Great Metal Albums of 1984: Van Halen- 1984

 

History is the reason why I am beginning the journey through 1984 with Van Halen's sixth album, which is also named after this same year. Going back to in time, minutes after the bells rang in 1984 as the new year, MTV started the year by playing the first single from the album, "Jump." Like many a metalhead at the time, I wasn't too sure about the large amount of keyboards used in the song. However, I didn't think the song was bad and Eddie proved he knew his way around a keyboards almost as well as he does his guitar. That's how the year started for me. I then proceeded to get rather sloppy drunk as you do on the new year.

After "Jump," things go back to more traditional Van Halen territory, with one exception, which I'll get to. "Panama" was also released as a single and I definitely like it more than "Jump." Eddie works his magic with the guitar and David Lee Roth uses his mouth in the only way he knows. I'm not just talking about his singing either. I've always liked his talking bit in the middle of "Panama." "I reached down and put the seat back." It doesn't translate well here in print but if you listen to the song, you'll see what I mean.

"Top Jimmy" and "Drop Dead Legs" are both good songs and I like the little guitar bits done on both songs. However, whenever I hear "Drop Dead Legs," my mind immediately goes to when I heard the song used in an episode of "Family Guy." For those who don't know, it's the episode where Brian and Stewie travel to a parallel universe and find a world where Meg is hot.

[caption id="attachment_3772" align="aligncenter" width="191"] Drop Dead Legs played to this scene[/caption]

Another good thing about both of those songs is that they lead beautifully to my favourite song on the album, "Hot for Teacher." Every thing you loved about Van Halen is found on this song. Roth's little quips between the verses and don't forget, he can sing some too. Eddie plays the longest solo of all the songs on the album and very well too and of course we can never forget the rhythm section of Michael Anthony and Alex Van Halen. While these two remain tight on the whole album, they seem especially so on "Hot forTeacher."

After my favourite song comes the other exception. "I'll Wait" is another keyboard dominated song but I never disliked it. If Van Halen had been making albums in the 1970s, many people would have used this song to label them a progressive rock band. Still, Eddie plays a decent solo on it. "I'll Wait" leads the way for the album to go out on the good foot. I do like the intro on "Girl Gone Bad" and "House of Pain" is a suitable closer. For me, though I hadn't listened to "Diver Down" at the time, I still drew the conclusion that "1984" was three steps up from it. Now that I have listened to that album, I will stay say that this one is the better album.

Track Listing:

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

[caption id="attachment_1143" align="aligncenter" width="267"] Van Halen[/caption]

David Lee Roth- lead vocals

Eddie Van Halen- guitar, keyboards, backing vocals

Michael Anthony- bass, backing vocals

Alex Van Halen- drums, backing vocals

This was how my 1984 began. There aren't too many better ways to ring in a new year but what I do know now is that Van Halen's "1984" opened the port hole to all the great music that would come our way in this year.

Next post: U2- Under a Blood Red Sky

To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com 

Great Rock Albums of 1983: Brian May- Starfleet Project

 

Here's another album that would have passed m e by hadn't been for MTV. The single from Queen guitarist Brian May's album, (yes I know it's really an EP) "Starfleet Project" was never played on radio, at least not on my local station in New Jersey and this was before it degenerated into a top forty station. I remember the video for "Starfleet." It looked like something out of "The Thunderbirds" with the puppets and stuff. The science fiction theme to the video added to it. To be honest, I couldn't have cared less about the video but I loved the song and thus, had to get the EP.

[caption id="attachment_3311" align="aligncenter" width="395"] From the video to "Starfleet"[/caption]

Now you have probably noticed that the album is from Brian May and Friends and boy did Brian choose the right friends to help him record this. He got Eddie Van Halen to accompany him on the guitar and Alan Gratzer from REO Speedwagon fame to do the honours on the drums. Those names right there should tell you that what you are about to hear is totally going to blow you away and they do.

There might only be three songs on the album but they are three memorable ones, plus the fact that the shortest of these three is still over seven minutes made "Starfleet Project" an album in my book back then. Starting with the title track, it is the more commercial of the three. Brian shows that he knows his way around a keyboard a little bit but he still does some great guitar work on the song. I had always suspected from his Queen days that he could sing and he clearly shows it here.

