Tag: Eddie Van Halen

The Collection: Ep. 72 – Van Halen on Vinyl

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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

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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.

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Van Halen – ‘Zero Demos’ (Bootleg – 1976/2022) – Album Review

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Whenever I got to Repo Records, especially on Record Store Day, I tend to find Bootlegs while waiting in line. I think he does it on purpose knowing I’m a sucker for those things (not true as he doesn’t know me from Adam). The last few trips have been very successful and this last trip was no exception. This time I found another Van Halen Bootleg and this one was called ‘Zero Demos’ and it is a collection of the demos produced by Gene Simmons way back in 1976. I have always wanted to hear and have those demos and now I do.

You probably have already heard the story of Gene Simmons involvement in Van Halen so I won’t go in to too much detail. Gene saw them play and fell in love with them. He took them under his demonic wing and took the band in to the studio and they recorded a 10 song demo tape that Gene shopped around to try and get them a deal. He was unable to and his demands with Kiss were huge, so he ripped up the contract and let them find their own way which they did and the rest is history. During this time, Gene had Eddie and Alex help with some demos for Kiss including “Got Love for Sale”, “Christine Sixteen” and “Tunnel of Love” which were long in demand and I have copies thanks to Gene Simmons’ The Vault!!

This bootleg is fairly new as it came out in 2022 from Yellow Dog Records. I like how the front cover is a reproduction of the debut album cover with the ‘Zero Demos’ at the top. The back has a bunch of live shots of the band. And with a lot of bootlegs, there are mistakes and the only one I really see is the “House of Pain” demo is listed as “House In Pain”…close enough I guess. The vinyl is a red/yellow splatter and looks beautiful. The label is easy with the word Zero and Side A or B. Can’t much simpler than that without just putting a blank label on it. What do I have to say about the music? Well, we will see in a minute, but the sound is fantastic for demos from 1976 that have probably been transferred from tape to tape to tape over the years. 

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My Sunday Song – “Crossing Over” by Van Halen

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For My Sunday Song #393, we are on the third Japanese Bonus Track picked by Mike Ladano. This time around it is the Van Halen song “Crossing Over” off the band’s 1995 album ‘Balance’. The song was written by Van Halen (credited to all the members) and was not just a Japanese Bonus Track, but was also used as the B-Side to “Can’t Stop Loving You”. And if you recently bought the new Van Halen Collection II box set, you got the track on the 4th Bonus LP so that is really cool.

I read somewhere that the song was not actually written during the Balance recording sessions, but originated way back in 1983 when it was titled “David’s Song”. Eddie played all the instruments on the demo. The song wasn’t about Roth, it was about a friend of Eddie’s name David who had committed suicide. If you read the lyrics you can get that from them. Eddie is trying to reach out and see his friend one more time. To touch him one more time before he crosses over. It is a dark song and powerful too.

The song starts off with Eddie and the tone is really eerie and then the bass comes in with a little duh dum, and then the Alex is in on the drums and those drums are unmistakable Alex as he has such a unique sound. There are some electronic drum elements too. It all is very dark. Sammy finally comes in and sings and it isn’t all powerful. It is slow and the lyrics are very deliberate and meant to convey the dark tone to the song. There is an importance to the lyrics, to the sound, to it all. I read somewhere that Eddie’s demo was used for this track and they layered in Alex and Sammy and if that is true, that is cool. The song isn’t explosive and the chorus isn’t very catchy, but this is the mid 90’s and things were not always done the way we were used to hearing things. Overall, a really cool track.

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‘Sex, Drugs, Ratt & Roll: My Life in Rock’ – A Memoir By Stephen Pearcy with Sam Benjamin – Book Review

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I’m a huge Ratt fan as the first series the site ever did was a Ratt one where we reviewed every Ratt album in their discography (and my collection). A big part of that is because I like Stephen Pearcy. So when I was in Los Angeles and saw a book by Stephen Pearcy called ‘Sex, Drugs, Ratt & Roll: My Life in Rock’, I had to grab it. Now, Stephen didn’t write it by himself, he had the help of Sam Benjamin. But the two together crafted a book that was an easy, entertaining read and I like easy. And you will notice down below, the copy I picked up had been signed by Stephen back in 2018 which I didn’t notice until I got back home. Pretty cool!!

