how it feels to be a fan of van halen and david lee roth

From the very beginning Van Halen had a distinct and inimitable sound, so much so that even their occasional covers sounded like originals.  But either because they wanted to pay homage, or perhaps they were so blitzed that they didn’t notice how overt they were being, “A.F.U. (Naturally Wired)” made no bones about being a straight-up Zeppelin ripoff.  Eddie’s tone was still unmistakably his own, but his riffing and leads were clearly indebted to Jimmy Page, but if Alex Van Halen’s drumming was usually a glorious fusion of John Bonham and Keith Moon, here he was all Bonham all the time, and Sammy Hagar’s Robert Plant impression was so obvious that one hopes it was intentional, because otherwise it would just be embarrassing.  To be sure, Plant did write similarly obvious lyrics about how excited he was to go on tour, hit the stage and rock out, but somehow “Rock and Roll” sounded more clever and less basic (it also helped that he wrote those lyrics almost 20 years earlier). But “A.F.U.” was still Van Halen in full attack mode, so even with all the Zeppelin moves they more than got by on their chemistry and the power of their performance.  And while there was plenty about Hagar worth mocking, his pipes were unquestionably strong and pushed the band harder musically.  “A.F.U.”, like most of OU812, was a push-pull experience, highlighting the band’s strength as performers while also showing the cracks that came with having a more straightforward singer and writer at the mic.  But even then, there was no denying the joy in hearing Eddie and Alex letting it rip, and even in a slightly compromised state there was no denying the power and glory.

What’s you’re favourite OU812 song? 🌟💫✨

Elmo has replaced the beatles, van halen, and queen, this is not up for discussion

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