TOP 2 GUITARIST! 🎵 Van Halen - Mean Street - Reaction 

Alex Van Halen and Michael Anthony never get enough credit for being a bedrock rhythm section that provided a playground of grooves for Eddie to go wild on. Let's also not forget the iconic harmonies Anthony was able to perform to bring choruses to the next level.

David Lee Roth is, hands down, the greatest frontman in hard rock/metal history. Not to be confused with the greatest singer. DLR was, literally, a ringmaster out there.

Brad is loving Dave's flow and charisma, and made it be known that this was his favorite song during this live stream. "Unchained" Live from Oakland '81 is a must see for both of you now.

This is my favorite Van Halen song.

The early Van Halen with David Lee Roth has serious ATTITUDE! 👍🎸😎

Fair Warning is just a great album, while all the Dave era stuff rocks Fair Warning is my personal favorite album

She gets the music, she's an Eddie fan and gets it. Nice to see

Van Halen has so many awesome songs, most of which weren't played much on the radio. They're definitely one of the best rock bands ever.

Lex is so genuine in her enthusiasm...u can't fake her type of vibe and pure enjoyment for a great guitar lick.

Best guitar sound Eddie ever had.

This and Unchained are some of the greatest guitar sounds ever put on vinyl!!!😎

Great reaction! Van Halen broke out at the height of disco 💃🏽 in 1978 and gave America what it wanted and need, a kick you in your face hard rock band that wasn’t like anything else! England had Zeppelin, Judas Priest, Queen, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple but America had Aerosmith, Boston, Kiss and Zappa, but no one had the image and the talent like Van Halen. It’s like they were made in a lab to rock and sell platinum records!

This was the entire band at their best. Eddie and Dave were so great in this. "I don't know what it is..charisma.." YES! Let's not forget Michael Anthony. I love his bass line all through this. Like I said, whole band killed it on this one. Eddie's intro is so nasty. Holy crap Dave was such a great rock and roll front man. One of the best ever.

Eddie .. one of the best guitarists to ever play.

Lex knows her stuff. I am impressed with these two individuals. They are learning so much. I can picture Lex at a party breaking down licks and technique. Those are my two favorite also... behind the greatest living rock guitarist, Steve Howe. Speaking of which, you guys have to do more Yes: Starship Trooper, Going for the One. Keep going. You guys are headed in the right direction.

David Lee Roth is a very well-spoken man. Had briefly had a morning show on the radio but was cancelled because he discussed serious topics and wasn’t goofy enough.

You got to do "Runnin with the Devil" that's the song that started it all

the opening tapping /harmonic riff from Eddie put him on another level YET AGAIN. Reason #8045 why he is best rock guitarist ever in my opinion.

One of The Mighty Van Halen's funkiest songs, puttin' the stank face onto Lex.

Can you imagine the day when Eddie presented this intro to the rest of the band??? Oh myyy. So good!!!

If you wanna hear Eddie come out to play , listen to " I'm The One " off their first studio album .

I"m more of a guitar guy, but IMO VH's driving bass is what really gives them their feel. It's not overly complicated but it really shows in this song and sets the tone so well.

Brad using the word "charisma" was spot on! While I wouldn't include Dave on my list of greatest singers, NOBODY has more charisma than DLR or commands a stage quite like him!!

This and Atomic Punk are 2 of my favorite VH songs

Finally! THANK YOU!! You two are great and compliment each other! You really got me Running with the Devil Unchained.....

Michael Anthony has always made the harmonies of Van Halen next level.

Fair Warning is my personal favorite VH album, with Mean Street being the best song IMO. The whole album is a much darker, heavier VH. This album, and the next album, Diver Down, was the beginning of the end for Eddie's and David Lee Roth's relationship. They had a huge personality conflict mostly centered around "creative differences". They would get back together for a couple of tours and another album (A Different Kind of Truth- GREAT album BTW), but could never iron out their differences enough to stay together long term. Keep up the great reaction videos!

Eddie Van Halen rewrote how we all approached the guitar. Your taste is impeccable. Many copy cats have come after him but he started an entire new guitar genre.

Young guys are great. It is so cool to see younger people appreciate the music of my generation. I was in an 80's metal band and it very refreshing to see another generation enjoy some of the best musicianship of the last 100 years. I think only skilled Jazz players rival these groups. Love the channel.

A must do is Girl Gone Bad! The guitar in there is so good. And the only Van Halen is with David Lee Roth! Such a great showman!

