10 Rock Songs That Artists Didn't Want To Record
7. Amsterdam - Van Halen
The '90s weren't a decade that was too kind to Van Halen. Despite having a mammoth smash at the start with the single Right Now, the rest of the decade resulted in the departure of Sammy Hagar and the massive misfire with Gary Cherone on Van Halen III. Right in the middle finds Balance, complete with one of the most questionable moves in Van Halen's entire career.
Though the album is serviceable for the group's dad rock era, Amsterdam tends to get a bit awkward once you look at the lyric sheet. As opposed to the scenic wonders of the country, most of this track was written by Hagar about being a tourist in Amsterdam and spending your days and nights getting high. That alone is kind of in bad taste, but it stings all the more when you realize that the Van Halen brothers were actually born in the Netherlands.
Since most of this album revolved around Sammy and Eddie Van Halen butting heads, Amsterdam just sits right in the middle of the record as the one song no one really wants to talk about. Instead of your typical rocker, this song feels like it came from years of spite rather than from the heart. If you didn't realize that Van Halen was about to start going downhill, this one track made things abundantly clear.