Van Halen Transition From Sunset Sound to 5150 & Why 1984 Is Such A Good Album.

[@famachris]

Every song writer wants a home studio, but I would wager 5150 ended up facilitating Ed’s increasingly dangerous lifestyle. He could become more and more reclusive and abuse substances while still “working” and not have to to shape up to meet appointments in the real world. Plus smoking in public places was also becoming unpopular around this time, and Ed was a chain smoker. I think 5150 started as a demo studio - because Ed could certainly afford to build a bigger facility than converting a racquet ball court. But the convenience transformed it into their main recording facility, to the detriment of the sound, the music and the band. I have to wonder if Alex’s awful electronic drums were because space was limited. Somehow they managed to make 1984 sound somewhat live, but that disappeared on the dreadful sounding 5150. The drums are the main victim after the music at 5150, and was a travesty for Alex who is a fantastic drummer with an iconic sound. In interviews around 1984, Roth explained how he was a morning person, and the Van Halen’s were night owls, and I think he was hinting about the break down in work ethic 5150 facilitated.

[@mattd6086]

I think you nailed it.

[@johnconk1]

In 1990, when the studio was renovated and the drum room added, they got the best drum sounds on any Van Halen album. The drum sound Alex always wanted was finally realized. His signature snare sound was never heard on the early albums and only became noticeable slightly on “Fair Warning,” moreso on “Diver Down” and fully on “1984” forward.

[@MrDuds1984]

@@johnconk1 that was also around the time that Ted Templeman came back to help finish the FUCK album which is why that album has such a bolder sound than 5150 and OU812.

[@jimmyz2098]

Agree with most of what you said. But 5150 sounded dreadful? LOL Sure. Right.

[@johnconk1]

@Titus Flavious is that supposed to be a joke?

[@jeffsheridan9910]

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. All these Sunset studio Van Halen stories are simply amazing. Thanks so much and please keep them coming

[@RaptorV1USA]

Hellz Yeah!!

[@caramelapple4493]

Yes totally agree!! I also like that they got a young guy to host it. My son watches it with me and he’s only 14. We have to keep this history alive and fresh

[@wisdomseeker3362]

@@caramelapple4493 Yes we do❗ These videos put the loving fans on the inside. Something fans my age , 52, did not think could ever happen. My son is 27 and he truly enjoys Van Halen and a good bit of the 80's big hair bands. He's a treasure.

[@Mr.Ekshin]

This entire discussion is a series of excuses, while carefully avoiding the elephant in the room. Van Halen didn't feel like paying Sunset millions of dollars for stuff they could do themselves. It sounds like 3 ex-girlfriends trying to explain why their boyfriends left them. "Well, the decision was mutual... we were just wrong for each other... actually, I kicked HIM out!". Yeah... right.

[@tacoscamp]

I remember when 1984 came out and I was blown away. I can see how some people might not be able to accept Jump as classic VH material, but I loved it and every other cut on the album regardless of how VH was "supposed" to sound. The fact that they just did whatever they wanted always appealed to me. The rules for VH are that there are no rules. We were lucky to have them and there will never another like them. It was the right guys at the right time and I can't ever listen to Jump or 1984 without being instantly transported back to a time that I loved dearly and wish still existed today. Every man has his moment, and 1981-1986 was my moment. Thankfully VH was there to provide the soundtrack!

[@Swanlord05]

Well said you had to be alive back then.....thecbuzz around 1984 and Jump was huge And when the video came out .....they hit the stratosphere

[@akfreed6949]

I think Ed really pushed for Jump . The rest of the band seemed against it . For one , the keyboards . Dave said before that the band is a guitar band and wasn't too much for it because #2 how would you play the song live ? At the time the sequencers weren't that sophisticated . When Sam got in the band the sequencers got more sophisticated and you could easily play prerecorded keyboards .

[@Twobarpsi]

Man I miss Eddie. Can't believe we are left to reminisce.

[@patrick4625]

I know....

[@wisdomseeker3362]

Eddies death was too soon. He gave it his all to survive. It was and still is a sad time over Eddie. He was a light that dimmed , but his memories are forever.

[@zaz4667]

Maybe the talented youth are watching and listening and wont smoke cigarettes and never use drugs!

[@charlessiuda9080]

These behind the scenes Van Halen Sunset Sound stories are the best. Excellent.

[@Plymouthmusicschool]

The magic that is on 1984 got me into a career in music. Masterpiece and Ed at his absolute peak!

[@fasteddievh2072]

I can’t thank you enough for making these videos. They are an absolute dream come true for any Van Halen fan. However, more importantly, they are “therapeutic” in helping me get through the loss of EVH. 🙏👍🤘=\//-/=

[@jimmyz2098]

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

[@surfshack2]

I was 16 yrs old when 1984 came out. I remember being at a party when i first heard Jump. My initial reaction was like What is this?? It sounded weak, whereas I was wanting more Fair Warning. Honestly at the time I was disappointed but still you couldn't deny that the album was great. I remember listening to the album on a good stereo back like 4 years ago and it just transported me back to that summer of 1984. I loved listening to it nostalgicly. It was ahead of it's time as they say. And i remember being blown away as i listened to Girl Gone Bad and House of Pain at the end of the album. Funny thing is is that i never paid any real attention to those particular two songs back when the album first came out in '84 but they struck me as standouts as i listened to it today. I felt the old vibe of Eddie come back on those last two tracks of the album. It was like Eddie was saying "Here you go you f*er's I can still rock! lol

[@METALMAN-gp2kw]

I was about the same age when 1984 came out, and was also disappointed. I loved their debut album, II, women, and children first, and fair warning. At the time Diver down, and 1984 got some serious hate from me. I still do not like the Diver Down album, but have learned to like 1984 over the years.

