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The 50 Greatest VAN HALEN songs - Roth era only (list over) (2 Viewers)

Ghost Rider

Footballguy
Seems like a good time to do this, and I think doing songs from just the Roth era will be more to the liking of the average fan. Like the one I did for Rush, this list is pretty much dictated by my personal tastes.  Really, it's just an excuse to talk about all of the songs individually, to celebrate the greatness in the wake of Eddie Van Halen's passing.

Note that this list will not have covers or guitar solo songs.

50. Sunday Afternoon in the Park/One Foot out the Door

These last two songs from the supremely awesome Fair Warning work well as a combo, with the first being a song of just bass and drums (I think) before exploding into the full band tune Out Foot out the Door.  Very nice way to end one of the band's best albums.  Looking at just One Foot out the Door, it's awesome how much they jam into a song that is just under two minutes. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_KY2CGGzkw

Top 50:

01 Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
02 Light Up the Sky
03 Mean Street
04 Little Dreamer
05 I'll Wait
06 Atomic Punk
07 Panama
08 Sinner's Swing
09 Hot for Teacher
10 Dirty Movies
11 Runnin' with the Devil
12 I'm the One
13 Outta Love Again
14 Unchained
15 Jump
16 Somebody Get Me a Doctor
17 Drop Dead Legs
18 Jamie's Cryin'
19 Hear About It Later
20 Big River
21 And the Cradle Will Rock
22 D.O.A.
23 Beautiful Girls
24 Could This Be Magic?
25 Outta Space
26 Dance the Night Away
27 Everybody Wants Some!!
28 Me Wise Magic
29 The Trouble with Never
30 In a Simple Rhyme
31 Ice Cream Man
32 She's the Woman
33 Little Guitars
34 Can't Get This Stuff No More
35 Push Comes to Shove
36 On Fire
37 Romeo Delight
38 As Is
39 Take Your Whiskey Home
40 So This Is Love?
41 Girl Gone Bad
42 Stay Frosty
43 Bullethead
44 Feel Your Love Tonight
45 House of Pain
46 Loss of Control
47 China Town
48 Secrets
49 Women in Love
50 Sunday Afternoon in the Park/One Foot out the Door

 
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49. Women in Love

Like quite a few VH songs, this has a guitar-only intro that seemingly has nothing to do with the rest of the song, almost like Eddie had a cool guitar part and they stuck it at the beginning of a song since they didn't know what else to do with it, but it works.  The usual VH vocal harmonies are on full display in this one.  I don't rate this one as highly as I used to, but it's still a damn fine tune.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iofxm92XcMI

 
Thanks for doing this. Cool you started with "Sunday Afternoon in the Park/One Foot out the Door".  Just discussed that yesterday in the EVH thread - that outro solo is insane.

 
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49. Women in Love

Like quite a few VH songs, this has a guitar-only intro that seemingly has nothing to do with the rest of the song, almost like Eddie had a cool guitar part and they stuck it at the beginning of a song since they didn't know what else to do with it, but it works.  The usual VH vocal harmonies are on full display in this one.  I don't rate this one as highly as I used to, but it's still a damn fine tune.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iofxm92XcMI
Just a beautiful intro

 
49. Women in Love

Like quite a few VH songs, this has a guitar-only intro that seemingly has nothing to do with the rest of the song, almost like Eddie had a cool guitar part and they stuck it at the beginning of a song since they didn't know what else to do with it, but it works.  The usual VH vocal harmonies are on full display in this one.  I don't rate this one as highly as I used to, but it's still a damn fine tune.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iofxm92XcMI
Good call on the harmonies - so good in this one. Mike Anthony has never gotten the full credit he deserves for his vocal chops.

 
Seems like a good time to do this, and I think doing songs from just the Roth era will be more to the liking of the average fan. Like the one I did for Rush, this list is pretty much dictated by my personal tastes.  Really, it's just an excuse to talk about all of the songs individually, to celebrate the greatness in the wake of Eddie Van Halen's passing.

Note that this list will not have covers or guitar solo songs.

