The Contrarians - Episode 55: Van Halen "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge"
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- Опубліковано 30 жов 2021
- Jamie is back! Martin gives Jamie the low down on what the actual "best" Van Halen is while Jamie defends his choice of "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge".
The Contrarians is a show where one of us jumps in the hot seat picks a dark horse album from a band as that band's best album. The guest host will argue against them with facts, stats and all around truth, subjective and objective!
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Can this album really dethrone Operation: Mindcrime?? Let us know!
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Easily my favorite Sammy era album. Can’t put it ahead of any of the Roth era albums with the exception of Diver Down.
Diver down kicks ass. So many people just hate on it for whatever reason, I think it’s fantastic and absolutely love the variety it has and the cover versions . They didn’t plan or want to make it in the first place but Warner forced them too so I’d say if you take all of that into consideration it’s a great Album..little guitars, secrets, hang ‘em high , Spanish fly , big bad bill. It’s lighthearted and perfect for a cruise on a sunny summer day
Martin's new haircut is a triumph, and F.U.C.K. is excellent as well. Pleasure Dome is their Rush moment (Xanadu connection - thematically and musically). And the bass line of Spanked...yowsah!
A direct comparison between albums from the Roth and Hagar era has always been difficult or even impossible for me. With "5150" Van Halen had not only changed their singer, but also their style, sound, production method and overall approach to their music in the direction of AOR, so that even the two albums "1984" and "5150, which were barely 2 years apart, basically have little to nothing in common. I would agree with Jamie, and especially Martin, that "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" is by far the most mature and, above all, most consistent work of the Hagar era. I belong to the "5150" camp in that with "Why Can't This Be Love" and "Dreams" as well as the underrated title track it contains some of the most outstanding songs of their entire catalog, but as an album nothing can compete with "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge", neither before nor after in the Hagar era. This album also represents Van Halen at their last creative peak.
The best Van Halen album for me is Fair Warning. One of the greatest albums in history. A hard rocking dark beauty. Great show guys.
My favourite is Women & Children 1st followed by the debut. Whilst I loved Sammy’s solo stuff & Montrose, I didn’t really like the Van Hagar era until I saw them live at Wembley in ‘95. After which I really like those albums. Regarding For Unlawful, I’d place it at no. 7. Good album tho’.
I liked Van Hagar albums when they came out but I don't think they hold up well.
Top of the World's riff was based on the outro of Jump, right? Pretty sure that was mentioned in an interview once.
Fair Warning is the best DLR record and 5150 is the best SH record. 5150 is the soundtrack to every summer since it came out.
5150 has the same affect on me, I was a Van Halen fan and was disappointed when Roth left, but loved Hagar , the only issue with 5150 is Alex's drums, when he when through that electric drum faze, I guess it started on 1984, the snare sounds like Alex, but those tom toms don't sound good now haha, imagine 5150 and 1984 without that dated sound?
Agreed on 5150!
@@sdavis6806 that might be part of the reason I love 5150 so much. The instant it plays I’m taken back to my freshman or sophomore year of high school. It being of that time the sound is a product of that and the ability to take me back in time
@@quantumparadox2518 I was 13, waiting by radio for the new song with my finger on the record button haha, Why Can't this be love, I instantly loved it, funny thing is a level 42 song came on I pressed record and thought wtf this can't be van halen haha, those days of recording songs off the radio are long gone, great memories
Pretty sure Jamie meant to say I'll Wait was co-written by Michael McDonald instead of Bryan Adams :)
I sure did.
I was gonna say same thing haha
Jamie, I'm glad you picked this album. I'm a Van Hagar fan. I never was or ever will be a fan of the band w/David Lee Roth. You said it when you called David Lee Roth a ham. I've always thought of him as a big ham sandwich.
I love 5150. Best of Both Worlds is my favorite Van Halen song. I agree the hits are good. I like the deeper tracks too. Maybe I'm weird?! I'm not a big fan of OU812. I love Black & Blue and Feels So Good but, it somehow bores me. I never thought about it but, you're right about the sound. It doesn't sound as if it was recorded at full volume. I've never heard Balance or For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. I decided to listen to Unlawful Carnal Knowledge and, I was pleasantly surprised. I think it's the most mature and consistent sounding of the Van Hagar albums. I'm going to give it another listen to decide if I want to buy it. I would've probably never listened to it until you suggest it. Thank you, I learned something 👍
For Unlawful had very layered production, it was almost like Templeman made it for audiophiles. Personally I could put it in between #4-8 depending on my mood; considering that new releases from '70's artists were in the crosshairs of the incoming Washington Wave, that's actually an impressive feat for Van Halen right then.
