Great show guys. 1. Fair Warning 2. Van Halen 3. Women And Children First 4. 1984 5. Van Halen ll 6. Diver Down 7. 5150 8. For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge 9. A Different Kind Of Truth 10. OU812 11. Balance 12. Van Halen 3
For me it’s: Van Halen 1984 Fair Warning Van Halen 2 Women and Children First Diver Down For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge Different Kind of Truth 5150 Balance OU812 Van Halen 3
This was great . . . thank all three of you for your time. I noticed yours - Pete - changed a bit from a couple years ago (as is bound to happen!) but still in a very similar spirit. I was introduced to VH when I ordered Fair Warning as one of 11 for a penny from Columbia House . . . from the moment I heard that Mean Street intro I was in love and impacted in a major way . . . my guitar wannabe dreams quickly became bass player aspirations . . . a week later I broke the bank and got my Dad to drive me 30 miles to the nearest record store where I purchased the first three VH albums (to complete the collection at that time) and the love affair exploded. 1984 come out during my HS graduation year and will forever hold a special place . . . great tour. The Sammy era certainly dulled things a bit for me - but they still held on as my favorite band (even though I preferred the first two DLR albums to the first two Hagar era releases) . . . VH will always be me favorite . . . my ranking: 1-Fair Warning. 2-Van Halen. 3-1984. 4-VH II. 5-A Different Kind of Truth. 6-Women and Children First. 7-Diver Down. 8-5150. 9-For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. 10-VH III. 11-OU812. 12-Balance. And except for Balance, on which I only really enjoy Seventh Seal, I sincerely enjoy every album. For a long time III was last on my list but upon Edward's passing I spent several weeks listening to the entire catalog on shuffle and came to realize that I actually enjoyed more of the songs and - especially - some of the heavier guitar work more than OU812 and MUCH more than Balance . . . anyway - THANKS AGAIN!!
Hey guys. Love your content. It's given me motivation to check out albums I haven't heard in ages and given me a chance to listen from different angles.
This was a great episode Hack! Agree with everything you said, and the lists are spot on! LMAO when you guys said you’ll be fine if you never hear Jump again.
Great video Hack, Pete, and Martin here are my favorite and some not so favorite 12 Van Halen albums ranked: 1. Fair Warning -- (1981) 2. Van Halen --- debut ---- (1978) 3. Van Halen ll ---- (1979) 4. 5150 ----- (1986) 5. For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge ---- (1991) 6. Women and Children First ---- (1980) 7. OU812 ------ (1988) 8. A Different Kind of Truth ----- (2012) 9. 1984 ----- (1984) 10. Diver Down ---- (1982) 11. Balance ----- (1995) 12. Van Halen lll ----- (1998)
Fantastic presentation Hack along with Martin and Pete. Van Halen especially starting from the 5150 tour is a band with which I've grown up with. Subsequently discovering the Van -Roth era. Coincidentally Women and Children first is also my favourite VH album. Probably the first of the Roth era albums that I heard in college. it's dark and heavy and it's probably stuck on with me since. VH 1, II, Fair Warning and 1984 being the other favs.
I don't understand Martin's reference to "the brown sound" when he refers to DLR's 'vocal' and AVH's 'drums'. I have only ever heard it describe EVH's guitar sound from the era. Does anyone have an insight into what he means? BTW: VH1 was my starting point and it just can't be topped. It blew my mind when I heard it back in 1978.
I never said vocal. But I definitely say drums - even more than guitar. Applied just to guitar, it's almost subtle to the point of mystical or... meaningless. But combined with drums, there's more material/objective things to discuss.
@@MartinPopoff I stand corrected Martin. I misinterpreted your statement "this is the best brown sound they got with David Lee Roth" to be referring to HIS vocal performance. My mistake. Thanks for correcting me.
The ‘brown sound’ was just Eddie’s guitar tone that he invented/ came up with himself before VH1. He was a bit of a mad scientist with his guitars and amp set up. All the other guitarists of the time in the LA club rock scene couldn’t figure out how he got that tone and destroyed many an amp trying to chase it down. IMO that tone was all but gone/neutered by the time 5150 came out and beyond on record due to over production …. Not the other way around…
Ed explained the "brown sound" on a few occasions. His way of describing a warm, natural, meaty tone. Same with Alex's drums..."like beating on a big old log" was his phrasing, if l recall correctly.
Very entertaining video. Love the old Van Halen from 1978-1984 (except Diver Down) with David Lee Roth. For me, the Sammy era stuff is shite. Also, just heard "A Different Kind of Truth" for the first time very recently. Really enjoyed that. I was surprised. My Roth era ranking: 1. Fair Warning 2. Van Halen 3. 1984 4. Women and Children First 5. Van Halen II 6. A Different Kind of Truth 7. Diver Down
53:25 IMHO, 1984 is a balance of two themes: pedal-to-the-metal party tunes, and dark, sophisticated harmony explorations. There's a subversive moment in Panama that marries the two. It is in the breakdown (right before "yeah, we're runnin' a lil' bit hot..."), where he plays a super dissonant chord (for nerds: an Fmaj13b5 chord against E minor tonality, if we ignore tuning down 1/2 step). In the middle of an AC/DC-style party tune! It is deeply weird, clever, and one of my favourite moments in all of music, in any genre.
The Hagar stuff that falls flat for most of the fans does so because Eddies playing is very sterile and inorganic compared to the first few records. The reason why he was able to capture the crown of “guitar hero” was because he was spontaneous, reckless, undisciplined and had an over the top attitude and humour in his approach. This all but disappeared after the departure of DLR and he began to second guess himself and became too distracted by trying to keep up with his own legendary status. songs became too polished, his solos became too calculated, he became too aware of his guitar sound and tried to polish what didn’t need to be polished, etc. He developed higher levels of anxiety and self doubt and was drinking more than before, causing even more stress in his playing…and you can definitely hear it…he was driven by his fear of failure rather than just having reckless FUN playing his guitar in a way that was unique to only Eddie. The closest he came to being able to play like his old self was on parts of “A different kind of truth”…he seemed to be at peace with not worrying about who he was going to impress and just relaxed into his own confidence and comfort zone. The live performances around that era were also some of his best playing moments of his career.
Good input. Hagar receives too much of the blame for that era having some lackluster material. Although I appreciate the more current sounds coming in and the focus on songwriting. It’s easy to see why original fans would take issue with it though.
Totally agree with Guitar Hack on VH III. We should look at it as an Eddie solo record. Some great ideas on it. It's definitely different from the rest of their albums.
Oddly enough after the first album I barely listened to any of the albums till balance I'm glad to have been part of the 80s bar scene wow soo many great times Me being amazed lookn at guys influenced by van Halen . I even remember seeing Moxy (????) round 83 and the vocalist looked like Roth 😂😂😂
I obviously heard VH growing up but the first time I really got into them was hearing the single “Right Now” in the mid 90s, loved it, and the rest is history.
Martin is right, on paper, Gary Cherone on Van Halen made sense at the time... what happened there? Maybe we'll never know. Van Hagar team here! Whatever anyone say 🍺🍺🤘 Thanks for the show!
Great episode- my first time here. 1984 was my intro in VH- very similar story in school- I was 12- everyone had it. Then 5150 came and I was hooked. While a fan of Sammy- I started to buy old VH during after he joined and I loved them even more obviously. It was a great time - I started with VH1 and played it straight for like a month- then went and got VH2 and played it straight for a month - then WACF.....well you get it. I didn't have to wait for a new album. I could just go get the next one when I was ready. I love both eras for different reason's but a great great band. After watching your video- now I am going to put VH1 and go thru their catalog and it will be like 1986 all over again lol
Good show Hack, really enjoyed it. I nicked the 1st 2 albums from my older brother, then bought Women & Children 1st when it came out. I loved the 1st 4 albums but felt they were running out of steam with Diver Down & 1984. So I wasn’t unhappy when Sammy joined them. I already liked him in Montrose & seen him several times solo and thought he was great. A very different version of VH, more AOR than hard rock. Saw them live at Wembley Stadium with Sammy and thought they were really good. So my list is: 1. Van Halen 2. Women & Children 1st 3. Fair Warning 4. 5150 5. Van Halen II 6. 1984 7. Balance 8. OU812 9. A Different Kind of Truth 10. For Unlawful … 11. Diver Down 12. VH III
Great show Hack. When VH1 came out I was about 20 and there was nothing like that I had heard. so def my #1. Could slide anything but VHIII or Different kind of truth in any of the other slots.
