Van Halen fans will long debate which iteration of the band was the best: David Lee Roth or Sammy Hagar. The rest of the band mostly remained the same, and the group was always going to stay at an elite level with Eddie on guitars and Alex on drums.
The strange part is that the instrumentalists stayed the same, but the Roth era and Hagar era sometimes sound like different bands. A vocalist's style changes the narrative of what a band is capable of.
That's key here. Hagar was brought aboard so the band could offer nuance and even perform power ballads. Was that a good thing? If you like that kind of thing, maybe. If you want undistilled and raw brilliance, Roth was the singer for you.
Four songs that prove Van Halen's best era was the one with David Lee Roth
"Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love"
Would Hagar sound better on vocals than Roth here from the band's 1978 self-titled debut? Likely, and that is the exact point of why Roth was always the better frontman. The point of the vocalist on many Van Halen tracks, especially the early ones, is to act like an emcee inviting fans along for the ride.
A voluminous amount of charisma is needed, and Roth has that in spades. Sure, Eddie Van Halen's guitar work makes the entire track work, but that was always the case with the lads in the band. Roth is almost Jim Morrison-esque in his style here.
"I'll Wait"
While 1984 sold a boatload of units, fans will argue about where the album ranks in the band's catalog. Synths? This isn't our older sister's Van Halen, after all.
A mid-tempo winner, the chorus is the payoff. Roth sings over a relatively boring rhythm, something was not hurting the ears but not as creative as Van Halen's best. One might wonder how this track would sound if it were sped up, though. Roth would be the star.
"Romeo Delight"
It is still difficult to believe this track from Women and Children First is four minutes, as the punky attitude is a perfect blend of that genre and metal. Fast, smooth, and the music perfectly stops for Roth to speak-sing some of the verses. It has a somewhat silly effect, and yet remains effective.
Roth comes across as something akin to Rocky Horror in his rendering, but that's the point. The song isn't trying to reinvent the rock wheel, but to honor what the genre could be and where it came from. The only part that was needless was the "heartbeat" breakdown about halfway through.
"And the Cradle Will Rock"
Great rock music has elite swagger, and there is no mistaking the beginning of this track from Women and Children First as the epitome of swagger. You know what you are in for from the moment the intro riff ends.
This might be the best David Lee Roth vehicle the band ever recorded. The music underlays any kind of vocal, but Roth is the band leader that many other groups in the Van Halen universe were missing. He offers a muscular vocal with exceptional confidence, almost screaming at us during the chorus. It's perfect. I mean, have you seen Junior's grades?
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