Van Halen!

Home recording of Eddie working out a few ideas in 1974. Some impressive riffing, as well as the genesis of the main riff from "Somebody Get Me a Doctor."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McxV2IZHe2E

Wow, did everyone but me know that "I'll Wait" was co-written with Michael McDonald?

nice bump, I've been rocking VH in the car all week
what a ridiculous, amazing band

Too bad Mac didn't add backing vocals.

xxpost that's news to me too, Josh

http://www.vhnd.com/2011/11/10/van-halen-signs-with-interscope-records/

Van Halen Signs With Interscope Records
Thursday, 10 November 2011

VHND has been hearing some solid info from our trusted sources, and it’s all wonderful news!

Van Halen has recently signed with Interscope Records (not Columbia Records as rumors stated). The album is 100% done and in the can, and fans will have it in their hands early next year. The release date is set in stone and is top secret, but will be announced very soon.

In fact, the Grammys are hinting strongly that Van Halen will make their announcement at the Grammy Nominations Concert held in Los Angeles on November 30th. Fans will be able to watch the announcement live on CBS.

Who's the lead singer nowadays?

DLR!

Too bad Michael Anthony and the band can't patch things up, because he's integral. But I'll take 3/4ths of the band I grew up on over nothing at all.

Mainly I just want to hear some new EVH riffage. It's been 13 years since the Gary Cherone experiment.

Sadly the 3/4ths only seem about 1/5th there these days.

Nothing is ever for sure with this band, but tickets for 2012 shows apparently go onsale next week and the image below was shown in Times Square during NYE celebrations on one of the electronic billboards (which must have cost Interscope a bit of coin). Supposedly, it's the release date for the album and closely tied to the album's cover art:

http://image.email.interscope.com/lib/fed11671756d047f/m/1/Van+Halen-+The+Future.jpg

So yeah, the first VH album in 14 years is finally upon us. :D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9Z7mm4qenI

VH playing at Cafe Wha? Thursday

I love the classic lineup and hold out no hope this will be anything but a steaming pile.

really don't understand why Michael Anthony won't just do this

Haven't really kept up with all the gossip, but is that why? I thought Eddie didn't want him around.

Anthony sided with Hagar in the (second) breakup.

Okay, yeah, I guess I knew that.

I love the classic lineup and hold out no hope this will be anything but a steaming pile.

I'm hopefully if only because of "Me Wise Magic" and "Can't Get This Stuff No More," even if those tracks are from 1996. I think VH and DLR bring the best out of each other.

*hopeful

that was 15 years ago, and neither would have made any of the first six records (well, maybe Diver Down which is 1/3 filler already). No hope here.

I kinda hope the new album is only a half hour long, like the first six were.

I can't see how this can possibly be good. EVH hasn't written a good song in forever. Hate to say it, but it's true, Chickenfoot is a better band.

i think the production will make or break an album like this, as it usually does when a band comes back with what's essentially their first album together in decades (or at least the first Van Halen bros/DLR album together in decades), since rock production trends have changed so much that could really 'spoil the chemistry' as much as any change in playing or songwriting. the guy they worked with, John Shanks, has a LOT Of teenpop and country and adult contempo stuff on his resume (the only comparable project is the last Bon Jovi album), which is a little sketchy but honestly i could see that working w/ VH better than if they were trying to play catchup with modern rock radio and getting with Brendan O'Brien or something, which I really came to hate about those later Springsteen/E Street albums.

yeah I feel like the loudness war is going to get taken to new heights with this album

Chickenfoot is a better band

I feel like this is maybe the most ridiculous sentence in the English language.

Right now they are. I'd rather listen to Hagar/Anthony/Satriani than Eddie/DLR/that kid.

Last Chickenfoot record was solid.

Listening to it now (first time I've knowingly heard Chickenfoot iirc). First song's alright, but we'll see.

Yeah, this is really too Sammy Hagar-y for my tastes. Soz.

Both Chickenfoot albums are much better than I expected them to be, and the second one is an improvement over the first. By contrast, just knowing that the forthcoming Van Halen single is called "Tattoo" makes me cringe. Unless it turns out to be a tribute to Herve Villechaize. That will be awesome.