[@surfshack2]

@@METALMAN-gp2kw I liked Diver Down when it first came out because I wasn't really into VH yet but i first heard Dancing in the Streets on the radio when it first came out in the summer of 82 and i immediately could tell Eddie's mastery of the guitar from the solo, plus i liked the energy of the song because it was better and newer sounding than anything that was on pop radio at the time. It was just good party rock. That winter was when me and my friends would hang out and start listening to VH and we would party to Diver Down all the time but of course the all time favorite go to album was Fair Warning. Funny thing is i never liked WACF as much as the other albums back then but I love listening to it now, I think it's rough and raw and shows the band in it's crazy partying prime. I love Eddie's attitude on that album.

[@markr.devereux3385]

Not a good album . Very disappointing. That was it for me. I hardly listen to it.

[@glennb2227]

I was about the same age too and your description of how you felt was EXACTLY how I felt. I also would, and do, get transported back to that time when I listen to it now.

[@robertwalls5794]

I've always said it'd be kick ass to be a fly on the wall on so many recordings and here we are all flys. Great content!

[@pjmtry7]

Love these nerding out Van Halen talks! Great info in the lives of everyone involved.

[@Marco1973est]

It is amazing at my age to listen and read about a time and day which I lived for the pure enjoyment of just listening to what would now be known as ; Legends playing legendary music. Somehow - it was all meant to be.

[@garyleesjukejoint9510]

I love this interview. Great stuff. Your channel is aces. Thank you for such an awesome job. 😎👍

[@BillyBongwaters]

we can never get enough of this... THANK YOU

[@funhistory]

If were asked which VH LPs I like best, I'd say, "The ones recorded at Sunset Sound." 😀

[@DaveRucci]

Thank your buddy Ted for that.

[@dumaflotchy13]

Agree 100% ...

[@joethebar1]

1984 is timeless. Epic production and polish. Great songs. Great mix overall. Hard to beat IMO. However, Fair Warning is The VH GOAT

[@jasonk5150]

Van Halen music has always been uplifting and fun. After '95, Ed slid into a sort of darkness. I'm glad Wolf pulled him out of that darkness and that Eddie got to rectify things in his life. That studio, aptly named 5150 enabled many great things and a few not so great things. I'm thankfull to have enjoyed almost all of Eddie's music. May his spirit be in a positive place!

[@paulbattifora7617]

A Classic Albums episode featuring 1984 would've been fascinating

[@Roundtablewithdrew]

We only cover sunset stuff

[@TMoody]

Girl Gone Bad, Drop Dead Legs, Top Jimmy, I'll Wait...... yeah, 1984 is an absolute masterpiece.

[@Twobarpsi]

House of Pain 🤘

[@erikkroll2154]

Pretty much everything except Jump, lol!

[@dspencer1201]

@@erikkroll2154 I don't get why some don't like Jump. I'm not big on keyboards in general and sure I love Full Bug and Unchained and Romeo Delight etc, but Jump really displays Ed's personality. Ed was a happy guy and Jump captures that. I have always thought Ain't Talkin Bout Love was VH's weakest tune and Ed thought so too.

[@DrummingMan1]

Spot on! Panama and Hot For Teacher though popular, never lit my torch!

[@patrickellerin111]

@@DrummingMan1 Agreed! Especially Panama, but I’ll Wait is a song I will skip over every single time. It ranks up there with the sub par Van Hagar love songs 👎🏻

[@bigbadbamboo1]

Cool shit. Looking back when I was standing in front of him in 1978, Tampa Fla with Journey. Then again in 80 and 81.... I never knew I would be witnessing history then.

[@IvanLendl87]

8:00 Well, what prevented Ed from telling Ted “No, hey it’s alright - come on in here.”??? Sounds like Ed trying to paint Dave as the bad guy. And considering Ted produced Dave’s Crazy From The Heat E.P. I don’t think he was exactly offended by anything Dave did there.

[@swordmonkey6635]

Edward and Alex (as history would later show) were both very passive aggressive and impulsive. I think their heavy drinking and mutual dislike of Dave encouraged them to try to manipulate the situation to their advantage... not aware that Ted was more aware of their behavior than they suspected. After the band broke up, Edward would do his utmost to paint Dave as the selfish bad guy while he (Edward) just wanted to make music and have fun. Hearing Dave's side of things, Dave was frustrated with the starts and stops of Edward's time tables. Dave was a professional and wanted VH to prosper with a more strict discipline than the VH brothers wanted. I think Ted gravitated toward Dave's business mind, but knew the money was in the genius of Edward.

[@walterevans2118]

@@swordmonkey6635 Well, those interviews in media were like a Tennis Match .....You had charge,,,,Counter charge,,,,counter counter, charge, Counter, counter, counter ....IS ANYONE COUNTING ?....lol ....Everyone was psychoanalyzing everyone else & claiming the moral high ground.....lol

[@goodquestion1105]

@@walterevans2118 I don't believe this was true initially. It was Van Hagar's side that threw the first mud as Dave kept his focus on the EEAS band. Check out the early interviews and shows... banners, banter, mocking the classic songs and Volkswagen/Porshe references from the VH side whilst Roth ignored it up to a point where he just had to go in and bat for himself as they were tearing him apart in the media (toothache, dictator, movie star, can't sing, 11 years of living a lie etc.)

[@walterevans2118]

@@goodquestion1105 Well, I guess its all water under the bridge now really......The thing about Ed & Dave is that even though they had their differences in their initial years they built up a great commonality of experience as a band unit.....Before ED passed away they had these wonderful interview chats (Ed, Dave & Alex) about their early years & they were re-connecting & forgiving each other.

