Posts Tagged Van Halen
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July 29, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 274
Van Halen, Van Halen II (1979) In my first wave of being a Van Halen fan I found this album a little underwhelming. I mean that debut was just electric, unreal and in the way Van Halen was introduced to me it was all about the ‘big’ album – 1984 – so it was when the VH catalogue was reissued on CD and […]Archive
May 29, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 298
Van Halen, 5150 (1986) Still on the Van Halen train – big time – and now the re-acquisition of 5150 – a favourite of mine because I think this was the first full album by the band I heard. The first “Van Hagar” album. Which means some people hate its very existence – but some new fans were earned because this had […]Archive
May 29, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
Sweetman Podcast # 170: Gregg Bissonette
Welcome to episode 170 of Sweetman Podcast with support from our sponsors – T Leaf T, Yeastie Boys and La Petite Chocolat. Now – as you probably know, as well as the usual platforms (this site, soundcloud, iTunes/Apple) you can now get to Sweetman Podcast on Spotify – follow it there and have it saved in your Spotify library. Here’s a 35-minute conversation I nabbed with […]Archive
May 27, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 299
David Lee Roth, Eat ‘Em And Smile (1986) I’ve been all about the Van Halen and David Lee Roth lately. Roth – easy to laugh at the madness, now but what a frontman. And at the height of his powers what a singer! Here he had the killer band too – Billy Sheehan on bass, Steve Vai on guitars, Gregg Bissonette on drums. Man oh man. You could listen to […]Archive
May 21, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 301
Van Halen, Diver Down (1982) It’s funny when you love a band so much and your favourites change. Or you just reevaluate the whole catalogue – as I have been doing a lot lately with Van Halen. I can’t say this was always a favourite album, but maybe it was something of a guilty pleasure. Certainly, I loved Cathedral before I even knew what it […]Archive
May 19, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 302
David Lee Roth, Crazy From The Heat [EP] (1985) When “Diamond Dave” released this he was still a member of Van Halen – though not for very much longer. This EP was basically his resignation letter. He’d blown the world apart with that band and reconfigured heavy metal – and now he was off to be a silly/wonderful pop star. The motor-mouth of charisma […]Archive
April 30, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 313
Van Halen, Fair Warning (1981) The first six Van Halen albums – or fuck off! (Actually, I’m gonna say the first seven…controversial perhaps, but that’s where I’m at). The best of this band is never far from my ears but I recently worked through the whole catalogue in chronological order. Yes, the wheels fall off big time toward the end […]Archive
March 10, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
Poem: Eddie Van Halen Was At One Time The Greatest Guitarist In The World But He Was Apparently A Bit Of A Prick
This one time I met a friend of a friend – they were all ‘she’s great, she’s so into music’ or something like that. and so at some point we’re all at this restaurant and I can’t remember the story exactly – but it was about people that are good at things but are total arseholes, and the whole […]Archive
February 14, 2018 by Simon Sweetman
Gat This: My Top 10 ‘Guitar’ Albums
A while ago I described something/someone as “guitar music” and was chortled at from all directions; there’s no such thing as guitar music. This is not a genre. This is no way to explain or define music. Andres Segovia and Derek Bailey and Jimi Hendrix and Django Reinhardt and Eddie Van Halen have all made amazing music by approaching the same instrument (or versions of […]Archive
January 18, 2018 by Simon Sweetman
Sweetman Podcast: Episode 99 – Adam Page
Welcome to episode 99 of Sweetman Podcast with support from our sponsors – T Leaf T, Yeastie Boys and Le Petite Chocolat. This one is a conversation with Adam Page, he’s an Australian musician – based in Adelaide. He runs Wizard Tone Studios and the label Wizard Tone Records is home to not only his own recordings but a great range […]Archive
March 7, 2017 by Simon Sweetman