TRASHING SAMMY

Just when we finally solved the Robert Hilburn personality question, it seems like we’ve got another crisis on our hands: Terry Atkinson. His incredibly backwards review of Van Halen’s new album “5150” leads me to believe either he does not exist or he is really David Lee Roth (“Rough Sailin’ for Van Halen,” April 6).

How else can one explain his condemning of the most hot-rocking album since ZZ Top’s “Eliminator”? Even when he chooses to praise certain songs, Terry picks the wrong ones--”Good Enough” and “Get Up,” the worst songs on the record.

DAVE JOHNSON

Villa Park