Van Halen with David Lee Roth had more of an edge, whereas with Sammy Hagar, a little less. Contrast two songs, "Everybody Wants Some" and "Black And Blue." They're both basically discussing the same thing, but from a different perspective. David Lee Roth once said "We want you to feel like King Kong after leaving a Van Halen show." Seeing Van Halen with Hagar seemed safe and you could go to the concert with your parents.
I love how people think VH with Roth is the ultimate "badass" music and Hagar is like "safe with parents". Lol. Roth's VH music is like baby-safe music compared to Slayer or Sepultura. This entire argument line is ridiculous.
If you had asked me my favorite album before doing this vid I'd have said Fair Warning; I think it's still the best album-length listen. But according to my scores W&CF is better but....just nitpicking really. The two are definitely my favorites among the catalog.
Appreciate the effort you put into your analysis but seems your opinion can be summed up as Van Halen fast and loud: Good, Van Halen slow and mainstream: Lame. As it happens, I agree that they are at their best when they are being loud and proud and therefore I enjoy the DLR era much more. That said, I also find a lot to like from the Hagar era with 5150 being in my top five. One thing I agree with, Women and Children First and Fair Warning top the list as my two favorites, though oddly enough, my ratings for the songs therein differ from yours. Of course, that's the great thing about music, there is NO wrong opinion. Cheers, mate.
Thanks for the note. We're in agreement I believe. I will note that I loved some quieter songs like When Push Comes to Shove, In A Simple Mind and I'll Wait. I honestly wish they'd explored those areas more. What I did NOT like was the generic, syrupy, keyboard-drive pop rock songs that were big radio hits during the Hagar areas. Why Can't This Be Love and When It's Love barely qualify as "rock" songs IMO.
Appreciate the comment. Obviously, we can all differ on our opinions on these songs. And the album definitely rates very, very high in terms of it's cultural impact at the time and it's longterm influence on future musicians. I just don't think every song is a 5-star song, which is necessary for me to give an album a 100% score.
Great insightful video but sorry I simply don't agree with your assessments on the catalog. Your opinion (and certainly entitled to one btw) is generally biased against most songs or albums considered mainstream. Appreciate you stating that the Hagar era albums (and tours) were massively successful. The thing is that either DLR or Hagar purists have a tendency to lean towards their favorite singers. The truth of the matter is that all fans simply need to recognize that Eddie was the catalyst for the musical evolution which necessitated a vocalist change. That in itself ushered in the most musically proficient, mature songwriting and sonically superior performances from the previous era - which I will always love as well. That said, all artists can attest that once you crack the mainstream that staying at the top is way more difficult than anything ever written prior. The Sammy era demanded and earned respect within the music industry. Not only did Sammy get VH out of that horror storied Warner Bros. contract by bringing in Ed Leffler as their manager, but he also brought back the shared songwriting credits structure which helped Michael Anthony whilst helping Eddie cement his legacy as way more than just a gunslinging guitarist through his songwriting contributions. VH is one of the only bands in history to have had two very successful careered eras with two very different singers at the helm. That alone should remain as the true testament of their musical mastery.
Yeah let's just say I don't like the Van Hagar era music. I stated why - one, I don't like Hagar's voice much, two, the song-writing is simple, predictable and largely void of the energy and rebeliousness the band had originall and third, the world's most revolutionary guitarist is virtually muted on the guitar throughout most of he era. Your mileage may vary. But noting the band's popularity means little to me. Milli Vanilli sold millions of records - doesn't mean they made great music.
@@therockrollsoapbox6075 Roth's VH is schmaltzy, syrupy cheesy corporate rock compared to Slayer's Reign In Blood or Sepultura's Arise. You listen to that cheesy poppy girly rock ?? Be a man, listen to Beneath the Remains! There. How do you like that argument now.
Exactly. Which is why labeling Van Hagar "syrupy cheesy corporate rock" is ridiculous, since VH with Roth is "syrupy cheesy rock" when compared to Slayer.
@@fpsqt Nothing during Roth era VH comes close to the AOR cheesiness of When It's Love - nothing REMOTELY close. I'm sorry I've offended your sense of what's what. I will not comment any more.
Van Halen with David Lee Roth had more of an edge, whereas with Sammy Hagar, a little less. Contrast two songs, "Everybody Wants Some" and "Black And Blue." They're both basically discussing the same thing, but from a different perspective.
David Lee Roth once said "We want you to feel like King Kong after leaving a Van Halen show."
