Tokyo Dome CD Reviews

갑작이 왠일?

You need to add “앞” to the word 가슴 — 앞가슴

VAiN: I dont understand how I can memorize the lyrics but Dave can’t… it’s embarrassing and very weak.

Yeah I’ll wait he totally botches the lyrics on Tokyo.

Although just listening to a 1980 interview and I remember reading similar back then and always thought it was kinda strange but they ask….”Do you listen or have any VH albums at home?” Dave says No don’t really listen to it after recording and touring all year. Still he should remember them damn lyrics! Back then it was mostly schtick. Now it’s a real thing.

Imagine if Ed did that every night. Yes, 2004 was rough but imagine if he did that every tour. Yikes.

Frank Hannon of Tesla says:

Ok, after all the flames have settled down from people burning up David Lee Roth’s vocals on Jimmy Kimmel, here’s my thoughts on the new ‘VAN HALEN: Live At The Tokyo Dome‘ CD.

If you are a fan of truly “LIVE” albums as I am and have stated, this album rules! Just to hear Eddie’s guitar tones on “Romeo’s Delight“, “Beautiful Girls“, “Women in Love” alone is worth the $16. As for Dave, well he’s included a 6 page book with lyrics to read the words he don’t sing..and to hear him tell of the spotlight operator in “Ice Cream Man” is priceless, not to mention all the Japanese BS he rambles.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this CD while driving my 17 yr old to school this morning remembering hearing VH when I was his age and loving it!!!

For those of us who anxiously waited in line at Tower Records to get ‘VHII‘, ‘Women and Children First‘, and ‘Fair Warning‘…this album will tickle your fancy…for those who want perfect vocals, buy a One Direction live album!!!

~ Frank Hannon

http://frankhannon.com/frank-hannon-on-dlr-and-the-new-van-halen-live-album/

voodoo: The 2012 tour was amazing. The ’07-’08 tour early on was pretty shitty. He has been on fire every since his last stint in rehab in ’08.

YEP!!!

voodoo: The 2012 tour was amazing. The ’07-’08 tour early on was pretty shitty. He has been on fire every since his last stint in rehab in ’08.

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I always thought the ’07-’08 tour started off well and then went south after they came back from a mid-tour break in late January 2008. And then got back on track after they took a two month break for Ed to get cleaned up and started playing again in mid-April.

I saw the first two shows of the tour and thought they were very good. And then saw them in Tampa in mid-February and they sucked. And then saw them right at the end of the tour and they were killing it.

I hate to say it, but it’s time to consider a new lead singer. I know Roth is capable of putting on a good performance, yet he chooses to mail it in.

I’ve been trying so hard not to comment on the TD set, so I’ll keep it as brief as possible. The above quote makes me sad because so many people are saying it, including my own wife and kids who all like VH.

It started the other night when I was re-watching the Kimmel shows while I waited for my family to do what we had planned for the night. My middle son sat next to me (15 yo) and said, “Dad, they need to do what Journey did and find a new singer.” I suddenly felt like I was watching a funeral on tv. Granted, none of them have liked when I’ve watched the 2012-13 shows either – same reason, Dave’s singing – but, they never said anything about replacing Dave. The sad part is that I don’t think Dave is mailing it in. I think he’s doing the best he can now, and it’s not good.

The clincher came when I then showed them clips of Ralph Saenz doing VH in the Atomic Punks and Steel Panther and they all were stunned. To a person they thought Ralph did Dave better than Dave does Dave at this point. The final nail in the coffin was when my daughter said that Ralph didn’t move as weird or awkwardly as Dave does now. I never thought I’d see the day when DLR wasn’t cool, but he’s not cool at all anymore. I understand that detractors might say he was never really cool, or that he hasn’t been cool in a long time. Either way, I can’t escape that reality now and it’s so depressing.

The worst part of all of this is listening to people take the Eddie Trunk approach and say that Dave never could sing, especially live. That’s completely a bogus rewriting of history in my estimation. DLR from ’78 – ’84 sang the shit out the VH catalog live. Did he have his drunken moments or fried voice moments? Sure. All singers have those. The difference was that even when that was the case, Dave got a pass b/c he was so cool to watch and listen to. Now he’s just creepy to watch (uncool) and the vocal shortcomings are in your face and hard to take. They sound like someone trying too hard, not mailing it in. I can’t deny that anymore, but I refuse to agree that Dave wasn’t a great singer for VH back in the day. He did kick ass in his time.

What then of Tokyo Dome? I think it’s Dave’s swan song in VH. The band plays the songs well. Wolf and Ed sound fine singing the backgrounds, but Dave is horrible. The Kimmel/Ellen shows are just proof that TD wasn’t some lingering health issue (from 2012) or momentary voice issue. DLR is officially done as a great rock singer. He only does damage to his reputation by not changing his approach or quitting. The conspiracy theorists who thought Ed was trying to out him by releasing this don’t have a leg to stand on now that we know that it was Dave who chose the damn show for release. The whole thing is just sad from this CVH fan’s perspective.