Track two is the more bluesy "Let Me Out." Here, May and Van Halen really start to go to town with the solos. They are so good that I can never remember what Brian wants to be let out of. However, it's the third track that takes you to Neptune and beyond. Here we have the two mentioned guitar greats paying tribute to another guitar god, Eric Clapton, with "Blues Breaker." When that happens you are guaranteed nothing short of guitar heaven. For nearly thirteen minutes, Brian and Eddie go back and forth trading off guitar solos, each one as good as the last. There is a short break in the action for a bit of ivory tinkling from Fred Mandel but things go back to the blistering solos. This song alone makes the entire album a must have.

Track Listing:

1. Starfleet
2. Let Me Out
3. Blues Breaker

[caption id="attachment_287" align="aligncenter" width="200"] Brian May[/caption]

Brian May- guitar, vocals, keyboards

Eddie Van Halen- guitar, backing vocals

Alan Gratzer- drums

Phil Cohen- bass

Freddie Mandel- keyboards

Roger Taylor- backing vocals on "Starfleet"

Queen might have been taking a hiatus in 1983 but Brian May wasn't. He went well above and beyond and showed his true talents on this album.

Next post: Bob Dylan- Infidels

To buy Rock And Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com 

Great Metal Albums of 1982: Van Halen- Diver Down

 

It was while on liberty in Toulon, France that I saw Van Halen's fifth album in a record store there. I made a mental note about buying it then one of my marine buddies actually did. After giving "Diver Down" a listen, he proclaimed that the album sucked and had another person corroborate his feelings on it. That was enough to put me off buying it. Furthermore, when returning to the US two months later, hearing the first single, "Pretty Woman" didn't inspire me with confidence and neither did the follow up single, "Dancing in the Street." In fact, those songs gave me the impression that Van Halen had given up song writing and were simply getting by covering other's songs. Then about a year later, I heard "Happy Trails" on a bar's juke box and thought, "Now I'm definitely not going to buy this." So, last Sunday night was the first time ever, that I listened to the full album.

Let me say that "Diver Down" doesn't suck. However, it's not as good as their previous four albums either. One thing I noticed and I wished I knew back then not to trust a song played on commercial radio, is that the radio version "Dancing in the Street" had much of Eddie's guitar solo removed and that's a shame. I think that song has his best solo on the album. While it may not be as good as it's predecessor's, there are some glimpses of what made Van Halen great in the early 80s. The first two tracks had me thinking that maybe this album wasn't going to be as bad as I first imagined. There are three instrumentals on the album, nothing like "Eruption" but "Cathedral" is quite good. "The Full Bug" is a good one towards the end and it could have been the closer but now that I see that "Happy Trails" is at the end, I think that maybe they were trying to go out with a sense of humour so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt on that one.

As for the band, David Lee Roth's vocals are just as good and he stamps his personality on the album. Then again, his ego couldn't be ignored and his limited vocal ability fits in well with the songs. As usual, Eddie has spots where his guitar work shines, it's just unfortunate that there isn't a cool solo with every song. Needless to say but the rhythm section of Alex and Michael is as solid as the other albums no faulting that. So, my verdict is that "Diver Down" is not bad. It would be even better if they had not included "Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now.)" A totally unnecessary song in my view.

Track Listing:

1. Where Have all the Good Times Gone
2. Hang' em High
3.  Cathedral
4. Secrets
5. Intruder
6. Pretty Woman
7. Dancing in the Street
8. Little Guitars (instrumental)
9. Little Guitars
10. Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now)
11. The Full Bug
12. Happy Trails

[caption id="attachment_1143" align="aligncenter" width="204"] Van Halen[/caption]

David Lee Roth- vocals, synthesizer, harmonica, acoustic guitar on The Full Bug

Eddie Van Halen- guitars, backing vocals

Michael Anthony- bass, backing vocals

Alex Van Halen- drums

If I had ignored my buddy thirty three years ago and had bought "Diver Down," it would have gone into my rotation. I listen to albums in a strict order, don't ask. I wouldn't have listened to it once and then forgotten it. However, when I did listen to it, it wouldn't have been with the same enthusiasm as the first four Van Halen albums.

Next post: Loudness- Devil Soldier

To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at tobychainsaw@hotmail.com

Great Metal Albums of 1981: Van Halen- Fair Warning

New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) may have reigned supreme in 1981 but it didn't mean that American metal was muted in that year and that was largely due to Van Halen's fourth album, "Fair Warning." For some people at the time, this album was supposed to be a redemption for Van Halen after their supposedly disappointing "Women and Children First" album. (I wasn't disappointed with that album.) I will also agree with the critic who said that "Fair Warning" was a little better than the previous album but since neither album was as bad as some of these 'critics' made them out to be, I will have to say that they are both great albums. However, I will also state that neither quite makes it to the level of their first two, but come on, Van Halen I and II will always be at a level many albums will never attain so let's give "Fair Warning" credit where it's due.

