Have you seen Junior's grades?! ILM Artist Poll #75 - VAN HALEN (Results thread)

Anthony makes for a better Bill Berry than Bill Berry, in terms of a somewhat unheralded band member making the difference between a good and GREAT band.

Lot of the time there's no rhythm guitar track at all when Eddie goes off on one, so Anthony covers a lot of ground himself, plus, obviously, the vocals.

I seem to recall in an article about the recording of the first record with Ted Templeton they had to work that out. Originally Templeton was wanting him to cut basic rhythm parts then over dub leads, but he really couldn't take them apart in a way that sounded better. The stripped down setup without much over dubs gives those early studio records a very live feel.

Another unique sonic element in Van Halen's early sound is how Alex Van Halen tuned up his kit. He's kinda known for having his snare pitched really high which makes it pierce through the mix. They also used the toms quite a bit in the arrangements of tunes.

Probably from growing up around their Dad's jazz, they could swing pretty well for a hard rock band and they put it in the act. It gives them a bit of Vaudeville.

"Michael Anthony's bass style is similar to Dusty Hill and Cliff Williams in keeping it simple and play what is needed like a clock."

Right, that's the cliche -- but listen carefully. He plays these crazy funk-style octaves and perfect little runs all the time -- he's high in the recorded mix but the sound of his instrument is not as aggressive as it is live (where he's ironically less audible). He's not a 8th-notes-and-that's-it player. He's doing something similar to Chris Squire -- Squire adapted Motown to prog, Anthony is playing a lot of fingerstyle funk -- but without the aggressive timbre, Anthony doesn't get noticed for it.

^^^

To wit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu8RpcChZrw

Listen to the chorus!!!

Fuuck so bummed I missed this one.

Def wouldve voted for Bottoms Up, Runaround, Me Wise Magic & In A Simple Rhyme.

Yeah, I really should have voted. I would have repped for the unfairly maligned Diver Down. In my book, Hang 'em High, Secrets, and The Full Bug are all classics.

Might as well Jump!. My favorite tracks. Well do I remember the world premiere of DLR's "Just Like Paradise."

VH rulez

AIN'T TALKIN BOUT POLL

maron interviewing DLR kicked off my first full catalog listen. Lots of stuff between Van Halen and 1984 sounds good in a way it never did before. and most of what's good is absent in van hagar. holy shit, i didn't even know any of these recognizable-from-old-radio van hagar songs were them.

Dance the Night Away might have been my #1. <3 that chorus with those backing vocals. Ultimate party music. Gettin' shit done music. Cruisin' music. Music.

I just put this on and DLR's "come on" scream might be the apex of their catalog.

VH is grrrreat but don’t feel like you can’t also show VHagar some love too. Dreams, Why Can’t this be Love, Summer Nights are all pretty sweet. You don’t have to choose between Dave and Sammy- only Eddie has that burden.

Van Halen was both more fun and (when they needed to be) heavier. Van Hagar was competent (he's a great belter) but AOR dumber, and not in a smart way. However, Hagar has its moments. For example, "Finish What Ya Started" may be the most subtle the band has ever sounded, and I've always liked the pure cheese of "When It's Love." "Black & Blue" might be as ugly as lyrics get this side of AC/DC at its grossest, though.

"Dance the Night Away" is an utter gem.

I will fuck with some 5150 and "Finish What Ya Started" but nothing later than that.

The production on F/U/C/K largely ruins it for me, but Balance has a few dope things. And that song from the Twister movie was alright.