Monday, September 17, 2012

Van Halen - Van Halen

The very first Van Halen CD I bought was their self titled debut. I don't remember when I bought it, or where. I do remember I owned the Diver Down cassette prior to that though.

Van Halen was one of those bands I discovered on my own. My Dad didn't listen to them, and I only knew the songs that had music videos. Which means that when I bought this CD the only song I really knew was You Really Got Me. What I didn't know is that I was holding one hell of a fantastic album in my hands.

The album opens with a blaring car horn that turns into something dying. From that a simple, steady bass line starts punching it up and the guitar explodes. This is Running With The Devil, and it is my favourite Van Halen song. The background vocals are fantastic, and David Lee Roth's lead vocals are the showmanship of legend. This song is the only reason I'm willing to acknowledge Van Halen as anything more than a joke. Well, that's not fair, but I really have little to no respect for three of the four members of the band on this CD. I'm so glad Michael Anthony decided to go with his friend, and leave the egos behind.

Speaking of egos. Eruption is the second track on this album. I'll resort to a previous review I wrote for this song. "It was fantastic for it's time. It was different, exciting, and full of the balls that guitarists in 1978 were missing. It's also overated, over played, and over shadows much better pieces from much better artists. The key to this specific solo is that it's not long and boring. Eddie clearly understands his instrument, and how to make it do marvelous things and this solo deserves at least that recognition."

I love the song You Really got Me. It doesn't matter if it's The Kinks or Van Halen, thay both are the same to me, in there respective ways. This is just a wicked fun song and it has a bitching riff that can't be ignored.

Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love is not only a statement on the American mentality of contracting everything, but it's also a brilliant delivery of musical skill and talent. The arrangements are well designed and the punctuation of timing is stylish. I'm The One is major league guitar wanking. This is Eddie doing his "look at me" routine of flying around the fret board and dropping some major whammy bombs. However, the boogie woogie being laid down by Michael Anthony and Alex Van Halen helps set off the guitar in a way that it is totally enjoyable. I even like the little Scat part in the middle. I will say that Diamond Dave did at least bring that type of interesting showmanship to the band.

Jamie's Cryin' is probably my second favourite Van Halen song. "She saw the look in his eyes / N' she knew better / He wanted her tonight / And it was now or never / He made her feel so sad / Oh, whoa, whoa, Jamie's cryin' / Oh, whoa, whoa, Jamie's cryin' Now Jamie wouldn't say all right / She knew he'd forget her / N' so they said ah-good night / Oh, and now he's gone forever / She wants to send him a letter, uh yeah yeah / Uh, just to try to make herself feel better / It said "Gimme (Gimme a call sometime)" / But she knows what that'll get her / Oh, whoa, whoa, Jamie's cryin' / Oh, whoa, whoa, Jamie's cryin'". I am constantly singing along with this song. It's so honest and pure, and is from a girl's point of view that's respectable. Also it's just a good solid song musically.

Atomic Punk is well written and performed. I enjoy the song when it comes on, and even will throw it on my Mp3 player from time to time. I don't think it's anything special, but that doesn't mean that it shouldn't be considered that way by someone else.

Now if Jamie's Cryin' is sweet, and shows that the band might have some emotional depth, Feel Your Love Tonight goes to the other end of the extreme. Once again this is a musically solid song, that's totally enjoyable. Lyically it has all the depth of a Kiss song.

The best part about this album is that there are no songs you are really going to feel a need to skip. It's just a really good Rock album. The solos and lead guitar lines are flashy and a bit Metalish, but everything else screams Rock.

I like the funk that comes with Little Dreamer. Lyrically the content appeals to me on a personal level. "And then they went and they voted you / Least likely to succeed / I had to tell them baby you were armed with all you'd need / Seems no one's talking 'bout those crazy days gone past / Weren't they amazed when you were really last? / (Oooh-oooh) You are the little dreamer / (Oooh-oooh) You were, the little dreamer. Yeah-yeah!" This is the hidden gem track on the album that gets me off in special ways, like a good funky groove should do.

I'm not sure why Van Halen felt a need to cover Ice Cream Man, but it works. This song was clearly one of Dave's choices since he did it a second time during his solo career as well. If any song on this album can be skipped it's this one. It's doesn't add anything to the album, but thankfully doesn't take anything away either.

The album finishes with On Fire. I have a habit of forgetting that this song is even on this album. I'm not sure how I feel about this song. It's not a bad finish to the album, but it's not very strong either. This is one of those songs I think should have been placed in a middle filler spot, and another stronger song should have been placed here instead.

All in all this is a really good album and I would suggest it to anyone that's interested in Van Halen. It's my favourite album of their entire catalogue, and it's the only reason I'm even willing to contemplate the idea that David was the better vocalist than Sammy Hagar. But only for a minute.

7/10 - content

7/10 - production

8/10 - personal bias

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