From the opening notes in "Mean Street," it was crystal clear that Eddie Van Halen shows why he was the ultimate guitar master in the early 80s.  The album takes you down a smooth road of great music, especially during the first five tracks reminding you why Van Halen held the flag for American metal. "Dirty Movies" and "Hear About it Later" stick their heads above the rest here with the former showing there is a sense of humour behind the metal. For years, I thought that song was called "Bitches of the Silver Screen." I saw a video of the latter song played live and that completely blew me away. The acoustic intro quickly followed by the powerful rhythm of guitar, bass and drum, with some interesting guitar riffs thrown in around the vocals before cascading into a well played EVH guitar solo. There is little wonder why it's my favourite song on the album. "Unchained" is more of a traditional Van Halen single but it still rocks while the rest of the album, while maybe not quite as mind blowing as the first five songs is still powerful enough to leave the listener contented once it has finished.

Track Listing:

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

[caption id="attachment_1143" align="aligncenter" width="178" class=" "] Van Halen[/caption]

David Lee Roth- vocals

Eddie Van Halen- guitar, backing vocals

Michael Anthony- bass, backing vocals

Alex Van Halen- drums

In a year when Britannia ruled the heavy metal waves, it was good to see that the guns of American metal didn't remain silent. I have always said that both countries have always benefited from exchange of heavy metal. Van Halen showed they were still a major player in the game with "Fair Warning."

Next post: The Plasmatics- Valley of the 1984

To buy Rock And Roll Children, go to www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/RockAndRollChildren.html

Also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Froogle and on sale at Foyles Book Shop in London

Great Metal Albums of 1980: Van Halen- Women and Children First

Another offering from the American side of heavy metal came in the form of the third album from Van Halen. (Although you could say that this was a Dutch-American collaboration since the Van Halen brothers were originally from the Netherlands.) Still what we got in 1980 was "Women and Children First." Now, my alternate mindset is hearing some collective scoffs and sighs from some of you and I know why. In comparison to Van Halen's first two albums, this one doesn't compare. However, if you can divorce yourself from those iconic first two albums and look at "Women and Children First" on its own, you may find that it's really not that bad of an album.

For me, the two best tracks are the first two songs on the album: "And the Cradle Will Rock" and "Everybody Wants Some," the latter being a concert favourite for several albums after. The former song was the one stuck in my mind for most of my first tour of sea duty and it helped get me through it. The spoken David Lee Roth part of the latter: "I like the way the line runs up the back of your stocking" amuses me to this day. While they may be the two strongest tracks, the album doesn't end there. The next song, "Fools" begins with the traditional guitar work that made Eddie Van Halen the principal guitarist back then. The next track "Romeo's Delight" reminds of some of the classic rockers that we got from the first two albums and continues through the next two tracks. While "Take Your Whiskey Home" seems to be an attempt to re-create my all time favourite Van Halen song, "Ice Cream Man," it's still a good jam. However, and this is where things fall down, in my view. The acoustic track "Could This Be Magic?" where the only female singer ever let on a Van Halen album, Nicolette Larson, provides backing vocals. I love a good acoustic jam but this song had me asking myself: "Are they taking the p*ss here?" Still one questionable track does not make a bad album and it redeems itself with the closing song.

In short, except for that one possible track, there is nothing for me to dislike on "Women and Children First." David Lee Roth sings to his capabilities, Eddie shows the world that he still has a trick or two up his sleeve on the guitar, and Alex Van Halen and Michael Anthony still prove why many people back then considered them to be the best rhythm section around at the time.

Track Listing:

1. And The Cradle Will Rock

2. Everybody Wants Some

3. Fools

4. Romeo's Delight

5. Tora Tora!

6. Loss of Control

7. Take Your Whiskey Home

8. Could This Be Magic?

9. In a Simple Rhyme

10. Growth (Hidden track)

Van Halen

   David Lee Roth- lead vocals

Eddie Van Halen- guitars, backing vocals

Michael Anthony- bass, backing vocals

Alex Van Halen- drums

It is tough for any act to follow up on a great album so imagine how difficult it is two follow up on two. With "Women and Children First," Van Halen make a valiant effort and while it may night reach the dizzy heights of the first two, it is still a good album and should be seen as such.

Next post: Saxon- Wheels of Steel

To buy Rock and Roll Children, go to www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/RockAndRollChildren.html

Also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Froogle and on sale at Foyles Book Shop in London