10 Greatest Comeback Albums In Rock Music History
5. 5150 - Van Halen
In the mid '80s, Van Halen seemed to be on top of the world. After making another classic album with 1984, how would you call the next album a comeback when they just came off of songs like Jump and Panama? Well, Van Halen had the most basic of comeback stories in the book: having to rebuild your band from the ground up.
Since David Lee Roth decided to part ways with the Van Halens at the end of the tour, Sammy Hagar came to the table ready to kill on 5150. Though you can definitely hear bits and pieces of these songs that would have sounded better written for Roth, the amount of flair that Hagar has in his voice is enough to compensate for it. Looking at songs like Good Enough, it was almost like they traded up, with Hagar's range being a lot further reaching than Roth's.
There are even a few twists and turns on the record that most people weren't aware of, like the switch to the easy listening format on songs like Love Walks In and Dreams. You have to remember that Van Halen were everyone's favorite party band, and to see them do ballads and not make them sound hokey was beyond impressive. Whereas most people thought that Roth leaving would be a deathblow, this was Van Halen hitting the reset button on their entire career.