"Loss of Control" is almost proto-thrash. I absolutely love this song! I also really love "Women in Love." It's got gorgeous melodies from both guitars and vocals, and it really works perfectly in that place on the album. That no one picked "Dancing in the Streets" is a shock to me. It's such a waste of a cool keyboard riff, and is such a bland, vanilla song for a hard rock band like Van Halen to cover.
Diver Down is not the train wreck everyone makes it out to be. Yeah it’s mostly filler but there are some great originals on it, The Full Bug, Little Guitars & Secrets.
I agree that picking on DLR is tough. Looking forward to the Hagar episode. Hopefully, Yes gets the Worst Of treatment and it would be called “The No Album”.
Don't get the hate for Diver Down. I do love Secrets, Little Guitars and Hang'em High, I like The Full Bug, the interludes (Cathedral and Invader), the covers. I only skip Dancing in the Streets. Big Bad Bill and Happy Trails are too short and too late in the album to even skip - just like the last 2 songs in Fair Warning. I don't know, maybe it's one of those "You Had To Be There" moments in order to dismiss this album.
People probably don't notice, but even though tapping as a technique already existed before Eddie, the first time it was ever used to cover whole scales, going from string to string (rather than just spamming three note patterns on one string) was on the main solo to You're No Good- which is now regarded as a terrible opener. Just some nerdy guitarist trivia for everyone to enjoy.
I think DitS is one of the better covers of the song. Clearly Van Halen always had a swing to their hard rock because of their dad's musical big band influence, I gather. Van Halen just wouldn't be Van Halen if not for that influence, did they overdo it at times yes "Happy Trails" and show tune stuff like that.
My bad VH album from the DLR era would be as follows... 01 - Jamie's Cryin' 02 - Everybody Wants Some!! 03 - "Dirty Movies" 04 - Sunday Afternoon in the Park/One Foot Out the Door 05 - Where Have All the Good Times Gone! 06 - Dancing in the Street 07 - Drop Dead Legs 08 - Tattoo 09 - Bullethead 10 - Honeybabysweetiedoll
7:18 I disagree 100%: this is shocking blasphemy. Guitarists also dissect the solo. The verses are a turbo-charged nod to ZZ Top, and the chromatic bits in the pre-chorus are inspired. It is an absolute banger, and exactly fits what Jamie pines for at 6:15. It is true that the video helps it (even eclipses it), but that is true of many songs. This choice is performative contrarianism to stay on-brand. Otherwise a great video!
This one was easy: Van Halen was able to meld nasty rock riffs with catchy pop chord progressions almost seamlessly. Almost every VH song has a dirty verse and a bright chorus. DLR knew how to play off that vocally; extremes within a single song. So while their original material kicked major a$$, their covers suffered a bit. To me, songs like “Unchained” and “Panama” suffered the talky breakdown moment, but all in all, it is the covers that are antithetical to their greatness as a band. So my “worst” of Van Halen album is called “Drive ‘er Down” and is simply Diver Down minus “Hang ‘em High” and “The Full Bug”.
My Jamie's Cryin": 1. Beautiful Girls 2. Jamie's Cryin' 3. Dance the Night Away 4. You Really Got Me 5. Big Bad Bill I agree, there are few bad DLR-era VH songs, but the ones that are bad, are awful!
WOW!!!! I said before I watched this video that I was not going to let this get to me and was not going to comment....then I saw Martin's picks and was stunned! Seriously....2 of my FAVORITE VH songs of all-time are on here and the other 3 are very good???? Nothing off the truly AWFUL last release...not 1 song???? I always love to listen to Martin on all his videos and knowledge with his channel and his weekly show with Pete at SOT. But my one criticism is I feel some of these opinions are planned click bait to create reaction to your channel...I don't really think you believe these are the 5 worst DLR songs....but you won because you got me to comment after having to walk around the block a couple of times to cool down....
The angst you feel when Martin reveals his taste is the result of a condition loosely related to cognitive dissonance, more akin to shocking confoundment. It happens to me, too. It is because we know about all of the cool metal and rock bands he has written about over the years, view him as 'one of us' and assume he would obviously share our tastes. When we find out he worships horrible bands and actually dislikes some amazing songs by the bands we worship, there is a feeling of betrayal and disbelief. I often shake my head and think he is clearly insane. Ultimately, we have to learn to accept that taste is subjective and hold on to the respect we have for his musical knowledge. I don't think he does it for shock value or financial gain. Too much principle for that.
Great show! My least fav VH/Roth song is I'll Wait. I've never liked it. The rest would be very hard to pick. Side 2 is actually fantastic. Hear About it Later is probably in my Top 5 VH songs! Cheers.
"I'll Wait" I did not like when it released. It's just too slow. Well, back in the day you could play a 33 record on 45, and then it's a much more impressive song, save for the chipmunk vocals 🤣
I think "I'll Wait" is the only Roth era VH which they co-wrote with another musician. Eddie was not able to come up with a good melody and he asked Michael McDonald for help.
I've always loved Diver Down. It was a fun album of lighter summertime songs. There are some great gems on there like Secrets, Little Guitars, and even the cover of Pretty Woman that make up for the weaker tracks. I've always preferred it to Women and Children First which seems like more of a throwaway to me.
Another great video. This is a difficult task, but here we go: Jump (Honestly never liked it) Honeybabysweetiedoll Tattoo Spanish Fly You're No Good The Trouble with Never Hot For Teacher As Is I'll Wait Happy Trails
Martin, you broke my heart - with like, every song choice! Secrets is probably my favorite VH song, and Hear About It Later is top 5. I also love Tattoo - like, everything about it. All I could come up with was TWO SONGS! So, effectively, the A and B sides of a single. Side A would be Jamie's Cryin', and side B would be Oh Pretty Woman.
For me you could just about use just use Diver Down which was almost all(poor)covers. Mine are 1. Big Bad Bill(Is Sweet William Now) 2. Tattoo 3. Happy Trails 4. Where Have All The Good Times Gone 5. Dancing In The Street 6. You're No Good 7. Dance The Night Away 8. Pretty Woman 9. Jump 10. Beautiful Girls .
Hot for Teacher was a clear choice just for the sake of being contrarian, especially considering it could have easily been the best song on VH2, Diver Down, or a Diff Kind of Truth. Heck the whole side two of that album qualifies. And I loved the DLR era. There were plenty of inferior stinkers in their catalog like Atomic Punk, On Fire, Tora Tora, Light Up the Sky, and Push Comes to Shove. Regardless, I enjoyed the exercise. The debate makes it fun. Great video.
I agree with most of the songs picked by Jamie, although Big Bad Bill and Could This Be Magic? - are cool funny songs, and VH was always about fun. Martin's side is a killer! 😀 Little Dreamer - one of my favorites on the debut, sort of a "ballad"!! And "Hear About It Later" - in my top 10 VH songs. "Secrets" - my favorite from Diver Down, an album I don't like so much. Cool explanation Jamie! 😎
Fools Loss of Control Happy Trails China Town Honeybabysweetydoll Always liked Hot for Teacher but I kinda understand why some people are not into it, it's like Van Halen doing more of the same Secrets, Little Dreamer, Hear About it Later and Women in Love... are 4 of my favorite VH songs ever, that's a bummer
I think I would find it difficult to build this album now. I have been through my phase of eschewing many of these tracks when i had my CDs ripped to mp3 and just loaded my favorites on my 512MB memory card, but when I started to really just listen to albums as a whole, I quickly came around to songs like Little Dreamer and Hear About It Later. Loss of Control I always had ripped with Tora! Tora!, so I think that helps since I always get nice temporal contrast. My side for Jamie's Crying would have to be songs I just don't listen to much anymore from these: 1. Dancing in the Street 2. Sunday Afternoon in the Park 3. One Foot Out the Door 4. Top Jimmy 5. Women in Love...
*Side One Jamie's Crying -VH Women in love -VH2 Tora Tora -W&CF Sunday Afternoon in the park -FW Dancing in the Streets -DD *Side two Secrets -DD Hear About Later -FW Jump -1984 Your no good-VH2 Pretty Woman -DD
My side would be: 1. “Sunday Afternoon In The Park” 2. “Intruder” 3. “Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now)” 4. “1984” 5. “Hot For Teacher” Controversial, maybe, but there you go!
Tattoo (that chorus) Loss Of Control (bizarre) Everybody Wants Some!! (nothing burger) D.O.A. (lazy, phoned-in riff) Hear About It Later (no energy) Cathedral (i will die on this hill) Where Have All The Good Times Gone! (ZZzzz) Could This Be Magic (obviously) Hang em High (lazy, phoned-in riff) On Fire (that chorus)
1.Intruder 2.Where Have All The Good Times Gone! 3.Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now) 4.Dancing In The Streets 5.Secrets 1.Me Wise Magic 2.Can't Get This Stuff No More 3.She's The Woman 4.Top Jimmy 5.Jump
I agree with Martin about “You’re No Good” - it’s not good, and putting it first on VHII hurts the album. But all of their other covers I can think of, I love.
Martin, I'm sorry that you don't like Little Dreamer. It's dark for them but the debut is so much better for it. I agree with both of you that their experimental music and covers seem trifling and a waste of space when those Templeman-era records were so short anyway. No studio album was anywhere near 40 minutes before Sammy if I remember right.
That first pick is outstanding, I've never understood why VH did that song! I'm not a huge fan of "Dance the Night Away" either, even though it was a big hit for them. They were capable of so much better.
What a cool surprise seeing Jamie and Martin paired up to discuss a band everyone enjoys! TERRIFIC SHOW FELLAS. Good points about hot for teacher. Amazing drum exercise but without the music video not so great. Hey Jamie are you gonna be able to make the trip east for Pete’s shindig?
Maybe you choose a couple of duds, but some of those are novelty songs that work well in the context of the albums, give'em variaty and are important songs in the way that made VH unique. I think you kind of cheated there, cause each album had a couple of those showbiz kind of songs, were planned that way. So you chikened out to put Ice Cream man there too?. Then: Loss of control, Secrets, Hear about it later and Hot for teacher bad? no, just no, come on man, those are kick ass deep cuts. Weird to put Tatoo, a song from older VH, a much later album? why?
I’m not a big Van Halen fan but I never get all the hate for your no good .I think it’s pretty heavy and I don’t think about Linda ronstadt. But everyone’s different
1. Jamie's Crying 2. Oh Pretty Woman 3. Top Jimmy 4. Take Your Whiskey Home 5. Feel Your Love Tonight 6. Dancing in the Street 7. Sunday afternoon in the blablabla 8. One Foot out the blablabla Short album lol, you guys could have at least allowed me some Sammy or Gary Cherone so I could build more than an EP. Not saying I dislike those eras, but the ideas do surface
I've never understood the appeal for most of the Van Halen covers. I've always thought that "Ice Cream Man" was a garbage song. I get why Dave likes it, but that's about it. I think "Diver Down" is pretty much one huge disaster. "Where Have All the Good Times Gone" is probably the only cover I have in high regard.
