What happened to Panama?

**Cabo Kid** · 12.15.00, 09:53 PM

Once DLR left and VH continued to play this tune, it lost it's edge as a full-blown rocker (in my opinion, anyway) and from what I've heard, during the OU812 tour, they started kinda making it sound more "jazzy" or "off-beat". Does anyone else hear this? I mean on 1984, it's balls to the wall and big Al's drums right in your face. From OU812 on, instead of keeping it a solid 4/4, he tosses in a few upbeats that "soften" the song up, again in my opinion. This usually happens at this point...

"Jump back what's that sound...(upbeat hit)
Here she comes foot tappin' top down..."

Maybe I'm looney...maybe it doesn't matter. Maybe I don't know my head from a hole in the ground.

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"Whenever we come to Milwaukee, we try and have a special surprise for you here and tonite we got a whole sh*tload of 'em for you and right now, we want to whip the first one at you here! Y'know, usually Ed doesn't sing this part of the song and when he does tonight for the first time, you'll find out why!"

-David Lee Roth, Milwaukee 1980

**Dan Halen** · 12.15.00, 10:03 PM

I can understand what you're saying. Maybe it doesn't sound as good without Dave because Sammy didn't put much effort into singing it because it wasn't his song.

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"Van Halen is the 'Get the fuck off the sidewalk if ya don't like our drivin' ' kinda music!" -DLR

**Glenn** · 12.15.00, 10:06 PM

I totally agree. When they started the song in the Sammy era with Al playing the (sort of) Everybody Wants Some drum intro, the song became much less agressive and more beat oriented to my ears.

Just my ears' opinion.

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**Cabo Kid** · 12.15.00, 10:13 PM

I think I agree w/you both. I'm not sure if it was "less effort" on Sam's part though because it was Dave's song...maybe it was, I don't know. I think it was more of the music changing when Sammy sang it rather than WHO was singing it. You could be right though, Dan. Maybe Sam was just like "ah screw it...we got a lot more material we could do than this one".

As my bro Glenn would say, "in my ears' opinion"

, they did adapt more of the EWS jungle beat getting into it. I do think they did a pretty good job during the LWAN show, however.

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"Whenever we come to Milwaukee, we try and have a special surprise for you here and tonite we got a whole sh*tload of 'em for you and right now, we want to whip the first one at you here! Y'know, usually Ed doesn't sing this part of the song and when he does tonight for the first time, you'll find out why!"

-David Lee Roth, Milwaukee 1980

**Glenn** · 12.15.00, 10:25 PM

Maybe it's just because I'm so used to the studio version, where all the intruments come crashing in at once. When Al plays 30 seconds of his drums, Eddie seems to come sliding into the intro chords without any of the punch that the studio version has. And the song never really regains the original punch after that.

I really don't think Sammy was the problem (if you want to call it that) or the reason for the change because they continued to do that Everybody Wants Some intro to the song in the Gary era.

I still dig the tune, it's just that when I hear Panama, I expect it to punch my lights out, not push me around.

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**Down In Flames** · 12.16.00, 01:45 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Dan Halen:
I can understand what you're saying. Maybe it doesn't sound as good without Dave because Sammy didn't put much effort into singing it because it wasn't his song. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

IMO, that's it exactly.

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**KenyonVincent** · 12.16.00, 01:22 PM

I didn't like the fact that he changed a few of the lyrics in the song, and I think he did give less effort in the song. He should have done other old ones like:

Ice Cream Man
In A Simple Rhyme
Light Up The Sky
Unchained(just did it once, right?)
Runnin' With The Devil(same as Unchained?)
Jamie's Cryin'
Let's Get Rockin

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Kenyon Vincent-the linker formerly known as Red-Balled Mammoth.

"God bless ya southern California, you people are bad-asssss"-DLR at the '83 Us Festival.
"No, that's not a microphone in my pants. I'm just happy to see ya, Californiaaaaaa!"-DLR at the '83 Us Festival

**Crossing Over** · 12.17.00, 04:02 PM

Sorry guys but I prefer the Redrocker live version!!!

Yeah yeah I know Dave´s version it´s the original...but sound pretty good the Hagar version specially the L:RHRN one

IMO

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**Glenn** · 12.17.00, 05:25 PM

Speaking of Panama, has anyone noticed the guitar solo in the Toronto PPV version? Right before it the whammy bar on Eddie's guitar gets locked straight behind the tremolo. So when he plays the part of the solo where he's trying to grab the bar, he can't find it. It's really cool to see him reaching for it and not being able to find it, but in typical EVH fashion, just continuing on anyway.

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