Van Halen's First Studio Album With David Lee Roth since 1984

Ok, so anyone that knows me absolutely knows I am a Van Halen fan. To me, no band better represents 1970s and 1980s hard rock and roll like Pasadena’s finest.

Then came 1985 and David Lee Roth’s ejection from a band that, at the time, was reaching the apex of its fame. After the whopper of an album that was “1984,” The Van Halen brothers went and fired the best front man in the history of rock and roll and replaced him with Sammy Hagar.

I’m not here to go back and forth on the Van Halen vs. the Van Hagar era – I’m also a Hagar fan. Instead, I’m hear to talk about Van Halen’s first studio album with Roth since the release of said “1984.” That’s right, the late 50s aged rockers finally came to their senses and reunited with Mr. Showman himself and the results are pretty damn good.

Released last week, Van Halen’s “A Different Kind of Truth” has catapulted to No. 2 on the Billboard album charts. Had it not been for the emotional return of Adele, the VH boys would have landed their first No. 1 album since “1984.”

The album itself is a rolicking adventure complete with some 30 year old tunes refreshed and recorded for release for the first and some new tunes. The overall feel and direction of the record gets us a little closer to what everyone has been clamoring for since the band last recorded as part of a doomed reunion back in 1996. It’s old-school Van Halen with riffs, screams, and a driving rhythm section (now filled out with Eddie’s son Wolfgang) that has me ready to return to the days of Reagan, AquaNet, and spandex pants.

A note: many fans and critics have derided the band for recording a few songs that first appeared on a demo produced by Kiss leader Gene Simmons back in 1976. Dubbed “The Zero Demos,” the recording was meant to capture the ears of record labels to help the yet-to-be-signed young Van Halen. Two tracks off that demo – “She’s the Woman -1976” and “Big Trouble – 1976” – were rerecorded for this new CD. Since they were never originally released officially, and because they’re old school Van Halen, I appreciate them.  Many have taken what Sammy Hagar said in the months before the release of the album, a criticism of the band for not writing new music, and remain dismissive of these old songs. Rift aside, I like the tunes. One note: on the new CD “Big Trouble” has been rebranded “Big River – 2012” with some lyrical updates. Here’s the new version of “She’s the Woman.”

Outside of the re-recorded tunes from 1976, the new CD strikes the chord that it needs to. Songs like “Beats Workin’” and “Honeybabysweetiedoll” also kick you in the head with traditional VH testosterone and even sound like Eddie perhaps put down his new Fender EVH Wolfgang in favor of the old Kramer. Call me crazy, but the tone on a few of the tunes matches the early era Van Halen records while some of the other tunes sound more sterile. Either way, it’s the best Eddie has sounded in years and it generally appears he’s having fun and staying sober and healthy. That’s a good thing for us fans.

The reunited VH on stage

As for Roth: he’s still the man. Gone are some of the signature high-ptich screams of the early 1980s but the DLR charm and wit are still alive and well. I’ve also heard some criticism of Diamond Dave but he’s still doing a great job. Who at 58 has the same vocal range they did 30 years previous? Could Hank Aaron still hit a 450 foot home run? No way. Roth has aged, and so has his voice, but it’s still distinct and delivers a nice punch. Criticized early in his career for often going on stage intoxicated and sloppy, the elder Roth is the consumate showman and it shows on the new record. One can only wait with excitement to see him prancing across the state on the band’s current tour.

I’ll let the music writers breakdown the entire CD; I only wanted to share my thoughts. I was fully ready to be disappointed by a CD 14 years in the making. Yet, after initially not liking the first single “Tattoo,” which is by far the weakest tune on the release, I’ve come to really love and enjoy “A Different Kind of Truth.”

Also, a recommendation: pick up the Deluxe Version which includes “The Downtown Sessions,” and unplugged and intimate set of tunes the boys play while sitting around Diamond Dave’s home. It’s pretty cool and filled with a DLR/Michael Jackson story…sort of.

I’m a 42 year old Dad who saw the original Van Halen, the lighter Van Hagar version, and now am ready to enjoy seeing the boys live into my third decade of being a fan.

I highly recommend the CD and expect the tour to do well.

Let’s hope they’re back together for good and continue making music for at least a few more years.

Flash forward 13 years and a few pounds and skinny jeans are all the rage. And about a year ago, when I wasn’t really hitting the gym much, that sort of attire fit. My wife even recently disclosed to me that my once round butt had turned into “saggy old man ass”. But? My pants all fit.

