GUITARIST MARK TREMONTI REVEALS THAT VAN HALEN IS WORKING ON NEW MUSIC
Mark Tremonti has revealed that Van Halen are busy working on new music after explaining the band’s studio time is preventing Van Halen bassist Wolfgang Van Halen from working with Tremonti in his solo band.
Chatting to VH1 Radio Network’s Dave Basner about any news on Tremonti’s self-titled solo band he said: “With Wolfgang in the band now, he does a lot of work with Van Halen right now, they’re putting together a new album, so it’s going to be hard to get everybody’s schedules to line up. You know, he doesn’t [say how the music is going]. He just says, ‘Yeah, sounds great, man. Sounds great.”
Van Halen singer David Lee Roth confirmed last year the band’s intention to record a new album to follow on from the well received A Different Kind of Truth which was released in 2012. That record was an collection of songs which could be traced back to the band’s earliest days.
The album debuted at Number two on the Billboard album chart, selling 187,000 copies in its first week of release.
source: classicrockmagazine.com
I don’t understand why everyone complains about older artists taking older ideas from back in the day and working on them. If bands put out new stuff, the stuff gets trashed immediately because it doesn’t sound like the old stuff. If a band puts out new stuff that sounds like the old stuff, it gets critiqued using the complaint that the artist has lost his/her creative abilities. What the fuck do you people want? I liked a Different Kind of Truth because it sounded like classic VH. That’s the music I fell in love with as a kid. I like the idea of Eddie going back in time and working on riffs that he created back in the day and sharing that with his audience. RATT announces they’re working on an album and trying to make it sound like Out in the Cellar, and everyone is falling all over themselves praising that idea. A story comes out the VH are working on a new album and half of you bitch about not rehashing old stuff. Fuck I might as well talk to my wife about our kids. There’s less bitching on that subject matter than a potential new VH album. Anyone saying the last album was a ‘let down’ just wants to sound like they know what they’re talking about. If Micheal Anthony ever got back in the band, I’m sure someone would bitch that Wolfie’s not there. #unfuckingbelieveable
DR – There are two reasons that people are leery about bands having to go back through old tapes. And yes – a lot of bands do it. “Tattoo You” by the Stones was all from older sessions from 1975 to 1978, or something in that ballpark. And that was a very solid LP. But going back 5 years is a lot different than Van Halen having to go back 35 years!!!
But it depends on what the deal is. Are there great riffs laying around that just weren’t finished? Or where all the A and B ideas used before. And fans fear they are getting stuff that was seen as not good enough to be used previously – the mediocre stuff.
The other reason fans get upset, is that they want to know that their favorite rock bands can still create at a high level. When a band has to go back to recycling 35 year old ideas, we have to believe that a guy like Eddie is creatively washed up. And that’s not a nice thought.
Like usual Mr G I can’t disagree with a word you’ve said and respect your thoughts as always. My point is that it’s getting really easy to pile on artists that we once revered as genius and inspirational. Someone calling out EVH is beyond disturbing to me. That man has given us more genius on six strings than 99% of the other guitarists around today, and I’m not even that big a VH fan and absolutely despised the Van Hagar era (minus Poundcake, that tune really rocked). Trolls calling out EVH because it makes them look knowledgeable isn’t my thing. Should we start giving Pete Townshend a hard time now cause he hasn’t written shit in 30 years? How about Ace cause Anomaly sounds like his 78 solo album. How about Phil Collen because he can’t seem to find a shirt that fits. Nope let’s go after the guy that gave us Eruption, Cradle will rock, Hot for Teacher, Enchained, Bullethead, Panama, Jamie’s cry’n, and on and on and on. He’s too easy a target. So that’s where the uninformed go.
I hear you. Us fans are never satiated! We want More, More, More, like the Andrea True song. You’re right – and I’ve said it too, Eddie Van Halen doesn’t owe us a thing. Neither do the Stones, KISS, Page, Clapton etc…..
It’s just sad when some of these big talents never quite reach their potential. People thought EVH would branch out a bit – maybe get into some other genres. He hinted at it with some of his outside projects. But he never really fully realized his talent.
But I understand your original points.
I’m kind of 50/50 with A Different Kind of Truth. I don’t think Dave sounds that good, but I don’t really hold that against him – he’s 30 something years older and singer’s voices change. Maybe it’s out of his control. It’s not like he was a truly great singer to begin with, he’s a frontman and showman first. There’s something “not quite finished” sounding about a lot of the songs, like they should have been crafted and cooked a little longer before coming out of the oven. On the other hand, I do like the energy and vibe on the album, it’s classic Van Halen. That’s something that was largely missing in the Hagar era. I’m hoping they needed that album to knock the rust off (and I do think it was a decent effort), and next time around it all gets put together and sounds more “complete”.
I’ll give some small measure of defense to the Hagar years. Sammy is a better singer, Eddie could do more with him than Dave was capable of (whether the results were better or not is a matter of preference). Putting the “hit singles” from the Hagar era aside, here’s a list of songs with Sammy that actually do rock: Poundcake, Judgement Day, Pleasure Dome, Source of Infection, Don’t Tell Me What Love Can Do, Amsterdam, Feelin’, Good Enough, Best of Both Worlds, 5150, Humans Being. There’s probably a few other OK ones in there but that’s what I’d put on my “best of the Sammy years” disc. I don’t hate the other poppier, keyboardy stuff, but at the end of the day I like Van Halen a lot more when Eddie is riffing.