To answer the question at 20:15 Ted Templeman DID push to have covers almost always, as he had a theory that a song that’s been a hit once can easily do it again. He talks about it his book. And of course, this gentleman is right too-sometimes they were just short of material so they recorded cover songs.
The best tracks on Diver Down were the covers. The only original track I liked on the album was "Hang 'Em High". The covers saved that album, imo. The only thing that made the album difficult to listen to all the way through was the sequencing -- something I fixed when I burned the album to CD.
Warner Brothers was pressuring them to release something really fast because of the single they recorded, Roy Orbison’s “Pretty Woman.” I love the equal mix of covers and original. Little Guitars is incredible and I’m pretty sure was written then, along with “The Full Bug.” “Hang ‘Em High,”was an old one they had written previously entitled “Last Night.” As a huge fan of VH’s original work, I would’ve preferred all new tunes, but I think it was a smart move at the time from Ted to do the covers. The previous album Fair Warning (my all time favorite) did not sell as well as the others. Diver Down set the band up for the brilliant 1984. I love all of these roundtable discussions of all things Van Halen. 👏🏻
It would've made more sense to not release diver down and go straight into 1984 with eddie's dancing in the street riff turned into a van halen original@@zzyzxx13
@zzyzxx13 I feel pretty much the same about the songs, in coolness/heaviness....I'm still like a Deer in the Headlights when listening "Hang Em' High" , Still Amazed at How Seriously ~HEAVY~, "Heavy Metal" this Van Halen Brothers "Hang Em' High" Track Sounds!? coming out of Van Halen in 1982...although "Little Guitars" is at least worth mention, and David Lee Roth's Shuffle/Swing Rock "Secrets" is an alright well made song....but it Certainly ISN'T what you really want to hear from a Band as Capable and Ferocious as the Van Halen Brothers...but again David Lee Roths "Secrets" (Diver Down/VH 1982) wasn't/isn't too terrible either
Eddie would be saying to Randy (while they both tuned their 'harp guitars').....'Well Randy, you may have gone out early but at least you went out with a BANG...And what's Keith Richard still doing on Earth ?...Stairway to Heaven ,,,Guitar capo anyone'?......lol
I would too! Hopefully Wolfie will change his mind about the tapes that are at 5150 and release some of that stuff. I saw an interview he said he wouldn't because all the good stuff is out on the albums.
@@jojomcgee3430 I think a lot of it is having time to go through the sheer volume of it, especially since the computer that had the tapes catalogued crashed!
As a longtime VH mega-fan, it's great to hear that VH has about 4 cds worth of usable stuff in the vault. This is just at Warner Bros...then there is stuff they recorded at Ed's studio 5150 also!
Listen to the Dwyer & Michaels interviews. Radio guys from the Quad Cities. They got Eddie's number and called him. He actually picked up and talked for a while. They ended up talking a few more times. Nobody talked to Eddie at this time. Really cool stuff.
Their is a video with Wolf and he’s at 5150 and he shows all the material archived from Ed and Wolf did say at some point he will work on putting material together and releasing it. Wolf was asked how much material is stored and he says tons a whole bunch, my dad was always writing and recording. Looking forward to that stuff seeing the light of day.🎶
F'n A bud!! I've been collecting unreleased rare than Herron CD and DVDs for 10 years now they have a lot but there's got to be a lot more recordings. When Al and Wolf decide for fans to hear a sneak peek or at least some of it. Prayers that they do, I want to hear more of the recordings Edward "THE KING" has done because he has been a lifelong hero and my musical inspiration and also the reason I picked up the guitar at age 9.
Think of all the lousy bands from the 80s who have all their tours documented on pro shot releases. We VH fans have only two or three bootlegs with bad quality. If that isn't a crime, I don't know what is.
@@commentfreely5443 I read yesterday in a couple of places including an online RS interview that there are close to a million cds of Ed's work at 5150 containing decades of playing, including original music, not just outtakes, unheard, uncatalogued, unknown recordings but Ed said it was every genre not just rock including jazz, classic, world music, etc. as he noodled around and just constantly recorded. Al and Wolf are eventually going to start going through it archiving to find out what's there. Also Warner Bros say they have 4 albums worth of usable material. I sure hope all of this comes to fruition.
@@commentfreely5443 from what few video clips of eddies house and studio ive seen, eddie had walls and walls full of tapes, discs, and hard drives full of music. I remember him being interviewed by a guy and pointing up to a shelve ( about 9 foot up, not even the top ) and said " right up there is the recordings from such n such tour.
I still love Van Halen like I did in my teenage years. And I'm 57. Can't say that about most of the other bands I liked back then. It brings back great memories. I thought Wolfgang was making an album. I remember reading an interview w/Eddie talking about it. He was really proud of him. Anyways, can't wait for the next episode. It's really nice to hear you guys talk about one of the greatest bands ever. Take it easy
Distance and YTB(Your to Blame) Sounds like his time period rock/Goo Goos meet Daultry meets Evanescence(all 3 of those bands have great song writing, so does Mammoth WVH)he got that from his Dad.
Wolf is a musical prodigy, just like his Dad & Uncle. He will do "very well" in his career, which is about to explode in the coming months, with the release if his full album.
I was 13yrs old back in 78 when I first heard Van Halen Running with the Devil on my cousins 8-track tape player. I was blown away with their music and i've been a fan ever since. I can't wait to hear unreleased material. RIP Eddie
In the very early eighties (81-82). I heard Van Halen 1 for the first time as a kid. Running with the devil blew my mind too.The way everything slowed down to that beginning with the bass part. And then eruption and then The kinks. I just couldn't wrap my head around it. That entire album is tattooed in my brain(if I remember correctly I heard the song running with the devil for the first time on a Nancy Reagan anti-drug commercial...lol).
