It like Dave once said about Van Hagar . Its like a beautiful girl with rotten teeth. Diamond Dave all the way. Dave was the better songwriter hands down.Great lyrics full or attutude.And isnt that Rock and Roll is all about ??
Wait, Sammy was the better singer and preformer, DLR the better Clown.
But, cut Hagar some slack, not only did he have 4 # 1 CD's, but Sammy had some great ROCK'N Songs that had no synth in them, with Van Halen:
Good Enough
Summer Nights
** 5150 **
Mine All Mine
Cabo Wabo
Sucker in a 3 Piece
Judgement Day
Runaround
Man On A Mission
The Dream Is Over
Top Of The World
The Seventh Seal
Don't Tell Me (What Love Can Do)
Amsterdam
Aftershock
Feelin'
Need I say more!
I prefer Sammy Hagar version, Dave could have never sang one Hagar version Van Halen song if he tried. Love this blog needed a place to show my feeln's
Well as a woman I like the Sammy era better!
The Sammy era brought the band into a new direction, which the Dave version couldn't. DLR was getting old sounding and dated and probably wouldn't of been able to compete to the likes of RAP, GRUNGE, ALT ROCK AND POP ROCK, like the Sammy/Van Hagar version could and did, why Eddie let that great sound of Sammy riding every note on his guitar go, is a shock to me still??? Even to have them reunite in 2004 was just a heartache knowing that from 1996-2003 we could of had at least 4 other albums with some of the best rock and roll ever if Eddie could have just kept his head straight and bit his lip so Sammy could of kept them flying high!
Oh well we still have "The Other Half" to have us feel that the Band Van Halen w/Sammy Hagar still is around, Thank God.
132 -
Vinny Palsqucci
May 06, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Van Halen with all the lead singers were the bomb, but I did like the newer stuff better than the older stuff.
1st of all, Dave Van Halen sold more only because it has been around longer. So meaning it sold then and like my self that had gotten into Van Hagar in 1988 with my first Van Halen cd OU812 which had me and other new fans of Van Halen buy 5150 and then the previous 6 cd's with Dave causing a doubling of record sales for the Dave Van Halen, but Van Hagar was a stronger selling band, because FUCK and Balance had the compitition of other types of bands and acts and still came up as number 1 in charts for sales and popularity, unlike the Dave Van Halen which back in the day only had a few rock bands and Disco to compete with.
134 -
aj
May 22, 2008 at 11:03 pm
i think that the DLR era was much better because when you think van halen you think flamboyance and outlandishness. not to say that hagar wasn't great because he was but Van Halen is a band that rocks. hagar was about balads roth was about shred fests
an Halen Rocked with both Sammy and Dave,but Sammy is my choice.
He was a great second guitarist with the band too!
136 -
Paul
Jun 18, 2008 at 5:17 pm
I enjoy both versions of Van Halen, but as a musician myself i have to say that i would more inclined to play the Hagar material...i think he brought a sense of melody that was missing to the band and his guitar playing opened up a whole new element as well live. Alex's drum patterns were off the chart on the on the Hagar era discs as well and F.U.C.K and Balance are two of the best sounding discs sonically i've ever heard.I also think Sammy has a better vocal range and can pull it off live, unlike the last few times i've seen Dave, his voice just isn't there for the whole night.I'll put it this way, when i'm drunk and want feel like i'm 15 again i put on Fair Warning or 1984...when i want to push myself as a player i listen to the Hagar discs for the melodies and intricate playing.
137 -
Will
Dec 03, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Both eras of Van Halen were great and that is why til this day this debate will never die.
As a fan of the band for many years i can say that DLR era was the band in its youngest and most influential phase. A rawer, more energetic unit. My personal faves are Fair Warning and Women & Children First.
However, when Sammy came in they became the greatest American hard rock act ever! All albums went to #1, they reached more mainstream appeal, and Sammy's voice and persona were much more likable than DLR. They wond grammy's, mtv awards, billboard awards, american music awards, etc.
Sammy over DLR every day of the year!
138 -
lck5150
Dec 06, 2008 at 10:53 pm
Sammy invites you to a party and wants you to have a good time. Dave is the party.
I love both eras, though. In fact I named my twin sons after Sam n Dave.
So you're a fan of a really lame rock group and named your sons after a soul duo?
