VAN HALEN – Selections from LIVE: Right here, right now. (1993 Warner promo EP) “Van Halen turns 15!”
Stuff like this is in my collection not because it’s valuable to me, but because at one point in time I got it for free. We ran across promos like these all the time, and couldn’t sell them, so they were free to take. Because it was Van Halen, I hung onto it even though all five tracks are taken from the live album Right here, right now. It disappears in your CD collection due to the jewel case without a back cover or spine. For the sake of simplicity (and a shorter title), we’ll just refer to this EP as “Van Halen turns 15”.
It actually plays really well. Without any filler or solos, it’s a tight CD packed with some of the best songs. “Dreams” serves as a connection to the earlier pop rock sounds of 5150. Live, it rocks with higher octane than the studio version. “Judgement Day” was one of the better representations of the then-new For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge material. Its modern groove was predictive of the kind of music people would want to hear in the 90s: heavier with more edge. “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” is the one token DLR track, and then seemingly to balance things out, it’s Sammy’s “One Way to Rock”. Whatever — the listening experience is perfect.
Because “Right Now” was the biggest thing since Crystal Pepsi, it’s inevitable that the live version was included on this CD. If you find “Right Now” to be vomit-inducing, you can just hit stop.
Since this is a promo and should only be sought as a freebie, appointing it a score out of 5 stars is meaningless. Radio stations are always ditching boxes of old CDs so it’s bound to turn up somewhere.
Whatever/5 stars
mikeladano.com 
This “live” version of “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” is probably my all time favourite version
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Yep I totally agree. The tempo increase makes the song rock even harder and Hagar on vocals works even better.
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It’s also got the best backing vocals of the bunch
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Sweetened after the fact though.
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Yep they had to change it up just a little bit and they made it work!
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It’s pretty fine. When I first got the album I didn’t care for it, but I sure did love that version of that song. It made me wonder why Hagar wouldn’t do more Roth. He did great!
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I think this post has inspired me to listen to FUCK again. Always found it mediocre, but FUCK it! I wanna hear it. “Right Now” is sort of in my head.
So there you go. Your site has had an impact on my night.
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FUCK is kinda mediocre to me, but what the hell, everybody shouts me down when I say that!
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I fell asleep and didn’t listen to it, but I might listen to it again one of these days. Which is something I’ve been saying ever since I bought the album years ago. Haha. There are just so many better albums to listen to, like every other Van Halen album not featuring Gary Cherone.
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Cool little find Mikey. Never knew this existed so thanks for sharing. I still have hard time wrapping my head around this live album as its sounds sterile to me. But a cool 5 pack none the less
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A five pack goes down a WHOLE lot easier than the full album which is a chore and a bore!
When I first started this site I wasn’t gonna review stuff like this because all the songs are on the album. I’ve changed my mind — people love seeing weird stuff like this. “Van Halen turns 15!” LOL. OK.
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I enjoyed it as I have never seen it before. Cool find and the perks of working in a record shop!
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I never find the promos for free. I always have to pay $5 bucks or more now as the ones I am finding are on vinyl. This is cool though.
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Vinyl, yeah, that’s an exception. But I won’t pay for a CD like this that somebody got for free and has been trying to sell for two decades but can’t.
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I think that is very valid.
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Haha, well said about Crystal Pepsi – though I associate the song with SNL’s Crystal Clear Gravy ad!
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You know what I’ve got to say about this, right?
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