In response to David Lee Roth's Eat 'Em And Smile, we got Van Halen's rebuttal Oh, You Ate One Too. Pretty witty.

Anyhow, I have written this elsewhere in the forums but on the day I purchased my first CD player I bought 2 CDs. This one from Van Halen and Long, Cold Winter from Cinderella. I loved the Van Halen one and played it numerous times. Those were the days when I only had 2 CDs and therefore spent a lot of time listening to my entire discography instead of just select portions of it. Anyhow, at this same time I was reading the Stephen King novel "IT", and this album became the soundtrack for this book for me. Not really sure why. My memory has gotten worse with age and it is funny the things that the brain remembers, but I always associate these things together. As I listen to this album for the first time in ages, my memories of the book come back as well. I used to devour Stephen King books in my youth, and "It" was probably my 2nd favorite from him after "The Stand". Back on point, OU812 is my favorite Van Halen album from the Sammy Hagar era and 2nd only to 1984 in my favorite Van Halen albums. Probably because of all those listens it is ingrained in my head pretty deeply. For me, there are no weak moments on this album. The musicianship is splendid and unlike the David Lee Roth years most of the songs exceed 4 minutes in length, with Cabo Wabo topping 7 minutes. On the other hand, Long Cold Winter is mostly just a footnote in my CD collection history as one of the first 2 CDs that I ever owned. It is actually a decent album, but at the time I didn't really like it all that much because the music was actually better composed and played and more mature than their previous release which was an awesome hair metal album (at the time anyhow).

Hellllloooo Baaaaaaaabbbbyyyy!!! This album kind of snuck by me when it was released. I had become a pretty huge Van Halen fan following the release of 1984, but aside from the couple of songs on the radio I didn't hear 5150 until years later when I finally picked it up on CD. Not sure if it was because of the "that ain't the real Van Halen" attitude or what, but anyhow, it is a really good, solid album. I like the David Lee Roth years, but I think that the band released much better albums during the Sammy Hagar years. Or at least much better developed songs then those created during the DLR years.

Yes, I know 1984 is cheesy 80's pop metal with synths, but man when it came out it was so awesome, and I still love listening to it in this day and age from time to time. Jump, Panama, Top Jimmy, Drop Dead Legs, Hot for Teacher, etc... were all great tracks. Besides 1984 is also the last time that the Detroit Tigers won the World Series, so maybe they are just waiting for the next Van Halen album with David Lee Roth, which rumors say is on the way. Maybe I am just a sentimental old fool, but 1984 is definitely one of my all-time favorite albums and a recipient of 5-stars in my book.

Diver Down one is an album mostly about cover songs and instrumentals. it had super hits with the cover songs (Oh) Pretty Woman and Dancing in the Streets and a minor hit with Where Have All the Good Times Gone!. Some good instrumentals with Cathedral, and Intruder as a lead in to Pretty Woman, as well as the Little Guitars intro leading into the spectacular Little Guitars. Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now) and Happy Trails are possibly Van Halen and David Lee Roth at their worst. This one and Women and Children First are my least favorite Van Halen albums, but I think that this one is a little bit better because of its high points, although I think that it also contains the lowest points in their career as well.

Fair Warning is one of my favorite albums from Van Halen. This is one that my friends and I used to blast in the car quite often. One Foot Out the Door while cruising in the car. Sunday Afternoon in the Park is one of their best instrumentals. Mean Streets, Dirty Movies, Sinner's Swing!, and Unchained are all excellent songs and fun songs to listen to. If I am not mistaken none of these were hits and the only place that you will ever hear them is on your own CD because there is not too much radio play to be found here.