140 -
lck5150
Dec 07, 2008 at 10:26 pm
At least I'm not a pretentious asshole who reads blogs and puts down the very thing he's reading about...But I do like Sam n Dave and all the Staxx records people.
Basically, I'm a guitarist, so I'm an Edward fan first and foremost.
But I'm also a rocker and a sentimental fool, so both versions of VH work for me. The only thing about Roth's era is that there were no ballads (it's not such a bad thing, isn't it---Motley Crue did a couple, so did GNR) for me to listen to during those lonely nights driving around. Roth knew how to make Big Rock, but so did Sammy. And Sammy can sure sing a ballad as well. So for me, it's no comparison. I love both. Even the Gary Cherone incarnation---this was the only incarnation I've seen live, and I was blown away. Now if only they can get Eric Martin (of Mr. Big fame) to sing for them, that would be such a lethal combination!
The URL for your own site that you have in the URL box directly above where you type in your comments is incomplete. Please insert the missing http:// at the beginning before making any more comments. Thanks.
Van Halen was great with Dave, but with Sammy they exploded, as Eddie said in the pre-recorded video during the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame induction.
Sammy could ride the sound of Eddie's guitar so well, it was just awsome, Hopefully Sammy and Joe Satriani will do the same with CHICKENFOOT !
Sorry Eddie Van Halen ruined my dream of a dream Van Halen band when he cut ties with Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony after the 2004-2005 tour which Eddie Van Halen ruin with his own hands.
Sorry but Hagar wins here!
More quality!Better charisma within the band!
Eddie said once:With Dave it was work,with Sammy it's enjoyment.
149 -
Mr X
Sep 02, 2009 at 8:21 pm
This entire argument is crap.
None of the songs listed on the hagar side were rock songs. What about Best of Both Worlds, Get Up, Source of Infection, Amsterdam, Poundcake, Black and Blue, Humans Being, and Learning To See among the Hagar Era. On the otherside of the bell, Roth never did ballads, or anything that wasn't macho and sleazy. He was a one trick pony who couldn't actually sing. The only real thing he did was propel eddie to a larger than life guitar god, selling the songs that Eddie riffed so hard on. Thats not to say their not good. It's fantastic as a larger than life enigma that van halen was. But thats just it, it wasn't a real band, it was n't real people. It was this big monster that drank and f*cked.
Hagar made the band into more of a band. There's an everyman's working charm that he can work hard when it's time to rock and kick back when he doesn't have to. His songs are multi-faceted that range from the loved to the lost. He made everyone seem like they were hard working equals, whether it was alex's powerful steely snare, or mike's powerful backing vocals to sing along to. Hagar was also a competent guitarist. He was a singer. He was vulnerable enough to make "can't stop loving you" into a heartfelt sentiment, but sleazy enough to finish what he started and hit on your local waitress in a grease pit diner. I bet you roth couldn't do that if he tried.
Thats why Sammy is better. Now you can argue the band was more energized under roth. Certainly the energy was powerful. But That really wasn't roth's doing. Ted Templeton made the band's recording sound like gasoline on a race track. Maybe he was just the lucky man with the right amount of sleaze. Face it, Sammy sings Roth, Roth can't sing Sammy.
150 -
Crazy5150
Sep 07, 2009 at 8:53 pm
Mr X I comend you on a very exact post.
Sammy Hagar did make Van Halen a band that was versitile and was the best Van Halen. To bad Eddie Van Halen self destructed and disbanded his perfect Van Halen band, and lost his life long friend in Michael Anthony and lost his BEST friend and great business partner in Sammy Hagar.
And you are right about Ted Templeton, when he produce F.U.C.K. that album ROCKED !!!!
Andy Johns helped to propell Van Halen into the Top 40 of rock and roll, but Ted made it rock.
151 -
deathmetal4u812
Jan 12, 2010 at 5:53 am
Looks like the Roth fans have dwindle out, or died off, even since the 2007 tour, just goes to prove we all miss Sammy with Eddie.
152 -
Bob C.
Jan 23, 2010 at 2:23 pm
It wasn't Sammy that changed the band, it was Eddie. If you payed attention, synthesizers were becoming more prominent in the band during the DLR era (Jump?) Sammy could rock out just as hard as DLR, but the slow songs just got more radio time. Most of the Hagar haters probably haven't even heard songs like Good Enough from 5150.