Because I’ve been averaging 3 days a week at the gym as well as playing basketball every week for two-plus hours at a time, my physique is nearly as good as it was 13 years ago. Also making an appearance? Well, let’s just say those jeans from last year are beyond skin tight now thanks to a newly re-formed Rick Mahorn-esque booty — even with room to spare in the waist. Those “trim fit” shirts that I was sporting a year ago? Too tight.  Sleeves short. I’m beyond frustrated that I have to order new clothes, and as you can imagine being this size it’s a pain in the ass.

I was chatting with fellow EOT Dad Don Martelli the other day on Twitter about this dilemma. See, Don has a similar problem – because of recent weight loss, the “Big Guy” is now in between sizes and forced to either shop at the Big and Tall stores and wear a tent, or troll the mall to find one thing that fits.

Clothes for men are made in one size now – slim fit. Over 6′ tall? Good luck. Unless you want to stop eating it’s almost impossible to wear fashionable clothes and still live the High Life.

After several years of retiring the Big and Tall web site directory I founded back in the 90′s, I’ve found a few places online where I’m able to find clothes and shoes for big guys. Here are a few, we’d love to hear where you’re able to find clothes that fit in your size in the comments.

Buckle – Looking for jeans that aren’t going to squeeze your boys into submission? Want some decent washes, a few rips and some bad ass bootcuts? Try Buckle. They make jeans in waists up to 40″ and inseams up to 38″. Broad shoulders? They have you covered with an “athletic” cut in their shirts. I have a 37.5″ sleeve and their stuff fits. Take my word, you’ll love it for casual wear — just watch out for the Affliction line, because you don’t want to end up in a roadside ditch.

Oddball – Sure, sites like Zappos offer big sizes too, but tall brothers Seth and Zac at Oddball START their shoes at 12 and carry wide widths as well as extremely large sizes, not to mention their own line of socks. Don’t let the shipping costs get to you, the guys in Portland get exclusive styles on some of your favorite brands.

Nordstrom – The Nordstrom family is also tall and thus they carry a ton of tall sizes and large shoes too. And if you want a really great deal on shoes, check out their Nordstrom Rack outlets.

Vegas opened up the Patriots at four point favorites, however the money all went toward the G-Men early. The spread now sits at 2 and a half points, a one and a half point shift.

There are a few simple principles that allow teams to win football games: score points (duh), don’t turn the ball over and  get some stops on defense. When you break down the Giants offense, you see they have a multitude of wide receivers that can burn you deep and a power running game that has finally come into its own this season. The Pats feature two amazing tight ends in Gronkowski and Hernandez, and a corp of average wide outs lead by former All-Pro Wes Welker. Welker’s touches have been down considerably this year because of the success of their TEs, and the supporting cast of receivers have been spotty at best. Rob Gronkowski also suffered a high ankle sprain in their playoff win over the Ravens and, unless this is a case of gamesmanship, deals a huge blow to the Patriots offense both passing and running the ball.

The Giants defense has been, in a word, remarkable since their late season run into the playoffs. Their “NASCAR” package, whereby they line up 4 defensive ends who can all get after the quarterback, is lethal and should give the Patriots tackles fits. The key for New England is to keep that unit off the field, if possible, so Tom Brady can have a comfortable passing pocket to deliver his strikes. There’s a rumor that Brady has a shoulder injury which might explain his unusually erratic passes against Baltimore in the AFC Championship game.

The much maligned Patriots defense has stepped it up as of late, playing a bend, bend, and bend some more but don’t break. Vince Wilfork has been a stud the past few weeks, causing headaches for teams looking to, well, look around his five hundred pound gut. The Pats D has been opportunistic, forced turnovers and gotten stops when they needed. They also benefitted from some late game buffoonery by Ravens coach John Harbaugh, whereby the down markers were incorrect and their kicker shanked a game tying field goal. But, with every good team comes a little luck.

All of that said, there are three reasons why I don’t think this is going to be a close game.

1. Gronkowski’s ankle.

A high ankle sprain is no joke. It is a sprain that happens in the front of the lower leg that causes a massive amount of pain and takes six weeks to heal. Adrian Peterson, Ben Rothlesberger and Arian Foster all suffered the same injury this year and no amount of Cortizone and physical therapy can rush it back. Without Gronkowski, the Pats not only lose their big play ability on offense but also lose a solid run blocker, when needed. Hernandez is still a stud TE, but only have one TE to match up against is doable vs. taking on the two headed monster.

