Van Halen ~ A Different Kind Of Truth (?) Discussion

Well I for one was expecting much and was worried about these just being rehashed leftovers from the 70's. I have to say I'm digging this album completely, it's sounds classic and fresh at the same time! EVH is on top of his game, DLR well is DLR! LOL Wolfie is a big surprise, he's a great bass player to say the least.  Those released samples don't do the album or songs justice. And this is only after one listen. I can't wait for it to grow on me some more!

Rush-Signals

Wolfie is a big surprise, he's a great bass player to say the least.

Are we sure Wolfie really played all the bass parts on the album?  I've read in a few places that Eddie played bass on many of the VH albums. 

Ross Hagarth himself has stated over at vhlinks.com that Wolfie did indeed play bass on the CD. He's also playing the parts live and sounding great doing it. The boy has really stepped up his game/playing. 

I may go as far to say this could be the best bass playing ever on a Van Halen cd.

I love MA but yeah I did say the above....


Also KeithK is in heaven and smiling at this cd.

Man, I'm beaming reading all of these rave reviews. Too bad I chose the free shipping on Amazon and they punished by moving my pre-order to the back of the line. They haven't even shipped it yet. 

So, on a side note, I bought the Tattoo single on iTunes when it became available. I bought The Trouble with Never and Blood and Fire singles from overseas amazon.com. Then I pre-ordered the deluxe edition from iTunes. Today I ran out and bought physical copy of the deluxe edition as well. I ran to a small little CD shop by the house (CD Warehouse). The lady there informed me that I was getting the last copy of the deluxe edition they had. They started selling today and by 3pm they were sold out. They only had a few of the regular editions as well. That's 10 deluxe editions from just this little CD shop.
 
She said to me as I was paying; "This new Van Halen CD kicks fucking ass! I can't believe we've almost sold out already, it's awesome".
 
Man, that sounds like awesome news to me. I really think this CD is gonna break Gold status which is pretty rare these days.

I'm enjoying this a WHOLE lot more than I thought I would. My favorite song right now would probably be You and Your Blues. Now THAT'S what I like to hear.

?
 

ShadowWalker


Gonna go against the grain here and say that I am underwhelmed by this release, even with my lowered expectations in the wake of the awesomely bad "Tattoo."

I gave it my first listen and honestly, nothing really grabbed my attention enough to want to go back and listen again right away. It will get some more spins to see if anything sticks, but I can say at this point that it likely won't be making my top albums of 2012 list. I heard nothing that made this sound original and fresh. It was pretty much Van Halen by-the-numbers without being anything better than what they as a band have done before. I'll take ANY classic DLR album over this.

Wasn't there a South Park episode about this guy....lol.

I am LOVING this album!!
Best "comeback" since Metallica's Death Magnetic...
MP

 Hopefully Clockwork Angels will be right there with it Mike.

Maybe it will grow on me. Not grabbing me so far.

Yeah, I'm not ashamed to say I'm with the majority on this one...expected little, BLOWN AWAY with what I heard last night in my car! It's really a surprisingly excellent album, with almost no filler or "skip over" tunes at all.
 
By the way, I'm a fan of "both" Van Halens (DLR & Hagar eras). This one is a really good one, though, and it almost made me think, "Why didn't they do this exact (or almost exact) album in 1998 with Cherone?" I mean, if most of these are re-arranged and polished old demos, they had these back then. And I don't mean any disrespect to VH3--I know it's panned by most old-school fans, but I liked it at the time (even though it was a new direction musically for them, IMHO). But as I listened to these new songs, I imagined Cherone singing them and could picture it. Oh well. Loving it now!

I disagree... I can NOT imagine Gary Cherone singing on this material. I can't even imagine Sammy singing on this. And mind, you I think both are superior singers to David Lee Roth... But this stuff was written for someone like DLR and it shines. 
 
Mike, I think this record far surpasses Death Magnetic as comeback albums go. That one had a few good tracks, and a good chunk of filler too, nevermind the terrible sound and some incoherent arrangements coupled by Lars obviously either phoning it in or being devoid of much creativity. Van Halen actually features them all playing as well as they ever have, has a classic vibe in the music, and compliments it with production that SOUNDS like vintage Van Halen and doesn't suffer from an unlistenable sound quality. 
 
This record is actually one of the most spectacular comeback records I can think of given the length of time that passed since their last official record. The only one I can think of that was just as strong was Cynic's Traced In Air after a similar length of absence and the sheer quality of output. 
 
I am really loving this album and again, was not looking to be as pleasantly surprised as I was. 

Picked it up today.
 
First off, EXCELLENT sonic quality to it. Nice seperation and clarity. Bass sounds top
shelf. Second...WOW, vintage, good ol' summertime roll the windows down and
CRANK IT VH. I guess the cream rises to the top even if it took many years. And it's
another lesson for me NOT to judge based off sound clips on a computer.

presto123


 Hopefully Clockwork Angels will be right there with it Mike.

