John Shanks

RE-REVIEW: Van Halen – A Different Kind of Truth (2012 CD/DVD set)

VAN HALEN – A Different Kind of Truth (2012 Universal CD/DVD set)

When this album was released in 2012, we all wanted Van Halen to win.  Eddie had been through some tough times, but he finally did what the fans demanded:  get back together with David Lee Roth, and record a new album.  Sure, we all lamented that Michael Anthony was gone, but it was new bassist Wolfgang Van Halen that made it happen.  Without Wolf, there would be no final Van Halen album.  Just VHIII, and we know how most of you feel about that.

Working with new producer John Shanks in neutral territory, Van Halen managed to crank out a new album in just three years, starting with jams in 2009.

Wolf knew that Van Halen had to get back to a “classic” sound for their first new album with DLR since 1984.  In addition to new music, Wolf dug back into Van Halen’s archive of unreleased material, and picked seven songs that rework and re-write.  Roth called it a “collaboration with the past”, which is a good way of putting it.  No, it does not sound exactly like old Van Halen; that would be impossible.  It does, however sound like Van Halen with Roth.

Opener “Tattoo” was the first single and weakest track.  It’s also the only one with audible keyboards (by Dave), though just for texture.  Roth said the multi-layered chorus was inspired by artists such as Rhianna, but that chorus is actually the annoying part of the song.  Eddie’s fills and Dave’s verses are fine and entertaining, as is Wolfie’s fuzzy bass.  The chorus is the weak link, perhaps even worse than the lyrics:  lines such as “tramp stamp tat” and “mousewife to momshell”.  I like tattoos as much as the next guy, but I’ll never use the word “momshell” except when discussing this album.

The real banger is the second single, “She’s the Woman”, a pretty close approximation of the original Van Halen song (pre-debut album).  Wolfie’s playing is monstrous, with a catchy circular bassline that proved the kid had the talent to be in this band.  His dad must have loved jamming with him.  Ed’s solo really brings us back to classic Van Halen, while Alex’s drums have that sound that we all missed.  I hate to say it, but this rendition is probably superior to the original lineup’s version.

“You And Your Blues” has that choppy Eddie guitar we love, and those “ahh, ahh” backing vocals that scream Van Halen, even without Mike.  Dave’s lower voice works well on the verses, though he is stretched out on the high notes in the chorus.  A great Van Halen album-quality song.    (If you’re fortunate enough to have a CD/DVD combo set, you’ll be treated to a cool acoustic version of “You And Your Blues” with loads of storytelling from Roth.)

“China Town” has some of the best shredding on album.  From Wolfie’s crazy capo bass to the lightning fast tempo, all four members of Van Halen are on fire.  If any song can be said to take the classic sound and launch it into orbit, it’s “China Town”, and Wolf is the star.  The bass is not overly high in the mix, but when you listen to it and isolate it in your head, you realize that this guy has brought a new side to Van Halen:  bass shred.  Additionally, it’s a great song in every way.

Going back to 1984 and an instrumental section called “Ripley”, “Blood and Fire” was reworked in 2000 for an aborted reunion with Roth.  Interestingly “Blood and Fire” actually sounds more like Hagar era Van Halen.  It does contain one of Dave’s favourite concert phrases:  “Well look at the all of the people here tonight!”  If this track had been on 5150, it would have fit like a glove, though it would have been one of the more rocking tunes.  Edward himself is the star on this one, as he rips, shreds, and tears as if it really was 1984 again.

“Bullethead” sounds new, and also goes back to the 2000 sessions.  Van Halen speed and Dave “charasma” are held together by the rhythm section of Al and Wolf.  It contains the lyric “Got a different kind of truth”, from which the album takes its title.  Ed’s effect-laden solo is no less cool, though nobody will list “Bullethead” in their top 20 Van Halen songs.  A cool album track it is, but that’s all.

One of the coolest tunes would have to be “As Is”.  Opening with some Alex drum intensity, it breaks into a slow heavy riff, before finally accelerating into a powerhouse Van Halen smokeshow.  That running riff sounds so classic, you could swear they injected Ed with youth serum.  He sounds like a man reborn, both in terms of shred but also in fun.  Ed gets to play with many different sounds and tempos on “As Is”, while Dave also gets to enjoy himself with singing and that spoken word stuff he does so well.  Most of this is done very fast.

