Tag: 5150

The Collection: Ep. 72 – Van Halen on Vinyl

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic9 Comments

This week on The Collection, we are talking Van Halen. More specifically, Van Halen on vinyl. We will go through all my Van Halen Vinyl including studio albums, live albums, box sets, 7″ Singles and even Bootlegs. From the debut up to Balance as I don’t have Van Halen III or A Different Kind of Truth (and some live). But I have enough to talk about, so let’s do that. Find out who I prefer…David Lee Roth or Sammy Hagar. Find out what my favorite album is and which ones are not. A lot to get through, I hope you enjoy it.

So go check it out as it will be live tonight, September 8, 2025 at 7pm. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.

My Sunday Song – “Yankee Rose” by David Lee Roth

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic4 Comments

For My Sunday Song #447, we are talking David Lee Roth’s “Yankee Rose”. The song was the debut single off his first full length album, ‘Eat ‘Em And Smile’. ‘Yankee Rose’ was released on June 18, 1986 and went to #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #10 on the Mainstream Rock Chart. The song was a statement piece for David as this was his first album since his parting ways with Van Halen. And I will admit, between ‘Eat ‘Em And Smile’ and Van Halen’s first album, ‘5150’, with their new singer, Sammy Hagar, I like this album and song the best.

The song was written by David Lee Roth and his shiny new guitarist, Steve Vai. If there is anyone that can compete with Eddie Van Halen on creativity, it might be Steve. The song is about the Statue of Liberty as there are numerous references to her and America in general. The Statue was in the public eye back in 1986 as she was getting a major renovation for her 100th anniversary of her standing and welcoming the world. There are a lot of great lines celebrating America such as national anthem, apple pie, sea to shining sea, firecrackin’ on the fourth of July and many others. A very, fun and patriotic song.

Musically, it is simply stellar. The drum beat that opens and then the conversation between David and Steve Vai’s guitar. The guitar would speak, literally, and Dave would reply back. Steve Vai could make the guitar do whatever he wanted. His playing through out is inspirational. The quick riffs, the killer solo all make this song heads and shoulders better than most out there at the time. David was the same old cocky self. He did his usual speak/sing style of lyric delivery and you realize that his Van Halen was the best…arguments can begin below in the comment section. The song is a pure 80’s rocker and just slays. Now, the rest of the band was pretty killer too as you had Billy Sheehan on bass and damn he slaps that baby hard. On drums is Gregg Bissonette and he lays down a great beat and keeps the song pounding forward. All together, this was on unstoppable force…for at least one album anyways.

Continue reading “My Sunday Song – “Yankee Rose” by David Lee Roth” →

Van Halen – “Love Walks In’ – 45 Single

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic29 Comments

When I was on vacation during this past Summer, I found a ton of 45 Singles with the Picture Sleeves at a place called House of Vinyl and I ended buying 7 Van Halen 45’s. And we’ve been through a few so far as seen below…

And now we are on to our sixth of the 7 and we are still in to the Hagar Era and this was the third single off their first album together for ‘5150’ from 1986. The song is “Love Walks In” which was released on July 23, 1986 and went to #22 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was credited to the whole band as usual, but I believe lyrically it came from Sammy as the song is about Alien Abduction and Sammy has stated he has been. Ok! I am not sure where to really go with that information.

My copy is in a little rough shape with a slight tear at the bottom crease plus someone wrote 15 on the front. But otherwise, it plays well and that is all that matters. This version is the standard single version with “Love Walks In” on the A-Side and the B-Side is “Summer Nights”. Not a bad combo of songs.

Continue reading “Van Halen – “Love Walks In’ – 45 Single” →

Van Halen – “Why Can’t This Be Love” – 45 Single

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic30 Comments

When I was on vacation during this past Summer, I found a ton of 45 Singles with the Picture Sleeves at a place called House of Vinyl and I ended buying 7 Van Halen 45’s. And we’ve been through a few so far as seen below…

And now we are on to our fifth of the 7 and this time we are in to the Hagar Era and this was the first single off their first album together for ‘5150’ from 1986. The song is “Why Can’t This Be Love” and was released on February 26, 1986. The song was the first released with new lead singer Sammy Hagar and went all the way to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks. Not a bad start to this new era of Van Halen.

The version I have is the standard US Version of the single. Nothing special about, but it was in really great shape which is tough to find the picture sleeves in good shape. I like the big explosion on the back cover but not sure what the significance of it is to either song on this release unless they were going for the fact this was a new explosive release by the band…which it really isn’t.

Continue reading “Van Halen – “Why Can’t This Be Love” – 45 Single” →