This review covers the rock track Van Halen – Without You.
This track was released in 1998 on the album Van Halen III.
The track starts off with a drum kit. A guitar makes an appearance before the vocals come in. The vocals then drop out as a guitar solo comes in. After that, the vocals make a return. Backup vocals replace the main vocals after.
From there, the main vocals take the track presumably into a main chorus. Backup vocals back the main vocals in a non-lyrical manner.
After that, the main vocals return for a verse. Backup vocals then replace the main vocals. From there, the main vocals take the track into the main chorus. This is capped off with an instrumental section.
The main vocals then return for a bit. After that, there is a quasi-instrumental section with brief bursts of vocals. Another guitar solo takes over after that.
From there, the drum kit and vocals drop out, leaving just the guitars. After that, another guitar solo enters the track.
After that, the vocals take the track into another round in the main chorus. This is capped off with another instrumental section. Backup vocals make an appearance again. The main vocals then re-join the track. A modified version of the main chorus takes over briefly before yet another guitar solo enters the track. After that, the track just gradually fades out.
The only positive I really got out of this track is that the main chorus does sound decent enough. It’s nothing huge or special, but it sounds OK.
Unfortunately, with very few brief exceptions, the vocals are almost completely incomprehensible. I really couldn’t understand anything in the track, so I couldn’t even come close to getting any meaning out of this track.
Another problem with this track is that the multiple guitar solo’s and verses have a lot of different sounds. I can see the artist at least trying to go for an eclectic sound, but in this case, the track winds up sounding like a series of musical ideas just randomly thrown together. While the main chorus does at least offer some effort, the track just isn’t really cohesive in any way.
Overall, this is a very forgettable track. While the main chorus does offer a brief moment of fresh air, it gets lost in incomprehensible lyrics and a meandering collection of musical ideas that just never become unified in any way. It may be a passable track, but it just doesn’t accomplish much of anything in my view.
Score
5/10
Drew Wilson on Twitter: @icecube85 and Facebook.