[@walterevans2118]

Some people in the media would lap up all the conflict & insults. I didn't...I remember VH from 1978 onwards & it was kind of painful for me to see...I liked both Dave & Ed...Ed was very generous about Vai & Sheehan describing them as 'The hottest guns, & two of the best around'.....The Volkswagen/Porsche stuff I even recognize from a Musician Magazine VH interview in Feb 1986 by J. D Considine ....Looking back, some of the stuff that was said about Dave in that wasn't very nice really...It must have been horrible for Dave to read that.......& also all the silly stuff in 1996 ten yrs later nearly getting into a Jeet Kune Do fight over talk about hip replacements....lol.....But there are so many things these guys shared earlier on which were so positive....Ed kissing Dave at the 2007 tour press conference...The funny stuff about being on tour going back to the 1980s...Dave pointing his radio in a funny direction & picking up Big Bad Bill on this strange radio station & getting the idea to do it with Ed & Alex's Dad Jan,,,,The bras being thrown up on stage & Dave joking -'Its too big to be Valerie's'...lol....The way Dave would take over in interviews & the host would look like a rabbit caught in the headlights & Ed would be trying not to laugh....Wrecking hotels & then getting thrown out because a pillow was missing...lol....Being signed up to do the 1983 US Festival & then Dave & his Security people ringing up going - 'But we CAN'T' .....'Why can't you ?..Is Wozniac not giving you enough' ? ........'NO, WE'RE STUCK IN THE JUNGLE !!!...In SOUTH AMERICA' ! .....hahaha....They were great times.....They outshine all the negative stuff.....DAVE KNOWS.....Go & listen to the lyrics of his new track - 'Somewhere , Over the Rainbow Bar & Grill ...(Well, I never knew me a better time & I guess I never will) .

[@xjohn1970]

Ed was always worried about what Dave was going to say. It was just Dave's personality.. Those kind of guys make great frontmen...

[@williammontana3895]

I love these Van Halen stories, very insightful.

[@donanger1968]

Pretty cool that it’s basically Greg talking non-stop VH. Tough to interrupt with all that cool knowledge coming at you.

[@drinkingwithyuri895]

Ive googled and looked for this for years, have there been any interviews or discussion among fans of what I consider to be a defect in the recording of I'll wait at the end right around the 4:18 mark? It sounds like a record scratch during the tom fill. I thought it was my record for years but I hear it even now that youtube has all music from all times (which is amazingly awesome btw). Has anyone else heard what Im talking about?

[@jefff2223]

If you haven't read Greg Renoff's book, "Van Halen Rising", I really recommend it. It's a fascinating story about how Van Halen became Van Halen.

[@Jedizen07]

The recent 1987 video of Edward playing an early draft of " Amsterdam " while smiling away is proof positive that his 5150 studio was the perfect place for him.

[@Roundtablewithdrew]

Wonder the smile he had on his face when he was tracking “eruption” at sunset

[@jasonedwardledburynewzeala9897]

Amsterdam. Great song.🙂👍👏👏👏❤❤❤

[@Roundtablewithdrew]

@@rossforrest there wasn’t one time during the tracking of VH1 that EVH wasn’t smiling

[@pancakes7294]

The thing is they all knew they were going to be big, the issue is was how, so getting that chance would be big, but 5150 studio was all Ed. David has caused enough problems for Ed and he felt 5150 was his free space

[@chimster1234]

agreed

[@patrickmoreau7592]

Great video There needs to be a book about Don because he was a incredible engineer

[@dumaflotchy13]

What Don Landee did the first 4 albums was GENIOUS !!

[@steves9045]

There is absolutely nothing to be found about Don online. Is he still alive?

[@patrickmoreau7592]

@@steves9045 he is He still lives in California Greg Renoff is supposed to be writing a biography with him

[@patrickmoreau7592]

I heard about that but no time table for release has been announced.

[@akfreed6949]

@@dumaflotchy13 uh , 8 albums . He worked til OU812 .

[@rickbort7875]

The start of 5150 and the start of the downhill slide of the EVH/Ted relationship was Diver Down, an album Eddie disliked and basically had no control of. A pure Dave/Ted album, with the latter in Record Executive mode, pushing past stale hits as cover songs because he had no confidence in Eddie's songwriting. Eddie KNEW he could get more creative control by having his own studio. And he has stated that building 5150 was mainly because of his eroding working relationship with Templeton.

[@m00ndawg]

It wasnt Dave and Ted that pushed Diver Down. When Warner Bros says its time to make an album, its time to make an album. Also VH was literally a cover band so why wouldnt or shouldnt they make a full album of covers? Not only that but they nailed every single cover, giving fresh life to every single one. And dont forget Diver Down allowed for Jan Van Halens contribution and introduced him to all of us. Will never understand how ppl can crap on Diver Down then call themselves "fans".

[@akfreed6949]

The relationship with Teddy Templeman started with the making of FAIR WARNING . Ed didn't want to keep adding cover tunes for each album . Teddy felt differently . There were some big arguments during the making of FAIR WARNING . Eddie really fought for it . And personally , after all the years and changes to the band , I still think FAIR WARNING is the best Van Halen album .

[@johnconk]

I don’t think that’s fair to Ted. Ted is a smart man and saw Ed’s talent and signed the band. He already knew Eddie was special because he could write hard rock songs with a pop sensibility. Ted had no issues with Ed’s writing ability. They had little time to do that album and Ted always felt covers were smart because they were hits already before so you’re halfway there. Diver Down is an important part of VH history. It revealed another side of the band.. “Big Bad Bill” is a genius cover. The original songs Ed wrote are brilliant

[@akfreed6949]

@@johnconk yeah? He made millions off the band while the band got screwed with their first contract . If you read any interview Ed did in the beginning you'd learn Donn Landee is the main reason all the first 8 albums sound so great .

[@boogiewoogit5597]

A guy who writes ALL the music had “no control” over an album. It’s funny, some of the narratives that have stuck re VH. Esp Hagars version of so much. His “like me like me I’m a nice guy” routine is tiresome and shallow af. Still cashin in on VH, he needs to shut up . I don’t see him playin 3 lock box and all his cheesy non VH tunes. Van Hagar is for hs chicks and housewives, which is fine, hs chicks need music too, I just wish he would stop acting like one.

