Van Halen

Van Halen III

Weak Van Halen album, mediocre rock album

Review Score:

(6/10)
This has got to be one of the most controversial rock albums by a big act in history. I agree with other middle-of-the-road reviewers who say that it was a big mistake to try an "experimental sound" at the same time Gary Cherone joined the band as its third lead singer. A more traditional sound would have minimized the lost of Sammy; instead that loss sticks out like a sore thumb. For sure, Sammy's three solo efforts since he left VH are all better than this--much better in most cases. On the other hand, Gary is not a terrible singer. I was not a huge Extreme fan, but I LOVED their smash album "Pornografitti". Thinking of that album and then picturing Gary joining VH was not a stretch to me in terms of potential success for this album. Alas, it didn't work out at all.

Actually, there are some good songs on here, but few if any great ones. To me the most traditional VH-sounding song on here is "Fire In The Hole". "Without You", "One I Want", and "Dirty Water Dog" are decent. "Year To The Day" is way too long and Gary shrieks too much. As others have mentioned, "How Many Say I" is awful. It is by far the worst Van Halen song on what is for sure their worst album.

As a Van Halen album, which is perhaps how many reviewers rated this album, I agree it deserves one star. For all rock albums, however, I'd call it average music (i.e., 3 stars). Clearly, it is disappointing when a great band such as this is average. For sure, Van Halen will never be the same as a result of it.

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