Side 1 Side 2 Jamie's Cryin' Dance The Night Away Running With The Devil Panama You Really Got Me You Really Got Me Drop Dead Legs Tattoo Dancing In The Streets Fools I don't absolutely hate any of these songs but I'm sick to death of some of them and some I just don't care for as much as others. I noticed that I listed most of their hits lol, I guess I just like my deep cut Van Halen best. \m/ \m/
Jamie's Cryin', Little Dreamer, You're No Good, Bottoms Up!, Women In Love....., Loss of Control, Could This Be Magic, Where Have All The Good Times Gone!, (Oh) Pretty Woman, Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now), Hot for Teacher and Girl Gone Bad
If I were doing a bad DLR era album, I would include all the covers except Oh, Pretty Woman. The guitar riff on that one is pretty sweet. Dancing in the Street for me is one of the worst covers I've ever heard. The only one that beats it is Aerosmith's Come Together. Holy sh*t, it's awful!!!!!!!!!!!!
Great to see Martin and Jamie, two of my fave SOT and Contrarians contributors going at it here, but I'm totally with Mr Lazlo on this one, Hear About it Later and Little Dreamer are VH classics imho . I would populate my DLR VH worst of with tracks from Diver Down, 1984 and Different Kind of Truth and leave the first 4 well alone, some sacrosanct shit right there. 😃
Fun stuff! Good to see Jamie plus Martin. Enjoyed the rapport! But let's be honest: you guys are stretching it here. LOL. This album smokes just about anything else from the 80's. And the craziest statement was Stained Class being in an upper echelon from the VH debut. And I love Judas Priest and Stained Class as much as the next guy.
Stained Class is more sophisticated in song articulation. But EVH was so groundbreaking in the technical aspect that Glenn Tipton immediately picked up on tapping and debuted it on the solo to Hell Bent for Leather, released the same year as Stained Class and VH I,but towards the end. It's funny how fast something impactful could affect music 40+ years ago when compared to modern times. I haven't seen great leaps in music lately and something can take years to catch on.
@@gabriellarrubia1006 I subscribe to the theory that there are only 12 notes and so many chords. The songs have all been written. And the same goes for movies and TV series. Every now and then, something fresh comes along but it seems like the heads of studios/networks would rather just produce unnecessary sequels and or re-makes of Batman, Magnum PI, Th Wonder Years, etc. New ideas are scarce.
honestly a lot of my least favorite Roth era songs are the big hits and the covers. i have never liked "Dance The Night Away". and i have never liked "Dancing In The Street" or "Pretty Women" or "Yore No Good". the cover of "You Really Got Me" is ok but pointless, and seriously the "Happy Trails" is really really a waste. that said i actually like "Big Bad Bill". "Little Dreamer" might be my personal favorite song on the debut, i love that song.
Martin's knowledge is second to none, but alas as is often the case we have drastically different taste; his choices make me cringe. Once you're over the still great but well worn classic rock radio hits, the side 2 presented here (with the exception of "Women In Love") are all hidden gem favorites and my absolute go-to tracks when I'm in the mood for VH. That said, is it even a fair exercise to include anything post-1984 as a valid selection for the chopping block? A Different Kind Of Truth and the Best Of songs are a separate thing: hopeful attempts to mask nostalgia under the pretense of a continuing legacy. VH is THE lesson that it is foolish to hold out hope that magic can be re-created. Nothing recorded with DLR beyond the original split is serious competition for the golden era albums and make it too easy to fill out a "worst of" album. Just take them all as far as I'm concerned. With that being the criteria, I'll play too! Side 1: Tora! Tora! Loss Of Control Take Your Whiskey Home Fools Romeo Delight Side 2: Hot For Teacher (pretty convincing argument Jamie!) Bottoms Up! Women In Love... Dirty Movies The Full Bug Thanks for another rousing, thought provoking episode guys!
Always HATED "Jamie's Cryin'" As obsessed with that album as I was when it came out, that was the one song I always skipped. Still can't stand it to this day.That STUPID "wwwah-wwah," the stupid lyrics, the stupid melody. I just hate it.
Fun episode. I only used the first era of DLR. Anything after that I didn't care for. Side One: Little Dreamer Women In Love Could This Be Magic Happy Trails I'll Wait Side Two: Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now) Jump (Oh) Pretty Woman One Foot Out the Door You Really Got Me
I completely disagree with Hot For Teacher and Hear About It Later, but then again that's why its called The Contrarians. What about those two terrible songs that were on the 96' Best Of collection? Me Wise Magic deserves some hate.
I disagree with the Hear About It Later pick. My contrarian pick is Panama. Never understood the love for that one. In fact, 1984 side 1 is as bad as WACF side 2.
Hot for Teacher & Little Dreamer deserves being added; but BBB? or Loss Control? or Magic? or Tattoo? or WIL? Each of those tracks are wonderful. Prime VH. IMO. Difficult to pick bad DLR era songs. Panama need to be on the list.
When I saw the title, I thought, "They already made Diver Down." But then I remembered they made A Different Kind of Truth too. :D I know people love both of those albums, and I don't begrudge anyone their preferences -- we all like what we like. As for me, I'll stick with the first four Roth-era albums, and pretend they never made the other two.
