Van Halen – Van Halen III
Tracks:
Neworld
Without You
One I Want
From Afar
Dirty Water Dog
Once
Fire In The Hole
Josephina
Year To The Day
Primary
Ballot Or The Bullet
How Many Say I
Year: 1998
Label: Warner Bros.
Producers: Mike Post & Edward Van Halen
Total Playing Time: 65 mins
I suppose a bit of background on where I stand on the VH & Extreme stories would help. I own VH’s OU812, Balance & Best Of. I prefer DLR and early Sammy material. I’ve got Extreme’s Pornograffitti and Waiting For The Punchline. I’m probably the only person on the planet that prefers WFTP. Like a hell of lot of other people out there, I’d have liked Diamond Dave to get the gig when Sammy departed. I thought Gary Cherone was an interesting, but maybe not obvious, choice as a replacement. I bought this more out of curiosity than anything else.
After an instrumental, it is on to Without You, which many of you will have heard on the radio. It’s not a radical departure from the VH formula. One I Want also makes a good impression, despite the fact that the chorus hits you just a little too often. From Afar is the first time the Extreme influence gets an airing. A slowish number that is slightly quirky. Jungle-like drums start Dirty Water Dog before it develops into the type of material you’d associate with a certain David Lee Roth. Maybe, it’s not that surprising – if you mix Extreme’s funk tendencies with latter day VH, do you get somewhere close to DLR/early VH? My favourite song on the album.
Once is an 8 min ballad that relies heavily on keyboards and isn’t typical VH. It’s OK if you’re in the mood, but most of the time it’ll probably just sound too long. The guys return to more familiar ground with the rocking Fire In The Hole. I haven’t got Extreme III Sides, but remember reading it was full of Queen influences. Josephina is VH meets Extreme meets early Queen. It takes a while to get into, but it’s worth it. Year To The Day is an 8 min ballad which is way too long and simply boring. Primary is a short burst of Eddie having fun. Ballot Or The Bullet is the sort of dull stuff I’d expect from Balance era VH. A rocker, with Gary’s voice sounding strained and getting lost somewhere in the wall of sound. How Many Say I is a piano based ballad where Eddie gets to show his vocal talents (?). I’ve seen Leonard Cohen used as comparison – it’s a reasonable one. They could have easily chopped this off the end.
If you’re a VH fan used to having albums with at least a couple of hit singles onboard, then this is going to a bit of a shock. To appreciate this, you’re going to have to sit down and listen to it a good few times. And even then, I’m not sure if individual songs are going to stand out. I don’t know enough about VH to say how this ranks along side the rest of their albums. It’s certainly a hell of a lot better than Balance. In the space of a couple of weeks I’ve already listened to this more than I’ve ever listened to Balance. It isn’t a going to be a classic, but it certainly isn’t the turkey that some people have dismissed it as. Approach with an open mind and you’ll find a decent album lurking underneath all the controversy.
Rating: 7/8
