Van Halen, the original line up that is, are legends! David Lee Roth is the ultimate frontman, Edward an amazing guitar player and Anthony and Alex are one of the finest and strongest rythm sections in rock.
Back in 1982 Van Halen was at the near peak of their succes and the surface was already showing some cracks. This pro shot concert DVD is from that period and for some reason all pro shots of Van Halen I know of are from the 1982/83 Diver Down Tour. A fine tour it was. Van Halen was in a transistional period between becoming top of the bill headliners on the Fair Warning Tour and selling out stadiums throughout the US tour of 1984. So you get the rough edges here but also some wear and tear mostly generated by a substantial use by all 4 members of alcohol and drugs.
The performance is good although Van Halen with Roth never managed to sound as fine live as on the record. Roth displays his shortcomings as a vocalist and Edward propably under the influence of...often misses uh a few chords. A nice setlist with a few gems make this a good choice for a DVD release. Unfortunately the source is not a master VHS...I'd say it is 2nd or 3rd gen but I also have to keep in mind that broadcasting in Argentina back in those days wasn't up to the standard we already had back in 83. A friend of mine from Argentina sent me a copy of his master tape and the difference isn't that clear so I'd say two gens down and the quality of broadcasting make this a fair pro shot and that declares my rating. Little color bleeding, picture is not crisp and clear but a bit muffled but all through it's a decent DVD to watch as there simply isn't more VH on DVD around with Roth. The sound is mono and mixed in 5.1....I miss the clue on why they did this but somehow people tend to be sensitive for this sort of things when they buy it.
The bonusses give the extra value for money some tv performances in fair to great quality. The rare 1980 Loss Of Control Video is a rarity and I haven't seen it in this quality anywhere so far. Other material is around in approximately the same quality or a bit better (like in my own vaults!).
Since there isn't anything else by the Mighty Van Halen I can strongly recommend this DVD to true VH fans of the Roth era and VH collectors. Collectors who want more Van halen DVD releases with Roth, just wait, as there's a superb VH Roth-era release on the way...just be patient!
