If you hadn't read the title properly, I'll be talking about the original line-up and their material here (sorry Van Hagar fans). Since there are six albums to discuss, I'm going to split this post into two parts (both posted in the same week). The first will include Van Halen, Van Halen II and Women And Children First whilst the second will be about Fair Warning, Diver Down and 1984.
Van Halen released six albums with their first lineup, featuring David Lee Roth on vocals, Michael Anthony on bass and brothers Alex Van Halen and Eddie Van Halen on drums and lead guitar respectively. Unlike bands of the time such as Led Zeppelin and Queen, Van Halen were less about releasing instantly classic Rock tunes and more about incredibly solid albums that included the occasional iconic track across their career. However, unlike other Arena Rock bands who can be described the same way, Van Halen most likely owe their success to one main factor; Eddie's tapping.
Whilst he didn't invent the technique or even use it first in Rock music, Eddie Van Halen's use of two-handed tapping was definitely the one that fired it into the mainstream. From there, he would go on to inspire a selection of talented guitarists such as Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and Randy Rhoads whilst continuing to innovate & adapt the style himself. However, to say Eddie is the only reason to listen to the band is ignorant. Whether it's the opening drum solo in "Hot For Teacher", the simplistic yet catchy bass riffs from songs such as "So This Is Love?" or the banshee-like screeches from...well, a load of tracks, the rest of the crew definitely held their own and weren't just a backing band for Eddie.
First up, we have the explosive eponymous debut released in 1978.
This album is a must-listen for any Hard Rock fans, regardless of which flavour you prefer be it modern Hard Rock, older Hard Rock or Hard Prog. From start to finish, it's a collection of instantly catchy riffs, furious solos and bluesy vocals all working together in perfect harmony. Rather than blowing listeners away with full speed shredding, album opener "Runnin' With The Devil" takes a slower, more restrained tone. Presumably, this was to gently introduce listeners to an easily accessible Rock anthem before blowing them away with faster, wilder songs such as "I'm The One", "Atomic Punk" and signature solo "Eruption".
Van Halen (album) balances these with casual Riff-Based-Rock tracks like "Feel Your Love Tonight", "Little Dreamer" and "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love". Overall, the album may not be perfect and chances are you'll favour several tracks over others but as I mentioned, there's plenty for fans of the genre without spreading itself too thin in order to please everyone. Here's the full track listing with my personal favourites underlined:
1. Runnin' With The Devil
2. Eruption
3. You Really Got Me
4. Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
5. I'm The One
6. Jamie's Cryin'
7. Atomic Punk
8. Feel Your Love Tonight
9. Little Dreamer
10. Ice Cream Man
11. On Fire
ALBUM RATING - 8/10
Initially, I'd always regarded the next album as a bit of a letdown as I wasn't entirely fond of the tracks I knew off it. However, after a proper listen of Van Halen II, my views quickly changed.
Van Halen's 1979 follow-up succeeds in building on the sound of the first album without changing too much. After all, both albums open with a slow bass intro ("You're No Good"), both albums contain clear Blues influenced tracks ("Bottoms Up!") and both albums include a fair deal of Riff-Based-Rock with Eddie Van Halen allowed free reign over his fretboard ("Somebody Get Me A Doctor" and "Beautiful Girls").
However, some of the best parts of this album lie in the small differences the band have made to keep material from going prematurely stale, such as swapping electric for acoustic in "Spanish Fly", the short shredder that acts as a counterpart to "Eruption" or trying out some new guitar tones ("Women In Love...").
Also, there are definitely more tracks with a slower rhythm than the first album so I'd recommend Van Halen II to fans of songs they can listen to whilst relaxing, as opposed to fans of driving music. Either way, both albums are great examples of Hard Rock done right, provided you can forgive generic lyrics and song subjects.
1. You're No Good
2. Dance The Night Away
3. Somebody Get Me A Doctor
4. Bottoms Up!
5. Outta Love Again
6. Light Up The Sky
7. Spanish Fly
8. D.O.A.
9. Women In Love...
10. Beautiful Girls
ALBUM RATING - 8/10
The final album for this part continues the theme of developing smaller areas of the band's sound whilst sticking with staples proven to succeed over the last couple of years.
Don't be mistaken by the cover, Women And Children First is generally regarded as the band's first step towards heavier music with songs like "Everybody Wants Some!!" and "Romeo Delight" delivering high powered uncompromising riffs to an audience that had become accustomed to the band's typical sound. Whilst the album is devoid of a standalone solo, the guitarwork across the album takes a leaf out of the pages of the debut and returns the fury from 1978 in tracks such as "Loss Of Control" and "Fools".
Unfortunately, the album also introduces song intros ("Tora! Tora!"), an unwelcome Rock trait which will return in Diver Down some years later and is a worrying sign that the fame and popularity of a band is starting to affect their ego. Despite this, Women And Children First is one for fans of the first album, as there are a couple of acoustic and Bluesy numbers too ("Could This Be Magic?" and "Take Your Whiskey Home").
1. And The Cradle Will Rock...
2. Everybody Wants Some!!
3. Fools
4. Romeo Delight
5. Tora! Tora!
6. Loss Of Control
7. Take Your Whiskey Home
8. Could This Be Magic?
9. In A Simple Rhyme
ALBUM RATING - 7/10
That's it for part 1! I'll post part 2 covering Fair Warning, Diver Down and 1984 at some point this week, although I'll probably tweet a link to it because I'm like that.
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