-band struggles, he looked and sounded rejuvenated.
Near the end of the set, he commanded the stage by himself for seven minutes. First he flopped down on the stairs leading up to the drums like a kid in his bedroom: a boyish grin, jeans, gym shoes, and his guitar. He tap-danced on the strings, then drifted off into a space odyssey that suggested a soundtrack for an unmade science-fiction movie. He swiveled, wielding the guitar like a weapon, emitting a low, moaning chord that reverberated around the arena. He’s that rare ’70s guitar icon who still sounds like the future.
The ’70s metal giants are back with three-quarters of their original lineup, with Eddie and Alex Van Halen joined by Eddie’s 20-year-old son, Wolfgang, on bass. They were an impressive power trio, throwing up a brick wall of sound with the youngest Van Halen in particular stepping up his game. On a 2007-08 tour, Wolfgang was an understandably timid teenager replacing band cofounder Michael Anthony. On Friday, his vocal harmonies were strong and sure, and his bass playing was agile enough to slip between Alex’s stampeding kick drums and Eddie’s slaloming guitar leads.
On a spare stage, backed by a wall of amplifiers and an IMAX-style video screen that essentially blew up the on-stage proceedings to Godzilla proportion, the band slammed out 24 songs in two hours. No fuss, few frills, only a confetti shower for the closing “Jump.” With the exception of some piped-in keyboards and a rhythm guitar track on one song, the band did all the heavy lifting itself. This was the kind of ballad-free heavy that suggested a grand piano being dropped from a 20th-floor window, closing in on the pavement with intimidating size and speed.
Sometimes it looked a little too much like work, especially for the normally flamboyant Roth. He entered with a scarf-and-glitter outfit befitting a circus barker and a broad grin. But he was soon complaining about the weather conditions (“There’s some kind of blower … shut it off!”), his microphone, the need for a water bottle – he was distracted presence for most of the show. Once a showman who was as much about acrobatics as singing, Roth focused exclusively on the latter this time.
He moved stiffly, without much bravado. No jumping, strutting, preening – compared to his former jive-talking, jive-walking self, he was positively inert. Instead, he tried to point his voice in the right direction, and about half the time he nailed the high notes. Otherwise, he sounded ragged and strained. It’s early in the tour, but you have to wonder how well his voice will hold up two months down the road. Or his attitude. In the future, he might try spending more energy on his performance than chewing out the band’s roadies.
Only a handful of tracks from the quartet’s latest album, “A Different Kind of Truth,” infiltrated the classics-heavy set list. With their shout-along choruses, “Tattoo” and “She’s the Woman” sounded pretty much like the old Van Halen, and why not? Several of the “new” tunes were recycled from the band’s early demos. What the fans paid to hear were the likes of “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love,” “Runnin’ With the Devil” and “Panama,” which endure as flashpoints for a generation on familiar terms with shag carpets and boogie vans. Not everything has aged as well, though. “Hot for Teacher,” for example; it’s difficult to defend that one remaining on the play list now that Roth is no longer in spandex.
Still, even the tritest songs had Eddie Van Helen playing on them, and that’s almost always a good thing. After a decade of health problems and intra-band struggles, he looked and sounded rejuvenated.
Near the end of the set, he commanded the stage by himself for seven minutes. First he flopped down on the stairs leading up to the drums like a kid in his bedroom: a boyish grin, jeans, gym shoes, and his guitar. He tap-danced on the strings, then drifted off into a space odyssey that suggested a soundtrack for an unmade science-fiction movie. He swiveled, wielding the guitar like a weapon, emitting a low, moaning chord that reverberated around the arena. He’s that rare ’70s guitar icon who still sounds like the future.
#197
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: Van Halen New Album
Listening to the show reviewed above right now...from what I've heard so far it's not bad, but Indy was better.
Read that he had mic problems...went from the headset to wireless to wired.
Looking forward to their second pass through Chicago on 4/1 - we're 16th row on the floor.
Read that he had mic problems...went from the headset to wireless to wired.
Looking forward to their second pass through Chicago on 4/1 - we're 16th row on the floor.
#199
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Van Halen New Album
Sometimes it looked a little too much like work, especially for the normally flamboyant Roth. He entered with a scarf-and-glitter outfit befitting a circus barker and a broad grin. But he was soon complaining about the weather conditions (“There’s some kind of blower … shut it off!”), his microphone, the need for a water bottle – he was distracted presence for most of the show. Once a showman who was as much about acrobatics as singing, Roth focused exclusively on the latter this time.
He moved stiffly, without much bravado. No jumping, strutting, preening – compared to his former jive-talking, jive-walking self, he was positively inert. Instead, he tried to point his voice in the right direction, and about half the time he nailed the high notes. Otherwise, he sounded ragged and strained. It’s early in the tour, but you have to wonder how well his voice will hold up two months down the road. Or his attitude. In the future, he might try spending more energy on his performance than chewing out the band’s roadies.
He moved stiffly, without much bravado. No jumping, strutting, preening – compared to his former jive-talking, jive-walking self, he was positively inert. Instead, he tried to point his voice in the right direction, and about half the time he nailed the high notes. Otherwise, he sounded ragged and strained. It’s early in the tour, but you have to wonder how well his voice will hold up two months down the road. Or his attitude. In the future, he might try spending more energy on his performance than chewing out the band’s roadies.