Older Brother is Watching You4 Out Of 5 Stars
When the original edition of Van Halen made 1984, it was a peak that made them explode. Not just commercially, but internally. By the next album, Sammy Hagar was on-board and the band made another great album, 5150. But after that, it was diminishing returns for all involved. David Lee Roth had enough in him for a couple of decent solos, Van Hagar made big, bombastic albums that relied mostly on Eddie's guitar, and Eddie was rapidly going into substance abuse collapse. By "Balance" (and even worse, "VH3"), Van Halen wasn't much to listen to anymore. Naturally, this fed into the nostalgia for the glory days of 1978-84, and the reunion tour fanned the flames.
So, 28 years after "1984," Eddie and Dave are back together. Alex Van Halen and Eddie's son Wolfgang (on bass) complete the line-up. How does the new "A Different Kind of Truth" stack up? For starters, it's no 1984, or 5150. Or even "Women and Children First," for that matter. However, it smokes almost every other laughably juvenile Van Hagar album from OU812 on. It also clobbers Hagar's Chickenfoot with no problems. Everything you loved about those early VH classics is here. Eddie hammerfingers his guitar ("As Is"), Dave scatter sings and raps lasciviously in that dirty way of his. There's even a little social consciousness on "Outta Space."
Missing are any powerhooks or the dynamite covers from the DLR years (think "You Really Got Me" or "Oh Pretty Woman"). The harmonies are just like you remember ("Tattoo" is the finest example) and Eddie has lost none of his power. The riffs on "Chinatown" and "Honeybabysweetiedoll" will rock your sneakers loose. Pretty darn cool stuff, and as Dave hollers in the last song - and I'll bet, encore number to come - "Beats Working!"
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