Van Halen Unleashed was MTV's chronicle of the Van Halen 5150 Tour of 1986.  There was a lot of hating on Dave to go round.  Years change, A Different Kind Of Truth emerges, and you have a reversal of fortunes.  Unleashed was, at the time, to me, the coolest piece of Television ever.  I loved Van Hagar.  I still do love Van Hagar.  It is a different kind of slice though.  It is as different from Old Van Halen, as it is known, as Boston is to AC/DC.  If you think of Van Hagar more like Boston, Journey, or Def Leppard, as compared to AC/DC, Rush, or Scorpions, you are going to see a similar span.  Van Halen became more polished, pop sounding, yes, but Van Hagar had its rockin' moments as Old Van Halen did.  To deny this fact is to deny the existence of great music, and to deny this fact is to separate ones self from some really great music.  It is a shame that David Lee Roth does not consider doing his rendition of "Good Enough" or "Finish What Ya Started".  Granted there are tunes Dave would not tackle, as there were some of Dave's that Sam would not tackle either.  Unleashed is a slanted perspective put forth by the band, it is pure 1986 talking, it is hurt feelings, it is NOT indicative of the whole, different kind of truth. 

Sammy Hagar's days with Van Halen should be cherished and not challenged, nor tarnished by anyone.  Sammy Hagar did not make Van Halen change as much as people discredit him for; Edward was playing outside the band and playing plenty of music that sounded like Van Hagar. 

The same thing happened in 1996, 1997 and 1998, when Cherone joined the band the direction Edward was taking was already crystal clear and it was the direction the band went with Cherone; they were more a supporting act for Edward's solo desires.