Seeing Van Halen with Hagar seemed safe and you could go to the concert with your parents.
Couldn’t have said it better!
I love how people think VH with Roth is the ultimate "badass" music and Hagar is like "safe with parents". Lol. Roth's VH music is like baby-safe music compared to Slayer or Sepultura.
This entire argument line is ridiculous.
Generally agree on the album scores, and I like WACF and FW as my fave albums but I have Fair Warning as the best.
If you had asked me my favorite album before doing this vid I'd have said Fair Warning; I think it's still the best album-length listen. But according to my scores W&CF is better but....just nitpicking really. The two are definitely my favorites among the catalog.
Appreciate the effort you put into your analysis but seems your opinion can be summed up as Van Halen fast and loud: Good, Van Halen slow and mainstream: Lame. As it happens, I agree that they are at their best when they are being loud and proud and therefore I enjoy the DLR era much more. That said, I also find a lot to like from the Hagar era with 5150 being in my top five. One thing I agree with, Women and Children First and Fair Warning top the list as my two favorites, though oddly enough, my ratings for the songs therein differ from yours. Of course, that's the great thing about music, there is NO wrong opinion. Cheers, mate.
Thanks for the note. We're in agreement I believe. I will note that I loved some quieter songs like When Push Comes to Shove, In A Simple Mind and I'll Wait. I honestly wish they'd explored those areas more. What I did NOT like was the generic, syrupy, keyboard-drive pop rock songs that were big radio hits during the Hagar areas. Why Can't This Be Love and When It's Love barely qualify as "rock" songs IMO.
You're insane if you have the debut album at anything less than 100
Appreciate the comment. Obviously, we can all differ on our opinions on these songs. And the album definitely rates very, very high in terms of it's cultural impact at the time and it's longterm influence on future musicians. I just don't think every song is a 5-star song, which is necessary for me to give an album a 100% score.
Great insightful video but sorry I simply don't agree with your assessments on the catalog. Your opinion (and certainly entitled to one btw) is generally biased against most songs or albums considered mainstream. Appreciate you stating that the Hagar era albums (and tours) were massively successful. The thing is that either DLR or Hagar purists have a tendency to lean towards their favorite singers. The truth of the matter is that all fans simply need to recognize that Eddie was the catalyst for the musical evolution which necessitated a vocalist change. That in itself ushered in the most musically proficient, mature songwriting and sonically superior performances from the previous era - which I will always love as well. That said, all artists can attest that once you crack the mainstream that staying at the top is way more difficult than anything ever written prior. The Sammy era demanded and earned respect within the music industry. Not only did Sammy get VH out of that horror storied Warner Bros. contract by bringing in Ed Leffler as their manager, but he also brought back the shared songwriting credits structure which helped Michael Anthony whilst helping Eddie cement his legacy as way more than just a gunslinging guitarist through his songwriting contributions. VH is one of the only bands in history to have had two very successful careered eras with two very different singers at the helm. That alone should remain as the true testament of their musical mastery.
Yeah let's just say I don't like the Van Hagar era music. I stated why - one, I don't like Hagar's voice much, two, the song-writing is simple, predictable and largely void of the energy and rebeliousness the band had originall and third, the world's most revolutionary guitarist is virtually muted on the guitar throughout most of he era.
Your mileage may vary. But noting the band's popularity means little to me. Milli Vanilli sold millions of records - doesn't mean they made great music.
ADKOT better than 5150 or F.U.C.K .... lol, didn't know that comedians were ranking albums on youtube
@@fpsqt Not a comedien, just someone who doesn’t like schmaltzy, syrupy cheesy corporate rock. YMMV.
@@therockrollsoapbox6075 Roth's VH is schmaltzy, syrupy cheesy corporate rock compared to Slayer's Reign In Blood or Sepultura's Arise. You listen to that cheesy poppy girly rock ?? Be a man, listen to Beneath the Remains!
There. How do you like that argument now.
@@fpsqt I think anyone who thinks the music they listen to “makes them a man” needs to reevaluate.
Exactly.
Which is why labeling Van Hagar "syrupy cheesy corporate rock" is ridiculous, since VH with Roth is "syrupy cheesy rock" when compared to Slayer.
@@fpsqt Nothing during Roth era VH comes close to the AOR cheesiness of When It's Love - nothing REMOTELY close. I'm sorry I've offended your sense of what's what. I will not comment any more.