So in part 1, I gave you the basics of Van Halen, Van Halen II and Women And Children First, three great albums of the Hard Rock genre. Following the same formula, this post will give you my verdict on the remaining albums from the original Van Halen lineup of David Lee Roth, Michael Anthony, Alex and Eddie Van Halen.
Continuing right where we left off, we arrive at 1981's Fair Warning.
If you like their slower, riff-heavy music with a nice groove to it, this album is definitely one to check out. "Mean Street" is a solid album opener boasting both a classic EVH solo in the intro and a head-nodding tune to introduce another great album. Overall, this album feels like the one where Michael Anthony's simple yet effective bass playing is put on display the most, as we get many tracks where Eddie temporarily takes a step back and lets the bass shine through ("Dirty Movies", "So This Is Love?" and "Push Comes To Shove").
Despite this, there are still guitar driven tracks for purists ("Unchained") and full band efforts for fans who liked to listen to each component of the music ("Hear About It Later"), along with some experimental synth material ("Sunday Afternoon In The Park") acting as a "Next Time..." teaser for their follow-up album and career.
1. Mean Street
2. "Dirty Movies"
3. Sinner's Swing!
4. Hear About It Later
5. Unchained
6. Push Comes To Shove
7. So This Is Love?
8. Sunday Afternoon In The Park
9. One Foot Out The Door
ALBUM RATING - 7/10
Next up is Van Halen's closest thing to a covers album, Diver Down.
Considering that about half of the album involves songs written by other artists and the other half are the band's equivalent of padding for the rest of the covers, I can't say I'm overly fond of this album. Opening track "Where Have All The Good Times Gone!" is another Kinks cover and even though they've certainly beefed up the sound to transform it from Garage into full-on Hard Rock, whether the track has been improved is still open to debate.
Many tracks clock in at a time between one and two minutes a piece such as the gothic "Cathedral" solo and the introductions to "(Oh) Pretty Woman" ("Intruder") and "Little Guitars", neither tracks worth shouting about. When I revisited these albums, the only tracks I found myself wanting to listen to again was "Secrets", a softer foot-tapping tune similar to the popular works of Wishbone Ash. Whilst it's not necessarily a bad album by general standards, it's easily the worst one of the original lineup and unless you're a fan of the songs they're covering, you're likely better off skipping it.
1. Where Have All The Good Times Gone!
2. Hang 'em High
3. Cathedral
4. Secrets
5. Intruder
6. (Oh) Pretty Woman
7. Dancing In The Street
8. Little Guitars - Intro
9. Little Guitars
10. Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now)
11. The Full Bug
12. Happy Trails
ALBUM RATING - 5/10
After that lull in quality, Van Halen managed to bring it back around with quite possibly their best album of their original lineup. Unfortunately, 1984 was also their last.
As I mentioned during the Fair Warning write-up, synths would go on to play a heavy part in Van Halen's career and this album probably marks the beginning of their use in the spotlight. Title track and album opener "1984" starts off as a grim dystopian overture before the tone does a complete U-turn with "Jump", clearing away any musical storm clouds with the band's iconic Arena Rock hit.
Despite this upbeat, Hard Pop poster child for the Disney generation's definition of "Rock", the rest of the album delivers a veritable buffet of fantastic music. Whether you like your riffs simplistic and catchy ("Panama" and "Drop Dead Legs") or your songs frantic and full of fury ("Hot For Teacher" and "Girl Gone Bad"), this is the other Must-Listen Hard Rock album the band have produced.
Aside from a slightly unnecessary intro and an album closer that fades out, there isn't a duff note in the entire album and to this date remains one of my all-time favourites. Even though the band would make many more albums over the next few decades (including one with David Lee Roth back behind the mic in 2012 and rumours of another coming in the next year or so), 1984 was the end of an era and my God, was it a strong ending.
1. 1984
2. Jump
3. Panama
4. Top Jimmy
5. Drop Dead Legs
6. Hot For Teacher
7. I'll Wait
8. Girl Gone Bad
9. House Of Pain
ALBUM RATING - 9/10
Whilst Van Halen aren't my favourite or even one of my favourite Rock bands, they knew how to put out a top quality album and definitely earned their place in Rock history...or did they? If you have any conflicting views on the band or even if you agree with what I've said over the last two posts, feel free to comment or message me on Twitter...I'd probably prefer a comment though.
Anyway, that's it for June! I've no idea what July will hold but since I can clearly do it, I'll be putting out post(s) each week. If you have any albums or anything you'd like me to discuss/review, let me know. Be seeing you!
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