Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:05] Speaker B: This is our musical reaction breakdown and commentary analysis of this song. Under Fair Use, we intend no copyright infringement and this is not a replacement for listening to the artist's music.
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[00:01:03] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:01:15] Speaker C: Welcome back to another episode of Rock Roulette Podcast. That's right, the crazy ass podcast that took over 1, 800 albums, stuck them in a list, stuck them in a wheel. Every other week we spin the wheel. She picks a record for us and we go through it track by track. We talk about the music, the lyrics, the production, the melody and the arrangement and we give it scores. Just a bunch of friends who love music want to do a podcast. As always, anybody who takes this trip with us to Discovery and Rediscovery, we really want to thank you. Spread the word and reach out to us. Tell us what you like, what you don't like, where we really, really listen. I promise you, anybody who's ever contacted us knows that market's back right away and we give you a shout out on the podcast. And I mean, you can brag to all your friends that you, this fucking bunch of idiots who do this podcast mentioned me on their thing. Listen, mom, listen. We are a trio again tonight. We got Frank, My name is Fr.
[00:02:07] Speaker A: And I'm sexy.
[00:02:14] Speaker D: Hello everybody.
[00:02:16] Speaker C: We got Mark. Oh hi Mark.
[00:02:18] Speaker E: What's up guys?
[00:02:19] Speaker C: And I'm Sav. Ciao Buena Theater. Last week the wheel kind of fulfilled my request a little bit in the sense that we got Diver down by Van Halen, an album that I kind of knew but didn't know too well. Mark definitely didn't get his request because he knows Van Halen. I don't know, better than the back of his hand. I would say this has been a little bit of controversy here. I think what I know is I knew going into this that this is considered all the covers album people said, oh, but the originals on here are good. Scores haven't been great. But I do consider myself overall a Van Halen fan. I listened to them. We were talking about it before the podcast, especially the first four albums, which I think are all pretty classic, at least for me. The first side of this. Yes. We all had a discussion. Where have all the good times gone? I agree. And Margaret agrees their version is better. I just didn't like the song. Secrets and Tudor and Hang Em High. I don't know. Just not that level to me that, like, the first four kind of going into this had. I know one good song on the second side, without a doubt, because we actually did a cover of it. At least we tried to. I'm kind of hopeful. More for the second half than the first half. Mark you as the big Van Halen guy. Where does this album sit with you?
[00:03:30] Speaker E: I think it's out of the top 10 for me. I don't know where I would put it. I mean, there's some albums I like better than this. I don't know if we talked about it. This album was recorded in 12 days.
They were really, really, really rushed into this. I take that a little bit into consideration, too. Is that, hey, this Pretty Woman thing hit. Oh, you were going to take a break now, go back to the studio. You got two weeks.
[00:03:49] Speaker C: Mm.
[00:03:50] Speaker E: A lot of the songs they had from a while ago, they kind of cobbled those together, I think, a little. It probably is the reason why it is the way it is. Again, I can take pieces out of these songs that I like, but is it my favorite Van Halen album?
[00:04:04] Speaker D: No.
[00:04:04] Speaker E: I think that the King's cover is better than the original because I'd really not listened to the original. I actually went back this week and listened to it. I texted Savine. I was like, oh, yeah, the Van Halen version is way better than the King's version. I think there's a couple of good songs on the other side. The second side is a little weird, too. There's some weird stuff there. I think if you take into consideration it was done in 12 days, and I don't know what more you're going to want from a band that basically didn't have time to write anything and just was thrown into the studio. Said, hey, here you go.
[00:04:27] Speaker C: Listen, no matter how much you like a band, there will be that one or two or three albums. Listen, I'm a YouTube fan, and there's definitely stuff from, like.
And they may come up here, and there may be stuff that comes up that you guys may like more than I do. I wanted to like this more, but I also knew kind of going in what it was, I said, okay, well, let's see what happens at least with the originals. I'm hoping the second side kicks it up a little bit higher. But I would never say. Oh, my God.
[00:04:53] Speaker F: Oh, man.
[00:04:53] Speaker C: It doesn't really affect my fandom of them. Frank, your scores, I think they were lower than mine last week.
[00:04:58] Speaker D: I like some of the remakes, not all of them. The music is good. It's just. I think they could have done a better job. I didn't know they made this in 12 days. I mean, it sounds it now that you say it.
[00:05:08] Speaker C: So texted Mark some harsh criticisms.
[00:05:16] Speaker E: He's busting my hump is what he's doing.
[00:05:18] Speaker C: He is. Oh, he's totally busting.
[00:05:21] Speaker E: I'm totally fine. I'm going to like this more than you guys. That's not a big surprise.
I do say that I think the covers, this cover that we just did and the one on the second side, I don't think are horrible.
[00:05:34] Speaker D: Oh, Jesus. I know it's coming.
[00:05:36] Speaker E: Frank might like this. This is the best song on the whole record.
[00:05:40] Speaker D: I'm surprised they're allowed to still publish.
[00:05:43] Speaker E: Went to number three, so don't laugh. Yes.
[00:05:45] Speaker C: The big cover on the second side,
[00:05:47] Speaker D: it did not go to. What planet did it go to?
[00:05:49] Speaker E: Number three on a planet where you weren't paying attention.
[00:05:52] Speaker D: No, I don't think so. That's Planet Mark. It went to number three.
[00:05:55] Speaker E: Nope.
[00:05:56] Speaker D: There's no way in no shot that this. I'm going to look this up on his plan.
[00:06:00] Speaker E: US Billboard mainstream rock three, Billboard hot 138. Even if you say it was 38 was still in the top 40. It doesn't really matter what we think. It was a decent hit for them and they played it in concert a lot during this tour. It's not like something they did and never played.
[00:06:14] Speaker D: Fans need to play a piss break and this was it.