Rush left?

emtee

First off, EXCELLENT sonic quality to it. Nice seperation and clarity. Bass sounds top
shelf.

I may not be all that excited about the release overall, but I have to agree with you on this point. The sonic quality is very strong. I am going to leave it in the car and see if something ultimately sticks, but this CD is dangerously close to being moved right to the "sell" stack in my home office for the next time I visit one of my local indie record shops...

Gourdy Lee said it all..."You and Your Blues"  is definitely my favorite. BTW...does anyone else think that "Honeybabysweetiedoll" has a prog feel to it.

I just had my ass kicked left, right and sideways by this new album.  I'm even loving Tattoo at this point!!  I"m digging just about every song right now, but especially "You and Your Blues", "Blood and Fire", and "Big River".
 
As to the Cherone comment, I think the other poster said it right:  this record couldn't happen without DLR.  The dude is singing bumper stickers - literally, "My karma ran over your dogma" is a bumper sticker - and making it soung AWESOME.  The high vocals, the speaking vocals, the spoken interludes... it all fell into place with me when I heard the "Oooh YEAH!" after the first verse in "Blood and Fire".  That to me is vintage Van Halen. 
 
Also, nice self-reference in "Blood and Fire":  "Told ya I was comin' back.  Tell me you missed me!  Say it like you mean it!" and then Ed just rips the shit off the place with that solo.......  man... not that I am dissing the Sam years (I am not) but I can see Sammy thinking, "where the f*** was that guy in 2004???"
 
I could go on and on...

Peart=God......To me they have a little as far as studio releases. I was a little disappointed by SnA(other than 4-5 tunes) but these two new songs have a classic Rush vibe to them. They haven't had a jam like the middle of Caravan in like forever. If the rest of the record is as good it will be my fav since Power Windows.

Stadler


I just had my ass kicked left, right and sideways by this new album.  I'm even loving Tattoo at this point!!  I"m digging just about every song right now, but especially "You and Your Blues", "Blood and Fire", and "Big River".

As to the Cherone comment, I think the other poster said it right:  this record couldn't happen without DLR.  The dude is singing bumper stickers - literally, "My karma ran over your dogma" is a bumper sticker - and making it soung AWESOME.  The high vocals, the speaking vocals, the spoken interludes... it all fell into place with me when I heard the "Oooh YEAH!" after the first verse in "Blood and Fire".  That to me is vintage Van Halen. 

Also, nice self-reference in "Blood and Fire":  "Told ya I was comin' back.  Tell me you missed me!  Say it like you mean it!" and then Ed just rips the shit off the place with that solo.......  man... not that I am dissing the Sam years (I am not) but I can see Sammy thinking, "where the f*** was that guy in 2004???"

I could go on and on...

 
I love that line. A true "Dave" moment.
 

Picked up the album today, haven't spun it yet though. I have been a VH fan since I was 8 (self titled was my bday present), and I will swear to anyone that Eddie taught me how to play guitar. I bought it out of sheer fandom, if it sucks I will still enjoy it cuz I'm a glutton for what I like. Iblove every album, even vh3.

That being said, the positive comments about it have gotten me excited enough that I will not listen to it until I can give it a good dedicated listen through my cans!

Oh boy!

Joedog


She said to me as I was paying; "This new Van Halen CD kicks fucking ass! I can't believe we've almost sold out already, it's awesome".

 
Did you report her to her boss?  That kind of language should not be tolerated in the workplace.

OK, so I finally listened to it...makes me wanna pick up my guitar and just have fucking fun with it! Its like they never split with DLR. I agree with the Guy above who said he's even digging Tattoo at this point. In context with the rest of the album, its great.

I love the production quality too. Only had my system turned to 20 and got a clear, concise mix. Well done VH, well done.

Kublakhan

Joedog


She said to me as I was paying; "This new Van Halen CD kicks fucking ass! I can't believe we've almost sold out already, it's awesome".

Did you report her to her boss?  That kind of language should not be tolerated in the workplace.

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not......

GlassDream

Kublakhan

Joedog


She said to me as I was paying; "This new Van Halen CD kicks fucking ass! I can't believe we've almost sold out already, it's awesome".

Did you report her to her boss?  That kind of language should not be tolerated in the workplace.

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not......

 
LMAO, me either, which is why I hadn't responded. She may have been the owner of the store since it's a tiny little place and I don't go there often. It's probably been at least a year since I went there last. They are extremely expensive, but sometimes have imports and things I can't get anywhere else. I was able to get a couple of Seventh Wonder discs there.