Agree regarding Diver Down. Great album. But must disagree about F&CK and Different Truth.
DT In particular, I’d such an amazing album with lots of texture and color. That’s what is so amazing. The layers of sound a big part of the fun. IMO. Great fun show. Thank you.
Excellent video guys, on what is a very strong contender for my favourite Van Halen album. I think Sammy Hagar sounds terrific on it, and it provides a great balance between hook-laiden songs and heavy VH guitar riffs. Poundcake is possibly my favourite Van Halen song of all time, I absolutely love the chorus and guitar work. I also love Judgement Day, Runaround, Pleasure Dome, Right Now and Top of The World. The other albums that are right at the top for me are Women and Children First, Debut, A Different Kind of Truth, and a very contrarian pick, Balance. I think Balance is a great album and very underrated. VH3 is easily the worst. Great video again Martin and Jamie!
"Put away that Van Hagar and give me Winger" are words that have never been uttered in the history of all mankind.
Great episode! Very funny and personal with good insights!
Something like this from me:
12. Van Halen III
11. OU812
10. A Different Kind of Truth
9. Balance
8. Diver Down
7. For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
6. 5150
5. Women and Children First
4. 1984
3. Fair Warning
2. Van Halen
1. Van Halen II
I overall think that the David Lee Roth albums (except A Different Kind of Truth) has a great flow. No songs that are too long and even the weaker songs are over quickly. With Sammy Hagar I do think that many songs are as strong as their earlier classic material but the albums aren't that well put together and I never need to hear 30 % of the Van Hagar songs ever again.
I agree that both 1984 and Fair Warning are strong until the end. I don't hate the songs at the end but they are amonst the weaker part of their catalog.
Van Halen should really remaster 0U812 in a big way. As you see.. I am not a big fan of it but with great production instead of quite bad (not sounding like a Van Halen album..) it could actually be a rather strong album!
Not really a Van Halen fan, but I loved hearing Jamie's insight and seeing his props! Now, I can't get the threesome with 'Fair Warning,' 'For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge,' and 'Van Halen' out of my head!
I freaking love Me Wise Magick,and the Twister soundtrack,Humans Being
"Nobody like the coconut in an Almond Joy" .....says this as I'm happily chewing on the last bits of coconut from an Almond Joy.
Great show and opinions here. At first, I loved For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge and then over the years I felt that some of the songs sounded similar. But lately my love has returned for this one and it is my favorite of the albums with Sammy Hagar. I agree with Jaime that "Right Now" should get more love on classic rock radio these days. I always loved the in your face production on this one and the songs that hit radio still sound fresh. As far as my favorite, it has been Fair Warning for the last 10 years.
A solid breakdown by each of you, of course debatable when it gets down to the top few, I really appreciate the Carnal Knowledge breakdown, my favorite Sammy era album. Martin, your insights are so good, I really appreciate your thoughts and insights, while not agreeing with you every time your thoughts do make me reconsider.......SOMETIMES. Well done!!
Thanks for the comment!!!
Great episode, as always. Thank you Martin, Jamie and the Contrarians team.
And here's a contrarian opinion of mine: 'Aftershock' off 'Balance' is one of my if not my favourite song(s) by Van Halen. OK f__k it, it's my favourite VH song. There was a time when the Balance CD was not ever leaving my portable cd player (yes, kids, these existed)
haha awesome glad you liked it thanks GaelonYT!
I've been a Van Halen fan since the early 80's. My favorite VH albums in order are:
1. Fair Warning
2. Women & Children
3. VH II
4. VH (debut)
5. 1984
6. A Different Kind of Truth
7. Diver Down
I've never owned a Van Hagar album... nor have I ever actually listened to a Van Hagar album straight through... but, I do like many of the radio hits from those albums. -
Out of curiosity, I did listen to VH III a couple of times when it first came out...but, nowadays, I just pretend that album doesn't even exist and will never listen to any of it ever again.
