Alright, I know I’ve been posting a lot about Van Halen lately. But I’ve been listening to this album and I feel like it deserves it’s due. Not only is it most likely the last Van Halen album of all newly written songs, it’s a misunderstood gem that gets thrown under the bus more often than it should. Don’t get me wrong, there are song really strange moments on the record that do not work well in any capacity. But there’s also some pretty sick moments on the album.
For starters, the opening track and lead single ‘Without You’ is a classic, funky Van Halen track. The riff is strong and AVH’s drums sounds crisp and phat. The prelude is a nice acoustic piece. But it doesn’t really serve too much. Particularly with the one, two, three, four punch of ‘Without You,’ ‘One I Want,’ ‘From Afar’ and ‘Dirty Water Dog.’ And honestly, those songs might not be completely up to par with some of the greats. But they’re a far cry from what people say about the album. They’re quality tracks. They sound like Van Halen. Eddie is using both is classic distorted and clean tone. And he puts it to good use.
The first real misstep of the album is ‘Once.’ It’s hard to explain. It’s a far far cry from a quality Van Halen ballad. It’s just not that good. And it really doesn’t feel like Van Halen. I think it’s tracks like this that drag the quality of what does work down. People hear songs like ‘Once’ and go, ‘this is awful, this isn’t Van Halen.’ And they certainly have a point. But the album recovers with the very overlooked ‘Fire In The Hole.’ It’s such a bad ass Van Halen classic. Excellent groove, feel good melodies and heavy riffs that dig under the funk skin. ‘Josephina’ is not a strong track. Again, dragging down what makes the album work. ‘Year To The Day’ is a hard song to pin point. The first movement of the song doesn’t really light any fires. But it does move into a killer, bluesy song with a pretty decent EVH solo. ‘Primary’ is an unnecessary interlude that doesn’t add anything to the album. But god damn if ‘Ballot Or The Bullet’ isn’t one of the most killer Van Halen tracks I don’t know what is. Don’t dismiss songs like this because it’s not DLR or Sammy Hagar singing. It’s so funky and heavy and really just what was all great about 90’s hard rock. Unfortunately the album ends on a very very low note. The piano ballad ‘How Many Say I?’ Sung by Eddie Van Halen. It’s just mindblowingly horrendous. Eddie can’t sing, the song arrangement is boring a bland, not only that it actually just sounds bad. The chords doesn’t work. The lack of melody is offensive. And the song lasts for six minutes!! It’s without a doubt Van Halen’s biggest misstep in their entire career. To the point that it pretty much ruined it. It’s the prime example how bad the album can be. And it’s red meat for the haters of the album.
That being said, it’s not Gary Cerone’s fault. He was a hired gun who did his job. And to be frank, he did it really really well. Just look at the live footage from the era. He can sing all of Van Halen’s discography flawlessly. And he’s also a great frontman. Watch some live Extreme footage from the Beacon Theater. Recorded in 1992. He slays. And he sings on one of the most overlooked hard rock albums of all time. And the proof is in the tour in the international markets. Examples below. Unfortunatly, due to the failure of the album in the American market, this would be Van Halen’s final album of all new songs.
What are some of your favorite tracks on the album?
