Dave vs Sammy: a Van Halen showdown

[Joe_Cool]

*Originally posted by Tommy the Cat *
…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.

<me too>
Hey, Me too! except I’m 30 now.
</me too>

**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. **

Yes! What he said. Van Halen mark I completely redefined Rock & Roll. That is one of the greatest bands ever, and that can’t be changed.

Sammy Hagar is one of the greatest solo artists ever, he’s just not Van Halen. They were a really good band with him, but not the same.

Oh, and mojo says:

**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!**

Ahhhhhhh, music to my ears.

[Joe_Cool]

*Originally posted by nineiron *
**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. **

nineiron,
good point, but my only complaint about 1984 is that they had started down the path to the dark side:

More Synthesizer and less guitar.

Don’t get my wrong, I love synth-music and new-wave and all that, but it’s not rock. and not van halen.

[BunnyGirl]

To recap: Van Halen w/o DLR = Crap. DLR w/o Van Halen = Crap. Van Halen with DLR = Van Fuckin’ Halen man!

Absolutely. My feelings exactly.

I saw their little mini-“reunion” on the MTV Video Music Awards those years back and I was stoked but then I saw the interview with him and the band and I thought, “No way - he’s never going to last.” He was acting like such a total loser.

They’ve had their day in the sun. Let us enjoy our memories.

[dropzone]

I am SO staying out of this one!

[Ann_Onimous]

You mean there was a Van Halen after Dave? You have got to be kidding! :o

Seriously, dear: yes, Dave was the showman, but he, not Eddie, made the band, in my personal opinion. It was Dave all the fans went to see. Eddie is a great guitarist, but Dave was the bomb.