12. OU812 11. Van Halen lll 10. For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge 9. 5150 8. Balance 7. A Different Kind Of Truth 6. Diver Down 5. 1984 4. Fair Warning 3. Women And Children First 2. Van Halen ll 1. Van Halen
12. VH III 11. OU812 10. Diver Down 9. Fair Warning 8. 5150 7. 1984 6. VH II 5. VH I 4. Balance 3. Women and Children First 2. A Different Kind of Truth 1. For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
Great show! 1. VH1 2. F.U.C.K. 3. 1984 4. Women & Children First 5. 5150 6. Fair Warning 7. VHII 8. A Different Kind Of Truth 9. OU812 10. Balance 11. VH3 12. Diver Down
Women and Children First was the first Van Halen record I ever bought as well. I remember seeing the army/jade green and silver album cover with a picture of the band in the center, in a rock n roll depiction of the WW2 Iwa Jima soldiers holding up the flag (but this time with a guitar). This album just knocked my socks off from the first to last cut. It reminded me of the Who's Live at Leeds in it's sound and energy. It was loose, nasty and raucous. But the two last songs on the album were somewhat more mellow. Could this be Magic? is a very cute guitar rag love/sex sing along style song. In a Simple Rhyme, you get one of Van Halen's most beautiful sounding songs. The song kind of reminds me, if one, were to blend the sound of The Byrds/Cheap Trick/a 60s girl group and Zep into a high powered concoction, you might end up getting a song that sounds like this. And just when you think it's all over, you get this 10 sec or so, primal jungal call drum/guitar/bass sludge rock grind, to top the album off.
36:46 For whatever it's worth, "a different kind of truth" does appear in the lyrics to Bullethead. But it is true that the lyrics don't really shed any light on the matter.
For me the Roth stuff is best 1.VH2, 2. VH 1, 3 Fair Warning, 4, Women & Children, 5.(because of the originals) Diver Down, 6.1984, 7. Different Kind of Truth. Then the Sammy stuff (whatever order) Then VH 3. I knew who they were on VH 1 because the school bus radio played a couple but my bro got VH 2 when it came out & it's always been my fav. But there's not much separation between any of the first 6. They're all amazing.
For my fellow Van Halen fans dissing the Hagar and Cherone records - you have to give these a new listen if for no other reason than Eddie’s guitar is simply masterful on all of these records. You are really missing out on some genius here.
I LOVE BOTH SAMMY AND DAVID (gc too) Love Sammy more but LOVE the David stuff The hagar stuff KIXXXXX BUTT!!!!! no need for me to revisit But VH 1 is tied for first with 5150 for me, for what I love
Love to see their musicianship at live shows of the Live Right Here Right now time! 1. 5150 2. Women and children first 3. Van Halen 4. F.U.C.K. 5. Fair Warning 6. 1984 7. Balance 8. OU 812 9. Van Halen II 10. A different kind of truth 11. Diver down 12. VH 3
I have to agree with Guitar Hack: Women and Children First is my fav followed closely by Fair Warning. I'd take any Lee Roth era album before the Sammy period, but I do like them and OU812 is my fav of that period. Cheers.
VH's debut dominated the home stereos in the summer of 78.... you couldn't turn on the radio..it was choked with Fleetwood Mac and SNF/Grease soundtrack tunes....
47:32 I see what you mean, but I wonder if Van Halen's thinking is to start with a softball and bring the heat later. VH 1 opened with Runnin' With The Devil, which IMHO, deliberately sets a low bar for Eruption to destroy. ADKOT opens with Tattoo, another curious choice. I know an album is different from a concert, but given VH's background, that ethos would fit: you don't start a live show with your best stuff.
1. Women and Children First 2. Van Halen 3. Van Halen II 4. Fair Warning 5. 1984 6. A Different Kind of Truth - the Sammy era albums - Diver Down - Van Halen III
1. Van Halen debut 2. Van Halen 2 3. Fair Warning 4. Women and Children First 5. 1984 6. 5150 7. Diver Down 8. A different kind of Truth 9. Fuck 10. Ou812 11. Balance 12. Van Halen 3
Martin is great if you actually agree with him. Lol I know stuff like this is so subjective but l found his rationale, much like Hacks, kind of convoluted. Pardo is usually spot on with his analysis but l found my VH tastes didn't align with any of them. That's what l love about music!
@@Luke-er6pg VH seems like a "meh, take 'em or leave 'em" type of band for Pete. Having someone in the conversation like him is actually kind of interesting in the overall discussion/argument for ranking their albums.
I know! Its always a great upbeat fun album.....afu best song. They say too many synth stufftoo? It had only 3 piano/synth songs? 1984 had 3 too! 5150 had 3 or 4! Ou812 great album! My first album I had too of van halen.....1988....i was 13.
All three of these jokers are effed in the head and can't get over the fact that "Eddie" is a piano player too. The first two Sammy albums, along with 1984, have keys in the mix and the albums are better for it.
I agree with Pete about Diver Down. it's best moments are great but it feels like an extended EP or the record label pressuring them to release something right away
1)Fair Warning 2)VH 1 3)VH 2 4)1984 5)For Unlawful Carnal 6)Women and Children 7)OU812 8)Different Kind Of Truth 9)5150 10)Diver Down 11)Balance 12)VH 3
My list: 1. Fair Warning 2. 5150 3. Balance 4. Van Halen II 5. Van Halen III I REALLY LOVE THIS ALBUM!!!!!! 6. Women and Children First 7. OU812 8. 1984 9. Van Halen 10. Diver Down 11. Fuck 12. A Different Kind of Truth
I know this is not going to go over well with anyone older than me, I was 7 in 1984 so I missed the DLR years. To me there are two Van Halens. Easy enough for everyone to see that. What I distinctly see is that with DLR the band had reached it's limit. They couldn't really extend themselves beyond what Dave was providing. For example, when Motley ditched Vince they made the highest quality album of their career with John Corabi. They maintained their image, they improved their sound, they tightened up their writing, and had a phenomenal vocalist. But, people didn't want any of that. They wanted Vince, they wanted the fake motorcycle gang and strippers. Fast forward and Vince came back and they're making music again. Now we get to see 60 year old fake motor cycle gang guys singing about teenage girls. Van Halen could see what was coming with Dave. More of the same. I agree that the Sammy stuff was poppy, over polished and MTV friendly. But, the brothers seemed to love that push to the top of the charts. It likely would never would have happened with Dave. To me, as a Sammy fan before a VH fan I loved 5150. Yes, poppy, yes stylish, yes fun and lacking that raw hunger... but these guys were well fed by then. They wanted the world. Sammy could do things vocally that Dave could never do and with that opened up the options, the fullness, and the competitiveness that drove these guys. There are some underrated guitar gems on there. Some classic riffs we can all hear today. When the summer heat hits and I'm on my way to the beach it's still 5150 and OU812 coming out of the speakers. These albums are more mature, more polished, and exactly what they wanted to do to solidify their career beyond their goofy front man. The band existed with Sammy and was no longer Dave's three piece backing band with a virtuosic guitarist. I love all of both eras, but there are some songs on the DLR albums that are just flops. Especially some of the covers (Pretty Woman is awful). I skip those but 5150, OU812, Balance, I play straight through. Full sound, a well fed band, appreciated by the masses and full of their own worth. I live revisiting the DLR years when I do want to hear that hungry, "got some shit to prove" sound that they ripped our ears off with during the Dave years. We truly get the best of both worlds. I think Dave would have held them back. Sammy could have influenced the polish a bit less and laid off the top.40 stuff but man we got some bad ass music for almost thirty years from these guys and in my world no other band can touch them, either era. For the record, I love Finish What You Started, AFU, and Amsterdam. Three of the most under appreciated songs! Alex deserves so much more credit than he gets but Amsterdam seems like a percussion masterpiece.
The thing that hit me (now I’m older and wiser…) is the supreme confidence they had, even at the very beginning. They knew they were fantastic. It oozed out of them….total confidence and conviction that everything they did would always go over. It’s a total life lesson. We, as ‘normal’ human beings need to be told “you’re great”….they knew it. VH1 is the greatest.
I would love to have seen an album with DLR following 1984. With EVH having proven that his keyboards worked on top of his guitar prowess, would have been interesting. Not to mention, DLR is, in my opinion, a better wordsmith. Sam proved his lyric writing for a pop music audience but his writing seemed to be pandering. Like EVH said (paraphrasing), he wrote music for himself and if anyone like it, cool.
How do you switch an album from somebody else's opinion unless you really don't have one? Different kind of truth went down lower on your list because of what somebody else said? Do you not really have an honest opinion? Lol!
MY LIST BEST TO WORST: 1) Van Halen I 2) 1984 3) Fair Warning 4) Van Halen II 5) Women & Children First 6) A Different Kind of Truth 7) OU812 8) Diver Down 9) For Unlawful Carnel Knowledge 10) 5150 11) Van Halen III 12) Balance Best songs: 1) In A Simple Rhyme - W & C First (This is an ABSOLUTE MASTERPIECE) 2) Mean Street - Fair Warning 3) Girl Gone Bad - 1984 4) I'm The One - VH I 5) Hear About It Later - Fair Warning 6) Light Up The Sky - VH II 7) House of Pain - 1984 8) Running With The Devil - VH I 9) Everybody Wants Some - W & C First 10) DOA - VH II 11) Dirty Movies - Fair Warning 12) Little Dreamer - VH I 13) Secrets - Diver Down 14) Hang Em High - Diver Down 15) Runaround - FUCK 16) Beautiful Girls - VH II 17) I'll Wait -1984' 18) You Really Got Me - VH I 19) And The Cradle Will Rock - W & C First 20) Feel Your Love Tonight - VH I
Glad to see 1984 get propped. That was probably my favorite VH album for 20-25 years based on the "album" as an overall work of art (production, songs, riffs) but lately I'm more into the guitar jams, so I'd probably say 'II' or 'Women and Children' would be my favorite. The production on 1984 is amazing, which is kind of funny because that was the first one they did at Ed's studio and he basically stonewalled Ted Templeman out of the studio.
Hi Mr. Guitar Hack. Before i see this video i’d like to rank the DLR records. But first. I bought all of those as they came out. I heard "You Really Got Me" just before christmas in ‘78 i the school yard over my school’s own stereo system, and i was grounded. I was twelve. I bought the cassette a few days after that. So in ‘84 i had the first three on cassette, and the other three on LP’s. I love them all. Love ‘em: 6. Diver Down 5. Fair Warning 4. II 3. 1984 2. Van Halen 1. Women and Children First (I haven’t listened enough to «A Different Kind of Truth» to rank it, and i just can’t stand Sammy’s voice).
For reference: Van Halen discography & videography 01. I (1978) Roth 02. II (1979) Roth 03. Women And Children First (1980) Roth 04. Fair Warning (1981) Roth 05. Diver Down (1981) Roth 06. 1984 (1984) Roth 07. 5150 (1986) Hagar 08. Live Without A Net (1986) DVD Hager 09. OU812 (1988) Hager 10. For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991) Hager 11. Live: Right Here, Right Now (1993) LIVE Hager 12. Live: Right Here, Right Now (1993) DVD Hager 13. Balance (1995) Hager 14. Best Of Vol. 1 (1996) greatest hits 15. Video Hits Vol. 1 (1996) DVD music video collection 16. III (1998) Cherone 17. The Best Of Both Worlds (2004) greatest hits 18. A Different Kind Of Truth (2012) Roth 19. Tokyo Dome: Live In Concert (2015) LIVE Roth
1. Women and Children 2. VH 1st album 3. Fair Warning 4. VH 2 5. Diver Down 6. 1984 7. A Different kind 8. For Unlawful 9. OU812 10. Balance 11. 5150 12. III
VHIII and A Different Kind Of Truth would have been at the bottom of my list. But For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge and OU812 would have been in my top 3, with Fair Warning from the DLR period. I can agree that 5150 was lighter than hoped for, where just one more out and out rocker would have rounded it off but Eddie did manage to make the keyboards sound heavy in their own right and feel part of a rock song, not really seen before except for John Lord with his Hammond Organ. Sammy also bought more composition and song structure to the band that enabled them to appeal to rock and pop fans and therefore have the (no pun intended), best of both worlds.
1. Van Halen 2. Van Halen ll 3. Women and Children First 4. Diver Down 5. 1984 6. Fair Warning 7. 5150 8. OU812 9. For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge 10. A Different Kind of Truth 11. Balance 12. Van Halen 3
Like Pete with his Slide It In eventually overcoming '87 as his fave Whitesnake album, for me Fair Warning is getting closer and closer to overcoming VH1...today is not that day, but it's coming.
"Women and Children First" was the first album I ever bought by my then favorite band. My favorite was their follow-up album "Fair Warning" with "Van Halen I" second, "Women and Children First" third, "Van Halen II" fourth, "1984" fifth, and "Diver Down" sixth. The rest I don't even care to rank.
1. Van Halen 1 2. Women and children first 3. 1984 4. Van Halen 2 5. Fair warning 6. 5150 7. A different kind of truth 8. For unlawful carnal knowledge 9 balance 10. Ou812 11. Diver down 12 Van Halen 3
1. Van Halen I 2. Women and Children First One and two are almost interchangeable for me 3. For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge Best Sammy album? One of their best albums period 4. Van Halen II 5. Fair Warning 6. 1984 Wanted to put this higher, but the Van Halen catalog is just so solid overall 7. Balance This album is so underrated. It's a damn shame it all ended with this one. Saw them on this tour 8. 5150 Wanted to put this lower, but the songs are just so good 9. Diver Down If there was a couple less covers are a few more originals, this would have been a lot higher. No hard rock band should ever cover "Dancing in the Streets." 10. OU812 Still a good album overall, just not as strong as what came before or immediately after. 11. A Different Kind of Truth I love this album, but the absence of Mikey's background vocals leaves a HUGE gap. Otherwise, it's a worthy final statement 12. Van Halen III Obviously the bottom. A total misstep that could have been great.
1. Van Halen 2. Fair Warning 3. Women and Children First 4. 1984 5. Van Halen II 6. 5150 7. Diver Down 8. F.U.C.K 9. A Different Kind of Truth 10. Balance 11. OU812 12. 3
First Four albums are all equally my favourites. Then 1984 then the ep diver down. The 5150 album I thought they hired the lead singer from the flock of seagulls . Then I found out it was the singer from montrose, Go Figure.
(1) Van Halen (2) Fair Warning (3) Van Halen II (4) Women And Children First (5) 1984 (6) Diver Down (7) A Different Kind Of Truth (8) 5150 (9) OU812 (10) For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (11) Balance (12) Van Halen III
1. VH 1 2. 1984 3. Women and Children First 4. VH 2 5. Fair Warning 6. A Different Kind of Truth 7. Balance 8. 5150 9. For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge 10. Diver Down 11. OU812 12. VH III
Great episode. I watch Pete and Martin all the time and I'm familiar with Guitar Hack, but it was nice to find this. I own practically all the records, but I've never considered myself a huge Van Halen fan. I'm not sure they would even be in my top 50 bands. They would probably find themselves in that 26-50 range. Anyhow, here is my list: 12. Van Halen III: Utterly disappointing. I enjoy two songs "Without You" and "Fire In the Hole". I revisited this album a couple of years ago to see if I enjoyed anything else. I didn't. It's the only Van Halen album I don't own. 1998 was a pretty shitty year for metal/hard rock albums. It was that second era of post grunge, with nu-metal everywhere. A garbage era for me when it came to heavy music. The state of affairs with pop music was awful as well, as boy bands, Britney and Christine were the rage. What a totally awful period of music! 11. OU812: I totally agree with Martin and Pete with their thoughts on this year. Hair metal was in and there wasn't much one had to do regarding putting out an album. Literally, one got signed, put an album out and you were almost assured gold status and most likely platinum status. It was sort of grotesque. Thank God I was into Thrash Metal, which was the rage! 10. Diver Down: This is probably blasphemy, but I view this record as total shit! Thank the lord for songs like "Little Guitars" and "Secrets", because this album just sucked the momentum out of the band. This is the first record I remember as a kid growing up in the Midwest. It's a total turd! I've never understood its appeal! 09. Balance: This begins the part of the list where I complain less about the aspects of the album. I don't necessarily find much wrong with this album. It's a heavier record than the early stuff with Sammy, yet one sort of knew this was the end of this era. 1995 sort of began that time where I was becoming severely disenchanted with the music scene. 08. 5150: After watching this show, I flipped a ranking like Martin did. I originally had this at my #6 and much of that had to do with this album being a huge part of my life as I went into my sophomore year in high school. This album, without a doubt is steeped in nostalgia. I loved growing up in the 80's and this album I always makes me feel special about those days. Having said that, there a more than a few holes in this particular record. Its more synth laden, but yet enjoyable. Yes, I love "Dreams" and always will. 07. Van Halen: A Different Kind of Truth: I agree with Martin, it's a terrible title. So much so, that I originally wrote down the wrong title. I had it as A Different Kind of World. I hate the rip off album cover as well. It's practically a carbon copy of an old Commodores album. I also agree with Pete on the opening single. When I heard the song Tatoo, I thought this album was going to absolutely suck. The band couldn't have picked a worse song for a lead single. Then I heard China Town and thought, oh no, I don't like this song that much either. Having said that, I love the rest of the album. I don't care about the recycled riffs from older tunes. In fact, it's very welcomed. I will agree with all the guys on this, Dave does not sound great. It was the first real sign of things to come with Dave's inability to do the things he once was able to do on a record. 06. F.U.C.K.: This was a nice change of pace. This record clearly amped up the guitars and heaviness of a Van Halen record, which we hadn't heard since the Fair Warning days. I originally had this at #8, but flip flopped this with "5150". It's deserving of this spot in my estimation. I don't hate "Right Now" like Guitar Hack or Pete, but I understand why those out there would hate it. 05. Fair Warning: I love this album for three songs, "Unchained", "Mean Streets" and "Hear About It Later". The rest are fine, but they don't necessarily do it for me like the aforementioned. 04 1984: This could be flip flopped with my #3 depending on the week. This album for myself, is all about nostalgia again. Even though I remember "Diver Down" as my initiation into the band, this album was one you couldn't get away from. It has a ton of staying power for me. I was in 7th grade at the time and my identity was starting to form, especially my musical identity. I'm like the guys on the panel. I don't really need to hear "Jump" again for many a year, but if I'm going to, then I would like it to be accompanied by the instrumental "1984". Sorry Martin, I love Panama and especially the video! I love "I'll Wait" as well. The whole album rules and there are no shitters in the bunch. 03 Women and Children First: There are a couple two or three songs I skip, but the ones I really love/like, I consistently love/like! "In a Simple Rhyme" is one of those songs that's not talked about enough. Its brilliance cannot be understated. This album and the previous album are fairly interchangeable for me. 02 Van Halen I: The position of Van Halen I and Van Halen II come down to one song and where they're ranked. I hate the song Ice Cream Man and I used to hate You're No Good. I still hate Ice Cream Man, but I don't hate You're No Good. The greatness of this record and the fact that it was a game changer back in 1978 should put this one on top, but it just barely misses the top spot. My favorite go to song is "On Fire". This album still sounds great all these years later. 01. Van Halen II: Yes, the two covers are what separate my two favorite Van Halen albums. I figured out that I don't hate "You're No Good". I just hate the sequencing of this album. Whoever decided to put this one as the lead tune on this classic, had to be on crack! It might be the worst song to ever lead a classic album. What a dumb selection! Yet, it's my favorite Van Halen album ever! I'm surprised Martin doesn't love D.O.A.
