Tag: van halen (Page 1 of 3)

I originally reviewed this album nearly three years ago, and it is one of the best albums ever recorded. So, why revisit it I hear you cry? Well, Mobile Fidelity have decided to give the first six Van Halen albums the one step treatment and this beauty is the first to be released. Hands on heart, I didn’t think the Bernie Grundman remaster could be beat, but this is in another league all together.

The separation and clarity is outstanding, you could be in the room with them. Ted Templeman and Don Landee did such a good job capturing the original recordings. Word of warning, these are expensive babies to buy and unless you are playing your records on a half decent set up then I would save your money. I guess the only way to release this again would be in surround sound, and I hope they do that at some point but until then… man this is soooo good. My favourite tack… all of them baby.

10,000/10 from The Grooveman.

I’ll get this out of the way, I’m not the biggest Sam The Sham fan for numerous reasons that I won’t get into here. The first six VH albums are classics. They had that edge that made them unique, and every rock band that came out after ’78 wanted to be them. So, when I heard Dave had left the band to be… well, Dave, I was soooo disappointed. When Hagar was announced as the new singer it felt like someone had stolen my favourite thing and got away with it.

As soon as the needle drops and you hear that stupid “Hellooooo Baby”, you know it’s all over. Musically I like Good Enough, as it feels old VH and the band sound tight, especially Alex’s drums that sound so good. Get Up is really good and Ed’s playing is epic (as it usually is). I like the main riff to 5150 and the breakdown in Summer Nights is really cool, but that’s it for me. Nearly all the other tracks just sound like some other corporate rock act of the day and that edge they had is gone. The Inside is ruined by dipstick’s attempts at being Dave, and failing miserably. It got even worse after this album, as what I loved so much had gone.

7/10 from the Grooveman.

The album of the first six that everyone hates on. The only thing that bugs me is it is the shortest album ever, at just a tad over 29 minutes. One of the biggest criticism is there are too many covers. Well, the record company forced them into the studio to record an album when they thought they were going to get some downtime so, covers was a good way of coming up with a quick album. The covers that they chose weren’t obvious and you have to admit they are great renditions.

The band’s first single was a Kinks cover so, a return to them with Where Have All The Good Times Gone was an inspired choice and they made it their own. Hang ‘Em High is a monster uptempo track with an awesome riff and groove. Cathedrals is Eddie playing around with swells, a chorus peddle, and his volume control for a neat solo piece. Secrets is one of my favourite tracks on the album with a really cool groove, and Eddie gives it the beans with a superb solo. Intruder was added to Pretty Women as the song itself was too short for the video they shot, and it’s Ed just torturing a guitar – you have to admit this version of Pretty Woman is killer. Dancing In The Street was a Dave choice for a cover, and it shows the band could play anything and make it their own. Little Guitars is a superb original, and again the band are  really stretching out here taking their sound off piste. Big Bad Bill is a traditional swing standard, and Eddie and All get to play with their dad who plays the clarinet. The Full Bug is Van Halen doing what they do best: a full on boogie with plenty of swagger and a ripping solo from Ed. We close out with Happy Trails, which the band used to do acapella live.

I love this album just as much as the other Dave era albums and it gets 10/10 from the Grooveman.

As with all of the rest of the first six Van Halen albums, Women And Children First is a classic. Again, utilizing tracks that they had written and were playing in their back yard party and club days. Eddie Van Halen was a genius guitar player and composer for sure, and join that to a badass rhythm section comprising of his brother on drums and Michael Anthony on bass, then add to that mix the ultimate front man in Dave Lee Roth – ladies and haemorrhoids, we have a winner!

This album has a looser feel to the previous two albums, and with the two opening tracks of And The Cradle Will Rock and Everybody Wants Some, you won’t hear a better opening – believe me, no other band in existence could sound like that. The guitar intro and riff, plus the groove to Fools is so infectious it makes COVID look like a mild sniffle. The end to this song where the riff and chord pattern drop down is just the best. Romeo’s Delight is one of the forgotten VH tracks that doesn’t get mentioned a lot in peoples favourites, but this a killer tune full of attitude and great playing with a superb solo. There ends Side 1!

Tora Tora and Loss Of Control start up Side 2, and this as fast as the band go – all pedals are to the metal! The acoustic intro to Take Your Whiskey Home with just Eddie and Dave is pure joy, till the main sleazy riff kicks in – what a killer solo. The surprise on this album is the acoustic blues barroom groove of Could This Be Magic with awesome vocal harmonies. The album closes out with In A Simple Rhyme, another one of the “forgotten” VH tunes that I really love – especially the vocal harmonies. Just when you think it’s all over there is that weird intro that eludes to the next album.

Just 34 minutes of all killer no filler – and yes – every home should have one.

10/10 from The Grooveman.