That 70’s vibe is a good pick up. This dropped in 81 so there was still some of that 70’s MoJo although by this point VH had taken their sound to a new level.

This one and Unchained (both off of Fair Warning - 1981) best two tracks from VH IMO. Unchained por favor! ✌

Great song! One of their best. If you want to see their vibe live,check out their video performance of "Unchained" and "So this is love" live in Oakland '81. That's when they were truly at the top of their game! It's the tour I regret missing the most.

For me it's a Top 3 song by Van Halen. I've always loved this.

Eddie Van Halen was a genius on the guitar. He did the guitar riffs for Michael Jackson on Beat it and all he asked was he payed in beer. A 12 pack for his work

This is a great song of a great album.

Good choice. This was from Van Halen's 4th album, and it had a grittier sound than their first three albums. They never ceased to amaze. Cheers from Ohio.

This and "I'll Wait"are my 2 favorites from Van Helen

I have watched allot of reactions to VH and one song no one does and gets no love is "The Full Bug" from the Diver down album.Its a really good up beat song with some blues touches to it..Great jam!

A kick-ass reaction to a kick-ass tune. VH totally jams. Their early material always conjures up images and memories from my high school days in the mid to late 70's. Even though this song is from 1981. Peace Out 😊✌

Funny you mentioned the singing. This guy (David Lee Roth) is one of the best front men in the history of front men

Hey Lex! 4 29 81 is when Van Halen's record Fair Warning came out which this song is on. So I can also see where you would hear a bit of seventies influence. I mentioned in another one of your videos that I have been around for a while. To that point I saw this very tour as a senior in high school in 1981. I still have the ticket stub and the shirt!

David was defiantly the most athletic lead of all time. He did flips and gymnastics. Who does this as a lead?

Great catch by Lex that Mean Street has a “70’s vibe.” The main riff and the bridge were pieced together from earlier songs the band had written in their club days during the 70’s. David Lee Roth’s lyrics were inspired by what he witnessed on a trip he had to Haiti. When it all came together in the Fair Warning sessions, Mean Street was the result including the slap bass style Intro that Eddie wrote for the song.

As great a frontman DLR was and as amazing EVH was, the one thing VH was bad at was lip-syncing 😆

Jesus, they were just light years ahead of so many other bands. This is maybe my very favorite VH tune. That wicked groove is just insane.

My favorite VH song! Saw them in 1979 in New Mexico my first concert. Eddie just killed it on this track!! Nasty

David Lee Roth has always been wild. The other guys just could not keep up with him. I love that he became an EMT in NYC. My favorite quote from him is, "Money can't buy you happiness, but it can buy you a yacht big enough to pull up right alongside it."

Can’t wait to see their reaction to “Everybody Wants Some!” Lol

Mean Street is my top VH song, listened to it a bunch...thank goodness I've never seen this video before; never again.

this is a favorite . "respect the wind" from the movie "twister" is a good way to hear EDDIE go off . there is no singing in it , but the guitar can really talk . awesome and different !

Attitude. The song's got so much attitude, and no one gets that across like Dave did. It's also, gritty, sexy, edgey, funky, swaggering and swinging.

Love the entire DLR era but 1)Fair Warning is my favorite followed by 2) VHI, 3)VH2, 4)Woman and Children First, 5)1984, 6)Diver Down, and 7)A Different Kind of Truth…pretty good bookend album considering it’s basically a reworking of their unreleased 1970’s vault…

They were incredible, their music got me through my teens. My all time favorite, saw them 4 times live. Incredible musicians. 😻

The Drummer Alex Van Halen is phenomenal in this song. Overlooked all the time.

Lex is DEFINITELY a fan of Eddie's playing!!! Watching her face as she's says "Ooh!", like she's really feelin' it. You heard her, she wants to hear every little note!

This whole album is GREAT!

Have no doubt about it. Eddie is one of the all time greats. I put him up there with the other greats that includes SRV. You heard Texas Flood by SRV it is good but not my favorite. Try "Voodoo Child" Austin City Limits, "Rude Mood' "Little Wing" Live 1983 and "Couldn't Stand The Weather". Not to mention that he broke a string during a live performance Doing "Little Sister" at Austin city limits and had to change guitars with out missing a beat.

For mind numbing guitar performance please check out "Tender Surrender" by Steve Vai (He played for Davey Roth after Van Halen)- IMPORTANT: watch the live version where he is wearing black

That opening power chord is nasty my favorite and lex picked up on it right away

i like their version of Dancing in the Street Also, Dance the Night Away and Dont Tell Me What Love Can Do (album version not mtv video version)

This album which is called fair warning is my favorite van Halen album

David Lee Roth is the ultimate showman of that era. Eddie Van Halen is the GOAT of guitars. David wanted the band to go in a different direction than Eddie.

