March 24, 1986 - 5150

Three weeks after my last release and two years after "1984" Van Halen released their seventh album "5150" on March 24, 1986. This is their first album without lead singer David Lee Roth, who left the band to pursue a solo career. This is a huge change as Roth is such a unique vocalist. He will be missed for sure and he would seem very difficult to replace. Their new singer is Sammy Hagar, formerly of the band Montrose, and this album would actually end up being their first #1 album on the charts in the U.S.  Eddie Van Halen continues to use even more keyboards on this album and with the arrival of Hagar comes more ballads as opposed to the faster rock of old. I don't think I'm going to like this change, but let's give it a listen!

The album starts with "Good Enough" and Hagar does his best Roth impression with a "hello baby!" to start things off as they kick into a nice main riff led by some cool guitar by Eddie. Hagar's voice is a bit like Roth's, but it's much more commercial and typical, not the quirky, fun-sounding singing of Roth. He sings a decent verse overtop this main riff in his high-pitched voice and Eddie spices things up inbetween lines with some cool guitar licks. This leads into a similar chorus with Eddie and Michael Anthony singing their usual back-up roles as they echo Hagar to add more emphasis. After another verse and chorus they switch to a nice building bridge riff that sets the stage for Eddie's solo. Eddie is still the star of the show as he delivers a pretty good solo and the lack of synthesizers and full focus on guitar in this song is unexpected, but certainly welcome! The solo leads back into the cool bridge and from there they return to the main riff for a final verse and chorus. Eddie plays a sweet little solo to finish it off and Hagar lets out a nice scream as they bring this solid opener to a close. Up next is "Why Can't This Be Love" and this would become one of several very successful singles. Eddie still plays some guitar, but it's a very simple backing riff as his synthesizers take center stage. They drive this song and sound very computer-y, but it is a pretty catchy riff, I just wish it didn't have that typical 80s sound to it. Hagar sings a decent verse and the chorus is basically the same as the verse as they continue to play this slow and catchy beat. It's not bad, but it's also pretty damn tame and not what I would prefer Van Halen play. Hagar attempts to scat-sing along with Eddie's guitar and I think it comes off not great at all. It seems like there might be a solo, but it never really gets going as they are happy to return to the main riff and jam out the chorus several times to end things. A big step down from the first song for me, but things are back to a faster pace on track 3, titled "Get Up". Eddie begins the song by himself and he plays some pretty cool guitar. Alex Van Halen starts up a fast and cool drum beat and Anthony plays some heavy bass to form a solid main riff. Hagar begins a decent verse in his signature voice and I don't understand why Eddie wants to play the keyboards so much, when stuff like this sounds way better! Alex is also playing some great drums throughout, including some nice fills in the chorus. After another verse and chorus they briefly slow things down, only for Eddie to come out firing with a solo. It's pretty good as Eddie plays some really fast stuff, but it's fairly short and leads right into another chorus. I like the more upbeat style, but it's a pretty repetitive verse and chorus and it starts to lose it's muster as they play it out until a decent metal flourish to end it. The next song "Dreams" was another huge hit and just like the previous one, Eddie leads the way on synths. He plays some slow, dreamy stuff and after this supposedly epic intro Anthony and Alex form a very basic rhythm section and the synths continue to be the focus. It just sounds so commercial! Apparently this is exactly what the people wanted since this was their first #1 album, but for me it's barely acceptable and borderline pop music. Hagar sings a sappy verse overtop and when he hits his high notes in the chorus it just makes me want Roth back, as his squeals and other unique antics I found much more interesting than Sammy's very standard rock voice. They play another synth-dominated verse and chorus before Eddie plays a guitar solo overtop of everything else. It starts really slow and ends up playing some nice stuff at the endz but I hate that the guitar is relegated to just solo duty when Eddie Van Halen is in your band! It's not an awful song by any means, but it's definitely one of my lesser choices by Van Halen. Side one wraps up with "Summer Nights" and Eddie begins it by himself with a nice true solo. He takes it slow for the most psrtz but speeds up at just the right moments and plays some cool and catchy guitar. This is his instrument! When the bass and drums finally join in they form a pretty basic 80s backing beat that barely adds anything honestly. Hagar sings a decent verse but luckily Eddie continues to play some pretty cool guitar to keep things sounding pretty good. After a couple solid verses and choruses the bass and drums take on a more prominent role and play a nice bouncing backing riff and Eddie takes off for his solo.  It's a nice long one and he delivers, playing some great stuff for a good amount of time overtop this nice backing riff. This eventually leads into a final chorus and Eddie starts up another nice solo, but they almost immediately begin to fadeout and the side ends before he really gets into things. Shame on whoever did that, shame!