So good to hear Alex and Mike getting credit from someone who really know how important they were to Van Halen being successful. I also agree that Alex was so on top of his game in the later years, he was the best on stage. It is unlikely that Alex will do anything now Ed is gone, but he certainly can hold his own.
Imagine Wolf , Uncle Al and Mike doing something.......it would be awesome if it was to happen. Wolf and Mike handle Guitar Bass and Vocals , Al on drums........just an idea...
When Brian was asked if the sunset recordings sounded better than the 5150 recordings he mentioned the echo chamber at sunset is why he preferred the sunset recordings! That was fun and interesting to hear because I have mentioned that myself.That Echo chamber was a key component to those early recordings! It set the mood like on everybody wants some,sounds to me like they had all of the lights off while they were recording. The first 5 albums are great, all recorded at sunset sound but the first three had the largest amount of plate Reverb that made them sound huge!
Totally agree about the mood created by the echo chamber. I always pictured them playing in the dark on the first three albums, as well. Wasn’t Diver Down recorded at Amigo, however?
I hate the first album sound as did Eddie himself. I don't mind it on the others and it sounds good on Fair Warning. But give me the 5150 albums on most days.
I am so glad Brian Kehew is working on all this , it is so Awesome to have that one person who brings this all to light! Of course everyone in the room is just key to all the information we all need to know!
He said it-it was always all about *the songs.* Everyone who wants to tear down the 'legend' of EVH will invoke the name of some other player, and how that guy does such and such 'better.' But, those guys might be technicians of the highest order, but they didn't innovate and they didn't write music like Edward and Dave.
You’re so right! Whenever that type of discussion has presented itself to me, my answer is always, “Those guys learned how to play that, EVH just sat down and was able to PLAY that!” The greatest innovate and musician of our similar aged lifetime.
@@imaginaryfriend9655 Yeah, I really don’t think the Sammy era songs stand up to the earlier VH standard. Completely different character. Actually, the only SamHalen song I like is Finish What You Started. Which is interesting, as someone who *loves* Roth-era stuff and who thinks Eddie was/is the greatest ever. I can’t think of any other guitar players who I feel so drastically different about, from one _period_ to another.
@@CentaurusRelax314 I can only think of one, and it was after Eddie,,,,, DIME! He changed metal for generations to come! That's why Eddie gave up his "Franken strat" for Dime's burial. It went with Dime to the grave! Never to be seen again! How much more can you honor a person? From one legend to another! Pass it on! God has a house full of greats! Music transends all! Even in heaven!
Had he wanted to EVH could have easily produced the guitar gymnastics that others did after him. EVH was able to take the maximum amount of guitar virtuosity and make it work in pop songs that anyone could enjoy. That’s the secret. Like you said it’s about the songs. Sure Vai and Malmsteen have their thing but outside true guitar nuts good luck getting people to truly appreciate that style. Everyone can throw a Van Halen song on and connect. Virtuosity that anyone can connect too. Something few have been able to achieve.
Fantastic insights and recollections!! I've been watching VH tributes etc since EVH passed and this is by far the most insightful, educational and entertaining video on the VH legend.
I'm a huge Ssmmy fan but his era of VH is not memorable. When someone invokes VH name it takes a few minutes before someone will interject "what about Sammy?"
Thank you, thank you, thank you! This was sooo good. To anyone who thinks they know it all about Van Halen, you need to see this. Loved the chilled filming style, I felt like I was sitting in there with you, just hearing all of this amazing detail for the first time...AND THERE’S A PART TWO! 😜
A lot of that VH1 stuff is showing up on the tube since Eddie’s passing! Insightful chat gentlemen! I particularly agreed with the comments regarding their struggle for stardom not having the elusive hit! First time I saw them, was in Edmonton during the van Halen two tour! Edmonton, Alberta Canada! 16,000 seat arena cut down to what they used to call a concert bawl! You know, 8000 seats per say. What a show! Can’t quite remember, I’ve seen them on every tour through town! I think it was either Rail or, the Fabulous Poodles opening for them. They always had these off-the-wall openers in Canada like… Cool and the Gang etc. Fun and insightful conversation, Thank you!
I was just listening to dirty movies and a couple of others. Loud through great speakers, and no one from the 70’s had such thick rich tones top to bottom, and sorry to haters, but Dave sang fantastically on some of those tracks with a Smokey soul I don’t hear in rock from the time. He was often so funny and showmanship was a thing that makes people not hear how great he sounds on the tunes. Mikes bass is so incredibly heavy if often simple sounding, just perfect. The ideas Ed and Alex add are often just so surprising and engaging and badass. That’s the songwriting that gets sort of overshadowed by the guitar hero. Amazing!!!
I've always loved Dave vocals. Some of my favorite rock vocals of all time. It's his passion and emotion and intensity in his vocals that strike a chord with me. And also he did extraordinarily difficult vocal acrobatics but he never gets credit for. Those incredible screams and his amazing rhythm as a singer.
He seems really interesting but he wasn't there when they recorded all this stuff I can't figure out why they didn't have Ted templeman or video clip of Don Landee
WoW I wish I was sitting at the table with you guys reminiscing thank you for this wonderful treasure trove this stuff is special which we just don't get nowhere, thanks again SUNSET HIGH FIVE 💯🤘
Only 7 people mentioned the Realistic shirt. For those who are curious... Radio Shack's Realistic Line for home stereos, TV's, Walkie Talkies, Reel To Reel recorders, weather radios, vacuum tube testers, etc. The CB radios dominated the CB market in the 1970's. The most interesting was Radio Shack / Tandy released under the Realistic line a MOOG synthesizer called the MG-1 Concertmate. That "mate" part was used many times with items like their windows software called "Deskmate" and a cassette player with headphones called "Stereo Mate." My favorite Radio Shack speakers were actually metal cased called Optimus 7 which I used as my first home studio monitors with an Alesis RA-100.