[@ronaldbacha7818]

Edward Van Halen just wanted to work on songs and record at his house that's why 5150 was built, Ed would go out to 5150 at like 7:00 at night and stay in the studio until early in the morning. He liked doing it like that. That's what ED said in an interview.

[@noizmeister]

Totally agree, and it's so obvious!

[@m00ndawg]

The quietude of 2am-5am is when the magic happens. No matter what kind of writer you are. Whoever said "nothing good ever happens past 10 pm" probably wrote that at 3am.

[@douglasjarnagan3835]

Eddie liked reinventing himself or finding something new every 10 years or so. I'm sure he wanted to do it even more often than that but received pushback. Sometimes his ideas worked out, and sometimes they did not. But that is how it goes with art.

[@coldwinter5710]

Completely on point! And Ed would agree with everything you just said. 👏

[@stringbender11672]

\m/ Great stories here. Love me some Sunset Sound Stories & love me some Van Halen!! \m/

[@sammyhagar7695]

Hey, Wanna say thank you for liking my music and believing in me. It’s indeed a moral push, you were picked as an active KZbin Fans Subscribers to have a live session with me, I’m using this little free time of mine to appreciate the love and hope you’ll never grow tired listening to my music. You can reach me via [e-mail]

[@ROCKNROLLFAN]

Jump and Panama are my uncle's favorite Van Halen songs.

[@nooorm18]

Damn ... The sound quality of that video is awesome ! Wonder why ... Luv u Eddie wherever you are

[@DaveRucci]

I never knew that about Jump, how they had a bunch of extra time to perfect it in the studio. I’m morbidly curious what it might’ve sounded like HAD they produced it at Sunset.

[@wolarts]

They're all great albums, but one thing I can't help but wonder why the bass sounds so different after Women And Children First. Mike's bass riffs on Fair Warning and after feel so much more restrained and buried in the mix, especially after moving to 5150. Case in point; listen to "Take Your Whiskey Home".

[@DaveRucci]

Buried in the mix? Unchained has a HUGE bass sound. Most of Fair Warning tracks are drop D, and the lower bass is pivotal for those tunes. Actually I do think you’re right about the bass being reduced but I actually think that was more of a factor starting with Diver Down.

[@dumaflotchy13]

"So This is Love" mixed is based around the bass guit.

[@dumaflotchy13]

By Women & Children EVH was already starting to take over bass recordings. You just can't argue with a guitar genius ... they want what they want.

[@BruceStephan]

​@@dumaflotchy13Uh , Ed was right though .

[@Explorer766]

The smoking in such a confined space had to be brutal.

[@russell_szabados]

Not for the smokers.

[@nisiunavoce1264]

Fatally so.

[@dappergreens4555]

Nothing compared to the train to Chicago in 1982. 🚬

[@MrRugbyloosehead]

They did put in air filters and as well the air conditioner talked about ,as there's a new documentary about 1984 on The Tapes Archive channel and in it he talks about the building of 5150!

[@Malama_Ki]

With everything else they were doing, I think that was the last of their concerns, and it was Eddie’s space to do as he pleased. Kind of the point being a rich rockstar is having the capital to do what you want, when you want.

[@santiagodeponce9390]

Sunset should be thanked for what they have divulged to millions of fans. VH changed rock and roll and Sunset gave them the platform

[@branwerks6978]

1984 is a great album in so many ways. I wasn't crazy about Jump when it came out but it really is a good song. I thought nothing of keyboards becoming more of the bands sound. Took a minute to accept that there's a lot of grease on Alex's sound, but forever grateful no generic Simmons pad sounds are on the record. The US Festival set and a New Years Eve live broadcast from that time had Alex with an array of Simmons pads hiding behind his rack toms. Every fill is Simmons pads and I would shreek. I was really seething for a long time over the electric drums making their way into rock and metal. At any rate, a roundtable with you guys and AVH would be great. I know there were triggers on his drums on 1984, who know's what the technology cocktail was that got him that great sound on the album.

[@franksrok5843]

1984 is my favorite VH album.

[@martijn_yt]

I am a little surprised that Templeman was so afraid to take risks with the keyboard oriented songs with van Halen. What i always thought aas so unique abiut them was the fact that they were a genre-defying song-oriented rock band. They already had included a classical piece, an acoustic blues song, acapella parts, and very poppy songs on orevious albums (but i do admit i was very happy that both Jump and I'll wait also included some beautiful guitar parts ;))

[@jasonk5150]

I'll wait has one of Ed's most amazing solos. 1984 was a masterpiece.

[@MyKittyPercy]

EVH was always progressing. It’s interesting because when people think of their personalities, DLR seems like the one who would be more into reinventing himself. But, instead DLR always stayed in his comfort zone. He really never changed. The reason all the VH albums have a different sound is because of Eddie, not DLR. It cracks me up when people say DLR was just as important to Van Halen as EVH. He was important but not AS important. And, I think Dave was a great frontman for the late 70s-early 80s but that is where he chose to stay the rest of his life. Sammy was a great fit for where EVH was moving post-1984.

[@walterevans2118]

KITTY PERCY ...Well, I'M BIASED myself in ED's direction because I'm a GUITARIST...lol

[@Twobarpsi]

Is it true Ed didn't know one of the drum overhead mics was unplugged for at least two albums in the 5150 Studio?

[@david25876]

Yes, that’s correct.

[@Twobarpsi]

@@david25876 read that somewhere...

[@michaelbruce2699]

The bridge on Top Jimmy is unbelievable

[@christopherjames9843]

Eddie and Alex were always blaming everyone else. Roth, Hagar, Cherone, Malloy, Anthony, Templeman. At some point you have to realize it is them.

[@robstonezone354]

Love these stories!

