Van Halen Diver Down Song by Song Thread

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Zoot Marimba, Dec 31, 2017.

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  1. Efus

    Efus Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    Was out and about last night and took DD out with me.
    Easy listen, album moves fast for sure.

    On Dancing in the Streets, is it my imagination, or if you stripped that song of its vocal and background vocal, could u really recognize it as DITS?
    So in essence the entire melody of this tune is carried vocally? Strikes me as unusual and I'm trying to think of something else like it.
     
  2. Bren

    Bren Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Belated thanks for that link. I found myself nodding in agreement throughout. I get why DD is sometimes viewed as "lesser than" but it's got three songs (Hang 'em High, Secrets, Little Guitars) that rank with their best and it's such a fun listen.
     
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  3. vamborules

    vamborules Forum Resident

    Location:
    CT
    This was Eddie's complaint about it. It's his original music with Dancing in the Street stuck on top, but he didn't get a writing credit. That's what he meant with that whole thing about how they took his track.
     
  4. wavethatflag

    wavethatflag God is love, but get it in writing.

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    Wow, a lot of people don't like this track. I don't get that at all. I mean, I'm reading the comments with people's reasons for not liking it, but no comprende.
     
  5. vamborules

    vamborules Forum Resident

    Location:
    CT
    Yeah I don't get that either. I love it. Always have.
     
  6. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    I think it’s great. Miles better than the original.
     
  7. wavethatflag

    wavethatflag God is love, but get it in writing.

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    Vive la différence, or whatever.

    These VH threads rock, good job!
     
    hiterss, tinnox, Efus and 1 other person like this.
  8. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

  9. Matthew Tate

    Matthew Tate Forum Resident

    Location:
    Richmond, Virginia

    its out of place for the year and behind the times. its interesting but just not a good fit
     
  10. wavethatflag

    wavethatflag God is love, but get it in writing.

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    In my opinion, there's no way that's a disco song. Not on this planet. First of all, it's based on an old R & B song. Second, there's nothing about that keyboard line that's disco. Third, there's no other element in the song that's disco.
     
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  11. Oliver

    Oliver Bourbon Infused

    I wouldn't say that- VH pretty much made that song their own and done in their style fits right in with the VH sound in the 80's. Plus in 1982 the song was only about 18 years old so it's not like it's an artifact.
     
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  12. UncleHalsey

    UncleHalsey Forum Resident

    Location:
    Seattle, WA, USA
    Dancing in the Streets isn't really my bag, truth be told. I like the cool studio stuff, like all the reverb/double-tracking on DLR's vocals, the EVH solo. But when listening, I'm more excited for what is coming next...making this track an amuse-bouche for Little Guitars. :love:
     
  13. George Co-Stanza

    George Co-Stanza Forum Resident

    Location:
    America
    Dancing in the Streets is okay, but I rarely go out of my to hear it. Pretty Woman is far better, especially with that killer Intruder intro. I never listen to Pretty Woman on its own; gotta have Intruder, too!
     
  14. wavethatflag

    wavethatflag God is love, but get it in writing.

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    @Musicman1998 asked me to come off the bench for this next duo: "Little Guitars (Intro)"/"Little Guitars."

    Little Guitars (Intro)

    We heard Ed play sort of Spanish-style on "Spanish Fly" on Van Halen II. I say "sort of" because that piece, I think, quickly becomes "Eruption" on acoustic. I'm not complaining! But, I think on this one, Ed takes it to the next level and sounds like a real-life classical guitarist, playing two lines on the instrument at once. But of course Ed did it his own way.

    A conventional guitarist would play this by picking out both lines. But Ed ain't Mark Knopfler, he's not a finger-picker. Instead, Ed used "his right hand to pick a single note trill on the high E string," while using "his left hand to play the melody on the A and D strings using hammer-ons and pull-offs." (Wikipedia, Little Guitars.)

    Back in Sept. of '82, Ed told Musician magazine that people thought he overdubbed this, but of course he didn't, saying, "If there's a sound in my head and I want it, I'll find a way to do it." (Ibid.)

    As a kid, I never assumed Ed had overdubbed this, because he's awesome and of course he'd figure out how to play like this, even if he didn't do it as a conventional guitarist would.

    Like me, you've probably played this track, and the next one, over and over a million times, along with the rest of this fine album. It goes quick! I cue up one song, and of course end up listening to the rest of it.
     
