Ed Wants to make Money !!! Thats what he's into and so dose Dave !!! Dave probably more than ed ......... The real Question is dose ed wear his own striped Flip Flops ????
In my effort to procrastinate studying for my finals, I've done a lot of thinking about the new album and what not, and thinking about how cool it will be to have a new Dave album. Of course, no one expects this new disc to approach the greatness of the six pack, at least I hope not. Putting aside my feelings about the background vocals and the age of the band members, there is one more concern I have about the new music: Eddie.
We all know the story of Dave's departure from the band, and how once Sammy joined, Van Halen's sound "blossomed and matured." Sammy once said "I'll Wait" was a good tune, but Dave-era VH could never write a ballad like "Love Walks In." And, apparently Ed agreed with it. I've seen countless interviews where he talks about how things got so much better once Sammy joined the band, and how his writing/musical talents grew. Roth was "holding him back," and with Sam he was free do do as he pleased. He thought the music was better.
Unfortunately, none of us thought that. VH went from a kick-ass party band to a band the middle aging Viagra popping Dads could listen too. Sure they had some good songs, but it just seemed so lame compared to the glory days.
Now that Roth is back in the fold and new material is being recorded, many people are excited, saying "it's the first VH album with Roth since '84" yada yada blah blah. The '07-'08 tour saw VH return to their classic songs. We all loved it. But did Ed?
Do you think Eddie wants to make an album with the classic-era vibe? If he was so infatuated with the creativity of the Sammy era, why would those feelings just go away? There has to be a part of Ed that still is into the "When It's Love" type music. We can all agree Dave seems to be on a leash nowadays. Wouldn't this mean Ed would have creative control over the new sound?
There are two different things I've heard about the sound of the new album. One: the tracks are based off old demos. Okay, that's great. But I've also heard it has a sound somewhere in between 1984 and 5150. That doesn't give me a very good feeling. It all comes down to what Ed feels the band's musical direction is. After 10+ years of gushing over his Hagar era tracks, I just can't see a return to "I'm the One" and "Romeo Delight." Thoughts?
Ed Wants to make Money !!! Thats what he's into and so dose Dave !!! Dave probably more than ed ......... The real Question is dose ed wear his own striped Flip Flops ????
Synths sound dated today. They are only used by Indie bands and Prog rock outfits currently. I don't see them writing a synth ballad just because of that. Ed may have wanted to write those tunes when Dave was in the band earlier, but he held out. I don't see it happening.
I think a lot of what Ed said in interviews back when Sam joined the band had a lot to do with the spat with Dave and Ed saying things to spite Dave. Also, with anything new, a person tends to get excited and Ed was excited about the new singer. While it's probably true Ed still holds a place in his heart for the Sam era music, I'm sure the same is also true with the likes of "Romeo Delight" types of songs, as well. I believe Ed is going to write music to suit Dave. I don't see there being any "Why Can't This Be Love"s or "Love Walks In" tunes on this album. Maybe a "Ripley" type vibe, but no all out ballads...I hope. It also should be noted that Wolf seems to have reminded his Pop that the classic era was pretty damn good, and while some would like to completely dismiss the kid's influence on his father, I think that would be a mistake to do so.
Yeah he did, and it was the best set since 1984 LOL. I think if they have any songs that they're trying to make into a radio friendly hit, it will probably veer into the "Dance The Night Away" or the aforementioned "Ripley" realm. That wouldnt be a bad idea, IMO, to have 1 or 2 tracks like that. Then melt everybody's faces off with the other 10 tracks!
I would say that your concerns are warranted. I worry that the Sammy stuff is more to Ed's taste too! Even taking into consideration all the factors people mention, like that he was just so happy to have a new singer, etc., that sappy, processed stuff was the music that EVH came up with when he was allowed complete control. He obviously LIKES it.
It can't be "Van Halen" without Roth, any more than it can be "Van Halen" without Eddie.
Wait a minute, Ed thinks? Since when? Why wasn't I informed?
![]()
^^^^
Happy hard rock bands make crappy music.
I believe that the yin and yang in many bands - VH and Dokken being two examples - of a guitar player wanting one thing and a singer wanting another can produce brilliant results.
Too much control in the hands of one person can ruin things.
Roths solo work became too "Dave" for instance.
Guitar players often think like guitar players.
They think that if they get their vision out there, that everyone will embrace it.
Truth is - even the biggest guitar virtuosos are just a piece of the band.
So, yes - I worry that if Ed has got too much control of this recording that it may turn out to be Eds work with an overly processed Roth vocal patched in the way Ed wants it to be.
That's quite a bit different from a band sounding like a band.
As you recall, those first couple of albums were essentially played live in the studio.
That's what made them sound the way they do.
After Ed built 5150 he did things his way.