Five Things That Could Go Right/Wrong With Van Halen’s New Album

Five Things That Could Go Right/Wrong With Van Halen’s New Album

Sunday, 26 June 2011

From Ultimate ClassicRock.com:
Five Things That Could Go Right With Van Halen’s New Album
by: Matthew Wilkening
Any day now, Van Halen is expected to unveil the details of their first full-length album with original lead singer David Lee Roth since ’1984.’ Obviously, any cynic could come up with an article about the Five Things That Could Go Wrong With Van Halen’s New Album, but what if we were to also give this legendary band the respect and faith they’re due, and instead focus on Five Things That Could Go Right With Van Halen’s New Album:
5) ‘Diamond Dave’ is back!
That’s right, for the first time in more than 27 years, the Van Halen brothers will be reunited with original lead singer David Lee Roth on their new album. These guys crawled up from the clubs to sold-out arenas together, and batted six-for-six in terms of awesome albums, so, really, what’s the sense in betting against them to succeed again?
4) Now with 50% more Van Halen!
Yes, the loss of original bassist and back-up vocalist Michael Anthony (who’s currently cavorting with second VH singer Sammy Hagar in Chickenfoot) will hurt Van Halen. Luckily, Eddie Van Halen literally bred the perfect replacement: his own son, Wolfgang, a 20-year-old virtuoso who’s reportedly going to be given more musical room to roam than his predecessor.
3) They do a kick-ass cover or two
Reportedly, the band has toyed for years with the idea of adding Wilson Pickett’s soul classic ‘In the Midnight Hour’ to their list of awesomely-done cover songs. From ‘You Really Got Me’ to ‘Pretty Woman’ and ‘You’re No Good,’ cover tunes have always been a highlight of new Van Halen records, and we’re ready for another unique reinvention on their next album.
Read the rest on Ultimate ClassicRock.com.
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Five Things That Could Go Wrong With Van Halen’s New Album
by: Matthew Wilkening
Reportedly, Van Halen’s new album is recorded and soon to be unleashed onto the world. We’re pretty excited about it, as you can tell by our story entitled Five Things That Could Go Right With Van Halen’s New Album. However, it’s been nearly 30 years since the band recorded a new studio album with lead singer David Lee Roth, and they’ve never made one without original bassist Michael Anthony. So, it’s quite natural that fans might be nervous about how it’s all going to work. Here are Five Things That Could Go Wrong With Van Halen’s New Album:
5) David Lee Roth Tries to Actually Sing
Don’t get us wrong — David Lee Roth presided vocally over the best six albums Van Halen ever made, but you can’t call what he does, as tasteful and exciting as it is, singing, exactly. Problem is, working with a strong voice like Sammy Hagar’s seems to have spoiled Eddie Van Halen a bit; how else can you explain whatever Elvis-loungey-croon thing he’s trying to get Roth to do on 1996′s reunion track ‘Me Wise Magic?’ Hopefully “Diamond Dave” is allowed to play to his own strengths on the new Van Halen album.
4) The Songs Are Too Long
Van Halen’s self-titled debut album needed just under 36 minutes to change rock as we knew it. In fact, the six David Lee Roth-era albums clock in at an average time of under 34 minutes. By contrast, the “Van Hagar” records run about 50 minutes each, and ‘Van Halen III,’ with Gary Cherone, occupies nearly an hour. This longer approach may have worked with those two, more pure singers, but as the pair of five-minute-plus songs on 1996′s ‘Best of Volume 1′ (yes, we’re bringing those up again) proves, it doesn’t suit Roth quite so well.
3) Alex Van Halen Breaks Out the Synth-Drums
Of all the fears we have about the new Van Halen album, the prospect of Alex Van Halen breaking out his computerized drum pads, seen hear marring an otherwise organic, rocking live performance of the title track to 1986′s ’5150,’ is admittedly the most far-fetched. In fact, we’re pretty sure we saw him throw these things in the trash sometime in the early ’90s.
Read the rest at Ultimate ClassicRock.com: