When Van Halen dismissed David Lee Roth for the first time, the band said it wanted to be able to do more versatile songs. In other words, rock ballads. Maybe that wasn't the group's true intent, and maybe there were personality conflicts, but at least the band was fun.
Sammy Hagar replaced Roth, and he wasn't exactly known for high-brow music. His biggest hit was the affirmational "I Can't Drive 55." (Thanks for that bit of information, Sammy.) Fans found it fun and fluffy, and that was all that was needed.
But Van Halen was not more entertaining with Hagar instead of Roth. Far less so. Did Hagar have a "better voice" than Roth? Maybe, but that wasn't the point of the band in the early years.
Sammy Hagar decides to make another money grab from his Van Halen days
Eddie and Alex Van Halen created great heavy rock, and Roth was more of an MC, and he was a great one. With Roth, Van Halen created classics such as "And the Cradle Will Rock," while with Hagar, the band had hit singles, but lost a lot of artistic integrity.
Hagar is still making a good living off of that, especially has it has been nearly 30 years since he and the band split ways. He recently did a residency in Las Vegas, and part of his band was another musician Van Halen had fired, bassist Michael Anthony, and while tickets sold well, the singer wants more.
He will be releasing an album on October 10 called The Residency (again, Sammy Hagar is not known for high-brow concepts) that includes a number of Van Halen tracks. One even predates when Hagar was with the band, "Panama."
At least Hagar's band was good. Guitarist Joe Satriani and drummer Kenny Aronoff help make up the backing group.
If you have any interest in the album, the tracklist is below:
- 1. "Encore, Thank You, Goodnight"
- 2. "Top of the World"
- 3. "Panama" (physical formats only)
- 4. "Summer Nights"
- 5. "There's Only One Way to Rock"
- 6. "Humans Being"
- 7. "Right Now"
- 8. "5150"
- 9. "Poundcake"
- 10. "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" (Michael Anthony on vocals)
- 11. "Eagles Fly"
- 12. "Best of Both Worlds"
- 13. "Why Can't This Be Love"
- 14. "Rock Candy"
- 15. "Mas Tequila"
- 16. "Heavy Metal"
- 17. "I Can't Drive 55"
- 18. "Love Walks In"
- 19. "When It's Love" (digital formats only)