Van Halen Rank-A-Rama!!!!

#VanHalen #Album #Ranking
I finally rank and review every studio album from the mighty Van Halen, including the Van Hagar albums and Van Halen III! Is it blasphemy or science? And how drunk will I get as I finish off a bottle of Gentleman Jack right before your very eyes? This is a video for the Ages and a tribute to a band for the Ages...!!!
#EddieVanHalen #DavidLeeRoth #DiamondDave #AlexVanHalen #SammyHagar #MichaelAnthony #GaryCherone #WolfgangVanHalen #AlbumReview #AlbumRanking #DiscographyReview

[@VanHalenStarWars]

Greatest American rock band ever. These guys were untouchable in their prime! 🤟🤟

[@EdwinCannistraci]

Agree 110%

[@JCStorm76]

Oh man this came up just as I was about to go to bed, it is almost 10:30 here in Australia on a weeknight but will definitely watch tomorrow. Here’s my ranking before I’ve even seen yours. 1. Van Halen 2. 1984 3. Van Halen 2 4. Fair Warning 5. Women and Children First 6. 5150 7. F.U.C.K 8.Different Kind Of Truth 9. Diver Down 10. OU812 11. Balance 12. Van Halen 3

[@EdwinCannistraci]

Not a band ranking, Colemann. Save for a few notable exceptions, you're not too far off from my ranking.

[@TheChadTI]

A Different Kind of Truth is so, so good. Also really enjoying this great video, thanks man.

[@EdwinCannistraci]

So good indeed! Thanks for watching, JJ!

[@TheBSSessions]

I agree Daves albums are the Best ,and i would never put any above Dave but saying that I love em still

[@jeffspicoli763]

This is the best VH ranking video I've seen! I've always considered VH2 my favorite, but I MIGHT need to rethink that. Good stuff bro!

[@EdwinCannistraci]

Thanks, Jim! Appreciate it!

[@IanMcPhersonTIOOS]

Listening to this again being on a VH binge. I think you really nail it when you talk about the Van Hagar albums and how messy the songs are. You would think with them wanting to become more commercial they'd put more effort into the songcraft! Really unmemorable. I'm getting familiarized with those and it's my first impression. Apart from 5150, which I already know and doesn't suffer as much from those flaws. Van Hagar is like a completely different band and that's how they should have called themselves.

[@EdwinCannistraci]

Yeah, I think Eddie would get it together for the singles, but then got lazy and "jammy" for the album tracks. And Sammy didn't have the songwriting chops or personality to crack the whip like Dave would.

[@SouthTexasRocker1]

Good job, Edwin. I'm one of those hardcore Roth-era fans who has been boycotting all things Hagar/Van Hagar since 1986. The only Van Hagar songs I've heard are the radio singles... and when they come on the radio, I change the channel immediately. People have asked me, "how do you know you won't like it if you won't listen it"? My reply... "I don't have to lick a turd to know it tastes like sh!t". Next on my watchlist... your Diamond Dave ranking vid.

[@CalicoSilver]

Another great video, Edwin! Your videos always make me want to go and listen to the albums. Haha, I used to have this one viewer who always berated me for drinking a beer during some of my Rolling Stones review videos...."you need to stop drinking alcohol!", they would say. Haha. I wonder what they'd think of your slugging whiskey from the bottle? Haha. I did a "review" of Bob Dylan's Heaven's Door whiskey on my channel, where I slugged a large glass of tea in one huge gulp, pretending it was the whiskey, and apparently had quite a number of viewers fooled for a second, haha! Anyway, all silliness aside, I really enjoyed your video here. Keep 'em coming. Cheers. Jeff

[@EdwinCannistraci]

Thanks, Jeff. I'll have to watch that Dylan video of yours. Generally speaking, the heavy metal and hard rock crowd isn't put off by drinking. In fact, I only had one person call me out for it and that was on my Def Leppard video and only because their guitarist Steve Clark had died of alcohol poisoning. Me and the guy talked it out in the comments section, however, and I made it clear I didn't have an addictive personality and I didn't mean any disrespect. Instinctively I'm a social drinker and prefer drinking and talking to people at bars, but because of the pandemic, I started making these videos regularly, and I guess they became a substitute for that. It also helps to get you into the right mind set -- makes things feel more natural and conversational.

[@CalicoSilver]

@@EdwinCannistraci Yep, I hear ya. For certain videos I just have to have a beer with me for some reason. Just feels right. Haha.

[@johnfletcher948]

@@EdwinCannistraci You skipped the stellar Top Jimmy too dude!!

