I've been an avid fan of Van Halen for almost 30 years. Throughout that time I've also bought every single Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth solo release.

Van Halen have been quiet for a long time so the news that finally broke of a new album due on February 7th 2012, the single 'tattoo' released this week and a tour to follow sounded very promising. So far the single seems to be getting mixed reviews - about 1/4 of fans hate it and the other 3/4 seem to like it! I fall into the 3/4 who like it. It definitely isn't in the same league as something like 'jump' or 'panama' but it still delivers what most people remember Van Halen sounded like in the 80's and that can only be a good thing. In fact that one song made more impact on me that all of the Sammy Hagar solo stuff he has churned out since he exited Van Halen which if I was to be brutally honest is pretty bland....sorry Sammy, but Dave still rules!!

I've certainly pre-ordered my copy of their forthcoming album - A Different Kind of Truth.

What does anyone else think?

Decent music, I was never a huge VH fan in the first place. I agree with the 'left over demos' thought. They wrote the music 30 years ago and never put it on an album, it's still there music and it is going back to what people want.
Now if they could calm the egos a bit, they might survive a tour

Yes the new album must be something the fans can really appreciate and not another disaster like Van Halen III.

If the band stick to the following basic formula they will not go far wrong:

Unchained (from fair warning) - one of the best guitar riffs ever
Dance the night away (from II) - Very melodic upbeat single which was a bit like 'jump' without the synthesisers
Ain't talkin 'bout love (from debut) - another unforgettable classic guitar riff throughout
Panama (from 1984) - Instant classic - again like a slightly heavier version of jump without the synthesisers
Jump (from 1984) - Their most famous song. Near perfect blend of guitar and synthesiser.
Hear About it Later (from fair warning) - Fantastic intro. Fair Warning really was the best Van Halen album by a mile.
Everybody wants some!! (from Women and children first) - Perfect track for Roth to showcase himself with all those wacky sounds, screams and wows!
Dreams (from 5150) - beautiful power ballad, maybe Hagar's best effort. This track convinced all but the most die hard VH fans that there was life after Roth had exited
Secrets (from Diver Down) - One of the few songs where Roth sings with a serious voice for the entire duration. He does a great job too
Little Guitars (from Diver Down) - a two part track - the beautiful acoustic guitar intro that then leads on a really powerful rock track
Hot for teacher (from 1984) - so many other bands tried to clone this little ditty over the years but the original is still the best.
Atomic Punk (from debut) - The start of this track is just mindblowing with all the spaced out sound!
Mine all mine (from OU812) - Another great song from the Hagar years. This super fast synthesiser track could easily have been the lead single off the album

It will be interesting to see what they come up with!

I like the preceding songs, as well as Mean Streets and And the Cradle Will Rock. I think the latter is one of their all time bests.

Only about a week before the new Van Halen album is released......can't wait!!

Some little snippets are starting to surface in the internet:

Track called 'Blood and Fire' is available from - Sounds really like 'Secrets' or even 'Little Guitars' so I love it!!!
http://www.guitarworld.com/van-halen-pr ... d-and-fire

Here is another track called 'Stay Frosty' - very like 'Take Your Whisky Home' or 'Ice Cream Man' so another great one!
http://www.guitarworld.com/van-halen-po ... tay-frosty

And finally.....a track called 'China Town' - heavy and real fast - reminds me a bit like 'I'm on fire', 'House of pain' so another winner.
http://www.guitarworld.com/van-halen-po ... china-town

Album definitely is a must buy now!!!

WOW! - I just received the new Van Halen album today (4/2/2012), even though it is apparently not due for release until the 5/02/2012 in Australia or 7/2/2012 in UK/US.



So far the reviews online have been 99.9% positive (just one sour grapes Sammy reviewer out there!!) so it is gonna be a fantastic weekend....

One of the catchiest songs (Blood and Fire) from the new Van Halen album began life as an instrumental on the movie 'The Wild Life' - a track called Ripley.
It has been changed a little but the essence of the original track is still intact and instantly recognisable.



There were a number of other original Edward Van Halen compositions on this soundtrack which can be heard at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYJSxyHbhMY

A few very nice synth/guitar songs were included on that film that would compare nicely with 'Jump', 'I'll wait' etc.

Good film too and is has yet to be re-issued on DVD. Not sure why.

Spurred by all the positive reviews so far about the new Van Halen album (which truly is brilliant), I bought the following CD last week - Strummin' With The Devil: Bluegrass Tribute to Van Halen:



I had known of its existence for some time but had delayed purchasing it as I was unsure what blueglass interpretations of classic Van Halen songs would sound like.
I have to be honest and say I was very skeptical.

Check out the song listing - they didn't exactly go for the easy ones!!:



I've been listening to this CD for a few days now and it is really growing on me.
Not every song works, but a few just might even be an improvement on the originals....seriously!

'I'll Wait' from the classic 1984 Van Halen album was a very heavily synthesised track. It just seemed impossible to me to produce a stripped down version of that track but somehow the band Blue Highway have genuinely succeeded. The really catchy mandolins at the start remind me of early Heart albums from the 70's like 'Little Queen' or 'Dog & Butterfly' which I love so I really like the version they have recorded. It also has a beautiful guitar solo that Eddie Van Halen would be proud of. It genuinely is a very interesting interpretation of the original song. I always thought the synthesisers used on the original were a bit top heavy - I was always struggling to hear Dave singing. The synths also haven't dated that well. This version of 'I'll Wait' really highlights the song structure beneath the barrage of synthesisers. It honestly feels like I am listening to the true song for the first time ever and it sounds all the better for it.

'Running with the devil' is also very impressive. The classic start is intact (albeit bluegrass style) and it doesn't lose any of its charm.
'Dance the Night Away' is one of the few tracks that more naturally lends itself to an acoustic version. Not surprisingly that one also works well.

I'm not so sure about 'Unchained', 'Hot for teacher', or 'Panama' though but any band trying to improve on those originals is surely playing with fire!!
Still they were fun to listen to.

I suspect most 40 something Van Halen fans out there would find this an interesting CD to try. I did!

Back in January 2012 it was announced there would be a special collector's tour edition of the new Van Halen LP 'A Different Kind Of Truth'.
This was only available for sale in the US.

Needless to say I ordered my copy via a friend in the US and it arrived this weekend.

Production of the LP didn't commence until late March so it took a while but here it is:



It is really nice gatefold sleeve with an embossed front cover and custom artwork.
My copy is still sealed at the moment but it contains two coloured red vinyl 180 gram LPs.

This could be the last ever Van Halen album or at least the last ever Van Halen LP released so it wasn't a hard decision to purchase this.
Also there will be very few copies in circulation in Europe given it was only for sale in the US and then only via a special site - it was not sold instore anywhere.
This coloured vinyl edition will also only be available for a limited time while they are touring.

Just imagine how cool the gatefold laserdisc version would have looked!