It's About Time is the heavy, heavy song on the hits package, but it sounded like VH trying to sound a little Pantera-ish
Totally dig this one guys! Went to the for unlawful carnal knowledge concert, not once, not twice, but three times! It was incredible! The band was on fire! I personally think Van Halen was the greatest band possibly ever on that tour! I know I know, but seriously definitely in the conversation 🤪! It’s not my fav Van Halen album, but it’s top 5 for sure! Fav is Fair warning or the first one depends on the day!!!
Interesting watch. I've always thought that 'F.U.C.K.' was underrated. I remember when it came out and I read a review in 'R.A.W.' magazine. It got a one-out-of-five star review, which was utter nonsense from a serious publication. I'd have it in my top 5 Van Halen records. The riffs on 'Man on a Mission', 'In 'n' Out' and 'Poundcake' are huge, production's great and the album's just really well put together.
I borrowed Van Halen III from the library on CD when it came out. Took it home and hated it straight away. I played maybe three songs, then skipped through the rest. I knew I'd never want to play it again, so I took it back to the library... the woman behind the counter said "You can't bring this back yet, you've only just taken it out!" So I took it back the following day. That was about 20 years ago and I've never been tempted to listen to it again. 0 out of 10.
wow! lol nice story!
It's a great record. For me, probably VH1, FairW, 1984, 5150 go ahead of it but on the contrary to most people, I'd never go for VH2, WomenChildren, Diver Down over good old fashioned F.U.C.K.
I'm with Jamie on this one. Certainly VH1 is special, but all the other Roth albums are top heavy. I'd also take Eat 'em and Smile over all of them if it counted.
I am obsessed with buying as many Martin popoff books as I can afford .
haha Martin would love this comment!
Whats your fabourite as im looking at a sabbath or boc
Whenever I see album rankings I want to know how old the person was when these albums came out and which album was popular when they discovered the band or if they were even alive when these albums came out. That plays a heavy factor into people's rankings and its something thats not talked about. I rank the Sammy Hagar albums higher than most people because I wasnt into the band during the DLH era and F.U.C.K was my first VH album I got into and I loved it so natuarlly Im gonna rank it higher. I think other people are in the same boat. A lot of times when you go back into the albums BEFORE you discovered the band that just dont click as much.
Jamie always brings in the fun.
I like the coconut filling in MOUNDS and ALMOND JOY bars.
Great show. Jamie is fun as always. I personally don't like the production on For Unlawful. OU812 is my favourite Hagar album, but I did play it alot for a year after it came out. Possibly I might not be a Van Halen fan.
Thanks! Jamie's the best.
Hi guys! Cool show and great analysis again! I must admit I somehow dig VH III. I don't consider it a VH record but a solid Eddie solo record.
I agree with what is said about OU812 and I would put Diver Down much lower (my least favorite with DLR). Fair Warning - a great album, my favorite one alongside the debut. This two always switch ranks in my list.😉
This was a great episode as they always are. Jamie's hillarious, inishgtful and entertaining. However, my 1&2 are what they've always been and probably always will be:
1. 1984
2. 5150
Balance is also consitently a top 5 VH album for me. It probably comes in at #3 at the moment.
12. Van Halen III
11. A Different Kind of Truth
10. 5150
9. OU812
8. For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
7. 1984
6. Van Halen II
5. Van Halen
4. Balance
3. Women and Children First
2. Fair Warning
And my contrarian pick for #1
1. Diver Down
A fairly good case on the merits of "For Unlawful ...". I'm not sold, but I will re-visit the album.The big story is the change in guitar tone (I believe Edward was enamoured with the de-tuner, which is like a chorus). That said, some of the heavier "wall of sound" tunes don't really do it for me. I like the hits and love "Right Now" so much that I once put it on a vanity license plate. p.s. The video for "Right Now" was a big success (and the "Crystal Pepsi commercial" controversy was a big deal at the time).
The de-tuner was a device that put you in drop D tuning
@@ericpoitras1258 The drop-D device is the D-Tuna. There is a "detune effect" that is different. There's a good YT vid on this if you search "Van Halen tone in a box".
Great show! Probably #1 for me as well!
Awesome thank you!!
1.Fair Warning
2.Van Halen
3.Van Halen II
4.Women and Children First
5.Diver Down
6.1984
7.A Different Kind of Truth
8.5150
9.For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
10.Balance
11.OU812
12.Van Halen III
Nice list!
You take #9 and put it at #1 and our lists are very similar
So kinda conflicted in my appreciation. I didnt like Dave...so my entry was different 5150 was high school dance music..afterwards I gained appreciation going into my latter years.I could appreciate the early days of dave and find the best was fair warning, woman and children, and as a contrarian i like diver down quite a bit.
So see todays post i agree with jamie f.u.c.k holds up i listen to this one more than any other. Almost 30 years it still rocks, having seen them live during this era fucking great experiences. 👍 the played most often topic by martin would be a problematic analysis as the most played over time live would depend on who is singing and dave being the first singer sammy played dave songs. I dont think dave played poundcake? He cant do it justice. Also songs played by Eddie could be swayed by anger etc.. not on the set list etcc due to a grudge. Last note you never mentioned the manger shift in the late 90s that cause a lot of the rift between sam and the brothers. Sammy is still awsome!!! Still sounds great at 65 or whatever age he is...love the content you all do.
Jamie is a great guest and he's really funnny !
great show.Unlawfull is right up there for me.Maybe not number one but in the top 4 i would say
I love both Roth and Hagar eras of Van Halen. It is strange how many people diss the Hagar albums, but they also sold by the bucket load. I would guess that some of the long time fans maybe felt cheated by what they perceived as the more pop orientated approach with Sammy, but I think they crossed over to an audience that hadn't given them much attention before. My favourite from their catalogue is Van Halen 2
The Dave and Sammy eras are almost two different bands. Both are fantastic. Some overlap on what makes them great, but other reasons that make them unique. It’s bizarre that Dave lovers hate Sammy. They claim that Sammy made VH too pop, but if you think Dave would have kept VH heavy, how do you explain the Skyscraper album? The changes in style have as much to do with the styles of the time as they do personnel changes. Eddie always wanted to explore new territory. I think he must have been frustrated with the rest of the band because although they were amazingly talented, they were mere mortals and couldn’t keep up. VH III has flashes of greatness but Gary couldn’t hold up his end. Could be talent limitations, lack of standing as the new guy, or as he has stated: not enough time to get acclimated. I think Eddie was drugged out then and probably less than reasonable to deal with.
@@jpc54 Perfectly summed up, in my opinion Joe and For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge in particular is one heavy Van Halen album.
This Van Halen album from the Hagar era is my favorite by far. Great songs, great guitar playing and doesn't sound like "Beaverly Hills 90210 pop". However my all time favorite for me ( as of today this moment) is Fair Warning. That changes from VH 1, VH 2, Women and Fair.
ya all 4 of those you listed are classics!
Good show.. my favorite Sammy era album is Ou812 with the sour production. The Cassette actually has a better sound than the cd. The type of album one could playthrough,.that won't change or disturb a good mood. My 2cents. Detroit
My fav VH album is Women and Children First. My fav Van Hagar would be OU812. F.U.C.K. is a great album, great production. Great show. Cheers!
First, let me say that when Sammy is on, he’s ON! Whether it’s his solo albums or when he’s fronting some super group like Chickenfoot, Van Halen or even Montrose, Sammy has contributed some fantastic vocal delivery and poignant lyrics to the world of Rock n’ Roll.
That being said, whenever someone mentions “Van Halen”, the first songs that pops into my mind is Somebody Get Me A Doctor, Light Up The Sky, Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love, Mean Street…
Yeah, the original line up.
Three phases of the group:
Van Halen (including ADKOT)
Van Hagar
Non Halen (Van Halen III is a solid album, just not a Van Halen album)
Of the four albums of the Van Hagar era, I counted eleven songs that I felt were killer, the rest filler.
Comparatively speaking, if I remove Diver Down from the DLR era, I have mostly killer, very little filler (though I’m not a huge fan of the ‘hits’ that made it on the radio).
If I could cull one album from the four Van Hagar albums, the track list would look like this:
Mine All Mine
Poundcake
Judgement Day
Don’t Tell Me ( What Love Can Do)
Right Now
The Dream Is Over
The Seventh Seal
Not Enough
Dreams
Aftershock
Feelin’
IMHO, the DLR era was the best VH era, with VH II and Fair Warning tied for first place. The debut in a close second followed by A Different Kind Of Truth. Fourth place goes to Women And Children First… followed by 1984. Next is Balance, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, 5150, and OU812. Then Diver Down and finishing with VH III.
If I could replace Where Have All The Good Times Gone and Dancin’ In The Streets with Can’t Get This Stuff No More and Me Wise Magic, Diver Down would rise up the list, possibly to just above 1984.
