Van Halen: A Different Kind of Truth

As published in RUKUS magazine:
http://rukusmag.com/2012/0312/album_review_van_halen.html

	Van Halen — A Different Kind of Truth

Van Halen A Different Kind of Truth
(Interscope) Release Date: February 7, 2012

Van Halen, A Different Kind of Truth
Rock Legends Unite

Written by Paul Lyons

Van Halen has an odd history. Bassist Michael Anthony, powerhouse drummer Alex Van Halen, charismatic vocalist David Lee Roth and virtuoso guitarist Eddie Van Halen ruled the airwaves and the charts in the early 1980s, then became even bigger with their second lead singer, Sammy Hagar. After a brief detour with Extreme vocalist Gary Cherone, they reunited with Hagar for a huge tour in 2004. Three years later, they kicked out Michael Anthony, hired Eddie Van Halen’s 16-year-old son Wolfgang to play bass, and re-hired David Lee Roth to sing lead vocals on a huge world tour. With this revamped lineup, Van Halen has released their first studio album in 14 years, A Different Kind of Truth.

Produced by the band and John Shanks, A Different Kind of Truth contains 13 tracks that sound very much like the songs you know and love from the Roth-era days of Van Halen II, Fair Warning, and Diver Down. Part of the reason for this is because seven of the album’s songs were culled from demos that date back to the 1970s. The other reason is because the band still sounds great.

“Tattoo” kicks things off with a bang, representing everything that’s great about Van Halen: heavy riffs, pounding drums, roaring vocals, silly, sexy, yet fun lyrics, a catchy chorus and a signature Eddie Van Halen solo. It sounds like something straight out of the band’s 1980 masterwork Women and Children First. This is followed by another strong track, “She’s The Woman,” which has a great dance groove, a pop chorus and lyrics that only David Lee Roth could get away with, like “She wanted something to regret tomorrow morning. This suburban garage-a-trois was worth exploring.”

The excellent “You and Your Blues” leans heavily on the past. David Lee Roth’s vocals have never sounded better as he belts out classic song titles like “Red House,” “Communication Breakdown,” “19th Nervous Breakdown” and “Midnight Train to Georgia,” coupled with a great Eddie Van Halen wah-wah-infused solo. “China Town,” on the other hand, is fast and furious filler, in the vein of past Van Halen nuggets like “Sinners Swing” and “Hang ‘em High.” The lyrics are silly, and the music is forgettable, yet somehow the song still rocks. 

“Blood and Fire” is among the best of the new songs. One can’t help but note its autobiographical tone with the chorus of “We came, we came, we came through blood and fire” and lyrics like “Told ya I was coming back.” It even features David Lee Roth’s signature catchphrase (which he uses at every public appearance and concert), “Look at all the people here tonight.”

You can hear the ghost of “Ice Cream Man” (from 1978 album Van Halen) in “Stay Frosty,” a fun and bouncy acoustic number with religious themes, that turns into a bland full-band blow-out. “Big River” is pure filler that sounds like an Aerosmith outtake with a big chorus, yet no real song to speak of. Thankfully, A Different Kind of Truth closes on a high note with “Beats Workin’,” a commanding track with a raw, AC/DC feel, and a catchy chorus of “This beats workin’, baby, ‘cause I’m red hot, baby, like it or not.”

Although by no means perfect, A Different Kind of Truth is a terrific album, with plenty to offer. Similar to Van Halen albums of years past, it functions as a great dance partner who pulls you out on the floor and shows you how to have fun. It’s good-time party music, suitable for birthdays, football games, keg-bashers and strip clubs alike. Undoubtedly, A Different Kind of Truth is what Van Halen does best.

Guns N' Roses - Hollywood Palladium - March 9, 2012

http://www.ocreloaded.com/concert-reviews/459-guns-n-roses-at-hollywood-palladium.html

Guns N' Roses Rock The Hollywood Palladium

Written by Paul Lyons

Monday, 12 March 2012 19:40 Would you attend an all-general admission, standing room only concert, that began past midnight, and featured DJ Ashba, Frank Ferrer, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal, Richard Fortus, Chris Pitman, Tommy Stinson and Dizzy Reed?  Maybe?  No?  What if this same concert featured a certain William Bruce Rose Jr. (aka Axl Rose) on lead vocals, and the band called themselves Guns N' Roses?  That might inspire you to go, right?  It certainly inspired the 4000 or so men and women who packed the Hollywood Palladium Friday night to rock out into the wee hours of the morning.

