I didn’t know it when I was watching Sammy Hagar jam with Eddie Van Halen at Farm Aid but I was witnessing the roots of the next incarnation of Van Halen. I seem to recall them playing There’s Only One Way To Rock, a Led Zeppelin song, maybe Rock & Roll but I don’t recall them playing any Van Halen stuff.
Watching them live, they did the new stuff really well but when it came to the old Van Halen classics, it was tough to get through. It was like Black Sabbath going from Ozzy to Ronnie Jame Dio. Sammy’s voice is stronger and more capable but those early Van Halen songs were written to draw upon David Lee Roth’s strengths and it just didn’t sound right coming from Sammy’s powerful voice.
I still maintain that Diamond Dave’s live show was considerably more energetic and entertaining than Van Halen on the 5150 tour. Maybe in the following years when they had chance to do more material and sort stuff out. I’m not suggesting that they were bad, just that the ciurcumstances stacked the deck in Dave’s favor.
It was easier for Dave and his band to sound like Van Halen than it was for Van Halen at that time. Steve Vai is an amazing guitarist as well. I would have to suggest that technically, Van Halen with Sammy Hager was musically superior. The music was good and the lyrics benefitted from Sammy’s talent. I would eventually end up with just two albums from the Sammy Hagara era. They really are good but I would eventually end up with all the David Lee Roth Van Halen albums. Does that say anything? Does it provide any kind of insight intoMy Musical Evolution?
When I say Van Halen, what is the first song that pops into your head? Is it Dave or Sammy? I sometimes wish that they would have called the group Van Hagar like so many of us did.
Good Enough
Why Can’t This Be Love
Dreams – Probably my favorite song from the Van Hagar era
Summer Nights
Best Of Both Worlds
Love Walks In