5150 (1986)
1. Good Enough
2. Why Can't This Be Love
3. Get Up
4. Dreams
5. Summer Nights
6. Best of Both Worlds
7. Love Walks In
8. 5150
9. Inside
So now, the official 'Van Halen Soap
Opera' begins. From what most have been able to piece together, Roth
either quit or was fired from Van Halen due to creative differences.
The speculation was that he wanted the band to be more of a 'party' act
whereas guitarist and 'leader' Eddie Van Halen wanted to be a bit more
'serious'. So after the departure of one of the most visual frontmen in
the history of rock and roll, what do you do? How do you continue?
Fortunately for the band, they found a perfect replacement in Sammy
Hagar. No, Hagar was no Roth clone - that was actually the point. He
still had a wild, party image (he had a string of moderately successful
solo records in addition to fronting the band Montrose, so he was no
stranger to the public), yet he wasn't quite as overbearing on stage as
Roth. He also could sing a bit better and was a somewhat respectable
song writer. Also, although no one will ever know for sure, the
partying schtick with Roth had probably peaked around this time anyway. Had
they continued to have Roth front the band, I'm guessing the public
would have grown a bit weary. Witness for example David Lee Roth's new
solo career, which he launched right around the same time as this
release. His antics and new band were basically a clone of Van Halen,
and apart from a couple of cheeky humorous videos at the start of his
career, he basically fizzled out of the limelight.
So with a new singer, how did things turn out? Well, initially it was
actually great. With Hagar in the band, the guys managed to change
their sound a bit as well as their brand, but kept up their loyal
following. Sure, the purists would grumble, but that wouldn't really be
apparent for another decade - which was probably when people were tiring
of Hagar and wanting Roth back so they could reminisce. About half of this record
sounds like they're trying to perfectly replicate their 'traditional'
sound, and ironically, these are the songs that don't quite work as
well. Tunes such as Good Enough, Get Up and the fairly
stupid closer Inside all have the over the top Van Halen style
(lyrically and musically), and it just sounds a bit tired by this
point.
It's when the guys expand into new territories that actually carry this
record - and even the band itself. Songs such as Why Can't This Be
Love, The Best of Both Worlds, Dreams and How Will
I Know When It's Love really show a deeper, more melodic band, yet
they never lose their trademark crunch that makes them so appealing.
Yes, Dreams may be a bit too melodic for the hard core,
but Hagar's searing vocals carry this tune into places where it simply
wouldn't be able to go with Roth still in the lead role.
A couple of these tracks were made into videos and received very heavy
rotation on all of the MTVs. Yet watching these videos, you couldn't
help notice how basic the guys looked. Gone were the flashiness
and multiple costume changes, and instead we just saw the guys on stage
letting loose with some great tunes. Further proof that this was a good
direction for the band to venture. This was a great beginning to
'part 2'.
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