Van Halen - Van Halen
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Free Music Notes for Van Halen
Free Music Review: The concerts tonight!!!
Hit: 5 Stars
I was six years old when I was introduced to ground breaking sound Of Eddie Van Halen's guitar. I begged my mother to purchase the album (were talking the late 70's early 80's here). She of course refused. What business does a six year old have owning a Van Halen record? However, this little deviant had another idea (though not such a good idea now that I think about it). I would purchase an older copy from a friend. I drumed up all my pennies to purchase this scratched and skiping version of Van Halen's first record. Erruption wouldn't play, Jaimies Cryin kept replaying "Oh, Oh, Oh, Jaimie's Cryin, Cryin, Cryin, Cryin." Well you get the point. It just wasn't a great copy. My sweet mother also found it necessary to protect her little boy so there was no concerts until after age 12. By then David Lee Roth was a far memory. I did see the band with Sammy Hagar and I loved the show back in 1991 (Best I've seen to date). But tonight my friend Todd and I are going to go watch Van Halen with Dave himself in the band. This time, when they play I know the song won't go, "Jaimie's Cryin, cryin, cryin." All you kids under 20 probably don't know what an album is. You think I live in antiquity, but I have yet to find anything that has the warmth of vinyl on it's first couple of spins on the turn table. Back in the day vinly wasn't reserved for disc jockies. This first Van Halen album still is the birth of all modern guitar heroes. Buy it, put it in, and have respect for a guitar legend. As for me, I'm going to go jump in the shower tonight. I have a show to go to. Free Music Review: The first, the best
Hit: 5 Stars
I owned this on vinyl...but bought the CD after seeing the reunion tour. It doesn't get much better than this. Simply put -- a classic, all-out rock and roll album. Makes it clear, they were destined to be huge. Free Music Review: Balls-out rock and/or roll
Hit: 5 Stars
This album is a non-stop testosterone-heavy off-the-rails-and-laying-more party. Eddie's manic genius blew everyone away when this came out in '77. His tone was at its peak with his original frankenstein guitar through the maxed-out plexi with the cranked variac, melting tubes every few tunes and melting minds every few seconds. His lightning fluidity and endless imagination is pheeeenomenal, and Eruption is still the ne-plus-ultra guitar solo. Ed tends towards the major pentatonic far more than most other shredders, who keep it minor and boringly "evil". Ed's sunny sound is way more fun and fits well with Roth's goofy lyrics, giving the band and the album a good-time vibe that's made it the soundtrack for many many millions of parties since it came out. These guys loved to imbibe and partake, and there's a real contact high available from some of the peaks on I'm The One and Ice Cream Man, among others.
Roth is wisely self-mocking while also playing the male stripper/andgrogynous rock singer to the hilt; Jagger was never this funny. Dave is unique and his refusal to take it all seriously is what makes him a classic, the true clown prince of rock and roll. He was also maybe the swinginest rock showman of them all. Not many hard rock bands made their crowd dance this much; some of us also like to boogie when we headbang. Speaking of which, Dave and Eddie are now back on the road and sounding pretty fine, so some of the old live shows are appearing on traders' torrent sites. Check 'em out, 10/03/07 and 7/3/84 are hot and the 10/15/77 show in hometown Pasadena is especially smokin', from just before they hit big. It's got some of the most insanely wailing guitar work imaginable, taking this record a little bit further.
Along with the initial albums by Jimi, Zep and the Doors, this is one of the most astonishing first efforts in rock music.
Crank it up, open a few and get on down.
Free Music Review: Nothing beats an original.
Hit: 5 Stars
Van Halen's debut album was an instant classic. In fact, every classic rock station in the country plays several cuts from this album. Even as a majority of the original members tour this year, this music never gets too old. VH still sounds as good as it did way back then. I'm grateful I found this on CD quality sound.Free Music Review: Back when Van Halen rocked the country with electric riffs and whammy bars.
Hit: 5 Stars
When Gene Simmons spotted Van Halen back in the 1970s, he knew instantly they'd be a hit. With a party-hearty image, an over-the-top vocalist, one of the most energizing and crazy guitarist ever, and a rock solid rhythm section, he knew they'd turn out some solid rock and roll music. So naturally he wanted to sign them up as soon as possible. And that's just what Simmons did.
Turns out Simmons' gut instinct about Van Halen was right on the money. When VAN HALEN was released in 1978, it put these four young men on the musical map, and also rewrote the rules of heavy metal. The ultimate frat-boy band was boosted most by David Lee Roth, who was a genius at being one of the premier frontmen in all of rock. With vocals, squeals, screeches, and an amazing voice, he brought the performance of the band to an adrenaline-driven high, and was an essential part of their early sound. Hunter S. Thompson, with his gonzo-style journalism, became the embodiment of the over-the-top, wildly inventive rock journalist. Just as Thompson changed journalism and became a legend in his own right, Roth likewise took the role of lead singer and revolutionized it. One of the ultimate showmen in rock, Roth was pure genius as becoming a larger-than-life icon to so many rockers.
Of course, the real meat of the Van Halen legacy is, naturally, Eddie Van Halen's guitar. By introducing finger-tapping into the rock scene, Eddie showed what the guitar could really do. With spit-fire solos, that incredible little instrumental they tucked away on this album (Eruption), and some of the most amazing riffs ever to grace a rock and roll record, Eddie stepped into the long vacated shoes of Jimi Hendrix to be one of the most imitated, influential guitarists from the rock era.
Musical virtuosity does not always make for great music, however (browse the Rush canon sometime to see what I mean); fortunately Van Halen had some very strong material prepared for the debut. Many became radio staples, such as "Ain't Talkin' About Love," "Running with the Devil," "You Really Got Me Now," and "Jamie's Crying." The other songs aren't played as heavily on the radio, but nontheless sport some brisk rhythm work and some great, head banging riffs provided by Maestro Eddie.
And while I don't agree on a moral standpoint with some of these songs or the band itself, there's no denying that when they released this record, Van Halen was one of the most exciting bands out there. Decades later, the music found here is invigorating, metallic, amazing, and just essential rock listening. While most of their other records didn't meet this high standard, here the band was spot on. This was also back in the band's history when there wasn't petty interpersonal politics, inflated egos, and Eddie only going by Edward. This was released back when it was about the music. Buy it now.