Van Halen: Sammy or DLR

[Jeepthrills]

I was reading the classic rock thread when this came to mind. I was lucky enough to see Van Halen multiple times. The first was in 1984 when David Lee Roth was still with them. I also saw them 3 times with Sammy Hagar. Who do you think was better.

For me Sammy was far more talented. He was a great song writer and put on a great show. However, some of the stuff Van Halen with David Lee Roth is all time classic rock. DLR was a showman but not the talent of Hagar.

The other two are just on there for accuracy sake. Feel free to vote for Mitch Malloy or Gary Cherone. In case you did not follow them closely Malloy was a friend of the band and filled in when Sammy left. Gary Cherone was the lead singer of Extreme. He was with them from 1996-1999 but only did one album.

[Mr Eagle]

Dave lee roth , In my opinion it wasnt Halen without him

[immts007]

Oh jeepster - its going to be hard not to be insulting, but I'll try.

Sam Halen/Van Hagar was ghey to the extreme. Cheesey corny crap IMHO. The real Van Halen was a great ROCK band. Van Hagar was movie-soundtrack MOR pablum. YUCK! It's not all Sammy's fault - Eddie went overboard with the synths and and lost his edge.

Hagar may have been a more technically talented singer, but the stuff he did with VH was so saccharine and cloying that it didn't matter. David Lee Roth's showmanship and swagger and rough vocals were a defining quality of Van Halen. I honestly don't consider post Roth VH to be VH at all.

Now, in case you think I'm just hating on Sammy, I thought he was great in Montrose. But hated everything else he did.

[Wisco-Kid]

Oh jeepster - its going to be hard not to be insulting, but I'll try.

Yup Immts007 speaks the truth.

[Jeepthrills]

Oh jeepster - its going to be hard not to be insulting, but I'll try.

There is no question the original stuff was great. Eddie did go overboard with the synth but that was a large part of the sound of that era. I am probably a little biased against DLR because when the split took place you kind of had to chose sides. I stuck with the original guys. I liked Sammy's solo stuff so I was all for him joining.

The unfortunate thing now is Eddie and Alex are total capitalists. Don't get me wrong. I am all for them making money, but they have fallen into the unfortunate trend that many of the great bands do. They charge a fortune for a ticket to their concert because it is a privilege to see Van Halen. This is one of the major areas that caused friction between them and Sammy. Sammy puts on festival type shows and charges $25 bucks to get in. I saw him a couple Summers ago and it was an all day party.

[joseywales]

It is only Van Halen in it's truest form with Diamond Dave. Van Hagar was good but not as good as the original.

[Craig Mac]

DLR to me, gave Van Halen it's larger than life appeal. Seemed corny once he left the band. Then again maybe I just outgrew them by the time DLR left.

[ERC7.5]

Sammy for me.
DLR's squeeks and squacks drive me batsh*t insane!

[MrKadash]

I'm partial to Sammy only because he took over while I was in high school and everyone seemed to embrace him (where I was). The Roth Van Halen was more 'rock' to me but I was never a real fan of his vocal style. My favorite songs were done by Roth but overall I chose Sammy.

[Jeepthrills]

My favorite songs were done by Roth but overall I chose Sammy.

The funny thing is I felt the same way. Their all time classic stuff was with DLR, but I liked Sammy more too.

[Three Putt]

I agree with Joe Dirt.

[Eore]

i like the way David used to perform. he can't quite "JUMP" anymore without throwing out his back.

i hate david lee roths attitude, he never shuts up. but no way is hagar better with the band

[RX Phoenix]

Best singer was Sammy, best frontman Diamond Dave.