OU812 is a great album. The brothers' playing on that one was some of their best. Just love the drums and guitar on Mine All Mine, Source Of Infection, and Naturally Wired, and I am actually someone who likes some of their poppy keyboard ballads like When It's Love and those similar type songs on 5150, except I like OU812 more than 5150. In total I like the DLR VH catalog more than the Hagar VH catalog, but there is just something about OU812 that makes it my favorite. I actually like the DLR Skyscraper album with Vai, Sheehan, and Bissonnette probably as much as OU812. But I love every VH album, who am I kidding, but I am 46 and I didn't enter VH as a fan until 5150, and then backtracked to buy all of the earlier ones as I got older, and it's just that I was a toddler when VH started. Had I been born 10 years earlier I probably would connect more with those earlier albums than the later ones as it seems Martin and Pete do. But, there isn't an album of theirs I won't listen to from start to finish.
My ranking for the Van Halen albums would be 12. Van Halen III 11. OU812 10. Balance 9. 5150 8. F.U.C.K. 7. A Different Kind Of Truth 6. Diver Down 5. Fair Warning 4. Women And Children First 3. Van Halen II 2. Van Halen 1. 1984
1) Debut 2) Fair Warning 3) VH II 4) 1984 5) Women and Children First 6) Diver Down I am not familiar enough with the actual entire albums beyond 1984 to rank. I think I could pick and choose songs from Sammy's era to make an album that would be #3 behind Fair Warning.
My first album I bought on record was VH 1984. I was 9 years old then. The 6 pack is the best but I do like the Sammy era and VH3. Sue me. I was on the Dave side on break up when I was 10 or 11 years old when Crazy from the Heat came out. Rock on boys!!
1. Van Halen 2. Van Halen II 3. Women and Children First 4. 5150 5. 1984 6. Fair Warning 7. Diver Down 8. OU812 9. A Different Kind of Truth 10. Balance 11. For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge 12. Van Halen III
My ranking with some comments: 12. Van Halen III (1998) 11. OU812 (1988) I don't mind most of the songs but the production is just plain uninteresting. The songs are often too long as well with too little happening. Classic Van Halen was songs with energy and to the point. Here it's some good ideas with lots of fluff. An overall mediocre album to me. 10. A Different Kind of Truth (2012) Powerful and many good moments musically. The production is just too loud and David Lee Roth's voice in the sour moments drags it down. 9. Balance (1995) I like half of this record quite much but it is long and the weak moments just sound like they try to compete with grunge and don't do a good job of it. 8. For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991) Just like Balance I like half the record much but the other half just seems like ideas put into way to long songs. I love the intro to "Man On A Mission" but the song gets tiresome quickly. That could have been so much better. As the guys said. The best production with Sammy Hagar as frontman. 7. Diver Down (1982) I believe the first album I bought with the band and I loved it instantly. I still like it but the some of the covers just seem like filler to me and compared to the better albums it feels a bit lightweight. A fun summer record but nothing I need to hear that often. 6. 5150 (1986) The production is too 80's. This really needs a remeaster. I do however think the strong songs and overall mood on the record ranks it high for me. 5150, Summer Nights, Why Can't This Be Love, Dreams, Love Walks In. Just great summer anthems. I think the band in part did at good job of taking a different direction. The rest is quite mediocre though. '"Good Enough" was the first and only time Sammy Hagar tried to sound a bit like David Lee Roth. A strange opener for me. 5. 1984 (1984) The hits are great but I don't find mysef listening to Top Jimmy or House of Pain a lot. They are definitely not amongt the bands lowest points but not that great either. 4. Women and Children First (1980) This is the bands hidden gem for me. I could be wrong but this might be the least talked about Classic Van Halen record. Fun to see it gets praise with these gentlemen. If you dislike their biggest commerical hits like Jump, Right Now, When It's Love or Panama. This is probably the album you should give a chance to see a different side of the band. 3. Fair Warning (1981) Except being a bit too short and have sort of a stressed ending. I think most of the songs here would rank high for me. Streets and Unchained are the big hits but I think they all work very well. 2. Van Halen II (1979) I agree with Hack that "You're No Good" is s stranger opener. TOO much alike Runnin' with the Devil but just weaker and it's a cover. Besides that I think the mix between radiofriendly songs like Dance the Night Away, Women in Love and Beautiful Girls and the heavier guitar-stuff makes a very fine record. I can totally understand why Butch loves this record so much. 1. Van Halen (1978) What I think is the most important thing here is that everyone gets to shine. Everyone talks Eddie or Dave but I think Michael and Alex shine just as much. Like Martin says that even the weaker songs here are still up to par with much else in the catalog. The best stuff is just so good and fun. Ice Cream Man is their best cover to me. It's just four members that all get it right. I like both David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar. I do however think the material with Sammy is much more hit and miss. Perhaps more thanks to the times... Longer records, more 80's or more grunge than anything Sammy. I think it's sad so much of Van Halen got lost with all the fighting and sickness. I am pretty sure they could released quite good material these last two decades. R.I.P. Eddie!
1) Women and Children First 2) 1984 3) Fair Warning 4) Van Halen 5) A Different Kind of Truth 6) Van Halen II 7) For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge 8) Diver Down 9) 5150 10) OU812 11) Balance 12) Van Halen III
Great show! Does anyone remember when the name For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge was kind of nasty and subversive and you didn't really want to say it out loud? I want to go back to those days.
Great show guys.
1. Fair Warning
2. Van Halen
3. Women And Children First
4. 1984
5. Van Halen ll
6. Diver Down
7. 5150
8. For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
9. A Different Kind Of Truth
10. OU812
11. Balance
12. Van Halen 3
Wow ! So close for me, your list. I think one could spin the 6-pac around to each their own personal tastes within the variation on a theme.
@@timhoward4028 Hi Tim. Wow. Yes, the first 6 albums are the ultimate Van Halen.
That's it! You nailed it.
@@EyeTunz Thank you.
For me it’s:
Van Halen
1984
Fair Warning
Van Halen 2
Women and Children First
Diver Down
For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
Different Kind of Truth
5150
Balance
OU812
Van Halen 3
Hot for Teacher is one of the best rock videos ever!
I missed the livestream, but just watched. Interesting insights from all.
I was into Van Halen from day 1. I bought their first 2 albums on the day they were released. 1 is one of the best debuts ever.
AGREED!!!!!!!!
VH 1
WOOOOOOW
My heart is racing from the energy of these guys! Exciting trio!
This was great . . . thank all three of you for your time. I noticed yours - Pete - changed a bit from a couple years ago (as is bound to happen!) but still in a very similar spirit. I was introduced to VH when I ordered Fair Warning as one of 11 for a penny from Columbia House . . . from the moment I heard that Mean Street intro I was in love and impacted in a major way . . . my guitar wannabe dreams quickly became bass player aspirations . . . a week later I broke the bank and got my Dad to drive me 30 miles to the nearest record store where I purchased the first three VH albums (to complete the collection at that time) and the love affair exploded. 1984 come out during my HS graduation year and will forever hold a special place . . . great tour. The Sammy era certainly dulled things a bit for me - but they still held on as my favorite band (even though I preferred the first two DLR albums to the first two Hagar era releases) . . . VH will always be me favorite . . . my ranking: 1-Fair Warning. 2-Van Halen. 3-1984. 4-VH II. 5-A Different Kind of Truth. 6-Women and Children First. 7-Diver Down. 8-5150. 9-For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. 10-VH III. 11-OU812. 12-Balance. And except for Balance, on which I only really enjoy Seventh Seal, I sincerely enjoy every album. For a long time III was last on my list but upon Edward's passing I spent several weeks listening to the entire catalog on shuffle and came to realize that I actually enjoyed more of the songs and - especially - some of the heavier guitar work more than OU812 and MUCH more than Balance . . . anyway - THANKS AGAIN!!
Hey guys. Love your content. It's given me motivation to check out albums I haven't heard in ages and given me a chance to listen from different angles.
Thanks for the show - huge fan of Martin & Pete!