@@daveyboy8907 I had the same pair of speakers for 30 years and "gifted" the 7's to a roommate when I moved out. I'm so tempted to buy a set online as I loved the sound. They were also a little technically savvy. they had the tweeters recessed as the higher frequencies get to the ear faster. Not sure if that made even a smidgen of difference, but it was cool to know! Now I have a huge set of 4 foot Technics speakers from the 80's. Love them, but still want what I had. lol
Played a gig in Panama City Beach in 1989 and after we loaded in and did a sound check the police showed up looking for Jim Dandy because he rented a rental truck for touring and never paid after the first weeks that he paid up front. They were looking for him for the 3rd month. They kept showing up after their gig was over. I told them to call their booking agent and ask where they are playing next because you need to see then before you book them. Side note...he had hacked up snot wads and spit them all over the stage. The club owner rented a pressure washer and washed the stage down which was covered in outdoor carpet. The stage was huge and covered but the side and front was closed off with plastic tarps. We had some great fun there for years and opened with great big named bands. Great video guys.
despite the distaste for Cherone, i recall after they made VHIII they almost put together another album (and i recall the name was supposed to be Tabula Rasa, or something... i even recall seeing a picture of Michael Anthony holding a jewel case with the proposed album artwork). Despite whatever VHIII was like, I recall reading an interview with Gary more than a decade later saying in hindsight they should have just toured and played the DLR era songs nobody heard VH play for years, and then release an album, and that they went into the studio after VHIII and laid-down material much better than what they had released. Probably lots of frowns out there, but it might be worth it to hear what they almost released.
I agree, getting Gary to sing out of his range with songs that were too long and a band which had potential but had no chemistry early on was a bad idea. I would love to hear anything where Eddie and the band are inspired!
There are at least demos for a second album with Cherone, would be interesting to hear. Supposedly those songs were an improvement as they got more familiar with each other.
@@konrandmierze8067 That would be interesting to hear. I wasn't that impressed with that album. To me it sounded like it should have been an EVH solo album. Seemed to me like EVH was starting to buy too much of his own press at that point.
Well done, gentleman. Please keep this series going. Cultural historians present and future will thank the Sunset Sound owners and management for its foresight in documenting this important information. I am looking forward to the new edition of "Recording the Beatles" by Brian Kehew. There is so much excellent research now being published on popular music.
They also had planned on opening the fourth album with the fade-out riff instrumental GROWTH that ended Women and Children First. It faded out and was supposed to fade back in to start the Fair Warning album, but it never happened.
I'd like to heard Templeman or Landee comment on Kehew saying he thinks EVH's sound was split between two different types of cabinets. Never heard that before.
Have you ever seen the video of this genius swedish guy, where he is testing a Van Halen like setup (Plexi in one 4x12 with different speakers in it)? You hear the Van Halen sound immediately...
They came to municipal auditorium Shreveport La. Opened for Journey. I was too young but my guitar teacher said he came out just SCREAMIN GUITAR LIKE YOU NEVER SEEN BEFORE
Greatly informative! I have the poor copies of the Gene and WB demos. Would absolutely love high quality editions. To have individuals with information to the early years share it with those who are processing this loss is very much appreciated. I’ve subscribed and look forward to more to come.
Ive read elsewhere the demo Gene Simmons funded was given to the band on the condition they don't sell it or release it for sale . The band put the demo on their Newsdesk site . It's also on CZcams . The demo sounds just that like a demo .
When V.h first came out i personally couldn't believe how much what exactly they were doing was exactly the type of band and music that I was searching for, for myself as a rock musician to be totally what I was and am still into, in every single way possible!
Summer of 81 I was introduced to VH - first song I heard was Jamie’s Cryin’…. Life as I knew it changed from that point on… I still remember where I was, who I was with, and it was a beautiful sunny day to boot!
Awesome discussion. While I think it's a little too early to release something it's great to know that something was compiled. I have the Warner's demos along with a lot of other material but I'd buy this in a heartbeat knowing it's been remixed in the best quality available.
There is word from Eddie’s friend and Engineer, that’s there is THOUSANDS of songs, music, and guitar solos, in Eddie’s 5150 home studios vault. Maybe when AVH, and Wolfie are recovered enough from their devastating loss, they will share some, or all of them with the rest of us. RIP EVH, and God bless you AVH & WVH. Our hearts are broken too.
Great piece here. And it's refreshing to hear someone say it..... Eddie Van Halen, and Van Halen was a LOT more than just Eddie's inflamatory guitar work. The song-writing was absolutely incredible. The drumming. The musicianship in general. But the song-writing.... wow. Incredible. So nice to hear him discussing that. There will NEVER be another Van Halen.
28:35 I have recently went and revisited VH II, and this is what I was focused in on. Alex was a beast! The way he was mic-ed and mixed was so earthy, crisp, and expertly done. I loved Alex's sound on that one.
glad i found this. talk of a box set goes back to around the mid 2000's i believe. my old boss worked with AVH and was told about the project but it was shelved. i have boots like many others do, but i would gladly pay for a box set of any unreleased VH music. which sadly may come to light now since eddie passed.
The Warner Bros. demos from 1977 has been out for quite a while now, and in much better quality than when it first appeared (shorter) on boot cd's in the 90's, but is this gentleman saying here that they remixed it? That would be a great new release if they did. I've collected bootlegs since the 70s but a lot of fans don't realize that there are so many recordings of VH's early years.
hearing stuff on bootleg is one thing.....Kehew actually found the source material of those demos and not only that, but he found the multi-tracks to those demos...so taking those raw stems, he remixed it to sound as close to the first album as possible. That would be a hell of a listen!
