Is the "reunited/reborn" Van Halen re-writing the band's history?
So Van Halen has "reunited" with David Lee Roth at the helm for a big fall tour, only it's not a real reunion without Michael Anthony on board – Eddie's son Wolfgang will be filling in on bass. I'm going to be one of those dudes who protests at a band reuniting without a vital member in the group. Maybe Michael Anthony isn't the big draw to the band, but on those six amazing albums they put out, he and Roth were a crucial part of the vocal element of the band. With only Roth on vocals this time out... well, I just can't imagine not hearing Anthony's key super-high vocals backing him. I can't see anyone fitting that bill, and I certainly can't see Wolfgang belting out those high notes. But maybe, as the band claims, it's "not a reunion but a rebirth." Well, rebirth or not, this newborn is missing a limb.…
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26 - Rick H
Mike is with Sammy playing dive bars, how could he tour with VH at the same time? You guys are complaining over nothing. All the Roth shows will sellout, unlike the Hagar reunion which tanked and lost promoters money. Sam and Mike will never be in VH again - they are not needed. Long live the new and improved Van Halen!
27 - Rick H
"No Rock Hall, no nothing"
LOL, VH were a lock for the hall long before Sammy came into the pic. Sammy owes Dave everything.
28 - Mark Saleski
Sammy may be playing in dive bars, but since he sold that major share of cabo wabo for 80 million dollars, he can do whatever the hell he pleases (i know i would!)
at least he doesn't look so classless while doing it.
29 - El Bicho
Tom, I am ready to agree to disagree, but here are my thoughts.
First off, let's get serious. Nothing can be seen clearly in any of these pics.
Wolf might be heavier than Ed, but celebrities get photoshopped all the time, so image size is no guarantee of anything. check out the portfolio section of this site and then tell me that people can't be made to look skinnier. And that pic you link to of Wolf is from years ago, so that proves nothing nor does the clothes the person has on.
Dave and Ed need each other equally. There were three other attempts and Dave needed the band those times as much as he does now. I don't believe he has now got his ego in check.
"He knows Eddie would bring in Sammy." I guess you didn't hear how bad the '04 reunion went if you believe that. "or someone else - to replace him again the instant a problem arose." That's already happened. Ask Gary Cherone how that experiment went.
30 - El Bicho
Live Daily reports that it's Wolf, not Ed
Saleski, I saw Sam in '02 when he toured with Dave. He's has his own way of looking classless: using his concert as an infomercial for CW.
31 - Luke
Like I said, that makes a lot more sense. Thanks Bicho for the detective work.
32 - BK
Too funny....reading all of this "world begins and ends with VH stuff". Eddie is a friggin' head case and Roth is a washed-up old burn-out who can't even sing half the notes that he used to hit. Of course the tour will do huge business becuase there's a whole wide world of nostalgic guppies that will gladly fork over ridiculous gobs of money for a chance to worship their old rock gods and pretend they still matter. Give me a break. I'd rather see two guys out there having fun like Sammy and Mike than shell out to see Eddie and his band of egomaniacs.
33 - Tom Johnson
LiveDaily is "reporting" it only as much as I'm reporting it - they're going off of what people say, not something official. I will continue to stand by my assessment. That ain't Wolfgang and that ain't a bass. I'll be happy to eat my words if someone can show me some concrete evidence to the contrary, but so far I've done far more than anyone who claims it's Wolfgang in the cover. If the guitar-comparison I created, linked above, didn't illustrate the point, nothing will.
And Eddie absolutely would bring back Sammy if things went badly enough with Dave. (There's no saying, of course, that Sammy would go back.) Remember, according to the band, for ages Dave would never, ever be back in the band, and then when Eddie and Sammy stopped getting along after Balance, he was out and Dave was back in - and then wasn't, and then was again. Eddie seems perfectly happy to do whatever he happens to need to do at the time. I don't think he has any particular problem pretending the past didn't happen. He'd probably have brough Gary back if he knew the fans would buy into it. (Luckily we won't!)
Eh, I'm done with this. I've spent far too much time in Photoshop on this crap when I could have actually been doing something creative (and getting paid for it.) Twelve years of Photoshop expertise and I'm reduced to examining Van Halen pictures and matching up tiny guitars? Time to go read a book or something . . .
34 - Peter
"LOL, VH were a lock for the hall long before Sammy came into the pic. Sammy owes Dave everything."
That logic is fuzzy in so many ways. Bottom line: Eddie might be a lock for the hall because of his technique -- even though he's not the first to experiment with tapping -- and Sammy only owes Dave "everything" as it relates to his tenure in VH. If VH ended in 1984, they might have been considered legendary... or they might have just been written off as another wankish 80s pop metal act that got popular for a while.
I'm just saying...
All that said, I love VH, always have, and I have great memories of them in the classic format and the Hagar format... and I even went to the "Sans Halen" bit with Sammy and Dave. I gotta say that unless Dave has a vocal coach who has shaved 10-15 years off of those nasty old pipes, he's gonna sound like a dumptruck.
