Van Halen III released 11 years ago today

March 17, 2009 84 Comments

copyright_zlozower_1998 Van Halen III was released 11 years ago today, on March 17th, 1998.

The album is considered to be the only disappointing Van Halen album ever made, but the tour was another story.

The 1998 tour was the second Van Halen tour when Eddie was clean and sober. While many fans didn’t think Gary Cherone was a good fit for Van Halen, most fans who caught a concert that year loved it. The tour was known for a couple things. Eddie’s playing was flawless on that tour, due to his sobriety and also his overall happiness. That showed itself during the live show as he was completely on top of his game, and jumped around throughout the show with his patented “Flying Eddie” scissor-kick jumps.

While Cherone was not fully embraced by the Van Halen fan base, he was appreciated for resurrecting many David Lee Roth-era gems that had remained buried during the Sammy Hagar years. Fans were treated to many songs that had gone unplayed throughout Hagar’s tenure with the band, including guitar showcases such as “Mean Street”, “Romeo Delight”, “Dance the Night Away” and “Feel Your Love Tonight”. The band even performed “Somebody Get Me a Doctor” with Michael Anthony on lead vocals – a move that was so well received that it remained part of the setlist when Hagar returned for the 2004 tour. Indeed, Cherone’s greatest achievement with Van Halen might have been his decision to play many of the old VH classics. The entire Van Halen catalog has never been as well represented as it was on the Van Halen III tour. It really is the best mix of the Hagar and Roth years that has ever been performed, and of course, it was the only tour to feature material from the III album.

Here’s three rare treats from 1998:

“That’s Why I Love You” (UNRELEASED demo put to rare footage) by Sphen5150:

“Fire In The Hole” (LIVE audio put to rare footage) by Sphen5150:
“This is taken from the broadcast of MTV’s live at the 10 Spot, recorded by my self back in 1998 off of television. It is mixed with amateur and other various footage. I have re mastered the audio as well. I hope you enjoy.

“Dance The Night Away/Feel Your Love Tonight” (LIVE) by 5150EVH5150: Forgive me for the bad audio-video match, but to match Gary Cherone era clips to classic Roth is tough. This is from the VHIII Tour, and despite most opinions about Gary, he kicked ass on this one.

Filed Under: Gary Cherone, Van Halen

WACF80

Please get this junk off the VHND website.
I put this disaster behind me years ago. I though this was forgotten. I threw out the album. This was not VH.
The Full Bug

What a treat! great footage! Good Sound! All three videos.
Erick

Reading these comments, I would rank in order of popularity:

1. CLASSIC VAN HALEN
2. VHIII
3. Van Hagar
Joe

Van Halen III the album was a disappointment. There were about three songs that I liked, Without You, Once, Fire in the Hole. It just felt like rather than use Gary’s voice as Sammy’s but at a higher octave. He shouted most of the album. Most of the songs could have used better focus.

Van Halen III the tour was great. They sounded great and the song selection was great. My experience was memorable as they allowed a guy to propose to his girlfriend on stage. Wonder what they would have played if she had said no?
Joe

I would add that part of the reason VHIII failed was that it was such a radical departure. If VH had come out with an album with Gary that was in the same progression as Balance they would have been fine. But to make such a dramatic departure with songs like Josephine (yeah delaying the album a month for that song was worth it) and How Many Say I just didn’t work. They were trying to be a different band than what people expected to hear.
Gonzalo

Why all the comments always end up denigrating Sammy Hagar?
Joe W

This was my first concert (ever not just vh) and I couldn’t have been happier. All members were exelent. The sound in Madison Square Garden was awesome. The album isn’t that bad (musically) and I still listen to it. I think III is one of those guilty pleasures for VH fans..sshhhhh
Drummer Boy ’72

I thought the live show was great. Gary did look kind of strange prancing around in his black suit looking like Freddy Mercury. However musically it rocked. I truly beleive Warner Bros. put the ax to the Cherone era. The only songs I like on that CD are Without U, One I Want, and Fire in the Hole. That tune was the only song on the CD that replicated the true VH sound. The production quality sucked. Eddie’s gtr was way too loud in the mix, and Alex’s drums sounded like he was hitting cardboard boxes. That CD was the closest thing to an EVH solo album that we’ll see, cuz that’s what it felt like.
Mitch

The only VH album I don’t own. . . .’Nuff said!
iwannaberr

I heard at one point that they were actually looking at Sass Jordan to replace Sammy before Cherone.
ikethebird

I did see a bootleg(Philly I think) where a wedding proposal was made onstage and after she accepted,Gary shook her hand and kissed him on cheek.
http://www.hollywoodgunclub.com Kevy MetaLL

The VH3 album is ok. Possibly it was a bit too ‘Extreme’? But importantly for us down here in OZ the Aussie tour was hugely anticipated. It was great to finally see VH down under. Gary Cherone has copped a lot of unfair criticism. He was very obviously a fan of the band and he appeared to ignite enthusiasm in the other guys to re-visit the classic era songs that the VH fans wanted to hear. He was great onstage and looked like he was putting in 100%. Who knows what the collaboration could’ve produced if it had been given a fair go over 2 or 3 albums?
Bumbles