50. Sunday Afternoon in the Park/One Foot out the Door

These last two songs from the supremely awesome Fair Warning work well as a combo, with the first being a song of just bass and drums (I think) before exploding into the full band tune Out Foot out the Door.  Very nice way to end one of the band's best albums.  Looking at just One Foot out the Door, it's awesome how much they jam into a song that is just under two minutes. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_KY2CGGzkw
Great way to kick this off but this is one of my favorites mostly due to the memories that it stirs up..  The intro was used at many concert venues to begin shows and the solo isn’t the most melodic but is just blistering.   Definitely a VH song from beginning to end.  

 
48. Secrets

I am not wild about much of Diver Down, but of the originals, this is one of the two that works for me.  Nice little song, kind of mellow for them at the time.  That guitar line EVH plays during the verses is very nice, and really showed that sometimes he could just play something melodic and pretty and didn't always have to be showing off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irmzPTXahq8

 
48. Secrets

I am not wild about much of Diver Down, but of the originals, this is one of the two that works for me.  Nice little song, kind of mellow for them at the time.  That guitar line EVH plays during the verses is very nice, and really showed that sometimes he could just play something melodic and pretty and didn't always have to be showing off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irmzPTXahq8
One of their more underrated tunes IMO. Love MA’s bass work here.

 
Welcome to the jungle is better but this isn't the place for that argument 
Yeah, let's stay focused on the songs as presented, please. :D

One of their more underrated tunes IMO. Love MA’s bass work here.
I never gave it much thought, but Anthony is a good melodic bass player.  He is not really a chops guy, but he could lay down some simple bass lines that helped deliver a little melody underneath Eddie's flash and Roth's vocal gymnastics. 

 
One of their more underrated tunes IMO. Love MA’s bass work here.
I never gave it much thought, but Anthony is a good melodic bass player.  He is not really a chops guy, but he could lay down some simple bass lines that helped deliver a little melody underneath Eddie's flash and Roth's vocal gymnastics. 
Agreed. Always thought Alex and MA were a very underrated rhythm section. Not too flashy but kept a driving sound that was  somehow able to keep up with Eddie’s pace.

 
Yeah, let's stay focused on the songs as presented, please. :D

I never gave it much thought, but Anthony is a good melodic bass player.  He is not really a chops guy, but he could lay down some simple bass lines that helped deliver a little melody underneath Eddie's flash and Roth's vocal gymnastics. 
VERY good backup vocals too. 

 
Agreed. Always thought Alex and MA were a very underrated rhythm section. Not too flashy but kept a driving sound that was  somehow able to keep up with Eddie’s pace.
Agreed.  Plus, he had a good live presence.  Every time I saw VH in the 90's, you could just tell Anthony was having a blast on stage playing.

VERY good backup vocals too. 
Yep.  Anthony's biggest value to the band, IMO, were his vocals.  The VH harmonies were a huge part of their sound, often times the hooks in their most popular songs, and Anthony's voice was integral in those.

 
zamboni said:
Thanks for doing this. Cool you started with "Sunday Afternoon in the Park/One Foot out the Door".  Just discussed that yesterday in the EVH thread - that outro solo is insane.
If I was making one of my old Denon cassette mixes, I would finish a side with this song. Definitely a hard one to follow.

 
47. China Town

2012's A Different Kind of Truth was a damn good album, one that will be well-represented in this list. While I wish the album had the "brown" sound of the early records, rather than the more modern production it got, songs like this still sound like vintage VH (as many of them were written back in the late 70's and never finished until 2012).  China Town is a fun little rocker.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Cl1f_6FYQo

 
Guess I will power through these quickly for now...

45. House of Pain

Fun little song, and that riff that kicks off the song is money.  Great way to end the original Roth era.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mg5zzivyOcA

44. Feel Your Love Tonight

It's indicative of how great the first album is when a song this good is my least favorite of the 11 (and the 9th highest in this countdown since Eruption and You Really Got Me are ineligible). 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6zTXPN_PPo

43. Bullethead

Another song from 2012 that sounds like it should have been on one of the first two albums.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aas1sQLJL8A

 
Good call on the harmonies - so good in this one. Mike Anthony has never gotten the full credit he deserves for his vocal chops.
I mentioned this in another thread. I think Anthony gets a TON of credit for his vocals. Whenever his name comes up, that is almost always what is mentioned. If anything, I don’t think he gets full credit for his bass playing (other than from you!).