[00:06:17] Speaker C: I saw a clip of them in Tokyo in 2012. Does that make sense?
[00:06:22] Speaker E: 2013, I think.
[00:06:23] Speaker C: Holy cow. Eddie Van Halen and Wolfgang. Their vocals were amazing.
They were doing Unchained. They sounded great. I mean, I knew, obviously Wolfgang can sing from his records. David Lee Roth basically wasn't singing at all. He was barely speaking in this particular one. But once they kicked in, it's like, wow, they sound great.
[00:06:44] Speaker E: He did a great job. Everyone busted his hump. Say it wasn't him playing. It's not his background vocals. He's using tracks. It's Michael Anthony's background vocals.
He got a lot of hate just because Michael Anthony wasn't there. I thought he did a great job. Realistically, though, without him, there wouldn't have been anything if he. If he wasn't there to Help his dad through the times he was. Especially at the beginning when he still wasn't clean. At, like, 2007 time, there would have been no Van Halen. If he wasn't there, they would not have been touring. People should be happy that he was there, because otherwise that wasn't gonna happen.
[00:07:13] Speaker C: Yeah. And you got to see them.
[00:07:14] Speaker E: The only time I got to see them.
[00:07:16] Speaker D: You only seen them once?
[00:07:17] Speaker E: One time. I don't know why.
[00:07:19] Speaker C: Wow. I know. We've had this discussion on the show before about bands that we haven't seen that make no sense. Alison Chains always comes to mind. How the fuck I never saw them live. Makes zero sense to me.
[00:07:30] Speaker E: Yeah, me too. I don't get it.
[00:07:32] Speaker C: All right, that's it. That's the tangent.
One and done. Maybe I'm forgetting. Before we get back to Diver down and Frank's harsh criticisms, we have to do the Baby Wheel and the New
[00:07:42] Speaker E: Bets in a world where new music
[00:07:47] Speaker C: is not easy to find.
[00:07:50] Speaker A: Welcome to New Bets.
[00:08:02] Speaker E: Okay, here's the new best wheel.
[00:08:17] Speaker C: Miles Kennedy. Say what you will Miles Kennedy has been on this podcast through Alterbridge. Mark, you're not really a fan, right?
[00:08:23] Speaker E: I don't know if I'm not really a fan. Sometimes his voice gets a little weird for me. Me, I don't think the Alter Bridge thing was bad. I've never listened to any of his solo stuff, so I don't really know.
[00:08:33] Speaker C: I am curious.
[00:08:34] Speaker E: Yeah. Frank, are you familiar with Miles Kennedy outside or in Alter Bridge?
[00:08:38] Speaker D: No, no, I saw him in Slash. It was Slash's Snake Pit featuring with Miles Kennedy. They were good. They played a couple of shows locally. They were really good.
[00:08:47] Speaker E: He's actually a very good guitar player, by the way.
[00:08:50] Speaker C: I remember you saying that.
[00:08:52] Speaker E: All right, this is cool. This is Miles Kendi. Say what you
[00:08:58] Speaker A: Sam.
[00:09:31] Speaker F: Display Locked in your sight Some rolling away opinions and pride how much can one take?
Seduced by the gain no more Seduced by the game no more.
[00:09:51] Speaker A: Say what you will of me Still I dare to be more than what you are I will not to My destiny is etched in the scour disguise.
[00:10:16] Speaker F: The turn of the night the slip of the tongue the bitter and blind the jury of one will speak your mind but tell me who are you to judge at all?
[00:10:30] Speaker A: You can say what you will me should I tell her? The more than what you are I will not conceive to my destiny you're sed in the sky with the star or do you think you are?
It's just one more voice in the dark Bottom pain On my NER.
[00:11:19] Speaker C: Say what you will me Still I
[00:11:23] Speaker F: dare to be more than what you
[00:11:31] Speaker A: are say what you will of me Still I dare to be more than what you are I will not concede Till my destiny is etched in the
[00:11:50] Speaker F: sky with the star.
I will be much more than you are.
[00:12:26] Speaker C: I'm a little disappointed. Didn't end on that.
I guess that's what I was expecting. So maybe he's like, ah, that's what they expect. I'm not gonna do it. Not bad. I don't like the production. His voice gets a bit weird in this one too. A little bit. I might go back to it again. Mark, what'd you think?
[00:12:41] Speaker E: I thought it was fine. The riff was a little weird. I don't like the way it ended either. And his voice is good. It just gets a little weird after more you listen to it. Strange.
[00:12:49] Speaker C: The beginning reminded me a little bit of Jon Bon Jovi. Like, more recently, I not as obviously. The inflections that he uses reminded me a little bit of that. Frank, what do you think?
[00:12:59] Speaker D: I like it a lot. We're actually going to add it to my playlist right now. Yeah, the vocals got a little strange. I like the drumming. I thought the drumming was really solid.
[00:13:07] Speaker C: Yeah, it was great. I hate the way they sounded, but case in point. And this song might come up on the wheel, and I'm sure Mark has added it. Cedar has a new single out.
[00:13:17] Speaker D: Oh, they do.
[00:13:17] Speaker C: They do. Drums sound great. Goes to show not everyone has to use this drum sound.
[00:13:23] Speaker D: Yeah, it was good, though. I liked it a lot.
[00:13:25] Speaker E: All right, let us know on social media what you think, and let's rubber stamp this.
In a world where new music is
[00:13:34] Speaker C: not easy to find.
[00:13:37] Speaker A: Welcome to New Bets.
[00:13:48] Speaker E: Okay, now we're on to the next side. And this is Dancing in the street.
[00:14:19] Speaker A: Coming out around the world. Are you ready for a brand new me?
Summer's here in the town Is right For dances in the street they're dancing in Chicago Be dancing.
Come on, every guy.
