Assuming you could get Eddie off his (rumored) control freak streak, who would make a better singer for the band? Granted neither man has any intentions of going back, but we can dream, can’t we?
[sub]Sorry Gary, you don’t make the cut[/sub]
Dave definetely. But I have to admit that guy is a flake I can see how he got the rest of the bands nerves.
Also Sammy was better by himself or with Montrose. I would like to him and Ronnie hook up again.
Second, have any of you seen Sammy Hagar’s “Street Machine” cd, cassette heck even a album anywhere? I love that album but I can’t find it anywhere. I think it was Sammy’s best work since Montrose.
Oh dear lord! That wouldn’t even be a contest. Diamond Dave wins hands down. Cradle Will Rock, Running with the Devil, Pretty Woman, Eruption (OK, OK, Dave doesn’t appear on this tracy, but I’ll bet he influenced it somehow), and the whole of the album 1984 will go down in history as some of the best rock and roll ever. I can still put the top down and fire up “Van Halen II” and it’s just as good as the first time I heard it. Mind you that I’m only 29 and the DLR era VH had broken up by the time I was a Sophomore in HS.
I’m not going to sit here and say that Sammy Hagar sucks or anything. Gary Cherone sucks, but Sammy just wasn’t as good as Dave. Dreams and Right Here are good songs. Were Van Halen to come out as a brand new band with Sammy as the lead singer from the start, they’d be really good. However, Sammy had to live up to the reputation that Van Halen had set with DLR. He put forth a good effort, just not as good as David Lee Roth.
D’OH!
…appear on this track,…
Actually, I’m a Sammy fan. I thought that DLR had more showmanship (and probably would have made for a great concert to watch), but I liked the music better with Sammy.
I started really listening to VH when Sammy joined the band, and quit when he left.
You can see the new lead singer for Van Halen here:
http://www.angelfire.com/rock/dameetro/vht.html
Ok. Now you’ve got my hackles up. Any one of you heretics who even hints that anyone but Diamond Dave was the one and only true lead singer of Van Halen, must be hunted down and tortured in a not very nice manner.
My world fell apart when Dave got kicked out of the band. HE DIDN"T QUIT, DAMN YOU!!
Sorry. Got a little vklempt there for a minute.
I’ll have to admit, I like DLR the best, as far as the songs go. That voice, the primal screams, etc., but have any of you seen him lately? He’s turned into a whining, sniveling, little loser.
Let it go, Dave!! It’s OVER!! Drop it, and stop pittying yourself! Move on!! :rolleyes:
Van Halen isn’t truly Van Halen without David Lee Roth. The other stuff should be called “The Van Halen brothers featuring Samar Hagar”.
To recap: Van Halen w/o DLR = Crap. DLR w/o Van Halen = Crap. Van Halen with DLR = Van Fuckin’ Halen man!
Dave - better showman, preformer. No doubt.
Sammy - Far, far better voice period. Music when he was there just had a good sound to it.
New guy - Have no idea. I have not listened to their new music, nor do I have a desire to. Extreme™ sucked cock, I seriously doubt that he would do any better with VH, or to put it another way, I doubt that VH could make HIM sound any better.
Oy. VH with Sammy was more of a pop band than a rock band. Now I do admit to going to see them in 1991, but through no fault of my own, I was only 12 when the real Van Halen broke up. Van Hagar was a weak replacement. I mean, “Message in a Bottle”? “Right Now”? Yuck. The same thing happened to them as happened to many bands: they got older and supposedly more “serious.” The result was music that was not quite rock anymore, just some watered-down adult contemporary.
I am sorry but DAVE is the only way to go…I was lucky enough to catch him way back when I was 10 and Jump was the hottest on MTV(remember when they showed videos?). The man is a showman of the highest caliber, running around, getting chicks riled up (saw 6 sets of tits and for 10, I wanted to be DAVE SO BAD) doing backflips and fooling around with a shitload of props, and the band just fueled him, Eddie was on target and amazing, everything was perfect. I had not had that good a time at a concert in a long time after that.
Saw Sammy in LA about 8 years after…feh. One or two good songs, he looked bad, Eddie looked like he would rather be sleeping. It was sad.
Anyone who caught Dynamite Dave in his heyday will agree with me.
As I already said, I fully agree with those who choose Dave over Sammy. But they keep referring to 1984. Unfortunately, for me, this album was the beginning of the end; it signalled a more “radio friendly” rock, especially Jump. I do like the album and have a copy of it, but the earlier albums are far better rock.
Every time I see Eddie Van Halen in interviews these days, he seems to be in a bad mood. Then again, the subject of these interviews tends to be David Lee Roth, so I guess I’m not overly surprised.
VH1 is doing a 100 greatest thingie. I caught the top 20 of the greatest hard rock bands, which included Van Halen. VH1 didn’t even mention Sammy Hagar when doing the little capsule. They only covered “old school” Van Halen as part of the top 20.
I liked Dave better.
It’s all over, man.
Now, VH III and Fair Warning are 2 of my all-time faves, but Diver Down and 1984 sucked. They still had the talent, but had lost the edge. Even if DLR came back, they wouldn’t be able to recapture it. VH with Sammy was pretty good music, but they held on too long.
Have you not heard “1984”? Clearly, this was the direction they were heading in pre-Hagar.
I do think that the Van Halen brothers have been huge Dicks through both of these band “changes”, but that’s another thread. I was kind of neutral on the whole issue until they started bad-mouthing Sammy after they kicked him out of the band. Sammy has made better music than Van Halen since getting the boot.
The first concert I ever saw? Sammy Hagar in 1983. VOA tour. Loved it.
The only advantage I can see giving Sammy is that he is a great songwriter and he gave the live band the added dimension of a second guitar. Dave was, well, Dave.
I vote for Sammy. I’m sure he’ll need help in this thread.
I guess I should weigh in on my own thread. 
I kind of agree with the trend here. Dave is the showman. That’s what made them great. Flare, style, he had it.
Sammy is a better musician by far. Great voice, more serious music. Tellingly, they sold more albums during his period that Dave’s; tho they still maintained their record of all platinum records.
Gary… sorry dude. Should have stuck with Extreme.
Overall, I liked Sammy better than Dave. Dave could grate your nerves faster.
Van Halen should have quit while they were ahead… with DAVE! Woo! Go Dave! Pretty much everything they have done since has made me want to retch. For the love of all that is (un)Holy they should STOP RECORDING. Logan’s Run should apply to bands. 'nuff said. Can you imagine the Bloodhound Gang trying to tour when they’re 40+? Hell, if Axl shaved he’d look like my anorexic Grandmother.
But I digress. Dave. No Sammy, no Gary, no ‘hey you, I don’t care if you’re a janitor can you sing a track so we can get this LP done’.
punk snot dead,
broccoli!
I feel I ought to elucidate a little.
Van Halen was my saving grace as a young teen. When I heard their first album back in the late 70’s my world changed. That’s when I really discovered true hard rock. That’s why I have such a hard-on over Dave (boy that sounds different then I mean it).
Would I want to see a Dave/Van Halen reunion? Only on one condition - using an operational time machine. Dave is now Sigfreid without Roy. Heterosexual Liberace . He’s over. I don’t want to see him with his pot belly and bad comb-over trying to do do a split.
Let the memories be.