I for one thought Carnal Knowledge was the best record VH ever did after my first 10-12 listens back in 1991. To this day, I stand by that opinion. The most consistent album, definitely the best vocals (Sammy and background) and Eddie at his absolute best in terms of songwriting and band cohesiveness.
I loved FUCK . The band was really on top of their game on that one
Eddie at his absolute best. Are you serious.
Seriously Eddie at his best is VH1 ,Fair Warning annnnnd VH 3
@@bgandjsco1 VH1 was mostly riffs with simple song structures. Fair Warning was a bit more experimental. VH3 had some great music though as an album, it was very unfocused and seemed lost in parts. His lead guitar work was always great but his overall songwriting really matured with Sammy beyond the party rock formula. Little Guitars was the first real indication of the direction he was going.
Fantastic show! Please do a show about The Cult (Electric vs Love or Sonic Temple) and Danzig (4 vs. 2) salud from Mallorca Island un Spain!
A thought on why new audiences "can't handle" hard rock anymore. Well, they can, but it violates the cardinal rule of youth popular music: parents love hard rock. The point of youthful rebellion is that your parents HATE your music. That's what makes it your music and interesting to you.
hmm good point! my parents were into pop and like salsa music maybe thats why i like rock lol, although myy dad was pretty into oldies like little richard and i love that stuff too
@@thecontrarians2438 I think we gain a greater appreciation for our parents' music when we are older, or it isn't a cool/not cool conversation anymore when you're older so you can finally admit out loud their music was pretty good. There was A LOT of my parents' music that made me groan and cringe. Now I can say that not only do I like it now, but I liked it then. But if you asked me when I was a teen? Oh...hell...no.
Streaming doesn't help hard rock at all if you ask me especially for new bands. You'll go on Spotify and you'll see some pop or rap artist with over 10 million monthly listeners and the songs are really bad and really short and they sound like they were made on a laptop with no live instruments used. How is rock supposed to compete with that and when music now is totally free and worthless and no longer has the value to people it once had. Technology has made it so you can make music much easier and get it out to more people but it seems very few people want to seek it out and look it for and unless youve got a big marketing budget behind you its gonna fall on deaf eras.
I mean theres some new hard rock bands out there who got millions of views and streams but compared to other genres its pathetic numbers.
My dad likes Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Eddie Cochrane, Buddy Holly. The Beatles and Stones were too edgy for him 🤣 We definitely do not have the same musical tastes! So there might be something in what you say. However, I can’t see myself rediscovering or finding a passion for 1950s rockabilly anytime soon 😂
@@Chaz4543 You're not wrong. Strictly from a business aspect, a label that distributes an album made by one person at home and gets a couple million streams is a better investment than in a band of three to five personalities, a producer, a studio session or four, etc. Labels still have a lot of power in the industry, and as we always lament, they're run by "bean counters." This is the manifestation of all of that.
Gotta love Jamie's descriptions.
ILL WAIT IS MICHAEL MCDONALD
For Unlawful... has ALWAYS been underrated. Perfect production, heavy, and great playing by everyone. Not my fave by them, but agree totally, it's great. Poundcake and Judgement Day are such a massive beginning. They rock as hard as anything at the time.
The sound on OU812 needs fixing. Needs to be louder. Listened to it a lot back then but just can't get past how low the volume is now. A shame cos I like it. I don't like any of the DLR albums (yeah I know), and i rank Balance and FUCK as my top 2. Can't decide which is better so they're tied. OU812 third (someone please remaster this).
For me, I can't separate Van Halen from Van Hagar. I like both, but nothing can ever touch the DLR era for me IMO. They are just 2 different bands to me. Everybody always says when Dave left, the Van Halen sound went with him, which is partly true, but it was really Ted Templeman also being gone is really when the VH sound disappeared. FUCK is a good album but it's actually not my favorite Van Hagar album, that would be Balance. I like it when VH has tension and when it comes out in the music, it makes it a bit darker and heavier in which that album Balance feels like to me.
For my rankings, it would be-
1. Fair Warning
2. Van Halen
3. Women and Children First
4. Van Halen II
5. 1984
6. Diver Down
7. A Different Kind Of Truth
8. Balance
9. 5150
10. F.U.C.K.
11. OU812
12. Van Halen III
Fair Warning is the most Brown Sound album and Mick Jones was involved in 5150 not OU812.