I agree with Bo-sox and I must add the last show on the US tour at the Hard Rock in Vegas was one of the best VH shows I have seen. I am glad Gary is gone….he was a bit of fruit.
Streetavenger

Gary Cherone SUCKS. Some of the worst singing I’ve ever heard is from when he was with Van Halen…
captain valium

I think the reason VHIII didn’t do better, was simply the fans not giving VH a chance to try something new. As stated in a comment already, the two DLR songs (and I am not a big DLR fan) from Best Of Volume 1 were something new with a different sound and musicianship to them. VHIII was a also a different approach, showing what VH can grow up to be. Also tha Van hagar days had a “growing up”-phase, with a lot of cool and interesting music, next to the usual party rock. People sometimes like to turn conservative and only want to hear what they have been hearing for the past thirty years. Listen to Kiss or AC/DC then – they sure haven’t changed. Might be successful, but good music? I tend to differ.
I am glad that Gary found a a new/old home at Extreme. Saw them last year. That was awesome! Not simply a “retro-tour”, but new material, new fresh sounds – very unlike the DLR return.
Hope that we can expect some of the old, but also some of the new with DLR back in the band. Too many retro acts going around – give us something new!
Gonzalo

“That’s Why I Love You” is such a great song!!! I would have replaced some of the VHIII Record for that one!!!
Mark Sachs

A real shocker on VHND is that there were almost double the comments about III as there were to the 81 Oakland shows. Another shocker is that the number of positive comments either about III, the tour, or Gary Cherone. I like so many of you bought III as soon as it came out. I enjoyed it and was really disappointed that Eddie did not retain Gary and release the second album that they recorded. I think that, that album and tour would have done better than the III album and tour.

It was interesting that VH released a limited edition cd of III with pictures, a pink pick etc… I don’t recall any other VH album getting that kind of special treatment. I saw the two concerts from the III tour. The first from the second row at Hersey Park, Pa. and the second time at the Nissan Pavilion, in Bristow, Va.. Both shows were realy awesome! Eddie’s playing was perfect and it really was great to hear the classic Dave stuff. A guy told me that seeing Gary front Van Halen seemed really weird because he had short hair instead of the blond, flowing locks that Sammy and Dave both had. I read that there was a promotional picture of him taken for the second album where he had let his hair grow long and bleached it. Finally, in my opinion III has one of Van Halen’s coolest album covers. That would actually be a good thread to rank the best VH album covers.
Mark

Look I am the biggest Van Halem fan And Extreme fan even a Sammy fan but I can`t listen to any of this Van halen III stuff it just sounds strange out of sync or somthing they just did`nt gel . I think Nuno Bettencourt sayed in an interview somwere they rushed the album and thats what it sounds like to me unfinished .
Rubbing Wit Da Debbol

“3″ was rushed and terrible. The one bootleg ( That’s Why I Love You) I have from that album is probably one of the better songs from that session, but of course it’s not on 3. I recall someone commenting all those years ago that it sounds more like “The Eddie Van Halen Experience.” I’d have to agree. A decent listen, but nothing memorable.

I was optimistic about Gary and Ed’s partnership, but ultimately Ed turned up full of shit about his new “brother.” Too many changes too soon, and with all the backlash and fallout from Dave’s NON-reunion, the band just seemed to alienate even more of its fans. Gary didn’t stand a chance.

The only decent thing to come out of it was the tour. I got shivers when Ed opened up that MTV 10 Spot gig (Australia, I believe) with Mean Street. The show was amazing. I paid less than $10 for lawn seats to see them in the Bay Area.
pete

bad production and the fact that people were upset this ment dave roth would attempt more solo albums really doomed this album but since this is their last studio album may as well keep in the collection.
JROD

Van Halen III was my first and only time I saw VH in my life my buddy won tickets of 98 Rock in Baltimore and I will say it was a good show and a great mix of both eras of van halen.
http://portdick.incyberland.com Kevin Austin

Van Halen 3 is musically and vocally an awesome album.
Phil in Minneapolis

I think that Cherone just had some big shoes to fill. If VHIII was released on its own without anyone knowing who VH was and “Without You” was kept in constant rotation on MTV, the critics wouldn’t have been so hard on it – or Gary for that matter. Listen to it now and compare it to the crap that is being marketed today. In that light, it does hold up. Trust me, in 11 years there will be no Jonas Brothers News Desk. Or maybe even in 11 months, God willing.

I don’t subscribe to the whole Dave-is-the-best/Van-Hagar-sucks train of thought that makes people pick sides like Van Halen is some kind of political race. And God forbid if you like Gary! I don’t limit myself and I don’t limit Van Halen. I like all of the lead singers and every one of VH’s albums have a song or two I don’t like. My favorite Van Halen lead singer: the one they’re playing with when any one of their CD’s starts to spin.