Missed this last year😊
I caught the replay Hack. Great show. You Rock!!!!
Cheers Will.
48:37 re: figured out technique with a pick. I think that is about the intro for "Little Guitars" ? (Wikipedia mentions this as well)
This was a great episode Hack! Agree with everything you said, and the lists are spot on! LMAO when you guys said you’ll be fine if you never hear Jump again.
Great video Hack, Pete, and Martin here are my favorite and some not so favorite 12 Van Halen albums ranked:
1. Fair Warning -- (1981)
2. Van Halen --- debut ---- (1978)
3. Van Halen ll ---- (1979)
4. 5150 ----- (1986)
5. For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge ---- (1991)
6. Women and Children First ---- (1980)
7. OU812 ------ (1988)
8. A Different Kind of Truth ----- (2012)
9. 1984 ----- (1984)
10. Diver Down ---- (1982)
11. Balance ----- (1995)
12. Van Halen lll ----- (1998)
I think diver down is fun as hell.
I think that Naturally Wired was a pretty kick ass song from OU812.
Great post !!
I ❤ Pardo and Popoff
Fantastic presentation Hack along with Martin and Pete. Van Halen especially starting from the 5150 tour is a band with which I've grown up with. Subsequently discovering the Van -Roth era. Coincidentally Women and Children first is also my favourite VH album. Probably the first of the Roth era albums that I heard in college. it's dark and heavy and it's probably stuck on with me since. VH 1, II, Fair Warning and 1984 being the other favs.
I don't understand Martin's reference to "the brown sound" when he refers to DLR's 'vocal' and AVH's 'drums'. I have only ever heard it describe EVH's guitar sound from the era.
Does anyone have an insight into what he means? BTW: VH1 was my starting point and it just can't be topped. It blew my mind when I heard it back in 1978.
Completely agree about the brown sound. It’s a classic reference to Eddie chasing tone. Nothing else.
I never said vocal. But I definitely say drums - even more than guitar. Applied just to guitar, it's almost subtle to the point of mystical or... meaningless. But combined with drums, there's more material/objective things to discuss.
@@MartinPopoff I stand corrected Martin. I misinterpreted your statement "this is the best brown sound they got with David Lee Roth" to be referring to HIS vocal performance. My mistake. Thanks for correcting me.
The ‘brown sound’ was just Eddie’s guitar tone that he invented/ came up with himself before VH1. He was a bit of a mad scientist with his guitars and amp set up. All the other guitarists of the time in the LA club rock scene couldn’t figure out how he got that tone and destroyed many an amp trying to chase it down. IMO that tone was all but gone/neutered by the time 5150 came out and beyond on record due to over production …. Not the other way around…
Ed explained the "brown sound" on a few occasions.
His way of describing a warm, natural, meaty tone. Same with Alex's drums..."like beating on a big old log" was his phrasing, if l recall correctly.
Hack... you nailed it. The deep cuts on 1984 make in unreal.
Missed LIVE stream. Watching replay 🤟🏼 I fell asleep after work and took a long nap. I can't believe I missed the Van Halen topic 🤦🏻♂️
No worries bud. Cheers
Congrats .I'll Share Out !!Early VH,Then Hagar Days😂Like Them All,Wolf is a Cool Kid,Kind,Polite ,Awesome Musician...Awesome Show 🤘🖤🎸👍
Thanks Rebel. Cheers
Very entertaining video. Love the old Van Halen from 1978-1984 (except Diver Down) with David Lee Roth. For me, the Sammy era stuff is shite.
Also, just heard "A Different Kind of Truth" for the first time very recently. Really enjoyed that. I was surprised.
My Roth era ranking:
1. Fair Warning
2. Van Halen
3. 1984
4. Women and Children First
5. Van Halen II
6. A Different Kind of Truth
7. Diver Down
Great Show Guys!! Very Cool! Rock On1
53:25 IMHO, 1984 is a balance of two themes: pedal-to-the-metal party tunes, and dark, sophisticated harmony explorations. There's a subversive moment in Panama that marries the two. It is in the breakdown (right before "yeah, we're runnin' a lil' bit hot..."), where he plays a super dissonant chord (for nerds: an Fmaj13b5 chord against E minor tonality, if we ignore tuning down 1/2 step). In the middle of an AC/DC-style party tune!
It is deeply weird, clever, and one of my favourite moments in all of music, in any genre.
The Hagar stuff that falls flat for most of the fans does so because Eddies playing is very sterile and inorganic compared to the first few records. The reason why he was able to capture the crown of “guitar hero” was because he was spontaneous, reckless, undisciplined and had an over the top attitude and humour in his approach.
This all but disappeared after the departure of DLR and he began to second guess himself and became too distracted by trying to keep up with his own legendary status. songs became too polished, his solos became too calculated, he became too aware of his guitar sound and tried to polish what didn’t need to be polished, etc.
He developed higher levels of anxiety and self doubt and was drinking more than before, causing even more stress in his playing…and you can definitely hear it…he was driven by his fear of failure rather than just having reckless FUN playing his guitar in a way that was unique to only Eddie.
The closest he came to being able to play like his old self was on parts of “A different kind of truth”…he seemed to be at peace with not worrying about who he was going to impress and just relaxed into his own confidence and comfort zone. The live performances around that era were also some of his best playing moments of his career.
Good input. Hagar receives too much of the blame for that era having some lackluster material. Although I appreciate the more current sounds coming in and the focus on songwriting. It’s easy to see why original fans would take issue with it though.
Totally agree with Guitar Hack on VH III. We should look at it as an Eddie solo record. Some great ideas on it. It's definitely different from the rest of their albums.
Oddly enough after the first album I barely listened to any of the albums till balance
I'm glad to have been part of the 80s bar scene wow soo many great times
Me being amazed lookn at guys influenced by van Halen . I even remember seeing Moxy (????) round 83 and the vocalist looked like Roth 😂😂😂
If it says " Van Halen " on the cover then its a damn good album!!! Stay Frosty
Congrats on the views milestone!😀
Thanks for watching. Cheers
Man... I wanted to see this one live.... but "life". Going to watch throughout the day. Pretty psyched.
Thanks Gene. Cheers
I obviously heard VH growing up but the first time I really got into them was hearing the single “Right Now” in the mid 90s, loved it, and the rest is history.
Great video! subbed!
Thanks so much. Cheers
Martin is right, on paper, Gary Cherone on Van Halen made sense at the time... what happened there? Maybe we'll never know.
Van Hagar team here! Whatever anyone say 🍺🍺🤘
Thanks for the show!
Great episode- my first time here.
1984 was my intro in VH- very similar story in school- I was 12- everyone had it. Then 5150 came and I was hooked. While a fan of Sammy- I started to buy old VH during after he joined and I loved them even more obviously.
It was a great time - I started with VH1 and played it straight for like a month- then went and got VH2 and played it straight for a month - then WACF.....well you get it. I didn't have to wait for a new album. I could just go get the next one when I was ready.
I love both eras for different reason's but a great great band. After watching your video- now I am going to put VH1 and go thru their catalog and it will be like 1986 all over again lol
Welcome to the channel. Cheers
2. 1. 1984. Those three albums go toe to toe with any other albums that exist
Beautiful Girls is not great? Man, I love that song!
It IS great. In fact, now that you said that, I’m going to put it on while I drink and cook dinner and CRANK the LP ( yes the LP) way up. Thanks
Try dat 🎸
Good show Hack, really enjoyed it. I nicked the 1st 2 albums from my older brother, then bought Women & Children 1st when it came out. I loved the 1st 4 albums but felt they were running out of steam with Diver Down & 1984. So I wasn’t unhappy when Sammy joined them. I already liked him in Montrose & seen him several times solo and thought he was great. A very different version of VH, more AOR than hard rock. Saw them live at Wembley Stadium with Sammy and thought they were really good. So my list is:
1. Van Halen
2. Women & Children 1st
3. Fair Warning
4. 5150
5. Van Halen II
6. 1984
7. Balance
8. OU812
9. A Different Kind of Truth
10. For Unlawful …
11. Diver Down
12. VH III
Great show Hack. When VH1 came out I was about 20 and there was nothing like that I had heard. so def my #1. Could slide anything but VHIII or Different kind of truth in any of the other slots.
12. OU812
11. Van Halen lll
10. For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
9. 5150
8. Balance
7. A Different Kind Of Truth
6. Diver Down
5. 1984
4. Fair Warning
3. Women And Children First
2. Van Halen ll
1. Van Halen
12. VH III
11. OU812
10. Diver Down
9. Fair Warning
8. 5150
7. 1984
6. VH II
5. VH I
4. Balance
3. Women and Children First
2. A Different Kind of Truth
1. For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
Great show!
