Such lip service is especially insipid given that Hagar has always been such a mundane, middle-of-the-road hack. Say what you will about Diamond Dave's (extremely) failed bid to replace Howard Stern, at least the man had flair — an obnoxious, over-the-top, distinctive flamboyance that matched Eddie Van Halen's obsessive guitar pyrotechnics tit for tat.
Once egos clashed and Roth got the boot, Eddie went looking for a nonthreatening presence to (not) share the stage with. Even in '85, Hagar's future looked far less promising than that of A-ha; choosing him to lead Van Halen was a disastrously boring choice. Imagine: If not for Van Halen's fateful call (the suggestion came from Eddie's mechanic), the band might have avoided its descent into the tepid, MOR morass from which it never emerged. A campy, honest and horny party act degenerated into classic-rock sleaze. Childishly titled efforts such as OU812 and For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge are depressing reminders of just how tired the band (and hard rock in general) would become.
Hagar is a well-tanned dumbass, a party-till-you-drop "dude" of the highest order, whose adolescent ode to speeding, "I Can't Drive 55," is the musical equivalent of a fart joke. Look for it to appear early in the first set, along with enough rescued Van Halen chestnuts to send the bleary-eyed crowd back to the '80s, a time of mullets, tight pants and other bad decisions.
Showing 1-2 of 2
While you've got a valid point on Van Halen's music post-Roth and with Hagar, it's hard to dismiss Sam's genius in succeeding at just what you knock him for: being highly average. Perhaps he hasn't evolved, but neither have his fans. And this is the brilliance of his lyrics: much like Hank Williams understated genius with lines like "you're just in time to be too late", Sammy too knows how to keep it simple: "When I drive that slow it's hard to steer, and I can't get my car out of second gear." While Lee Roth always appears grasping for something just out of his reach, Sam has always basked in the sun of what he knows.
The proof is in the passing years. While Dave flails at a radio career and tries to double as Randy Mantooth on "Emergency", Sam promotes his own successful brand of mountain bike, opens numerous commercially viable restaurant-clubs, and pitches his own brand of tequila..the #2 best-seller in the country.
Nobody could ever claim that anything these guys did was high art, but Sammy's the one laughing all the way to the bank.
While you've got a valid point on Van Halen's music post-Roth and with Hagar, it's hard to dismiss Sam's genius in succeeding at just what you knock him for: being highly average. Perhaps he hasn't evolved, but neither have his fans. And this is the brilliance of his lyrics: much like Hank Williams understated genius with lines like "you're just in time to be too late", Sammy too knows how to keep it simple: "When I drive that slow it's hard to steer, and I can't get my car out of second gear." While Lee Roth always appears grasping for something just out of his reach, Sam has always basked in the sun of what he knows. The proof is in the passing years. While Dave flails at a radio career and tries to double as Randy Mantooth on "Emergency", Sam promotes his own successful brand of mountain bike, opens numerous commercially viable restaurant-clubs, and pitches his own brand of tequila..the #2 best-seller in the country. Nobody could ever claim that anything these guys did was high art, but Sammy's the one laughing all the way to the bank.
like
dislike