My list is: 1. Jump(i hate this song more than any other song I've ever heard in my entire life.) 2. Jamies Cryin 3. Dancing in the Streets 4. Happy Trails 5. You're no Good 6. Dance the Night Away 7. Big Bad Bill 8. Feel Your Love Tonight I'm kinda shocked to see so many list Little Dreamer, 1 of my favorites from them.
The worst VH song for me was No Good off VH II. It sucks. To be honest that’s the reason Diver Down sucks. To many cover tunes. All the originals are better. Dancing in the Streets? Sucks. Actually Pretty Woman was ok I guess. It just gets old quick. I don’t put on VH albums to hear cover tunes. I always skip over them as a waste of my time. That’s David Lee Roth. I didn’t hear any cover tunes after he left.
In my opinion it is not possible to make a full length album of bad songs from the David Lee Roth era. Maybe an EP The Sammy Hagar era is a completely different story for me.
I can't listen to much Roth era Van Halen after seeing him live with VH. Worst concert I ever saw, DLR was drunk and incompetent. All I hear are his faults after that - his screams and shtick are fingernails on the chalkboard. If he does it, I can't listen to the song. A good front man, but not a good singer by any stretch.
Wow, Hear About It Later is a fantastic song with one of Eddie's greatest solos !!!! Worst: Jump, Dancing in the streets, Where Have All the Good Times Gone, Panama, Tattoo, Pretty Woman, Secrets, Big Bad Bill, Can't Get That Stuff No More, Me Wise Magic. In short, I'd cull the worst from Diver Down(which is horrible and VH owes me $5.99 for buying it new), 1984, Some Kind of Truth and those 2 DLR tunes from the greatest hits album. As for the Hagar era, it would be a Worst of Box Set.....yikes.
Just guessing...the Van Hagar version of this topic will be a double album and the video will last ten seconds: "Balance and OU812...Thanks for watching!"
I think you can do a double album for Sammy era. Every 5150 song except the title track should make the list, a bunch of dated pop songs imo. Contrarian pick Right Now.
I'm gonna make it hard for myself and not count A Different Kind of Truth, because most of my album would come from there lol BTW I actually like every song I'm putting on here because there isn't a classic Era VH song I dislike... but here We go Side A: 1984 "Dirty Movies " Jamie's Cryin' Feel Your Love Tonight So This Is Love Side B: You're No Good Women In Love Dancing In the Streets Girl Gone Bad Beautiful Girls
it’s just for fun, all these legacy bands have so many compilations the idea was to pile the it be funny if they started releasing “the worst” to make even more money, sorry that the idea doesn’t work for you
@@thecontrarians2438 As a SoCal Kid growing up with VH from 1978-1988 VH were like Super Heroes to us, I have absolutely no impartiality to this subject. I drank the Van Halen Cool Aid in 78, AKA .....burn your KISS albums, and worship at the altar of VH. The Born Again episode is great, hope we get a Deluxe Box of it now that Tony's got the Tapes. Cheers.
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There are two types of people in the world. Those that love "Hear About It Later, and those who are wrong.
Sorry Kyle, one of favs man
Agreed
"Loss of Control" is almost proto-thrash. I absolutely love this song! I also really love "Women in Love." It's got gorgeous melodies from both guitars and vocals, and it really works perfectly in that place on the album.
That no one picked "Dancing in the Streets" is a shock to me. It's such a waste of a cool keyboard riff, and is such a bland, vanilla song for a hard rock band like Van Halen to cover.
Diver Down is not the train wreck everyone makes it out to be. Yeah it’s mostly filler but there are some great originals on it, The Full Bug, Little Guitars & Secrets.
I agree that picking on DLR is tough. Looking forward to the Hagar episode.
Hopefully, Yes gets the Worst Of treatment and it would be called “The No Album”.
Hagar episode "Van Halen III" haha
Totally agreed with Jamie's picks, but not most of Martin's 🤣. Always a pleasure hearing him speak about his passion for hard rock stuff at any rate.
sorry, but hear about it later is pure brilliance!!!
Agreed. I mean I have no idea why anyone would hate that song
Don't get the hate for Diver Down. I do love Secrets, Little Guitars and Hang'em High, I like The Full Bug, the interludes (Cathedral and Invader), the covers. I only skip Dancing in the Streets. Big Bad Bill and Happy Trails are too short and too late in the album to even skip - just like the last 2 songs in Fair Warning. I don't know, maybe it's one of those "You Had To Be There" moments in order to dismiss this album.
I don’t hate diver down. It seems like a rushed put together album with covers and left over mostly average songs. Pretty woman is a great cover.
@@iancocks9408 They admitted it was a rush job and that is what led to Eddie putting his foot down & saying no more rush jobs on the next VH album
I love Dancing in the streets and Pretty Woman ,my favorits on that album.
I love Intruder/Pretty Woman. The segue from the Intruder intro into the Pretty Woman riff is great. Overall I like Diver Down.
@@SuperStrik9 Me too.
I believe "Secrets" is not acoustic but rather was performed on an electric 12 string.
People probably don't notice, but even though tapping as a technique already existed before Eddie, the first time it was ever used to cover whole scales, going from string to string (rather than just spamming three note patterns on one string) was on the main solo to You're No Good- which is now regarded as a terrible opener. Just some nerdy guitarist trivia for everyone to enjoy.
I absolutely love "You're No Good." Surprised neither of you chose "Dancing In The Street."