Van Halen roced in 1978-1984
but exploded in 1986 with Hagar at the helm.
That is why DLR disapearred from the face of the earth after his second solo trick.
Sammy is still rockin, and Eddie sure does miss him, plus Van Halen wouldn't dare make a new album with hop along Dave a.k.a. Strummin' with the Devil: The Southern Side of Van Halen, barf.
154 -
Chimpanzee
May 10, 2010 at 5:12 pm
Bob your right on Sammy rocked out with songs like;
Good Enough
Judgement Day
AFU
Aftershock
Summer Nights
The Dream Is Over
etc. etc. etc.
155 -
Halen Hagar
Jun 10, 2010 at 11:16 am
I miss Van Halen with Sammy Hagar, they were fun and took my mind off of my troubles, I still listen to them and wish they went in the direction of "Human's Being", "Up For Breakfast", "It's About Time".
That's the stuff I'm talking about.
Hard Rocking, Kick Ass, Music, that can still be realated to by youths and adults today!!!
156 -
Mik POLLARD
Jul 06, 2010 at 3:44 am
'51-50' was a bigger seller than any Lee Roth CD as the lead 'show pony' singer. Hagar toured the world with VH while Lee Roth sat around and tried to undergo a solo career that failed miserably. Hagar, after he found out while away on holiday as Alex and Eddie were struggling to keep their money, recorded a song with Lee Roth for a best of CD that they organised. The man Sammy after making Van Halen bigger than DLR could imagine continued to record killer albums starting with 'Marching to Mars' in 1997 and he is still rocking!
157 -
Cindy
Jul 12, 2010 at 7:20 am
Wait, last album made for Van Halen had Sammy Hagar on it with new material that means Sammy is the last lead for Van Halen we had.
Sammy all the way. Van Halen is washed up now not even bringing back Sammy would help them, though that wouldn't be a bad idea!!!
158 -
Andy DiGelsomina
Aug 12, 2010 at 9:42 am
This is alot like the Ozzy/Dio Black Sabbath debate. Ozzy and Dave weren't great singers from a technical standpoint, but each had a really unique personality and delivery. Ronnie James Dio and Sammy Hagar each had a terrific delivery and were amazing from the technical standpoint.
There was alot more a band could do musically with Ronnie and Sammy, as opposed to Ozzy and Dave. Yet it was the original incarnations of the bands that gave them their most unique identity.
However, the Dio Sabbath and Van Hagar eras were at times just as good as the best of the Ozzy Sabbath and Roth Halen days. A good argument is that they were different bands with the different singers. But REALLY GOOD, different bands!
159 -
Sid
Aug 20, 2010 at 9:21 pm
VH with Sammy was better. For those who say VH rocked harder with DLR, you should know that it was Eddie, not Sammy, who took the band into the musical change that occurred post-DLR. One of the reasons they broke with DLR was that DLR didn't believe that keyboards had any place in rock music, Eddie had to fight with him to record Jump. So don't say Sammy softened the sound, Eddie did, and I happen to think the hagar era sound was great (as was the Roth era by the way).
160 -
Richard P.
Nov 11, 2010 at 3:10 pm
As much as I like both versions of VH - Personally, I think the Van Hagar version, musically, was far more superior. Sammy brought a lot of cred with him.
161 -
Alex
Nov 19, 2010 at 2:05 pm
Van Halen with Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony was the best and will be missed by fans and Eddie himself
162 -
Gary T.
Dec 20, 2010 at 4:07 pm
Van Hagar was the most recent and most like!!!
163 -
VanHalenOne
Feb 13, 2011 at 2:10 pm
I'm there hasen't been a new song from Van halen since the Best of Both Worlds Greatest Hits album with the 3 rocken songs from Sammy Hagar??? Sorry Van Halen is done.
164 -
51504vh
Mar 04, 2011 at 2:57 pm
Diamond David Lee Roth is the greatest frontman of all time.
Sammy is obsessed with EVH and it's starting to get pathetic. Sammy ruined VH with his shitty lyrics and love ballads.
Diamonds are Forever!
165 -
Kid Cahill
Mar 10, 2011 at 5:16 pm
Sorry Sammy didn't ruin Van Halen he gave us another 10 years of #1 album that rocked, Eddie ruined Van Halen and Sammy wished Eddie didn't that's all!
