The “Red Rocker” Sammy Hagar has gone on record about the new Van Halen record, A Different Kind of Truth: “I don’t know, I don’t think the fans are 
going to be happy with it.”
I can’t say how much he had heard when he made that remark, or if he had listened to full songs or just the crappy 90-second snippets posted a few weeks ago on the web. Perhaps he had only heard “Tattoo,” the ill-advised first single released in January. Or maybe he’s just deaf, because A Different Kind of Truth is the best Van Halen record at least since 1984, maybe since 1981′s Fair Warning.
Of course, there is the chance he is just going senile. Hagar said, “They haven’t released an album since my last album in something like 1991 or ’92.” Fact-check time: Van Halen III with Gary Cherone was released in 1998 (though many fans may want to forget about that one), and even Balance, with Sammy on the mic, came out in 1995, going 3x Platinum in both the US and Canada.
Hagar is so obsessed with comparing Chickenfoot to Van Halen, claiming that man-to-man his current band beats one of the greatest rock bands in American history. However, if you have listened to A Different Kind of Truth–the entire record–there is no doubt Eddie Van Halen has absolutely reclaimed his throne as the king of all rock guitarists. That’s not a knock against Joe Satriani; Satch is a great guitarist. But Eddie transcends “great.”
I hope Hagar’s jealousy and bitterness is simply ignored by David Lee Roth and the Van Halen family.
Saying Edward Van Halen is better guitar player than Joe Satriani makes all this article null. How can Sammy Hagar be jealous? VH was big thanks to him, before Sammy they only had one good album (1984) that only sold 2 million copies. That’s less than half the worst Sammy album did. Sammy made VH big and also made him almost club-only again.
Even though they are different bands, Chickenfoot has reached a success VH will never see again from their Sammy era days. How A Different Kind Of Truth will sell? 100,000 copies? 500,000 copies? No more than that.
David Lee Roth gotta go if Edward Van Halen wants to make a living.
youre kidding ,right?1984 sold 10 million in the US alone
OK, first off Van Halen with Roth has two Diamond status albums Van Halen 1 and 1984 that means 10 million plus sales for each, those two albums alone have outsold the entire Van Hagar catalog combined, next 1984 sold 5.5 million copies in one year from release and 10 million plus total.
5150 sold 3 million in one year from release and 6 million total, 1984 was Van Halens true peak, no Hagar album ever outsold 1984 that is a fact.
The entire DLR era Halen has outsold Hagar era Halen 2-1. Hagar era has no diamond status albums.
Those are the facts bro.
This new album will go platinum.
Dude. You can prefer the Sammy era VH if you like, but your facts are way off. Both 1984 and the first Van Halen album sold over 10 million copies each. Their biggest album with Sammy was 5150 which sold between 6 and 7 million copies. 1984 was kept off the #1 spot my Michael Jackson’s Thriller (which Eddie, ironically, was on) which was the biggest album of all time at the time (and maybe still is). Sales of the new album will be compromised because people just pirate albums these days and don’t buy them.
DUDE, are you crazy? 1984 has sold 10 million copies and is not their best album, that would be WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST…CHICKEN FOOT SUCKS BIG DAMN TIME…….you must be about 25 and grew up with vthe SPAMMY VAN HAGAR VERSION, sorry but NOT THE SAME, do yourself a HUGE FAVOR and go buy FAIR WARNING or the above mentioned album, then come back and talk to us….PEACE
YouReSoStupid is a perfect name for you! ah Van Halen 1 sold over 10 million copies and so did 1984! The lowest sales is around 2-3 million of Fair Warning in the David Lee Roth Era! And Yes Eddie is far better the Joe, Eddie has more feel and soul in his playing while Joe as great as he is is more technical which is cool but not as impressive. So Get your Numbers straight and your head out of your ass!
@youresostupid. You really are stupid……
All 14 of VHs previous albums went at least multi-Platinum or better in the U.S., except for VH III which still went gold… Diamond isn’t even recognized in most other countries, and the ones who do don’t rate it anywhere near as high as the U.S.
Sammy contributed greatly to those numbers, no matter how you look at it.
A Different Kind of Truth will do just as well, if only because of the demand for reunions by their old school fans.. you know, those folks who actually buy albums.. at least that’s what Interscope is banking on.
To the best of my knowledge, Chickenfoot has yet to go Platinum.. I haven’t seen the latest numbers on III, but last I heard it went Gold, same as the first album. That’s nothing to turn your nose up at.. when was the last time anyone here sold 500,000+ copies of anything? think about it.
