Balance (studio album) by Van Halen

From jeremy9 02/03/2021 17:47

One of my best Van Halen's album

I've always had a soft spot for the Van Hagar era. Balance is not the strongest Van Halen album. There are 2-3 songs that are very skippable, but I think the singles are pretty strong and Aftershock and Feelin' are solid. One of the harder rocking Van Hagar albums too.

From adnielsen 04/20/2018 04:02

Upon release, this was Van Halen’s worst offering to date, only to be since dethroned by A Different Kind of Truth. That being said, there still are a couple of gems like the first three tracks that make this merely a mediocre album. Not terrible overall...

Yeah, this one straight up sucks. Not Enough and the Seventh Seal are great, but everything else is pretty bad.

"Don't Tell Me" and "The Seventh Seal" are two of Van Hagar's best songs, in my opinion. "Aftershock" is very good too.

"Balance" itself though is seriously unbalanced. (Sorry, I couldn't resist!) The music isn't bad; however, on many songs, there's dissonance between the music, and Hagar's (often) too-obvious lyrics, (exceptions noted.) "Not Enough" "Amsterdam" and "Big Fat Money" are examples:

Amazingly, the year after "Balance" - 1996 - VH released three of its grandest songs: all included on "Best of Volume 1" - "Humans Being" (#1,) "Me Wise Magic" (US #1 for over a month,) and "Can't Get This Stuff No More," (the latter two following a media circus reunion with Diamond Dave.)

"Balance" is a good title for last Van Hagar album because it shows Hagar's Jekyll and Hyde qualities equally.

The best songs on "Balance" have Dr. Jekyll - sincere, honest and direct: "Seventh Seal;" "Don't Tell Me;" "Aftershock;" and "Feelin'." The lyrics on these four songs aren't too dumb, too sentimental, or unfunny. Also, Dr. Jekyll sings well and writes adult contemporary hard rock melodies like Bon Jovi's best.

Mr. Hyde is sentimental, unfunny, and sounds like a caveman. Like Paul McCartney and Wings, an editor could've helped. With David Lee Roth, Van Halen's songs were funny or clever or street-wise (in a sarcastic teenage way.) Hagar's are sometimes just dumb. The lyrics to "Amsterdam" and "Big Fat Money" are exactly what you'd expect. They sound like they were written in 10 minutes. Bad lyrics make great music ("Not Enough") too sentimental, and radio pop ("Can't Stop Lovin' You" "Take Me Back") too generic.

VH had 3 singers in 1996, and released 3 very good songs, 1 with Hagar. "Humans Being;" "Me Wise Magic;" and "Can't Get This Stuff No More." All better than "Balance."

From junodog4 05/19/2012 21:03

It's actually not that bad. Van Halen was trying something, but it seems like they were afraid to deviate from their now-tired but familiar formula. The result - signs of growth, but missing the mark. Shortly after, internal strife kiboshed any future growth.

From Romanelli 05/20/2011 02:42

Pretty flat and lifeless. The good moments are way too few. It's just not any fun like they were before this.

From GuitarDan 11/18/2010 02:28

CONTEXT: On the last Van Hagar album, the band pushes the socially conscious vibe that brought them success through "Right Now." There are some nice moments, but not enough to make a lasting impression. MUSIC: Eddie tries to take the group into new directions. Hard rockers, ballads, funk/blues riffs, avant-garde instrumentals. The diversity is all good, but there are almost no memorable hooks. LYRICS: Hagar waffles back and forth between social statements and party anthems, which means that there's no consistent mood. It's also hard to take either of the sentiments seriously. HIGHLIGHTS: I Can't Stop Loving You, Don't Tell Me What Love Can Do, Not Enough