[@EdwinCannistraci]

I'll mention it now. You're right: stellar tune! Love Eddie's guitar work on it and the cool, after hours vibe...!!

[@johnfletcher948]

@@EdwinCannistraci There ya go big guy! She looked so f***ing good!!!!

[@jimiswartz2648]

Nailed it my brother. The Unchained video was my first exposure to Van Halen too. Absolutely iconic.

[@EdwinCannistraci]

Thanks, brother! Great minds and such. 😉

[@robertcook792]

Great video! This is my Favorite Rock N Roll Band. All of these Albums with DLR are the theme songs to my life no doubt. Like you I was a lil too young to go to concerts in 1984. However in 1988 I went to see DLR/Sksctraper and then VH/OU812. And I loved both shows. I became a VH fan in 1984 when I saw the world premier video for Jump. And then Panama,Hot For Teacher. I bought the album and then I bought Diver Down. My cousin hooked me up with VH 1 and then I bought 2. When I was in high school I worked in an Italian restaurant in a small town. The guys I worked with were much older and they made music. After work one night a bunch of the guys were hanging out at an old tobacco barn and they wanted me to come with them. They all got together and sang Could this be magic without instruments. It was so beautiful man. They were all old school and into VH. The next weekend my sister was home from Florida and her husband had just bought a Porsche 911 carrera turbo. Red with gold wheels. He took me to the bigger town and bought me a cd which I picked out Women and children first. He let me drive back home so I stopped by the local grocery store where the cheerleaders had a bake sale and I rolled up in that porche. Windows 1/4 of the way down blacked out, stereo pumping Everybody wants some. Man they were gaulkin to see who it was,I rolled it down what’s up girls? I was talk of the school for a month. Fair warning was the last album I bought and you’re right it’s my fav to. And unchained was the first time I saw the real VH performance on headbangers ball! I never really thought what those Gagar era songs would’ve been like if Dave had wrote them. I’m sure they wiiidve been good. But disagree with you on some stuff. The Sammy years a totally different band. A great band with great albums,great songs but different than DLR era music. Sammy is much better vocalist than Dave. But his imagination is not there. Dave’s voice is 2nd to none. A great vocalist is different than a great voice. Vocalist are taught with practice, a great voice is a gift. Had throw in my 2 cents and share a cool ass story. Good video!

[@EdwinCannistraci]

Thanks so much for sharing, Robert, and yeah: it was a cool ass story. Even if our views on the Van Hagar stuff differ (although as noted in my video, I'm not a total hater), it sounds like we have a similar history with the band. Thanks again and rock on!! 🤘🏼

[@TheBSSessions]

what a man drinks from the bottle !! that ain’t ice tea!!

[@EdwinCannistraci]

Ha! Believe me, I know! I did it in honor of Van Halen's younger, rowdier days. 😉

[@johnfletcher948]

You may have a drinking problem fella. Love it! You are better drunk bro!!!!

[@IanMcPhersonTIOOS]

Just got to tell you Ed. Women and Children First has always been my favorite and still is, but I was never very familiar with Fair Warning. Because of your video, it's now been playing on repeat in my car for at least 20 times in a row for the past month and a half. I can't bring myself to changing it. I'm just eating up every single song on there, with Hear About It Later my favorite right now. AC/DC's For Those About to Rock is another I've purchased based on your videos and am appreciating a lot.

[@EdwinCannistraci]

That's so awesome, Ian! I'm very glad you told me this. It makes me feel like I'm doing some good in the universe! Such great albums... Keep listening to 'em!!! 🤘🏼🤘🏼

[@chadhickes8563]

12) VH III 11) ADKOT 10) OU812 9) Fair Warning 8) WACF 7) Diver Down 6) 5150 5) VH II 4) Balance (the extra song Crossing Over is phenomenal!) 3) 1984, House of Pain, Girl Gone Bad, Drop Dead Legs, HFT, Panama are fantastic 2) F.U.C.K. 1) VH Debut, My top ten rankings can change daily depending on my mood. VH III is always last and ADKOT is a really good album but without Michael Anthony it falls short. You are 100% right Dave f’d up bad and he did it twice!!! Such a-shame too

[@EdwinCannistraci]

Thanks for watching and for commenting. Such a shame indeed.

