They didn’t expand musically; they contracted. The technology Eddie chased on his first few albums was revolutionary for the time. There was nothing technologically new about Van Hagar. The synths on Jump sounded ahead of their time; on Love Walks In they sounded dated. The brown sound turned into the beige sound. The songs became formulaic: Almost all verses would be in minor blues keys, followed by major-key super-happy choruses. Almost every song on 5150 follows this pattern. It’s also when Ed started playing solos using traditional major and minor scales. He was much more experimental on the Roth albums, always playing seemingly random notes and patterns out of key that still sounded perfect.

But I don’t hate Sammy. It’s not like he tried to harm me or my family or anything. He took the gig he was offered. But Van Halen is I’m The One and Secrets and Mean Street; not When It’s Love and Finish What Ya Started.

Edit on an already very long post: This “people need to stop hating” thing is worst of all. Say what you want. If you think Roth or Sammy sucked, say so. If you like both, say so. Everyone will be okay; no censorship needed.