Van Halen

Van Halen III

Worth getting if (and only if) you REALLY like Van Halen

Review Score:

(2/10)
-----
I'd love to give this album two stars, if only for the sheer audacity on behalf of the band, producers and record company it must have took just to release this thing; perhaps the most disappointing album of all time. But, I just can't, because even though there are flashes of the brilliance of VH of old, this album barely deserves ONE star. And I've asked myself why, why do I just not like this record? I mean, the first half of this album is not all that bad, especially if you like the Van-Hagar era as much as the Dave-Halen years. "Without You" is, in my opinion, almost as good as any song from the Sammy albums. It honestly sounds like it could have been dropped at the last minute from the OU812 album. In fact, several of the songs do have a very "80's" feel to them, just not a "80's Van Halen" feel. "One I Want" sounds like The Outfield; but I like The Outfield, and this song. "From Afar" is kind of David Lee Roth-ish (after he left VH) or even Def Leppard-ish. The Fixx could very well have written and performed "Dirty Water Dog" (my second favorite song on the CD). Phil Collins' voice could have been over-dubbed on "Once" and no one would have ever known it had anything to do with VH. But the song is tolerable (though just barely). Sounding like a leftover from the Balance album, "Fire In The Hole" could have been one of VH's best tunes ever, what with the killer guitar intro, if not for the asinine lyrics. The "hole" that Gary Cherone refers to is a mouth. Great sexual-innuendo possibilities there, but instead of exploring that, or perhaps the military implication (the song does begin with helicopter and bombing sound effects, then Edward), Gary sings about wisdom teeth and spitting in a rinse cup. You figure it out. As for the rest of the CD, I never listen to it. Not that it's so horrible (well, maybe it is), it's just not worth the time. Maybe we VH fans expect too much from the band we love so much. But certainly we deserve better than this half-hearted effort. I recommend this album only on the strength of Without You, One I Want, and Dirty Water Dog. I'd say buy it used and buy it cheap.

More Reviews: