Hello, and welcome to The Classic Record Review – Your weekly dose of retro Rock and/or Roll. I am Rob Samuels – writer, musician and all round class act. I hope you all had a pleasant and action-packed weekend. I was embroiled in a nine hour Texas hold'em session in which I came out in second place. Still, it made me think about what makes good poker music… today's column has nothing to do with that - but it makes you wonder (to quote Led Zeppelin).
Like last week I'm going to selflessly plug my own Hall of Fame articles, because y'know I wrote ‘em. I of course inducted both The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin t'other week, so check ‘em out if you feel so inclined.
Anyway enough schpiel, this week's album was released in the late seventies and had a major effect on the whole rock genre, setting a trend for the eighties. Revolutionary in its sound and a bloody good record to boot, this album shot the band in question into the limelight and began a legendary career.
Any guesses?
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Go on…
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Go on go on go on go on…
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Go on…
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Van Halen – Van Halen
I'm sticking to the recent trend of reviewing American bands for no particular reason. Still, this is an album that without doubt belongs in the ‘classic' bracket. Like many albums I have reviewed here this record defined a genre and inspired a generation and kicked off a long and interesting career for one of America's greatest Rock bands.
The Line-up
Before we get into the nitty-gritty lets have a look at who was behind the music:
Van Halen:
David Lee Roth: Vocals
Eddie Van Halen: Guitar
Michael Anthony: Bass
Alex Van Halen: Drums
Additional personnel:
None
Production:
Produced by: Ted Templeman
Engineers: Donn Landee, Peggy McCreary and Kent Nebergall
The background
Van Halens self-titled debut album was released in 1978 and took only three weeks to record. But this album was about eight years in the making. In 1972 two brothers - Alex and Eddie decided to start a new band on the heels of the unsuccessful ‘Trojan Rubber Company'. The two quickly recruited bassist Mark Stone and David Lee Roth on vocals, mainly because he had a PA system they could borrow. The band dubbed themselves ‘Mammoth'.
In 1974 Michael Anthony joined the band replacing Stone on the bass. Shortly after Anthony's arrival Mammoth discovered another band were using the name. They quickly changed to Van Halen at the suggestion of David Lee Roth. After years of working the scene Van Halen became renowned around California for their elaborate and entertaining live shows, which combined the technical expertise of Eddie Van Halen with the wild stage antics of David Lee Roth.
They came to the attention of Gene Simmons who paid for them to record a demo at the famed ‘Electric Ladyland Studios'. Their star was rising and in 1977 they signed a deal with Warner Bros. Their debut would be an amalgamation of their live set featuring mostly original material as well as their crowd-pleasing cover of ‘You really got me'. To keep the ‘live' feel the record maintains a very ‘hands-off' style of production that allows the raw music and energy to shine through. This album really launched Eddie Van Halens signature guitar sound on the world, a style which has been copied multiple times over the years.
Lets have a listen…
The music
We begin things with the shrill sound of a siren before the pounding bass line and grinding guitar riff of ‘Runnin' with the Devil' kicks in. The steady beat of the bass and drums anchor this song allowing Eddie Van Halen to grab us with a saucy riff. The song is broken up with a couple of brief solos that give us a little taste of things to come. The song is punctuated with the angry wail of David Lee Roth's vocals.
‘Eruption' is next… this song is Eddie Van Halen in pure guitar wankery mode. Pure genius.
The bands version of The Kinks ‘You Really got Me' follows, maintaining the quick pace of the record. This is an excellent cover. The song is really brought to life and modernized, but it still maintains all of its original charm and character. I hate covers that kill the originals passion and style (See Limp Bizkits ‘Behind Blue Eyes'). You can imagine the crowd going wild for this track live. Magic.
We get the chunky yet intricate riff for ‘Aint talkin' bout Love' next. The chorus is pure magic as David Lee Roth yells the hook-line over some beautiful guitar work. Once again the unspectacular rhythm section anchors the band perfectly allowing Eddie to showcase his style that would change rock music forever.
‘I'm the one' quickly follows, with a trademark Van Halen riff and a much harder heavy metal sound. The opening guitar madness is fantastic and the theme is continued throughout. This is a real galloping song topped off with some cracking vocal work. I love how David Lee Roth just wails when he has nothing else to say. It somehow breaks down into an A'Cappella middle 8 before launching back into the chorus. I wish I could get away with trying something like that.
The grinding riff to ‘Jamie's Cryin'' looms its head next taking the record a slightly different direction. This is a much lighter number that still maintains the records energy level. This is a greatly varied song featuring some nice delicate moments with some typical Van Halen hooks – a nice show of versatility from the band.
A scratchy guitar intro leads us into the fast and furious ‘Atomic Punk'. This song features an extended guitar solo and some nice Metal moments. David Lee Roth really gives it his all on the vocals here – good stuff.
The innuendo laced ‘Feel Your Love Tonight' follows in typical Van Halen style. This is another riff driven monster of a rock song that makes you tap your foot and bob your head in appreciation. Some sleazy lyrics add to the dirty feel of the song which gives the track an AC/DC charm. There's also room for some nice vocal harmonies, which I haven't really touched on but are a key feature of Van Halens style.
‘Little Dreamer' has a more soulful feel to it than the previous tracks. This is another show of versatility, proving they're not just about power and aggression. This song is home to another spectacular solo which really has no right to fit in with the rest of the song, but it works perfectly.
The acoustic Rock ‘n' Roll ‘Ice Cream Man' appears out of nowhere which adds a nice twist to the record, before it launches back into life. This is the second cover on the album, and is another fine choice of song – a really fun little ditty that is Van Halenized to great effect here.
The high octane ‘On Fire' is our album closer as we delve back into Metal mode. This is a really aggressive number featuring a dark and murky chorus peppered with some intense guitar work. A really shocking closer that just smacks you round the mush before leaving – quality stuff.
The 411
Musically this record is a triumph. It's just really fun high-energy stuff throughout. It flows excellently from start to finish and showcases the very best of the on-off Roth-Van Halen partnership.
Historically, this record was as revolutionary as any guitar record before it: Hendrix shook us, Page bowed us silly, Iommi blew our minds and here Van Halen riffs you up. This is the next step in the evolution of the guitar and worth owning just for that.
A must have for any Rock/Metal fan:
Five Eddie guitars out of Five.
Thanks for reading, and feel free to comment if you feel so inclined. I'm also partial to a good old-fashioned email if that's your thing.
Warmest Regards,
Rob Samuels (Dreamweaver)
