(Thanks must go to Disarm the Settlers, the Guided By Voices forum, where a thread about Van Halen alerted me to this album cover discrepancy.)
UPDATE: Thanks to Mark Saleski alerting me to the fact that someone in charge of the official site removed that image and put back the original album cover. Unfortunately for them, they forgot to change out the inactive image. I've grabbed a screenshot before they make another change:
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Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Tom Johnson
An update to the original post is coming, but I'll post the link here in the meantime: someone in the VH camp changed the rollover image but forgot to change the inactive state of the rollover. I grabbed a screenshot for posterity.
2 - El Bicho
VH tried screwing Dave out of royalties and he had to sue to get his 25% share, so this isn't surprising. I too am disappointed that they couldn't patch things up with Mike. You can take Dave back with all that went on, but still hold a grudge against Mike? All Mike did was decide he wasn't going to wait around for the brothers to get their shit together, so he went out and played some dates with Sammie. The guy's a musician and needs to make a living.
Still, I'll be at the show since I never saw Dave with VH. I know it's no longer way back when, but it should still be a rockin' good time. I saw the US Festival and that was a mess. I pray they don't screw the fans and ask for The Police money. I'll probably pay, it but will be pissed, especially since LA is on the back half of the tour. Time to warm up, yet time to hate each other again.
3 - Red Rocker
They'd also removed Mike from the WACF album cover (actually removed the whole band pic). Eddie's been screwing Mike over long before Mike started playing on tour with Sammy, let's face it, Eddie's just a jerk, plain and simple. A very talented, usually drunken jerk, but a jerk nonetheless. I did drop the VH webmaster a note earlier today reminding him (them?) that those album cover shots were probably partly copyrighted by Mike and possibly Warner Brothers as well, and modifying them without permission might prove illegal. Don't know if it made any difference, or if there was just a large outpouring of offended former fans also writing in as well, but them changing their ways in no way lessens the cheap act it was in the first place.
4 - scotty mack
It can be a new VAN HALEN without mike..they simply added another family member...the name of the band is Van Halen people....its not a re-union!! THEY KEEP TELLING YOU THAT
5 - Red Rocker
Um, no Scotty, it can't. Not unless they have their own material. See, Mike owns 1/4 of the rights to all those songs they'll be playing, and they'll have to pay him to play them, whether he's there or not. And if you'd like to pay to see a washed-up ex-drunk guitar player, a mediocre drummer, an unknown bass player and a vocalist who can't sing anymore play Van Halen tunes for way too much money, that's your business, but this is nothing more than a cover band.
6 - Dave Wolfgang Halen
Mike sold ALL his VH rights to Ed in 2004. Ask him. Hagar fans are pissed because Hagar/Anthony tix will be going for $10 this winter as Van Halen and Roth sell out everywhere (unlike the 2004 debacle when the Hagar reunion lost money for promoters and sold out less then 10% of the shows). Check riaa.com - Roth oustold Sammy 40 million to 20 million. Van Hagar was a bad imitation and Mike and Sammy deserve the obscurity they now face. These are great days to be a Van Halen fan. The 22 year nightmare is over. Classic VH songs only will be sung, no Van Hagar crap. See ya!
7 - adinandra
no hagar songs?you can't just erase someones creativities you know....for me,that was the BEST TIMES of van halen..
8 - saint
wah wah wah...get the hell over it you silly whiners...
Yah mikey won't be touring but Sammy and he are doing there thing and I bet it is a hell of a show!
It's just when eddie and dave are on the same stage...it truly is electric, unpredictable, and rock and roll contagious. It is gonna be an amazing show, and I am actually quite curious to see Wolfgang play. Much has been already said, but I wanna see for myself...
All I know is MY BAND is coming to my town and I am gonna be there!
Van Halen is back and will be playing! Pinch me and rock and roll has got some much needed balls back
Late
9 - Johnny C
I am so psyched that they are back together. I am a HUGE VH fan but I must say I prefer the Roth era. I cannot wait to see Ed and Dave together again and the amazing way they both can get the crowd going...
I am sorry that things didn't work out for Anthony as he appears to be a really good guy. However, one thing for certain in life is that there will be changes, and I know Anthony will shine on with Sammy...
I still have chills about seeing them together again!
Rock really needed this!
10 - blue lou
We all need to celebrate if for any reason that we all get to hear the KING of guitar play live again!!! How cool is that? Especially after all he has been through...
To be reunited with Roth is simply icing on the cake. I have never seen such an amazing guitarist/frontman combo as those 2!
To play 25 Roth era tunes with these guys is sooooo long overdo. All respect to Hagar (amazing rocker himself), but old Van Halen music hits me right down to my very core!
Adding Wolfgang seems like a natural thing to do at this point, and Anthony will be missed but never forgotten. Wolfie joining his father and uncle playing will be great to see!
I have been waiting over 2 decades for this!
11 - Brad Schader
There is nothing VH can do to get me back. NOTHING. Do they care? Not at all, but I think I am not alone in this. They were my band in the early 80's. Yes, I was a child and did not know much, but they were gods to me- all of them. There is nothing quite as intense as a hate that was once love. Eddie sold out when Hagar the Horrible joined the band. They spit on us at the first reunion that never was; they shit on us with that greatest hits album with two new DLR songs; further dumped on us when Michael was fired and burned the corpse with the Hall of Fame crap. Now they are just playing in the ashes and laughing at the fools.
The VH we knew and loved will always live in recordings. Time to ignore the freakshow that makes Metallica look like a tight-knit rational fan devoted band.
12 - Mr. Adolph Bin Streisand
michael anthony was/is a shitty bassist. The weakest link of the band. As long as wolfie can play 3 notes, he can probably do a better job than michael.