The odds of the new VH album being any good are very low. The odds of it even sounding remotely like the classic line-up are virtually nil. The odds of it being better than Chickenfoot are even.

I dunno, the new Devo album was pretty good and their last 2-3 records were terrible

My take on Chickenfoot was like the infamous 7/11 cocktail: you might be tempted to mix together all the flavors at the soft drink fountain together, once, but damned if you'd take a second dip into that well.

Like Devo, Van Halen is almost its own genre, but unlike Devo, it's beholden to a very particular template, a more unique alchemy linked directly to its set of players, its producer, and its era. How were those Roth-vox tracks on the greatest hits? Never heard 'em.

really don't understand why Michael Anthony won't just do this

As noted, Eddie doesn't want Anthony in the band, only let him play on three tracks since Hagar left, and only accepted him in the last reunion (after Hagar's insistence) on the condition that he 1) agreed to a reduced future royalty split, 2) sign away his share of the name and logo and 3) end all association with the band after the tour. And has since had his son included in the visual lineup for Anthony-recorded tracks on Guitar Hero: Van Halen, even in unlockable "classic line-up" costumes. Aaaand photoshopped his son into Anthony's place on original album covers on Van-Halen.com.

How would you expect Anthony to "just do this"? Turn up at every show and busk in the parking lot outside?

I wish I could find the interview where Eddie brags how awesome Wolfgang is because he locks the bathroom door and jacks off several times a day, but here's:

Wolfie plans to attend college at some point in the future, according to his dad: "He's obviously going to Julliard or something like that — and they'll take him at the drop of a hat, because he is ready. And the kid can act, too." But for now? "He is a part of Van Halen. Permanently."

Wolfgang-era Van Halen was awesome live a few years back. I can't hate. It's not like Anthony brought much more than his ability ti chug Jack Daniels. Wolfy handled the harmonies more than capably.

How would you expect Anthony to "just do this"? Turn up at every show and busk in the parking lot outside?

haha well I guess I just had this backwards - had assumed that since Anthony sided with Hagar that was how he wanted it. But makes more sense that EVH is just being a dick.

EVH's dickness is well documented, but I think it stems from Anthony buddying up to Hagar a long time back.

Found it - RS took down the transcript but there were highlights on Roadrunner Records' gossip/news page:

EVH: "My son Wolfgang plays drums, guitars and bass. This kid is fucking dangerous. If I excel at the speed of sound, he excels at the speed of light. My brother goes, 'This is the first time I've had bass in my headphones.' He's only fifteen years old and he's getting laid. He's spanking it too."
HS: "How do you know that?"
EVH: "When you spend 45 minutes in the bathroom you're not taking a shower."

lol

xxp: I was just listening to a Michael Anthony interview on the music radar podcast. If I remember right, he said the trouble between him and Eddie started when they were recording one of the 1990s albums. III? I forget. EVH I guess purposefully shifted the band's songwriting dynamic from (paraphrased) "a bunch of guys writing songs together" to "Eddie holed up in his studio writing everyone's parts for them".

Of course, Hagar was complaining about lack of creative control around the same time. One of my favorite interview segments ever:

GW: Eddie maintains that Alex asked you specifically not to write any lyrics that involved Twisters, yet you went ahead and did it anyway. Is this true?

Hagar: I have no idea what they're talking about. In our first meeting about the soundtrack, Ed and Al told me they didn't want the song to be about Twisters, and I said fine no problem. Ray Danniels came up to me and said he didn't want a song about Twisters. Again I said fine, no problem. All I wanted to do was see some footage of the film so I could at least make some of the lyrics fit the action on the screen. Since Eddie and Alex saw the movie to make their music fit, I thought I'd better do the same thing to get a vibe or the lyrics. I asked the film's director, Jan De Bont, to send me some footage and he did. From what I saw on the screen, I thought the movie was about the infatuation people have with fear and how it can suck you in. Sometimes you're afraid to fall in love with a chick, but she sucks you in anyway. You know that if you start messing with this girl, you'll become infatuated with the danger that she represents. So "The Silent Extreme" was a song that talked about being right in the middle of all this, and I wrote this really cool lyric I thought said it all.

