Van Halen A Diffent Kind of Truth

Like, Dislike or just ok.

  • Like

    Votes: 42 66.7%

  • Dislike

    Votes: 8 12.7%

  • Just ok

    Votes: 13 20.6%
  • Total voters
    63
MSS

MSS

Power User
Van Halen A Different Kind of Truth

Yeah or Nay. You can listen to it on Spotify. I'm disappointed in it. David Lee has sounded better for sure, the lyrics aren't my favorite and Wolfgang can't keep up. Eddie and Alex sound good. Sorry for the typo in the thread title! I edited my post title but that didn't change the thread title.... -Mike
 
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Cheeky Diamond Dave and a rejuvinated EVH. 'Bout time. I liked some of the Hagar era stuff, but for me VH I-1984 is where they were really at.
This is a welcome return to those days IMO. VH always puts a smile on my face...except for VHIII - that should never have happened...!
 
I disagree I think wolfie did a fantastic job if he in fact played the bass parts. Eddie is back!! Love the tones!!
 
I love this album. Eddie is 'on fire' (pun intended).
Couple of tracks in the middle that Im not too keen on, but its very rare for me to listen to an album these days and really like 10 of the tracks.
 
Not a big fan of Eddies tone, seems a bit run-of-the-mill crunchy, but a great return to an earlier VH vibe. Was very impressed with Wolfie (if indeed he played the bass parts), there's some great bass/guitar unison riffs.
 
I agree...the vibe is totally early VH. Whatever Kool-Aid they are serving, I'll take another pitcher as I think it sounds amazing. Give it a few listens and see if it grows on you. The first couple it just started to sink in and by my 5th listen on the drive home from work I was head banging and screaming the lyrics like a maniac. I'm surprised at how damn HEAVY it is. If they had released this in their heyday people would be doing back flips over how great it is. I'm finally gonna give Wolfie some props, he has quietly become a pretty great part of the band and they sound rejuvenated and on their game. I think there is 0% chance that Ed did those bass parts...you can tell by the youtube vids Wolf is more than capable of pulling it off and they are too smart to open themselves up to that kind of criticism. The kid can play and adds to the music and I'm saying that as one of the guys that totally hated him being in the band when the Mikey thing went down. They sound super tight and Ed is playing the best he has sounded in 20 years. It's cool to hear the tunes from their old bootleg demos modernized and redone properly. Also loved the guitar tones.
 
Love it. This album is total energy!

Sounds like the good old days, 50 year old guys rocking harder than anything else out there, go figure!
 
I love it! and theres alot of contrast from the different songs, should be something there to like for everyone?
 
awesome stuff, decent amount uptempo, cool guitar sounds heavy, well I think we need a preset the beginning of beats working is rrrrrrrrocking heavy chords and the axe just doesnt do this with fas or other 5150!
 
Liked the songs(except tattoo), and think it is definitely a fun album to listen to. I DID NOT like the mix. Thought it was too boomy, bassy, and the vocals lacked a 3d'ish quality to pop out. Definitely could have been mixed better. That and releasing Tattoo as the 1st single are the only mistakes on this album.

Would love to see Bob Rock produce an album....they need it. He records great and mixes phenomenal.

Wolfie sounds great. I won't go risk another drunk performance to see them live. Eddie, back in the day, could drink and sound phenomenal.....last 2 tours....NO. Love the album, but will not pay money for sloppy shit. Loose= cool. Sloppy drunk, missing notes all over the place= not cool
 
+1 on the mix - liking the album more and more though!

Eddie needs upping in the mix, Bass needs taming (bottom end quite a bit...!), and DLRs vocals have had a better mix on his own albums, even the crazy dixie stuff he did. Played against any other reputable VH album and this mix could be amongst the poorest of the lot! They need to remix and re-release - should only take about 10 years, given that Balance was released 17 years ago (!!!)

But man, She's the Woman has such a cool groove to it. It has smatterings of Out of Love and Unchained and...and...sooooo coooool. I know its an old track, but its a fekkin goody!
 
Song quality: meh. Lots of worn-out powerchord cliches. Well, I like "As is".

Overall guitar tone: meh. Too thick and compressed. The number of pinch harmonics is close to the average number of Vietnamese killed in a Rambo movie.

Any great solos: meh. Not thrilled by any.

Mix/mastering: meh. Listen to that awful snare in Bullethead.

Will I put it on? Hell ya! :)) Some of the stuff really does have the early VH vibe, even if they're rippin' off their own stuff. Example: Outta Space, Beats Workin' (incl. the whoosh flanger, haha).
 
MSS said:
Yeah or Nay. You can listen to it on Spotify. I'm disappointed in it. David Lee has sounded better for sure, the lyrics aren't my favorite and Wolfgang can't keep up. Eddie and Alex sound good. Sorry for the typo in the thread title! I edited my post title but that didn't change the thread title.... -Mike
Click to expand...

Wolfgang can't keep up?? Have you listened to Chinatown yet?
 
Agree on the bad mix. There's also that cartoon-ish over compression of everything to make it 'loud' sounding. Performance wise, Roth's lack of rhythm stood out for me and kind of ruins some of the tracks. I can deal with the off-pitch but there's some really bad vocal timing, like he can't keep up with the beat.

Overall, I think the SONGS kick ass! Maybe just because they're so much better than I was expecting. Surprisingly heavy, fast and technical.. 'Tatoo' stands out as the most boring tune by far. And yes.. Wolfgang is a total natural and is MORE than keeping up, I think he's already better than MA and he's really still just a kid.
 
I'm digging it so far, is it their best album ever? not even close...but i think it's a pretty
solid effort after a 28 year hiatus

Pro's : Eddie seems to have that spark again, sorry Mike (lov ya but hardly noticed your gone to be honest)
i think Wolfgang filled the void basswise ,also the few background vocal i've heard so far have been
pretty decent even without Mike... actually the album does remind me of the direction they would have
gone after 1984... most of the songs are pretty solid with only a couple of ehhhs.. honestly even Tattoo
is growing on me the more i hear it

Cons : kinda miss Dave's upper vocal range..simply not there anymore, his lower range is kicking and still
pretty much "vintage" Dave... a little too much....scatting.. as dave calls it..at times
call it hearasy but sometimes i feel like recording at 5150 has hurt their overall sound over the years
to me everything sounds "DRY" and in your face.. no ambiance or natural reverb that to me was a big
factor in the sound of the early records ( too near field sounding if that makes sense ) i also think Dave's
vocals are a little too out front at times and some of the lyrics ..o boy... but dave always had crazy
lyrics
 
AdamCook said:
Wolfgang can't keep up?? Have you listened to Chinatown yet?
Click to expand...
I have to admit that this morning I woke up singing Tattoo...I will give another few listens and don't get me wrong, I LOVE VH!.
Yeah I listened to China Town. I like the bass on Stay Frosty. I'm not not trying to dis Wolfie but it sounded to me like he and Alex weren't quite in sync. I'm sure this will correct itself as time goes on.
 
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