1. VH1
2. F.U.C.K.
3. 1984
4. Women & Children First
5. 5150
6. Fair Warning
7. VHII
8. A Different Kind Of Truth
9. OU812
10. Balance
11. VH3
12. Diver Down
Women and Children First was the first Van Halen record I ever bought as well. I remember seeing the army/jade green and silver album cover with a picture of the band in the center, in a rock n roll depiction of the WW2 Iwa Jima soldiers holding up the flag (but this time with a guitar). This album just knocked my socks off from the first to last cut. It reminded me of the Who's Live at Leeds in it's sound and energy. It was loose, nasty and raucous. But the two last songs on the album were somewhat more mellow. Could this be Magic? is a very cute guitar rag love/sex sing along style song. In a Simple Rhyme, you get one of Van Halen's most beautiful sounding songs. The song kind of reminds me, if one, were to blend the sound of The Byrds/Cheap Trick/a 60s girl group and Zep into a high powered concoction, you might end up getting a song that sounds like this. And just when you think it's all over, you get this 10 sec or so, primal jungal call drum/guitar/bass sludge rock grind, to top the album off.
36:46 For whatever it's worth, "a different kind of truth" does appear in the lyrics to Bullethead. But it is true that the lyrics don't really shed any light on the matter.
For what it's worth ... top 3 .... VH1, 1984, Fair Warning (5150 - honorable mention)
For me the Roth stuff is best 1.VH2, 2. VH 1, 3 Fair Warning, 4, Women & Children, 5.(because of the originals) Diver Down, 6.1984, 7. Different Kind of Truth. Then the Sammy stuff (whatever order) Then VH 3. I knew who they were on VH 1 because the school bus radio played a couple but my bro got VH 2 when it came out & it's always been my fav. But there's not much separation between any of the first 6. They're all amazing.
Love the band this was the first band I ever got into my favorite album has the be van Helen 1 however I love mean streets
For my fellow Van Halen fans dissing the Hagar and Cherone records - you have to give these a new listen if for no other reason than Eddie’s guitar is simply masterful on all of these records. You are really missing out on some genius here.
I did point out that Eddie's playing was great on VH3. Cheers
Yes they rock and roll
I LOVE BOTH SAMMY AND DAVID
(gc too)
Love Sammy more but LOVE the David stuff
The hagar stuff KIXXXXX BUTT!!!!!
no need for me to revisit
But VH 1 is tied for first with 5150 for me, for what I love
Love to see their musicianship at live shows of the Live Right Here Right now time!
1. 5150
2. Women and children first
3. Van Halen
4. F.U.C.K.
5. Fair Warning
6. 1984
7. Balance
8. OU 812
9. Van Halen II
10. A different kind of truth
11. Diver down
12. VH 3
I have to agree with Guitar Hack: Women and Children First is my fav followed closely by Fair Warning. I'd take any Lee Roth era album before the Sammy period, but I do like them and OU812 is my fav of that period. Cheers.
VH's debut dominated the home stereos in the summer of 78....
you couldn't turn on the radio..it was choked with Fleetwood Mac and SNF/Grease soundtrack tunes....
47:32 I see what you mean, but I wonder if Van Halen's thinking is to start with a softball and bring the heat later. VH 1 opened with Runnin' With The Devil, which IMHO, deliberately sets a low bar for Eruption to destroy. ADKOT opens with Tattoo, another curious choice. I know an album is different from a concert, but given VH's background, that ethos would fit: you don't start a live show with your best stuff.
1. Women and Children First
2. Van Halen
3. Van Halen II
4. Fair Warning
5. 1984
6. A Different Kind of Truth
- the Sammy era albums
- Diver Down
- Van Halen III
You should have had Ralph, from Almost Human on this episode lol😅
1. Van Halen debut
2. Van Halen 2
3. Fair Warning
4. Women and Children First
5. 1984
6. 5150
7. Diver Down
8. A different kind of Truth
9. Fuck
10. Ou812
11. Balance
12. Van Halen 3
Martin Popoff brings so much to these discussions. He has so much knowledge, and you can see his insight is top notch!
Martin is awesome, love his extensive knowledge.
I thought so too until he said Stained Class might be better than Van Halen.
Martin is great if you actually agree with him. Lol
I know stuff like this is so subjective but l found his rationale, much like Hacks, kind of convoluted.
Pardo is usually spot on with his analysis but l found my VH tastes didn't align with any of them.
That's what l love about music!
@@robplante8631 Yeah Pardo sounds like a Johnny come late fan, or a light listener of VH.
@@Luke-er6pg VH seems like a "meh, take 'em or leave 'em" type of band for Pete.
Having someone in the conversation like him is actually kind of interesting in the overall discussion/argument for ranking their albums.
To me, OU812 is vastly underrated. Maybe one throwaway track in Source of Infection but otherwise, I think it's strong.
I know! Its always a great upbeat fun album.....afu best song. They say too many synth stufftoo? It had only 3 piano/synth songs? 1984 had 3 too! 5150 had 3 or 4! Ou812 great album! My first album I had too of van halen.....1988....i was 13.
All three of these jokers are effed in the head and can't get over the fact that "Eddie" is a piano player too.
The first two Sammy albums, along with 1984, have keys in the mix and the albums are better for it.
I agree with Pete about Diver Down.
it's best moments are great but it feels like an extended EP or the record label pressuring them to release something right away
1)Fair Warning
2)VH 1
3)VH 2
4)1984
5)For Unlawful Carnal
6)Women and Children
7)OU812
8)Different Kind Of Truth
9)5150
10)Diver Down
11)Balance
12)VH 3
"The only record from that era that might be better than VH1, is Stained Class" said no one ever.
I know …. what? Stained Class is like … whatever. Forgettable other than Halford’s ability.
My list:
1. Fair Warning
2. 5150
3. Balance
4. Van Halen II
5. Van Halen III I REALLY LOVE THIS ALBUM!!!!!!
6. Women and Children First
7. OU812
8. 1984
9. Van Halen
10. Diver Down
11. Fuck
12. A Different Kind of Truth
I know this is not going to go over well with anyone older than me, I was 7 in 1984 so I missed the DLR years. To me there are two Van Halens. Easy enough for everyone to see that. What I distinctly see is that with DLR the band had reached it's limit. They couldn't really extend themselves beyond what Dave was providing. For example, when Motley ditched Vince they made the highest quality album of their career with John Corabi. They maintained their image, they improved their sound, they tightened up their writing, and had a phenomenal vocalist. But, people didn't want any of that. They wanted Vince, they wanted the fake motorcycle gang and strippers. Fast forward and Vince came back and they're making music again. Now we get to see 60 year old fake motor cycle gang guys singing about teenage girls.
Van Halen could see what was coming with Dave. More of the same. I agree that the Sammy stuff was poppy, over polished and MTV friendly. But, the brothers seemed to love that push to the top of the charts. It likely would never would have happened with Dave. To me, as a Sammy fan before a VH fan I loved 5150. Yes, poppy, yes stylish, yes fun and lacking that raw hunger... but these guys were well fed by then. They wanted the world.
Sammy could do things vocally that Dave could never do and with that opened up the options, the fullness, and the competitiveness that drove these guys. There are some underrated guitar gems on there. Some classic riffs we can all hear today. When the summer heat hits and I'm on my way to the beach it's still 5150 and OU812 coming out of the speakers. These albums are more mature, more polished, and exactly what they wanted to do to solidify their career beyond their goofy front man. The band existed with Sammy and was no longer Dave's three piece backing band with a virtuosic guitarist.
I love all of both eras, but there are some songs on the DLR albums that are just flops. Especially some of the covers (Pretty Woman is awful). I skip those but 5150, OU812, Balance, I play straight through. Full sound, a well fed band, appreciated by the masses and full of their own worth. I live revisiting the DLR years when I do want to hear that hungry, "got some shit to prove" sound that they ripped our ears off with during the Dave years. We truly get the best of both worlds. I think Dave would have held them back. Sammy could have influenced the polish a bit less and laid off the top.40 stuff but man we got some bad ass music for almost thirty years from these guys and in my world no other band can touch them, either era. For the record, I love Finish What You Started, AFU, and Amsterdam. Three of the most under appreciated songs! Alex deserves so much more credit than he gets but Amsterdam seems like a percussion masterpiece.
Haha Martin and I have the exact opposite opinions! As a listener and not a musician (God help me I tried for years) I respect those opinions.
@@tedforrester1948 couldn’t have put it better myself
The thing that hit me (now I’m older and wiser…) is the supreme confidence they had, even at the very beginning.
They knew they were fantastic. It oozed out of them….total confidence and conviction that everything they did would always go over.
It’s a total life lesson. We, as ‘normal’ human beings need to be told “you’re great”….they knew it.
VH1 is the greatest.
Yep, they had swagger and also were fully formed, from paying their dues in front of crowds (even if small)...
1984 is definitely a deep cuts record.
I would love to have seen an album with DLR following 1984. With EVH having proven that his keyboards worked on top of his guitar prowess, would have been interesting. Not to mention, DLR is, in my opinion, a better wordsmith. Sam proved his lyric writing for a pop music audience but his writing seemed to be pandering. Like EVH said (paraphrasing), he wrote music for himself and if anyone like it, cool.
How do you switch an album from somebody else's opinion unless you really don't have one? Different kind of truth went down lower on your list because of what somebody else said? Do you not really have an honest opinion? Lol!
