I gotta say, the new Van Halen-

[crwnedblasphemy]

Good post....I agree...listened to it about 5 times through now. I think it starts out fine...but after "Bullethead" it just kinda falls apart....doesn't really have my attention after that too much. "She's the Woman" is by far the best song on the album.

 

[FIREBALL]

Also don't forget the influence on the tone that Ted Templeman and Don Landee had.

True. It may very well be Ed himself who insisted on having such a distorted and garbled tone, but I cannot fathom how it's not possible too achieve a better mix as a whole.

the mix was a let down....remember this album was not recorded at 5150

 

[megamike]

great cd , love it from start to finish. and to all the guys having a problem with EVH tone, id love to hear what he has to say about yours, lighten up ,its rock and roll, it doesn't have to be perfect.

 

[marvcus]

Got the CD - thumbs up from me!

Only thing I don't jive with is the mix - it sounds too clean. I can totally see what Lugo and others say about Dave's vocals in the mix vs. the band. I guess that's today's Protools age... Much prefer the old analog style recordings, but all-in-all, I enjoy the tunes so

 

[Stramm8]

It think he kills the potential of She's the Woman because there are no sing-a-long parts other than the short chorus. In all, there is a lot of random scatting, which is hard to stomach at times.

I think lines like "She's got a sign on the door that says Bring it, don't ring it" more than makes up for the lack of sing-a-longs

In all seriousness, I downloaded the album this morning, been listening to it all day and I think it's great!! I honestly don't think there's a bad song on it including Tattoo...

 

[rrobertson]

Picked up my copy along with the dvd this morning.. I had a grin from ear to ear while listening to the cd just for the fact that Van Halen is back! I REALLY enjoyed the DVD acoustic stuff.. Panama especially..

 

[MisterBulbous]

It think he kills the potential of She's the Woman because there are no sing-a-long parts other than the short chorus. In all, there is a lot of random scatting, which is hard to stomach at times.

I think lines like "She's got a sign on the door that says Bring it, don't ring it" more than makes up for the lack of sing-a-longs

In all seriousness, I downloaded the album this morning, been listening to it all day and I think it's great!! I honestly don't think there's a bad song on it including Tattoo...

You know...I agree. Listen to this thing in good quality headphones. There is some thick and sick guitar stuff and the solos aren't perfect, and they aren't multitracked and harmonized. The vocals aren't auto-tuned, and there's distortion on Wolfies bass. You can hear eddies pick scrapes, sub octave stuff. I think Tatoo actually translates fairly well as a cohesive song with good structure.

 

[James Lugo]

...But I can't help feeling that the production really lets the album down...

Don't blame the producer. Look at what he had to work with: a bi-polar singer, a recovering addict with an ego, a non-communicating drummer, and a kid who only listens to the previously mentioned addict.

Every band has issues and most big bands can all be hard to deal with, a producers job is to weed through that and make it happen.

 

[Bishop5150]

I listened to it on my headphones last night and really enjoyed it. I still don't really care for Tattoo but I like every other song on this thing. I enjoyed it even more cranking it on the drive to work this morning. It had my thumb tappin on the steering wheel the whole time. I'm pleasently surprised. The mix is much better than the YouTube clips I initially heard. I really like Stay Frosty. That's a fun driving down the road jam. I'm diggin the album. I think it's by far their heaviest album since Far Warning. Van Halen is back and I for one am happy about that.

 

[sixstringking713]

I'm no expert, but here's my opinion being a huge VH fan:

Just bought the album, listened thru the whole thing on my HS80M's at a good volume. The mix isnt terrible, but not what I expected. Sounds too polished/compressed.. However, DLR's don't poke out anywhere NEAR as much as those previews thank god. The drums, bass and DLR sound great, Ed's tone leaves me hanging in most of the songs... I do kind of miss M.A.'s backup vocals but they're not an absolute NEED. EVH's playing was spot on! Very impressed how tidy his playing was for the most part.

