AVH Book?

[Brett]

You guys are tripping. ADKOT has some great songs on it. As Is, HBSD, Stay Frosty (minus all the uh, uh, uh nonsense), Chinatown...All BANGERS.

Those are not great songs. Forgettable.

Even Van Halen thought they were forgettable because they didn’t play any of them after 2012. They few that they actually did play live.

And yes, they did play She’s The Woman after 2012. Bfd.

[EJC]

To me ADKOT was just a lazy way or making "an album" to go out and tour behind and make $$. They could have put out 40min of Ed and Dave having a fart competition and ticket sales probably would have been comparable.

I remember in 96 or whenever when Ed looked like Lou Reed and said on MTV said something to the effect we aren't going to go out and do an oldies but goodies tour. Which they did in 2007. So assuming they couldn't go to the same well twice...

IDK... Good or bad - it was cool (for me) to go to Walmart at midnite and buy a new VH CD. It made me happy, and feel like a kid again, so it was worth the 12$. I bought ALOT of Yngwie/Maiden/Metallica/Megadeth CDs that really sucked since 1992 so it's more about the feeling I get (remembering my teen years) than the actual music.

[Brett]

Van Halen has been a greatest hits band since 2004. That bullshit that Ed said in ‘96 was exactly that. Bullshit.

I never said it wasn’t cool to get a new Van Halen album. I actually got it from Jeff before it even came out. And I really wasn’t supposed to have it, but he gave me one. But it was an absolute disappointment for me. I was expecting a lot more. I think the thing that bothered me so much right off was it sounded so shitty.

[EJC]

Well you didn't even have to spend the $12 so you were ahead of the game!

[Brett]

Everything I got in 2012 related to Van Halen was free. It was a good year. Lol.

[Van Squalen]

Everything I got in 2012 related to Van Halen was free. It was a good year. Lol.

Insider.

[Brett]

Insider.

Lol yeah my 15 minutes.

[Van Squalen]

The only reason that record is heralded at all is because most of its advocates never got to patronize a Dave tour behind a new album. Also the only reason why they were willing to forego the essential requirement of Mike Anthony participation.

But it was clear to anyone who cherishes the first ten studio albums it sounded mix-wise as bad as VH3, in some cases worse.

[Brett]

Van Halen 3 is an abysmal piece of shit album in every way possible, but at least Ed was still trying to be creative then, as misguided as it was. When you’re digging back 25 years for old demos, come on. Ed didn’t even play like he did in 1977 anymore. His playing changed and evolved as a musician, and I think it’s sad that they felt they needed to redo a bunch of dated tracks that were better left the way they were decades ago.

[Little Intruder]

EJC, here was the fart competition with Sammy...

[CaboChris]

I can't do ADKOT for a couple of reasons. The main one is no Mike. They had to completely forego one of the signature components of the VH sound. BG vocals. The bass playing. Idc how good Meat was/is. He's not a bass player. His tone is not of a classic rock bass player. He's a drummer and a guitar player. Those are his loves. Be had no choice. The production doesn't bother me.

I don't knock anybody who feels it's Ed and can't pass it up. I got sucked into it in 2007. Once was enough, though. I needed a little more from that lineup than just what it offered. They left me out. You know what I mean. ADKOT, for me, suffered because of it. The whole thing never sat right, with me.

[ScottyBHarris]

I’m glad we got ADKOT, it was good to hear Edward play again. To me, the last real Van Halen album was 1984. The next best thing, were the 2 DLR songs we got in ‘96.

[Number 47]

Sure if you like muddy brick wall, unintelligible pro-tools lead vocals, flat background vocals, and tired demos with uninspired riffs…totally bangin.

Totally bargain.

[Sam Vs. Dave]

I don't dislike the songs on ADKOT, but the production makes it almost unlistenable. I think the reality is we (fans) just had too high of expectations for a band that had clearly peaked years and years earlier. We hoped the magic would just continue forever, where really they got old and stale just like almost everyone else.

Super glad I got to see 2007, 2012 and 2015 though.

[CatchAsCatch]

ADKOT is flat out unlistenable due to production. Ross Hogarth or John Shanks or whoever the guy was should be ashamed for wasting a good opportunity. But so should DLR/AVH/EVH. Those guys should have put their foot down and not allowed that to happen. There is a tendency to say that’s just modern production but there are plenty of examples of modern records that don’t have that crazy slammed sound.