After listening to the first few Van Halen albums almost non-stop for the past few weeks, I decided to look a little more in-depth into why I like coming back to this band. Here’s a track-by-track review of the six original Van Halen records with DLR as the band rose to power and landed at number one…before having him replaced.
Van Halen I: The young and talented Southern Californians have just revolutionized their reputation from Pasadena’s local attraction to the triumphant powerhouse of 1978 with their first studio album. The band stormed the scene with their technically innovative musical skills and the strikingly flamboyant performances of their front man.
Their first album kicks off with a classic, “Runnin’ With The Devil,” which begins with the thunderous bass line by Michael Anthony followed by the introduction to guitarist Eddie Van Halen’s signature tone, Alex Van Halen’s precise drumbeat and front man David Lee Roth’s soaring vocals. The next track, “Eruption”, highlights the pinnacle of Eddie’s masterful guitar skills with an instrumental that will become the new standard for learning guitarists trying to follow the same road to success.
“You Really Got Me”, the first cover song on the album, demonstrates the band’s natural capability to reinvent a tune that even they admired into their own unique style. “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” captures the energy of Van Halen’s anthem-like stage act. Riff-based tracks like “I’m The One”, “Jamie’s Cryin’” and “On Fire” electrify listeners with fast, catchy and upbeat guitar and satisfying vocal harmonies from both Michael and Eddie.
Overall, the material this album projects took the industry by storm with Roth’s larger-than-life vocals, Alex’s gripping drum line, Eddie’s guitar mastery, and his high pitch collaborative harmonies with Michael to tie the album together. Each member’s attributes combine fluently to forge one of hard rock and heavy metal’s most influential album of all time.
Van Halen II: After an astronomical first step in their career with the heavy hitting debut, the band was ready for a follow-up album.
Beginning the list by showing off their cover song chops, “You’re No Good” is an incredible reincarnation of a track that no one thought could have screeching licks and high (er) notes. Next comes “Dance The Night Away” which is a tune that combines their pop influence with the band’s familiar rock sound to create another fan favorite.
“Somebody Get Me A Doctor” comes at you full speed with EVH’s groundbreaking riff and Roth’s distant vocals. “Bottoms Up!” is a party jam that puts Roth’s voice in command and Alex’s expeditious drumming in the spotlight. Not to forget EVH’s extravagant two guitar solos.
“Outta Love Again”, in my mind, is one of Van Halen’s best constructed songs as far as how it’s built towards the hook. Kicking off with Michael’s baseline and springing into Alex’s agile drumming, enabling EVH’s smooth riff. Following, Roth’s rapid fire singing and more of EVH’s solo intensity. “Light Up The Sky” is a fast paced rhythm of adrenaline with an astonishing closing full of echoing backing vocals, shredding by EVH and a final screech from Roth.
“Spanish Fly” exposes more of EVH’s brilliance by practically recreating Eruption on acoustic. “DOA” is packed with clean licks and eccentric solos that lead to the quivering closing. “Women In Love” showcases the band’s skill with slow and steady grooves using a beautiful intro and blissful backing vocals. “Beautiful Girls” is a soothing closer to the album with a melodious riff and a catchy hook.
Van Halen II is a well-bred second chapter of its predecessor and thrives on the qualities of the band members with fresh material.
Women And Children First: The third album from VH is an updated continuation of their expertise. Hearing the amplification of EVH’s guitar in the intro of “And The Cradle Will Rock” is the prologue of another VH experience ready to take off.
The opening track is an anthem containing Roth high notes and EVH greatness. “Everybody Wants Some” is the band’s bizarre take on a jungle themed tone, provided by Alex’s drum beat, Roth’s Tarzan impression and EVH’s guitar tinkering in the background. The song is carried out of the intro’s realm and brought into a spirited hard rock chorus.
“Fools” is a good jam, beginning with an elaborate EVH-centric intro and blues rock traits fueling the rhythm. “Romeo Delight” is a whirlwind of VH’s collaborative supersonic vitality, however it is still kept in control by toned down segments stringing the track together. “Tora! Tora!” Is an eerie intro, opening with playback audio of EVH plucking his guitar and initiating a doomy, Black Sabbath-influenced chain of solos merged with his playing style. Meanwhile, Roth howls in the background like they’re in a scary movie. These two factors make for a clever piece on the band’s approach at a horror tone.