This sounds like a natural side break.  “Honeybabysweetiedoll” (another 2000 track) comes across like a side two opener.  Ed is experimenting with new sounds, like he used to, and you’ve never heard Ed sound or play like this before.  He goes for a middle-eastern vibe, but with the kind of intensity that other bands do not have the mettle to muster.  Dave’s lyrics about soccer moms don’t quite hit the spot where the music is concerned, but nobody’s listening to this song for the lyrics.  It’s the guitar that makes the biggest impact here.  You can imagine the Ed diehard fans just pounding their fists in celebration when they heard what Ed was up to, before they tried to figure out how he got that sound.

“The Trouble With Never” might be the only track that doesn’t seem like it goes anywhere.  You also miss Michael Anthony the most on backing vocals here.  It’s just a song.  Not a great one, not a bad one…but with one hell of a cool bassline.

“Outta Space” originated in the mid-70’s as “Let’s Get Rockin'”.  The riff is classic even though it never made an album before.  Dave sings in his highest voice, which is actually cool after a lot of lower pitched songs.  As you’d expect for a song originally called “Let’s Get Rockin'”, it smokes from start to finish, top speed and loaded with cool Eddie licks.  It’s fun to hear the rhythm guitar drop out during his solo, just as it used to in 1978.  Ed wasn’t fond of that sound, but it certainly evokes an era and a vibe.  It’s like a warm sweater.  Maybe Ed would appreciate that sometimes the absence of a guitar can also speak.

Dave plays acoustic guitar on the fun “Stay Frosty”, an old song that certainly recalls “Ice Cream Man” in every way.  There’s one lyric that Dave liked to point out:  “If you wanna be a monk, you gotta cook a lot of rice.”  Hey, it’s not untrue.  Let me put it this way:  If you imagined a sequel to “Ice Cream Man”, it’s “Stay Frosty”.  Not quite as good, but hits all the same beats that you want to hear.

“Big River” sounds like an older song.  It has a cool curly guitar opening, before laying into this awesome guitar/bass groove.  More a groove than a riff.  Dave’s lyrics and singing are top notch on this song.  Classic Van Halen. The surprise is that halfway through the song, for the solo section, it transforms into a completely different groove.  This section has some of Eddie’s best playing too.  It reverts back to the original riff for the last third of the song.  All the while Wolfie is playing the most incredible bass fills, but never stepping on his dad’s toes.  Think about that for a second.  In the mix, you have the greatest guitar player in the world playing over this awesome riff, but the bass player still manages to throw a whole bunch of cool fills in there, without getting in the way.  That’s a band, and that’s family, and that’s talent.  If this song had been on an album like Fair Warning, people would still remember it today.

The closing song “Beat’s Workin'” starts with a cascade of Alex Van Halen drums, gone gonzo.  It then breaks into a fun riff and a good time album-ender.  A song called “Beats Workin'” should sound like a celebration.  I get a bit of a Max Webster vibe, though heavier, along with a hint of Aerosmith.  Once again the rhythm guitar drops out when Eddie goes solo, but then Wolf gets a moment in the spotlight too.  His fuzz bass tone is very much unlike Michael Anthony’s.  There’s a moment here when he and Alex are just playing while Ed does his thing, and it feels beautiful, especially now, knowing the family will never be reunited.  But let’s not get too somber.  It’s a party, after all.

The bonus DVD also includes acoustic versions of “Panama” and “Beautiful Girls”.  They are alright.  Valuable to have in your collection.  You might not go back to listen to them very often.  Another reason to own this physically is the lyric sheet, with cool sketches for each song.  This is a Dave touch.

Final thoughts:

  1. The album cover, though a cool picture of a train, just doesn’t feel like classic Van Halen.  Then again, what does?  They’ve had so many different kinds of covers.
  2. The production on this album slams.
  3. Though Eddie is the star, and we’re all listening to every note he plays, it doesn’t sound like an EVH solo album like VHIII did.  It sounds like a real band album.
  4. John Shanks and David Lee Roth did the best they could with what remains of Dave’s voice, and did a fine job of it by doing more of that speak-sing thing.
  5. The flow on this album is excellent.  There is hardly any filler, and every song works in its given slot, especially the closing trio of “Stay Frosty”, “Big River” and “Beats Workin'”.

