Not many realise it, but Diamond Dave and the Van Halen brothers have actually been back together since 2007. It’s true they only actually managed one tour before Eddie was back in rehab. But, boy, by all accounts, what form they were in. So, now they’ve recorded a new album together, is it worth getting? The bad news is that no amount of wishful thinking can alter that, now in their fifties, these guys no longer really convince with their inimitable, high-octane slacker-rock.
You won’t read that on the internet VH forums, though. There, relief that the band has, at last, produced something better than the God-awful Van Halen III has lead to gushing that this is 1984 part II. But there really isn’t much of interest here, certainly not for the casual fan. To be more precise there are, in fact, two good songs - “You and Your Blues” and “Stay Frosty” - but the latter is so clearly an alternative version of 1977’s “Ice-Cream Man” I’m not sure it counts.
It’s been widely reported that many of the songs on A Different Kind of Truth are reworkings of old demos. The record company won’t say which, but my money’s on the two above and another four that are passable but, ultimately, forgettable: “Tattoo”, “Blood and Fire”, “The Trouble with Never” and “Beats Workin'”. The other seven are often just noisy, and feel like they're going through the motions, without yesteryear's wit. Eddie’s former carefree effortless virtuosity, in particular, seems forced and, in places, more like one of his many imitators.
Still, it isn’t all bad news. Elsewhere the fretboard pyrotechnics are reassuringly tasteful and Lee Roth’s implausibly high-pitched screams are pretty much intact. But the smartest thing to do with A Different Kind of Truth is, surely, cherry-pick the best for download and save the rest of the cash for a hot dog when the tour comes to the UK.
Judge for yourself if they've still got it. Watch the video for "Tattoo" below
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