[Crazy Pit Stop] -- After a hugely successful tour in support of their 1984 release, Van Halen as a band succumbed to rising tensions from artistic and other differences [thetapesarchive.com]. So, in the wake of that tour, frontman David Lee Roth parted ways with the band, and the Van Halen brothers found themselves without a lead singer for the first time since 1974. But, just as a Formula 1 racer pops into the pit to replace a tire, Van Halen brought Sammy Hagar on board and roared back into the race for hits. The car analogy is overly simplistic, yet still appropriate: Guitarist Eddie Van Halen is said to have met Hagar through Claudio Zampolli, a mutually-known Lamborghini mechanic [Rolling Stone | July 3, 1986 | archived].
At first, Sammy Hagar, the former lead singer of 70s rockers Montrose, must have seemed like an odd replacement for Roth. Not that the music stylings were so disparate, but Hagar was coming off one of his most successful years as a solo performer – "I Can't Drive 55" peaked at #9 on Mainstream Rock and #26 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1984. So, it's not like he really had an impetus to join an established band. But the foursome gelled, gathered together in 5150, Eddie Van Halen's personal recording studio, and cranked out 5150, an album named after that very studio.
Released in March 1986, this record was Van Halen's seventh studio album, so the band already had a defined reputation, and that meant many folks did not initially know what to make of the new direction of "Van Hagar." With Hagar on vocals as well as rhythm guitar, Eddie was able to further delve into layering Van Halen's sound with keyboards and synthesizers. And, because Hagar's vocals were a bit more ballad-friendly than Roth's, Van Halen could dabble a bit more in love songs.
Despite some fan blowback, and mixed reviews, 5150 was enormously successful in sales, becoming the band's first album to hit #1 on the Billboard 200. To this day, Van Halen fans are divided on that album's first single, "Why Can't This Be Love", which spent a total of 16 weeks on the US Billboard Hot 100 and eventually peaked at #3. "Dreams", the second single, reached #22 on the US Billboard 100, and so did the ballad, "Love Walks In". The album's fourth single, "Best of Both Worlds", had to settle for #12 on the U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock. But the music video, which consisted of footage from the Live Without a Net concert movie, was a favorite on MTV.
The embedded YouTube playlist below has all the songs from the album, but it does not feature any of the music videos for the singles. But I've linked those videos above. Just so you know.
Also, I'm a fan of 5150. I remember really looking forward to its release. And when I finally got my copy, dropped the needle onto it, and heard Sammy's "Helloooo, baby," followed by Eddie's guitar whammy, and then finally the Michael/Alex rhythm section kicking in, I felt like I was in for a great time. Now, honestly, is 5150 a great album? No, but it is ... "Good Enough".
Flashback: 5150 (March 24, 1986)
And that's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.
See you in seven!
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