The story opens with birth of his daughter and him going to rehab, then quickly jumps back to his childhood. He was a typical kid, parents divorced when he was young so he didn’t now his Dad very well and raised by a single mom. He had to move from L.A. to San Diego when he was young and didn’t fit in with the scene. He found some hippie type friends and got in to drugs and drinking at a young age. He was hit by a car and both legs broken and was in rehab in the hospital for months on end and took a long time to recover.

When he finally discovered music, that became his motivation, his drive, his obsession. He knew he was going to make it and did everything in his power to make it happen. He met David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen early on when that band was getting ready to break and there are some fun stories with that. And with a book called Sex, Drugs, Ratt & Roll, you get all of that and then some. Most of the book is about his sex addiction and his drug addiction and after awhile that does get old because how many times can you talk about getting trim and not just sound like it is on repeat. He gets a lot and constantly. Stephen is a giant man-child who can’t commit to anything or anyone except the addictions, but his drive to be a rock star was insane.

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Van Halen – ‘Destruction in Dallas: Reunion Arena, Dallas, Tx – November 18, 1982’ (Bootleg) – Album Review

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There is no better feeling than out vinyl digging and find something unexpected like a bootleg. Make that bootleg Van Halen and make there be two different ones there by Van Halen and that is why I love collecting. Those little surprises and the first one I already reviewed.. It is a soundboard recording from April 3, 1978 and recorded at the Pogo’s Night Club and Discotheque in Wichita, Kansas. The other bootleg I found was Van Halen’s Destruction in Dallas. Recorded on November 18, 1982 at Reunion Arena in Dallas, TX in front of a sold out show of over 19,000 screaming fans. This recording is a soundboard recording, although not a great one. The sound is really low, you can hear everything, but you really have to turn it up and it never gets loud enough for me which does detract from the show a little.

But Michael Anthony, Alex Van Halen, David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen due to all out and I am sure the fans had a great time at the show. This was the Diver Down/Hide Your Sheep 1982 Tour. Now, the copy I have of this bootleg is on 2 LPs and both colored. We get a beautiful red one for Sides A/B and a white on for Sides C/D. The track list appears to be accurate from what I’ve seen and the last three songs on Side D are actually demos of songs that have not seen the light of day on any release.

The album opens up with an enthusiastic introduction from the announcer and the band goes in to “Romeo’s Delight” with Eddie’s guitar throwing riffs out like they were candy. Dave “woahing” and screaming as he forgot the fucking words (as he tells the crowd). Someone might be a little hammered already and we are only at the first song. Not a good sign of things to come. Sound quality wise, the sound is a little hollow for the instruments. And I have it cranked and still hard to hear the instruments. Dave is clear, Eddie’s guitar is clear, but the rest not so much. Oh, and the backing vocals are pretty loud too.

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Van Halen – ‘Catch a Rising Star -Live at Pogos Night Club: Wichita, KS April 3, 1978’ – Album Review (Bootleg)

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There is no better feeling than out vinyl digging and find something unexpected like a bootleg. Make that bootleg Van Halen and make there be two different ones there by Van Halen and that is why I love collecting. Those little surprises and this is the first one we will talk about. It is a soundboard recording from April 3, 1978 and recorded at the Pogo’s Night Club and Discotheque in Wichita, Kansas. The show was Pogo’s Catch a Rising Star which was a showcase for up and coming bands in the the 70’s. Van Halen had just released their debut album so you can’t get much more up and coming than that.

This show is David Lee Roth, Michael Anthony, Alex Van Halen and the late, great Eddie Van Halen and man were they young and hungry and this show definitely showcases that hunger. They play almost everything from the debut (minus two songs) and even a cover to end the show. David Lee Roth is in fine form as his banter with the crowd is worth the price of admission alone, but since you get Eddie’s guitar mastery it is icing on the top of the cake. I’m getting excited just talking about. Let’s crank this mutha and get in to the music. The label on the vinyl is pretty cool Some Steampunk guy standing there like he is introducing you to new the rising stars of Van Halen.