MY LIST BEST TO WORST:
1) Van Halen I
2) 1984
3) Fair Warning
4) Van Halen II
5) Women & Children First
6) A Different Kind of Truth
7) OU812
8) Diver Down
9) For Unlawful Carnel Knowledge
10) 5150
11) Van Halen III
12) Balance
Best songs:
1) In A Simple Rhyme - W & C First (This is an ABSOLUTE MASTERPIECE)
2) Mean Street - Fair Warning
3) Girl Gone Bad - 1984
4) I'm The One - VH I
5) Hear About It Later - Fair Warning
6) Light Up The Sky - VH II
7) House of Pain - 1984
8) Running With The Devil - VH I
9) Everybody Wants Some - W & C First
10) DOA - VH II
11) Dirty Movies - Fair Warning
12) Little Dreamer - VH I
13) Secrets - Diver Down
14) Hang Em High - Diver Down
15) Runaround - FUCK
16) Beautiful Girls - VH II
17) I'll Wait -1984'
18) You Really Got Me - VH I
19) And The Cradle Will Rock - W & C First
20) Feel Your Love Tonight - VH I
Glad to see 1984 get propped. That was probably my favorite VH album for 20-25 years based on the "album" as an overall work of art (production, songs, riffs) but lately I'm more into the guitar jams, so I'd probably say 'II' or 'Women and Children' would be my favorite. The production on 1984 is amazing, which is kind of funny because that was the first one they did at Ed's studio and he basically stonewalled Ted Templeman out of the studio.
Hi Mr. Guitar Hack.
Before i see this video i’d like to rank the DLR records. But first. I bought all of those as they came out. I heard "You Really Got Me" just before christmas in ‘78 i the school yard over my school’s own stereo system, and i was grounded. I was twelve. I bought the cassette a few days after that.
So in ‘84 i had the first three on cassette, and the other three on LP’s. I love them all. Love ‘em:
6. Diver Down
5. Fair Warning
4. II
3. 1984
2. Van Halen
1. Women and Children First
(I haven’t listened enough to «A Different Kind of Truth» to rank it, and i just can’t stand Sammy’s voice).
For reference: Van Halen discography & videography
01. I (1978) Roth
02. II (1979) Roth
03. Women And Children First (1980) Roth
04. Fair Warning (1981) Roth
05. Diver Down (1981) Roth
06. 1984 (1984) Roth
07. 5150 (1986) Hagar
08. Live Without A Net (1986) DVD Hager
09. OU812 (1988) Hager
10. For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991) Hager
11. Live: Right Here, Right Now (1993) LIVE Hager
12. Live: Right Here, Right Now (1993) DVD Hager
13. Balance (1995) Hager
14. Best Of Vol. 1 (1996) greatest hits
15. Video Hits Vol. 1 (1996) DVD music video collection
16. III (1998) Cherone
17. The Best Of Both Worlds (2004) greatest hits
18. A Different Kind Of Truth (2012) Roth
19. Tokyo Dome: Live In Concert (2015) LIVE Roth
1. Women and Children
2. VH 1st album
3. Fair Warning
4. VH 2
5. Diver Down
6. 1984
7. A Different kind
8. For Unlawful
9. OU812
10. Balance
11. 5150
12. III
VHIII and A Different Kind Of Truth would have been at the bottom of my list.
But For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge and OU812 would have been in my top 3, with Fair Warning from the DLR period.
I can agree that 5150 was lighter than hoped for, where just one more out and out rocker would have rounded it off but Eddie did manage to make the keyboards sound heavy in their own right and feel part of a rock song, not really seen before except for John Lord with his Hammond Organ. Sammy also bought more composition and song structure to the band that enabled them to appeal to rock and pop fans and therefore have the (no pun intended), best of both worlds.
Martin, you don't like Hear About It Later?! Wow. I call that right there with Unchained.
He's not a real VH fan...lol
Hear About it Later is quintessential early Van Halen!!
1. Van Halen
2. Van Halen ll
3. Women and Children First
4. Diver Down
5. 1984
6. Fair Warning
7. 5150
8. OU812
9. For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
10. A Different Kind of Truth
11. Balance
12. Van Halen 3
Like Pete with his Slide It In eventually overcoming '87 as his fave Whitesnake album, for me Fair Warning is getting closer and closer to overcoming VH1...today is not that day, but it's coming.
"Women and Children First" was the first album I ever bought by my then favorite band. My favorite was their follow-up album "Fair Warning" with "Van Halen I" second, "Women and Children First" third, "Van Halen II" fourth, "1984" fifth, and "Diver Down" sixth. The rest I don't even care to rank.
1. Van Halen 1
2. Women and children first
3. 1984
4. Van Halen 2
5. Fair warning
6. 5150
7. A different kind of truth
8. For unlawful carnal knowledge
9 balance
10. Ou812
11. Diver down
12 Van Halen 3
1. Van Halen
2. Fair Warning
3. Women & Children
4. II
5. 1984
6. Diver
Well I got into them during the Sammy era, so my tastes differ to you guys. That era got me hooked on VH and Sammy. 5150 and F.U.C.K are at the top.
So far, spot on with me.
1. Van Halen I
2. Women and Children First One and two are almost interchangeable for me
3. For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge Best Sammy album? One of their best albums period
4. Van Halen II
5. Fair Warning
6. 1984 Wanted to put this higher, but the Van Halen catalog is just so solid overall
7. Balance This album is so underrated. It's a damn shame it all ended with this one. Saw them on this tour
8. 5150 Wanted to put this lower, but the songs are just so good
9. Diver Down If there was a couple less covers are a few more originals, this would have been a lot higher. No hard rock band should ever cover "Dancing in the Streets."
10. OU812 Still a good album overall, just not as strong as what came before or immediately after.
11. A Different Kind of Truth I love this album, but the absence of Mikey's background vocals leaves a HUGE gap. Otherwise, it's a worthy final statement
12. Van Halen III Obviously the bottom. A total misstep that could have been great.
Diver Down is awesome Pete! Lol. Hang em High is my favorite EVH riff. Secrets is also a top 10!VH tune as well. Clean your ears out! ,😆
1. Van Halen
2. Fair Warning
3. Women and Children First
4. 1984
5. Van Halen II
6. 5150
7. Diver Down
8. F.U.C.K
9. A Different Kind of Truth
10. Balance
11. OU812
12. 3
1.1984
2.Fair Warning
3. Diver Down
4. Van Halen
5. Women and Children
6. II
7. Carnal Knowledge
8. Truth
9. 5150
10. Balance
11. OU812
12. III
First Four albums are all equally my favourites. Then 1984 then the ep diver down. The 5150 album I thought they hired the lead singer from the flock of seagulls . Then I found out it was the singer from montrose, Go Figure.
(1) Van Halen
(2) Fair Warning
(3) Van Halen II
(4) Women And Children First
(5) 1984
(6) Diver Down
(7) A Different Kind Of Truth
(8) 5150
(9) OU812
(10) For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
(11) Balance
(12) Van Halen III
1. VH 1
2. 1984
3. Women and Children First
4. VH 2
5. Fair Warning
6. A Different Kind of Truth
7. Balance
8. 5150
9. For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
10. Diver Down
11. OU812
12. VH III
Fair Warning IS an Eddie solo album and it’s brilliant - and depending on my mood, my fave VH album
Great episode. I watch Pete and Martin all the time and I'm familiar with Guitar Hack, but it was nice to find this. I own practically all the records, but I've never considered myself a huge Van Halen fan. I'm not sure they would even be in my top 50 bands. They would probably find themselves in that 26-50 range. Anyhow, here is my list:
12. Van Halen III: Utterly disappointing. I enjoy two songs "Without You" and "Fire In the Hole". I revisited this album a couple of years ago to see if I enjoyed anything else. I didn't. It's the only Van Halen album I don't own. 1998 was a pretty shitty year for metal/hard rock albums. It was that second era of post grunge, with nu-metal everywhere. A garbage era for me when it came to heavy music. The state of affairs with pop music was awful as well, as boy bands, Britney and Christine were the rage. What a totally awful period of music!
11. OU812: I totally agree with Martin and Pete with their thoughts on this year. Hair metal was in and there wasn't much one had to do regarding putting out an album. Literally, one got signed, put an album out and you were almost assured gold status and most likely platinum status. It was sort of grotesque. Thank God I was into Thrash Metal, which was the rage!
10. Diver Down: This is probably blasphemy, but I view this record as total shit! Thank the lord for songs like "Little Guitars" and "Secrets", because this album just sucked the momentum out of the band. This is the first record I remember as a kid growing up in the Midwest. It's a total turd! I've never understood its appeal!
09. Balance: This begins the part of the list where I complain less about the aspects of the album. I don't necessarily find much wrong with this album. It's a heavier record than the early stuff with Sammy, yet one sort of knew this was the end of this era. 1995 sort of began that time where I was becoming severely disenchanted with the music scene.
08. 5150: After watching this show, I flipped a ranking like Martin did. I originally had this at my #6 and much of that had to do with this album being a huge part of my life as I went into my sophomore year in high school. This album, without a doubt is steeped in nostalgia. I loved growing up in the 80's and this album I always makes me feel special about those days. Having said that, there a more than a few holes in this particular record. Its more synth laden, but yet enjoyable. Yes, I love "Dreams" and always will.
