Friday videos: Mitch Malloy auditions for Van Halen

After the demise of Van Hagar in the mid-90s, Eddie and Alex had to find a replacement lead singer. Mitch Malloy, frequently reviewed on Now This ROCKS (click here), auditioned for the gig, which ultimately went to Gary Cherone (Extreme). Below is a rare demo that captures what Van Halen would have sounded like in a parallel universe where Malloy took the job as their new lead vocalist. The song they did was "Panama", so let's first refresh our memory of the original with David Lee Roth.



Now here is the Mitch Malloy version:



But the job went to Gary Cherone:



And lest we forget, and to round out the comparisons, the Sammy Hagar version:



So there you have it - which version do you think is the best?

Review: Extreme "Saudades de Rock"

Extreme is back with their first release since "Waiting for the Punchline" in 1995. I have been waiting for this day with eager anticipation - with the exception of that ironically titled "Punchline" CD, I really dug this band.

With "Saudades de Rock", Extreme make some headway in redeeming themselves for the "Punchline" fiasco. But they have some more ground to make up. The positives: Gary Cherone still sounds great, one of the most underrated rock vocalists of the genre. And Nuno still astonishes with his guitar - the guy is utterly amazing. The two of them together, especially when they harmonize, have a great chemistry (best exemplified by their mega hit "More Than Words"). It is refreshing to hear them playing together again.

The negatives: where is the melodic rock that made them famous? There are fleeting signs of their talents for melody and harmony, but they don't seem to make the full effort to reach their potential and deliver a knock out record like any from their trilogy prior to "Punchline".

My mixed feelings regarding this record began right at the start with the mediocre rocker, "Star". The next track, "Comfortably Dumb" is even worse. Then comes the best track on the record, "Learn To Love", which is pure genius - everything comes together perfectly and the guys finally synergize like we know they can. They lose me again on the rockabilly track "Take Us Alive" - it is more like a novelty song and is probably a fun break during the live show. The funk rock that is trademark Extreme kicks in with "Run" - a superb track. "Ghost" and "Interface" mark more of a return to classic Extreme balladry, and both are wonderful. Astute fans will note that "Interface" was on Nuno's excellent Dramagods release. This is the type of music I think Nuno and Cherone do best these days. "Last Hour" starts off as a promising ballad too, but for me it quickly degenerates into a grueling, lumbering chore to get through. "King of the Ladies" is another piece of junk, redundant and pointless.

Maybe my expectations were too high, but at the end of the day, it is good to hear these guys back together again. My wish is that they continue to work together, but focus on the hooks and melodies that made them a "Star".

iPOD-worthy: 1, 3, 5, 9, 11

Extreme on MySpace. Official site.

At least they don't sound like this:

Review: Tribe of Judah "Exit Elvis"

What in the name of all that is holy is going on here? This is horrible, dreadful, unlistenable. Hard rock, electronica, industrial, a little bit of soul, children singing, and lounge music just don't mix!

Gary Cherone is an enigma. He has one of the best voices in rock today, but I wish it would be used in better ways than this. He's had a very successful career with Extreme, producing 3 decent albums (the fourth one being an aptly-named joke called "Waiting for the Punchline"). After the demise of Extreme, Gary became the infamous Van Hagar singer that pooped out the atrocious CD, "Van Halen 3". Then in 2002, he puts out this mess of a CD, inviting us to join in his schizophrenic journey to Hell. Unfortunately it fails on so many levels I don't know where to begin. There is more crap on this CD than a cruise ship carrying the Norwalk virus.

"Exit Elvis" is utterly unmelodic - Gary avoids hooks like a fish on this record. Maybe that was his goal. He wanted to be experimental and that is a euphemism to describe this garbage. I couldn't find one track on this CD I'd like to listen to twice.

And the enigma goes on, his next release being an unpredictable EP of soulful light rock. Was he trying to recapture the "More Than Words" glory? I wish that he would try. It will be interesting to see what the reunited Extreme does later this year.

iPOD-worthy: uploading anything from Tribe of Judah will cause your mp3 player to give you the finger.

Gary Cherone on MySpace. Official site.

Extreme at MySpace.

Check out the video for "Thanks for Nothing":