GW: "Sky turning black/knuckles turning white/headed for the hot zone"?

Hagar: Headed for the "suck zone." That lyric had nothing to do with tornadoes. Again, I have no idea where Eddie came up with the idea that that was tornado stuff. The only word in that phrase that even comes close to sounding like a Twister is "sky turning black." But that line can mean anything, you know. The rest of the song had absolutely nothing to do with tornadoes. It was all about entering the silent extreme.

TBF, I imagine the Red Rider is a pretty easy dude to get along with. When you band's namesake and de facto dictator has been through the rotating door of rehab too many times to count, it's a wonder that even his brother is still in the fold.

er, Red Rocker

I got a Red Rocker for christmas once, despite multiple warnings I would rock my socks off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9tOR4On8Uk

thanking you red rocker

Man, I wish I could find this old alt-weekly piece on hanging with Hagar, a dude most comfortable with his status. I did find something else that pointed out how he made much more money with his tequila than he did with Van Halen. Like, over $100 million.

BTW, xpost, I just learned, like, a week ago that the singer of Red Rider was the same guy that did that horrid "Life is a Highway" song a decade or two later.

I'm sorry, you can't name yourself Mr. Rock & Roll if you haven't heard Hot for Teacher before.

I don't know if it was the source of the deep dive, but coincidentally the newest issue of TapeOp has an interview with Donn Landee, who engineered all those Van Halen albums. Here's his "I'll Wait" story.

One song that bedeviled the band was "I'll Wait." Eventually, Michael McDonald co-wrote it. Do you remember that episode?

We had recorded the "I'll Wait" track, and Dave said he couldn't come up with any lyrics for it. Ted asked Michael McDonald to have a listen. Mike came into Ted's office, sang along with our tape, and Ted recorded his singing. Ted played it for me in the 5150 control room, and when it came to the chorus and I heard Mike sing, "I'll Wait," I knew that was it! I hit the talkback and said, "Ed! Get in here, you've got to hear this!"

Later he explains why the song became a sticking point, not because no one liked it but because the band was dead-set on calling the album "1984," and the plan was to release the album on January 1, 1984, and "I'll Wait" was (ironically) holding things up:

The record ran late and that caused some friction among Ted, you, and Ed. What happened?

"I'll Wait" wasn't done, and there were a couple little things that needed attention. I remember Lenny Waronker, who was then the label president, called and asked, "What's going on? When will you have it done?" I told him and he said, "Okay, then we can set the release for the first week in January." That was our final commitment, and we did it. Lenny really helped. We were able to have "Jump" come out on January 1st, and the album a week later.

“I’ll Wait” indeed!

i can’t hear too much about this song. i would read an entire book about it

No way the egos of Roth, Eddie and Mike mcD would last more than an hour in a room together

Fwiw I have a pretty clear memory of seeing the 1984 album in my local record store at the end of 1983. It drew my attention precisely because it had arrived "early." The store may not have been selling it yet, and/or the official release date may have been in '84 but I would testify that the album was done and shipped in '83.

Wikipedia says it was released on January 9, 1984, so it's entirely possible that it was being promoted in the month(s) leading up to that.

I was working in a record store by the fall of 1984, we sold a literal shit ton of that album.

Which weighs more, a ton of shit, or a ton of Van Halen?

Just out of curiosity, when you work in a record store are you legally bound to wait for the official release date to sell an album or is it more of a handshake agreement kind of thing to wait till then?

(no pun intended there)

Typically, we wouldn't receive the shipment until the day of release. If something did happen to come in early, we were told in no uncertain terms not to put it out. I am sure that was part of the deal with the suppliers, but I never actually saw any paperwork on it.

But yeah, we would put up promo stuff in advance if we got it.

Just out of curiosity, when you work in a record store are you legally bound to wait for the official release date to sell an album or is it more of a handshake agreement kind of thing to wait till then?

