# Van Halen on Kimmel



## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

[video=youtube;HNrIUagLaZQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNrIUagLaZQ[/video]


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

Man, DLR is bad. I guess that's not news still bums me out.


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

keto said:


> Man, DLR is bad. I guess that's not news still bums me out.


Unfortunately age has caught up with him. Not surprising. On the other hand EVH looks and sounds great. Really glad he got it turned around he deserves to go out in style


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## traynor_garnet (Feb 22, 2006)

It's weird listening to DLR. The more I hear him live the more I wonder if his hearing is off rather than his voice per se. He is so off key at times it defies logic, but then will later hit some notes you would never guess he could. It's almost like he loses/cannot hear the key signature at times.

His pitch is definitely bad but it seems like more than that; not just that he cannot hit notes, but that he cannot hear which notes to hit.

TG


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## NGroeneveld (Jan 23, 2011)

DLR was sooooo cringeworthy. The singing was just plain painful, and a man of his age should just leave the pelvis thrusting at home. Too bad because EVH looks good and sounds great.


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## jbealsmusic (Feb 12, 2014)

Not sure how DLR sounds these days in general (I prefer Sammy's voice anyways). But to be fair to DLR, he did smash his nose with the mic stand during the first song of the set. You can see his bleeding/plugged nose in the videos for every song afterwards. I'm not sure any singer would sound good in situation.


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## Sneaky (Feb 14, 2006)

jbealsmusic said:


> Not sure how DLR sounds these days in general (I prefer Sammy's voice anyways). But to be fair to DLR, he did smash his nose with the mic stand during the first song of the set. You can see his bleeding/plugged nose in the videos for every song afterwards. I'm not sure any singer would sound good in situation.


I was wondering about that. I thought it might be a Breathe Right strip. Was he chewing gum while singing? Hopefully it was a monitor issue where he couldn't hear himself but if he sings like that for a whole show it would be torture. Truly awful, but yeah, Eddie looks and sounds good.


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## fretboard (May 31, 2006)

If you caught Kimmel last night, they showed how Dave beaked himself with the mic stand. Said he got 14 stitches after the show. Hot For Teacher last night was wayyyy better than the tunes the previous night.

And yes, Sneaky - he chews gum like the showman that he is. And by that I mean he's making sure the folks in the last row can see him chomping on it, not just the folks up front.


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

traynor_garnet said:


> It's weird listening to DLR. The more I hear him live the more I wonder if his hearing is off rather than his voice per se. He is so off key at times it defies logic, but then will later hit some notes you would never guess he could. It's almost like he loses/cannot hear the key signature at times.
> 
> His pitch is definitely bad but it seems like more than that; not just that he cannot hit notes, but that he cannot hear which notes to hit.
> 
> TG


I suppose I could google it, but what you describe sounds like someone with lots of raw talent, but very little formal training.
or just laziness/sloppiness.
could also be a bad monitor setup, or as you suggest, messed up hearing/audio processing in his head.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

I've always liked Eddie's playing a lot, but to tell the truth I never cared much for the band, either with DLR or Sammy.

The song writing just never grabbed me.

It takes more than a guitar god to make good music.

For me, Van Halen tunes were always just a vehicle to showcase a brilliant guitarist.


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

Milkman said:


> I've always liked Eddie's playing a lot, but to tell the truth I never cared much for the band, either with DLR or Sammy.
> 
> The song writing just never grabbed me.
> 
> ...


id agree with that statement in the DLR years.
But I do think the writing took priority over the guitar god stuff in the Sammy years. a lot of people didn't get that...that the more balanced playing, use of keyboards etc weren't just going soft, it was a necessary evolution/maturing process. if they didn't do that, they would have wound up like Twisted Sister- a one dimensional party band that gets tiresome.
Plus, Eddie was getting lapped by a genre of guitar god types that he inspired. Better, brighter talents would have beaten him at that game.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Diablo said:


> id agree with that statement in the DLR years.
> But I do think the writing took priority over the guitar god stuff in the Sammy years. a lot of people didn't get that...that the more balanced playing, use of keyboards etc weren't just going soft, it was a necessary evolution/maturing process. if they didn't do that, they would have wound up like Twisted Sister- a one dimensional party band that gets tiresome.
> Plus, Eddie was getting lapped by a genre of guitar god types that he inspired. Better, brighter talents would have beaten him at that game.



