Published on Jun 17, 2004
Those of you who read
my review of
Fair Warning know I am VH fan, which makes this review that
much more difficult to write. On the heels of one of their best
albums, they release what I consider to be the worst of the
Roth-era albums, if not their worst ever.
The album starts off nicely with another of the many cover songs
VH recorded. This time they hit the mark with their second Kinks
cover, “Where Have All The Good Times Gone?” It’s an excellent
mid-tempo rocker with the requisite Eddie Van Halen guitar groove
driving it along. This song could be a textbook for the right way
to cover a song. First of all, it’s the perfect vehicle for VH. You
must pick a song that fits the artist first off, and these guys did
that part right. It’s got a steady groove, tongue-in-cheek lyrics
complement David Lee Roth’s style perfectly, and a sing-along
chorus that you can still wail along with no matter how much time
you’ve spent under the beer bong. In other words, a perfect song
for VH. And, they stay faithful to the spirit and flavor of the
Kinks’ original, while adding their distinctive VH signature.
Next up is “Hang ‘Em High.” A great VH tune that has mostly been
overlooked. A signature VH freight-train rhythm drives this one
along, thanks to the always-reliable rhythm section of Alex Van
Halen and Michael Anthony (the same basic rhythmic theme which
would show up later on this album on the mediocre “The Full Bug,”
and again on the album 1984 in “Hot For Teacher.” Accompanied by
the muscular vocal stylings of Mr. Roth, it’s an ass-kicker
At this point something went very, very wrong. Forensic science
has yet to recreate the actual events that took place, but the
evidence is abundant.
Keyboards. Too many, too often, I know VH was trying to branch
out at that period in their career, but the keys bring a feeling of
middle-of-the-road, and sadly, would eventually contaminate many
future VH tracks.
Two very uninspired instrumentals, “Cathedral” and “Intruder.”
These two tracks are a waste of Eddie’s talents. They start off to
nowhere and end up nowhere. In contrast, Eddie plays 45 seconds of
Spanish guitar to intro “Little Guitars,” and that is a far better
listen than either of these tracks.
A terrible cover of Roy Orbison’s “Pretty Woman.” Roth can’t
sing it and Eddie’s playing didn’t help it any. This track reeks of
Roth’s obsession with covering other people’s music. (DLR’s solo
debut three years later would be an EP of all covers). The result
was a big hit, which mystifies me to this day. It has none of the
fragile beauty and passion of Orbison’s original, and should never
have even been attempted by what is essentially a heavy metal band.
The next song is another cover that for me has never worked.
“Dancing In The Streets” leaves me scratching my head to this day.
For some reason, the public liked it and it also became another big
hit. I never understood the appeal of either of these songs.
Frankly, when this album came out anything VH touched turned to
gold (or platinum). They probably could have gone platinum with
“Eensy Weensy Spider,” or ten tracks of sign language for that
matter. So it’s not surprising the public ate it up. The covers
have become a real sore point for me, because VH have proven they
can write great original music. So why, oh why, are there five
cover songs on this album? Scholars will debate this one for ages I
predict.
The second half of the album doesn’t get any better for me.
“Little Guitars” is forgettable, and Roth makes a mistake he rarely
does; he sings way out of his range. Cover song number four (for
those of you keeping score) is the old swing classic “Big Bad Bill
(Is Sweet William Now).” Harmless for the most part, but not very
interesting either.
Closing out the album is a hideous a-cappella version of the
cowboy classic “Happy Trails.”
Out of 11 tracks, we get five covers. Of the six original songs,
only two were really enjoyable. Not a high point in the Van Halen
legacy for this fan.