In short, anything Van Halen is good.
Line6Guy

The Van Halen III album wasn’t as bad as most people made it out to be. It is definately my least favorite VH album but musically it had some really great ideas on it. Dirty Water Dog, Fire In The Hole, Without You and Year To The Day are great tracks! I agree with some of the posters on here though, the drums do sound like shit on a lot of the tracks and some of the songs feel rushed. I think Van Halen III got slammed even harder because people were so bummed that the Roth/Halen reunion fell apart and they weren’t recording a new album. Poor Gary didn’t stand a chance at all! I did catch the VH III Tour live in Australia on MTV and they sounded AWESOME on that tour!
http://www.crossgraphicimaging.com Phil in Minneapolis

One thing I will add to my previous post is that even though some like to blame Gary Cherone for the commercial failure of VHIII, it should be noted that nothing gets by Eddie Van Halen without approval. Therefore, blaming only Cherone for III maked him a scapegoat and that is just not right. III was an experimental stage for VH and could only come about with a new lead. Sammy wouldn’t have done it and doing an experimental album with Dave would have tainted the VH legend if it turned out badly. Mitch Malloy (Google him) was also a consideration before Cherone came into the mix and he declined to be in the band. Still, I don’t think VHIII was all that bad. Cherone did carry on some tunes with his band Tribe of Judah. Google that one, too. Like I said before, any Van Halen is good Van Halen no matter who is at the mic.
Biff

There were only 2 VH-worthy songs on VH3: “Year to the Day” and “Fire in the Hole.” The rest of the album felt like it was picked up off the cutting room floor. It seemed like, “Crap, Sammy just came out with an album. Well, we’ll show him! Quick, throw something together. Anybody know a lead vocalist without a band?”

As for better fits, here are a few bands whose vocalists and styles matched Van Halen’s needs: Y&T, Whitesnake, Jackal, Ugly Kid Joe (yes, even that vocalist would have beat Cherone), White Lion…

Actually, Cherone’s voice isn’t bad for VH, but his lyrics have always kind of sucked. “With a word to the wisdom tooth; To tell or not the truth; Well open up, say Amen; Rinse cup, then spit again…” What the hell?

Plus, on VH3, Gary was flat during a number of songs, the lyrical rhythm didn’t fit the music, and Eddie trying to do Nino was crap. Eddie needs to be himself.

Now, if they’d taken a year, ironed out some decent lyrics, and polished things up better, hell, Gary might still be part of the band. The whole episode was just a rush job gone wrong, if you ask me.

I’m anxious to hear the new album. Will the harmonies still sound sweet without Mikey?
Rich

This is one of my most frequently visited VH albums (along with VH2, Fair Warning and FUCK) and weirdly I appreciate the fact that this is an underdog record. I really wish this had gotten popular…Gary had the chops and could’ve had a real chance if he did a few more albums.

I think, judging by this record, we all know what an EVH solo album would be like.
murph

Ed’ playing great,no chemistry and missed Mikes participation dureing recording
Chris D

I just downloaded VH3 on ITunes today after not hearing it in a couple of years. I think its great! There are parts where it seems a bit rushed and messy, but overall Its a good album, and Eddies playing is just incredible! I would have loved to see how Gary would have worked out if they had made a few more albums with him!
Bryan

Well I remember 11 years ago it was just great that VH finially put an album out. Admittedly Gary may have not been the ideal singer for VH, but it was great to hear those old DLR classics again. I saw them live in Melbourne Australia and enjoyed the show very much. Gary is very talented, and it is great to see him back with Extreme.
It may be a while if we ever hear anything in the near future from VH. I really hope I am wrong.
Thank GOD for Chickenfoot!
Dick Bacon

VH III was an album that i really wanted to like. there was some good stuff on there, but overall it was a disappointment, like they just hadn’t worked hard enough on it to make it sound good. some of the songs were poorly written and that song that ed sings on should have been left off. the worst part of the record was the guitar tone.

having said that, it’s still 100x better than chickenfoot.
Joe

The second Van Halen album with Gary Cherone should have been released in 2000 and we should have got one more tour out of it and than they could have parted ways if it didn’t do well. I don’t know if Gary left on his own terms or what, but “3″ was just a tease and Gary really only left his mark with Van Halen at the live shows. Now that Gary is back with Extreme again we will probably never experience Gary at the mic in Van Halen again. “3″ is a pretty solid album, the mix could be better but it’s not the pile of trash people say it is, some solid rock tracks to be found.
Jeff Mac

I think that III suffered from Mike Post’s production. The drums were pulled way back and sound is muddy overall..could have been a GREAT album in the hands of a real rock producer (Mick Jones, Ted Templeman, Andy Johns.)
Runner J

I just found this post. III has some rockin stuff. I do not like Ed’s tone (seems like it has gotten progressively worse?). Sounded “bronze” not brown. My favorite tone was Fair Warning and Diver Down.
Also – no one mentions this, but the almost Christiany tone of lyrics was a big put off. Of course Sammy had religious stuff too. I’m an atheist and like the good ole DLR sex, fun, etc…