Pelican Parts Forums - 2/7/12- A Different Kind of Truth. New VH DAY.

Gave it a more thorough listen while at the gym today. Eddie and Dave sound super and together they are greater than the sum of their parts. Just stellar performances by both.

As for the arranging and production, I'm not liking it. Every track has a lot of guitar overdubs, meaning they'd have to hire a second guitar player to remotely pull this stuff off live. And Eddie is already such an amazing rhythm player. Why do two parts here? So much of the early stuff shows off his skills as a soloist and rhythm player with minimal overdubs. Why not keep that going?

And I'm just not a fan of his new guitar brand and sound. I played one of the new Wolfgang Stealths at NAMM and it didn't give me the warm and fuzzies and espeically not for the $$ they get for them. I watched a steady stream of excellent players come by and play old VH stuff through his new amps and I saw a VH tribute band here a few weeks ago where the guitarist had sprung for one of the new EVH amps. I don't know how to describe the sound, but the classic "brown sound" it ain't. One of the great things about old VH is that his rig was so low tech and thrown together that it demonstrated to the kids (like me) who couldn't afford fancy gear that it's really all in your head and hands, not in yout rig.

I found the mastering to sound so crunchy that it made my earphones crackle, even though I didn't have it as loud as I usually do for other music. Too much compression on everything.

But then I'm very picky, have sensitive ears, know what I like and don't feel obligated to slobber all over it just because it's VH and I'm a lifelong fan. Some of the ball washing on the fan sites is sickening. No critical thought whatsoever. I'm sure it will grow on me and I look forward to learning how to play some of it to see how it compares in technique and groove to the old stuff.