James Brown vs. David Lee Roth-era Van Halen

This month we take a look at the Godfather of Soul and the men who united pop songcraft with classically trained musical acumen, Van Halen.

Words: A perfunctory glance at the lyrics to these artists' songs reveal that the words are little more than inspired nonsense '” and it would seem that this is the artists' intention. To this day I have little idea what VH's 'œPanama'? or 'œUnchained'? are about, but I am struck by their exuberance, musicality and adolescent sexuality. Van Halen vocalist David Lee Roth once said that his hero was James Brown, because he showed him how to communicate without words. Note that the trademark screech of both men is similar.

Entertainment: Both Roth and Brown are entertainers, first and foremost. As the great song-and-dance men of their eras, they tried to keep their personal politics out of their music (Brown's 'œThe Payback'? and his anti-drug PSAs to the contrary), and were just trying to show people a good time. In the mid-to-late '˜80s, this led to a backlash against them (pop music was trying to get serious, after all) for having nothing to say. The emergence of hip-hop re-solidified Brown's status as a musical titan, and Roth's replacements in VH (the risible Sammy Hagar and the execrable Gary Cherone) made everyone nostalgic for ol' Diamond Dave

Technical Virtuosity: As seemingly simple or banal as the lyrical content of their songs may be, this does not extend to the music. Listening to Brown's bands (the Famous Flames and the JBs) reveals that James only worked with the most technically adept and hard-working of musicians. Brown was known for fining musicians for missing cues or playing bum notes, or sending them home on a bus for drinking or smoking reefer. Guitar god Eddie and skins-basher Alex Van Halen (but most definitely not bassist Michael Anthony!) were the inspiration to millions of aspiring musicians. The brothers would take massive solos during the shows, much to the delight of metalheads everywhere (see 'œEruption'? on Van Halen).

Ancestors and Descendants: James Brown and David Lee Roth are descended from a line of energetic and controversial entertainers. Cab Calloway in the '˜40s and Little Richard in the '˜50s eschewed the morose and spooky world of the Delta Blues masters. Conversely, they were not mere happy-go-lucky entertainers: they pushed the envelope with their outlandish stage presence, sheer volume level and thinly-veiled allusions to illicit sex and drugs. In the early '˜70s, Southern metal band Black Oak Arkansas (imagine Captain Beefheart trying to outdo Lynyrd Skynyrd) had a frontman whose shirtless, spandex-pants-clad gyrations were a major influence on David Lee Roth. Apparently the success of Van Halen drove Mr. Jim Dandy Mangrum into a severe depression. The most obvious descendant of both Brown and Roth is none other than Mr. Henry Rollins. (how about Prince or Lenny Kravity? '” ed.)

Marketplace: From 1957-1962, James Brown was a major figure on the Billboard R&B singles chart. Most rhythm and blues artists did not issue LPs, as there just did not seem to be a market for them. James Brown insisted on recording his live show, over the protestations of his record company. Live at the Apollo peaked at #2 and sold over a million copies. This record set the stage for the album-oriented R&B masters of the next decade, namely Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin. Conversely, heavy metal was an album-oriented musical form, and most of the great heavy metal songs of the '˜70s were never issued on 45. Van Halen tightened up the song lengths, added a little funk and some gimmickry (which the keyboard intro to 'œJump'? was considered to be at the time), and were the first metal band to make it as a singles band. As brilliant and innovative as this was, it did lead to the birth of 'œhair-metal,'? a genre defined by image and repetition of double-entendres, with an incongruous guitar solo thrown in '” I always felt this was done so that guitarists could justify all those years of guitar lessons to their parents.

Smokey Highly Recommends: Van Halen '” Van Halen (1978), 1984 (1983). David Lee Roth '” Crazy from the Heat (1985; not brilliant but it shows Mr. Roth as pure showbiz). James Brown '” Live at the Apollo, Volumes 1, 2 & 3 (1962, 1968 & 1971), 20 All Time Greatest Hits! (1991).