Tag: Van Halen

Nearly 45 years ago Diamond Dave and the Van Halen gang teamed up once again with producer Ted Templeman to record their fourth album, Fair Warning. You can practically smell the cheap apartments/rooms/cars this record banged out of all those years ago.  “Mean Street” is a tough as nails song about the down and out streets on the wrong side of town, Eddie Van Halen puts out staggering riffs over top.  More melodic, “Hear About It Later” sees David Lee Roth put in a really good bridge verse and Alex Van Halen powers through the outro.

Not to be outdone, Michael Anthony’s bass is the highlight of fan favourite “Unchained” about a “Blue eyed murder in a size five dress”. The only single released in North America was the upbeat rocker “So This Is Love?” before the short album finishes with the menacing synth tones of “Sunday Afternoon In the Park” that fades into “One Foot Out The Door”. Without any massive singles, the solid Fair Warning still went top 5 in the US and eventually hit double platinum.

7.5/10

Van Halen’s third album welcomed the band into the 80s. Once again produced by Ted Templeman, the band introduces a heavier sound. First track “And the Cradle Will Rock…” starts with an electric piano that sounds like a metallic guitar courtesy of Eddie Van Halen. A good rock song about the new metal generation of kids. The jungle drums and David Lee Roth making jungle noises opens “Everybody Wants Some!!”. The straightforward track about getting it on has been a long concert favourite.

The first half of the album is mostly about the kids, rock, and partying.  While the second half is mostly about that as well, a few different musical ideas start to appear. The punk/metal of “Loss of Control” sees Alex Van Halen doing double time on the bass drum. “Take Your Whiskey Home” and “Could This Be Magic” both turn in fine acoustic guitar moments. The former seeing a girl tell Diamond Dave, “well, I think that you’re headed for a whole lot of trouble” and the latter sounding like a good yet throwaway Doors song. 

The album ends with “In a Simple Rhyme” that starts as a 70s rock ballad before the rock comes in.  Nice vocals on the chorus make it a memorable album closer. Women and Children First sees Van Halen continue their party lyrics but the harder sounds is pushing the band forward.

7.5/10

The appropriately titled Van Halen II was the band’s second album released just over a year after their classic debut.  Several of the songs had been kicking around from their demo days including the hard rocking “Somebody Get Me a Doctor”. David Lee Roth sounds a bit like Ozzy when he sings, “I watch my television/almost lost my mind” on “Light Up the Sky” and guitartist Eddie Van Halen continues to impress on the acoustic instrumental “Spanish Fly”.

Moody opener is a cover of “You’re No Good” that sounds like a dark alley suddenly coming alive with a guitar warm up then the drums/bass appear. Where the album really shines is on tracks that allow Diamond Dave a little bit more room to breathe.  “Dance the Night Away” immediately sounds brighter than other tracks and the pre-chorus of “ooh baby baby” sets up the infectious chorus, Michael Anthony’s bass line and background singing is a driving force behind the scenes.

With much riffing on “D.O.A”, yet it still allows Roth to take the song to the next level.  His vocal wordplay on “Beautiful Girls” with its “She was a seaside sittin’/just a smokin’ and a drinkin’ on ringside” is really impressive. Alex Van Halen and Michael Anthony hold down a solid rhythm section throughout with the latter’s background vocals being a highlight on several tracks. It’s when the four are able to really let their personalities shine that Van Halen II really kicks up the heat.

7.5/10

The rock world was saddened when it learned of the passing of guitar legend Eddie Van Halen on October 6, 2020.  Eddie formed the band Van Halen back in 1974 along with his drumming brother Alex, bassist Michael Anthony and blonde haired singer David Lee Roth.  Their self titled debut came out in early 1978 to mixed reviews but while the album only peaked at #19 in the US, it has kept selling over the years and has now topped over 10 million units sold in the US alone.

At any given time, any of the first four songs can be heard on FM rock radio.  “Runnin’ with the Devil” introduced listeners to Diamond Dave’s howl while he sang of a hard living life as a loner. “Eruption” is a nearly two minute guitar instrumental that had teenagers in awe of the heroics of Eddie. The track usually leads into their first single, a cover of The Kinks “You Really Got Me”.  “Ain’t Talking ‘Bout Love” has a harder edge sound, more metal with a shouted chorus before a quieter guitar part during the mid song breakdown.

The second half of the album turns in the single “Jamie’s Cryin’” whose intro would later be used by Tone Loc for his 80s rap classic “Wild Thing”.  At it’s core, “Jamie’s Cryin'” is a great pop track as is “Feel Your Love Tonight” where Roth turns in a fine vocal performance while singing about trying to get the girl. Two thirds of the way through “I’m the One” the band pauses for a little “shoobedowa” interlude.  The album starts to fade over the last three tracks including a cover of blues track “Ice Cream Man” and “On Fire” bringing the album to a decidedly mixed close.

Van Halen’s debut is now rightly considered a hard rock classic with several inescapable tracks.  The songs that were originally demoed with the help Gene Simmons’ money tips its hat to the past with a few covers while showing later bands like Motley Crue the way forward. What comes through is the band’s joy of playing with a mix of hard rock, pop and metal that is hard to deny.

9/10