?Good riddance. Too pop-oriented for me. Hagar was the better singer.” Roth was NEVER Pop Oriented. Roth was a Jazz Afficianado and insisted elements of Jazz be incorporated into Van Halen’s music. Not to dominate it but, for there to be distinct yet subtle Jazz elements be present. Eddie vehemently disagreed. Eddie wanted pure free-style rock. The two clashed. Neither would compromise. Van Halen was never more popular after the split. Everyone, including Eddie, knew this. This is why there were repeated attempts to reunite the original band. But, it never worked out. Dave and Eddie were the dictionary definition of, The Irresistible Force meets The Immovable Object.
Two mule-headed men who were so much better together that just couldn’t ever get around their differences. A damned shame.
I could not agree more. Many times band mashups are much more than the sum of their parts.
Maybe my comments went too far; I respect Roth but felt he went too pop (MTV). He was good on some of Van Halen’s early work though. I just don’t see him as a rock pioneer. That’s just me. You and others on this thread will differ and that’s fine. We’ll just agree to disagree here.