[00:15:27] Speaker C: I like the music, actually. I'm not crazy about his vocals. He sounds almost bored. I thought he had more life in this one. I do like the music. And actually, Mark, before I go to you, you probably know this already, but I was just reading something. The music for their cover of Dancing in the street was originally being written, an original track that was in the works, but producer Ted Templeman urged the band to use that music with this cover instead.
[00:15:48] Speaker E: And Evan Halen hated that. He always talked that he didn't want to use this music for this song, but they forced him. He was overwritten by everybody else. Was like, you need to use this. And he didn't want to do that
[00:15:59] Speaker C: because I always like that burn up kind of thing.
[00:16:03] Speaker E: It's a Moog synthesizer put through his guitar amplifier with some delay.
[00:16:08] Speaker C: Nice.
[00:16:09] Speaker E: Just shows you his out of the box kind of thinking, you know, I think the music's cool. He sounds a little. Little bit bored. I don't think it's bad sounding. It just feels like he's there and going through the motions a little bit. I never liked the song. I didn't like the Bowie Jagger version, which I hate even more than this. It's never been a song for me.
[00:16:26] Speaker C: I liked very much the sound of the music. I think it's cool. It's unique for what it is. No matter who you are. When you're listening to this, especially if you're a Die Hard Van Halen fan. Coming off a Fair Warning at this point, you got. Come on. What the.
[00:16:40] Speaker E: Yeah, I think Eddie Van Halen was thinking the same thing, but again, they were forced into this.
[00:16:44] Speaker C: Yeah. Oh, absolutely.
[00:16:45] Speaker E: They were supposed to take a break because Fair Warning recording and a lot of tension and the band was not doing great. They were supposed to take a break, everyone to re. You know, decompress, come back fresh. But they never got a chance to do that. I think this maybe more than even 1984, probably caused a bigger rift in the band than anything else. If they would have taken the break, you might not have seen them break up after 1984.
[00:17:07] Speaker D: No, man. It sounds like. Like Diamond Dave is singing while laying down. It feels like he didn't even get out of bed to sing the lyrics for this song.
[00:17:14] Speaker C: Yeah, he's very low in the mix, too.
[00:17:16] Speaker D: He's very, very. Like, he's not into it.
You could tell.
Number seven, huh? Number seven, huh? I'm gonna fact check this right there.
[00:17:25] Speaker A: Hold on.
[00:17:27] Speaker C: Frank does not believe that this was a big hit for the band.
[00:17:30] Speaker E: I'm sorry to tell you.
The background vocals are really good, though.
[00:17:34] Speaker C: Yeah. Yeah. Well, I mean, I think we said that in the first side, too, that the vocals were good.
[00:17:38] Speaker E: I'm not going to read lyrics. This is not their lyrics. Let's continue. Here we go.
[00:18:08] Speaker A: All we need is music.
Grab your girl, Ram.
[00:19:50] Speaker C: I do think the song picked up after the first chorus. I think his vocals picked up and everything. Obviously, that was a cool solo, but it really felt like they were like, all right, let's just get out of this song. Let's just start fading it. I almost thought they probably could have gone into a little bit more if they wanted to, but it felt like, all right, we're in. Let's get it out.
[00:20:08] Speaker E: I think it sounds like he's not singing as with as much gusto because the vocals are really pushed back. That part is really loud. If you really listen, it sounds like he's singing like he always does, but it's not as upfront as it normally is.
[00:20:22] Speaker C: No, he was really pushed back. I noticed. Yeah.
[00:20:24] Speaker E: Yeah. I don't know why that was.
[00:20:26] Speaker C: No, that's what I'm saying. Like, it felt. As the song progressed, it got better. And I don't know if it was because it was a little bit louder in the mix, but in the beginning, when he vers the first arts, he's really low in the mix. And you would think a song like this is right up his ass.
[00:20:39] Speaker E: Yeah, I just think it's the mix. I don't think it's even him. Are we voting on this or we're not even gonna bother?
[00:20:43] Speaker C: I don't know. We voted on the first side.
[00:20:45] Speaker E: Well, then we won't do lyrics or melody. Let's just do music arrangement, production. Why don't you go first?
[00:20:51] Speaker C: So just give him triple sixes, like you said. I'm not necessarily a fan of the song anyway. I like what they do. I. I think he was as innovative as he could be with this because it's a pretty straightforward song and they easily could have been very straightforward with this it and he wasn't. I do appreciate that. And I've always kind of liked that beginning part in that riff. And Mark, maybe in the Vault is the song he wanted to do with this. Has that ever been talked about?
[00:21:15] Speaker E: I don't know. Maybe it is there. I don't know if they ever got to work on it. It was just stolen before it even got a chance to have anything happen.
[00:21:21] Speaker C: I don't know.
[00:21:21] Speaker E: I'll go next. Six is across again. As much as I don't like the song, the interesting way he approached that and they took this piece of music and adapted it to this. I think it made the song better. Again, I don't like the song at all, but, you know, their cover is fine.
[00:21:34] Speaker D: I frank music. I'm going to give a seven and I'm going to give a five on everything else. Now, knowing the backstory for the song and how Eddie Van Halen didn't want to use this music for this song and he was forced into it, I bet you if there was another song other than this one that they were playing in that they were really into, it would have been a really kick ass song. Love the music. Everything else, fives. Look, you could tell they weren't into it. They just were not. They were just. Let's get this over with, get this track done so we can move on with our day.
[00:22:00] Speaker E: That's the whole record in a nutshell. Let's get this. Get this done so we can get out of here.
[00:22:05] Speaker D: Yeah, I really didn't know the backstory. If I knew the backstory, I wouldn't be mocking it as much. There's nothing worse than doing something you hate doing. Yeah.
[00:22:13] Speaker C: Were we all just talking about that before the podcast?