Van Halen's absolute favourite album among fans. I live about half a mile from where Eddie and Alex and their family lived when they were kids in the Netherlands. Have been a fan since 1977, at 17 years old. Even my name is close to theirs.

EVH is still very much UNMATCHED. Randy saw him play and was perplexed, frustated for a wile then, He played "Crazy Train, etc.." for Ozzy Osbourne. Randy Rhodes.

81’ When Rap & Break dancing first jumped on the scene THAT is what you’re feeling. Dave always on the cutting edge of what was considered “ Hot”

From what I remember Dave left over the musical direction they were going in. Eddie wanted to use more synths and go in a more pop direction and Dave wanted to stick with the harder stuff. Could be wrong, I don't really pay attention to that kind of stuff although if it's true it's kind of weird the direction Dave went with his solo stuff. I'm sure there were a lot of other things, lots of head butting in this band over the years, my best friend worked for their management company and had to deal with them all the time, she was pretty happy when they went somewhere else, lots of drama.

Even to us back then, ole Dave could be a bit much at times but we still loved him. Still do and all VH!

You need to check out more Stevie Ray Vaughn and Jeff Healey. Jeff was blind, and killed it on the guitar.

"I love this!!! It's got that whole 70s feel!!!" That's because the 70s had JUST happened when this came out!

Dave wanted to be hard rock and Eddie wanted more synthesizers so Dave left the band

Diamond Dave is the ultimate hip-hop MC of rock music. He may not have the bars of some rappers, but his flow and delivery are on par with some of the top MCs in history. And this guitar hook and beat are absolute funked-up blues/R&B on steroids.

Just watched a few David Lee Roth and Van Halen's and I noticed Brad stopped each one to drool all over David Lee Roth........kept talkin bout his voice and style.. a lil Crush Brad

Lex has soo much caristma it's fun how she reacts to the music

In my subjective opinion, Van Halen's second best effort after their influential rock altering first album.

This is my #1 favorite Van Halen song. I'm happy to see that you reacted to this one in particular.

Still think the Van Halen /w Roth is the best over Sammy Hagar.

This song was an old Van Halen tune from the mid 70's and that bridge was thrown into Mean Streets when they wrote the song .... It is one of Van Halen's best tunes ever .....

It sucks when you go out on a limb and try something new and say you like it, and then DLR turns out to be half a stripper. Brad willl never trust again lol.

My favorite Van Halen song

“Congrats to Everyone who is early and found this comment”

You guys nailed it on this VH pick - this is just an incredible song by The Mighty Van Halen. Hey try Your No Good - they re-did Linda Ronstadt's song. They Van "Halenized" it!

You guys are hilarious, love it. Coming from an old as dirt guy who has listened to Van Halen since the 70’s. Yes this song is from 79 or 80. Just love that you guys love Van Halen 🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼

first of all this was in italy if you notice stage and when there singing no mic except for dave its the studio cut!

That is what being frontman is all about I did it in my band you have to be crazy and put on a show and that also is what makes it fun for you and crowd

You 2 really do great. Love how Brad is slowly getting into rock from his earlier react videos. Lexi is Lexi. Beautiful and so much joy radiating from her face as she hears songs. She really points out things I never thought of and Brad adds things as well. You guys have a loyal fan here. Keep it up!

Dave (the singer) quit on his own to pursue a solo career. It really took the brothers and the band as a whole by surprise. But, in less than a year they had a new singer (Sammy Hagar) a new hit album (5150), and were on tour promoting it. That's inconceivable today.

They came out of the 70's. Straight ahead R-n-R. Good call.

In many ways, Fair Warning is perhaps the most underrated of the Mk I Van Halen albums. It features not only this gem, but the tracks "Unchained", "Push Comes To Shove" and 'So This Is Love". It's worth digging into.

Lex, Eddie is considered the G.O.A.T. by millions of fans and industry publications, guitar magazine, etc. He built his own guitars, manipulated his amps to acheive the sound he wanted and completely revolutionized guitar playing and music....there are way too many things to list here. A replica of his "Frankenstrat" guitar even hangs in The Smithsonian! That "70's" vibe is due to the fact they hit it big in the late 70's and even some of the stuff from the first couple of years of the 80's still had that influence. He was a classically trained pianist from a very young age and taught himself the guitar when he got older. He almost always had one in his hand or nearby. He couldn't read music AT ALL....which is actually not unusual for prodigies. Oh, and Slash is awesome, too! The guitarist from Metallica and (I believe Slash) and another great guitarist delivered the tribute to Eddie at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame after he passed.