[@TheBSSessions]

yass

[@stevec1996]

Entertaining as hell. The band was hungrier and grittier during early Dave years like most bands start out. Dave’s lyrics and showmanship early on are legendary. However, Hagar was a better singer and some people miss some great VH songs like 5150, Sucker in a 3 Piece, The Dream is Over and Feelin. Dave’s solo albums were a mess and he morphed into a clown. Diver Down was thrown together with half covers. Little guitars is an awesome song but you would roast a Hagar if he did that album and dancing in the streets. A different kind of truth is all old riffs and demos that Ed dusted off.

[@EdwinCannistraci]

Thanks for watching and for your thoughts, Steve. I did say I didn't like "Dancing in the Streets", but the other covers I dig on Diver Down. I feel the band made them fresh and their own. And likewise I don't mind the band using old demoes as a basic blueprint for ADKOT. It definitely helped them get back to the mindset of where they were in their hungrier and grittier years. Plus Dave wrote new lyrics to most of the songs and a few of them were totally new (like "As Is", which I think is one of the strongest tracks). We're agree to disagree regarding Sammy being a "better" singer. Like I said in the video, I think just because certain singers can sing certain kinds of songs better than other singers (like Sammy's vocals on "Dreams"), that doesn't necessarily make them better. Just different (a'la Ozzy and Dio). But I'm also not some blind Dave worshiper. When I review his solo career, I'll be far more critical.

[@stevec1996]

Cool. We agree on Fair Warning being their best album. Its way harder and darker than the poppier 1984, which I like a lot though. I saw them in concert with all three singers. Long live VH!

[@trevorbullock292]

I also like both eras. The Sammy eras good but the Dave era those 7 albums are some of the best music, Music has to offer. Also my favorite Sammy song is On Top of the World, and my LEAST favorite Dave song is jump. I’ll take jump. And I like every album other than vh3 that’s last 12) Van Halen III 11) Balance 10) For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge 9) OU812 8) 5150 7) 1984 6) A Different Kind of Truth 5) Fair Warning 4) Van Halen 3) Diver Down 2) Women and Children First 1) Van Halen II

[@EdwinCannistraci]

Solid ranking, Trevor (even if you ranked Fair Warning at #5 😉).

[@trevorbullock292]

@@EdwinCannistraci if this makes you feel better Sinners Swing is my all time favorite Van Halen song! DAVES FUCKING SWAGGER! That whole album kicks total ass

[@EdwinCannistraci]

@@trevorbullock292 I'm glad you mentioned "Sinners Swing" because in my drunken state I skipped talking about it. I love it! Of course I love every song on Fair Warning, so that's no surprise.

[@IanMcPhersonTIOOS]

Just got to add, Edwin. I'm on board with you: as good as Unchained is, Hear About It Later is even better. Might be my favorite VH tune too - battling it out with Romeo's Delight. You're absolutely right - if you don't like that one, you have no soul! (WACF is still my favorite, but Fair Warning my close second.) A lot of people talk about the last two tracks of that album as if they're weaker. Their strangeness is part of what makes them great! I love how One Foot Out The Door rocks in ("I grabbed that telephone"), gets the job done, then leaves! Sweet. Why are people so disappointing? Damn I wish I could hang out with you Edwin - you and have the same goddamn tastes. Also, Van Halen SWINGS. They're like the Stones, and 70s Aerosmith (the only good kind) - music made by black people with white skin. ;) I wish there were more rock bands like that.

[@EdwinCannistraci]

Right on, Ian. As you know, I agree with everything you wrote. 😉 Great point on VH's ability to swing (along with 70s Aerosmith). And it definitely sounds like we have similar goddamn tastes. Here's a virtual "Cheers!" 🍻

[@Mff48]

Dave all the way! im a purist,wont even listen to van halen beyond dave.imo one of the greatest rock frontmen EVERRRRRR! THAT PIC IS ONE OF MY FAVES OF DAVE! im lovin women and children first and fair warning.......just sayin 😉

[@Mff48]

pms! it would be great if dave was singin it! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@CVGuitar]

51:28 This was the first VH album I had as a kid and yeah I love it -- and EVH's guitar solo on Dancin in the Streets is so freakin good -- makes the so-so song worth it !!

[@johnfletcher948]

Diver Down rules ALL!!!!!

[@chadhickes8563]

Honeybabysweetiedoll is beyond awesome!!!

[@chadhickes8563]

Thx, Brother! New Subscriber!

[@EdwinCannistraci]

Awesome! Thanks for subscribing!