2. Giants WRs vs New England’s secondary.

Even with a lucky play on the oft-cursed, and now infamously soft-handed Lee Evans to prevent a Ravens win, the Pats secondary isn’t very good. And that’s being nice. The QBs they’ve faced during their victories include Tim Tebow, Matt Moore, Curtis Painter, Rex Grossman, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Mark Sanchez and Matt Cassell while losses came at the hands of Eli, Big Ben and an early season loss against a then-hot Ryan Fitzpatrick, before everyone figured out he can’t throw a deep ball. Bottom line is that they’ve claimed wins against average to below QBS, which Eli is not. Speaking of Eli…

3. Eli.

Yes, the “other” Manning is playing better than any quarterback in the league. Last week he took on the league’s most ferocious defense that stomped every team’s mudholes in during the regular season from coast to coast and prevailed. He was hit twenty times, six of which were sacks. He was poised, accurate and has been backing up his “Elite QB” claim the entire season. He doesn’t get rattled, he’s won it before and is a much better leader and passer than he was in 2008 when he threw up a duck that somehow stuck to David Tyree’s helmet. Sure, you can say the same for Brady, but I seriously doubt Tom can withstand a beating from the Giants front four, play with the loss of his top receiver/TE and rely on his team’s defense to keep it close enough to pull one out. Eli will raise this mutha again and I’m going to have to listen to another year of New Yorkers gloating. But at least it’s not Boston Sports Fan.

Yep, Eli's Raising Superbowl Trophy #2

This is a preemptive strike because I know exactly what he’s going to say.

Why do I care? Well, first off, I’m a die hard Pats fan. Always have been, always will be. I grew up in a time when the Pats were the joke of the league. I remember those one win seasons. I remember how bad Tony Eason was. I remember how Irving Fryar was our only chance of scoring deep, which rarely happened.

I remember.

Over the past 10 years, the tide has changed, as most know. Three Super Bowl wins and one drastic appearance later, and the Patriots are once again, on the big stage looking to be champs.

I love it. Dave, on the other hand, hates it.

He hates it because his team — the Detroit Lions — can’t break through. His other team, the Giants, is the team that the Pats face, of course. Yes, he has two teams because he’s a NYer now — a transplant from Detroit.

He’s a fan of convenience and that bugs the shit out of me.

Anyways, enough of the ranting. Here’s what he’s going to say in his Super Bowl post:

• Pats are luck to be there and had a soft schedule
• The Pats D can’t stop anything
• Gronk is hurt so there goes Brady’s safety net
• The Giants D is going to pummel Brady like they did in ’07
• There’s #NoTitlesInBoston (search on Twitter)

Yadda, yadda, yadda…he’ll go on and on. I won’t read it. I won’t. I don’t need to. I already know what he’s going to say.

But, revenge is on the docket this year in Indy. Pats win.

#NoTitlesInNYerDetroit…

The spot that has already been well leaked and spread via social media has been Matthew Broderick’s mysterious Ferris Bueller spot. The 10-second teaser clip was released on the web before the weekend and spread quickly.

Since most of the Dads here on EOT are children of the 80s-90s, we wanted to share with you what is a great spot for Honda’s CR-V. Broderick plays himself in true Bueller fashion. Well done and not overdone. Enjoy

Build this easy to make football bar for your party.

If you’re lucky enough to go like me (sorry for the brag!), then you’ll be filled to the gills with parties, food and good times. The reality for most Americans is the throw fun and exciting Super Bowl bashes at home or attend a private party. We’ve all been to great parties, and then we’ve also been to duds.

If you’re hosting the big shindig this year, how do you avoid becoming “that guy” who had a crappy Super Bowl party?

Every Other Thursday turned to Mr. Handyman for some tips. For those of us who really enjoy being the man around the house and completing that never-ending “honey do” list but still lack some of the skill necessary to re-plumb a bathroom or install a ceiling fan, Mr. Handyman has you covered. As someone who didn’t have a father who taught him the ins-and-outs of home repair, I use their site all the time for tips and tricks – which allow me to avoid killing myself or flooding the house. The same experts also have created a pretty cool list of ways to make your party pretty cool.

The company released an easy to follow video to walk you throw some pretty cool – and easy – ways to make your party stand out. They include:

• Turn your dining room table into a football field-themed serving stadium in practically minutes
• Change your coffee table in the living room into a chalkboard playmaking conversation piece
• Build a football-themed bar for the big game
• Take the game outside with a cool project that builds a goalpost out of standard PVC pipe

Check out the embedded video for some great projects to make you the talk of suburbia. We like the approach and so to will your buds as they come over to drink, eat and yell about how annoying Madonna is as the halftime entertainment.

