Van Halen
5150

THE REVIEW

After the enormous success of '1984' and the departure of the band's historic vocalist, it seems difficult for Van Halen to emulate their recent glories. However, Eddie's band reacts excellently, announcing Sammy Hagar as the replacement for crazy David and releasing a good album that dispelled any doubts.

What makes this work by the American band a very enjoyable album is primarily the novelty of the music offered; Sammy Hagar is first and foremost a different singer from Roth, but not inferior, in fact, on a strictly vocal level, even superior, despite not being able to boast the irresistible charisma of his predecessor's style and figure. A great novelty is also the introduction of Sammy himself as the second guitar of the group, which makes the band's sound deeper but simultaneously slightly hides Michael Antony's bass, as well as the notable power provided by the drums, previously always somewhat in the background, except in happy episodes like Hot For Teacher. Finally, the album offers a greater interest in keyboards and slow pieces, as already introduced in '1984', which becomes new lifeblood for the group.

But let's get to the album. The record starts very well with a not too fast-paced but compelling track, Good Enough, featuring a Sammy in great shape, then moves on to the hit single Why Can't This Be Love, which revisits the sounds already explored with Jump and features an excellent integration of synthesizers and guitars, leading to the thrilling rhythms of Get Up and the melody of Dreams, one of the most interesting tracks of the collection due to Hagar's powerful vocals marrying Eddie's keyboards. It continues with two excellent tracks, Summer Nights and Best Of Both Worlds, which fully summarize the new ambition of VH, a powerful rock yet very melodic, followed by Love Walks In, the calmest track of the album, which nonetheless harmonizes with the rest. The closure relies on the good riff of 5150, from which the album takes its title, and unfortunately on Inside, where one notices a certain desire to experiment, which however does not succeed and manages only to bore and, in my case, annoy quite a lot. Without it, the album would have certainly been better, although the vocalist's performance is still commendable.

Overall, therefore, an excellent album, a worthy successor to '1984' that sees the new lineup integrating truly perfectly, and it will not surprisingly be a commercial success.