Song if the Week- Ain’t Talkin’ ’bout Love

Here we are, once again at another song of the week, and really there was no other artist that could have the spotlight this week. I was never a huge fan of Van Halen (at least not yet), but there’s definitely a few songs by them that I do love. This is the top of the list. So let us begin.

Top 5 Renditions

1- Live: Right Here, Right Now

This is my favorite Van Halen song of all time. Sammy must have really loved this song because he nails it. His voice has plenty of power, the backing vocals are unusually powerful too, and the guitar work , as always, is top-notch. A shame it’s not really actually live. Still, the performance is so good I can look past that.

2- Live Without a Net

Sammy again. His voice is slightly lacking in power compared to the previous version, probably on account of this version actually being live. It’s still really good though and I definitely prefer it to any of Dave’s versions.

3- The Studio Version

No reason for my preference here, I just prefer Sammy to Dave. Simples. Dave is a little more expressive though I must note. Guitar tone is great as always and the soloing is expectantly exciting. The backing vocals do sound just a little strained though.

4- Sydney 1998

Gary Cherone kinda sounds like a mix between Sammy and Dave (a little more on Dave’s side though). The problem is that both of those guys beat Gary at their own game. It’s not bad at all though. If I heard it on the radio (Ha! Yeah right) I’d listen to it and I ‘d enjoy it. The backing vocals do have an aggression they never had before and it is quite interesting.

5- Live at the Tokyo Dome June 21, 2013

I do hate to rag on this show as everyone’s done it to death already and it deserves a break. Still, I can’t deny that Dave’s singing isn’t too crash-hot here. It’s actually pretty good for the standard of the show though. The song is definitely listenable though, even if a large part of that is on account of the other three musicians but it’s really not often that I listen to it.

The Best Cover

Paul Di’Anno

Paul Di’Anno has two approaches to cover songs. The first is doing a death metally cover of a song that didn’t need a death metal cover in a million years. The other is knocking it out of the park with a more straightforward metal cover. This is one of the latter. I think I actually prefer this version to Dave’s, honestly. I’m a big Di’Anno fan and he nails this song on his own. No backing vocals needed here (and it actually works quite well too).

And nothing funny to send off today. Instead a tribute to the great man Edward Van Halen by the great Lebrain and friends.

Eddie Van Halen Tribute – LeBrain Train Live Stream with Guests Galore