Time to get involved.

[Killroywashere]

Hello Van Halen fans. I am a long time forum reader and first time poster. Now a bit about myself. I don't have any contacts in the record industry nor do I know anybody with "inside" information. Therefore like many people I visit the variety of boards to see if there is any news about one of my favorite bands.

I have seen every concert tour the mighty VH has brought us. I remember being blown away at the Texxas Jamm when they dominated the venue. I was at the Monsters of Rock when Sammy joined the band. And I was surprised how much I enjoyed the show when the VH3 tour came rolling into town. I have always been into VH as a band and not really concerned as to who the lead singer was or would be. I was concerned that they would no longer continue to be a band when Dave departed and felt the same way post Sammy. Like many of you have my favorite songs/albums/concerts, but unlike many of you I don't seem to care whom the lead singer was or will be although it seems to be truly a Dave vs. Sammy debate. All I can say is that it is all relative to individual likes and dislikes. Saying that let me point out a few items that I have noticed.

The Dave people always come up with the fact that the Dave years sold more than the Sammy years. While this is fact there are a few things must be pointed out. The Dave years saw the recordings released in 8-Track, Vinyl, and Cassette Tape. When VH and VHII were released many of the sales were in 8-Track format. There is a very good chance that people purchased two or three different media versions over the years of the early recordings with the sales peaking again in the mid eighties with the advent of CD. The same can't be said about the Sammy era recordings. Most of these were originally purchased in CD form and have not been replaced. There is also no denying that the fan following was greater right after Sammy joined. This only makes sense because Sammy's fans stayed with him and VH as a group gained a wider audience. There should not be many debates here since these studio recordings all went to number 1 on the charts. Something no other studio recorder did prior.

The other area that many of you tend to forget is the success or lack of success of each lead singer. Sammy was a bonnafied star prior to joining VH. He had the record sales and sold out concerts to back up his career. It is much more difficult to try to gain popularity as a solo artist after you leave a successful group. Not to mention leaving a super group like Van Halen. Therefore it is not fair to compare Dave's post VH career vs. Sammy's pre VH career. Sammy has had diminishing success as the years have passed although I must admit I did like his first and last releases. I also liked Dave's early solo recordings.

I do know that I can listen to either era (there are a few cuts off of VH3 that I like as well) and enjoy them both. I also will say that I welcome your comments and opinions. I appreciate those who post on the forum regularly and provide facts or entertainment. For those of you who made it to the end of this post understand that none of my future posting will be this long.

[homeunit]

Welcome into the light, I was going to say out of the closet, but it didn't qwite sound right

Good post [img]graemlins/thumb.gif[/img]

[Cabo Kid]

Nicely done, KR! [img]graemlins/thumb.gif[/img]

Welcome to the Links. You've made it thru the ascent...now feel free to move around the cabin!

[edwardocatflappo]

they might as well have released vh3 on 8-track.. [img]graemlins/thumb.gif[/img] [img]tongue.gif[/img]