[@kevinbrown1893]

1. Van Halen 2. Fair Warning 3. Women and Children First 4. 1984 5. Van Halen II 6. Diver Down 7. For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge 8. 5150 9. A Different Kind of Truth 10. Balance 11. OU812 12. Van Halen 3

[@EdwinCannistraci]

Solid ranking. 👍🏼

[@johnfletcher948]

First 4 built to the masterpiece Diver Down PAL!!!!

[@johnkatsoudas4767]

I don't hate Sammy Hagar but I can't stand the Van Hagar era ,accept for a few songs like Dreams and Humans Being. Yeah Wadzilla really hates him with a passion. The Diamond Dave era is the only era I love of Van Halen. My ranking at this moment would have to be. 7. A Different Kind Of Truth 6. Diver Down 5. 1984 4. Fair Warning 3. Women And Children First 2. Van Halen 1 1. Van Halen 2

[@EdwinCannistraci]

A solid ranking... of course ANY order of Van Halen w/Dave is solid. 😉

[@johnfletcher948]

Dancing In The Street rules ALL ya big goober!!!!

[@TheBSSessions]

Steve said they asked

[@steveb6008]

Dude....Amsterdam is excellent song

[@EdwinCannistraci]

Maybe I should try blazing up before listening to it...!!

[@miajanis4099]

You’re the only person I’ve seen not put Van Halen 3 last, also you have 1984 way too low, you have Diver Down and ADKOT in front of it. Dude you really must be drunk for real to do that lol. 1984 is one of the best albums of the 80s

[@EdwinCannistraci]

I actually came up with the ranking when I was sober, so alcohol can't be blamed. But I love 1984 and think it's a very good album. I just love those other albums more.

[@Hamptainment]

Balance is a hard last for me as well

[@miajanis4099]

@@Hamptainment It’s not that bad

[@Mff48]

number1 1978 number 1 women and children first number 1 fair warning number 1 .......get my drift????

[@EdwinCannistraci]

I get your drift! And like I said: The first four VH albums are all masterpieces IMO, and in a sense, they should all be #1!

[@Mff48]

@@EdwinCannistraci fair warning underrated! professor of rock asked for a top 5 underrated van halen trax. mean street was up there!!! unchained awsome! glad theres someone who loves em as bad as me!!!!!!

[@johnfletcher948]

She's The Woman ya big goof!!!

[@EdwinCannistraci]

Did I call it something else? It was a while ago and I was drinking...!! 😜

[@johnfletcher948]

@@EdwinCannistraci You skipped talking about it kid! You are WAY better drunk bro! Top 5 were stellar reviews except not liking the killer Dancing In The Streets PAL!!! You skipped Feel Your Love Tonight! Never thought I was going to finish when you bashing 1984 but your drunken passion drew me in dude!!

[@johnfletcher948]

@@EdwinCannistraci 6 pack 1978 - 1984 & ADKOT 2012 forever & always kid!!!!!

[@EdwinCannistraci]

Ha! Thanks, brother. Glad you got drawn in. For the record, I love 1984... I just love all the other DLR era albums more. Another song I forgot to talk about was "Sinner's Swing!" I felt so bad about it, I talked about it in the David Lee Roth Rank-A-Rama...!!!!

[@EdwinCannistraci]

@@johnfletcher948 You know it! 😉👍🏼

[@DickTwatkins]

Maaan you got TOASTED!!! 😆😆😆 Reviewing Van Halen it’s the only way to really do it! Love it 🤘🏻 I’ve gotta agree with the Sammy hate! I only really like “5150” but I do dig Montrose,early solo Sammy Hagar and Chickenfoot. You’re totally right about Dave’s best lyrics are on ADKOT.Blood & Fire is my favorite track on that great album as well! My current updated ranking of the DLR era would be 7.1984 6.A Different Kind of Truth 5.Van Halen 4.Women & Children First 3.Diver Down 2.VH II 1.Fair Warning You cracked me up with “You know what my favorite album is unless you’re a fucking dumbass” 😆🤣🤣😆

[@EdwinCannistraci]

I was pretty hungover the morning after. It had to be done though. 😜😉🤘🏼

[@johnfletcher948]

You were doing SO well and then you went off the rails skipping Sinners Swing!

[@johnfletcher948]

You just skipped Sinners Swing! Lay off the sauce a little fella!!

[@diamondd2778]

Ou812 balance n 3 are all weak album. Adkot is probably the weakest of the DLR era .

[@JCStorm76]

Diver Down is the weakest Lee Roth album imo. Even Eddie didn’t like it. ADKOT just edges it for me. Shocked he ranked 1984 below those two albums. Not only is 1984 way better I’d actually put it first. It’s a classic. Just in front of Van Halen