“Loss Of Control” is VH transformed into a speed metal act intended to display another category they’ve explored and transmitted into their interpretation. “Take Your Whiskey Home” is a swinging rhythm riff-based tune introduced sharply on acoustic and magnified on electric guitar with dramatic breaks adding suspense between the vocals and during the solo. “Could This Be Magic?” is VH’s practice of southern blues and EVH’s first attempt at playing slide guitar inducing further diversity in the band’s musical ambiance.
“In A Simple Rhyme” is the culmination of the album where every member shines. Beginning with an appealing guitar segment transferred to the song’s solid drum beat. Roth’s vocals complement the other members. EVH and Alex carry the tone into striking breaks. These pause sequences trigger luminous harmonies with Michael, who is emphasized not only for his vocals during the dreamlike portions of the track, but his bass line is also purposely left peaking over EVH’s guitar on more than a few occasions. Finally, the track reanimates itself during the last couple seconds as an outro known as “Growth” and leaves listeners on edge and wanting more.
Women And Children is VH at the top of their game. Expanding their musical chops while remaining loyal to the tone that they know their fans can’t get enough of. This album represents the band digging deeper into their arsenal searching for fresh ideas and coming up with just the right amount new material.
Fair Warning: The 4th album contains a more aggressive tone that hasn’t been consistent in their previous records. VH was at odds with one another during the recording of these tracks and the frustration brewing between the members can be heard from the intensity and subject matter of the songs. While it might be difficult for the band to reflect on an album that came from tough times, many fans have hailed Fair Warning as their favorite due to the attitude it comes with, which was unseen for them.
Launching the first track with a signature EVH component is a great way to get the ball rolling on “Mean Streets”, the riff heavy opener notable for Roth’s remarkable vocals and his friendly reminder of the neighborhood activity in the desperate part of town. “Dirty Movies” starts with a winding EVH intro and evolves into a groovy deep cut. “Sinner’s Swing!” is a fierce wave of assault coming straight from EVH’s guitar and Roth’s swift mouth. “Hear About It Later” marks the band’s latest anthem, full of life and melodious.
“Unchained” is Fair Warning‘s strongest weapon and it’s packed with EVH’s killer riff and Roth’s assertive lyrics putting the audience on edge through its entirety. “Push Comes To Shove” is a moody rock tune that may be a bit slow for the average fan, however It’s doesn’t suppress EVH’s skill set, utilizing some tricks shown on “Women In Love” and shredding as fast as usual on the solo.
“So This Is Love?” will get the crowd leaping with excitement at the sound of Roth’s emphatic vocals, Alex’s upbeat drumming and EVH’s guitar squeals. The following track is an instrumental that startled even the original VH fans, “Sunday Afternoon In The Park”, Eddie fusing electronic waves while Alex accompanies the sound mixing. It comes off a little out of place, yet provides a fascinating appeal hearing EVH use the synthesizer as natural as his guitar. Ending with a bang, “One Foot Out The Door” throws itself at listeners at 100 miles per hour delivered by Roth’s authoritative vocals, but given brief pauses for Alex’s well deserved spotlight treatment. Finalized by one of EVH’s best outro solos, assuring everyone that they just completed a fantastic album.
Fair Warning packs a mean punch with VH’s inner-circle anger poured into a track list that gained the approval of its fans.
Diver Down: The band’s 5th album received mixed reviews from fans and critics alike. Although VH definitely has an assortment of new material to show with Diver Down, it’s acceptable to believe that there is a large influence of Roth’s interest in pop music driving this record into a direction fans may or may not approve of. Many use the three cover songs included, the most VH has put on one record, as evidence. The numerous EVH instrumentals pasted as separate tracks depicted as filler. And mainly, the overall lack of songs resembling the previous albums and the feeling that the band has branched out of its hard rock roots. All these claims make it easy to ridicule DD…because they’re true…however it’s an album that reflects the band’s attempt to climb itself out of the anger fueled production of Fair Warning and back to the uplifting origins of its previous recording sessions.
