Controversial Van Halen opionions

[I Coulda Hada VH]

it definitely should have been the opener. Whoever was responsible, they were usually horrible about picking out the order of songs on most VH albums.

1984 works perfectly fine as the opener.

[Naked Wake]

1984 works perfectly fine as the opener.

it's adequate but not perfect. Even still, HFT could have followed. The way DLR is saying "I wonder what the teacher's going to look like this year..." in a way saying "I wonder what's to come on the rest of the album." It just would have segued better, in my opinion.

[I Coulda Hada VH]

it's adequate but not perfect. Even still, HFT could have followed. The way DLR is saying "I wonder what the teacher's going to look like this year..." in a way saying "I wonder what's to come on the rest of the album." It just would have segued better, in my opinion.

Jump had to follow 1984, but I get what you're saying regarding HFT.

Here would have been my choices for the opening tracks on the 6 pack:

VH - On Fire
VH II - Somebody Get Me A Doctor
WACF - Romeo Delight
FW - Mean Street
DD - Hang 'Em High
1984 - 1984/Jump

[Simon Ribeiro]

Jump had to follow 1984, but I get what you're saying regarding HFT.

Here would have been my choices for the opening tracks on the 6 pack:

VH - On Fire
VH II - Somebody Get Me A Doctor
WACF - Romeo Delight
FW - Mean Street
DD - Hang 'Em High
1984 - 1984/Jump

I never had any problem with the tracks the band & producers chose to start each of their albums.

[Raldo]

Jump had to follow 1984, but I get what you're saying regarding HFT.

Here would have been my choices for the opening tracks on the 6 pack:

VH - On Fire
VH II - Somebody Get Me A Doctor
WACF - Romeo Delight
FW - Mean Street
DD - Hang 'Em High
1984 - 1984/Jump

I've been fine with VH's choices but these are good too!!

[BlofeldsCat]

I think albums (and concerts) should start with energy and drive so I feel the mid-tempo Mean Street is a strange choice for opener, especially as the drawn out 'home' makes it seem even more languid. It's best-suited for 3rd or 4th (side 1 or 2).

[BlofeldsCat]

Here would have been my choices for the opening tracks on the 6 pack:

VH - On Fire
VH II - Somebody Get Me A Doctor
WACF - Romeo Delight
FW - Mean Street
DD - Hang 'Em High
1984 - 1984/Jump

You were almost correct

VH - ATBL
VH II - Somebody Get Me A Doctor
WACF - Romeo Delight
FW - Sinners Swing
DD - Hang 'Em High
1984 - Panama or HFT

[I Coulda Hada VH]

You were almost correct

VH - ATBL
VH II - Somebody Get Me A Doctor
WACF - Romeo Delight
FW - Sinners Swing
DD - Hang 'Em High
1984 - Panama or HFT

I love me some Sinner's Swing! Unchained would have also been a good opener for FW.

[BlofeldsCat]

I love me some Sinner's Swing! Unchained would have also been a good opener for FW.

I forgot all about that beast. Good call.

[Simon Ribeiro]

I think albums (and concerts) should start with energy and drive so I feel the mid-tempo Mean Street is a strange choice for opener, especially as the drawn out 'home' makes it seem even more languid. It's best-suited for 3rd or 4th (side 1 or 2).

Concerts? Yeah!

Albums? Hummmmmm ... No. Not necessarily. Lots of Prog bands don't follow that thought, i.e..

[CatchAsCatch]

You were almost correct

VH - ATBL
VH II - Somebody Get Me A Doctor
WACF - Romeo Delight
FW - Sinners Swing
DD - Hang 'Em High
1984 - Panama or HFT

I have to disagree with changing the opening of VHI. I think the opening of that album is possibly the most perfect album/career opening few seconds I've ever heard. Also the first VH album (with Dave) I ever heard. I remember dropping the needle, hearing the air raid siren noise, then those opening bass notes and thinking "W...T...F...???" (in a really good way!)

[BlofeldsCat]

The riff is good but when the vocals kick in it loses all oomph and becomes a BB King song.

[Little Dreamer]

WTF?!?!

Some some fools on this site are trying to redo the sequence of classic VH records?!?!

The sequencing of the first 10 VH records was all done by one Ted "Champagne" Templeman. And he did it perfectly. You think you can do better?!?!

Come on, now.

[Naked Wake]

We did the opening songs choices in another thread, but this is how I would have done it:

1. ATBL
2. SGMAD
WACF- EWS
FW- Unchained
DD- WHATGTG
1984-HFT

[Bad to the Bone]

as more of a Hagar era fan I'd love to hear some recordings of the first time Ed, Al and Mike jammed with Sammy, that would be cool to hear, a good recording of the first show they did with Sam would be nice and of course I'd love to hear whatever are in the vaults, I think there is a lot.