Van Halen - Diver Down
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Free Music Notes for Diver Down
Free Music Review: I remember....
Hit: 5 Stars
I remember when this album (not CD - vinyl album!) first came out. I was living in a 3rd floor walk-up in Boston, so broke that it took four of us to pay the rent with our part-time jobs - going to school full-time - and hanging out - lying on the floor mostly - listening to music. When Diver Down came out, we spent grocery money to get it! Who could resist Eddie's infectious smile, as his fingers raced over the frets? Who could ignore Diamond Dave's stratospheric leaps? So, we forked over the bucks - and we were in heaven! "Dance the Night Away" - "Pretty Woman" - "Where have all the Good Times Gone?" - to this day - some of my favorite songs of all time. And when they ended with a chorus of "Happy Trails" - we died... there, on the spot, we fell over with glee. An album of pure fun and masterful guitar - what more could you ever want? Free Music Review: Diver Down
Hit: 3 Stars
Van Halen's fifth studio album is certainly an enigma. It's completely different than their previous release, Fair Warning. In most ways it's a return to the pop vein & party atmosphere of their first two albums. What caused this dramatic redirection? I'm not an insider so my views are completely speculative though I do have some knowledge of the business. Can we place the blame on the sales of Fair Warning? Probably not. Fair Warning wasn't their best selling album yet it peaked at #5 on the charts. Is it because Fair Warning was such a dark album? Could be. Did Fair Warning have any commercial value particularly in the singles releases? As stated before. Fair Warning did well on the album chart & it had four singles that charted though not on Billboard's main singles chart (see my review on Fair Warning). Were they tired from touring? Very likely. Was Warner Bros., their label, demanding an album? Also, very likely. Was there trouble in paradise between Diamond Dave & Eddie? a distinct possibility. Whatever the reasons, Diver Down is certainly the weakest Van Halen album of the David Lee Roth era. They returned to recording some covers for the first time sine Van Halen II. The album actually peaked at #3 which was their best showing up to this point. There were six(!) singles that hit some form of a chart. They were "Dancing in the Street" (#3 Mainstream Rock, #38 Pop Singles), "Little Guitars" (#33 Mainstream Rock), "Oh, Pretty Woman" (#1 Mainstream Rock, #12 Pop Singles), "Secrets" (#22 Mainstream Rock), Where Have all the Good Times Gone?" (#17 Mainstream Rock) & "The Full Bug" (#42 Mainstream Rock). This is an impressive performance for such a shallow album. But, let's face it, Van Halen had always been a band that had a pop side & they had a very astute pop sensibility. What threw everyone off was the fact that they had one of rock's most dynamic & innovative lead guitarists, ever. They were capable enough to do almost any genre of music imaginable. Some of the songs on this album will testify to that. Still doesn't make it a great album though, does it?
Diver Down opens with a cover version of the Kinks' "Where Have All the Good Times Gone?". Though it's a credible version, Van Halen doesn't make it THEIR song as they had done with every cover they had done previously. "Hang 'Em High" finds the group in familiar territory though it isn't anything spectacular. "Cathedral" is an instrumental that's essentially Eddie noodling around on a guitar that's laden down with effects. "Secrets" follows & find the boys being just a little mellower. "Intruder" is another Eddie instrumental with Alex participating on drums, this time Eddie has come up with a lead that's very entertaining. "Intruder" segues into the Roy Orbison song "Oh, Pretty Woman" which, once again, they have recorded the definitive cover version of the song. "Dancing in the Street" is an unusual song for them to cover. Originally done by Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, it's very commercial. They do a good job on it but this is simply a song that they shouldn't have done. I can't help but feel that this was a Diamond Dave selection because it certainly fits HIS personality but not the band's. "Little Guitar's (Intro)" finds Eddie in fine form on acoustic guitar as he gives us a flamenco-flavored piece. This eases into the song "Little Guitars" which is their best original song on the album. I love the chunky rhythm that Eddie plays here. It almost sounds like the programed synths that Townshend starting using circa 1971 (Who's Next). The next song is one of the oddest selections ever for Van Halen. Written by Jack Yellen & Milton Alger. Yellen, in particular, was a well known figure in his day. Best described Tin Pan Alley Pop and/or vaudeville, he penned some major things back in the 20's & 30's. He wrote for Broadway musicals, individual artist, Hollywood musicals & even wrote a few screenplays that were Hollywood musicals. Probably his two most enduring songs are "Ain't She Sweet" & "Happy Days Are Here Again". And, yes, that the Van Halens' father playing the clarinet. "The Full Bug" starts with an acoustic guitar before breaking into the whole band rocking out. This is probably the second best original song of the album. There's no explaining the next song, "Happy Trails". It's another unusual choice from the band though it does show off their vocal abilities. The song was written by Dale Evans, yes, the one that was married to Roy Rogers.
