Post by SAT-I need more room!! on Jan 30, 2006 12:31:36 GMT -5
Van Halen had 6 kick ass albums in the original David Lee Roth lineup. Most fans agree to that. However, which 3 in a row are best?
I know most fans love the first one, and it is one of the best debuts in hard rock history. But I suffer a bit from burn out. But even stepping back and judging objectively, I truly like II a lot better. And several others. In fact, I'm gonna go to the other end and list the last 3. Pete may disagree (or maybe not!), but this is how I feel.
Fair Warning-The second VH album I ever got. I learned Unchained and Hear About it Later from the concert videos that actually got play on MTV. I later heard So This is Love? this way, but that may have been after I got the album. I remember buying the album and a nerf baseball at Venture. Anyway, I always liked the album, but it was really those 3 that stood out to me. Then my bother-in-law gave me a bunch of old tapes and this was one of them. So I would take it whenever I'd take the dog for a walk, this would be the tape I'd take. I developed a greater appreciation for album cuts like Sinners Swing! and Dirty Movies. Always liked them, but it helped me appreciate what a great straight forward rock album this was.
Diver Down-Ok, I know many fans really pan this album. It's not without warrant. I mean, it's mostly covers. In fact, removing the covers (and I wish I COULD remove Big Bad Bill!) and the instrumentals, and you only have 4 new songs! But you know what, those are 4 GREAT songs! And the instrumentals are really good, probably 2 of their best. Even when dealing with their covers, Pretty Woman and Dancing in the Street get pretty regular play on Rock stations today. I heard their cover of Where Have All the Good Times Gone! before the Kinks' original, so Ed's heard first rule comes into play here. Of the four originals, my fave is Secrets, one of only two songs I would consider "ballads" from the Roth era (the other being II's Women in Love...). Little Guitars is another killer tune. Hang em High was just filler to me when I first got the album, but I really like it quite a bit now. MAN, I want to listen to this whole album now!
1984-Now I've actually heard people complain about this one. Maybe too commercial? I don't know, and I don't care. Yes, the singles are great, but look beyond them! Ok, Jump was everywhere (hell, 7 weeks at number 1!) but I still loved it. Panama and Hot For Teacher were both great, but I really liked I'll Wait. When that came out, I wasn't into them yet, and I thought it was Genesis!
Anyway, it seemed all my friends (we ALL had it) and I first loved Top Jimmy as far as the album cuts go. But now, I think it's the weakest. I don't know at what point I started liking Drop Dead Legs, but it was the first I did truly LOVE of the cuts. Wonderful grunging guitar and the great background singing from Michael and Eddie. Girl Gone Bad was several years later, and it too is pretty heavy from a supposedly "too poppy" hard rock album. House of Pain was yet another case of appreciating a song more when it came on when I hit shuffle. It was better than I remembered it.
Van Halen was on a roll at this point. As I pointed out, 3 songs from Fair Warning got MTV play, and then Pretty Woman became a fairly big hit. Then they absolutely EXPLODED with 1984, and David Lee Roth thought he'd be a bigger success on his own. Yeah, right. Anyway, 2 years later, they would release their first album with Sammy Hagar singing lead, and they'd never be the same.
I know most fans love the first one, and it is one of the best debuts in hard rock history. But I suffer a bit from burn out. But even stepping back and judging objectively, I truly like II a lot better. And several others. In fact, I'm gonna go to the other end and list the last 3. Pete may disagree (or maybe not!), but this is how I feel.
Fair Warning-The second VH album I ever got. I learned Unchained and Hear About it Later from the concert videos that actually got play on MTV. I later heard So This is Love? this way, but that may have been after I got the album. I remember buying the album and a nerf baseball at Venture. Anyway, I always liked the album, but it was really those 3 that stood out to me. Then my bother-in-law gave me a bunch of old tapes and this was one of them. So I would take it whenever I'd take the dog for a walk, this would be the tape I'd take. I developed a greater appreciation for album cuts like Sinners Swing! and Dirty Movies. Always liked them, but it helped me appreciate what a great straight forward rock album this was.
Diver Down-Ok, I know many fans really pan this album. It's not without warrant. I mean, it's mostly covers. In fact, removing the covers (and I wish I COULD remove Big Bad Bill!) and the instrumentals, and you only have 4 new songs! But you know what, those are 4 GREAT songs! And the instrumentals are really good, probably 2 of their best. Even when dealing with their covers, Pretty Woman and Dancing in the Street get pretty regular play on Rock stations today. I heard their cover of Where Have All the Good Times Gone! before the Kinks' original, so Ed's heard first rule comes into play here. Of the four originals, my fave is Secrets, one of only two songs I would consider "ballads" from the Roth era (the other being II's Women in Love...). Little Guitars is another killer tune. Hang em High was just filler to me when I first got the album, but I really like it quite a bit now. MAN, I want to listen to this whole album now!
1984-Now I've actually heard people complain about this one. Maybe too commercial? I don't know, and I don't care. Yes, the singles are great, but look beyond them! Ok, Jump was everywhere (hell, 7 weeks at number 1!) but I still loved it. Panama and Hot For Teacher were both great, but I really liked I'll Wait. When that came out, I wasn't into them yet, and I thought it was Genesis!
Anyway, it seemed all my friends (we ALL had it) and I first loved Top Jimmy as far as the album cuts go. But now, I think it's the weakest. I don't know at what point I started liking Drop Dead Legs, but it was the first I did truly LOVE of the cuts. Wonderful grunging guitar and the great background singing from Michael and Eddie. Girl Gone Bad was several years later, and it too is pretty heavy from a supposedly "too poppy" hard rock album. House of Pain was yet another case of appreciating a song more when it came on when I hit shuffle. It was better than I remembered it.Van Halen was on a roll at this point. As I pointed out, 3 songs from Fair Warning got MTV play, and then Pretty Woman became a fairly big hit. Then they absolutely EXPLODED with 1984, and David Lee Roth thought he'd be a bigger success on his own. Yeah, right. Anyway, 2 years later, they would release their first album with Sammy Hagar singing lead, and they'd never be the same.
Shaun & Willie artwork by SMG