Since the first track is a cover tune, now is a perfect time to explain the construction of these types of songs. Despite most viewing this material as lazy and last-minute creations, I see the many factors assembled within these tracks and understand how well made the result is when listening to it.
Although, I prefer fresh music over covers, I appreciate the effort put in by the band to make it sound like an original track rather than compiling remakes in order to fill space on the album in half the time. “Dancing In The Street” particularly is incredibly refurbished with a disco rock tone, perky backing vocals, and just a well done conversion. “Hang ‘Em High” is one song that can be labeled as hard rock with EVH’s gripping riff and Roth’s echoing vocals to accumulate the familiar song formula their fans are used to.
“Cathedral”, “Intruder” and the “Little Guitars Intro” are brief reminders to assure fans that Roth isn’t the only member driving this album. These instrumentals are very pleasing to hear, however it only hurts the band to include them as standalone tracks. They could easily combine them with the song that they’re intended to lead into without trying to stretch DD as far as 12 tracks.
“Secrets” is VH’s failed attempt at a ballad. Nothing remotely as intricate as their slower tunes like “Women In Love” or “Push Comes To Shove” and the only factor listeners can look forward to is the EVH solo. “Little Guitars” is a catchy, radio friendly tune that uses a Pop/Rock rhythm to get struck in listeners’ heads. “Big Bad Bill” is an unexpected turn of events, featuring EVH’s father playing a clarinet and Roth on vocals. It’s been a pattern with VH to have a song here and there that doesn’t stay true to the hard rock label they get stamped with. The band, especially Roth, prefers to have open freedom in the songwriting process and to wind off course every once in a while to play a new fad altogether.
“The Full Bug” has a hard hitting tempo that first grabs you using its intro and picks up the pace with EVH’s stellar riff and Roth’s forthright vocals. After the song slams into an EVH solo, it’s not long before Roth picks up an instrument of his own, using a harmonica to compete with the guitar wizard in an epic duel.
The last sound wave out of DD is another atypical number that comes from VH’s sense of humor. “Happy Trails”, a 4-part harmony of a 1940’s radio show theme song is nothing beyond the band getting together and ending their album with a smile on their faces.
As a whole, Diver Down is a very diverse record and although it’s a lot to take in at once, many can appreciate VH for covering so much music (literally and metaphorically). For a rundown, The cover songs? Very well remodeled and customized up to the band’s high quality standards. The instrumentals? A joy to listen to, but not as pleased to see them piled on top of each in order to ante up the track list count. The remaining tunes pull the album together and prove that the band hasn’t lost its touch of originality or talent for a hard rock tone.
1984: VH’s prized album is an excellent sixth installment in the band’s catalog. Praised for its collection of hit songs and underrated deep cuts, this record opens a new department in VH history with EVH’s fascination with keyboards being embodied.
Opening with the album’s self-titled track, it’s more of a welcoming invite from EVH getting the listener prepared for what’s in store. What follows is VH’s most iconic song. “Jump” is an upbeat number fueled by EVH’s keyboard driven melody along with Roth’s self-confident vocals and jovial rhythm. “Panama” strikes 1984’s first guitar heavy track with Roth’s high powered vocals making for a great party anthem.
“Top Jimmy” rings in your head from its rapid pace and slick guitar transitions between the riff. “Drop Dead Legs” projects Roth’s voice just a few syllables at a time and carries a fat layer from EVH’s riff and extensive solo. “Hot For Teacher” punches the album into gear with an expeditious double-bass drum intro from Alex before scaling into EVH’s brisk riff, altering from high and low tempo. “I’ll Wait” puts EVH’s keyboard sharpness to the test with Roth’s ballad lyrics and Alex’s thumping drum beat. “Girl Gone Bad” explodes with a remarkable intro from Michael’s throbbing bass, EVH’s warm up to the riff and Alex’s unleashed drumming. Once it apexes, Roth leads into the hook which puts Michael front and center before the chaotic conclusion of the track. “House Of Pain” is heavy chunks of guitar and bass insanity from its intro to the destructive solo.
1984 is the band’s home run album from sales to songs. Launching VH to new heights with MTV staples and fan favorites loaded on one record. It’s treated as royalty and a symbol of the group’s most appreciated year with Roth since the release of their debut.
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