    Last edited: Jan 13, 2018
  15. wavethatflag

    wavethatflag God is love, but get it in writing.

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    Little Guitars

    Other than being a kick-ass track, "Little Guitars" is also noted for being the only Van Halen song played on a mini-Les Paul, hence the name. Ed bought the guitar on a tour stop in Nashville, Tennessee.

    Diamond Dave said he got the idea for this song from Ed's acoustic part. Roth thought "Little Guitars (Intro)" sounded Mexican, so he wrote a song for a señorita.

    Not too long after the excruciating and awful break-up of our original Van Halen, an event that crushed, smashed, and tore apart the rock 'n' roll world of many high schoolers everywhere, including me and my friends, Ed said this about Dave: "'One thing about Roth, he’s not half the singer Sammy is, but he is creative. I'm not slagging him about the music. Onstage he was fine. It was offstage that he made having a human relationship impossible.'” (ultimateclassicrock.com, "How David Lee Roth Really Left Van Halen," emphasis added.)

    Yes, Dave is creative, and I think because Ed is the virtuoso-genius, people maybe assume Dave didn't have a whole lot to do with the music as the singer. But I think the non-DLR years of this band tell us quite the opposite.

    Catch as catch! (Whatever that means. :D)
     
    Last edited: Jan 13, 2018
  16. tinnox

    tinnox Senior Member

    Location:
    Maryland
    Once again a great original track with a great intro to the song, this LP is a good listen all the way through and reminds me of summertime !
     
  17. TexasBuck

    TexasBuck Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dallas, TX
    Little Guitars: One of VH's best and most complex songs. The intro is beautiful. It's not just a guitar part but a true introduction to the song. I have to admit, I'm usually not tuned into the verses or chorus of this song because I'm concentrating on the unique rhythm guitar. The backing vocals do catch my attention and are tastefully done. The tempo change and mini solo are a nice change of pace. Great vocal harmony at the end. Van Halen strays out of it's comfort zone here and we are all better for it.
     
  18. curbach

    curbach Some guy on the internet

    Location:
    The ATX
    Dave was obviously contributing something very important to the songwriting process as a comparison of Eat Em And Smile and 5150 clearly demonstrates.
     
  19. Planbee

    Planbee Negative Nellie

    Location:
    Chicago
    "Little Guitars" and "Secrets" are two of the greatest Van Halen songs. Definitely in my VH top 10.
     
  20. curbach

    curbach Some guy on the internet

    Location:
    The ATX
    Yes, Little Guitars, another great track. "Catch as catch" indeed. I've never been sure that's really what Dave is singing, but that's how I hear it. Surely he is actually singing something that makes more sense :laugh:
     
  21. I put this album at #4 or 5 in the six pack. As others have said, the covers are well done and the originals are classics. I don't care about the criticisms that they didn't put enough effort into the album. In 1982, it was still the real Van Halen. I bought the vinyl new as a pre-treatment when it came out. It was the only VH album I had until several years later when I found out about Fair Warning and the rest.
     
    Last edited: Jan 13, 2018
  22. wavethatflag

    wavethatflag God is love, but get it in writing.

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    In one of the articles I quoted, at some point before the break-up, Ed goes to Dave's house to discuss the future of the band. Clearly, these guys were a team. They may have wanted to punch each other at times, but creatively they gelled and balanced each other out.
     
  23. Murph

    Murph Enjoy every sandwich!

    catch-as-catch-can
    [kach-uh z-kach-kan]
    adjective
    1. Also catch-can.taking advantage of any opportunity; using any method that can be applied: a catch-as-catch-can life, as an itinerant handyman.
    adverb
    1. without specific plan or order: They lived catch-as-catch-can.
    noun
    1. a style of wrestling in which the contestants are permitted to trip, tackle, and use holds below the waist.
     
  24. wavethatflag

    wavethatflag God is love, but get it in writing.

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    I always thought it was "catcher's catch" as in baseball or something. I looked up the lyrics on google and saw "catch as catch." He's probably using those words for the rhythm of them. Who knows? Dave could be a scatter, in the Satchmo vein.
     
  25. wavethatflag

    wavethatflag God is love, but get it in writing.

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    YOU CRACKED THE CODE!
     
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