The Weakest Link: Van Halen, Diver Down-ROUND TWO

Listening to this album now on Amazon HD.
I'd originally voted "Secrets" off cuz I couldn't remember it at the moment.
I know realize that song further convinced me that they were versatile. GREAT song!
So I voted "Cathedral" off. It's still great EVH noodling, but not in the league of "Eruption" or "Spanish Fly".

 

I was just gonna tag you! This album has your song on it!

 

One more thing: I wouldn't have voted off "Big Bad Bill"....yet.
Again, another song that proved VH had a sense of humor; could be sonically diverse; and Alex & Eddie's dad is on Clarinet! I mean, come on!

 

Cathedral and Full Bug

Since 1986 I have always ranked this as lowest of the first 7(!) VH albums.

 

I like it a lot as well. Voted it off this round (along with Cathedral) because I think the other remaining songs are the best on the album, although upon further review maybe I should have kept it around longer and voted off Pretty Woman.

 

Cathedral & Secrets. After this, it really starts to get tough for me.

 

It sure does. I'm a little hurt that people are voting The Full Bug off the island.

 

"There are three rings in marriage...the engagement ring, the wedding ring....and the suffering..." - DLR

 

I like Secrets a lot, second favorite song on the album.

 

Voted for "Cathedral" and "Pretty Woman" this time around. Count me in as a fan of "Dancing"-- the arrangement on that one with the Mini Moog is pretty creative.

DQ: I'd say weakest of the Roth albums, but better than anything they cranked out with Van Hagar or with Cherone.

 

One of my all time guilty pleasure albums! Though it’s not in any VH Top 5, it’s one I play the most and it’s fun. Intruder is one of the most bad ass things I’ve ever heard and always inspired me to play guitar.

 

Why be guilty? It’s VAN F—ING HALEN*.

 

my favorite van halen album. better production than the first and second. the sound they create from the beginning was so "restricting" , they couldn't have done new songs, which sounded always the same. Diver down was opening a new era in the new lighter roth's style.

 

Voting (same as last round):

Cathedral
Secrets

I can't believe The Full Bug is getting so many votes again. And this is probably my favorite version of Dancing In The Streets. Far better than that Bowie/Jagger abomination.

 

Yeah man. I know Full Bug isn’t one of Dave’s stronger moments lyrically, but he still manages to make it work; besides, the song rips.

 

Yep. It's one of the three great rockers (with Little Guitars and Hang Em High) on the album. Conversely, I don't get why Where Have All The Good Times Gone is so popular? It's and okay tune, I do like it. But I've always found it a bit bland of an opener. And I just don't think it quite measures up to the best tracks on the album. Yet it looks like its destined to make the final three. Strange (to me)...

 

I go with “Dancing” and “Cathedral”.

DQ: Not as good as the first four. For least favorite of the six pack, I flip flop between this and 1984. That being said, all six are great albums. Where ADKOT ranks, I’d say behind the six pack but well ahead of Van Hagar of whatever the Cherone thing was.

 

listened on the way to work this morning. im beginning to think the criticism is totally unfounded. i also think i could use about 5 more minutes of "intruder"

 

Probably not a popular choice, but I am voting off Pretty Woman and Dancing In The street ... they're ok, but I don't find them to be essential Van Halen.

This is probably my Bottom DLR VH album ....
I enjoy the first two, but Fair Warning and Women And Children First are my two favourites.
1984 is somewhere between 3 and 5, depending on how I'm feeling on any given day.

 

I think this is my favorite VH album.

 

I'm frankly shocked that anyone is voting it off in early rounds. It ticks every classic VH box to my ears.

 

Wow! I won't call the original "Dancing" an all-time Motown fave, but it's a solid song!

 

I can't view the Bowie/Jagger version objectively. I loved it back in 1985 - and loved the video as well!

2 of my all-time faves together was just such a treat!

 

You make a good point. When I think about it, there's nothing terribly offensive (either musically or lyrically) to "hate" it. I do think there could be some bleed-over in that I heard Van Halen's version, the Jagger-Bowie version, and the original all at about the same time. I may have been SO put off by Jagger-Bowie and by Ed Van Halen's comments about the song that in subliminally turned me against it.