I will agree that the quality of song writing took a leap ahead when Sammy joined, but somehow that never got my toes tapping if you get my meaning.

The songs became more glossy and the singing more on pitch, but still......


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

I wanted this to be good so much, but DLR was horrible. Alex wasn't much better and Wolfgang will never fill Michael Anthony's shoes. The breakdown in Panama was a total shitshow and Alex might as well have just gotten up and left at that point because he clearly wasn't having a good day.

Like others said, the best thing to take away from this is that EVH looks great. He looks happy and healthy and he's playing well. That's the best we can ask for given where he was at not that long ago.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

Diablo said:


> id agree with that statement in the DLR years.
> But I do think the writing took priority over the guitar god stuff in the Sammy years. a lot of people didn't get that...that the more balanced playing, use of keyboards etc weren't just going soft, it was a necessary evolution/maturing process. if they didn't do that, they would have wound up like Twisted Sister- a one dimensional party band that gets tiresome.
> Plus, Eddie was getting lapped by a genre of guitar god types that he inspired. Better, brighter talents would have beaten him at that game.


I don't think they would have ever ended up like TS. That's like saying Led Zep may have ended up like The Cult.

To me, VH was never about great song-writing. They were all about attitude and swagger (and, of course, guitar chops). The original band, when first out, re-invented the whole '3 piece band and lead singer' format, with sex and swagger as prime components. Some 70's bands did this, but VH were different, new, ground-breaking. I think they were the transitional piece from classic rock to hair metal. 

And when the replaced DLR with that guy who can't drive very fast, they lost that swagger, that machismo. Maybe the songs got better, maybe the singing got better - but that isn't what VH was about to me anyways.


Oh, and just to finish that thought - I saw them on JK and he was broootal. Maybe the nose, but I've heard he's been off in other appearances as well. And needless to say, the swagger isn't really there with a 50-something guy like that. They need a new reason dete.

Kind of reminds me of seeing a concert on TV of Deep Purple with Ian Gillan singing. I just wanted to hear Steve Morse play (one of my all-time faves), but Gillan's pitch was so bad, I couldn't listen to more than two or three songs before I had to bail.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

High/Deaf said:


> I don't think they would have ever ended up like TS. That's like saying Led Zep may have ended up like The Cult.
> 
> To me, VH was never about great song-writing. They were all about attitude and swagger (and, of course, guitar chops). The original band, when first out, re-invented the whole '3 piece band and lead singer' format, with sex and swagger as prime components. Some 70's bands did this, but VH were different, new, ground-breaking. I think they were the transitional piece from classic rock to hair metal.
> 
> ...


Two comments.

1. Being "The Cult" is not all that bad IMO
2. The concert footage I've seen with Morse and Gillan has been consistantly awesome. Gillan was bang on and trim and fit.

YMMV


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

High/Deaf said:


> I don't think they would have ever ended up like TS. That's like saying Led Zep may have ended up like The Cult.
> 
> To me, VH was never about great song-writing. They were all about attitude and swagger (and, of course, guitar chops). The original band, when first out, re-invented the whole '3 piece band and lead singer' format, with sex and swagger as prime components. Some 70's bands did this, but VH were different, new, ground-breaking. I think they were the transitional piece from classic rock to hair metal.
> 
> ...


I get what youre saying, but for me, "swagger" is secondary (or less) to sound and songwriting. after a while, swagger loses its lustre...and as we all age, it starts to look a little ...pathetic? Theres just some things that a 20 yr old kid from the streets can pull off that a married with kids 40 yr old millionaire cant. Old guys have fun in different ways than young guys. And that's why I liked the evolution from Van Halen to Van Hagar. It somehow felt more real to me, than if they kept doing the same thing they had already been doing for more than a decade.
I don't really get the Cult/Led zep comparison. VH/TS were at least both American rock bands on the charts, MTV and concert scene at the same time during the 80s hair metal fad/trend and are about the same age.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

To me, VH was the trend-setter and TS was one of many, many similar bands to come along after. 

