Alright, as can be seen in my last two posts, I absolutely love Van Halen!!!!!!! Since I have already done a lot to preview the new album, I will just jump right in and cover all the songs that I have not yet discussed in the previous 2 posts.

The second track of the album is "She's The Woman". This song dates back to an old demo, and was a fan favorite before their debut album. The new version of this song is quite catchy featuring some wah-wah from Eddie, and Wolfgang gets to show off his bass skills for pretty much the first time. Alex holds the beat down well, although this song is not as impressive as some others later in the album. David Lee Roth sounds good when he doesn't try to hard, and the lyrics are fairly friendly to sing along to. To sum up, this is a great radio song and would have made a terrific first single for the band. So far in concert, this has been one of the staples off the new album.

The third song is "You and Your Blues". This song reminds me of a later Sammy Hagar track, although the guitar is a little crunchier. This song is not bad, although in perspective it comes off a little bland. It comes off as a mixture of every Van Halen style to date, which is like mixing every color of paint together and coming up with brown. This is harsh though, because the song manages fine and would have also been a decent single as the back-up melodies were quite catchy, and it has other moments of classic Van Halen bliss. The only real down side is during the chorus when David Lee Roth reaches for notes outside of his vocal range. This is one of the few songs that does not date back to any known demo.

The next track is the burning "China Town". Alex Van Halen is a monster and this song is a testament to that. The entire 3:15 minutes is spent with pounding double bass drums and ridiculous fills. The part of the song that works the best though is the chorus in which Wolfgang drops up and down with slides on the bass and Eddie comes in with some wah-wah guitar melodies. David Lee Roth's lyrics describe the struggle of life in the big city and the violent atmosphere. The first line "Headless body in a topless bar"pretty much sums the song up. This is another song that the band has been playing live, surprising since it features absolutely mind-blowing musicianship from all three Van Halen's.

The sixth track "Bullethead" dates back to an old demo. This song reminds fans of classic hard-hitting tracks such as "I'm The One" and "Atomic Punk". Although brief, this song grabs the listener by the shirt collar and doesn't let go until they have wet their pants! A great track for the fans of the heavier side of Van Halen with screaming guitars, lightning drums, throbbing bass, and wailing vocals.

The seventh track "As Is" is probably the best track on the entire album. The beginning is very reminiscent of "Everybody Wants Some!!" off Women and Children First. The main guitar riff was first heard on an episode of the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men about two years ago when Eddie Van Halen made a cameo. As fun as it was to see Eddie on TV, fans couldn't quite comprehend the magnitude of this song until experiencing it with the entire band. There is simply nothing wrong with this song, and it does not sound like a bunch of sixty year olds hobbling around, this song could arguably go head to head with any of the young musicians recording today.

Following that is the experimental, but intriguing "Honeybabysweetiedoll". This song begins with radio frequencies fading in and out before rumbling bass lines and squealing guitars slowly flood the airwaves. Although this song is very dark and out there, it is very entertaining and hard core fans as well as guitar enthusiasts will find it enjoyable. The drums are quite primal and are a lot of fun to crank up extremely loud. Typical tongue in cheek lyric work by David Lee Roth, but actually can be one of the catchier songs on the album after a few listens. This is the first time Eddie Van Halen has every used a Whammy pedal in his effects and it provides some very interesting sounds. Some believe this to be a remake of the old demo titled "Act Like It Hurts" the comparison is a bit of a stretch, but is entirely plausible as the band could have easily changed the song up quite a bit.

A lot of classic rock fans are enjoying "The Trouble With Never" a classic funk filled gem. This song features a ton of wah-wah from Eddie, which is not expected based on his history, however it works out very nicely. The guitar playing is very reminiscent and probably an homage to one of Ed's favorite guitar players Jimi Hendrix. The vocals truly keep this song in check as David Lee Roth doesn't try to hit anything out of his range and the back up's are spot on. The lyrics are also quite intriguing and kind of make the listener think a bit.

"Outta Space" the tenth song on the album is a reworked version of "Let's Get Rockin'" a fan favorite. The song was so great to begin with that there was not anything that need to be changed, and the only thing that was was the lyrics. David Lee Roth's new melodies are not bad, although the originals were probably a little better. Also the space theme does not really fit with Van Halen's usual schtick, they are typically a "party time lets get the girls and the party started" band, and the fictional space theme seems a little out of place. Although this song is still a big hit, especially the guitar solo and the way it wraps up. This song would have made a decent single, a little on the heavy side, but not enough to bother the masses.

The twelfth song is the tune "Big River". This is a new version of the classic "Big Trouble", similar to "Outta Space" the only thing changed was the lyrics. This song is pretty much old school Van Halen, catchy guitar chords, with a nice little vocal melody shifting to a great chorus hook. This song is sure to please a wide range of fans as just an all around solid track. Definitely nothing to complain about here.

The last song on the album is "Beats Workin'". This is a reworked version of "Put Out the Lights" an old Van Halen demo (my personal favorite). This time around with a new intro and breakdown which are improvements on the song, but there are also new lyrics and melodies which are difficult to adjust to when you know the old version so well. However the music is much better this time around, big fat guitar, with that "easy going good time" melody that everybody loves. And of course don't forget the COWBELL!!!!! All in all this is a runner up for best track on the album and it is nice and long to draw out the bitter sweet ending of the new Van Halen album.

Well, for all we know it could be another 28 years before the boys, well... experienced rockers, put out another album, but this one was sure worth the wait. Unfortunately in today's music scene, the album was beat out for the number one spot on the billboards, but for a band that made it big in the 70's, to have an album debut at number two 30 years later is very impressive, and deservedly so.