The music of Guns N' Roses has stood the test of time, sounding just as strong today as it did when they first emerged on the scene in the mid-1980's.  The sad things is, the band now exists not so much as a "they," but as a "he."  The "he" being Axl Rose, who has single-handedly kept the Guns N' Rose name alive for the  past 15 years.  What was once a powerful quintet  featuring Axl Rose on vocals, Slash and Izzy Stradlin on guitars, Duff McKagan on bass, and Steven Adler on drums…is now a one-man show featuring a charismatic singer and his talented 6-piece backing band.  No, this is not the same band that recorded classics like Appetite For Destruction and the Use Your Illusion albums, nor is it even the exact line-up of musicians who helped Axl Rose record the last Guns N' Roses album: 2008's Chinese Democracy.  That said, this new, revamped version of Guns N' Roses is quite good…very good indeed. Epic.  That is the best way to describe Friday's Hollywood Palladium concert, epic.  The other word that comes to mind is "exhausting."  Starting at 12:20am, Axl Rose and the band played for a ferocious three hours, ending the show close to 3:30 in the morning.  Had the show started earlier, say 10, or 11:00pm, the crowd might have appreciated the concert to its fullest.  Yet the wild energy the audience might have had at say…midnight, was fairly depleted by the show's half-way point at 2:00am.  However, you can't fault Rose and Co. too much.  They could have easily played a fast 90 minutes, and everyone would have been pleased.  Instead, Guns N' Roses chose to play a much longer show, containing nearly ALL of the songs that people wanted to hear.  At about $97.00 a ticket, everyone at the concert undoubtedly got their money's worth…and then some. Opening with "Chinese Democracy," Guns N' Roses played a very healthy sampling of their back catalog.  Eight songs were performed from Appetite For Destruction, plus two songs from G N' R Lies, three songs from Use Your Illusion I, and four songs from Use Your Illusion II.  Their latest work, Chinese Democracy, was represented by no less than seven songs.  The Appetite material brought the biggest cheers…especially "Welcome To The Jungle" and "Sweet Child O' Mine."  Deep cuts like "Night Train" sounded great, and also lifted the crowd up.  People sang along to "Used To Love Her" and "Patience," and cheered hard for classics like "November Rain" (featuring Axl Rose on piano), "Don't Cry," "Civil War," and "You Could Be Mine."  Axl and the band also performed a great version of the 1978 AC/DC classic "Riff Raff." So as not to make it the "Axl Rose" show in its entirety, bassist Tommy Stinson got to step up front to sing a song called "Motivation," from his 1994 solo album Village Gorilla Head.  Rose left the stage for Stinson's song, and left it again while Dizzy Reed took center stage to perform a solo piano version of The Who's 1971 classic "Baba O'Reily."  Rose departed once more to give the stage to DJ Ashba for a guitar solo, and left again when Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal performed a solo to Henry Mancini's 1963 "Pink Panther" theme.  Rose left the stage often during instrumental breaks throughout many of the songs performed Friday night.  What he was doing off-stage, is anybody's guess. No matter what you think about Axl Rose, you can't deny how much he gives of himself in concert.  Late-start aside, Rose and the band were nothing short of fantastic.  This was everything you'd want out of a Guns N' Roses show (minus the original line-up, of course).  Axl Rose must have taken great care of his voice over the years, as his singing Friday night was spectacular, his voice sounded exactly as it did back in the 80's.  He was active, he was animated.  Rose ran around the stage, stood up high, danced, and even shook hands with the crowd. By the time the band broke out the final song of the night (the majestic "Paradise City"), and the canons blasted the crowd with millions of pieces of red confetti, (what was left of) the Palladium audience was more than ready to leave for the night/morning.  There were no calls out for "more! more!"  How could there be?  Guns N' Roses had already given everything they've got, and everyone was happy.  What more could one ask?