166 -
Alan
Mar 31, 2011 at 1:26 am
VH with Sammy (live) was way better IMHO. Sammy actively contributed to the songwriting...played guitar...and (as YouTube shows) could hold pitch without going flat. As far as studio albums went, their styles were different, and lyrically they went from perverse themes like "Hot For Teacher" and "Panama" to " Wings" and "Love Comes Walking In". I'll take Sammy any day. True talent will always win out...just witness Sammy's illustrious post VH career vs Dave's dead in the water career.
167 -
S. Kelsay
Apr 10, 2011 at 10:19 pm
I loved Van Halen when David Lee Roth was the front man. He ROCKED. Once David left I never bought one of their albums again they just weren't the same.
168 -
SaraSmilesVH
Apr 28, 2011 at 6:15 am
Kelsay, that is your loose, should of listened and open your horizin, living in the past 20 some odd years ago isn't right???
169 -
VanRock
May 15, 2011 at 11:43 am
Sammy Hagar and Van Halen will always be the best!!!
170 -
Sammy-is-da-Man!
Sep 21, 2011 at 6:33 am
Sammy Hagar has it all over that no-talent clown David Lee Roth. Someone described Roth as just another balding lounge act. He hit the nail right on the head.
Hagar brought a new dimension to the band that they sorely needed once Roth quit/kicked out. It was quite refreshing to see Sammy playing rhythm guitar alongside Eddie on stage.
AMSTERDAM, baby!
171 -
The Visitor
Sep 21, 2011 at 1:43 pm
Van Hagar became Journey with Sammy in the group. The band may have been as rockin' as your girlfriend allowed in the apartment but they were weak
so declares The Visitor
172 -
Van Hagar Rocks
Oct 04, 2011 at 1:36 pm
Van Halen with Hagar aka Van Hagar, rock, unlike the poster above who probably didn't listen to the albums but only listen to his favorite Top 40 station, which Van Hagar unlike Roth Halen, was played on all the time. Listen to the all 4 #1 albums there are way more rockn songs on them than Roth could of even attempted.
173 -
Brokenwing
Feb 11, 2012 at 12:39 pm
Hagar gives a far more mainstream pop style to the band, and personally I prefer his voice to DLR its a lot more powerful.
DLR is the original wild rock van halen and naturally he will always be van halen.
Personally I prefer hagar, his style just appeals to me more
Article comments
126 - El Bicho
"DLR could have...never done Dreams"
That's actually a good thing.
127 - Tommy
It like Dave once said about Van Hagar . Its like a beautiful girl with rotten teeth. Diamond Dave all the way. Dave was the better songwriter hands down.Great lyrics full or attutude.And isnt that Rock and Roll is all about ??
128 - Volcano Man
Diamond Dave all the way, but Eddie is the heart and soul.
129 - Van Hagar
Wait, Sammy was the better singer and preformer, DLR the better Clown.
But, cut Hagar some slack, not only did he have 4 # 1 CD's, but Sammy had some great ROCK'N Songs that had no synth in them, with Van Halen:
Good Enough
Summer Nights
** 5150 **
Mine All Mine
Cabo Wabo
Sucker in a 3 Piece
Judgement Day
Runaround
Man On A Mission
The Dream Is Over
Top Of The World
The Seventh Seal
Don't Tell Me (What Love Can Do)
Amsterdam
Aftershock
Feelin'
Need I say more!
130 - TANTRA
I prefer Sammy Hagar version, Dave could have never sang one Hagar version Van Halen song if he tried. Love this blog needed a place to show my feeln's
131 - Kindra
Well as a woman I like the Sammy era better!
The Sammy era brought the band into a new direction, which the Dave version couldn't. DLR was getting old sounding and dated and probably wouldn't of been able to compete to the likes of RAP, GRUNGE, ALT ROCK AND POP ROCK, like the Sammy/Van Hagar version could and did, why Eddie let that great sound of Sammy riding every note on his guitar go, is a shock to me still??? Even to have them reunite in 2004 was just a heartache knowing that from 1996-2003 we could of had at least 4 other albums with some of the best rock and roll ever if Eddie could have just kept his head straight and bit his lip so Sammy could of kept them flying high!
Oh well we still have "The Other Half" to have us feel that the Band Van Halen w/Sammy Hagar still is around, Thank God.
132 - Vinny Palsqucci
Van Halen with all the lead singers were the bomb, but I did like the newer stuff better than the older stuff.
