Nah, this is an unpopular opinion. Muskrat Love is not a bad song. Just that one product of its time band covered it and ruined it. The original is not bad. Classic early 70s folk.
Each had their own plus’s and minus’s. The raw youth and power of Roth and the more mature sound of Hagar. I prefer the Roth sound but I appreciate the music from Hagar’s turn.
Plenty of fine Van Hagar songs. I too prefer the raucous youthful energy of DLR. Hagar ain’t writing Hots For Teacher.
I would describe it similarly. Roth was like an overgrown teenager in a party band. Not my thing. Hagar brought maturity and sophistication, which I prefer. He elevated Van Halen.
When I'm at a diner, I want a chili dog. If I want a more nuanced, sophisticated meal, I wouldn't be at a diner in the first place.
Try the Silver Diner. There's one in Springfield. That guy has a very nuanced menu and it changes at least twice a year.
We have one here in eastern PWC as well, just a few miles from my house. Excellent food. But if I'm at the 29 Diner in Fairfax, I expect a greasy cholesterol bomb.
I'm saying that elevating Van Halen from a party band that happened to feature an iconic, generational talent on guitar kinda misses the point for me. But I don't actually have strong feelings on the matter; I was never a huge VH fan and by the time Hager replaced Roth I wasn't really tuned in at all. I don't believe I've ever listened to complete VH album start-to-finish after 1984 so I'd be making a judgement based on radio hits. But when listen to Roth-era VH, I never find myself thinking "Boy, this would be so much better with a more technically accomplished singer over somewhat more sophisticated song structures." I want cool riffs and lots of them; DLR was the MC and that was all he needed to be.
Having somewhat pushed back on your POV, I'll now somewhat endorse it--the DLR era had likely very much run it's course and even if he and the VH brothers could have continued to coexist I'm not sure it would have continued to work. Switching singers and moving towards more composition-based rather than riff-based songwriting was probably a necessary evolution to avoid becoming a pale imitation of themselves. EDIT: Fixed typo
Got a DLR story. Back when I was still living in LA, the group I played pick up soccer with went to our usual cafe after playing. We usually got some food and a pitcher or two of beer. A couples behind us, sort of in the back of the restaurant, was DLR, alone, looking worn, with two empty pitchers of beer on the table, and being brought a third. We drank a bunch, but nothing close to that.
Raiders lost an Academy award because a bunch of old ladies liked Henry Fonda and gave it to On Golden Pond
Actually, Chariots of Fire beat out Raiders, On Golden Pond, Reds, and Atlantic City that year. Over 40 years later arguably the best remembered of those is Raiders, with Atlantic City having totally faded from recollection. At least Chariots of Fire had a memorable theme by Vangelis. Speilberg lost to Warren Beatty (Reds) for the director award. On Golden Pond took the best actor (male and female) awards, but Harrison Ford wasn't included.