Free Music Review: Blowhard Filler
Hit: 2 Stars
I think this album would sound good if you were on coke. Points for the cunnilingus reference. Free Music Review: Van Halen - The Weakest Of The Roth Era
Hit: 3 Stars
I am not sure if the band was just in a writing slump or what, but this album contains 5 cover songs (The Kinks "Where Have All The Good Times Gone", Roy Orbison's "Pretty Woman", Martha And The Vandels "Dancing In The Street", "Big Bad Bill" and the traditional western "Happy Trails"). For an album that is less than 35 minutes long this is a lot of non-original material. I have read that this whole project was kind of thrown together after the band had cut a single and the record company wanted it followed up by a quickie album. If that is the case it would certainly help to explain the contents of this disc. Of the original stuff there some nice short instrumentals, especially "Cathedral", but as always with Van Halen albums the instrumental stuff is too short and never really develops into anything. Of the new tunes "Little Guitars" and "The Full Bug" are both good. Overall though this is probably the weakest of the Roth era albums and the last one I would purchase if I was filling out my collection.Free Music Review: Weakest Van Halen album by far
Hit: 3 Stars
After four classic albums under their belt, the kings of early 80's hard rock and party excess seem to have a dry run on this, their 5th album: Diver Down. Although it was more or less Warner Bros. fault, the band meant to take a deserved break after years of constant recording and touring and after their very serious and dark album Fair Warning which had only went platinum (For VH this was unsual) I think the record execs wanted a comeback to the bands earlier party hearty efforts. With the single Pretty Woman released just to simply let fans know the band were still 'out there' that vacation for more extended and thought out writing never happened as they were pressured to enter the studio for an album to coincide with the single's surprise success. In the end it turned out to be VH's weakest album in the Roth era. Though it's not a terrible record by any stretch. Though seemingly a duplicate of the first albums Kinks cover...Where Have All The Good Times Gone is a pretty firey opener. Hang 'Em High is another great piece of VH fun. The album takes a little breather for the diverse yet very pretty instrumental Cathedrel which achieves some amazing sounds for a guitar. It's twin cut: Secrets is another more mellow VH sound but it's definetly a top notch cut and a must hear. Intruder, the almost creepy intro to the obvious highlight Pretty Woman was recorded strictly for the video, but it may as well be part of the song because it does in fact create a very nice juxtaposition between the more light hearted and anthemic Pretty Woman cover, which to some may seem like a pop sell out but it happens to my all time fav VH song. Dancing In the Street, seen as another undesirable cover is a fun song either way. The Little Guitars intro and the song itself may seem a like total filler (mainly because they're split up and could've easily been worked together) this really gives the idea VH slopped this album together for record company purposes. Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now) is a strange vaudville kinda song done mainly by Roth with the brothers dad on clarinet. Strange indeed but a change of pace even for joking purposes is welcomed. The full Bug a return to classic VH is a key cut here and the ending a capalla version of Happy Trails rounds out an album with 5 covers, three instrumentals and only 4 original songs. While the Kinks cover and The Full Bug are the only songs that could be ranked with classics like Unchained, Meat Streets, Romeo's Delight, Jamie's Cryin, or Beautiful Girls, like any legendary bands catalogue, there are some better than others but nothing thats totally not worth hearing. VH would make their most successful crossover album two years later with the multi platinum 1984 but for this time VH simply made a decent album with not much to go on.