The stuff that pays the bills.
[00:22:18] Speaker D: Yeah, exactly.
[00:22:21] Speaker E: And you know, this pays the bills. It was a top 40 hit. 38 or 39. Top 40 is top 40. They made money off of this and helped keep them in the public eye. The next two tracks we're going to mush together. This is going to be Little Guitars intro into the Little guitars.
[00:24:17] Speaker A: Come on, Talk to me.
Can't crow before I'm out of the woods. But there's exceptions to your.
[00:24:52] Speaker C: Definitely the most Van Halen song so far. I remember learning this. We were going to do a cover of it and you guys busted my balls again because of both. The Blue sky thing. I just realized that he does not say Etch A Sketch, which I thought he said. He says catches catch.
I always thought he said Etch A Sketch. Etch A Sketch. I was like, what the. I was like, they really rough. I guess I wasn't always crazy about that beginning Rift.
But then once it opens up, I think it becomes a pretty good sketch song. And I think, hands down, the best song on this record so far.
[00:25:25] Speaker E: Mark, the intro's awesome. That little flamenco kind of guitar. He doesn't play that stuff. He said he went and got a record. He went and listened to it. He said, I can't play it like this. So he kind of cheated. And he doesn't really finger pick it. He kind of like hammers on the notes and just tremolo picks that high note. That's a kind of interesting thing too. I like that. And another fun fact. This was recorded on a little guitar, a mini Les Paul guitar. So it sounds a certain way because of that little scale. It's very small.
[00:25:52] Speaker C: Is that what they Got to Tell Title?
[00:25:53] Speaker E: I don't know. Or maybe they had the title first and then maybe he got the guitar after.
[00:25:57] Speaker C: He's like, I Have to do that.
[00:25:58] Speaker E: I need a mini guitar now. It's called Little Guitars.
I think the riff is good. It's very Van Halen two to me.
[00:26:04] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:26:05] Speaker E: Very light and Dance the Night Away Fluffy. It is to me, probably the best original song in the record. This is what Van Halen should sound like. And thinking they think they're doing a great job. Background vocals are great. The drum sound is really good. I know when the drums come in, I'm like, wow, that's a really good drum sound.
[00:26:21] Speaker C: Yeah, it's unique to him, without a doubt. I was going to ask you something else and I forgot. Acoustic, right? He doesn't really do a lot of acoustic on. On records.
[00:26:29] Speaker E: No. He did Spanish Fly on video too.
[00:26:31] Speaker C: But I mean, in general, like riffs and whatever. I mean, does he even do it to back up his electric? No. Right. Like some people use acoustics to fill up the sound.
[00:26:40] Speaker E: Yeah. No, not really. At least not here. I don't know what happened in the Hagar era where some of that might have happened, but I don't remember hearing that from him. So I don't really know better.
[00:26:50] Speaker D: As I was listening to that opening solo there, I was just wondering, like, wonder what it was like growing up with these two in the house, one on, one on guitar. Were they constantly playing the instruments and hanging out and just coming up with all day long Mark, he said that he didn't even know how to play. He just listened to it and just figured it out and came up with something. It sounds really good. So just wonder what it was like just just being in that house while he was learning how to play his instrument and learning his art.
[00:27:12] Speaker E: Well, his dad was a musician. They played music all the time. Till the end they would. They would just go into the studio and just play. That's like all they did. They really didn't have any other kind of life outside of doing that except all the drugs and the alcohol. Besides that and the music, it was always that. And that's why a lot of the friction happened with David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony, because all they wanted to do was play music. That's all they did. Other people had families and kids and things going on. They really. Even though they had those things, they didn't make that a priority. And it shows crazy that's going on between the both of them. I'm happy that at least one song here is going to be a decently reviewed and rated song.
[00:27:50] Speaker C: Didn't. Did any sort out as a drummer, or am I mistaken Bacon?
[00:27:54] Speaker E: Yes. They both started on piano, and then Eddie bought a drum set. Alex had a guitar. Alex went to go deliver papers, and Eddie picked the guitar up and they just swapped.
[00:28:03] Speaker C: Imagine. Had they not? Well, I mean, I don't. I don't know how good Alex would have been. You can't really predict.
[00:28:08] Speaker E: He said he wasn't good, that he knew as soon as he heard him that whatever was happening was just natural. And he said the same thing for him about drumming. I felt more comfortable. Sometimes those things happen to you and you go in that direction because that's where you're supposed to go.
[00:28:22] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:28:22] Speaker E: Okay. I will do some lyrics. Senorita in trouble again and I can't get free exactly what the doctor ordered. Come on, talk to me I assume this is pre chorus. Can't crow before I'm out of the woods but there's exceptions to the rule Senorita, do you need a friend? I'm in love with you and then I guess this is chorus. Catch as catch Catch as catch can Anybody in their right mind could see it's you and me Ooh, it just sketch.
Catch as catch catches catch. Can say that a bunch of times fast.
[00:28:54] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:28:54] Speaker E: Oh, it's so funny. Someone's saying here everyone thought it was. Et's a sketch. You're not the only person.
[00:28:58] Speaker C: Oh, nice.
[00:28:59] Speaker E: That's pretty funny.
[00:29:00] Speaker C: I was happy, too, when I found out that I wasn't the only one who thought Pink Floyd in the beginning said no Dukes of Hazzard in the classroom instead of no dark sarcasm in the classroom.
I was working with somebody, and he was a big Pink Floyd fan. We found out. He goes, oh, my God, I'm calling my wife. He said, guess who else thought the same thing you did?
[00:29:20] Speaker E: That's so funny.
[00:29:22] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:29:22] Speaker E: All right, let's continue. Here we go.
[00:29:33] Speaker A: You got me.
Catch us Catch Catch us Catch. Got anybody in there? I might see you and me Catch us catch.