35 - Boomer
It's been bugging me since the tour was announced. Eddie can't sing, Wolfie can't (I'll assume like father like sone) sing, leaving Dave. It's gonna sound imcomplete at best. If I was going to the show I'd be sure to bring along a tin ear.
The other bug is they're not bringing ANY new material on the road???
36 - chaosgone
I'm happy to see that the group is touring again. While I like Sammy Hagar just fine, I prefer David Lee Roth as the lead singer. It's a shame that Michael Anthony is not with the band now. Hopefully, Wolfgang can fill his shoes. Time will tell...
I wrote about Van Halen back together on my blog, too.
37 - dan
I'm an eddie fan and as long as he is happy, you will get your monies worth! You can't honestly argue the Mike thang as the band clearly indicated this to be a continuation of the band and not a reunion. Rock and Roll is all about youth, so having wolf just makes sense.
38 - Bob Baker
Give Wolf a chance. Michael Anthony did not make any great contributions to the band. It would be nice to have all the originals, but what the hell. Bass players are a dime a dozen. Van Halen's stars are back; Eddie, David, and Alex. Welcome back. I never bought an album/cd with Sammy Hagar singing. Sammy is awesome by himself, and I thought it was a strange move.
39 - Chicabogirl
Honestly, you people all make me laugh (correction - you DLR fans). VH had MORE hits with Sammy. Sam and Mike are better than seeing "the brothers" in my eyes. WHERE WERE YOU PEOPLE IN 2004??? Did you not go to the VH show?? Did you not see Wolfgang meander out onto the stage and just stand there and play?? The boy has no stage presence at all. I can only hope they have been working on getting Wolfie to be more extroverted because David 'WEAVE' Roth is no youngster. BTW - will DLR be using a teleprompter to remember the words?? I walked out on DLR during the Sam and Dave Tour because his act was so LAME! You VH boyz can spend your hard earned dollars on something that may not even make it to your city - I'll be having a great time in Cabo!!! LET ME TAKE YOU DOWN - FACE DOWN IN CABO - KISSING THE GROUND!!!! LATER!
40 - dan
As in the beginning as is now, girls are anti-dave, but it is the best combination. If anybody really thought VH had lost it, shows would not be selling out. Just like ed in the beginning, wolf just wants to play the living *)?! Out of the guitar and not worry about "moving around". Being from the west coast and ed's son, he will look cool if he decides to sit on stage. I'm sure his uncle will throw a few drum sticks his way. The mighty Van Halen lives on. Uh word
41 - Progger63
I have to say this whole thing smacks of nepotism and cashing in. I am going to the show because I fear it will be another 23 years before the planets align again and allow Dave and Eddie to speak to each other in some place other than a courtroom. I'm pretty sure Eddie will be worm food by that time from the recurring cancer caused by the concentrated EMI and RF waves that bombard Eddie's mouth due to his habit of holding a metal pick in his teeth (nothing to do with the chain smoking, huh, Ed?) I hope Dave remembers the whole 1995 experience, and is not shocked when he gets kicked to the curb at the end of the tour. Unless Wolfie is a prodigy like his namesake and his father, I'm pretty sure this whole experiment is going to suck dirt, and I honestly hope to God I'm wrong. I do not believe that Mike did anything to bring this on himself. Speaking as a bass player, I disagree that Mikey sucks. He has always been a solid cornerstone of the VH rhythm section, and trust me, with Eddie's pyrotechnics, you do not want a flash bass player to detract from what Eddie does best. You want the guy that is solid and in the pocket. Mikey did just that. I could have done without the live bass solos, but they were entertainment for the masses, just like Dave's entire schtick. He may not have garnered the acclaim that Eddie has from the guitar world, but Wolfie has some big shoes to fill nonetheless. It is a lot to expect from any 16 year old; just ask Jason Bonham. In the end, I'll probably just chalk this whole thing up as a guilty pleasure; I got the program and the tour shirt, and some additional fodder to annoy the other whiny people in the nursing home.
42 - El Bicho
This is for Luke because I know Tom won't believe it. Pics from their rehearsal at the Forum show that Wolfie's bass is the same design as Ed's guitar, so I am more certain about our assessment.
43 - Tom Johnson
I've seen those and I saw the pics of the Frankenstein-style bass back when I wrote this. I still contend that neither the person in the picture and the instrument itself is not Wolfgang nor is it a bass.
Regardless, I saw these clips a couple days ago and the band sounds surprisingly good. Great, even. Wolfgang's bass is unfortunately not Michael's (in terms of tone and style) but he'll do a fine job, as most bassists of any skill would - MA is not a particularly difficult bassist to follow, but he does have a particular sound that I just don't hear anywhere else. DLR looks a bit Vegas-y now, but he sounds pretty good. It's too bad he doesn't have the stage presence he used to, but at least aurally the band sounds very good. I'm still going to miss MA's super-high vocals, however.