I think DitS is one of the better covers of the song. Clearly Van Halen always had a swing to their hard rock because of their dad's musical big band influence, I gather. Van Halen just wouldn't be Van Halen if not for that influence, did they overdo it at times yes "Happy Trails" and show tune stuff like that.
@@amerocker You are correct.
8/27/22
I recently read that Eddie Van Halen did not want to record "Dancing In the Street".
Haha I LOVE Little Dreamer. What a killer, grimmy riff!
My bad VH album from the DLR era would be as follows...
01 - Jamie's Cryin'
02 - Everybody Wants Some!!
03 - "Dirty Movies"
04 - Sunday Afternoon in the Park/One Foot Out the Door
05 - Where Have All the Good Times Gone!
06 - Dancing in the Street
07 - Drop Dead Legs
08 - Tattoo
09 - Bullethead
10 - Honeybabysweetiedoll
7:18 I disagree 100%: this is shocking blasphemy. Guitarists also dissect the solo. The verses are a turbo-charged nod to ZZ Top, and the chromatic bits in the pre-chorus are inspired. It is an absolute banger, and exactly fits what Jamie pines for at 6:15. It is true that the video helps it (even eclipses it), but that is true of many songs. This choice is performative contrarianism to stay on-brand. Otherwise a great video!
This one was easy:
Van Halen was able to meld nasty rock riffs with catchy pop chord progressions almost seamlessly. Almost every VH song has a dirty verse and a bright chorus.
DLR knew how to play off that vocally; extremes within a single song. So while their original material kicked major a$$, their covers suffered a bit.
To me, songs like “Unchained” and “Panama” suffered the talky breakdown moment, but all in all, it is the covers that are antithetical to their greatness as a band.
So my “worst” of Van Halen album is called “Drive ‘er Down” and is simply Diver Down minus “Hang ‘em High” and “The Full Bug”.
My Jamie's Cryin":
1. Beautiful Girls
2. Jamie's Cryin'
3. Dance the Night Away
4. You Really Got Me
5. Big Bad Bill
I agree, there are few bad DLR-era VH songs, but the ones that are bad, are awful!
WOW!!!! I said before I watched this video that I was not going to let this get to me and was not going to comment....then I saw Martin's picks and was stunned! Seriously....2 of my FAVORITE VH songs of all-time are on here and the other 3 are very good???? Nothing off the truly AWFUL last release...not 1 song???? I always love to listen to Martin on all his videos and knowledge with his channel and his weekly show with Pete at SOT. But my one criticism is I feel some of these opinions are planned click bait to create reaction to your channel...I don't really think you believe these are the 5 worst DLR songs....but you won because you got me to comment after having to walk around the block a couple of times to cool down....
The angst you feel when Martin reveals his taste is the result of a condition loosely related to cognitive dissonance, more akin to shocking confoundment. It happens to me, too. It is because we know about all of the cool metal and rock bands he has written about over the years, view him as 'one of us' and assume he would obviously share our tastes. When we find out he worships horrible bands and actually dislikes some amazing songs by the bands we worship, there is a feeling of betrayal and disbelief. I often shake my head and think he is clearly insane. Ultimately, we have to learn to accept that taste is subjective and hold on to the respect we have for his musical knowledge. I don't think he does it for shock value or financial gain. Too much principle for that.
Great show! My least fav VH/Roth song is I'll Wait. I've never liked it. The rest would be very hard to pick. Side 2 is actually fantastic. Hear About it Later is probably in my Top 5 VH songs! Cheers.
"I'll Wait" I did not like when it released. It's just too slow.
Well, back in the day you could play a 33 record on 45, and then it's a much more impressive song, save for the chipmunk vocals 🤣
I think "I'll Wait" is the only Roth era VH which they co-wrote with another musician. Eddie was not able to come up with a good melody and he asked Michael McDonald for help.
I've always loved Diver Down. It was a fun album of lighter summertime songs. There are some great gems on there like Secrets, Little Guitars, and even the cover of Pretty Woman that make up for the weaker tracks. I've always preferred it to Women and Children First which seems like more of a throwaway to me.
Apart from the first one and 1984, where there are a few decent songs, all VH records are throwaways to me.
Another great video. This is a difficult task, but here we go:
Jump (Honestly never liked it)
Honeybabysweetiedoll
Tattoo
Spanish Fly
You're No Good
The Trouble with Never
Hot For Teacher
As Is
I'll Wait
Happy Trails
Dancing in the street - outta love again- where have all the good times gone-big bad Bill-one foot out the door
Martin, you broke my heart - with like, every song choice! Secrets is probably my favorite VH song, and Hear About It Later is top 5. I also love Tattoo - like, everything about it. All I could come up with was TWO SONGS! So, effectively, the A and B sides of a single. Side A would be Jamie's Cryin', and side B would be Oh Pretty Woman.
For me you could just about use just use Diver Down which was almost all(poor)covers. Mine are
1. Big Bad Bill(Is Sweet William Now)
2. Tattoo
3. Happy Trails
4. Where Have All The Good Times Gone
5. Dancing In The Street
6. You're No Good
7. Dance The Night Away
8. Pretty Woman
9. Jump
10. Beautiful Girls
.
I've always hated Hot for Teacher and the dumb video even more.
I'd party down playing side 2!
