So Van Halen has a new record out eh?

Lets put it this way, it probably is not going to be better than your favorite David Lee Roth era version of Van Halen, but is really not that bad.

The lead off single “Tattoo” is sort of silly, and I read one review that said "When loading to your iTunes playlist skip the song all together" but the second track “She's the Woman” is pretty awesome. You got the finger tapping guitars the love of a ride cymbal..its all here. Really. The brothers (and son) are fast and tight and seem to be really focused. “Honeybabysweetiedoll” takes a little to get rolling, but Eddie is quick to blow it up. Every time I think the bass is sort of buried there is a big bass riff that comes out of no where. Granted their could/should be more, but Wolfgang has plenty of time. (See “The Trouble with Never”)

Yeah people miss Michael Anthony and the high harmonies, and they are missed here but for big guitar and drum riffs the Van Halen brothers seem to be more than willing to help you out.

Does David Lee Roth “speak” the lyrics...sure..but he always did.

It is the same as if you saw Star Wars as a kid (the original in 3) and then saw the prequels. You love the franchise but you are going to find a flaw just because it didn't do to you, or for you what it did when you were 20 years+ younger. Keep in mind, Dave has been out of the band for something like 25 years...25 years!!!

Shared this with some music loving co-workers today as well regarding being sorta “ehh” on the whole idea of this record:

Star Wars came out in 1977..I was seven. I loved it. It was the greatest movie I had ever seen I had the toys..they released two more..I loved those and had the toys...then..it went away..only to come back. I was excited cuz heck..it was star wars. There were some misfires here and there, most of it was tolerable, some parts awful (Jar Jar) some parts awesome (the epic light saber battle in ep III) but I was 20+ years older now. The only reason to slag it hard is because it didn't make me feel like I was 7 again.

Its good, its fun, its harmless...and worth your time.

I was able to grab it for less than $10.00. Grab it, hop in your trans am and cruise the mall. It's all good.