More Van Halen BS

[uwe]

True, Taylor was the really high voice, but May orchestrated the backing vox with Queen, Freddie didn't have so much to do with it. Which is why the backing vox on his solo albums didn't sound much queenish at all while the ones on Brian May solo albums did.

[slinkp]

I like this thread. I've always said that a band's backing vocals are an essential part of its sound.  VH is a great example, but so is Keith's "harmonizing"on all those Stones classics, or the Band's ragged chorus, or hell I'd even throw in Midnight Oil, a much neglected band that did one of the better gigs I've seen in my life ... and hey, Def Leopard backing vocals were the envy of all the hair metal bands for a reason... bands of every sort all with easily recognizable b vox. Rarely appreciated, but essential.

[Dave W]

I still say EVH and Patti Smith are twins.

[chromium]

Tangential comment, but Roth-related.
Until recently, I had no idea he had tracked the Eat 'em and Smile album in Spanish.
Now I know. 
Enjoy!



Carry on...

[Basvarken]

I have both the Spanish and the American/English version on vinyl

[uwe]

I just gave Van Halen III a listen, first time ever, never heard a single song until now. The debilitating effects Kurt Cobain had on American youth's grasp of harmony rules have been deplored here before, this album is living proof that he was bad for adults too, all I can say is Van Grunge! Compared to this car crash of an album, Kiss' Carnival of Souls was an organic, unforced affair.

EVH earnestly makes every effort on III not to be himself, it actually takes several tracks until there is a song that sounds like Van Halen and that then overdoes it and comes out as a pastiche. Even the trademark backing vocal sound is gone.

And some of those harmony chord choices sound like Eddie fretted in the wrong place, totally forced in their attempt to eschew what might be regarded as "AOR chords". This here - the change from the riff (which starts the song pleasantly enough) to the verse chords at 0:52 - is probably the worst thing Americans have been responsible for since the invention of wonder bread:



Worse than Led Zeppelin (which this song obviously tries to emulate; thinking about it, the whole album tries to match Led Zep's esoteric eclecticism, but fails pityfully), worse than Soundgarden even (who at least sounded like the wrong chords they played came natural to them), brrrrr ... Note to self, Eddie: People bought your records in millions because you chorded pleasantly on Dance the Night Away and played lightning-quick solos to it - or played catchy keyboard runs, not because they were in feverish anticipation with you which wrong-sounding chord you might be hitting next! 

And it's not really Cherone's fault either, I believe nobody could have sung this cruelly disjointed stuff any better.

Oh, and on that album some of the bass lines in synchronicity with Eddie's twiddling sound indeed like Eddie has played them and not Michael. They sound nothing like what a bass player would come up with. Or maybe Eddie was using an octaver.

EDIT:

Ah, I was (my ears were) right on target. Wiki sez:

The album is also known for its minimal use of Michael Anthony on bass guitar. Anthony only played bass on three songs on the album; "Without You", "One I Want" & "Fire In The Hole". Eddie Van Halen recorded bass for the rest of the album.

After Michael Anthony's departure from Van Halen, he was asked whether or not it was true Eddie Van Halen dictated to him how to play bass on this record and Anthony confirmed this was true. He said by the time of making this album, Eddie was playing the bass more as well as some drums. "I don't know if Eddie was basically making a solo record, which is what Van Halen III seemed like to me."

[Pilgrim]

The vocal intro reminds me of Jethro Tull with a stomach problem.

[uwe]

Cherone probably just tried to hard - he had the shadows of a charisma monster (Roth) and a vocal monster (Hagar) hovering above him.

He doesn't sound horrible here, of course no one can match the leer of Roth's original:



I honestly believe that haircut of his was a mistake though if you are fronting Van Halen. 

It's not like they didn't have potential, this could have been a nice song if it wasn't for the implanted, contrived grunge chord changes that without reason crop out of nowhere (and Eddie - a handsome man when healthy - looks positively ravaged by alcohol in that clip):



To give him credit, Cherone is certainly a gentleman and diplomat, man, he's really biting his lip here:

[Basvarken]

Gary Cherone was not a far fetched choice as their lead singer. The first Extreme album was in fact a complete VH clone.



I'm not sure if his haircut had anything to do with his untimely departure from the band.
Couldn't be any worse than Dave's comb over...

[66Atlas]

this guy had the hair at least...

http://www.vhnd.com/2012/10/18/audio-mitch-malloys-audition-for-van-halen-1996/

[uwe]

Not bad - kinda between Roth and Hagar vocally ...