Beach, boating, poolside you name it🍻🍻
Hot for Teacher was a clear choice just for the sake of being contrarian, especially considering it could have easily been the best song on VH2, Diver Down, or a Diff Kind of Truth. Heck the whole side two of that album qualifies. And I loved the DLR era. There were plenty of inferior stinkers in their catalog like Atomic Punk, On Fire, Tora Tora, Light Up the Sky, and Push Comes to Shove. Regardless, I enjoyed the exercise. The debate makes it fun. Great video.
I agree with most of the songs picked by Jamie, although Big Bad Bill and Could This Be Magic? - are cool funny songs, and VH was always about fun.
Martin's side is a killer! 😀
Little Dreamer - one of my favorites on the debut, sort of a "ballad"!! And "Hear About It Later" - in my top 10 VH songs.
"Secrets" - my favorite from Diver Down, an album I don't like so much. Cool explanation Jamie! 😎
Fools
Loss of Control
Happy Trails
China Town
Honeybabysweetydoll
Always liked Hot for Teacher but I kinda understand why some people are not into it, it's like Van Halen doing more of the same
Secrets, Little Dreamer, Hear About it Later and Women in Love... are 4 of my favorite VH songs ever, that's a bummer
Yes fools is a heap of garbage. Not sure why it’s on there at all, could have put something better.
I think I would find it difficult to build this album now. I have been through my phase of eschewing many of these tracks when i had my CDs ripped to mp3 and just loaded my favorites on my 512MB memory card, but when I started to really just listen to albums as a whole, I quickly came around to songs like Little Dreamer and Hear About It Later. Loss of Control I always had ripped with Tora! Tora!, so I think that helps since I always get nice temporal contrast. My side for Jamie's Crying would have to be songs I just don't listen to much anymore from these:
1. Dancing in the Street
2. Sunday Afternoon in the Park
3. One Foot Out the Door
4. Top Jimmy
5. Women in Love...
The first ones that come to mind are:
Jump
Where Have All The Good Times Gone
Dancing in the Street
You're No Good
*Side One
Jamie's Crying -VH
Women in love -VH2
Tora Tora -W&CF
Sunday Afternoon in the park -FW
Dancing in the Streets -DD
*Side two
Secrets -DD
Hear About Later -FW
Jump -1984
Your no good-VH2
Pretty Woman -DD
I have a theory that Jamie didn't have any hot teachers when he was a student.
🤣
My side would be:
1. “Sunday Afternoon In The Park”
2. “Intruder”
3. “Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now)”
4. “1984”
5. “Hot For Teacher”
Controversial, maybe, but there you go!
Tattoo (that chorus)
Loss Of Control (bizarre)
Everybody Wants Some!! (nothing burger)
D.O.A. (lazy, phoned-in riff)
Hear About It Later (no energy)
Cathedral (i will die on this hill)
Where Have All The Good Times Gone! (ZZzzz)
Could This Be Magic (obviously)
Hang em High (lazy, phoned-in riff)
On Fire (that chorus)
nice list!!
Lots of people I know love big bad bill
I know, good solo I quite like it and my mother likes it too so that's a little embarrassing.😳
1.Intruder
2.Where Have All The Good Times Gone!
3.Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now)
4.Dancing In The Streets
5.Secrets
1.Me Wise Magic
2.Can't Get This Stuff No More
3.She's The Woman
4.Top Jimmy
5.Jump
My controversial entry is I'll Wait. Boring.
I'd trade any of my post-Draw the Line Aerosmith CDs for your "Jamie's Cryin'" CD. Deal? Wouldn't you?
I agree with Martin about “You’re No Good” - it’s not good, and putting it first on VHII hurts the album. But all of their other covers I can think of, I love.
“Little Dreamer???” Killin me Martin
Martin, I'm sorry that you don't like Little Dreamer. It's dark for them but the debut is so much better for it. I agree with both of you that their experimental music and covers seem trifling and a waste of space when those Templeman-era records were so short anyway. No studio album was anywhere near 40 minutes before Sammy if I remember right.
Thx. Martin /. Jamie /. Marco. Love VH with 💎. Great show 👍💯
Thank you!
That first pick is outstanding, I've never understood why VH did that song!
I'm not a huge fan of "Dance the Night Away" either, even though it was a big hit for them. They were capable of so much better.
What a cool surprise seeing Jamie and Martin paired up to discuss a band everyone enjoys! TERRIFIC SHOW FELLAS. Good points about hot for teacher. Amazing drum exercise but without the music video not so great. Hey Jamie are you gonna be able to make the trip east for Pete’s shindig?
Mine would be:
Little Dreamer
Jamie's Crying
Could This Be Magic
Big Bad Bill
Happy Trails
1984
Jump
Tattoo
You and Your Blues
Feel Your Love Tonight
Maybe you choose a couple of duds, but some of those are novelty songs that work well in the context of the albums, give'em variaty and are important songs in the way that made VH unique. I think you kind of cheated there, cause each album had a couple of those showbiz kind of songs, were planned that way. So you chikened out to put Ice Cream man there too?. Then: Loss of control, Secrets, Hear about it later and Hot for teacher bad? no, just no, come on man, those are kick ass deep cuts. Weird to put Tatoo, a song from older VH, a much later album? why?
should have been called Atomic Skunk
I’m not a big Van Halen fan but I never get all the hate for your no good .I think it’s pretty heavy and I don’t think about Linda ronstadt. But everyone’s different
1. Jamie's Crying
2. Oh Pretty Woman
3. Top Jimmy
4. Take Your Whiskey Home
5. Feel Your Love Tonight
6. Dancing in the Street
7. Sunday afternoon in the blablabla
8. One Foot out the blablabla
Short album lol, you guys could have at least allowed me some Sammy or Gary Cherone so I could build more than an EP. Not saying I dislike those eras, but the ideas do surface
I've never understood the appeal for most of the Van Halen covers. I've always thought that "Ice Cream Man" was a garbage song. I get why Dave likes it, but that's about it. I think "Diver Down" is pretty much one huge disaster. "Where Have All the Good Times Gone" is probably the only cover I have in high regard.