Tattoo - Don't mind the arrangement I guess just sounds so "polished" (for radio) and not really VH I wanted to hear. The first time I heard this song ever, weeks ago, I was hoping they recorded this only for the fact it'd get a lot of radio play, and that seems to be exactly what it was intended for. His tone sucks on it IMO, solo is good tho
Shes the Woman - Killer groove w/ wolfie and alex in intro. One of my favorite off the album. End of his solo run sounds like it clashes too much (2:16sec)? or maybe just me
You and Your Blues - One of my favorite off the album, Ed's tone fits the song in this
China Town - Eh, not a huge fan of this. sounds too all over the place, alex sounds good in it tho. EVH needs to lay off the WAH.
Blood and Fire - Good tune, decent tone
Bullethead - Good tune, good tone for this song, dont like the effect on the guitar in the solo
As Is - One of my favorite off the album, good tone for the song
Honeybabysweetiedoll - Good groove, good tone. Women and children first feel to this definitely!
The Trouble with Never - Love the intro riff groove and how the solo degrades into delay/reverb, Great song. One of my favorites off the album. is it just my CD copy or does everyone's copy sound like theres little clips of distortion on the mix around 1:36 1:44 1:50????
Outta Space - One of my favorites (might be because I liked Let's Get Rockin off the demo so much) seemed to like the old lyrics better at certain points in the song ("Don't you see.." etc in the prechorus)
Stay Frosty - Good tune, I like how its similar to Ice Cream Man but new.. I love the line "you want to be a monk/ you got to cook a lot of rice", dave at his best
Big River - One of my favorites (might be because I liked big trouble so much off the demo)
Beats Workin' - One of my favorites definitely, (might be because I liked Put Out the Lights off the demo) but these lyrics seem to fit well

Good job VH for walking the line of making something new, and satisfying the die hard fans and new ones to come! (and they didnt take a century to complete it like that horribly failed G & R album ha! )

 

[the rossness]

VH has been my favorite band for years. I've been listening to the album and while parts sound good, I'm having trouble getting into it. I think China Town is the best song on the album followed by Big River. I'll have to listen to it more to pick out other parts of the new VH.

People like to rag on Wolfie, but Dave is the one who can't sing well enough anymore.

That said, it sounds like it was mixed horribly!

 

[TrueTone500]

I will quote myself from a previous post:

David Lee Roth. The greatest frontman ever to grace the stage, a natural-born poet and entertainer extraordinaire. He's the Elvis Presley, Lenny Bruce, and Mark Twain of my generation. He's the "Capt. Kirk" of rock & roll - there is no equal. I haven't purchased a new CD in the last 5 years, but I will definitely be getting this. Dave - it's good to have you back!

Ed's playing on the new album is ON FUCKING FIRE!!! The "chemistry" between DLR and EVH is undeniable! ADKOT is the best VH album since Fair Warning.

 

[the rossness]

I will quote myself from a previous post:

David Lee Roth. The greatest frontman ever to grace the stage, a natural-born poet and entertainer extraordinaire. He's the Elvis Presley, Lenny Bruce, and Mark Twain of my generation. He's the "Capt. Kirk" of rock & roll - there is no equal. I haven't purchased a new CD in the last 5 years, but I will definitely be getting this. Dave - it's good to have you back!

Ed's playing on the new album is ON FUCKING FIRE!!! The "chemistry" between DLR and EVH is undeniable! ADKOT is the best VH album since Fair Warning.

If you think its better than FUCK, you've got a screw loose buddy.

 

[FUZZboat]

Over all I think poor Dave is having a hard time with his voice

as far as DLR , I'm like WTF ?

he's trying to "sing" old van halen tunes


DLR is/was/will always be a lead screamer not a lead signer and thats what makes VH - VAN HALEN !! ~ IMHO

 

[TeleBlaster]

I really, really, really wanted to like it.
It's not terrible but.... not great either.
I watched Operation LiveCrime, then listened to A Different Kind of Truth, the put on Fair Warning...
One of these things is not like the others.
Just sounded flat and dull, Dave sounded off on timing a lot, almost intentionally lagging on purpose for some reason.
I can't like it by saying "Not bad considering......"

I dunno. Maybe it will take a few spins.

 

[Jeff Hilligan]

Anyone who doesn't think this album rocks and is better than nearly any music out right now is fuckin nuts. Fun grooves, killer writing and who the fuck cares vibe! I love it start to finish. I love As is, and honeybabysweetiedoll cause they both are heavy as shit and not like songs we have heard from VH. I am glad I spent the money! I am listening to music again!

 

[mdc1mdc11]

thumbs down, although I like Outta Space and Stay Frosty..I guess the music there is enough to carry those tunes. Too much wah from Eddie, and the sound production reminds me of the peaking on Death Magnetic. I expect the the fans on tour to get really quiet when they play a few of these tunes.

My opinion, get back with Sammy and create some real songs that are original and not leftovers. Also, as hard as Wolfie tries, he is not Billy Sheehan, so he needs to find the groove and pocket and reinforce the songs. He sounds like he is playing guitar on bass.

 

[The Jeff]

First VH album I can go straight through (no skips) since 1984. It also happens to be, without question, the best since DLR left. FUCK had "Spanked," otherwise it too would have had a slim shot at dethroning ADKOT. But this album is masterful. Bravo.

 

[rrobertson]

I am glad I spent the money! I am listening to music again!

+1 Today is the first day in probably 15 years that I had headphones on ALL DAY listening to music..

 

[MYLILSS]

ive been jammin my copy of the album all day. i have enjoyed it very much.