Kinda like LZ and The Cult. 


I agree though, swagger is a young man's game. I think we all saw that on Kimmel. They need a new shtick. Swagger ain't gonna sell to our age anymore, and we are VH's audience.


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

High/Deaf said:


> *To me, VH was the trend-setter and TS was one of many, many similar bands to come along after. *
> 
> Kinda like LZ and The Cult.
> 
> ...


re: bolded, that was my point. That if VH didn't evolve, they could become a parody of themselves and get mixed in with all the others. They would be Steel Panther.

In fairness, TS didn't just come out of nowhere...theyd been in the music scene for at least as long as VH...but didn't make it big until they got an eye catching video into heavy rotation. But they were a one trick pony. I suppose TS had more in common with Kiss now that I think about it.
I always hated them, lol.


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## Robboman (Oct 14, 2006)

Ironic how the whole swagger frontman thing DLR does came from Robert Plant, a man now smart enough to know it doesn't hold up at his age and doesn't try. Then again, RP has no need to cling to Zep the way DLR clings to VH.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

True dat.

I saw RP in '85 when he did a combination solo/Honeydrippers show. He had already started to move from swagger to mid-aged cool. He just had an air about him. There's a certain dignity and class to his performance that I don't think DLR could muster. I don't think he can make the change like Plant did.


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## jbealsmusic (Feb 12, 2014)

jbealsmusic said:


> .....to be fair to DLR, he did smash his nose with the mic stand during the first song of the set. You can see his bleeding/plugged nose in the videos for every song afterwards. I'm not sure any singer would sound good in situation.


Well, can't really defend him after seeing a completely healthy DLR play with the band on Ellen.

Eddie looks/sounds great though!


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

DLR needs to be put out to pasture in my opinion. He was never a skilled singer so much as a skilled partier. He certainly had his moments, but not enough to sustain the material.

Always wished VH had the stamina of Rush. After Women & Children First I thought they might be heading in a less party band direction. It would have been nice to hear what they could do with some concept or another. I prefer Hagar's voice to DLR's but no matter the voice in that band, they have to get along long enough to create something.

Peace, Mooh.


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

Mooh said:


> DLR needs to be put out to pasture in my opinion. He was never a skilled singer so much as a skilled partier. He certainly had his moments, but not enough to sustain the material.
> 
> * Always wished VH had the stamina of Rush*. After Women & Children First I thought they might be heading in a less party band direction. It would have been nice to hear what they could do with some concept or another. I prefer Hagar's voice to DLR's but no matter the voice in that band, they have to get along long enough to create something.
> 
> Peace, Mooh.


I agree about Hagar. I think his involvement in the band is unfairly criticized.
Not in agreement about Rush. Loved them growing up, but for me, they haven't been interesting even in a little in well over 20 years. Peaked at Moving Pictures/Signals, slightly interesting at Power Windows, entirely unremarkable with everything afterwards IMO, except for diehard fans. I dont think they've picked up many new fans based on their more recent work. Not unlike VH. maybe with less drama in that only one of them seems to go off the wagon every now and then


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

If VH wants to go out with a Bang..it needs to do it with Sammy..why?...because most of their big hits were with Sammy...and DLR could'nt sing any of Sammy's stuff even if his life depended on it. Get Mike back to...Mike's a BIG part of VH's sound...bass wise and his Back vocals are second to none...not that Digital stuff they are doing now...Ed can barely speak...anyone will believe he actually sings?....i doubt it.

Get Sammy and Mike back..and do a retrospective of ALL the VH Hits...


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## traynor_garnet (Feb 22, 2006)

Hate Van Hagar, love Van Halen. I thought ADKOT was awesome and would love to hear another studio album. Roth was really good in 2008 but the last few years have totally gone to his voice.


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## NB_Terry (Feb 2, 2006)

traynor_garnet said:


> Hate Van Hagar, love Van Halen. I thought ADKOT was awesome and would love to hear another studio album. Roth was really good in 2008 but the last few years have totally gone to his voice.


I liked ADKOT alot too. Some of the new live album is good too; like Women in Love.


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