I can see we don't know which way to turn but the sun still shines don't you know that you can dance with me anytime?
I can't grow before I'm out of the woods there's exceptions to the R sen.
I'm in love with Sam.
[00:31:36] Speaker C: It was a not in there. Don't remember ending it that way. There's some parts here that are straight up Rush, too. Completely remind me of Rush. That breakdown on the guitar. To me, hands down, the best song so far on this record.
[00:31:46] Speaker E: I don't know what you say. The guitar solo wasn't anything Special. But it fit the song.
[00:31:50] Speaker C: This it really a solo.
[00:31:51] Speaker E: Well, is that little slidy thing? I guess you can't. That's a solo. That little break. I don't know what you call it. He tends to do that. Out of all the things he could do and where he could show off and do all these things, he doesn't. He plays something that he thinks is right for the song and it doesn't have to be flashy.
[00:32:07] Speaker C: Does he have anything to prove even at this point in 82? I think he's already proved enough in the short time that they've been around.
[00:32:14] Speaker E: This is very true.
[00:32:15] Speaker C: I'll go first. I'll make it sound simple. I'm going to say five on the lyrics. I don't think the lyrics are that great, but I'll say seven on everything else. I think it's the best song on here so far. Hoping something else comes along the pike too that I haven't heard. I'm like, oh, never heard this one. It's pretty good too. But we'll do Frank next.
[00:32:29] Speaker D: I'm doing Seven A Clause. I do like it. It's very upbeat. I like some of the techniques that he's using in here. Yes, I do hear that Rush influence that you mentioned. Savino. Yeah, really great. Like the production, the style, everything about it. So. So again, just brilliant guitar playing as always.
[00:32:45] Speaker E: There's only one way to rock and it's Quinniple seven. Nikki Titty Baby Mark Let me finish.
[00:32:51] Speaker C: Lyrics. Oh yeah.
[00:32:53] Speaker E: Second verse is, you say you're lonesome just getting by but you turn your eyes from me Be sure you're hurting long before you fly Cuz you've got me. And the catches. Catch again. And I think one part, I guess it's chorus or whatever it is. I can see you don't know which way to turn but the sun still shines don't you know that you can dance with me anytime? And then pretty much the same lyrics all through. I think I'll do sevens across. Big Frank is right. I mean the lyrics are fine, but I think overall, just because the song just feels like it fits more in the Van Halen mold, especially early Van Halen. I kind of like it. So I'm going to give it sevens. Oh yeah. Nikki Titty Baby. It's Quintuple seven. Now we get to Big Bad Bill is Sweet William. Now this is going to be a total left turn. More than anything else's left turn. It's a cover by Margaret Young. That's the COVID she was a singer from the twenties. Before the twenties, actually. I don't even know when this is.
[00:33:47] Speaker D: Whatever.
[00:33:47] Speaker E: I don't know the original.
[00:33:48] Speaker C: She was blues, right?
[00:33:49] Speaker E: I don't know what she was.
[00:33:51] Speaker C: I thought we had something else by her. Someone did a cover.
[00:33:55] Speaker E: She's a singer, comedian who's popular in the 1920s. The most notable thing here is that Jan Van Halen, Eddie and Alex's father, plays clarinet on this. The only time they ever recorded together, which is so weird. I guess Frank's not gonna like this. Big Bad Bill, which.
[00:34:09] Speaker D: That's it.
[00:34:40] Speaker F: Shut his stuff. Had the whole town scared to death when he walked by they all held their breath He's a fighting man showing up and then Bill got himself a wife now he leads a different life Big Bad Bill is Sweet William now Mary laughed unchanged him somehow he's the man the town used to fear now they all call him Sweet Papa Willie dear Stronger than Samson, I declare Till the brown skin woman's bobbed his hair
[00:35:18] Speaker C: I think it's fun. I'm just thinking of myself as the Van Halen fan who buys his record and at this point says, what? What? Especially after little guitars. I feel that this is more like a side one clip closer than being here. And I can dig music like this. I don't mind it. I think if they would have. Maybe. I was kind of saying, oh, they're gonna heavy it up now, maybe, Which I assume they don't.
It's fun. I'll say that you would think that
[00:35:46] Speaker E: this is all influence on David. The wrong side. But when they were younger, both of those kids played with their father in the jazz stuff that he was doing. You can hear that here. It doesn't sound like they're out of their element of any sort. Sounds like they're right in their element. As much as you want to think this is a David the Roth thing, I think it's just as Van Halen thing. And they got to put their dad on this, too. Which I think even if they didn't want to do this and it was kind of pushed on them, I don't know if that's the case. But just having their dad on it had to be great for them.
[00:36:15] Speaker C: Yeah. And I think David is into it. I think this is kind of in his wheelhouse. I think he sounds good. I think it's a fun song. And I don't think it's outside of the Van Halen realm either. Knowing them, I just feel that at this point on this album, it just so accentuates what was going on with this record. It just drives a nail in about the story of what was going on with this record.
[00:36:39] Speaker D: I think I would appreciate this song a lot more if it was a hidden track, last song, then you wait a little bit, wait a little bit, and then this comes on. Then I think I would have dug it. It would have been like, oh, wow. Really hitting gem. The style is definitely in Diamond Jim's wheelhouse. You can hear it in his style, his singing. What a difference in his energy between this and dancing in the street. You could tell he's into this. That one he sang from the toilet bowl. You know, he just wasn't into that song. But this one here, he's really into it. And I didn't realize that. Van Hal brothers jam with their dad in jazz clubs. Yeah, you could hear all the way around. The band is really comfortable with this song.
