One thing about David Lee Roth is the guy was not your typical hard rock lead singer. He was, shall we say, a little more varied than most in that line of work, and his tastes ranged far and wide – to otherworldly strange things like show tunes and dance music.
To the average run-of-the-mill Joe, that may not seem like a big deal, but for a singer in what some would call the preeminent hard rock band of the late 70’s and early 80’s – it was quirks like these which made Diamond Dave stand out from the crowd.
Hagar – on the other hand – was cut from the classic rock singer mold all the way. He paid his dues with Ronnie Montrose and practically worshiped the ground Robert Plant and Jimmy Page walked on. AND he could play a pretty mean guitar. By no means was I a fan of the guy, but anyone with half a brain cell who listened to music in the 80’s knew of Sammy Hagar and acknowledged the talent.
Now here’s the thing – just as Roth and Hagar were two singers with different styles, Hagar and the rest of Van Halen (up to that point, at least) seemed fairly incompatible with one another.
Here was this hot-shot, California, thrill-a-minute, pop-metal tour-de-force with an amazing guitar player that some were calling the next Led Zeppelin on steroids, and they were supposed to meld forces with this grizzled, rough-and-tumble, no-nonsense, take-no-shit vocalist/guitarist who already had a successful solo career and needed a second meal ticket like he needed a hole in the head. How was that going to work exactly?
In the end, it was easy – they get along professionally like old chums, and make a stunningly simple yet refreshing pop-rock record that is about as catchy as you can get. And they sound like they are having tons of fun while making it.
Yes, Eddie plays synths on this record. Not on all of the songs, but on quite a few of them. Yes, it sounds quintessentially 80’s throughout, especially from a production standpoint. Yes, the trademark bottom-heaviness that was even on 1984 is gone.
This is a different band, like it or not, and they made a hard-edged pop album, not a heavy rock record completely dependent on Eddie’s tone and tricks and solos. Furthermore, it is fairly well-done and consistently entertaining.
Half of the album filled the radio airwaves – I do remember that – and three of the songs featured Eddie falling back in love with his synthesizer. You remember these – “Dreams”, “Love Walks In”, and “Why Can’t This Be Love”.
People either detest these songs now because of Hagar or rudely toss them off as 80’s dreck, but hey, check them once in a while – you might find yourself tapping a foot or even singing along to them (God forbid). Simply put, all three are extremely well-written, cleanly conveyed, pop classics – nothing more or less.
Meanwhile, the band brings out their raucous side on the other two singles, “Best of Both Worlds” and “Summer Nights”, a track which proves Eddie didn’t forget how to play guitar. Also, “Good Enough” (aside from the somewhat hackneyed “Hello, baby” intro) and “Get Up” have more than enough manic energy going for them.
Probably the only issue I have had with this album is the end of it, which is relatively limp in comparison to what comes before hand (the title track and “Inside”, with all the crazy voices echoing around the speakers and what not), but still, how can anyone complain about 5150 from an overall standpoint, other than to nitpick based on personal preference?
One final note – I get a kick out of the cover, which to me feels like a ridiculous, overdone take on the band’s past – almost like they were jabbing at Dave a bit with the Atlas caricature, or something. All in good fun, I guess, although at the time, it probably wasn’t.
In conclusion, a really good album – not stone cold classic – from a bit of an unexpected place.
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