― Josefa, Wednesday, January 31, 2024 9:50 AM bookmarkflaglink

When I worked at Best Buy, we got shipments for tons of new album releases very early (and some only came in just in time for the release). we were given a lengthy sheet that pointed out the release date for all new albums (this was back when Tuesdays were the release date).

much like computer games, for the major releases, we were basically told with various threats not to put anything on the endcaps/shelves early or else, because of course they could track if anything sold early and *fines*, baby. But weirdly, I was giving feedback to someone that they'd put some smaller new releases on the shelf early and my boss intervened and said "ehh, if it's not one of the major new releases that we're putting on the endcap, who cares?".

so the new Aaron Neville album was available early to anybody who was seeking it out hard.

I do know we had a dumb employee who put like World of Warcraft on the shelf early, when the servers wouldn't even go live until the release date (so it was useless to buy early), and when the software company was adamant about not doing it. I think we sold 12 copies and our GM was flipping the fuck out

Just out of curiosity, when you work in a record store are you legally bound to wait for the official release date to sell an album or is it more of a handshake agreement kind of thing to wait till then?

When I was in high school, a friend's family owned a record store, and I remember them being extremely pissed off that a record store in the next town had gotten a shipment early and put copies of Metallica's Black Album on sale the Friday before release date.

getting disappointed early! nice

lol

My hometown Walmart did that with ReLoad (probably because it came out Thanksgiving week and the merchandiser didn't want to come back then)

I help run a chain of record stores. Typically the threat is that you may lose your status as a direct account of the distributor you're buying from if you put out records early.

have you ever seen that enforced?

Nope!

I mean, it used to be a fairly regular occurrence that if a record store heard another record store was selling early, you would go buy a copy and send a copy of the receipt to the distro. Then the distro would reach out to that store and they'd say "oh whoops... we're so sorry". Then nothing would happen.

I worked in the electronics dept of a K-Mart and got to buy Pearl Jam's Vitalogy a couple of days early. I don't remember if I cajoled the CD vendor into letting me buy it or just grabbed it out of a box of other CDs and just played dumb. I brought it to my friend's place and people were all "how did you get this?"

Followed immediately by, "What the fuck is this shit?"

I haven't listened to a new Pearl Jam album since, but Corduroy is all-time.

Agreed, but it's not an easy album to warm to at first.

Good album.

the only cd I got early that I was excited to get early was Dying Fetus - Destroy the Opposition, but only cos I was a small-time unpaid critic for a music website at the time and got the promo sent to me.

never got lucky enough to see a cd actually improperly sitting on the shelf early, sadly.

I was never a big "gotta have the new album on release date!" guy but I do remember walking into a Best Buy the day Iron Maiden's A Matter of Life and Death came out, and the guy stocking the CD section said, "I bet I know what you're here for," and I looked down and realized I was wearing an Iron Maiden shirt and honestly felt like kind of a dickhead. But I bought the CD, which is still my favorite of their 21st century albums.

Ted asked Michael McDonald to have a listen. Mike came into Ted's office, sang along with our tape, and Ted recorded his singing. Ted played it for me in the 5150 control room, and when it came to the chorus and I heard Mike sing, "I'll Wait," I knew that was it! I hit the talkback and said, "Ed! Get in here, you've got to hear this!"

I live for this nonsense, thanks Josh

Should probably be a separate thread but what I would give to hear Mike and Mike sing I'll Wait, y'know old arcane legendary recordings that may or may not exist anymore if they ever existed to begin with

"I'll Wait (No Consonants Version)"

"I'll Wait (Michael McDonald feat. James Ingram version)"

I knew he wrote it, but it wasn't until that quote that I pictured MM singing it. Must've been magical.

We need a McDonald sings the VH classics album..."shenorita ah'm in trouble aghain..."

ahdofear tardih

“I ain’t the worst that you’ve seen”
Ain’t it the truth

still obsessed with I'll Wait, can we do an ilx cover where everyone takes a couple lines and does their best Michael McDonald impression

My roommates in college and I used to get very high and do a Michael McDonald Barbershop Quartet at like 3am. Perhaps we can reform for this.