HERE'S A LITTLE SECRET
TO MAKE YOU THINK,
WHY IS THE CRAZY THINGS
WE NEVER SAY
POETRY IN INK ?
A Different Kind of Truth
is the twelfth
and final
studio album
by American
rock band
Released on
February 7, 2012,
by Interscope Records,
This is
Van Halen's
only studio album
on Interscope
and its
first album of
studio material
with lead singer
David Lee Roth
since 1984.
Likewise,
A Different Kind of Truth
was
Van Halen's
first studio album
since 1998's
Van Halen III,
as well as their
only studio album
recorded without
bassist
Michael Anthony,
who had played bass
on all of the
band's previous albums;
Eddie Van Halen's son
Wolfgang
replaced Anthony
for the album,
making this his
only studio album
with the band.
It would also be
Van Halen's
final studio album
before Eddie's death
and the group's
subsequent disbandment
in 2020.
A Different Kind of Truth
was recorded at
Henson Recording Studios
and
Eddie Van Halen's own
5150 Studios
and produced by
John Shanks.
Seven of the album's
13 songs
are musically
re-worked and
lyrically
re-written songs
that had been demoed
in the
late-1970s/early 1980s,
but never
officially released.
The album received
positive reviews
upon release,
with several writers
referring to it as a
return to form,
and multiple publications
ranked it as one
of the
best albums of
2012.
It was also a
commercial success,
debuting in the
top ten on
numerous record charts.
It debuted at No. 2
on the
Billboard 200 and,
by the end of 2012,
had sold in excess of
411,000 copies
in the
United States alone.
The album was
promoted with
an arena tour.
Background
In 2007,
Van Halen
reunited with
original lead singer
David Lee Roth
who had left the band
in April 1985,
at the peak of their
global popularity
for a North American Tour.
This tour added bassist
Wolfgang Van Halen,
the then-16-year-old son
of guitarist
Eddie Van Halen
and actress
Valerie Bertinelli,
in place of former
bassist
Michael Anthony,
who would go on to form
both
Chickenfoot
and
Sammy Hagar and the Circle
with
Van Halen's
second lead singer,
Sammy Hagar.
The reunion tour
consisted of
74 shows
from
September 2007
to June 2008,
and became the band's
highest-grossing tour
of its thirty-year history,
earning over
$93 million.
Eddie Van Halen
was reluctant about
the possibility of
recording new material
with Roth in 2009,
citing the poor reaction
to the
three new songs
recorded
with Hagar
for the
2004 compilation
Best of Both Worlds.
After Wolfgang
became enthusiastic
about recording a
new Van Halen album,
Eddie's opinion changed:
"We're doing this [album] for us."
Eddie, Wolfgang,
and
Alex Van Halen
began jam sessions
at the former's
5150 Studios
three months after
the tour's completion.
During this time,
Wolfgang discovered rough,
unreleased demos
from the band's archives.
After listening to these
and believing they had potential,
he brought them to
Alex and Eddie
to rework and refine.
The first of these tracks,
"She's the Woman",
was completed by
August 2009.
It had originally been demoed
by the band
in the mid-1970s.
Roth decided to
join the project
after hearing this song,
as well as two other
reworked tracks:
"Let's Get Rockin'"
later renamed
"Outta Space"
and
"Bullethead".
The demos also
included songs
originating from an
attempted
2000 reunion album
with Roth.
Wolfgang's
original intention
with the album
was to
create a collection
of
previously released
"B-sides".
According to Eddie,
this would mean
deep album tracks,
such as
"Drop Dead Legs"
and
"Girl Gone Bad",
along with three
reworked demos,
with Eddie saying:
"It would [have been] a record
of our more
hardcore songs
and none of
the pop stuff.
That was the initial plan,
but the deeper we dug,
the more we found.
At the same time
I was writing new songs.
Dave got
very excited about that.
We all did.
We ended up
recording demos for
35 songs."
After deliberating over
whether to
self-produce the album
or choose a producer
While all of
Van Halen's
albums since 1984
had been
produced inside
5150,
Roth persuaded
the band
to work at
Henson Recording Studios,
where he had been
recording for
more than a decade.
The record was released on
February 7, 2012,
in both standard
and deluxe
edition versions,
with the latter
containing a bonus
DVD titled
The Downtown Sessions.
This DVD included
acoustic versions of
"Panama",
"You and Your Blues",
and
"Beautiful Girls"
. A performance of
"You Really Got Me"
from this
acoustic session
was posted onlin
e to promote the album.
A double gatefold
vinyl edition
of the album
was sold exclusively
through
Live Nation Entertainment.
On February 28,
"She's the Woman"
was serviced to radio
as the second single.
Its music video
was released online on
April 13,
and on
May 4
a promotional
vinyl 7-inch single
was serviced to
83 independent
record stores
to be given with
purchases of
A Different Kind of Truth.
The band members opted
to avoid excessive
promotional press,
an attitude that
Roth described as
"a sterling statement"
on them not following
"so many people on television
telling you why
you should buy something"
TRACKLIST
CD 1
Tattoo
She's The Woman
You And Your Blues
China Town
Blood And Fire
Bullethead
As Is
Honeybabysweetiedoll
The Trouble With Never
Outta Space
Stay Frosty
Big River
Beats Workin'
CD 2
(BONUS AUDIO RIP)
THE DOWNTOWN SESSIONS
TRACKLIST
Intro/You Really Got Me
( Acoustic)
Panama
(Acoustic)
You And Your Blues Intro
You And Your Blues
(Acoustic)
Beautiful Girls
(Acoustic)
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