133 - Lisa C.
1st of all, Dave Van Halen sold more only because it has been around longer. So meaning it sold then and like my self that had gotten into Van Hagar in 1988 with my first Van Halen cd OU812 which had me and other new fans of Van Halen buy 5150 and then the previous 6 cd's with Dave causing a doubling of record sales for the Dave Van Halen, but Van Hagar was a stronger selling band, because FUCK and Balance had the compitition of other types of bands and acts and still came up as number 1 in charts for sales and popularity, unlike the Dave Van Halen which back in the day only had a few rock bands and Disco to compete with.
134 - aj
i think that the DLR era was much better because when you think van halen you think flamboyance and outlandishness. not to say that hagar wasn't great because he was but Van Halen is a band that rocks. hagar was about balads roth was about shred fests
135 - dantheman
an Halen Rocked with both Sammy and Dave,but Sammy is my choice.
He was a great second guitarist with the band too!
136 - Paul
I enjoy both versions of Van Halen, but as a musician myself i have to say that i would more inclined to play the Hagar material...i think he brought a sense of melody that was missing to the band and his guitar playing opened up a whole new element as well live. Alex's drum patterns were off the chart on the on the Hagar era discs as well and F.U.C.K and Balance are two of the best sounding discs sonically i've ever heard.I also think Sammy has a better vocal range and can pull it off live, unlike the last few times i've seen Dave, his voice just isn't there for the whole night.I'll put it this way, when i'm drunk and want feel like i'm 15 again i put on Fair Warning or 1984...when i want to push myself as a player i listen to the Hagar discs for the melodies and intricate playing.
137 - Will
Both eras of Van Halen were great and that is why til this day this debate will never die.
As a fan of the band for many years i can say that DLR era was the band in its youngest and most influential phase. A rawer, more energetic unit. My personal faves are Fair Warning and Women & Children First.
However, when Sammy came in they became the greatest American hard rock act ever! All albums went to #1, they reached more mainstream appeal, and Sammy's voice and persona were much more likable than DLR. They wond grammy's, mtv awards, billboard awards, american music awards, etc.
Sammy over DLR every day of the year!
138 - lck5150
Sammy invites you to a party and wants you to have a good time. Dave is the party.
I love both eras, though. In fact I named my twin sons after Sam n Dave.
139 - Christopher Rose
So you're a fan of a really lame rock group and named your sons after a soul duo?
140 - lck5150
At least I'm not a pretentious asshole who reads blogs and puts down the very thing he's reading about...But I do like Sam n Dave and all the Staxx records people.
141 - El Bicho
touche
142 - Christopher Rose
I believe I was mocking you, lck5150, and, whilst I may be an asshole, at least I still had one last time I looked, I'm certainly not pretentious.
Talking of pretentious, El Bicho, you lack many things and here is just one of them - é.
143 - Clarence Yu
Michele-nice article. So many comments.
Basically, I'm a guitarist, so I'm an Edward fan first and foremost.
But I'm also a rocker and a sentimental fool, so both versions of VH work for me. The only thing about Roth's era is that there were no ballads (it's not such a bad thing, isn't it---Motley Crue did a couple, so did GNR) for me to listen to during those lonely nights driving around. Roth knew how to make Big Rock, but so did Sammy. And Sammy can sure sing a ballad as well. So for me, it's no comparison. I love both. Even the Gary Cherone incarnation---this was the only incarnation I've seen live, and I was blown away. Now if only they can get Eric Martin (of Mr. Big fame) to sing for them, that would be such a lethal combination!
144 - Christopher Rose
Dear Clarence,
The URL for your own site that you have in the URL box directly above where you type in your comments is incomplete. Please insert the missing http:// at the beginning before making any more comments. Thanks.
Christopher Rose
Blogcritics Comments Editor
145 - Fred Stone
Van Halen was great with Dave, but with Sammy they exploded, as Eddie said in the pre-recorded video during the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame induction.
Sammy could ride the sound of Eddie's guitar so well, it was just awsome, Hopefully Sammy and Joe Satriani will do the same with CHICKENFOOT !
I pick Sammy Hagar.
146 - Tom Lablanc
Sorry Eddie Van Halen ruined my dream of a dream Van Halen band when he cut ties with Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony after the 2004-2005 tour which Eddie Van Halen ruin with his own hands.