This is clearly the best Van Hagar album. I’d slot it right in after the prime Dave albums. Probably ahead of Diver Down. I’d rank it 5th or 6th depending on the day.
I can never decide between Carnal Knowledge and Van Halen 1 as my favorites. I think that makes them both the winner. :)
Fair Warning is at the top for me. One of my favorite albums of all time to be honest.
I also love For Unlawful Carnage Knowledge and I think if it came out in the mid-80s it would rank a lot higher. I think a lot of rock acts get penalized for releasing a rock album in the early 90s. Critics love to criticize that era in rock even though there were a lot of great albums. This reminds me of how so many people rank Ozzy's No More Tears way down even though it's an amazing album.
rock has always been around in some form starting in the 50's to this day called classic rock, as for keyboards they were using them since 1980 on WACF.
In terms of best/worst, it's hard to say. Each album (except one) has its moments. The much-maligned Diver Down has "Little Guitars" which strikes me as a lost hit. #3 is the exception - a collection of bad ideas without a proper overseer to say, "No, that's not going to work. Try again."
I have to disagree about Nirvana. I used to think the same, that they were the Lords and saviours of music, but then I discovered The Pixies, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden. Bands who were doing the grind and were miles ahead and above from Cobain.
Nirvana just got lucky, very lucky.
Agree 200% with Heisenberg there, my favorite VH album too! 🍺🤘
The BEST Van Halen album, despite being the Roth era the most fun and innovative, and Hagar's the most AOR friendly and pedestrian.
I don't know if it was the pressure of trying to survive the grunge era that made them use all their arsenal for this album (I think Sammy stated this as well), whatever the reason, this album absolutely rocks from beginning to end.
Alex's drumming here is stellar.
1984 is next for me, but VH connoiseurs will pick VH 1, Women and Children, or Fair Warning.
9:32 "I'll Wait" was co-written by Michael McDonald. Fun video! This is red meat for me so probably more comments to come. Spoiler: I don't agree with the pick for #1. The only debate is VH 1 vs 1984.
Thanks for the comment! Ya it seems like a mistake on Jamie's part and yes to your #1 picks! both solid!
Good show guys, I agree with you guys that it is a good album, I like a majority of the songs on it, I would maybe put it as my second favorite Van Hagar era album, 5150 would be my favorite Sammy album. Van Halen II usually gets my number 1 vote but any of the Roth albums are great, including, A Different Kind of Truth, I'd rank it over F.U.C.K. but I still like the album! \m/ \m/
For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge was for some reason the first full Van Halen album I heard, after Best of Volume 1, and I was somewhat turned off Van Halen. I liked the best of compilation, with some catchy and nice stuff, even though I was very late to the show (this was probably 3-4 years ago), so I guess I probably won't have the same relationship with Van Halen as people who grew up with them and saw them coming out with something that sounds very fresh.
Anyway, back to FUCK (I didn't realize this was the abbreviation until now): When I heard it, I didn't see just what made Van Halen stand out. Sure, it was some solid melodic hard rock, but other bands can do that as well. At times the lyrics were not very impressive (some almost to the point of being laughable) - the sexual lyrics of Poundcake and Spanked didn't speak to me much. I'm still yet not fully familiar with another complete Van Halen album, so even though I like FUCK a fair bit, I hope there are ones I like more.
Contrarian Choice for sure and I won't fight ya
HUGE Diver Down Fan
I actually like VH3. There, I said it. I'm with Jamie. I like Jump and the hits on 5150. Dig that Oberheim. My favorite HV album is ii. I like Diver Down. Never thought of it before, but Jamie is right about Dance The Night Away. It is an r&b song. I love the two closing tracks on Fair Warning. Mick Jones didn't produce 0U812. He produced 5150
I'll Wait is co written by Michael McDonald
Great rankings, I think that 5150 should be ranked higher. Like VH1 it is groundbreaking in that they pulled off the Lead Singer switch. AC/DC is the only band that comes to mind to me that did it successfully.
Black Sabbath(multiple), Deep Purple(multiple), Rainbow, Genesis, many many more....
All successfully switched lead vocalists .
@@johncostigan8747 True, but none increased hugely in popularity (other than when Ronnie James Dio became lead singer).
Untrue. Sorry.