When I was in my teens in the mid-80s. I had 1 those JBL's with the metal domes centered.Also a horn on top too.It almost looks like it was half of the L&R of an old PA system broke in half.Yes! It was fizzy as hell but it sounded freaking great. In the '80s,a lot of gear I bought used from the '70s.
Loving these round/square table meetings, esp the VH discussions . The ultimate would be Ted, Don and Wolfie , ...a long shot I know. Great channel and content, pls keep up the goodness. Cheers!
Shyboy was a Talas song. It was originally just the bass doing the tapping, when Dave did it with his band, Steve Vai added guitar to it. This is why Ed wanted to hire Billy Sheehan in the 1984 era.
glad someone else mentioned this. Talas for someone reading this who don't know, was Billy Sheehan's (from David Lee Roth's solo band) band from late-70s-early 80s that were basically a local band from Buffalo who had like 3 albums that went no where that only guitar shredder fans know about because Sheehan played insane virtuoso tapping stuff on bass on them.
Thats crazy, That "Shy Boy" was a Talas song, and hearing that story of Ed wanting to recruit Sheehan, makes so much sense now, but if Sheehan had been recruited into VH do you thing Billy would have been permitted to play like Billy does with Ed's guitar, its been said Michale Anthony's playing was simplified so Ed could be Ed . I just have to wonder how much would Billy Sheehan been able to go off , I know with Vai and DLR he could but that was to me totally different musically than VH.
To answer the question at 20:15 Ted Templeman DID push to have covers almost always, as he had a theory that a song that’s been a hit once can easily do it again. He talks about it his book. And of course, this gentleman is right too-sometimes they were just short of material so they recorded cover songs.
The best tracks on Diver Down were the covers. The only original track I liked on the album was "Hang 'Em High". The covers saved that album, imo. The only thing that made the album difficult to listen to all the way through was the sequencing -- something I fixed when I burned the album to CD.
Warner Brothers was pressuring them to release something really fast because of the single they recorded, Roy Orbison’s “Pretty Woman.” I love the equal mix of covers and original. Little Guitars is incredible and I’m pretty sure was written then, along with “The Full Bug.” “Hang ‘Em High,”was an old one they had written previously entitled “Last Night.”
As a huge fan of VH’s original work, I would’ve preferred all new tunes, but I think it was a smart move at the time from Ted to do the covers. The previous album Fair Warning (my all time favorite) did not sell as well as the others. Diver Down set the band up for the brilliant 1984.
I love all of these roundtable discussions of all things Van Halen. 👏🏻
It would've made more sense to not release diver down and go straight into 1984 with eddie's dancing in the street riff turned into a van halen original@@zzyzxx13
@@zzyzxx13
I don't know about that. Little guitars is a great one. Full Bug. Lots of great originals on DD.
@zzyzxx13 I feel pretty much the same about the songs, in coolness/heaviness....I'm still like a Deer in the Headlights when listening "Hang Em' High" , Still Amazed at How Seriously ~HEAVY~, "Heavy Metal" this Van Halen Brothers "Hang Em' High" Track Sounds!? coming out of Van Halen in 1982...although "Little Guitars" is at least worth mention, and David Lee Roth's Shuffle/Swing Rock "Secrets" is an alright well made song....but it Certainly ISN'T what you really want to hear from a Band as Capable and Ferocious as the Van Halen Brothers...but again David Lee Roths "Secrets" (Diver Down/VH 1982) wasn't/isn't too terrible either
Eddie meeting Randy Rhoads in the afterlife . . .
Eddie: Hey Randy.
Randy: Man can you believe it?
Eddie: What?
Randy: Ozzie outlived us both.
LMAO
Eddie would be saying to Randy (while they both tuned their 'harp guitars').....'Well Randy, you may have gone out early but at least you went out with a BANG...And what's Keith Richard still doing on Earth ?...Stairway to Heaven ,,,Guitar capo anyone'?......lol
and Kieth Richards is still alive
exactly....lol
Anybody ever see that meme of Keith Richards with the red eyes?.. that man's going to live to be 142 years old.
I'll pay for outtakes of EVH any day.
I would too! Hopefully Wolfie will change his mind about the tapes that are at 5150 and release some of that stuff. I saw an interview he said he wouldn't because all the good stuff is out on the albums.
@@jojomcgee3430 I think a lot of it is having time to go through the sheer volume of it, especially since the computer that had the tapes catalogued crashed!
Me too. I'd pay legit cash to get my hands on some more Van Halen music that I haven't heard.
Why? Makes no sense
I’d love to hear their stuff before they landed a major producer.
As a longtime VH mega-fan, it's great to hear that VH has about 4 cds worth of usable stuff in the vault. This is just at Warner Bros...then there is stuff they recorded at Ed's studio 5150 also!
Eddie meeting Randy Rhoads in the afterlife . . .
Eddie: Hey Randy.
Randy: Man can you believe it?
Eddie: What?
Randy: Ozzie outlived us both.
We can only hope Wolf digs up a lot of stuff from 5150 studio in the coming years🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
Listen to the Dwyer & Michaels interviews. Radio guys from the Quad Cities. They got Eddie's number and called him. He actually picked up and talked for a while. They ended up talking a few more times.
Nobody talked to Eddie at this time. Really cool stuff.
Their is a video with Wolf and he’s at 5150 and he shows all the material archived from Ed and Wolf did say at some point he will work on putting material together and releasing it. Wolf was asked how much material is stored and he says tons a whole bunch, my dad was always writing and recording. Looking forward to that stuff seeing the light of day.🎶
I need to hear this stuff. Not to mentioned those demo tapes not just remastered, but re-mixed? Take my money!
It is all on youtube.
If remixed, have Al Mike and Wolf involved.
