70's Region - Van Halen (w/ David Lee Roth) vs Heart

[IrishCanadian25]

1st Round 70's Region Match

Van Halen (Roth) vs Heart

Please take into account the entire body of work of the artists, their mark on the music industry and/or society as a whole, their influence on other artists, lyrics, music, etc. If you have not already done so, please review the rules of the tournament and the Wrestlezone Forums. Have fun!
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[tarp]

I beg you to not judge VH by 1984 and divers down. They had the poppy hits but please go list to Fair Warning and earlier albums. VH knew how to rock it. I'm not worried too much about Heart(the ladies can jam) but next round does worry me a little.

 

[IrishCanadian25]

Van Halen, along side Queen, make up my 2 favorite bands of all time. I suspect Van Halen should be able to make some waves here. The only thing that hurts them is the split - in this region, you can only take Van Halen's days with Diamond Dave into account.

1984 was a fine album, tarp. It proved that Van Halen was a versatile band, and could adapt to the change in the musical landscape. With New Wave, Hair Metal, and Synth-rock being major forces in the 80's, it made sense that Halen also adapt. They didn't lose that guitar edge or Alex's drums, but added technology. I'll Wait, Top Jimmy, Hot For Teacher, Drop Dead Legs, Panama, and of course the mega hit Jump were all very strong songs off of 1984.

Diver Down was their worst album, but it was chock full of strong covers (Pretty Woman, Happy Trails, Dancin in the Street) and experimental instrumental work (Cathedral). Oddly enough, though Diver Down was IMO their worst, it performed better than Fair Warning, which was an album motivated by Eddie's battles with alcoholism. Songs like "Mean Street" and "Unchained" made the album a sharp success in my book.

The first two albums, aptly names Van Halen I and Van Halen II, remain the benchmark for debut and sophomore hard rock success. "Runnin' With the Devil" remains a major radio favorite and popular song at NJ Devils hockey games. "Ain't Talking 'Bout Love" and "You Really Got Me" I perform with a local cover band, and both songs STILL pop huge, even with the 21-26 age group.

Van Halen SHOULDN'T have much trouble for a few rounds, but people could always surprise me. I just see this region as narrowly coming down to Floyd, Queen, Halen, and Aerosmith.

 

[X]

I found it kind of funny that you credit the song "You Really Got Me" to Van Halen IC25 when it's a Kinks song. No discredit to Van Halen who did a great cover of the song at that.

Heart was a great band originally in the 70s. Their first two albums are classics of hard rock, and not the awful pop-rock ballads that they became famous for in the 80s. Songs like "Magic Man", "Crazy On You" and "Barracuda" are all classics that remain staples of rock radio, and deservedly so. Dreamboat Annie is a great hard rock album by any standards.

But Van Halen are legends. They exemplified everything the new MTV-bred hard rock bands of the early 80s were about. And they had great records to boot. Though Dave was obviously a bastard, their first album alone qualifies them to beat a great band like Heart. Don't even get me started on Eddie Van Halen, one of the all time greatest guitarists to ever live. Don't believe me? Listen to "Eruption". Redonkulous.

However, Sammy Hagar-led Van Halen were just terrible. Absolutely terrible. Vote goes to Halen here though.

 

[IrishCanadian25]

However, Sammy Hagar-led Van Halen were just terrible. Absolutely terrible. Vote goes to Halen here though.

Van Hagar is in the 80's region - I broke them up just as I did AC/DC because they became a different band dynamically when the singers changed. So in the 70's you ONLY vote on Roth's time with VH.

I credit VH with "You Really Got Me" because the Kinks version sucked. I also creditd VH with "Pretty Woman" and "Dancin In the Streets" because the Halen version was far superior. But yes, I understand they were covers.

I am glad you are on the Van-Bandwagon after that crap in the Queen thread. When the dust settles in this tourney, I hope neither of us are still standing.

 

[X]

I credit VH with "You Really Got Me" because the Kinks version sucked.

ROFL...what?! Are you kidding me?! Are you high?! Van Halen's cover isn't nearly as good as the original Kinks version, and Van Halen themselves would tell you that. Ridiculious, next you're going to tell me the Doors sucked and the Who sucked as well.

I also creditd VH with "Pretty Woman" and "Dancin In the Streets" because the Halen version was far superior. But yes, I understand they were covers.

It's all really matter of opinion, but I prefer Roy Orbison's original "Pretty Woman" and the Mamas & the Papas original "Dancin in the Streets" to Van Halen's covers any damn day of the week.

I am glad you are on the Van-Bandwagon after that crap in the Queen thread. When the dust settles in this tourney, I hope neither of us are still standing.

Oh boy I just can't wait until we get to Bon Jovi IC25