Side two begins with "Best Of Both Worlds" and Eddie leads the way with some decent but not that great guitar. It starts off lighter and eventually shifts into a louder and more typical Van Halen beat as Hagar begins another verse. He doesn't sound bad, but he's not my favourite singer and I really miss David Lee Roth. The chorus has Eddie and Alex backing Hagar as they all yell the name of the song and this, like the verse, sounds decent but it's nothing spectacular and it's a much tamer form of Van Halen than I'd like to see. At least there are no synths! After another verse and chorus Eddie goes off for his guitar solo and it's a short one but as usual it contains some cool and fast stuff. They return to the lighter version of the main riff as Hagar starts up another verse and it seamlessly shifts back into the main riff as they play a final chorus before Eddie uneventfully plays out the last bit of the song. The next song was another massively successful single, titled "Love Walks In", and so of course it has to be another very slow, sappy and synth-driven song. It begins with the chorus riff and Eddie plays some very sad and very 80s sounding synths that immediately tell me this will be another lesser song that was made for your average audience. The rhythm section is once again very basic and Eddie switches to a more upbeat synth riff, but the sound of it just kills me. Imagine how cool it could have sounded on an old 70s organ or even just classic piano, but alas the 80s infects all. Hagar sings a slow and high-pitched verse and when Eddie returns to the sappy chorus riff, Sammy follows along and sings a sappy chorus. It's pretty crazy to think the band that debuted with "Van Halen" is now playing this kind of music. Crazy and sad. Eddie's guitar is once again only used in the solo and it's not even one of his best stops as he lightly matches the mood of the music. They very predictably play a final verse before jamming out the chorus riff for a good long while to end it. -shakes head in disappointment- Track 8 is the title track "5150" and Eddie leads the way with a catchy guitar riff that reminds me a bit of "Little Guitars" from a couple albums ago as Anthony and Alex play a decent rhythm section. After almost a minute of this opening they finally shift to the first verse and Eddie plays another nice riff that reminds me of the old Van Halen as Hagar sings a solid verse overtop. This leads into a similar chorus and while this is still not quite as awesome as actual old Van Halen, it's at least a pretty good attempt. After another verse and chorus it's solo time and Eddir gets a good amount of time to let loose and delivers one of his best solos of the album. He plays some awesome stuff at several different parts and he nicely breaks it down at the end and does a cool segue that leads back to the chorus. They jam out the chorus for the final minute and Hagar does a really high yell, but you can hear his voice crack at the end as he is certainly no Roth. The final song on the album is "Inside" and it begins with an interesting bass synthesizer riff by Anthony as we hear the band members laughing and making fun of each other. We hear the chorus, which is everyone singing together in a very lazy fashion and this is definitely unlike anything else on the album. Hagar begins the first verse by saying" it's not who you are, it's how you dress" and proceeds to sing an odd verse that isn't making this weird song any better. You can continue to hear the band members jabbing at each other throughout the song and while it's very Van Halen to just let loose and play, this is not what I would have predicted or wanted. The synth-bass riff keeps you hooked as it repeats over and over in the background but there's not really much to get excited about as they play another odd verse and chorus. Eddie breaks away for a solo and he plays some pretty sweet stuff but then it's back to the chatter and the growing-more-tired main riff. And it just keeps going and going until the song finally fades to a finish. A strange (in a bad way) ending to an underwhelming album.

That is the end of "5150" and I thought it was largely a very average and commercial album. There are a couple songs that are more like their old selves, but most of it I was not a big fan of. Eddie playing synths over guitar is a crime against music and ai can see why Hagar was chosen as Roth's replacement, but he doesn't cut it for me. I previously had "Fair Warning" as Van Halen's lowest album, but this new one takes the bottom rung in my opinion and I don't like the direction they are headed in at all.