I'm not a music engineer or musician but it's always fascinating to hear the creative process of how some stuff was made.
"that's why those records sound so good; Van Halen really were THAT good" well said. 🤘
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“ that’s why those records sound so good; Van Halen really were THAT good.” well said. 🤘😜👍
F'n A bud!! I've been collecting unreleased rare than Herron CD and DVDs for 10 years now they have a lot but there's got to be a lot more recordings. When Al and Wolf decide for fans to hear a sneak peek or at least some of it. Prayers that they do, I want to hear more of the recordings Edward "THE KING" has done because he has been a lifelong hero and my musical inspiration and also the reason I picked up the guitar at age 9.
@@anthonyherron2242 Absolutely! Yes Sir.
Thank you for this. As a Van Halen fan, an engineer and a guitarist this was really cool to listen to.
He was hired to go thru all those VH stuff? What kinda dream job is that??
Think of all the lousy bands from the 80s who have all their tours documented on pro shot releases. We VH fans have only two or three bootlegs with bad quality. If that isn't a crime, I don't know what is.
eddie lived in a studio in his house for 30 years. he'd better have recorded shit.
i've recorded 200 songs in my house and i'm not 50.
@@commentfreely5443 I read yesterday in a couple of places including an online RS interview that there are close to a million cds of Ed's work at 5150 containing decades of playing, including original music, not just outtakes, unheard, uncatalogued, unknown recordings but Ed said it was every genre not just rock including jazz, classic, world music, etc. as he noodled around and just constantly recorded. Al and Wolf are eventually going to start going through it archiving to find out what's there. Also Warner Bros say they have 4 albums worth of usable material. I sure hope all of this comes to fruition.
@Bob Bielski they need to release everything. Nobody cares about the quality, we just want to hear
@@commentfreely5443 from what few video clips of eddies house and studio ive seen, eddie had walls and walls full of tapes, discs, and hard drives full of music. I remember him being interviewed by a guy and pointing up to a shelve ( about 9 foot up, not even the top ) and said " right up there is the recordings from such n such tour.
@@jacobhouser7672 your God damn right brother!
I still love Van Halen like I did in my teenage years. And I'm 57. Can't say that about most of the other bands I liked back then. It brings back great memories.
I thought Wolfgang was making an album. I remember reading an interview w/Eddie talking about it. He was really proud of him. Anyways, can't wait for the next episode. It's really nice to hear you guys talk about one of the greatest bands ever. Take it easy
2 songs from Mammoth WVH great, that album will be very good.
Distance and YTB(Your to Blame) Sounds like his time period rock/Goo Goos meet Daultry meets Evanescence(all 3 of those bands have great song writing, so does Mammoth WVH)he got that from his Dad.
Wolf’s song “You’re To Blame” is GREAT!!!! He’s playing all of the instruments and singing!!
Wolf is a musical prodigy, just like his Dad & Uncle. He will do "very well" in his career, which is about to explode in the coming months, with the release if his full album.
@@coldwinter5710 hope your right, the music industry needs a new rock star. Why not EVH son?
I was 13yrs old back in 78 when I first heard Van Halen Running with the Devil on my cousins 8-track tape player. I was blown away with their music and i've been a fan ever since. I can't wait to hear unreleased material. RIP Eddie
In the very early eighties (81-82). I heard Van Halen 1 for the first time as a kid. Running with the devil blew my mind too.The way everything slowed down to that beginning with the bass part. And then eruption and then The kinks. I just couldn't wrap my head around it. That entire album is tattooed in my brain(if I remember correctly I heard the song running with the devil for the first time on a Nancy Reagan anti-drug commercial...lol).
So good to hear Alex and Mike getting credit from someone who really know how important they were to Van Halen being successful. I also agree that Alex was so on top of his game in the later years, he was the best on stage. It is unlikely that Alex will do anything now Ed is gone, but he certainly can hold his own.
Imagine Wolf , Uncle Al and Mike doing something.......it would be awesome if it was to happen. Wolf and Mike handle Guitar Bass and Vocals , Al on drums........just an idea...
When Brian was asked if the sunset recordings sounded better than the 5150 recordings he mentioned the echo chamber at sunset is why he preferred the sunset recordings! That was fun and interesting to hear because I have mentioned that myself.That Echo chamber was a key component to those early recordings! It set the mood like on everybody wants some,sounds to me like they had all of the lights off while they were recording. The first 5 albums are great, all recorded at sunset sound but the first three had the largest amount of plate Reverb that made them sound huge!
Totally agree about the mood created by the echo chamber. I always pictured them playing in the dark on the first three albums, as well. Wasn’t Diver Down recorded at Amigo, however?
@@sethcashman1011 Yes I guess it was! Learn something new everyday thanks for pointing that one out!
I hate the first album sound as did Eddie himself. I don't mind it on the others and it sounds good on Fair Warning. But give me the 5150 albums on most days.
You just contradicted yourself. You said it was the echo chamber then you said it was plate reverb. DUH!!!
I am so glad Brian Kehew is working on all this , it is so Awesome to have that one person who brings this all to light! Of course everyone in the room is just key to all the information we all need to know!
He said it-it was always all about *the songs.* Everyone who wants to tear down the 'legend' of EVH will invoke the name of some other player, and how that guy does such and such 'better.' But, those guys might be technicians of the highest order, but they didn't innovate and they didn't write music like Edward and Dave.
You’re so right! Whenever that type of discussion has presented itself to me, my answer is always, “Those guys learned how to play that, EVH just sat down and was able to PLAY that!” The greatest innovate and musician of our similar aged lifetime.
and Write like Eddie and Sammy either...