4.5/5 stars

COMPLETE VAN HALEN REVIEW SERIES:

VAN HALEN – Zero (1977 Gene Simmons demo bootleg)
VAN HALEN – Van Halen (1978 Warner)
VAN HALEN – Van Halen II (1979 Warner)
VAN HALEN – Women and Children First (1980 Warner)
VAN HALEN – Fair Warning (1981 Warner)
VAN HALEN – Diver Down (1982 Warner)
VAN HALEN – 1984 (1984 Warner)
VAN HALEN – 5150 (1986 Warner Bros.)
VAN HALEN – OU812 (1988 Warner)
VAN HALEN – For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991)
VAN HALEN – LIVE: Right here, right now. (1993 Warner Bros, plus “Jump” live single)
VAN HALEN – Balance (1995 Warner – Japanese version included)
VAN HALEN – Balance (1995) Review by Derek Kortepeter
VAN HALEN – Best Of Volume I (1996 Warner)
VAN HALEN – 3 (Collectors’ tin 1998)
VAN HALEN – The Best of Both Worlds (2005 Warner)
VAN HALEN – A Different Kind of Truth (2012)
VAN HALEN – Tokyo Dome Live in Concert (2015)
VAN HALEN – Tokyo Dome Live in Concert (2015) Review by Tommy Morais

+

VAN HALEN – Rock & Roll Hoochie Koo (1975 radio broadcast
VAN HALEN – “Best of Both Worlds” (1986 Warner 7″ single)
VAN HALEN – Live Without a Net (1987 VHS/DVD)
VAN HALEN – Selections from LIVE: Right here, right now. (1993 Warner promo EP)
VAN HALEN – “Can’t Get This Stuff No More” / “Me Wise Magic” (1996 Warner promo singles)
VAN HALEN – “Can’t Stop Loving You” (Parts 1 & 2, inc. collector’s tin)
VAN HALEN – “Right Now” (1992 cassette single, Warner)
VAN HALEN – Video Hits Volume I (1998 DVD)
VAN HALEN vs. JOHN LENNON – “Imagine A Jump” mashup by “Mighty Mike”

RECORD STORE TALES Part 186:  The Van Halen Tin
GETTING MORE TALE #657: Operation: Van Halen (Derek’s Story)

REVIEW: Bon Jovi – Burning Bridges (2015)

FLAMING TURDS

“Flaming Turds” artwork courtesy of SARCA at CAUGHT ME GAMING.  Thanks Sarca!

It’s the WEEK OF FLAMING TURDS!  This week we will be looking at a collection of malodorous music.  Strike a match, you’ll need it for these stinkers!  

For a “drunk review” of this same album by Aaron over at the KMA, click here!

BURNING BRIDGESBON JOVI – Burning Bridges (2015 Mercury)

Like the gambler, I lay my cards on the table:  Richie Sambora was a critical component of Bon Jovi, perhaps as important as their leader.  That’s the way we see it here at LeBrain HQ.  A Bon Jovi without Sambora is a far less interesting animal.  Still, we do have a responsibility to listen to their first post-Richie album, Burning Bridges, with open ears and report back with accuracy.  So let us begin.

Burning Bridges is a set of unreleased and new songs, and also their last record with Mercury.  By calling it a gift to the fans and not considering it a “real” album, the pressure was off.  Producer/co-writer John Shanks handles guitar duties with Jon Bon Jovi on acoustic.  Billy Falcon also co-wrote a number of tracks, and there’s even one lone Richie co-write.

Things begin slowly on “A Teardrop to the Sea” but there is a dark edge to it that is appealing and reminiscent of the underrated These Days album.  I question the wisdom of opening an album wish such a slow number but it does make a strong first impression.  It is sparsely arranged yet powerful, and with or without Richie it sounds like Bon Jovi.  All it needs is one of his bluesy, soulful solos…alas.  Shanks does his best to imitate the axeman. “We Don’t Run”, the single, starts off well but then it descends into another glossy, overproduced digital mess with another imitation Richie solo. Potential wasted.

Sambora co-wrote “Saturday Night Gave Me Sunday Morning” but it’s just paint-by-numbers Pop Jovi. You can predict the hooks coming, although you gotta give credit to the talent of Tico Torres for throwing in some cool drum beats. Pop Jovi strums the acoustics again on “We All Fall Down”, a ballad completely interchangeable with similar ones on any Bon Jovi album over the last decade. Ditto, “Blind Love”. It’s like Kleenex: You pull one out, and an identical tissue takes its place!  Pop Jovi continues balladeering on “Who Would You Die For”.  It does have a dark and low key These Days kind of vibe, but the slick production and programming are completely unnecessary.  I’d give the song a C though rather than a D or lower, because it’s dramatic enough, crap production aside.

