Cool Vs Gah!

Cool Vs Gah! Round 4….Van Halen..

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One I Want Vs How Many Say I

I’m not going to go down the whole Lead Singer debacle in regards to VH as I have written about it countless times so just search under David Lee Roth/Van Halen/Sammy Hagar and my diabolical writings in this matter will rear its ugly head. Actually I wrote something called L.S.D a few months back about bands flipping out singers at such at a speed that’s quicker than Tbone flipping  Finnish Pancakes!

What i’m gonna ramble on about are two tracks from VH3 that featured new vocalist Gary Cherone( Extreme) and for all intent and purposes tanked quicker down the toilet than me chugging  down a bottle of Silent Sam Vodka from way back into a toilet!

VH Mach 3….Featuring…

Eddie Van Halen – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
Alex Van Halen – drums, percussion
Michael Anthony – bass, backing vocals
Gary Cherone – lead vocals

I think its safe too say when looking at the band members that you can tack on’ Bass’ beside EVH’s name! By that point Anthony was just there…

The production angle is ludicrous as Mike Post (yeah exactly) a guy who had provided the music for the 80s Tv Show Hill Street Blues was brought onboard to co produce with Eddie…

Whut Da Fuk Is Going On Here?

VH3 had some decent stuff on it.

One I Want is a decent track. I dig the flip-flop of backing vocals to lead vocals and that little solo Ed blasts off at the end of the first verse. I posted the live track of this and VH3 cuts across real good live but man look at Alex behind the kit! Dudes all banged up from the shoulders up. Was he going for an Iron Maiden Powerslave look? Dunno but still this is Good VH….Not Great VH….But Good…

Which leads us to the last song on VH3…

How Many Say I is a Ed only piece with  him at the piano doing his singing as well sounding like Tom Waits and basically man this one was a tough  slog through…

At over 6 minutes worth of noodling I realized back in 1998 that this was indeed a EVH solo album from the production down to the Bass playing  to Ed singing lead on a track….

Whose gonna tell Ed no?  New Boy Cherone? Nope…Anthony..Brother Alex..Nope…Mike Post?..Hahaha..

The real clincher was my wife Sue at the time when I put on 3 in our living room and was playing it for perhaps the first time commented to me  when How Many Say I came on with a  “What Is This?”

Exactly Sue Exactly…..

11 thoughts on “Cool Vs Gah! Round 4….Van Halen..”

  1. I dunno, I may be odd man out, here. I like Gary Cherone’s work, in general, and I didn’t mind his vocals on that live One I Want track. It’s a slinky bluesy VH track. I can hear what they were doing with him in the band, between DLR and Sammy… I say right on.

    As for How Many Say I, well… maybe not so much. But good on him for trying new things, and for trusting VH fans to believe in them through all those changes!

    Now, I just looked and I don’t have 3 here. If I’d known this was gonna be in my Reader, I woulda looked for it in Taranna! Likely woulda been cheap!

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    1. One I Want is a good track. This album is not as bad as some have made it out to be. But when you have a strong catalogue of Music Halen Wealth ya better step up….
      This album is parallel to Motley Corabi is some ways..new singer equals shit sales except the Crue album over 20 years has gotten more street cred and is basically one of there best albums …
      Can’t say that about 3 though…..

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      1. Oooo I liked that Corabi record a lot. I bought it twice! Unwittingly. It was on the Car Crash boxed sets, then I bought it in Taranna as a single disc anyway… ah well!

        Shame the Cherone VH album didn’t rock hard. I know he has the chops.

        And true that about the VH catalogue, but then again, with all the changes, maybe comparing it to other stuff isn’t fair.

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  3. Y’know, I haven’t heard VH3. That One I Want is fairly decent, but it just doesn’t sound like Van Halen to me. Neither does the piano meandering, right enough!

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