@@imaginaryfriend9655 Yeah, I really don’t think the Sammy era songs stand up to the earlier VH standard. Completely different character. Actually, the only SamHalen song I like is Finish What You Started. Which is interesting, as someone who *loves* Roth-era stuff and who thinks Eddie was/is the greatest ever. I can’t think of any other guitar players who I feel so drastically different about, from one _period_ to another.
@@CentaurusRelax314 I can only think of one, and it was after Eddie,,,,, DIME! He changed metal for generations to come! That's why Eddie gave up his "Franken strat" for Dime's burial. It went with Dime to the grave! Never to be seen again! How much more can you honor a person? From one legend to another! Pass it on! God has a house full of greats! Music transends all! Even in heaven!
Had he wanted to EVH could have easily produced the guitar gymnastics that others did after him. EVH was able to take the maximum amount of guitar virtuosity and make it work in pop songs that anyone could enjoy. That’s the secret. Like you said it’s about the songs. Sure Vai and Malmsteen have their thing but outside true guitar nuts good luck getting people to truly appreciate that style. Everyone can throw a Van Halen song on and connect. Virtuosity that anyone can connect too. Something few have been able to achieve.
Miss you Ed. Glad to have known you since I was 11. 1979. You showed me so much. RIP brother.
Fantastic insights and recollections!! I've been watching VH tributes etc since EVH passed and this is by far the most insightful, educational and entertaining video on the VH legend.
That’s so rad!! Thanks. Make sure to subscribe . Lot more to come 🤘
Agreed. This guy is incredible and he speaks so well.
All the Sammy stuff was a huge departure. That era really reinvented the group.
I'm a huge Ssmmy fan but his era of VH is not memorable. When someone invokes VH name it takes a few minutes before someone will interject "what about Sammy?"
Fantastic! Thanks for this! Looking forward to Part II!
Many thanks for this guys!, looking forward to the next installment
I’ve listened to this interview 4 times now and find it fascinating every time.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! This was sooo good. To anyone who thinks they know it all about Van Halen, you need to see this. Loved the chilled filming style, I felt like I was sitting in there with you, just hearing all of this amazing detail for the first time...AND THERE’S A PART TWO! 😜
These interviews about Van Halens time in the studio are awesome! Thanks guys
Aaaah! What a cliffhanger!! Excellent talk! thank you.
Fantastic and incredible interview! Thank you so much for this!
AMAZING interview. Great job with the cliffhanger ending...I sure hope I remember to watch part 2. Thank you for keeping it free!!
❤️🤘
We are lucky you're sharing these stories, thanks Brian Kehew.
This was an amazing discussion with so much wonderful info.. thank you so much for this gift!! :-)
That was awesome. Great recordings, great band, great songs, great chemistry.
Great stuff! I can listen to this all day. I would love go thru those tapes. Thanks for posting
You’re welcome. Make sure to subscribe . Lot more to come 🤘
A lot of that VH1 stuff is showing up on the tube since Eddie’s passing! Insightful chat gentlemen! I particularly agreed with the comments regarding their struggle for stardom not having the elusive hit! First time I saw them, was in Edmonton during the van Halen two tour! Edmonton, Alberta Canada! 16,000 seat arena cut down to what they used to call a concert bawl! You know, 8000 seats per say. What a show! Can’t quite remember, I’ve seen them on every tour through town! I think it was either Rail or, the Fabulous Poodles opening for them. They always had these off-the-wall openers in Canada like… Cool and the Gang etc. Fun and insightful conversation, Thank you!
Great to hear these stories from a technical perspective - viva Sunset Sound!
I'm excited to hear anything Alex and Wolfie release from the old stuff... that would be awesome!!
hell yes, an instrumental VH album :) i wish they would release VH3 with just instuments
I was just listening to dirty movies and a couple of others. Loud through great speakers, and no one from the 70’s had such thick rich tones top to bottom, and sorry to haters, but Dave sang fantastically on some of those tracks with a Smokey soul I don’t hear in rock from the time. He was often so funny and showmanship was a thing that makes people not hear how great he sounds on the tunes. Mikes bass is so incredibly heavy if often simple sounding, just perfect. The ideas Ed and Alex add are often just so surprising and engaging and badass. That’s the songwriting that gets sort of overshadowed by the guitar hero. Amazing!!!
I've always loved Dave vocals. Some of my favorite rock vocals of all time. It's his passion and emotion and intensity in his vocals that strike a chord with me. And also he did extraordinarily difficult vocal acrobatics but he never gets credit for. Those incredible screams and his amazing rhythm as a singer.
Wow we’re gonna be in for some awesome nuggets! Live shows outtakes! I can’t wait!
This Conversation it's just Beautiful!....Thanks Sunset Guys!
Brian Kehew is a total legend, brilliant human, and has so much musical capacity. ❤️
He seems really interesting but he wasn't there when they recorded all this stuff I can't figure out why they didn't have Ted templeman or video clip of Don Landee
Great Roundtable discussion guys! You're hard work is understood and appreciated!
Guys, this is fantastic. Thanks for doing this!
Wow. Mind blown 🤯. So many nuggets of information here. Thanks so much!
Thank you so much for this particular focused effort. Hungry for the info.
I had that red vinyl. A DJ friend gave it to me in 1981. I Never looked back !
WoW I wish I was sitting at the table with you guys reminiscing thank you for this wonderful treasure trove this stuff is special which we just don't get nowhere, thanks again SUNSET HIGH FIVE 💯🤘
I want that 'Realistic' shirt!
Release more Van Halen hidden gems, please. The world wants them. The fans need them.
Just released the first work order from their demo on our Instagram and Pt 2 of this is out tmrw! 🤘
Only 7 people mentioned the Realistic shirt. For those who are curious... Radio Shack's Realistic Line for home stereos, TV's, Walkie Talkies, Reel To Reel recorders, weather radios, vacuum tube testers, etc. The CB radios dominated the CB market in the 1970's. The most interesting was Radio Shack / Tandy released under the Realistic line a MOOG synthesizer called the MG-1 Concertmate. That "mate" part was used many times with items like their windows software called "Deskmate" and a cassette player with headphones called "Stereo Mate."