 
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Guess I will power through these quickly for now...

45. House of Pain

Fun little song, and that riff that kicks off the song is money.  Great way to end the original Roth era.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mg5zzivyOcA

44. Feel Your Love Tonight

It's indicative of how great the first album is when a song this good is my least favorite of the 11 (and the 9th highest in this countdown since Eruption and You Really Got Me are ineligible). 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6zTXPN_PPo

43. Bullethead

Another song from 2012 that sounds like it should have been on one of the first two albums.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aas1sQLJL8A
Love HOP, the end riffing with EVH and Roth is incredible. 

Feel Your Love is terrific. 

Not the biggest fan of Bullethead. I don't turn it off if I'm playing the album but don't really look forward to it for whatever reason. 

 
47. China Town

2012's A Different Kind of Truth was a damn good album, one that will be well-represented in this list. While I wish the album had the "brown" sound of the early records, rather than the more modern production it got, songs like this still sound like vintage VH (as many of them were written back in the late 70's and never finished until 2012).  China Town is a fun little rocker.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Cl1f_6FYQo
I don't like this one as much on the album but really enjoyed seeing it live. Eddie and Wolfie working together on this one was so cool to watch.

 
42. Stay Frosty

Amazing how they managed to write a song channeling a song from their first album and almost nail the same vibe.  A song like this by just about any other band would come off as not good at all, but Van Halen just makes it work wonderfully.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Mk1uifmAEw

41. Girl Gone Bad

Another really nice deep cut from the 1984 album.  Love that build-up in the intro.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMnF8scIKz0

40. So This Is Love?

One of the rare VH songs that kicks off with the bass being the lead instrument, and it sets the tone very nicely.  Fair Warning is nothing but full win from start to finish, and this song kicks ###.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLUn42qwKHc

 
42. Stay Frosty

Amazing how they managed to write a song channeling a song from their first album and almost nail the same vibe.  A song like this by just about any other band would come off as not good at all, but Van Halen just makes it work wonderfully.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Mk1uifmAEw

41. Girl Gone Bad

Another really nice deep cut from the 1984 album.  Love that build-up in the intro.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMnF8scIKz0

40. So This Is Love?

One of the rare VH songs that kicks off with the bass being the lead instrument, and it sets the tone very nicely.  Fair Warning is nothing but full win from start to finish, and this song kicks ###.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLUn42qwKHc
These songs would have listed earlier for me.   Only Eddies solos interest me in these.    

 
These songs would have listed earlier for me.   Only Eddies solos interest me in these.    
Well, it's not like they are listed high, and the Roth era only had I think 75 songs, with maybe a dozen or so not being eligible for this countdown (covers or EVH solos).  In fact, six of the seven Roth albums see either all or most of the eligible songs featured in this countdown, Diver Down being the obvious exception.

 
47. China Town

2012's A Different Kind of Truth was a damn good album, one that will be well-represented in this list. While I wish the album had the "brown" sound of the early records, rather than the more modern production it got, songs like this still sound like vintage VH (as many of them were written back in the late 70's and never finished until 2012).  China Town is a fun little rocker.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Cl1f_6FYQo
This reminds me of Hot for Teacher, especially the drumming and the guitar solo. 

 
Well, it's not like they are listed high, and the Roth era only had I think 75 songs, with maybe a dozen or so not being eligible for this countdown (covers or EVH solos).  In fact, six of the seven Roth albums see either all or most of the eligible songs featured in this countdown, Diver Down being the obvious exception.
I get it.    Just giving my opinion.   Please carry on.    

 
40. So This Is Love?

One of the rare VH songs that kicks off with the bass being the lead instrument, and it sets the tone very nicely.  Fair Warning is nothing but full win from start to finish, and this song kicks ###.
Got me on pins and needles 
Yes, she knows - she's mine and ain't lettin' gooooo!!!!!!!!

I need to call out the bass line on this one. Eddie is fantastic on the guitar. The lyrics were made for DLR. 

I’d have this song about 20 slots higher, Fair Warning is without a doubt my favorite VH album.

 

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