I’m still not sure if the post was meant as a personal observation, or as a way to stir things up a bit.. either way, it worked.. Nice job, JT!
Nicely done JT…..I agree 100%. Here’s my spin on the whole Sammy/Eddie saga. First of all, when Eddie was still in “party mode” everyday, he distanced himself from nearly everyone who cared about him. His teeth were getting rotten, he was walking around with boots held together by duct tape with his toes sticking out, etc…..let’s face it…. the guy was a mess! He did treat Sammy and Mike like shit at that time, but the point everyone is missing is that he was so f#@ked up he wasn’t even taking care of himself. He lost touch with reality, hid in his studio, and basically gave up. Thank God for Janie and Wolf helping to pull his ass out of the gutter. Now…..we all know about how many albums VH has sold….diamond, platinum….yadda…yadda….yadda! The truth, in my opinion, is that Eddie fought his demons, cleaned up and came back with a vengeance! Sammy saw him at his worse. He truly may not like the new material VH laid down. He’s entitled to his opinion, but he can’t deny the power of the Mighty VH! What they’ve done (for a second time) is release music that has turned the present rock scene on it’s edge. They did it with the release of VHI and nearly single-handedly killed disco. Now, they’re showing these young, bland “rock bands” how it’s done. And they’re doing it about 5 years or so from being able to go on Medicare! How can anyone who is a true fan of rock-n-roll deny that fact! Sammy can’t deal with the fact that VH is back and as strong as ever. He shoud man-up and give them their props! I use to respect and like Sammy, but after all his negative comments about Eddie when Eddie was down…he can kiss my ass! Chickenfoot is a good band, but you can’t compare them to one of the greatest rock bands EVER. ADKOT may be the rock album of the year and I’m just glad we’re all here debating a Roth fronted Van Halen in 2012! People….just chill, listen, and enjoy. We are all lucky to have this opportunity.
Great comment. I like that it’s balanced (no pun intended). You’re not a hater, but you’re calling it like it is. I, honestly, thought the new album would suck and I was bummed they kicked Mikey out. But I have to admit. They’re back and at the best they’ve been in over 20 years.
Well I’m gunna start by sayin I’m a musician who’s been playing guitar for over 20 years with a couple albums of studio time and an estimated 200 shows. I’m blown away with some posts I’m readin here. Though everybody’s entitled to their own opinion, come on. Well here’s an unbiased opinion of the “man to man” breakdown. Mikie vs Wolfie- mike is known for his high background vocals and cool attitude but also bein a below average bass player, Wolfie handled his background duties live on both tours so far, but where this comparison gets easy is, Wolfgang at 15 went on tour and played mikies parts note for note so I’ll have to lean towards Wolfie on that one. Alex vs Chad- I’ve personally been to a drum clinic held by chad. Dude can play some of the craziest drum patterns on a pad I’ve ever seen, but to compare his solid playing on any chilly pepper album or his improved tracks with chicken to the likes of hot for teacher or outta love again etc, come on, I know al is pretty underrated but… Yea we gotta go with Alex on that one. Sammy vs Dave- when VH asked Sammy to join he was almost retired rocker, and could find his CDs on the $2.99 rack. He admittedly learned a lot about harmony after meetin Ed, and damn he definitely excelled and since and wrote some good tunes over the years. And here’s the Dave chapter of this, was once the top frontman of all time, shit went his head. Left halen, made a few good albums and faded. Rumored to have lost his voice, enter the new DRL, a more humbled Dave, who’s live show remarkably is cleaner and more spot on than ever before. And with the new album he has hands down proved that he still can sing and is totally the right singer for VH for now and the future. So even though Sammy can still sing I gotta go with the ultimate frontman, Dave. Now comes the main event, Eddie vs Joe- if I had a son who played guitar I’d want him to be learn from Joe period, the guy knows more scales and modes than almost anybody, can teach you which scale evokes which emotion. The only thing he admittedly can’t teach you is how to be eddie van halen! Who threw out his career has redefined how we play guitar. With his aggressive over the top antics that can blow you away on one hand but to never loose site of the context of the song, he believes you have to write a good enough song so people make it far enough to even listen to the lead. While Joe is an amazing shredder he has not been known for writing great songs, most non musicians can’t name 4 songs by the guy. Now if Ed never picked up a guitar again maybe joe could sway a few More votes, but to compare these two guitar players is an insult to the craft. So Ed wins this one by a landslide. So my advice to Sammy is to stop acting like a little boy and just be thankful Halen gave you that second chance back in the day, sorry 4 the length!
Dr. Cuda, That has to be the most thoughtful post on this whole subject. Enjoyed reading it.