[@stevew6910]

1984 was a major sound change for VH, But not a complete one, Eddie wanted keyboard, The thing about Eddie seemed to be his musical ear,,, He never stopped searching for a diffrent unique sound , That drive is how he ended up with crazy Mod guitars , No one ever asked him how many pickups did he play with and trash can, How many times he tried 2 or more vastly diffrent pick ups at one time,,,Or even string combinations , I loved 84, Im sure some fans screamed they sold out,

[@surfshack2]

Actually I take back any thing negative i ever said about the 1984 album. In actual fact it is a phenomenal album. A landmark achievement from the band and EVH. I think it totally rocks. Listen to it loud and on a good stereo system and then tell me it's bad. You can't say that because it rocks. And it totally represents everything great about the 80's.

[@jimmyz2098]

Agree 100%. It's just a musical master-piece. And yeah - listen to it on a really nice stereo, and equalized nicely to your taste... or even on phones. It's just an amazing piece of music - all of it. Edward was just an absolute musical genius. The things he was hearing... and then writing it, and laying it down.... Wow!

[@walterevans2118]

Interesting.......In my humble opinion there were many factors involved in the switch between recording at Sunset Sound and recording at 5150.....A lot of it had to do with band politics between Dave & Eddie as it did about the creation, development & production of the music itself....ED & Dave were moving in different directions & had increasingly divergent agendas.....And indeed with the Management of the band itself with Noel Monk which tended to be on Dave's side........ED was becoming increasingly more powerful in influencing production which I think was both right & a good thing to happen for VH because it was ED who wrote the Music even if everyone got the credit .....Ted (Templeman) bless him was kind of caught in the middle of all this...As for the different sound with the two different studios I liked them BOTH actually....I LOVED the vocal harmony blend Don & Ted achieved on the first 5 albums with Ed's pristine tone guitar largely on one side of the stereo panorama....It kind of gave Ed's guitar an Atomic Bomb like sound of a sonic explosion on one side of your ear & the 'echo' or reverb of it in your other ear on headphones which was very effective....Like a LANDSCAPE....In 5150 on the first Hagar Album in 1986 I remember the guitar tracks were more doubled over on each side of the stereo which gave it a fatter sound which I liked too. & of course Don's expert ideas worked well in Ed's new environment even if by comparison to Sunset it felt claustrophobic at the start.....Some people might have assumed that Ted didn't work with VH on the albums 5150 & OU812 because Ted didn't like the sound of 5150 as a studio but that wasn't the reason....The reason was because Ted had commitments with DAVE on his projects with Vai & Sheehan......Anyway in 1991 Ted actually came back to VH into the 5150 studio to help work on For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge....He did a GOOD job working with Andy Johns too. Listen to the bass & Alex's drum sound.

[@Me-qp8vz]

And... the most important factor of all, that no one seems to remember... Valerie was banned from Sunset Sound for causing so m8uch drama with Dave. Eddie denied it and Dave refuses to talk about it. So read between the lines.

[@walterevans2118]

@@Me-qp8vz Really ? ....Blimey......Does that come from the folks here who worked at Sunset Sound ?..I know Valerie might have defended ED's corner but I didn't know it was THAT strong. I know Valerie possibly didn't like Dave at times. She was on record in interviews as saying that Dave's clever quickfire was so overwhelming that some people could feel overpowered by it ..& that might have inadvertently caused resentment.....Being in its presence could feel a bit like being in the ring against ALI ....You'd feel like you were being hit by so many punches from so many angles you felt you were surrounded....But then, that's just DAVE ....I don't think it is an artifice as Sammy claims....What I heard was in Sunset Sound Dave was always a true professional in the recording process ....Before it broke up again in 1996 he was 'a trooper' recording the vocal stuff for those two great tracks at 5150....Dave was going to do a movie thing just after 1985 & maybe at this time Dave & Ed just had different agendas which clashed.....In the media most people loved the conflict of ED vs Dave,,,,5150 album vs Eat 'Em & Smile' album,,,& the 0U812 ? ....& 'Dave was like Gaddafi' ,,,& 'I'll rise to the challenge & Eat you for breakfast pal'...Lets get angry with each other about hip replacement ...lol....With hindsight all as DAFT as a BRUSH really...lol...The audiences LAPPED it up as all media rock 'n roll war but to be honest I used to WINCE at it...I found it unbearably sad because my mind kept going back to what I'd witnessed in Finsbury Park in the UK that night in 1979 when I was 16...ED was the ultimate Rock guitar innovator & Dave was the ultimate kinetic frontman & hearing them go at each other was like seeing Mozart fighting Ali. You wanted them to f*cking STOP screwing each other over ! (To quote the late great Neil Peart - 'I see the Gods in Battle rage on high..Thunderbolts across the sky...I cannot move I cannot hide...I feel a silent SCREAM begin inside').......To be fair further down the line they DID learn to forgive each other....On those 2 tours with Wolf & in those WONDERFUL B&W interviews where Ed, Dave & Alex all laughed about the old Days when they were a hyper functioning UNIT ('Like a pack of Dogs, where are we going next' fellas kind of thing) ...& even though they were still completely different personalities they were ontologically feeling the wonderful sense of camaraderie they once had all over again & learning to forgive each other...Which was just beautiful.

[@denbagustv1219]

Rock !!

[@RaptorV1USA]

@@walterevans2118 props for tossing in the Peart lyrics... nailed it. Bravo. ..Still heartbroken about both of these heroes passing.

[@walterevans2118]

@@RaptorV1USA YES.....NEIL was a GENIUS.....He was a BRILLIANT Drummer. Just extraordinary.....I saw him live on the Tour of the Hemispheres in 1979 ,,,two months before I saw Van Halen on their World Vacation tour for VH 2 ......Rush I saw at the Hammersmith Odeon......VH at the Rainbow Theatre......Both in London 79.

[@robosullivan704]

I have a Weird observation/question. Why do all the songs from the album 5150 sound quieter than the other albums? Is it remasters or something?

