Van Halen made an unexpected return with their most controversial release, III. After complications began to unravel between the band and their second singer, Sammy Hagar departed from the group in 1995, a year following their fourth consecutive number-one charting album, Balance.
One of the infamous feuds within the Van Halen camp during the mid-90’s caused the band to search for yet another frontman. Extreme‘s Gary Cherone was quickly identified as a reliable member to-be. Once Cherone was hired, this became a rare steady-relationship that resulted in little to no headbutting in contrast to the group’s past issues with both Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth.
Despite the friendly working environment in the studio, it seemed to go a little too well since III became Van Halen‘s only album to not achieve platinum status in sales. The overall material comes off as foreign to die-hard fans. For every guitar-heavy track such as Fire In The Hole and Ballot Or The Bullet, there’s a lot of variety in between that can rub listeners the wrong way.
Although III starts with a familiar EVH instrumental, it’s a step in the right direction for those skeptical about what’s in store for the remaining 60 minutes. The most commercially successful song, Without You received minor radio play while Fire In The Hole got publicity in the Lethal Weapon soundtrack. In retrospect, this was a change of pace in comparison to the chart-topping stardom of the band’s previous releases.
These negative aspects often overshadow the stand out tracks in III. Many forget about the outstanding rhythm section in One I Want due to the cheesy lyrics. Other highlights include the grandiose production of Once and more specifically Year To The Day.
This tune in particular brings out the talent in this line-up. Cherone delivers his best vocals on this number and compliments the brilliant playing of EVH. If everything else on this LP was forgotten, Year To The Day would be the gem of III.
The one detail in this album that sticks out in more people’s minds than it should has to be the final song, How Many Say I. It features EVH on lead vocals, singing a love song that’s driven by a piano riff. Luckily it was the closing track, because if it appeared any higher on the list, III probably would’ve lost even more listeners.
Since it was the last piece of music on the record, it served as a bad note to end on and only hurt the material that came before it.
For the most part, this album has been intentionally overlooked by fans, because it was a one-off with Van Halen‘s third singer. Although, it lacks the traditional formula like the catchy hooks and distinctive songwriting, this was a unique detour in the band’s career. Despite public opinion, III has plenty to offer musically and holds up as a decent effort considering the difficult times the group was experiencing at the time.
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