13 - Luke
Once again there's Eddie, David, Alex, and... Eddie?!
Uh, I believe that is Wolfie. Sammy destroyed everything that was VH - It's comparable to a midlife crisis - at some point you come back to your senses and throw out the ridiculous red convertible. Sammy and Mikey will be playing at Rib Fests next year while VH is packing every arena they step foot in.
14 - Tom Johnson
Luke, look at the pictures again. That is NOT Wolfgang. Wolfgang, I hesitate to say it, is pretty chubby, and looks a lot like Valerie, oh, and PLAYS BASS. That is obviously one of Eddie's signature red-with-stripes guitars, not to mention that is obviously Eddie. By the way, Wolfgang was not on the first Van Halen album. He wouldn't be born for another 15 years or so. You've seen what he actually looks like, right?
15 - El Bicho
Actually, I am going to side with Luke. If you look at Van Halen before entering the site, the pic for Wolfie is hands on a bass that is colored just like Ed's guitar.
After seeing the press conference, they claim this isn't a one-off tour like The Police, but are a band that will be making albums, so it would make sense for Wolfie to be in the bass player's spot rather than two pics of Ed. Besides, you don't really believe Dave's ego would put up with Ed getting double coverage, do you?
They did make a huge mistake in using the iconic cover and really should have shot all new photos.
16 - DejaDru
Here's my take. I grew up in Pasadena, the first live rock show I saw was Van Halen at a local high school. I know ALOT of people who hung out with the guys. Ego's as large as their appetite for serious partying. Superstardom follows and they ALL turn into SUPERPARTIERS, dysfunction follows. I dont know if Dave still parties, but after talking to him (he is a very intelligent guy) I realize that he is a little burnt out mentally. Eddie just went into rehab again. I know that Michael still parties.....I think he might have been left out do to the fact he might be a bad influence on the rest of the band....My how the times have changed. Lets see if they have the energy to rip up the stage like they used to, and if they can stay together. I truly hope so and I will be front row center paying whatevere I gotta pay. Could be the last time I get to see Eddie and Dave together. By the way Wolgang is supposed to be a better musician than his at this age.........W'ell see.
17 - Tom Johnson
Bicho, you have got to be kidding me. The "new" image on the VH cover is CLEARLY Eddie. Wolfgang is a good 50 lbs. heavier, at least. Look at the picture I linked in my previous comment - it's very, very clear that you could not mistake the two. I guarantee you that there are two pics of Eddie on the cover. He's also holding a guitar, not a bass. Anyone who's seen the two instruments could easily distinguish between the two - a guitar neck is much shorter than a bass neck.
And, yes, I absolutely do believe Eddie would overrule Dave on a decision like that. Dave doesn't care - he's just glad he's got some work. The band is Eddie's, not Dave's, and he isn't going to rock the boat now that he's back in the band. He knows Eddie would bring in Sammy - or someone else - to replace him again the instant a problem arose.
18 - Luke
Tom,
I beg to differ. It looks like a bass to me and Wolf has a base guitar that looks just like Eddie's. Look at the legs, Eddie has toothpicks and the hair also looks like Wolf's. Does look a bit thinner than Wolf looked the other day but it would make a lot more sense to photoshop Wolf in there instead of Eddie.
19 - Tom Johnson
Just for the doubters, I created this comparison of the instrument in the picture (in the middle) versus the EVH model guitar (on top) versus a standard p-bass (on bottom,) which is what it appears that Wolfgang is playing in the picture on the site. The original instrument looks pretty conclusively like a guitar, not a bass.
20 - Luke
Tom, I couldn't see your pic from that link for some reason but I went googling around and the general consensus is that the pic is Wolf. It's so darn low-rez we may never know.
21 - Tom Johnson
Well, that's really annoying. The site stripped out my link! Here it is, and see that it's clearly a guitar and not a bass.
Just because it's a "general consensus" doesn't make it right. The instrument looks like a guitar. The person playing it looks like EVH late 70s or early 80s at the latest - witness the sleeveless t-shirt and ripped jeans in the image. The build of the person is CLEARLY not Wolfgang, who is much bigger in frame than his father. (And we know it's not Michael, who is also much bigger than EVH.) I'm not even factoring in the ridiculousness of adding in Wolfgang due to not only not being on the album but not even close to being a thought in his parents' mind and wouldn't be for another 15 years.
And finally, here's Wolfgang (playing the famous EVH-style guitar): That looks nothing like the person in that original image. He's just a lot stockier than his dad.
22 - Luke
I'm not even factoring in the ridiculousness of adding in Wolfgang due to not only not being on the album but not even close to being a thought in his parents' mind and wouldn't be for another 15 years.
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We can agree to disagree but photoshopping someone into a album photo has nothing to do with when they were born - I don't get that point whatsoever.
They could be trying to show the new lineup and that was the easiest album cover to doctor up and show - and also make it tough to figure out so numbskulls like you and me would debate over it?
23 - Tom Johnson
Numbskulls we may be, but I highly doubt we're as dumb as the guys from VH are looking at this point. I highly doubt there was much more thought put into it than "I don't like Michael anymore. Let's just replace him with this old picture of me."
24 - Peter
"Van Hagar was a bad imitation and Mike and Sammy deserve the obscurity they now face."
??? Give me a break. Michael Anthony didn't do anything to anybody except want to play music. And EDDIE ASKED SAMMY to join the band. Revisit your history. If not for Sammy (and for Michael choking down his pride) this band would have been history in the mid-80s. Pat Smythe would have done them in. No Rock Hall, no nothing.
We should all be glad to even be able to argue about them.
Thanks Sammy and Mike!
25 - Rick H
Mike