I usually seperate the two era of Van Halen singer when i ranked albums of the band. So after a lots of listenin of the Hagar era i would love that he could stay with the band longer time because for me balance is my favorite one after f.u.c.k. more heavy soundin. I think they would record more albums with Sammy if Eddy were in better health at that time. Great review guys love the épisode
I can agree that "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" is easily the best Van Halen album with Sammy Hagar. Better than the best Roth albums? I don't know about that...
For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge is a great album. Got it when it came out in 1991. Saw them live two years later on their first ever UK show with Sammy. But I still think VH1 is better!
V.H. debut is still magical to me after all these yrs,l remember pulling out the innersleeve and seeing the pictures of the band inside ,back then no bands really did that ,remember you would have just a white sleeve or advertisements for other artist back then ,those 4 pics. Made a huge impression on me ,..by the way Sammy stuff very boring l.m.o. great show guys...
Jamie is so awesome here.
My favorite is the live album with Sammy. Because you get the "BEST OF BOTH WORLDS"!
Unlawful is my favorite Sammy Van Halen album. But I much prefer the Roth era.
I can't say Jamie's choice is my favorite, but it's by far my favorite Sammy album. I actually have VH2 as my fav.
jamie has a great outlook
I'm pretty sure Michael McDonald is a co-writer, not Bryan Adams.
I think F.U.C.K is the best of the Hagar era. Poundcake is such a strong opener. I don't like comparing it to anything from the Roth era though. Both versions of the band are shooting for different kinds of dynamics. Changing one member almost turned it into a different band.
Carnal Knowledge is my fav album by VH or anyone to this day as is Poundcake for song
While it’s not my favorite, I definitely feel that F.U.C.K. is very underrated
The most Brownsound album is Fair Warning. Get a clue.
Dude... "Girl Gone Bad" is all killer and no filler. Seriously?!
1984 for me.
Well, Imma another crazy fk. Because it is also my fav album along with Fair Warning and Women and Children, these 3 may change day to day. Number 4 is VH1, then i'd put 5150, which I like better than 1984 being also great and wonderful. Then, I'd put VH2, then 1984, A different Kind, then Balance, then OU812, Diver down, and last that strange Gary Sherone album. Cheers.
of the sammy era, while i generally like all 4 albums (except balance, about 3 songs there) i only own the f**k album. my problem with 5150 and ou812 is, as good as they are they they just don't sound great because they both have electronic drums and that's a turn off when you have such a great drummer in alex. those song live however sound much better. check out tokyo 89 for proof.
Thought this was really good at the time but stuff like Spanked and In n Out and Man on a Mission have dated horribly. Album would be improved without Sam’s constant screeching and junior high level lyrical content.
👍👍
To me, FUCK is the best album among the entire VH. Only a few fillers. Great songs like Poundcake. Judgement day dream is over top of the world. The great fat and dynamic sound by Eddie Kramer and Andy Jones. Eddys guitar is distorted but pristine clear.
fyi: jamie talks consistently for almost 26 min of the almost 37 min of this episode.
Jamie is the BEST!!! Love his commentary! I love F.U.C.K. Rekkid! It probably comes in at 5 for me over all
FUCK is by far my favorite album and Sammy is by far a better singer although his stage presence might not be as good I think right now is one of if not the best Van Halen song and is definitely my favorite it’s all personal preference but FUCK is my number one
5150 should be 3 or 4 imo
FUCK isn't even the best Van Halen album with Sammy let alone the best Van Halen album. Imo 5150 is the best Sammy era album and either the debut or 1984 are Van Halen's best albums. That said, my favorite Van Halen album is Fair Warning. There's a difference between what I think a band's best album is and what my favorite album is. Sometimes they can be the same but oftentimes aren't.
Fave Band ever, love Roth and Hagar ,, I don't give a fuck! The band is called Van Halen for a reason! Fair Waring is my fave, VH 2 a close 2nd, F.U.C.K really grew on me, has some heavy songs on it, Judgement Day, Dream is Over, Pleasure dome, all good stuff! 5150 I do disagree with Jamie, aside from Dreams which to me is Sammy's best , but 5150 and Summer night's are so fuckin good! Every other VH album expect VH 3 are amazing
We should clarify that Bryan Adams had absolutely NOTHING to do with 1984, it was Michael McDonald who was actually hired to co-assist with "I'll Wait" a highlight of the album, actually.
BTW, Almond Joy is way better than 3-musketeers, which has muck filler, terrible analogy man.
F.U.C.K. is at least 7th here too, totally Contrarian.