[00:37:13] Speaker C: But I think about a song like Ice Cream man, right, Mark? That kind of starts off one way and then heavies up. I think if they did that here, it would have been more interesting. Do I think it's bad? No. Like I said, I think it's pretty fun. And I think he's having fun with it. I think he sounds really good on it. I think the dad sounds good on it. I'd like clarinet. I mean, I kind of like that old school sounding jazzy stuff.
[00:37:33] Speaker E: I just don't know what any other hard rock band could have pulled this off. Like you said, it's not out of their realm. They do weird like this all the time. That's why when you hear lots of bands trying to do the Van Halen thing, they would never do this.
[00:37:46] Speaker C: No. They wouldn't have the balls to do this.
[00:37:48] Speaker E: No.
[00:37:48] Speaker C: This takes big balls.
[00:37:49] Speaker E: Let's put this obscure 1920s song on the album that most people don't even know. Especially our audience has no clue what this is. You have to give them a little bit of credit even for the craziness to do that. Was it the right choice? I don't know. Did they have much time? Probably not. Maybe they knew the song. Maybe they wanted to get their dad on the record somehow. I don't know. Who knows the whole behind the scenes about how that worked out?
[00:38:10] Speaker C: Hey, listen, we did Cover Band for a while, right? There were times where we said, we need songs. This is quick. Let's learn this one and do this one. It happened even from that standpoint. Something as simplistic as that, where you're playing a show and they say, well, they want you for two hours. Like we don't have two hours worth of songs. Let's learn some quickies.
[00:38:26] Speaker E: Yeah, those happen. What do you think about his drumming on this? Do you like it?
[00:38:29] Speaker C: Yeah, I love the brushes. I like the way it sounds. It doesn't sound like he's playing on his typical snare. I got to listen to it again.
[00:38:35] Speaker E: He could be. Who knows? Okay, let's continue. Here we go.
[00:38:39] Speaker C: This hair.
[00:38:40] Speaker F: Big Bad Bill don't fight anymore no, no, no Doing the dishes Mopping up that floor yes, he is Barely used to go out drinking Looking for a fight Now I gotta see that sweet woman every night Big bad village we William now I.
[00:39:05] Speaker A: Sam.
[00:39:38] Speaker F: Big Bad Bill don't fight anymore no, he don't he's doing the dishes Mopping up that floor yes, he is well, he used to go out drinking Looking for a fight Now I gotta see that sweet woman every night Big Bad Bill is Sweet William now Do the dishes Big Bad Bill is Sweet William now Big Bad Bill is sweet William now.
[00:40:11] Speaker C: Yeah I mean, what more can you say? It's Van Halen. I'm not sitting here going, what the hell? Especially on this album. It makes sense.
[00:40:20] Speaker E: I guess it's very strange, but it's
[00:40:23] Speaker C: not that strange for them or. Or him, I think is a band that's not that strange. And I think especially for Dave, whether or not he was the one who picked it. I mean, you think maybe the father picked it. Maybe it was kind of like, hey, do this song.
[00:40:34] Speaker E: I don't really know what the impetus was or who decided to do it. It didn't decide. Frank, why don't you go first?
[00:40:39] Speaker D: Honestly, like I told you, I think this would have been a great hidden track gem that you just find just because you let the tape play a little bit longer, but because where it is is not getting that much love. But I still like it. I'm gonna go ahead and. Okay, obviously we're not gonna do the lyrics part, but I'm gonna go ahead and give it seven across. It just sounds everyone playing. The energy is there. It's really great. Had no idea that the dad played the clarinet. Nice surprise. Daryl Sevens for me.
[00:41:03] Speaker C: All the way across Z. I'll go sixes across. I don't know that it goes sevens. I think it's done well. It's something where. Okay, at this point, especially in this record, I'm like, okay, it's a Van Halen's cover record. Fine.
[00:41:16] Speaker E: Mark. Yeah, I think I'll do sevens across. I think it's Fine. I like the balls to do that. It's played very well. You can tell that they did this before. This is not the first time they had to play music like this. Because you don't just pull this at your. No, I thought it was good. Here is the last original on the album. This is the full bug.
[00:41:53] Speaker A: Babes, I.
Press your sweetheart woman all you want as good as it can get Inspiration, girl, you're sensational and this gets prettier Ah, yeah Where all your dreams will be germs I play some magazines no, this ain't television but it's more than it seems Takers need to give up as much you want to stand I want to give you the best part of a man Let me show you.
[00:42:45] Speaker C: The acoustic is definitely prevalent on this side. This is straight up Van Halen. And it was what I was thinking the song before might do. Can understand that. They said, well, we have this one that does that with that swing. Music wise, it's pretty good. Again, this is straight up Van Halen. And when I heard full Bug, I'm like, this is probably going to be one of those.
It's exactly what I was expecting with that title.
[00:43:07] Speaker E: This is fun. I think it's going to be another good song. I think this is what you meant when you talked about Ice Cream man into a harder thing acoustic into the electric.
[00:43:16] Speaker C: And it came out of know it. It came in when I wasn't expecting it. There I was like, oh, where it came in.
Kind of cool. I like that. Had a feeling it was coming, but it didn't come in where I thought it was. I was like, oh, okay. That's a little bit earlier than I expected, the way it came in. So I appreciate that.
[00:43:29] Speaker E: And David Le Roth is playing acoustic guitar and harmonica on this.
[00:43:32] Speaker C: Oh, wow. Good for him.
[00:43:34] Speaker E: I think at least maybe between little guitars and this, at least it almost sort of saves the side as much it can get saved. Comparatively. I think this side may be better than side one.
[00:43:44] Speaker C: Yeah, probably.
[00:43:44] Speaker D: Overall, I'm with you, Mark. I think this side saves the entire alb. At least for me. I'm digging the song so far. Great follow up song from what we heard previous two. Can't wait to hear the rest.
