Reportedly a few lucky people have already gotten to hear the new Van Halen record 'A Different Kind of Truth,' well ahead of its Feb. 7 street date. Judging from the internet accounts of these highly guarded listening sessions, the band's first outing with original singer David Lee Roth in nearly 30 years is going to make fans pretty happy.

MelodicRock.com reports that one retailer, who had an Interscope executive fly out for a special playback session, labeled the record "overall, heavier than I expected," and singled out the songs 'China Town,' 'Big River' and 'Beats Workin'' as highlights. They also went on to say that 'She's the Woman,' as previewed at the band's recent New York City club show, was better than the official first single 'Tattoo.'

A post on the VHLinks message board quotes another, unnamed source, who runs down every song on the album in mostly favorable terms, and also declares 'A Different Kind of Truth' "better than anticipated." They go so far as to cite 'You and Your Blues' as "probably the coolest VH track I've heard," adding they "didn't think Eddie had this sort of thing in him." Which boggles our mind a bit -- what hasn't Edward Van Halen shown he can do with a guitar?

If this review is accurate the record also features a couple of ballads, including "real surprise" 'As Is,' which is described as "melodic, slower, understated in many ways" and ultimately, "the best track on the album." Of course, these reports should be taken with a grain of salt. Hopefully soon enough we'll all get our chance to hear this eagerly anticipated album. Until then, it's a steady diet of the first six albums on repeat out here, how about you?

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