My favorite Radio Shack speakers were actually metal cased called Optimus 7 which I used as my first home studio monitors with an Alesis RA-100.
I have realistic home speakers as well and they were great back in the 80s early 90s..Man how things have changed.
@@daveyboy8907 I had the same pair of speakers for 30 years and "gifted" the 7's to a roommate when I moved out. I'm so tempted to buy a set online as I loved the sound.
They were also a little technically savvy.
they had the tweeters recessed as the higher frequencies get to the ear faster.
Not sure if that made even a smidgen of difference, but it was cool to know!
Now I have a huge set of 4 foot Technics speakers from the 80's. Love them, but still want what I had. lol
I Still have a few old realistic power amps
Thank you! Looking forward to Episode 2!
Great stuff! Amazing insight. Thank you!!
Played a gig in Panama City Beach in 1989 and after we loaded in and did a sound check the police showed up looking for Jim Dandy because he rented a rental truck for touring and never paid after the first weeks that he paid up front. They were looking for him for the 3rd month. They kept showing up after their gig was over. I told them to call their booking agent and ask where they are playing next because you need to see then before you book them. Side note...he had hacked up snot wads and spit them all over the stage. The club owner rented a pressure washer and washed the stage down which was covered in outdoor carpet. The stage was huge and covered but the side and front was closed off with plastic tarps. We had some great fun there for years and opened with great big named bands. Great video guys.
This is an interesting video-discussion. I was aware of most of the info, but not as detailed. Thanks for posting.
That was a GREAT interview. Enjoyed it. Bring on pt2
It’s already up
Intelligent and so well put together. Enjoyed this a lot!
This is good....thanks for getting together and sharing.....RIP Eddie
Make sure an subscribe for Part 2 tmrw
despite the distaste for Cherone, i recall after they made VHIII they almost put together another album (and i recall the name was supposed to be Tabula Rasa, or something... i even recall seeing a picture of Michael Anthony holding a jewel case with the proposed album artwork). Despite whatever VHIII was like, I recall reading an interview with Gary more than a decade later saying in hindsight they should have just toured and played the DLR era songs nobody heard VH play for years, and then release an album, and that they went into the studio after VHIII and laid-down material much better than what they had released. Probably lots of frowns out there, but it might be worth it to hear what they almost released.
Good news, if the 12th album was better than VH3. Also the 13th with Roth which also got shelved.
I agree, getting Gary to sing out of his range with songs that were too long and a band which had potential but had no chemistry early on was a bad idea. I would love to hear anything where Eddie and the band are inspired!
You guys need to get Ted templeman and Don Landee into this conversation.
Stay tuned
@@sunsetsoundrecorders YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!! #BatedBreath
Yeah exactly why get people to sit around and speculate what went on back then why don't you just talk to the people who were actually there.
There are at least demos for a second album with Cherone, would be interesting to hear. Supposedly those songs were an improvement as they got more familiar with each other.
@@konrandmierze8067 That would be interesting to hear. I wasn't that impressed with that album. To me it sounded like it should have been an EVH solo album. Seemed to me like EVH was starting to buy too much of his own press at that point.
Well done, gentleman. Please keep this series going. Cultural historians present and future will thank the Sunset Sound owners and management for its foresight in documenting this important information. I am looking forward to the new edition of "Recording the Beatles" by Brian Kehew. There is so much excellent research now being published on popular music.
They also had planned on opening the fourth album with the fade-out riff instrumental GROWTH that ended Women and Children First. It faded out and was supposed to fade back in to start the Fair Warning album, but it never happened.
So very much appreciate this, THANK YOU!!
Thank you so much for this! Amazing stuff!
Van Halen! America’s greatest ROCK band of all time!! PLAY LOUD!
Yes. Period. End of story. Nice, concise statement.
I'd like to heard Templeman or Landee comment on Kehew
saying he thinks EVH's sound was split between two different
types of cabinets. Never heard that before.
Have you ever seen the video of this genius swedish guy, where he is testing a Van Halen like setup (Plexi in one 4x12 with different speakers in it)? You hear the Van Halen sound immediately...
Awesome interview thanks guys - a dream for a VH geek like me :)
They came to municipal auditorium Shreveport La. Opened for Journey. I was too young but my guitar teacher said he came out just SCREAMIN GUITAR LIKE YOU NEVER SEEN BEFORE
My first concert was VanHalen at the Hirsch coliseum 5150 tour
@@scottcolbert9190 you know they built and rehearsed that tour there?
Greatly informative! I have the poor copies of the Gene and WB demos. Would absolutely love high quality editions. To have individuals with information to the early years share it with those who are processing this loss is very much appreciated. I’ve subscribed and look forward to more to come.
Ive read elsewhere the demo Gene Simmons funded was given to the band on the condition they don't sell it or release it for sale . The band put the demo on their Newsdesk site . It's also on CZcams . The demo sounds just that like a demo .
I love this stuff. More please!
Van Halen 1, 2, and Fair Warning changed my life!
When V.h first came out i personally couldn't believe how much what exactly they were doing was exactly the type of band and music that I was searching for, for myself as a rock musician to be totally what I was and am still into, in every single way possible!
Summer of 81 I was introduced to VH - first song I heard was Jamie’s Cryin’…. Life as I knew it changed from that point on… I still remember where I was, who I was with, and it was a beautiful sunny day to boot!
i got a poodle haircut and noodled wanky shit for a decade straight
very very interesting stuff you wont find anywhere. so cool
..I wait in anticipation for part 2..
