Van Halen has been a mediocre talent from day 1--a garage guitarist on steroids playing three chords and cliched riffs with abandon.
I always considered Eddie Van A good composer and writer, solid player (enough to keep a 3-piece full), and an imaginative non-traditionalist guitar mechanic. His tired licks are flawlessly executed and musically sound. Saw him jamming with the SNL band once...did an outstanding job improvising on some tunes...
He's got a highly developed, unique thang, I think!
"Van Halen has been a mediocre talent from day 1--a garage guitarist on steroids playing three chords and cliched riffs with abandon."
Got to disagree. They were a fun-loving band, particuarly during the Roth-era. They weren't trying to save the world just wanted to create some straight-up old school rock and roll. They didn't claim to be Nat King Cole, Mozart or Elvis.
Of the few serious songs that they've had, "Right Now" was the closest to a political song but, as others noted, a mish-mash of stats relating what was happening on a variety of fronts "right now." The stats seemed to go on various tangents, some playing off each other, others 180 degrees apart.
I did notice at the Dem Convention, after Kerry's speech, they did play Van Halen's other somewhat serious song, "Dreams." That doesn't mean they endorsed Kerry but it certainly means that the DNC paid some royalties. The band members probably didn't even know it was used due to their multitude of handlers, unless this song is actually used at rallies.
Knowing Kerry, he's probably already had several songs due to his flip-flopping nature. Just like his campaign themes.