Unplugged “Fingerprints” is horrid, flaccid and flatulent for its entire six minute length.  Lyrically, at this point I’m convinced that Jon is just writing down the first things that come to his mind.  “I gave you my fingerprints, guilty or innocent,” he sings with false passion.  More woah-oh-oh singing commences on the nauseatingly contrived “Life is Beautiful”, clearly a leftover from Bon Jovi’s new country period (Lost Highway).  The crapslide continues with “I’m Your Man”, upbeat at least but without a spine.  Finally we have “Burning Bridges”, the song Jon wrote about leaving Mercury, and it’s actually the best song on the album!  Yes, it’s country, but it sounds more or less like a jam, without the annoying production.  The lyrics are pretty hilarious and are by far the most interesting ones on the album.  It’s pretty obvious what it’s about so if you want a taste of the music industry from Jon’s perspective, give it a listen:

“After 30 years of loyalty,
They let you dig the grave,
Now maybe you could learn to sing,
Or even strum along, I’ll give you half the publishing,
You’re why I wrote this song.”

Ooft!  Elsewhere he invites them to play this song in hell!  A bitter end indeed.

Burning Bridges is an unnecessary album to own.  It’s bookended by two decent songs, with the last being the only one that I would consider for a mix tape.  The “real”  new Bon Jovi album, This House is Not for Sale, comes out this spring.  Perhaps with new guitarist Phil X (formerly of Triumph) in the mix, some chemistry will finally return.

1/5 stars

 

1. “A Teardrop to the Sea”
2. “We Don’t Run”
3. “Saturday Night Gave Me Sunday Morning”
4. “We All Fall Down”
5. “Blind Love”
6. “Who Would You Die For”
7. “Fingerprints”
8. “Life Is Beautiful”
9. “I’m Your Man”
10. “Burning Bridges”

REVIEW: Bon Jovi – The Circle (2009 CD/DVD edition)

CIRCLE_0004BON JOVI – The Circle (2009 Island CD/DVD edition)

The Circle is an apt title for this Bon Jovi album. They returned from their pop country detour down the Lost Highway and returned to essentially exactly where they were on the previous album, Have A Nice Day. If you are familiar with Bon Jovi, you know that Have A Nice Day was an OK record full of pop rock like “Last Cigarette”, modern and slick. That’s what this record is too, but that’s starting to get a little old.

First single “We Weren’t Born To Follow” (I find that title ironic as Bon Jovi didn’t spend much of their career leading, musically) is a great, uptempo song with a catchy chorus and slick guitar playing by Richie Sambora. It’s another in a long succession of latter day Pop Jovi successes. The best tune on this record is the the “statement song” regarding the economic collapse: “Work For The Working Man”. However, isn’t there something we’ve heard here before? Doesn’t Hugh McDonald’s bassline sound a lot like the one from “Livin’ On A Prayer”?  Even if it’s little more than a rewrite of the same hook, it’s a great song with a powerful chorus.  It has some muscle to it, and is one of the few songs on the album that does.  Rhythmic and strong, this echoes not only “Prayer” but also “Keep The Faith” in some respects.

Elsewhere on the album, there are some intriguing sounds that almost remind me of the back-to-basics goodness that was These Days, and the heavier moments on Bounce (see: “Bullet”).  However “Bullet” is also bears unpleasant similarities to Collective Soul. There are also moments that take me back to Lost Highway and Crush ,but not in a good way.  Songs like “Fast Cars” and “Brokenpromiseland” (ugh!) just sit there like the flaccid Pop Jovi songs that they are.  Bon Jovi are on cruise control.

CIRCLE_0002My two favourite Bon Jovi albums of recent vintage (ie: post-Keep the Faith) are the criminally underrated These Days, and Bounce. What the band need to do is: A) get their MVP back, Mr. Richie Sambora.  B) write an album without all these outside writers like John Shanks and Billy Falcon, based on rock and roll, not the radio.  The Circle is close at times.  “Learn To Love” for example was written by Jon and Richie with Desmond Child, and approaches a vintage These Days epic quality.

How likely is Bon Jovi to rock out like they used to? The DVD documentary included with this edition of The Circle is not encouraging. Entitled When We Were Beautiful (named for the U2-like song on the album), it is an insightful look into the inner workings of Bon Jovi.  It also has some enticing live clips. (Please, Jon, please! Release a full length audio version of Richie singing “I’ll Be There  For You”, it’s great!) However it is quite clear that Jon is the driving force of the band, and the rest of the guys are salaried employees of the corporation.  Jon is very clear that he’s a businessman and he must make albums that he thinks people will like.  It’s unfortunate that he’s decided that pop music is the answer.  I think it’s unlikely Jon will be breaking new ground again soon.

But you never know.

3/5 stars