You can search Youtube for their dress rehearsal this week and find some good quality video of their performance. After watching them do Tattoo you can't tell me that DLR is not one of the best front men of rock. 

If you wanna be a monk you gotta cook a lotta rice.

There are so many fantastic frontmen in rock/metal history, starting with Robert Plant, the original. He had a fantastic voice and the look to go with it. Steven Tyler not only possessed a unique-sounding set of pipes, but also had the rockstar mystique/lifestyle. RJ Dio had a special voice, majestic stage presence and a wonderful respect of his fans. Bruce Dickinson had a great combo of range and energy that is probably unmatched by anyone. Geoff Tate has the best quality voice in his heyday. Axl Rose had the attitude.
 
But there is only one David Lee Roth, and HE is the cream of the crop. His voice was good enough, and he also had the looks, energy, presence and attitude. The man is truly one of a kind.

Somebody else was critical of the lyrics... I kinda thought this was a good outing for him.  I'll say this:  for the first time, well, ever, listening to a VH album, there were a couple times I went "what did he say there?".
 
My current favorite:  "From mousewife to momshell in the time it takes to get your new tattoo."  Tell me that isn't profound in it's own way.

AdRock18


There are so many fantastic frontmen in rock/metal history, starting with Robert Plant, the original. He had a fantastic voice and the look to go with it. Steven Tyler not only possessed a unique-sounding set of pipes, but also had the rockstar mystique/lifestyle. RJ Dio had a special voice, majestic stage presence and a wonderful respect of his fans. Bruce Dickinson had a great combo of range and energy that is probably unmatched by anyone. Geoff Tate has the best quality voice in his heyday. Axl Rose had the attitude.

But there is only one David Lee Roth, and HE is the cream of the crop. His voice was good enough, and he also had the looks, energy, presence and attitude. The man is truly one of a kind.

I disagree BIGTIME! In fact, I always felt that DLR was the "weak part" of a VH live performance. There's on thing being a great frontman (Freddie Mercury for example), and then there's another thing being a complete jackoff on stage. THAT was/is DLR IMO.
 
But, as long as the music is great and Eddie is still goin' strong, I'll be there!

pullmyfinger

AdRock18


There are so many fantastic frontmen in rock/metal history, starting with Robert Plant, the original. He had a fantastic voice and the look to go with it. Steven Tyler not only possessed a unique-sounding set of pipes, but also had the rockstar mystique/lifestyle. RJ Dio had a special voice, majestic stage presence and a wonderful respect of his fans. Bruce Dickinson had a great combo of range and energy that is probably unmatched by anyone. Geoff Tate has the best quality voice in his heyday. Axl Rose had the attitude.

But there is only one David Lee Roth, and HE is the cream of the crop. His voice was good enough, and he also had the looks, energy, presence and attitude. The man is truly one of a kind.

I disagree BIGTIME! In fact, I always felt that DLR was the "weak part" of a VH live performance. There's on thing being a great frontman (Freddie Mercury for example), and then there's another thing being a complete jackoff on stage. THAT was/is DLR IMO.

But, as long as the music is great and Eddie is still goin' strong, I'll be there!

Wow, I did forget Mr. Mercury, didn't I.....How could he be topped?
 
Hey, you don't like DLR's act. Not much I can change about that.

Damn, you fuckers. I gotta hit up BEST BUY after work, DO NOT PASS GO, DO NOT COLLECT $200 (in fact take $15 of that $200 and please DEPOSIT IT ON THE COUNTER FOR THE NEW VD CD!) I'm a huge fan of the Roth-era VH (and I have plenty of love left for Van Hagar as well) and THIS is a must-get... I was just biding my time, I guess. In so far as I find "Mean Street" from FW to be one of the greatest rip-off your face rock tracks ever, I think what I've heard other folks say, "the sound samples don't do the record justice" may just be exactly how I feel.
 
Pardon me while I wrap up designing people's shit for the day and parlay that attitude towards the nearest record store.
 
Booyah, they're BACK, MF'ers!
 

I'm loving the new Cd and super glad that Dave is back and I'm kind in agreeance with AdRock18 about Dave. I thought he was one o the best if not the best front men I have ever seen.

@Virtual Scott,
 
Thanks for spelling Mean Street correctly! :D - You know us nutty =VH= fans getting all riled up when people call it "Mean Streets".
 

Count me in on the ´They´re back, motherfuckers´ camp! Great cd!!! 

"Love 'em all, and let Cupid sort 'em out!"

Question...can you think of a more rocking CD by 50-60 years olds? Maybe Wolfie was a good influence on them with his love of Tool and Alter Bridge?
 
Love this CD!!!!
 
 

Eh. The same old VH.
 
The same as always. The best rock band in the world. Landed on top of the pile. Again.
 
Cock Rock is back, baby! Can't wait for the concert...it'll be a cougar convention!