It's been fourteen years since Van Halen last released a studio album, and in that time a whole lot has changed. Eddie's son Wolfgang is all grown up now, twenty-one years old and now occupies the bass slot left vacant by Michael Anthony: so now there are three Van Halens in the band. More to the point, after several albums with Sammy Hagar, it's back to basics for the band as Dave Lee Roth joins them again, after a hiatus of nearly thirty years, and although you can argue back and forth for the “Sammy was best/Dave was best” camp, whichever side you're in, it doesn't matter. Fish ain't gonna rejoin Marillion and Roger Waters won't be getting back with Pink Floyd just because we preferred it that way. What's done is done, and things have come full circle for Van Halen.
In more than one way really, as the new album features mostly material written by the guys in the seventies, but never used, so it's almost completely back to basics, albeit with a twenty-first century upgrade. It'll either work beautifully or crash like Rick Santorum's presidential hopes, so let's see which it turns out to be.
A different kind of truth --- Van Halen --- 2012 (Interscope)
It opens with “Tattoo”, which was the lead single, with a big, heavy rockin' sound with dashes of AOR too, Dave Lee Roth's three decades away from the band not seeming to have affected his voice nor his rapport with the Van Halens, and it's almost 1984 again. Good backing vocals, and Eddie certainly hasn't lost it on the guitar, slapping in a fine solo here. Solid bass from the young lad; we'll see as the album goes on if he distinguishes himself or stands out in any way but for now it's a respectable bassline maintained by Wolfgang Van Halen.
My problem with DLR has always been his overacting, his larger-than-life ego and his “mischevious child” way of going on, which always seemed to relegate the band to the status of clowns when they can in fact rock, and here they certainly do. I haven't seen any videos, so I don't know if our Dave has grown up any, but have to admit his voice is still strong and powerful, well able to reach the highest notes or drop as required. “She's the woman” is another hard rocker, Eddie really breaking out the guitar licks as Alex hammers away on the skins, and yes, there is a certain sense of the seventies about these songs, though they've obviously been updated for 2012.
Now I should point out I'm not a huge VH fan. Like most people, I've heard the singles, and one or two albums, but I'm certainly not qualified to decide which of the two vocalists (well, three, but then Gary Cherone only featured on one album, the one before this, and it's always been a tug-of-war, opinionwise, between Dave Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar) is the better, but I always felt that Hagar was the more “serious” of the two. That said, I'm sure DLR can have his moments, and here he certainly does not seem to be fooling around. Great solo in “You and your blues”, with Roth in fine, raunchy form, then there's a blistering opening to “China town”, which just takes off on rocketrails from Alex as Eddie keeps up, the fastest track on the album so far. I would have to say this track is the closest Van Halen come to heavy metal rather than heavy rock, and we're only four tracks in!
Totally in contrast then, “Blood and fire” opens on gentle, introspective guitar and turns into a mid-paced rocker, which I have to admit I thought originally was going to be a ballad, but would definitely make a good follow-up single. Very radio friendly, while still retaining the core of rock that is intrinsic to Van Halen. Things rock back along then for “Bullethead”, which contains the title, though there is actually no title track. Some pretty furious fretwork from Eddie, good to see him back in the game, then “As is” comes in on a big drum intro somewhat reminiscent of Phil Collins before Eddie joins the attack and the tempo picks right up, though I have to say “Honeybabysweetiedoll” is something of a mess, and a fast mess at that. Not really sure what they were going for here, but they seem to have missed it.
(Unfortunately it would appear VH's label will not allow any content from the new album to be published on YT. This is the “official” clips video they graciously allowed be put online, so it'll have to do. Personally, I don't think you're missing anything...)
I find the same thing with “The trouble with never”: sort of confused, a bit all over the place. Decent solo but it's kind of hurting my head... “Outta space” is better, pure mad rock but “Stay frosty” breaks the mould considerably, with a jangly, almost acoustic and quite country-style bopper, very catchy and it's followed by “Big river”, a great powerful rocker which puts me in mind of the best of Creedence Clearwater Revival, then closer “Beats workin'” (great title, though I think Dire Straits said it first, if not in so many words) has a huge guitar and drum intro, hard and heavy, probably how the album should have started, instead of finishing, still it closes strongly so that can't be bad.
Serious critics, should they ever read my reviews, will probably think I'm a right gobsh1te, as again, like others I've reviewed and not liked, or rated highly, “A different kind of truth” has got rave reviews most places, but personally although it's not a bad album, I don't see anything that great about it. Certainly nothing worth waiting fourteen years for. It's good, in places it's quite good, but though it starts off well and ends well, the middle section really undoes the good work in my opinion.
As I said, I'm not a huge Van Halen fan, and though there is a lot to enthuse over on this album --- Eddie's work is flawless and powerful, as ever, and Dave's voice is almost that of a man ten years younger --- it doesn't knock me out as I had hoped/expected it to. In ways, it seems like, even after all this time, the lads thought they could just turn up and churn out another album and that would do. Well, I don't see anything on this to get excited about, and “Stay frosty” aside, nothing is going to stay in my head once it's over, so I would have to class this as a failure, in my opinion.
Worth waiting a teenager's life for? Not by a long shot.
TRACKLISTING
1. Tattoo
2. She's the woman
3. You and your blues
4. China town
5. Blood and fire
6. Bullethead
7. As is
8. Honeysweetiebabydoll
9. The trouble with never
10. Outta space
11. Stay frosty
12. Big river
13. Beats workin'