LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-MARCH 17, 2020…IT WAS ST.PATRICK’S DAY 1998 AND VAN HALEN LAID A TURD. IT WAS THE BAND’S ONLY STUDIO ALBUM TO FEATURE SINGER GARY CHERONE, AND THE LAST VAN HALEN ALBUM TO BOAST MICHAEL ANTHONY. AFTER THIS ALBUM ANTHONY WAS REPLACED BY EDDIE’S SON WOLFGANG. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE BAND’S CAREER, A RECORD FROM VAN HALEN WAS WIDELY PANNED AND FAILED TO CATCH ON COMMERCIALLY. IN MY OPINION, FANS WEREN’T WILLING TO BUY THE VAN HALEN BROTHERS LINE OF B.S. THAT “THEIR NEW SINGER WAS AMAZING, AND THEIR LAST SINGER SUCKED”. THEY DID THIS TWICE, WHEN ROTH LEFT, AND THEN WHEN SAMMY HAGAR LEFT. IN MY OPINION, THE VAN HALEN BROTHERS CLEARLY UNDERESTIMATED SAMMY HAGAR’S POPULARITY. KEEP IN MIND THE 4 PREVIOUS STUDIO ALBUMS WITH SAMMY HAGAR SOLD 16 MILLION COPIES. VAN HALEN III SOLD ONLY 500,000 COPIES IN THE U.S.A.
GARY CHERONE LEFT THE BAND SHORTLY AFTER THIS RECORD, AND IT WOULD BE MORE THAN A DECADE BEFORE VAN HALEN RELEASED ANOTHER FULL LENGTH STUDIO ALBUM.
HERE’S THE FIRST SINGLE FROM THE ALBUM. FOR MANY OF YOU IT WILL BE THE FIRST TIME HEARING THE SONG !!