Published on Jun 22, 2004
Behind the dopey title of this album is a decent set of tunes
from one of hard rocks’ true icons. Van Halen by this point in
their career had reached a rung of success and fan devotion nearly
equal to their mentors, bands like Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath.
Able to sell out any venue that could hold their teeming throngs of
fans, they had become masters of their own collective destiny. What
can you say about these guys? It’s not rocket science. They just
rock their asses off and it works.
The foundation for this recent success is what has to be the
cleanest, and probably most successful replacement-singer
transition ever, the merger of Van Halen with Sammy Hagar. The
resulting album
5150 was a resounding success. Hagar was the perfect
combination of talent, star cache, and bad-boy reputation to fill
the rather large void left by the departed David Lee Roth. The fans
ate it up and MTV couldn’t get enough of them. So why tempt fate?
The boys left the formula alone for the most part, and came up with
a very similar album in
OU812.
Hagar had found his foil in Eddie Van Halen. Like
his work with Ronnie Montrose before,
Hagar always did his best when teamed with a high-caliber axeman,
and there is possibly none better than EVH.
Back in full audio spectrum are the synthesizers! Feared by
some, loved by many, the synths are here to stay. An intrinsic part
of their music now, the keys have helped VH segue further away from
their metal roots and more towards the AOR band they would yet
become. Fear not though, the spark that launched this rocket is
still there. Balls-out rockers like “A.F.U. (Naturally Wired)” and
“Source of Infection” prove that in spades.
The now requisite syrupy ballad “When It’s Love” is a low point
for me, as is the closer, some uninspired blues that sounds like
filler. On the other end of the spectrum, one of the standout songs
on this album sounds the least like a typical Van Halen song.
“Finish What You Started” is a tasty slice of semi-acoustic chicken
pickin’ that stuck with me from the first listen.
The songs that really propel the album are the party anthems.
Hagar’s influence is felt hardest in that aspect, and with good
results. Sammy reaches into his old Montrose book to lift-a-riff
from “Make It Last,” and uses it to drive “Cabo Wabo.” “Black and
Blue” and “Sucker in a 3 Piece” round out a trio of frat-boy
specials.
Good rockin’ tonight, like the song says. To date this is the
best of the Hagar era albums and deserves a re-listen.