VH and particularly dave crucified ‘your no good’😵💫
I agree with all the selections. I hate them all.
Really suprised more of Diver Down is not on here.
Side 1 Side 2
Jamie's Cryin' Dance The Night Away
Running With The Devil Panama
You Really Got Me You Really Got Me
Drop Dead Legs Tattoo
Dancing In The Streets Fools
I don't absolutely hate any of these songs but I'm sick to death of some of them and some I just don't care for as much as others. I noticed that I listed most of their hits lol, I guess I just like my deep cut Van Halen best. \m/ \m/
Jamie's Cryin', Little Dreamer, You're No Good, Bottoms Up!, Women In Love....., Loss of Control, Could This Be Magic, Where Have All The Good Times Gone!, (Oh) Pretty Woman, Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now), Hot for Teacher and Girl Gone Bad
Secrets is my favourite VH song and I’m pretty sure it’s not an acoustic song. I’m surprised nobody picked One Foot Out The Door.
Don’t care for two of Martins choices as Heat About it Later is an all time favorite and I have always dug Women in Love, Jamie’s are fine
I'd pick any four songs off of Different Kind Of Truth and "Pretty Woman" off of Diver Down.
If this wasn't based on DLR era I'd just put Van Halen III but that'd be too easy lol.
If I were doing a bad DLR era album, I would include all the covers except Oh, Pretty Woman. The guitar riff on that one is pretty sweet. Dancing in the Street for me is one of the worst covers I've ever heard. The only one that beats it is Aerosmith's Come Together. Holy sh*t, it's awful!!!!!!!!!!!!
Diver Down is under represented 😂
Easy to make a double LP even.
For all the great DLR VH songs made, there are also a lot that are just mediocre!
Great to see Martin and Jamie, two of my fave SOT and Contrarians contributors going at it here, but I'm totally with Mr Lazlo on this one, Hear About it Later and Little Dreamer are VH classics imho . I would populate my DLR VH worst of with tracks from Diver Down, 1984 and Different Kind of Truth and leave the first 4 well alone, some sacrosanct shit right there. 😃
4:01 I agree 100%, the chorus is dreadful. I would start the album with this tune, as it is just wretched.
Fun stuff! Good to see Jamie plus Martin. Enjoyed the rapport!
But let's be honest: you guys are stretching it here. LOL. This album smokes just about anything else from the 80's. And the craziest statement was Stained Class being in an upper echelon from the VH debut. And I love Judas Priest and Stained Class as much as the next guy.
Stained Class is more sophisticated in song articulation. But EVH was so groundbreaking in the technical aspect that Glenn Tipton immediately picked up on tapping and debuted it on the solo to Hell Bent for Leather, released the same year as Stained Class and VH I,but towards the end. It's funny how fast something impactful could affect music 40+ years ago when compared to modern times. I haven't seen great leaps in music lately and something can take years to catch on.
@@gabriellarrubia1006 I subscribe to the theory that there are only 12 notes and so many chords. The songs have all been written.
And the same goes for movies and TV series. Every now and then, something fresh comes along but it seems like the heads of studios/networks would rather just produce unnecessary sequels and or re-makes of Batman, Magnum PI, Th Wonder Years, etc.
New ideas are scarce.
honestly a lot of my least favorite Roth era songs are the big hits and the covers. i have never liked "Dance The Night Away". and i have never liked "Dancing In The Street" or "Pretty Women" or "Yore No Good". the cover of "You Really Got Me" is ok but pointless, and seriously the "Happy Trails" is really really a waste.
that said i actually like "Big Bad Bill".
"Little Dreamer" might be my personal favorite song on the debut, i love that song.
Martin's knowledge is second to none, but alas as is often the case we have drastically different taste; his choices make me cringe. Once you're over the still great but well worn classic rock radio hits, the side 2 presented here (with the exception of "Women In Love") are all hidden gem favorites and my absolute go-to tracks when I'm in the mood for VH.
That said, is it even a fair exercise to include anything post-1984 as a valid selection for the chopping block? A Different Kind Of Truth and the Best Of songs are a separate thing: hopeful attempts to mask nostalgia under the pretense of a continuing legacy. VH is THE lesson that it is foolish to hold out hope that magic can be re-created. Nothing recorded with DLR beyond the original split is serious competition for the golden era albums and make it too easy to fill out a "worst of" album. Just take them all as far as I'm concerned.
With that being the criteria, I'll play too!
Side 1:
Tora! Tora!
Loss Of Control
Take Your Whiskey Home
Fools
Romeo Delight
Side 2:
Hot For Teacher (pretty convincing argument Jamie!)
Bottoms Up!
Women In Love...
Dirty Movies
The Full Bug
Thanks for another rousing, thought provoking episode guys!
Always HATED "Jamie's Cryin'" As obsessed with that album as I was when it came out, that was the one song I always skipped. Still can't stand it to this day.That STUPID "wwwah-wwah," the stupid lyrics, the stupid melody. I just hate it.
