The good news is in the headline above – Van Halen is finally releasing a live album featuring their original singer David Lee Roth. The bad news is that it’s a concert from 2013, featuring non-original bassist Wolfgang Van Halen. Yeah, that’s right, the touring cycle behind 2012’s A Different Kind of Truth that ended with the band cancelling a summer’s worth of tour dates. That’s the chemistry you’re going to be getting on Tokyo Dome Live In Concert, which will be released on March 31st.
That’s not to say this won’t be a fun album. While the Sammy Hagar era of Van Halen has its fans, the first six albums, all of which had Roth on them, were iconic, and looking at the track listing is like looking at the playlist for a fun summer party, or at the very least, the playlist to a classic rock station. And while we remember Dave straining to hit some of the notes he’d hit effortlessly in the late ’70s when we saw this at the Garden, he’s still an entertaining frontman. Then there’s Wolfgang Van Halen. While keeping it in the family is admirable from a ‘the band is named Van Halen’ standpoint, Michael Anthony’s backup vocals were the secret weapon of the band. Hopefully the strain that stopped the band from completing their tour won’t be audible on the double-disc.
The main reason behind Tokyo Dome Live In Concert, which was recorded on June 21, 2013, is to celebrate the catalog of Roth albums from 1978 to 1984. They’re all going to be re-issued in newly-mastered versions on vinyl and digitally later this Spring. And while we could have hoped for a live CD from that era (maybe the US Festival?), at least Van Halen fans will have a chronicle of their live performance with Diamond Dave. There will be a deluxe edition of the live album that will also come with the newly remastered Van Halen and 1984 albums as a four-disc or six-LP vinyl set. Here’s the track listing for Tokyo Dome Live in Concert:
“Unchained”
“Runnin’ With The Devil”
“She’s The Woman”
“I’m The One”
“Tattoo”
“Everybody Wants Some!!”
“Somebody Get Me A Doctor”
“Chinatown”
“Hear About It Later”
“(Oh) Pretty Woman”
“Me & You” (Drum Solo)
“You Really Got Me”
“Dance The Night Away”
“I’ll Wait”
“Cradle Will Rock”
“Hot For Teacher”
“Women In Love”
“Romeo Delight”
“Mean Street”
“Beautiful Girls”
“Ice Cream Man”
“Panama”
“Eruption” (Guitar Solo)
“Ain’t Talkin’’Bout Love”
“Jump”
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