07. Van Halen: A Different Kind of Truth: I agree with Martin, it's a terrible title. So much so, that I originally wrote down the wrong title. I had it as A Different Kind of World. I hate the rip off album cover as well. It's practically a carbon copy of an old Commodores album. I also agree with Pete on the opening single. When I heard the song Tatoo, I thought this album was going to absolutely suck. The band couldn't have picked a worse song for a lead single. Then I heard China Town and thought, oh no, I don't like this song that much either. Having said that, I love the rest of the album. I don't care about the recycled riffs from older tunes. In fact, it's very welcomed. I will agree with all the guys on this, Dave does not sound great. It was the first real sign of things to come with Dave's inability to do the things he once was able to do on a record.
06. F.U.C.K.: This was a nice change of pace. This record clearly amped up the guitars and heaviness of a Van Halen record, which we hadn't heard since the Fair Warning days. I originally had this at #8, but flip flopped this with "5150". It's deserving of this spot in my estimation. I don't hate "Right Now" like Guitar Hack or Pete, but I understand why those out there would hate it.
05. Fair Warning: I love this album for three songs, "Unchained", "Mean Streets" and "Hear About It Later". The rest are fine, but they don't necessarily do it for me like the aforementioned.
04 1984: This could be flip flopped with my #3 depending on the week. This album for myself, is all about nostalgia again. Even though I remember "Diver Down" as my initiation into the band, this album was one you couldn't get away from. It has a ton of staying power for me. I was in 7th grade at the time and my identity was starting to form, especially my musical identity. I'm like the guys on the panel. I don't really need to hear "Jump" again for many a year, but if I'm going to, then I would like it to be accompanied by the instrumental "1984". Sorry Martin, I love Panama and especially the video! I love "I'll Wait" as well. The whole album rules and there are no shitters in the bunch.
03 Women and Children First: There are a couple two or three songs I skip, but the ones I really love/like, I consistently love/like! "In a Simple Rhyme" is one of those songs that's not talked about enough. Its brilliance cannot be understated. This album and the previous album are fairly interchangeable for me.
02 Van Halen I: The position of Van Halen I and Van Halen II come down to one song and where they're ranked. I hate the song Ice Cream Man and I used to hate You're No Good. I still hate Ice Cream Man, but I don't hate You're No Good. The greatness of this record and the fact that it was a game changer back in 1978 should put this one on top, but it just barely misses the top spot. My favorite go to song is "On Fire". This album still sounds great all these years later.
01. Van Halen II: Yes, the two covers are what separate my two favorite Van Halen albums. I figured out that I don't hate "You're No Good". I just hate the sequencing of this album. Whoever decided to put this one as the lead tune on this classic, had to be on crack! It might be the worst song to ever lead a classic album. What a dumb selection! Yet, it's my favorite Van Halen album ever! I'm surprised Martin doesn't love D.O.A.
OU812 is a great album. The brothers' playing on that one was some of their best. Just love the drums and guitar on Mine All Mine, Source Of Infection, and Naturally Wired, and I am actually someone who likes some of their poppy keyboard ballads like When It's Love and those similar type songs on 5150, except I like OU812 more than 5150. In total I like the DLR VH catalog more than the Hagar VH catalog, but there is just something about OU812 that makes it my favorite. I actually like the DLR Skyscraper album with Vai, Sheehan, and Bissonnette probably as much as OU812. But I love every VH album, who am I kidding, but I am 46 and I didn't enter VH as a fan until 5150, and then backtracked to buy all of the earlier ones as I got older, and it's just that I was a toddler when VH started. Had I been born 10 years earlier I probably would connect more with those earlier albums than the later ones as it seems Martin and Pete do. But, there isn't an album of theirs I won't listen to from start to finish.
As a musician and a fan, I'd put A Different Kind Of Truth above Everything else after 1985
My ranking for the Van Halen albums would be
12. Van Halen III
11. OU812
10. Balance
9. 5150
8. F.U.C.K.
7. A Different Kind Of Truth
6. Diver Down
5. Fair Warning
4. Women And Children First
3. Van Halen II
2. Van Halen
1. 1984
I never heard "Tattoo" until I heard about it here, and checked it out. Yeah....it stinks.
1) Debut 2) Fair Warning 3) VH II 4) 1984 5) Women and Children First 6) Diver Down
I am not familiar enough with the actual entire albums beyond 1984 to rank. I think I could pick and choose songs from Sammy's era to make an album that would be #3 behind Fair Warning.
I’m surprised to hear the love for “I’ll Wait.” Nails on a chalkboard! I just don’t see it. “Secrets” is a great underrated tune.
All the Van Halen Albums were great ! Van Halen you feel the Groove and snap your fingers to ! All the other bands of that time didn’t Groove.
Alex Van Halen a great player
My first album I bought on record was VH 1984. I was 9 years old then. The 6 pack is the best but I do like the Sammy era and VH3. Sue me. I was on the Dave side on break up when I was 10 or 11 years old when Crazy from the Heat came out. Rock on boys!!
1. VH II
2. Fair Warning
3. VH
4. Diver Down
5. 1984
6. 5150
7. OU812
8. W&CF
1. Van Halen
2. Van Halen II
3. Women and Children First
4. 5150
5. 1984
6. Fair Warning
7. Diver Down
8. OU812
9. A Different Kind of Truth
10. Balance
11. For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
12. Van Halen III
Balance !
My ranking with some comments:
12. Van Halen III (1998)
11. OU812 (1988)
I don't mind most of the songs but the production is just plain uninteresting. The songs are often too long as well with too little happening. Classic Van Halen was songs with energy and to the point. Here it's some good ideas with lots of fluff. An overall mediocre album to me.
10. A Different Kind of Truth (2012)
Powerful and many good moments musically. The production is just too loud and David Lee Roth's voice in the sour moments drags it down.
9. Balance (1995)
I like half of this record quite much but it is long and the weak moments just sound like they try to compete with grunge and don't do a good job of it.
8. For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991)
Just like Balance I like half the record much but the other half just seems like ideas put into way to long songs. I love the intro to "Man On A Mission" but the song gets tiresome quickly. That could have been so much better. As the guys said. The best production with Sammy Hagar as frontman.
7. Diver Down (1982)
I believe the first album I bought with the band and I loved it instantly. I still like it but the some of the covers just seem like filler to me and compared to the better albums it feels a bit lightweight. A fun summer record but nothing I need to hear that often.
6. 5150 (1986)
The production is too 80's. This really needs a remeaster. I do however think the strong songs and overall mood on the record ranks it high for me. 5150, Summer Nights, Why Can't This Be Love, Dreams, Love Walks In. Just great summer anthems. I think the band in part did at good job of taking a different direction. The rest is quite mediocre though. '"Good Enough" was the first and only time Sammy Hagar tried to sound a bit like David Lee Roth. A strange opener for me.
5. 1984 (1984)
The hits are great but I don't find mysef listening to Top Jimmy or House of Pain a lot. They are definitely not amongt the bands lowest points but not that great either.
4. Women and Children First (1980)
This is the bands hidden gem for me. I could be wrong but this might be the least talked about Classic Van Halen record. Fun to see it gets praise with these gentlemen. If you dislike their biggest commerical hits like Jump, Right Now, When It's Love or Panama. This is probably the album you should give a chance to see a different side of the band.
3. Fair Warning (1981)
Except being a bit too short and have sort of a stressed ending. I think most of the songs here would rank high for me. Streets and Unchained are the big hits but I think they all work very well.
2. Van Halen II (1979)
I agree with Hack that "You're No Good" is s stranger opener. TOO much alike Runnin' with the Devil but just weaker and it's a cover. Besides that I think the mix between radiofriendly songs like Dance the Night Away, Women in Love and Beautiful Girls and the heavier guitar-stuff makes a very fine record. I can totally understand why Butch loves this record so much.
1. Van Halen (1978)
What I think is the most important thing here is that everyone gets to shine. Everyone talks Eddie or Dave but I think Michael and Alex shine just as much. Like Martin says that even the weaker songs here are still up to par with much else in the catalog. The best stuff is just so good and fun. Ice Cream Man is their best cover to me. It's just four members that all get it right.
I like both David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar. I do however think the material with Sammy is much more hit and miss. Perhaps more thanks to the times... Longer records, more 80's or more grunge than anything Sammy. I think it's sad so much of Van Halen got lost with all the fighting and sickness. I am pretty sure they could released quite good material these last two decades. R.I.P. Eddie!
I thought the last Van Halen album was easily the coolest record they did since Fair Warning.
1) Women and Children First
2) 1984
3) Fair Warning
4) Van Halen
5) A Different Kind of Truth
6) Van Halen II
7) For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
8) Diver Down
9) 5150
10) OU812
11) Balance
12) Van Halen III
Great show! Does anyone remember when the name For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge was kind of nasty and subversive and you didn't really want to say it out loud? I want to go back to those days.