I’d skip Side 1 and listen to Side 2 all day long! 😂
I could make 4 albums of the worst Sammy era songs.
Fun episode. I only used the first era of DLR. Anything after that I didn't care for.
Side One:
Little Dreamer
Women In Love
Could This Be Magic
Happy Trails
I'll Wait
Side Two:
Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now)
Jump
(Oh) Pretty Woman
One Foot Out the Door
You Really Got Me
I completely disagree with Hot For Teacher and Hear About It Later, but then again that's why its called The Contrarians. What about those two terrible songs that were on the 96' Best Of collection? Me Wise Magic deserves some hate.
I love Me Wise Magic
You could do three albums of shitty Van Halen albums. James Lasko is beside himself, he loves crap.
Yes. I listen to a lot of stuff you'd find to be crap. But I also listen to a lot of stuff you wouldn't find to be crap.
DIAMOND 💎 Dave !!👍💯
I disagree with the Hear About It Later pick. My contrarian pick is Panama. Never understood the love for that one. In fact, 1984 side 1 is as bad as WACF side 2.
Delete this. Seriously
Covers shouldn't count on a worst of album.
Loss of Control?! Boooo! Song rules! Haha
There’s already a Worst Of Van Halen. It’s called VH III 🤷♂️
The worst DLR Vh song is “I’ll wait”. So maybe it’s a hidden track.
Great episode guys.
Hear About It later is a great song
Little Dreamer is a Great Song....what are you tone deaf....Wow...
Yeah, this one threw me, also.
i hate Hot for tTeacher as well! So campy.
Hot for Teacher & Little Dreamer deserves being added; but BBB? or Loss Control? or Magic? or Tattoo? or WIL? Each of those tracks are wonderful. Prime VH. IMO. Difficult to pick bad DLR era songs. Panama need to be on the list.
When I saw the title, I thought, "They already made Diver Down." But then I remembered they made A Different Kind of Truth too. :D
I know people love both of those albums, and I don't begrudge anyone their preferences -- we all like what we like. As for me, I'll stick with the first four Roth-era albums, and pretend they never made the other two.
Coward
Side 2 was great, this dude is way off
My list is:
1. Jump(i hate this song more than any other song I've ever heard in my entire life.)
2. Jamies Cryin
3. Dancing in the Streets
4. Happy Trails
5. You're no Good
6. Dance the Night Away
7. Big Bad Bill
8. Feel Your Love Tonight
I'm kinda shocked to see so many list Little Dreamer, 1 of my favorites from them.
Not innovative, Martin is all over the place. I would buy this album
The worst VH song for me was No Good off VH II. It sucks. To be honest that’s the reason Diver Down sucks. To many cover tunes. All the originals are better. Dancing in the Streets? Sucks. Actually Pretty Woman was ok I guess. It just gets old quick. I don’t put on VH albums to hear cover tunes. I always skip over them as a waste of my time. That’s David Lee Roth. I didn’t hear any cover tunes after he left.
OUH812😀
In my opinion it is not possible to make a full length album of bad songs from the David Lee Roth era. Maybe an EP
The Sammy Hagar era is a completely different story for me.
I can't listen to much Roth era Van Halen after seeing him live with VH. Worst concert I ever saw, DLR was drunk and incompetent. All I hear are his faults after that - his screams and shtick are fingernails on the chalkboard. If he does it, I can't listen to the song. A good front man, but not a good singer by any stretch.
Wow, Hear About It Later is a fantastic song with one of Eddie's greatest solos !!!! Worst: Jump, Dancing in the streets, Where Have All the Good Times Gone, Panama, Tattoo, Pretty Woman, Secrets, Big Bad Bill, Can't Get That Stuff No More, Me Wise Magic. In short, I'd cull the worst from Diver Down(which is horrible and VH owes me $5.99 for buying it new), 1984, Some Kind of Truth and those 2 DLR tunes from the greatest hits album. As for the Hagar era, it would be a Worst of Box Set.....yikes.
Just guessing...the Van Hagar version of this topic will be a double album and the video will last ten seconds: "Balance and OU812...Thanks for watching!"
Tattoo that's it if me the rest I love
I never like Hot Teacher. That song is boring
The Sam one is much easier.
stay tuned!
I think you can do a double album for Sammy era. Every 5150 song except the title track should make the list, a bunch of dated pop songs imo. Contrarian pick Right Now.
Little Dreamer is a great Song sorry...
I'm gonna make it hard for myself and not count A Different Kind of Truth, because most of my album would come from there lol
BTW I actually like every song I'm putting on here because there isn't a classic Era VH song I dislike... but here We go
Side A:
1984
"Dirty Movies "
Jamie's Cryin'
Feel Your Love Tonight
So This Is Love
Side B:
You're No Good
Women In Love
Dancing In the Streets
Girl Gone Bad
Beautiful Girls
great list!!
Horrible idea for an Episode guys ....
This just angers me...
Not in a good way..
it’s just for fun, all these legacy bands have so many compilations the idea was to pile the it be funny if they started releasing “the worst” to make even more money, sorry that the idea doesn’t work for you
@@thecontrarians2438 As a SoCal Kid growing up with VH from 1978-1988 VH were like Super Heroes to us, I have absolutely no impartiality to this subject.
I drank the Van Halen Cool Aid in 78, AKA .....burn your KISS albums, and worship at the altar of VH.
The Born Again episode is great, hope we get a Deluxe Box of it now that Tony's got the Tapes.
Cheers.
little dreamer is a great song...lol wtf