This week was a landmark week, with Tuesday marking the release of Van Halen's first album with David Lee Roth in 28 years. Unfortunately since the album is so fresh, I need another few days to digest the 13 explosive tracks on the album before discussing them in a post. With that said, I will preview the album right here and now so that next week I can get straight down to business.
Van Halen was a wildly influential band, and as can be seen in the previous post, has a wildly tumultous history. For this post I will simply explain the bands history with original singer David Lee Roth, as this album seems to pick up where the band left of 28 years ago. Their first (and widely regarded as their best) album was Van Halen in 1978. This album was so important because it not only contained some of the wildest and most unorthodox noises and melodies from guitarist Eddie Van Halen ( see On Fire, Eruption, Atomic Punk, I'm the one) but it also included catchy melodic tunes (see Feel Your Love Tonight, You Really Got Me, Runnin' with the Devil, and Jamie's Cryin'). This album is widely credited for changing the ground work for guitar players everywhere, but found success by being friendly to listeners who weren't so musically inclined.
The next album Van Halen II was written in about a week. Part of this was due to the fact that some of the songs were songs that the band had written before their debut album. This is noteworthy because their is large controversy over the band's use of other unreleased material on their newest album. Van Halen II follows much of the same pattern of the first album and was recorded within a year of their debut.
The third album Women and Children First, is yet another landmark album, yielding many hits. This album though was a little darker and more experimental than the first two, although on virtually any given Van Halen album there is atleast one track that can be considered quite unique. The opening song "And the Cradle Will Rock..." is the first official Van Halen song to feature Eddie Van Halen on the piano although it is disguised to sound like a guitar. Most of the music on this album does not seem to hail from older material, but it is impossible to know for sure. For those who aren't a fan of typical Van Halen music, the final two tracks (Could This Be Magic?, and In a Simple Rhyme) are two of my favorite tracks, even though their styles contradict most other Van Halen work.
In 1981, Fair Warning hit. This album is cherished by many fans as their best, and possibly darkest album. The guitar playing on this album is fierce, although their are a few songs (Push comes to shove, Sunday Afternoon in the park, and One foot out the door) that contain very little if any guitar. However, between those songs are some great grooves and insane guitar licks.
Diver Down is a heavily underrated album by Van Halen fans. It is loathed mostly because it contains 5 cover songs, and three instrumentals in 12 tracks. However songs such as Little Guitars, Cathedral, The Full Bug and Hang 'em High make this an essential album for any guitar player or Van Halen lover. It is important to note that Hang 'em High was a reworked version of the unreleased song titled Last Night.
Then cam 1984. This album was a major success for Van Halen both commercially and critically. This album contained the popular hit songs that are still famous to this day. This album also marks the beginning of Eddie Van Halen's exploration into the realm of keyboards. While this album is good, it is not my favorite as most of the album can be heard on the radio and it is quite short. House of pain can be traced back to old pre 1978 demos.
Next week I wil review the new album and include some exciting videos of the new songs and their older counterparts. Also coming soon are new albums from bands such as Aerosmith, Joe Walsh, Bruce Springsteen, Slash and many more, so be prepared for a huge year!
