New Van Halen Song, ‘Tattoo’ Underwhelms Peoria X Fans After First Listen

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The new Van Halen song is titled “Tattoo,” and you certainly know that fact, based on the amount of times you hear the band sing the chorus. I cranked up the new song today on the Morning-X for another round of “yank or crank,” and thus far, you X rockers out there are not jumping for joy.  73% of you said to “yank it!”

Now, in Van Halen’s defense, how hard is it to live up to the legacy of amazing albums and songs from both the Dave and then the Sammy years.  The early Dave years hold a magical place in the hearts of Van Halen fans.  How could it not?  All of those songs, all of those memories, they were the biggest band on the planet then, and now in 2012, it is certainly harder to live up to the magic of years gone by.

All that being said, “Tattoo” isn’t a horrible song. It is certainly different, but you still hear vintage Eddie shredding on guitar.  Dave is being Dave, his pipes are OK, not awesome.  The lyrics in this song are a bit juvenile, and a bit annoying with the amount of times you hear the band sing “Tattoo!”

I do think that after multiple listens to the song, it does get better, actually.  I think as well that the old Van Halen sound with Dave is so ingrained in our psyche that anything new or risk taking isn’t going to be viewed as a positive for these guys.

Hey, there are eleven other songs on this new album, so, I guess we will hold our judgement until the entire album is digested.  However, if the album is like this song, I don’t foresee good things for the band, as the fans are going to be very critical.  Then again, I would rather have these guys back together trying, rather than not doing anything at all, right?