Warner Bros should have had a VH concert and fly in all the DJs to see and hear VH. Cheaper and quicker way to gain support.
Great stuff guys. Cheers!
Wow i'm really impressed with the knowledge that Brian Kehew has and his ability to communicate it. This is very cool stuff.
Plenty more episodes
This is such incredible information. Thank you for this!
Make sure and subscribe bud, were just getting started 🤘
@@sunsetsoundrecorders Already have!
Thank you for this video. HUGE VH fan.
Awesome discussion. While I think it's a little too early to release something it's great to know that something was compiled. I have the Warner's demos along with a lot of other material but I'd buy this in a heartbeat knowing it's been remixed in the best quality available.
Put out a Box set of all this unreleased VH gems.
Hell that would go platinum!
There is word from Eddie’s friend and Engineer, that’s there is THOUSANDS of songs, music, and guitar solos, in Eddie’s 5150 home studios vault. Maybe when AVH, and Wolfie are recovered enough from their devastating loss, they will share some, or all of them with the rest of us. RIP EVH, and God bless you AVH & WVH. Our hearts are broken too.
I'd basically pay..... whatever for it. I don't care what the cost would be. I'd pay it. With zero hesitation.
@@mojodojo5533 Absolutely. Without breaking a sweat.
“The Wild Life” wasn’t a Sean Penn movie.
It was a Chris Penn , his brother. Movie
Love this interview.
Fascinating stuff. Thanks for this.
Glad to hear someone talking about Black Oak Arkansas.
Great piece here. And it's refreshing to hear someone say it..... Eddie Van Halen, and Van Halen was a LOT more than just Eddie's inflamatory guitar work. The song-writing was absolutely incredible. The drumming. The musicianship in general. But the song-writing.... wow. Incredible. So nice to hear him discussing that. There will NEVER be another Van Halen.
I actually bought some of those api/demedio mic pres on ebay myself. Thanks for the confirmation!
This is some seriously geeky and beautiful stuff!
WE UNDERSTAND ONE OF THE CAMERAS WAS SHOT IN RAW footage. PLEASE ENJOY THE CONTENT. WE KNOW THE ONE CAMERA WASNT COLORED CORRECTLY. WE GET IT!
This is great. Its about the band and what your doing now. I love it. Thank you for this.
@@mrDCunningham ❤️🙏🔥
@@sunsetsoundrecorders Mesmerizing discussion. Really enjoyed it. Thank you.
Don't mind the bs, thanx for posting!
Saul good, we look to you for exceptional audio not video
So true about the Beatles engineering. I look forward to reading such a treasure.
I would love to hear Donn Landee for two hours - I would pay for that!
28:35
I have recently went and revisited VH II, and this is what I was focused in on. Alex was a beast! The way he was mic-ed and mixed was so earthy, crisp, and expertly done. I loved Alex's sound on that one.
Amazing interview.
glad i found this. talk of a box set goes back to around the mid 2000's i believe. my old boss worked with AVH and was told about the project but it was shelved. i have boots like many others do, but i would gladly pay for a box set of any unreleased VH music. which sadly may come to light now since eddie passed.
Beyond cool to hear this conversation!!!! ❤️
You’re welcome. Make sure to subscribe . Lot more to come 🤘
@@sunsetsoundrecorders some of the comments are so lame
I remember seeing a sign for Van Halen in either 75 or 76 they were playing at a club on Beach Boulevard close to Stanton, CA
The Warner Bros. demos from 1977 has been out for quite a while now, and in much better quality than when it first appeared (shorter) on boot cd's in the 90's, but is this gentleman saying here that they remixed it? That would be a great new release if they did. I've collected bootlegs since the 70s but a lot of fans don't realize that there are so many recordings of VH's early years.
hearing stuff on bootleg is one thing.....Kehew actually found the source material of those demos and not only that, but he found the multi-tracks to those demos...so taking those raw stems, he remixed it to sound as close to the first album as possible. That would be a hell of a listen!
When I was in my teens in the mid-80s. I had 1 those JBL's with the metal domes centered.Also a horn on top too.It almost looks like it was half of the L&R of an old PA system broke in half.Yes! It was fizzy as hell but it sounded freaking great. In the '80s,a lot of gear I bought used from the '70s.
Loving these round/square table meetings, esp the VH discussions . The ultimate would be Ted, Don and Wolfie , ...a long shot I know. Great channel and content, pls keep up the goodness. Cheers!
Ted comes in next. Make sure and subscribe and hit the bell for notifications
@@sunsetsoundrecorders Great to hear. Already following the channel, looking forward to it .. thx! :-)
Ted Don and Wolfie roundtable is amazing...those three are absolutely archivist and historian of the group.
"All those Bass players"
??
your sarcasm slays me
Nice interview, it reminds that I miss my 'realistic' PZM microphones!
Shyboy was a Talas song. It was originally just the bass doing the tapping, when Dave did it with his band, Steve Vai added guitar to it. This is why Ed wanted to hire Billy Sheehan in the 1984 era.
glad someone else mentioned this. Talas for someone reading this who don't know, was Billy Sheehan's (from David Lee Roth's solo band) band from late-70s-early 80s that were basically a local band from Buffalo who had like 3 albums that went no where that only guitar shredder fans know about because Sheehan played insane virtuoso tapping stuff on bass on them.
Thats crazy, That "Shy Boy" was a Talas song, and hearing that story of Ed wanting to recruit Sheehan, makes so much sense now, but if Sheehan had been recruited into VH do you thing Billy would have been permitted to play like Billy does with Ed's guitar, its been said Michale Anthony's playing was simplified so Ed could be Ed . I just have to wonder how much would Billy Sheehan been able to go off , I know with Vai and DLR he could but that was to me totally different musically than VH.
i love this technical information
Great stuff! Super interesting!