[@hotlanta35]

1984 is a awesome album, I was in 4th grade when Jump was all over the radio and MTV

[@AnodyneHipsterInfluencer]

The lesson here? Recognize genius and let it do what it do. EVH was magic and people should've put themselves, their egos and opinions to the side and just hop on Eddie's back and do what he asks. Does genius eventually turn into an incoherent mess? Often, yes. That can be postponed though if the genius isn't having their chops busted and instincts questioned everytime they're trying to paint their masterpiece.

[@walterevans2118]

yes, indeed.

[@SDH2023]

Yes indeed.

[@walterevans2118]

Yes indeed (triple one)....llol

[@gfexc]

or when they´re doing tons of dope

[@brianomoli4]

That’s not totally fair to producers. There is a part in the Metallica doc where Kirk was trying to put down any old solo for Nothing Else Matters and Bob Rock would not let him do it. He really pushed Kirk to be better and it worked. It’s not a totally apt comparison as Eddie was a perfectionist but its just an example of a producer actually adding something constructive.

[@georgeoliverdavidthalman6462]

In my world (hall of fame). Eddie's Rookie year made Rock & Roll Halls of Guitar Hero Hall. Eruption still and always will give me Awe ⚡⚡⚡⚡

[@akfreed6949]

I'm kinda surprised Ed got upset about Dave excusing Ted from a private conversation with the band members talked about near the end of this clip . As a kid the band's PR in the rock fan magazines like CIRCUS and HIT PARADER was the band was right knit and stuck together and didn't let anyone get close to them business-wise , wether it be with producers or anyone in the press .

[@akfreed6949]

I've read as much as could throughout the years and in my opinion , Ed went to visit Frank Zappa . In Zappa's home was a homemade studio all over his house . His gear was literally all over the house , in the living room and the kitchen , etc . I think that's where he got the idea for a home studio . He got Donn Landee to do alot of the making and buying studio equipment at a cheap price . As far as I know , he was still under the first POS contract with Warner Bros , so old equipment was bought mainly from Sunset Studios when they were going to buy new equipment . He kept it as cheap and simple as he could at the time , and this was a brilliant idea for a musician that really was going to make it a big career .

[@Roundtablewithdrew]

Watch the Dweezil Zappa interview on this channel. He tells the whole story

[@akfreed6949]

@@Roundtablewithdrew thanks 👍

[@shoominati23]

Funny Dave made exception about the synthesizer, yet all his albums, particulary the last 2 were full of sythesizers lol

[@TANTRUMGASM]

And, funfact :: DLR's Keyboard Player on " Eat 'em & smile" and on Tour, was Jesse Harms. The former Keyboard player for.... Sammy Hagar !

[@Monsterdrumma]

Yeah but it wasn’t Eddie playing them, he thought Eddie should stick to guitar being how amazing he was. I loved 1984 but when I only heard jump I was thinking wth is this poppy stuff so I get where Dave was coming from to a certain degree then 5150 came out and I completely got what Dave was saying. That was to light for my taste.

[@MagnumMuscle1000]

"It's a matter of taste" is a soft way of saying "it sucks."

[@craigrowe5408]

Are you ever going to interview Donn Landee or have you already asked and he's not interested? So many of us want to here his stories about working with VH from the first album through OU812...

[@tasteapiana]

Lots of musicians get burnt on doing the professional studio thing, look at Prince. I also believe that some get to feeling paranoid after finding out how much money their brand is making and how little, relatively, the band gets Vs. the label and so that paranoia becomes an outward thing, like, the physical structures used by labels start to represent that who sphere of ''oppression by the man''. There's all kinds of levels to it. I honestly think 5150 was the right choice over Sunset for 1984. There are tracks on that album that would likely have been too polished (sonics wise) had they been done at Sunset. Diver Down is a masterpiece but I can't accept that Panama would have performed as well with the same fingerprint on it as Dancing in the streets had. Call me crazy but there's something much softer or warmer about the sound Sunset was pumping out then.

[@tasteapiana]

I'd like to follow up with saying Don Landee is a freakn enigma among engineers. There are things he did that have never been done since, odd little things that have to just dawn on you - conceptually - that I doubt can be taught or even learned or written down with enough detail to be properly conveyed. If he was on board, I can't imagine anyone, even Templeman, being like ''Uh, I don't know, man''. In a way, I hope that Landee stays silent because there's no point in him spilling all his beans - if you are worthy of doing those things you'll figure it out, but if he has to tell you you're probably not worthy. In another way, there's about 99.9999% of me that would sell a nut to buy his book or sit in an audience to hear him speak for 7 days straight lol

[@jasonedwardledburynewzeala9897]

1984. Killer sound. Killer album. No1 Van halen album.❤❤❤

[@errorsofmodernism9715]

Excellent situational analysis, makes perfect sense

[@Betrayerslayer]

my fave album by them.

[@hammer44head]

Different strokes for different folks, i far more apprciate their 1st, 2nd and 4th albums to 1984. Though it was more successful i thought it was too commercial and overly produced. The rawness of the first when every song was life and death and Mean Streets album was Eddies Masterwork for me anyway.

[@robertwalls5794]

Exactly!

[@imandan1966]

Women and Children First doesn't get the respect it deserves

[@bwdrums1]

2, 1, 5 in that order for me for the desert island, but I absolutely love the other three albums....lol. Those 6 Dave albums were magnificent, plain and simple.

[@ricomajestic]

Van Halen 1 and 1984... best vh albums ever. Great album is a great album irrespective of whether it is a commercial success.

[@hammer44head]

@@ricomajestic - like i wrote different strokes for different folks. Its not that it was a blockbuster success, all of Van Halens albums were successful. It was too slick for my tastes, i liked van halen's rawness. I though 84 was too smooth sounding overall, with panama and hot for teacher being by far the best cuts.

[@EDOGG62]

I believe that DLR was probably difficult to deal with, and Sammy seems like a great guy, and of course has a great vocal range. But for ME, the DLR records have some grit or soul, whereas (again, for ME), the Van Hagar records, for the most part, just feel like pop records. Like Night Ranger-Lite or whatever. I've got a number of them, and listen on occasion, but they're missing something. Nothing to do with the studio I don't believe, but...