[00:43:54] Speaker E: And it's always good to have the Van Halen swing thing. A lot of people try to do that.how many 80s hair metal bands tried to do this? And it just sounds shitty. Like Frank said, it's bad Van Halen when they try to do this and it just doesn't happen. It just Feels like I can't change songs quick enough when they do this.
[00:44:10] Speaker D: Yeah. Yeah. I'm embarrassed for them when they try and fail.
[00:44:14] Speaker E: Yeah. Because they can't do this right. It just doesn't sound right when they do it. Okay, here's the intro. Oh, oh yeah oh I'll tell you tell you now you corner my dog it don't let you pass Got a bad little woman gonna bite your ass yeah won't let you pass Verse one A precious sweetheart woman all you want is good as you can get oh yeah an inspiration girl, you're sensational and this gets better yet ah yeah well your dreams of riches are based on magazines Though this ain't television but it's more than it seems Take those need and give all this is much you understand All I want to give you woman is the best part of a man penis Nice double entendre. That's his thing. He loves the double entendre.
What do you think of the lyrics? Did you like that last little part? Did you enjoy the dreams of riches or based on magazines?
[00:45:02] Speaker C: That part, some of it's okay.
This is a little bit more straightforwardish, you know what I mean?
[00:45:08] Speaker E: Yeah, I can see that. All right, let's continue. Here we go.
[00:45:14] Speaker A: Show you barely make the best of what you have in hand oh, yeah Just remember when you follow through Bending over his.
Just like an angel Just talking trash.
Cash,
[00:46:40] Speaker C: What'd you take in solo? Mark?
[00:46:41] Speaker E: I thought it was good. I like when he does melodic stuff and then goes into those flurries of notes that don't sound like they should be in the key, but they just work. He does that very well. And you know it's him. He doesn't even have to do any of the weird whammy bar tapping. There's no tapping that at all. Or dive bombs or anything.
But you still know who it is.
[00:47:00] Speaker C: Yeah. I mean, this song, straight up Van
[00:47:01] Speaker E: Halen, I thought it's great. This is one of my favorite songs of this album. I mean, it's hard because there's a lot of covers. I do enjoy most of the originals on here, but I do think that little Guitars and the Full Bug Maybe are my two favorites here.
[00:47:12] Speaker C: Agreed.
[00:47:13] Speaker E: Verse 2 Let me show you, babe to make the best of what you haven't had Just remember when you follow through then over isn't planned Looks like an angel but he's just talking trash he'll make conversation but she's listening to your cash Take those need and give all this much you understand All I want to Give you woman is the best part. Part of a man Guitar solo. And I guess I'll read the rest of the words. Love that woman Heart and soul in the grooves on the go, you know? Yeah. You corner my dog don't let you pass Got a bad little woman gonna bite your ass for sure. And then back to the. It looks like an angel talking trash. That part again. Not a lot of words. Done well, though. All right, let's continue.
[00:47:57] Speaker A: Cash.
Best part of a man.
Best part of Maryland.
Out.
[00:48:32] Speaker C: Straight of Van Halen.
I mean, these originals. What is there four originals on here?
[00:48:38] Speaker E: One, two, three, four. Yeah, four.
[00:48:42] Speaker C: Were these written, though, now? Or were they stuff they had?
[00:48:46] Speaker E: From what I could tell, stuff that they had parts laying around or things they worked on before. That's why I say, like, little guitars could have been Van Halen.
I don't know how far it goes back, but I believe they didn't have a lot of time to write. So maybe there's some new pieces. From what I gather, and I could be wrong. I'm sure the Van Halen fans let me know. I believe that some of this stuff was stuff they were working on previously. Because how else are you writing a record in 12 days? Yeah. If you don't put five covers on here, you can never get a record done this quick. I mean, I guess it's possible, but you have to have all the songs done to be able to record in 12 days, which I don't think they had. I'm assuming that a lot of this had to be stuff that they had worked on at least at one point somewhere. Well, I go first. I'm doing sevens across. I'm just happy with this. I think that after. With the first side, this is what I would expect to have happen. And maybe if they had more time, you would have gotten more songs of this quality. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. Nikki titty baby quintuple 7, zippity bippity bop frank.
[00:49:45] Speaker D: But like we said, side two so far saved the whole thing for us. I know we talked a couple of times before. What point do they record what tracks throughout the album? And it feels to Me Me side 2 was recorded first, and then they had to do all those other filler songs for side A. That's what it sounds like to me a little bit, because it just goes from this high energy to this, like, man, let's. Let's just get through these and get it done for me, this song right here, I'm gonna give these seven all the way across, just Be consistent. Great music, great style. Awesome.
[00:50:14] Speaker C: Nikki Titty Baby Darling. It's Quintuple seven.
I'm gonna do five on the lyrics. Sorry, but I will do sevens on everybody everything else. I think Little Guitars and Full Bug are the two best songs, hands down on this record.
[00:50:27] Speaker E: I agree. Well, we're at the end. I know Savino knows what's coming up.
[00:50:31] Speaker C: I do.
[00:50:32] Speaker E: Frank doesn't know what's coming up. Another cover. This has to probably be a David Lee raw thing, but I do remember they used to do a little acapella thing backstage. I have to say, the vocals in here, I think, are very good. It's a strange song to do Again, very weird for a hard rock band to do this. Eds Van Halen. That's what they do. Hey, you all up? We're gonna play it all the way through, which is short.
[00:50:52] Speaker D: Oh, Jesus. If it's not Good Nights Too High by the sh. I'm tuning out.
[00:50:56] Speaker C: It's close.
[00:50:57] Speaker E: It's close. Here we go. This is Happy Trails.
[00:51:34] Speaker A: When we're together,
[00:51:37] Speaker F: just sing a song and think about Sunny.
[00:51:41] Speaker A: Wow.
La.
