Van Halen - Don't Tell Me (What Love Can Do)

[NelsonG]

[Lord_of_the_Dense]

I friggin' boner over the opening chug of this song. I think I bought the album based on that sound alone when it came out. There are other songs I liked equally too, but damn.

Turn that shit up.

[bear]

Oh, yeah, Balance and For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge are excellent cds. The best of the Sammy ones, IMO.

A lot of people come down on Sammy. It's not Van Halen like with Diamond Dave, they say.

Well, of course not. It's Van Halen with Sammy. Different animal.

Was there a more poppy sound? Sure, but the stuff that was poppy was the stuff the general masses heard on the radio. So that's all they had to compare with the Dave years. And just to set the record straight, 'Jump' is more poppy and a bigger pile of steaming dog poop than anything VH released during the Sammmy years.

Hard core fans who bought 5150 on up to Balance know, there's a lot of crunching chugging and ass kicking in general going on on every cd. Musically, VH didn't lose a thing. If anything, they matured. But people who couldn't get past Sammy would never know that.

I mean, for me personally, I never listened to VH for Dave or Sammy. so making the transition was very easy for me. I never had a problem with Sammy.

You'll notice I didn't mention Gary Cherone. That was a botched play from the start.

[Lord_of_the_Dense]

I guess I'll start by saying that any incarnation of VH I care minimally for. Balance is the only album I have. I think I enjoy more Dave singles than anything, but nothing warrants the purchase of any other VH album for me. Maybe it's the craze that they generated. If too many people like it, I probably won't. Aside from Balance, I don't think I've listened to a single other album completely, at least not willingly and surely not enough to determine in my own opinion if it's a worthwhile album. Gold or platinum status doesn't make an album enjoyable no more than an Oscar make a movie viewable.

I think I lean towards Dave as that's where the majority of my preference lies. Sammy does ok, but I think he left a bad impression on me with "I Can't Drive 55" and "1-2-3 Lockbox." They are cheesy to the point of being sickening. Sammy is defintely the more mature sound. No, it's not the same but things change. The same happened with Judas Priest, though for not as long. I personally thought Ripper Owens did an awesome job.

Be it Dave or Sammy the music made was appropriate for the time. Seeing Sammy in spandex and chaps doesn't cut it in today's music. And Dave can't be taken seriously any more. I won't even touch on what happened since he fell off the wagon.

"Jump" is tolerable. I wouldn't rush to turn it down or off, but there is much better Dave material. I think "Panama" is a masterpiece for rhythm and solo work. It's upbeat and constantly drives forward. I may have to venture into the complete world of VH to get a better picture someday. I will probably find an equal amount of likeables from both singers. As for Gary Cherone, he should have stayed with Extreme. He was great in that band. Definitely not for VH.

[DudeAsInCool]

I stopped listening to them after Dave left.