The food and the game (oh, and the BEER) may be the stars of the big Sunday, but using some of these tips and projects could make you the Super Bowl King of the Block in your neck of the woods.

Now, I’ve worked for years in New York City and as such it’s nearly impossible to walk down any street at any time of the day without a cabbie or driver laying on the horn at another driver.

However, New York City residents move out of the city for the promise of a better environment to raise children: a yard with grass and trees, good schools, Costco – you know, the essentials.

It’s with that where I struggle to understand the mindset of people that come out to the ‘burbs for peace and quiet and instead can’t help themselves but to beep at everything. Didn’t make a turn fast enough? Honk. Didn’t accelerate fast enough when the light turned green? Honk. Didn’t let someone complete a “Jersey left”, whereby as soon as the light turns green the person across from you in the left turn lane guns it to cut off traffic? Honk. Honk. And honk.

Seriously, help me readers – is this just Jersey people being assholes or does this happen by you? And when it is acceptable to use the horn?

As I continue to grapple with the fact that I am 42 years old, I am making some pretty important discoveries.

One of those important discoveries is that I have discovered one of the key ingredients to living the life of a happy father. I discovered how you become rich and how that changes and focuses your life on what’s important. I’ve decided I want to gain even more wealth than I have today.

The kicker is for me being rich has nothing to do with money. For the busy father of five kids, the currency most valuable to me is time. Time to spend with my family. Time to talk with my teenage daughter about relationships and growing up. Time to explain to my son cleaning his room and doing chores isn’t a hassle, it’s an education in responsibility. Time to give my 4 & 2 year old a piggy back ride. Time to hold my newborn son and look in his eyes and share goofy grins.

Time. It’s more valuable for me than gold.

The issue with this knowledge is it’s hard to keep time in the bank. When you’re the sole provider for your family, you work and you sacrifice so that those kids can have a nice home, food on the table and whatever else they may need. You travel for business and enjoy your career yet yearn to be home in the middle of the madness.

All of my kids are important and they’re all at vital points of their development. It’s hard to devote the time. I guess my desire to be there as much as possible weighs more on me than it does them. Yet I can’t shake the fact I need more time to spend with them. Who knows how much time we have on this Earth.

I want to win the time lottery. I need more time for my kids and I need more time for my wife.

I’ll do more on my end to create and reserve the time but don’t waste any yourself. You can buy another house, a car, a sweater, an iPad – you can’t buy another day.

Invest in the most valuable currency a man, father and husband can – time with those that you love.

This year’s 1800 Tequila spots still zero in on Patron, but the sentiment of the ads has us thinking that there’s a lot of “What Ever Happened To?” possibilities. With that, we’ve been inspired to continue this meme on Every Other Thursday whereby we’re going to look at how things used to be and compare them today. Today we’re taking on Music.

What ever happened to music? It used to be songs about getting laid, flames and some ripping guitar solos. Now it’s all crying about the girl that got away, holding guitars without actually playing them and Tiger Beat appearances.

Don't mind our shit music, we have perfectly white teeth and well groomed hipster facial hair!

Seriously, none of the most influential artists of the past 40 years would be popular today. Beatles? Forget it. Too many bad teeth. Dylan? Are you kidding me? Simon Cowell even said that Bob Dylan bores him and, let’s be honest, Dylan would never win on Cowell’s former karaoke contest show. Sure, he writes powerful songs with meaning, but is he attractive?

Furthermore, it’s a complete sham that most of the artists today don’t even write their own songs, let alone do more than “sing”, thanks to autotuning. Face it, music today is a farce. It starts with image/looks and at the bottom of the list of criteria is talent.

A friend that runs a record label once said to me that the current criteria for signing bands is whether or not the A&R people found the artists attractive enough to have sex with them. Unfortunately, it’s the rest of us that are getting screwed.

In their first matchup, Alabama had a series of miscues, including missed field goals, that essentially handed the game to LSU. Not to take anything away from the Tigers, but it was a game that I’m sure has been eating at Nick Saban since the loss. The Mad Hatter will have his boys ready to play, and look for the Honey Badger to make an impact – whether it’s an INT, return for a TD, something. Play makers make plays.

That said, I like LSU to come out on top and finish with an undefeated season. I have no justification for this, as I believe it will be a close game, and it will come down to a field goal either way. Take LSU and enjoy the end of the college football season!