SIDE A:

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Van Halen – “Finish What Ya Started” – 7″ Single

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When I was on vacation last 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 all of those so far as seen below…

Now it is time to add a new one to the list from one I found at Mad Jack’s in Matthews, NC. This is another from ‘OU812’ and it is “Finish What Ya Started”. The song was released as a single in September 1988 and it did well going all the way to #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the Rock Charts. The song was credited to be written by Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony, but we all know it was really just Eddie and Sammy. They were doing the “band” thing and crediting everybody and that never seems to end well.

The album was basically finished, but due to lack of sleep one night, Eddie came up with the riff and ran over to his neighbor’s house at 2 in the morning and was begrudgingly let in by Sammy. The two spent the rest of the night finishing the music and after Eddie left, Sammy finished the lyrics which seem to be about someone being unsatisfied because the other person wouldn’t finish the deed…you know what I’m talking about. Someone has a case of blue balls!!

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Kiss – “Christine Sixteen” – 7″ Single (The Kiss Review Series – Bonus Edition)

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A couple weeks ago we talked through the Kiss 7″ Single for “Beth”. I know, I know…the Kiss Review Series will never die as I’ll always keep finding stuff to show off. Now, I found another one of their singles and this one is from their 1977 album ‘Love Gun’. It is “Christine Sixteen” and the song features Gene Simmons on the lead vocals. As far as chart success, it went all the way to #25 on the Billboard Hot 100. Not bad!

I say not bad because of the subject matter of the song, a lot of stations wouldn’t play it or would only play it after 7pm as if that made it any better. The basis of the song is about an older man infatuated with a girl of the tender age of 16. That wouldn’t fly at all today, but back then, it wasn’t terrible or unforgivable, merely frowned upon I would say based on the fact it still sold like hotcakes. Imagine the chart position if all the stations played it any time of day.

My version is the standard U.S. version, with no picture sleeve. It has the standard Casablanca/Filmworks sleeve which is pretty basic. The B-Side of the song might actually be better than the A-Side is it is Ace Frehley’s song “Shock Me”. More on that later. First let’s discuss the A-Side.

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‘Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock’ by Sammy Hagar with Joel Selvin – Book Review

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I know, I know. I am a little late to this book as it came out way back in 2011. But I’m finally here, I’ve finally drenched myself in to the pages and I am ready to tell you all about it. Thanks for being so patient with me. Sammy Hagar! What is there to say about Sammy. I remember seeing “I Can’t Drive 55” on MTV and really starting to discover who he was. I found out he was the lead singer of the band Montrose from the 70’s and then around 1985, I remember he was named the new lead singer of Van Halen. That was when I really started to find out who he really was. I picked up some Sammy albums and definitely bought the Van Halen albums and I really liked him. Then in the 90’s after leaving Van Halen, he started up his solo stuff again. Eventually he turned in to what I felt was the Jimmy Buffet of Rock & Roll. He had this laid back, surfer dude, all sunshine, relaxation and Tequila. He has always seemed like such a cool dude! And this book proved that to be the case, but I discovered so much more.

The book has Sammy really focusing on his rock & roll life with nuggets of his early childhood, but thankfully he stuck to the music mostly. Well, almost thankfully, as I would’ve loved to hear more about his business side as he only touched on it (except for Cabo Wabo and the Tequila) a little and that seems to be the area where he made most of his money and let me tell you, the man looks like he made more money on the business side of his life then the music side and I find that fascinating. Hell, he sold his Tequila brand for around $100 million…DAMN!!! He had a fire safety sprinkler company before there as really such a thing. He’s had his bar Cabo Wabo which is now bar’s’ with an ‘s’. He seems to invest in the right things at the right time and I have never been that lucky.

But the main reason to read the book for any Sammy fan is the Va Halen stories and they don’t disappoint. I’ve heard that he was really harsh on Eddie Van Halen and he regrets that a little, but I don’t think it was that harsh. I don’t think it is anything we didn’t expect or know. Eddie was an addict and his behavior over the years has shown that. I think Sammy was being honest with how he interpreted the stories and that is what I want in a book. I can read other people’s books to get their side and then draw my own conclusion, but Sammy’s seemed authentic to me. The sunshine and roses of how he got with the band seems to coincide with what Ted Templeman said in his book which is all good. But the downfall is where it got interesting. The little things they did to each other, the backstabbing, the drugs and alcohol and just the shitty way things went down was outright riveting to me. Sammy laid it all out there for you to read. So go do it.

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