[@Rob-dp3vr]

Hagar is a whiney, insecure, pathological liar. Roth at least is legit.

[@davidalston3626]

The assertion that the singers were the problem is not quite consistent considering they changed singers like 5 times

[@rangepuppies]

For me, after 1984 VH was dead. The Van Hagar era blew. I like the covers they did and the variety... (Really Got Me, Where Have All The Good Times Gone, Dancing in the Streets, Pretty Woman, You're No Good, Big Bad Bill, Ice Cream Man..) I wish they had recorded a studio version of Jean Genie, as heard in bootlegs... DLR has said, he was the Fun in Van Halen... he was correct. It was way less fun after he left.

[@IvanLendl87]

The talking point EVH & Sammy Hagar worked was that Roth was a jerk and no one could work with him and his ego. But over time one can see that EVH was actually the one with the ego and jealousy issues. He would get jealous of his singers/frontmen and get impatient with them. Just like he did with Roth, EVH eventually came to hate “nice guy” Sammy and booted him from the band in 1996. Even hated him/wouldn’t talk to him on the 2004 “reunion” tour. EVH hired Cherone b/c he wanted a beta male singer he could control. And when that didn’t work out he booted him and brought Roth back. EVH was supremely talented but in his jealous mind, the singers were getting the limelight & glory for his musical greatness. And Sammy Hagar is a liar and a musical lunkhead. Van Hagar was commercial corporate rock.

[@andrewlong6438]

@@rangepuppiesI tend to ignore the Hagar stuff. For me it’s too formulaic.

[@JeremysRockSchool365]

1984 was an amazing album.

[@cheallen1626]

It was a total power play. Much prefer the sound they got at Sunset. Using acoustic drums instead of Simmons would have helped.

[@xpicklepie]

Sunset sounded big and open. Lots of air and ambiance. 5150 sounded stuffier and muted. The guitars on the first 4 albums vs 1984 are night and day.

[@steve_anderson]

Dang. I just checked to make sure I read the same book.

[@paulojosegavinhodesiqueira392]

I think that Eddie got some influence from Malmsteen when he changed from Sunset Sound to 5150 Sound.

[@bls8959]

Why

[@paulojosegavinhodesiqueira392]

@@bls8959 Because of a more Smooth Sound of guitar.

[@Rob-dp3vr]

It's crazy that I can honestly say that I can hear the room..."the room" in the recordings of VH1 through Diver. And I can't in 1984. 1984 sounds all direct. Like the difference between mic'ing an amp after effects and recording plugged directly into an effects rack, into a board. Yet, I really like the sound of 1984. So I don't know. I guess there is no one best way.

[@gregoryzischke1843]

5150 is another level of RocknRoll Royalty. Im glad they did it just because they could! That's rock at its highest, and Purest level!

[@gregoryzischke1843]

And I know its not about this,and it's certainly not one of my personal favorites, but wasn't "Jump" their first number one record? Just Sayin!

[@btownbobby]

When I first heard Jump it made me very sad.

[@MisterMasterShafter1]

Amen. 1984 is a great, great album, and IMO the album that put VH on the true superstar level. Jump is a great track, and who gives a shit if it was a different style.. it was one track of a great record.

[@thomasbrandt8265]

I can honestly say that 5150 was Eddies second home but in good ways I mean I know i would rather have my own home studio because whether or not your making a album or just jamming whenever you want and and not be pressured by the Clock ok we're done everybody out no way. But in a negative sense I really feel that Eddie was able to go to his backyard studio 5150 anytime and do anything like partying and smoking as much cigarettes as you want with all the freedom. But I'm not saying in a negative way because Eddie deserves the life he wants but I just think maybe spending to much time in their doing his thing is probably what cost him his marriage and dam I wish cigarettes didn't exist because he would still be here ! ✌

[@dumaflotchy13]

I know some find it blasphemous but ... I much prefer VanHalens studio sound better in the first 4 albums at Sunset. I don't own any VH albums past Fair Warning.

[@Roundtablewithdrew]

Fair Warning, Women and Children First , Diver Down we’re all worked on at sunset

[@walterevans2118]

@@Roundtablewithdrew With the DIVER DOWN album it would be interested in knowing which tracks were cut at Sunset & which at Amigo Studios.

[@mumbles215]

Diver Down was recorded at Warner Studios. The only one I their catalog to do so. I think that and FW sound best. Okay hi the chambered guitar sound on VH1 is sublime even tho Eddie didn’t like it drenched like that.

[@sbrave]

But was 1984 mixed at 5150, or elsewhere?

[@justsomeone6835]

VH 1 and VH 2 are hands down the best and then 1984 those 3 are the best

[@cjfredi]

I still like the natural drum sounds on those early records though.

[@SealedOrPorted]

It’s a great catalog of music that Eddie composed regardless of the singer.

[@carloslozada470]

Van Halen is great because of Mr Eddie Van Halen

[@kickinvideo333]

What transpired with Michael Anthony during the 1984 tour was a travesty. Mike is a terrific bassist who contributed some legendary performances on vinyl and live. Heavy coke abuse by Dave & Ed created unwarranted paranoia and disdain. Mike was victimized by this when they stripped him of songwriting credit for the album 1984 (incl. the track 1984 which was composed by Mike and his bass tech specifically as an intro to Mike's live solo). Another unjust victim was longtime tour manager Noel Monk. Eddie was crushed when Dave quit and this exacerbated his distrust in others. Mike was basically henceforth treated as a gig player and his role in the band was tragically diminished. Van Halen records would never sound like a full band again until Ted was called in to rescue For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. Even then, the bass was limited to basic bottom support like Journey Frontiers. Ed got the new Peavey 5150s with pronounced resonance control for deep, tight bottom end and that further diminished the role of the bass guitar. Ultimately, Mike's contribution to background vocals was also criminally overlooked by Eddie over the years

[@walterevans2118]

Well I think the bad blood between ED & Mike came for 2 reasons .....One, because of when Mike went off in 2002 to play with the two VH Ex singers (which wasn't disloyalty, he was just frustrated not being able to PLAY that great back catalogue live) ...& talk that Mike might have used the VH name to help sell his HOT SAUCE....lol...Which is so SILLY really. To jettison a guy who you toured the world with for decades who was an integral part of the sound.because of band name politics, money & HOT SAUCE was as daft as a brush.....lol....But we loved ED anyway.