[00:52:03] Speaker C: That in the beginning of that Bombardita was always a thing that's like, out to me. If anybody could do this, they could do this. I will say that. I just think it's a massive goof. It is what it is.
What else can you say about it? What? How long is that song? A minute. Something.
[00:52:22] Speaker E: A minute? Six?
[00:52:24] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:52:24] Speaker E: I mean, it's funny. It's the end of the record. Happy trails to you. Okay. I gotta say, it's done pretty well. The vocals are pretty good.
[00:52:32] Speaker C: Yeah. For what it is, it's fine. I mean, it. It epitomizes this record, I. I think.
[00:52:37] Speaker E: And it seems like they're having fun at the end. They're all laughing at the end of it. Yeah. Like, can you believe we're putting this fucking thing on the record? No one's going to fucking believe we did this.
[00:52:45] Speaker C: I don't even know. Do we rate? I don't even know. I wouldn't even know.
[00:52:49] Speaker E: No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Frank was the ball you expected.
[00:52:55] Speaker D: I didn't realize that they did a cover of that song. I hear it often at the end of concerts. Hear it all the time, but I didn't realize these guys did it. They sound happy that it's over.
[00:53:04] Speaker C: Yeah, I think that's.
[00:53:06] Speaker D: I think that's just happy that it's done.
[00:53:10] Speaker E: I just think it was a hard thing to have to do this in such short period of Time just to get it done. They were probably just, ha, let's put this fucking thing on the end.
That could have been a big fuck you to everybody, too, for, you know.
[00:53:21] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:53:21] Speaker E: You shove this in the studio. May do this thing this quick. Yeah. Happy trails. Overall, I think that it could be stronger. I know your cousin's favorite album.
[00:53:29] Speaker C: Let me refrain, because if he ever does listen to this and be like, what the fuck are you talking about, man? Man thought at one point he had said that, but I could be wrong. I think maybe he just liked it, but he was a big Van Halen fan, too.
[00:53:39] Speaker E: It is what it is. I don't really hate any of the originals. I think Pretty Woman's a good cover. I think Dancing the Street's a good cover overall. Is it my favorite Van Halen album? No. Would I rather have more originals and covers? Of course, with the circumstances, I don't know what else you could expect. I give them a little bit of a pass. Just because no one should be forced to make a record in 12 days.
[00:53:59] Speaker C: Yeah. I mean, knowing the backstory and everything, I thought it was because they couldn't. Couldn't really do. Because they were messed up. That's what I thought. I'm glad that that was in it. They were just forced into it. I feel badly for them. I don't think. Not giving this the greatest of scores. It doesn't reflect on them as a band because we do women and children first. I'm pretty sure that thing got much better. That's a totally different animal.
[00:54:21] Speaker D: Knowing the backstory now, like you, I don't dislike it as much. I think it's a shame that a band is good and talented. As Van Halen was forced into doing something like this. This in 12 days. They shine on side two of this album. It just speaks to their talent, ability, you know, Whether or not they already had these songs in queue for another album, they ended up putting it here. Who knows? Overall, it's okay for what it is. Maybe perhaps they could have gotten away with an EP here and just keep those four original and then throw in two more covers and call it a day. I think it would have been better, but it's okay. Will I be listening to again? Probably not.
[00:54:55] Speaker C: I was actually thinking the same thing for Mike when you mentioned. I was like, I wonder if they just could have shot out a quick ep.
[00:55:00] Speaker D: I was still an LP thing back
[00:55:02] Speaker E: then, if there was such a thing, but I don't think there was.
[00:55:04] Speaker C: No, no, no.
[00:55:07] Speaker D: That came in the 90s.
[00:55:08] Speaker E: You think no 80s queens.
[00:55:10] Speaker C: Reich's first thing is like, what, four songs? Five songs.
[00:55:13] Speaker D: Well, let's think about this. Gnr Lies is an EP, so, yeah, it was around.
[00:55:17] Speaker C: Yeah, Striper's first. Technically, it's eight songs, but it's considered an ep.
[00:55:20] Speaker E: Well, eight songs is an album.
[00:55:22] Speaker C: I think it's an album, but it's considered an ep. Maybe it's the length and I don't know.
[00:55:26] Speaker E: This was an interesting get. It wouldn't be the record I would have picked to do if I was going to pick Van Halen's. It's done and we'll see what everyone thinks. Maybe you agree with us, maybe you don't agree with us. You know, social media. Post it up there. Let us know what you think. Sav, why don't you do your thing?
[00:55:40] Speaker C: We are part of the Deep Dive Podcast Network and the Boneless Podcast Network.
[00:55:44] Speaker E: Boneless, you know, like those chicken wings without the bone.
[00:55:46] Speaker C: Like I always say. Great bunch of guys took us in right away. If you want individual podcasts about bands, Rush, Judas Priest, Uriah Heap, you name it, it's probably on there. Go check them out. And Mark, where can they find us in the interwebs?
[00:55:58] Speaker E: Rock with lit pod on all the social media, rockwell, podcast.com. do the polls, do the merch. You know what to do. Put us on your auto downloads and rate us 5 stars wherever you do your podcast, because that just helps us move up and get more people to listen. Next week, we get to spin the wheel again. What will it do? I don't know. I'm sure it won't be doing Van Halen again. Not that we could do Van Halen again. I'm just curious to see if it's going to throw some of the curveballs. Been a couple of curveballs in a row. Blind Melon, Kokomo, this.
[00:56:25] Speaker C: Yeah, that was a massive curveball. That's for sure.
That was.
[00:56:33] Speaker E: Okay, guys, we'll see you next week.
[00:56:36] Speaker C: Happy Trills. Ciao, ciao.
[00:56:37] Speaker D: Happy trails.
[00:56:39] Speaker E: Later.
[00:56:44] Speaker D: Happy.
[00:56:49] Speaker A: Till we meet.
Thank you, California.