Van Hagar > Van Halen
|/ Chickenfoot /|
!
147 - ChuckyCheezy
I always will love the older Van Halen, but it is 2009, so that means the older Van Halen is Van Hagar.
Van Hagar all the way!!!!!!!
148 - Igor Kurtz
Sorry but Hagar wins here!
More quality!Better charisma within the band!
Eddie said once:With Dave it was work,with Sammy it's enjoyment.
149 - Mr X
This entire argument is crap.
None of the songs listed on the hagar side were rock songs. What about Best of Both Worlds, Get Up, Source of Infection, Amsterdam, Poundcake, Black and Blue, Humans Being, and Learning To See among the Hagar Era. On the otherside of the bell, Roth never did ballads, or anything that wasn't macho and sleazy. He was a one trick pony who couldn't actually sing. The only real thing he did was propel eddie to a larger than life guitar god, selling the songs that Eddie riffed so hard on. Thats not to say their not good. It's fantastic as a larger than life enigma that van halen was. But thats just it, it wasn't a real band, it was n't real people. It was this big monster that drank and f*cked.
Hagar made the band into more of a band. There's an everyman's working charm that he can work hard when it's time to rock and kick back when he doesn't have to. His songs are multi-faceted that range from the loved to the lost. He made everyone seem like they were hard working equals, whether it was alex's powerful steely snare, or mike's powerful backing vocals to sing along to. Hagar was also a competent guitarist. He was a singer. He was vulnerable enough to make "can't stop loving you" into a heartfelt sentiment, but sleazy enough to finish what he started and hit on your local waitress in a grease pit diner. I bet you roth couldn't do that if he tried.
Thats why Sammy is better. Now you can argue the band was more energized under roth. Certainly the energy was powerful. But That really wasn't roth's doing. Ted Templeton made the band's recording sound like gasoline on a race track. Maybe he was just the lucky man with the right amount of sleaze. Face it, Sammy sings Roth, Roth can't sing Sammy.
150 - Crazy5150
Mr X I comend you on a very exact post.
Sammy Hagar did make Van Halen a band that was versitile and was the best Van Halen. To bad Eddie Van Halen self destructed and disbanded his perfect Van Halen band, and lost his life long friend in Michael Anthony and lost his BEST friend and great business partner in Sammy Hagar.
And you are right about Ted Templeton, when he produce F.U.C.K. that album ROCKED !!!!
Andy Johns helped to propell Van Halen into the Top 40 of rock and roll, but Ted made it rock.
151 - deathmetal4u812
Looks like the Roth fans have dwindle out, or died off, even since the 2007 tour, just goes to prove we all miss Sammy with Eddie.
152 - Bob C.
It wasn't Sammy that changed the band, it was Eddie. If you payed attention, synthesizers were becoming more prominent in the band during the DLR era (Jump?) Sammy could rock out just as hard as DLR, but the slow songs just got more radio time. Most of the Hagar haters probably haven't even heard songs like Good Enough from 5150.
153 - Halen Fan
Van Halen roced in 1978-1984
but exploded in 1986 with Hagar at the helm.
That is why DLR disapearred from the face of the earth after his second solo trick.
Sammy is still rockin, and Eddie sure does miss him, plus Van Halen wouldn't dare make a new album with hop along Dave a.k.a. Strummin' with the Devil: The Southern Side of Van Halen, barf.
154 - Chimpanzee
Bob your right on Sammy rocked out with songs like;
Good Enough
Judgement Day
AFU
Aftershock
Summer Nights
The Dream Is Over
etc. etc. etc.
155 - Halen Hagar
I miss Van Halen with Sammy Hagar, they were fun and took my mind off of my troubles, I still listen to them and wish they went in the direction of "Human's Being", "Up For Breakfast", "It's About Time".
That's the stuff I'm talking about.
Hard Rocking, Kick Ass, Music, that can still be realated to by youths and adults today!!!
156 - Mik POLLARD
'51-50' was a bigger seller than any Lee Roth CD as the lead 'show pony' singer. Hagar toured the world with VH while Lee Roth sat around and tried to undergo a solo career that failed miserably. Hagar, after he found out while away on holiday as Alex and Eddie were struggling to keep their money, recorded a song with Lee Roth for a best of CD that they organised. The man Sammy after making Van Halen bigger than DLR could imagine continued to record killer albums starting with 'Marching to Mars' in 1997 and he is still rocking!