[@rch6650]

I was just listening to 1984 today and have wondered for years why Eddie's guitar sounds so different on that album,but it also sounds like maybe a reverb plate was used to compensate for not having a good room sound and I was right. I love the sound of the album but it doesn't compare to the sound of FAIR WARNING.

[@BruceStephan]

Back when they first moved in it was like a little shed . Ed had to buy his neighbor's house because he was so loud at night . His neighbor was Lindsay Wagner aka The Bionic Woman .

[@nellawell4976]

Eddy was always changing, always try something new, maybe you like it or maybe not. As Ed once said ( If you don't like change, you can buy the first album again}.

[@DaveMcLain]

Did Eddie get paid by the record company for studio time used to make the records in 5150?

[@Roundtablewithdrew]

Great question

[@glengamble526]

I would imagine that there is a budget for recording costs and yes, it went Eddie.

[@davidmerlin3344]

@@glengamble526 Actually, by not going to Sunset, they were not billed, However they were still having to pay Don and they had to pay him more because he was in 5150 a lot more. So, 1984 probably costed a lot more because Van Halen would know out albums at Sunset in 2 or 3 weeks. But the album was a huge hit and made a lot of money.

[@johnconk1]

Ted was nervous about "Jump", how it would be accepted and the direction the band was headed....THEN he heard "Panama" and all his worries melted away, lol!!! Ted preferred the room ambience of Sunset, but unfortunately it was the late 70's and plate reverb ruined everything, lol, and the room ambience was lost, or the drums sounded like weak cardboard boxes (the Eagles). I love the sound of th VH 6 pack except for the drums. Alex's voice wasn't fully realized until Diver Down/1984, and on F.U.C.K. and Balance they finally got the non plate reverb room ambience with the new drum room at 5150...

[@Roundtablewithdrew]

IYO

[@johnconk1]

@@Roundtablewithdrew Agreed…It’s like critiquing a Picasso. Every VH album done at Sunset still holds up to this day, which in itself is amazing. They don’t sound dated at all…

[@ralphtarr5931]

It was the summer before my freshman year in highschool 1979 I first heard VH.1 and the same month I got my first drum kit! AMAZING SOUNDS COMING OUT THE SPEAKERS 😮 Forward to 1984 and Hot for Teacher,DROP DEAD LEGS!! ECT. ... JUMP!!?🤔 at the time not impressed...not the VANHALEN I know?? But it was the best pop song of the era , great drum sound and GREAT DRUMMING! 4/4 heavy handed and then off time jazzy groove and great fills! ( I said I was a drummer 😅) and a classic guitar solo... Still not a favorite VH song by a long shot but... Pop excellence 😎🥁

[@TheKitchenerLeslie]

Why would you have a New Jack City shirt in the 2020s?

[@diamondd2778]

I love Greg!

[@mikaelbergman9108]

The first four album where great🏆

[@VromanEmpire]

Girl gone bad probably a tie for favorite VH tune

[@shakeyjonez]

5150 Studio was the death of Van Halen and the birth of van hagar. Can’t get this stuff no more.

[@relicreapers571]

Funny how some bands greatest hits are the ones I hate most. I like that early all guitar stuff. Atomic Punk etc.

[@imandan1966]

The Simmons drums were a terrible idea for 5150. Would have loved to hear those songs recorded with real toms

[@image30p]

I have to admit that when Jump came out I was not into it. This girl that I knew gave me her tape of 1984 and there were some good tunes on it. What did I know? I was still a kid.

[@clairvoyantamnesiac9770]

It is really the musicians that matter not (necessarily) the room it is recorded in. Ed had to break some eggs building that studio.. something about the permit and recording studios weren't allowed to be built in the neighborhood. Double cinder block, sound proofing. Wolfgang has a great place to make music that is definite.

[@glengamble526]

It was zoned residential. So he lied to the city and said he was building a racquetball court.

[@dempseymediachannel]

❤️

[@Twobarpsi]

I'll see "your pop hit Jump", and raise you "two dark anti-pop songs, House of Pain and Girl Gone Bad"

[@RobertNoone-u7r]

Ted Templeman is awesome.He was like 5th member but can tell big difference on the albums he's not there.no bass on 5150,OU812 with out Ted.And he was good keeping songs at 4 minutes.VH3 would be totally different better

[@E.C.2]

"1984" was the first fall from grace. It was sonically evident Ted Templeman was MIA and the production was flat treble high & thin. "I'll Wait" should've been straight guitar except for keyboard breakdown.

[@williamshepley3923]

VH moving on from Ted was same as Rush moving on from Terry Brown

[@TheCountofToulouse]

The studio execs and disrespect were what LED to 5150 being built in the first place. Eddie said it HIMSELF that he "HATED" the way Ted Templeman wanted to make albums. Hated. Eddie and Alex were grown up kids that just happened to be famous and have money. Sammy said in a RECENT interview that 5150 was a mess, there were cans and cigarette butts, ashtrays and all sorts of garbage everywhere but at the end of the day, Eddie is where the music is coming from and he wanted a place where he felt happy making it and comfortable doing it. He wanted control over his sound and studio/record people only care about controlling the artist, shaming them into creating what they WANT to hear. It just burns them up that Eddie made 1984 and 5150 in his OWN studio without the big wigs dictating every single move. If they had LISTENED it would have never been an issue.