TomBoerwinkle#1

I agree that Bon Scott was the MAN in AC/DC. I do love the Back in Black album, but it the only post-Scott album that is essential. The rest have spots of brilliance, and a lot of mediocre product.

FJ of Rockaway loves Brian Johnson's lion roar, and once took me to task for expressing a preference for Scott. I respect his opinion. But when push comes to shove, other than BinB, I'm old school AC/DC.



Ahhh...Van Halen. Now there's a band we can talk about for a while.

I was in junior high when Van Halen I came out. I was totally oblivious to the fact that it existed. All I knew about back then was what WLS am played -- plenty of Styx, Journey, REO Speedwagon, Cheap Trick, Supertramp, etc. And I knew about disco. And frankly, at the time, I didn't hate disco. Later, I hated disco. I've since regained my appreciation, to an extent.

But I digress.

I really came to know Van Halen with the Diver Down album -- an album that is somewhat maligned, but I still like it. Eddy resented his guitar loop experiments being grafted onto a cover of Dancing in the Streets, but I kind of dig it. Pretty Woman? Well...maybe the criticism there is somewhat on base. But a cover of the obscure Kinks tune Where Have All the Good Times Gone was music to the ears of this Kinks fan.

From there, I went back and discovered VH I and my mind was blown. Running with the Devil melted my brain Eruption and the cover of the Kink's You Really Got Me sealed the deal. The whole album -- Jamie's Cryin', Ice Cream Man, the whole Chalupa -- cemented a love affair with the band.

VHII -- Well, its no sophomore slump, but it inevitably pales in comparison to the debut. Still, You're No Good, Dance the Night Away, Beautiful Girls and the amazing acoustic solo Spanish Fly are rock solid classics.

Women and Children First, is to me, half a great album. The first side absolutely rocks -- And the Cradle Will Rock, Everybody Wants Some!, Fools, Romeo Delight. Arena rock at its finest. To me, side 2 is weaker, but Could This Be Magic? was a foreshadowing of the classic Ice Cream Man.

Fair Warning was also somewhat uneven, but contains two of my alltime favorite VH tracks -- Mean Streets and Unchained. So This is Love? and One Foot Out the Door also rock pretty damn hard. Not the typical feel good VH. And in this case, I think that is a good thing. After the debut, I probably listen to this album more than any other VH.

I've already shared my thoughts on Diver Down. Better than its reputation suggests.

1984. An album I love and hate. I HATE Jump, and allways have. I love Hot for Teacher, despite the fact it was WAY overplayed. I'll Wait, Pamama, Top Jimmy, Drop Dead Legs, there really isn't a weak track on the album (notwithstanding my synth-pop loathing of Jump).

Now we get into Van Hagar.

I enjoyed the debut, 5150. Always liked the Red Rocker. A great jump start for a band I was afraid would cheese out after Jump's success. I find the similarities between the guitar/vocal call and response of 5150's Good Enough and the guitar/vocal call and response on Roth's Eat 'Em and Smile opener, Yankee Rose.

The album was not balls to the wall rock, and was not a party-hearty album, but was a great album for driving Lake Shore Drive along Lake Michigan on hot July nights with the top down, and a beer in the cup holder. Why Can't This Be Love?, Summer Sights, Get Up, and so on. Nothing groundbreakeing, but easy on the ears.

After this, the albums get spotty. OU812's cover of Little Feat's A Apolitical Blues was a nice touch, and Finish What You Started is memorable, if overplayed, but overall, it was clear that the boys had gone into the well-worn Journey/REO "mature" phase of "adult rock." BORING!!! Mine All Mine, When Its Love, Feels So Good...completely safe, completely radio friendly. Completely disposable.

The rest? Occasional decent tracks, mostly middle of the road pablum, sorry to say. Eddy and Alex could have done better. Sad that they didn't.

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