Van Halen III (CD - 1998)

Van Halen: Edward Van Halen (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Gary Cherone (vocals); Michael Anthony (bass, background vocals); Alex Van Halen (drums, percussion).

Additional personnel: Florian Ammon, Ian Dye, Ed Rogers, Paul Wight (programming).

Personnel: Eddie Van Halen (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Michael Anthony , Gary Cherone (vocals); Matthew Bruck (guitar); Alex Van Halen (drums, percussion); Paul Wight, Ian Dye, Florian Ammon, Ed Rogers (programming).

Audio Mixers: The Edward; Robbes.

Photographer: Dan Chavkin.

Unknown Contributor Roles: Michael Anthony ; Gary Cherone; F. Scott Schafer; Alex Van Halen.

For the third time in their history Van Halen starts from scratch with a new lead singer. Their latest vocalist is ex-Extreme mouthpiece Gary Cherone, who combines some of David Lee Roth's sass and swagger with Sammy Hagar's rasp. The biggest difference in the new Van Halen is the intellectual bent of Cherone's lyrics, which address everything from exercising your right to vote ("Ballot Or The Bullet") to the two-faced tendencies of politicians ("Fire In The Hole.")

The erudite lyrical approach seems to have forced the band towards a more controlled manner of playing that is no longer in line with their balls-to-the-wall excesses of yore. "How Many Say I" doesn't even feature any of Eddie Van Halen's guitar. Instead, Ed provides piano accompaniment straight out of a sweeping John Tesh epic. That's not to say that Eddie Van Halen is ready to give up his guitar-hero mantle anytime soon, but rather that his palette has broadened. His usual combination of melodic flow and dexterous fretwork is all over "Without You," while "Neworld" and "Primary" continue in the experimental vein of instrumentals that the band has occasionally explored in the past. minimize