80's cheese but...

A few months ago I was listening back to some of DLR solo stuff. I was quite surprised at how good it was. I'm not saying it was better than his work with VH but there are some seriously good songs here. By both Becker and Vai.
 
wagdog said:
Amazing choregraphy...

VH was a better band w/ Roth... but Dave was never a singer and his shtick wasn't enough to carry a band.
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Agreed. His post-VH bands had some stellar talent, but even with them his solo career was limited.


Gotta get me a pair of those zebra chaps.
 
That was gawdawful. DLR is a consummate front man that operates on sheer willpower. He somehow overcomes his limitations in the right setting just by forcing the issue. The problem with that, is that it often results in over the top cheese. VH did a great job of keeping him in check in that regard. Left to his own devices, he becomes a parody.
 
OGG said:
That was gawdawful. DLR is a consummate front man that operates on sheer willpower. He somehow overcomes his limitations in the right setting just by forcing the issue. The problem with that, is that it often results in over the top cheese. VH did a great job of keeping him in check in that regard. Left to his own devices, he becomes a parody.
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......... and we get to one of my favorite topics for slow mental chewing: group dynamics. Especially counterweight(s).

One of my favorite bands of all time is the Brian Jonestown Massacre. In the late 90's/early 00's, Anton (Newcombe, the leader of the band) was a mess. But he had Jeffrey Richards, a truly expressive and gifted guitarist who also (key phrase here) wouldn't be cowed by Anton's bullshit and somehow that was the magical counterweight. There were some evenings that literally veered between open hostility and transcendent guitar jams, and it was magic in a way I haven't seen since Jeff left the band in 2002-ish. And I love that band now.
 
It’s a decent song but overproduced to an extreme. I made it to 1:53 before I was overwhelmed by the keys and vocal layering and gave up.
 
Hard rock-loving guitar geeks don't see this, because they've got the rose-coloured glasses.

But Van Halen, in its prime, was just a B-level band with some A-level skills and tricks and theatrics, and the ability to connect with the blue collar crowd. If Van Halen was a movie, it'd be something like Road House.

Again, this doesn't diminish the fact that EVH influenced an entire generation of guitar players who made shitty music.
 
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Honkridge said:
Every time I participate in a DLR/Van Halen thread I feel iky later.
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Hey! I like Ike! Eisenhower was a bad mofo. Not sure how he relates to the conversation. I'd read over the thread again, but VH/DLR threads make me feel icky.

Sent from Crab Nebulae via reverse engineered alien technology
 
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