I love how music bridges the gap and cuts the bs... brings all the races together from Motown to Rock.....

Brad & Lex always coming thru!! It's awesome to see how far y'all have come in such a short period of time... Now if y'all can " circle back" to the original Van Halen first & 2nd albums, to many great songs to say which is best...☠️ DOA. & ON FIRE 🔥 are a couple great ones.

Mean Street, amazing song. Its always relevant to the around us especially in 2023.

Diamond Dave wanted Van Halen to be the hard rock group you just watched. Eddie wanted to introduce other sounds into their music. It was 1984 that pretty much changed things with their hit song "Jump" which introduced the synthesizer/keyboard. Dave didn't want to use keyboards/synthesizers and Eddie did. It wound up being a hit for Van Halen but Dave wound up leaving soon thereafter. Sammy Hagar formerly of Montrose had already established himself as, "The Red Rocker" with hit songs like, "There's Only One Way to Rock", "I Can't Drive 55", "Three Lock Box", "Your Love is Driving Me Crazy", etc. and when he joined, fans were excited to see what Van Halen would sound like. They went on to even more success with Sammy as lead singer. Dave branched off and had some limited success with, "Yankee Rose" but nothing like when he was with Van Halen. Fans of the original Van Halen with Dave wondered if they would ever see Dave back as the front man. When it did happen, the same spark was not there.

You are both right about your initial feelings on this song. David Lee Roth (singer) is one of the greatest front men in rock history. And he left due to constant tension within the band creatively. Second, this came out in 1981 and they grew up as a band in the 70's. Also, if you want to hear other great guitarists, check out Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin).

To be fair...in the early/mid 80s the whole band was wild, there is a great documentary about a guy who won an MTV contest in the 80s for a chance to hang with the band i think for a weekend and he barely made it out alive, he loved it but said it was beyond crazy

The singer Dave is a 5th degree black belt!!!! He s got the moves

the eddie van halen "Umpa Lumpa" outfit era. I'm sure Roth was behind that. Lex is spot on...the Guitar was blazing! the intro was the coolest thing ever done on an electric guitar! hands down!

You guys have checked out some of van halen with roth singing, now check out them with sammy singing. Right now, Poundcake, Dreams. These are some of their hits with Sammy Hagar.

Just a little history lesson; there were actually three versions of Van Halen. The first band featured David Lee Roth as lead singer in this video, and The second version of Van Halen, (unofficially a.k.a Van Hagar), featured Sammie Hager as lead singer, (formerly of Montrose. Sammie also had a very successful solo career after Montrose). All other members of the band remained the same, up until,... A third version of Van Halen emerged towards the end of Eddie Van Halen's life. Sammie left Van Halen to go back to a solo career, David Lee Roth re-joined the band and Eddie Van Halen's son, Wolfgang took over playing bass because, the original bass player Michael Anthony decided to go with Sammie Hagar, and they are still playing together to this day in a band called Chickenfoot, Check out "Highway Star with Joe Satriani on guitar, Excellent song. Two more Van Halen songs for you to check out are called, "Poundcake" and "The Best of both worlds" which Sammie wrote when when "Van Hagar" first got together. It's about the two joining forces and becoming one band. They just look like they are having so much fun in that video. Sammie Hagar, (a.k.a the "Red Rocker" simply because he liked the color), is an accomplished guitar player as well as a singer, Sammie Hagar's original songs, "I can't drive 55", "Bad Motor Scooter" · 'Your Love is Driving Me Crazy' · 'Heavy Metal' - and, "There's only one way to rock". Van Halen did play some of Sammie's original song while they were together, but Sammie took them with him when he left Van Halen. My wife and I argue over who was the better singer, she likes David Lee, but I think Sammie had a much better vocal range and more polished talent, AND he played guitar. David Lee doesn't play anything but his ego. ("too big for his britches") He actually smacked himself in the face doing Karate with the mike stand and was bleeding all over the stage once during a live performance. He actually stopped the band and walked off stage to get the bleeding stopped but came back with huge bandage on his nose. It was ridiculous, but,...that is David Lee, and again, he was just, "too big for his britches". Don't get me wrong though, I actually "like" the early years of Van Halen with David Lee Roth too.