157 - Cindy
Wait, last album made for Van Halen had Sammy Hagar on it with new material that means Sammy is the last lead for Van Halen we had.
Sammy all the way. Van Halen is washed up now not even bringing back Sammy would help them, though that wouldn't be a bad idea!!!
158 - Andy DiGelsomina
This is alot like the Ozzy/Dio Black Sabbath debate. Ozzy and Dave weren't great singers from a technical standpoint, but each had a really unique personality and delivery. Ronnie James Dio and Sammy Hagar each had a terrific delivery and were amazing from the technical standpoint.
There was alot more a band could do musically with Ronnie and Sammy, as opposed to Ozzy and Dave. Yet it was the original incarnations of the bands that gave them their most unique identity.
However, the Dio Sabbath and Van Hagar eras were at times just as good as the best of the Ozzy Sabbath and Roth Halen days. A good argument is that they were different bands with the different singers. But REALLY GOOD, different bands!
159 - Sid
VH with Sammy was better. For those who say VH rocked harder with DLR, you should know that it was Eddie, not Sammy, who took the band into the musical change that occurred post-DLR. One of the reasons they broke with DLR was that DLR didn't believe that keyboards had any place in rock music, Eddie had to fight with him to record Jump. So don't say Sammy softened the sound, Eddie did, and I happen to think the hagar era sound was great (as was the Roth era by the way).
160 - Richard P.
As much as I like both versions of VH - Personally, I think the Van Hagar version, musically, was far more superior. Sammy brought a lot of cred with him.
161 - Alex
Van Halen with Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony was the best and will be missed by fans and Eddie himself
162 - Gary T.
Van Hagar was the most recent and most like!!!
163 - VanHalenOne
I'm there hasen't been a new song from Van halen since the Best of Both Worlds Greatest Hits album with the 3 rocken songs from Sammy Hagar??? Sorry Van Halen is done.
164 - 51504vh
Diamond David Lee Roth is the greatest frontman of all time.
Sammy is obsessed with EVH and it's starting to get pathetic. Sammy ruined VH with his shitty lyrics and love ballads.
Diamonds are Forever!
165 - Kid Cahill
Sorry Sammy didn't ruin Van Halen he gave us another 10 years of #1 album that rocked, Eddie ruined Van Halen and Sammy wished Eddie didn't that's all!
166 - Alan
VH with Sammy (live) was way better IMHO. Sammy actively contributed to the songwriting...played guitar...and (as YouTube shows) could hold pitch without going flat. As far as studio albums went, their styles were different, and lyrically they went from perverse themes like "Hot For Teacher" and "Panama" to " Wings" and "Love Comes Walking In". I'll take Sammy any day. True talent will always win out...just witness Sammy's illustrious post VH career vs Dave's dead in the water career.
167 - S. Kelsay
I loved Van Halen when David Lee Roth was the front man. He ROCKED. Once David left I never bought one of their albums again they just weren't the same.
168 - SaraSmilesVH
Kelsay, that is your loose, should of listened and open your horizin, living in the past 20 some odd years ago isn't right???
169 - VanRock
Sammy Hagar and Van Halen will always be the best!!!
170 - Sammy-is-da-Man!
Sammy Hagar has it all over that no-talent clown David Lee Roth. Someone described Roth as just another balding lounge act. He hit the nail right on the head.
Hagar brought a new dimension to the band that they sorely needed once Roth quit/kicked out. It was quite refreshing to see Sammy playing rhythm guitar alongside Eddie on stage.
AMSTERDAM, baby!
171 - The Visitor
Van Hagar became Journey with Sammy in the group. The band may have been as rockin' as your girlfriend allowed in the apartment but they were weak
so declares The Visitor
172 - Van Hagar Rocks
Van Halen with Hagar aka Van Hagar, rock, unlike the poster above who probably didn't listen to the albums but only listen to his favorite Top 40 station, which Van Hagar unlike Roth Halen, was played on all the time. Listen to the all 4 #1 albums there are way more rockn songs on them than Roth could of even attempted.
173 - Brokenwing
Hagar gives a far more mainstream pop style to the band, and personally I prefer his voice to DLR its a lot more powerful.
DLR is the original wild rock van halen and naturally he will always be van halen.
Personally I prefer hagar, his style just appeals to me more