February 10, 1978 - Van Halen and Van Halen

Happy New Year! It's been a long 3 months since my last release but on February 10, 1978 a new band joins my library to start off the year as Van Halen released their debut album "Van Halen". But who is Van Halen? They are a four-piece hard rock band from Pasadena, California consisting of guitarist and back-up singer Eddie Van Halen, his brother, drummer Alex Van Halen, bassist Michael Anthony and lead singer David Lee Roth. They made a demo that was financed by Gene Simmons and were eventually signed by Warner Bros. to a record deal. This album would go on to become one of the best-selling debut albums ever and spawned several successful singles. Let's check it out!

The album kicks off with one of the very successful singles, "Runnin' With The Devil". It opens with a long note that kind of sounds like a passing train before Anthony's bass line leads us into the main riff. It's a slow beat with some cool guitar by Eddie leading the way as we hear Roth's high voice for the first time. He definitely has the charisma of a lead singer and his voice sounds pretty good I think. In the chorus Eddie is the one who actually sings the name of the song while Roth is busy rambling and screaming as high as he can go! It goes together pretty well and is easily echoed back by an audience. Eddie breaks from the slow riff for a couple nice guitar flashes and after the second chorus he gets a short opportunity to play a pretty solid riff. It's right back for another verse after that though as they repeat the same formula. They jam out the chorus until the end in what is certainly a memorable song but isn't really all that exciting honestly. The next song "Eruption" is the exact opposite. It's under two minutes and is purely a guitar solo for Eddie Van Halen. He spends most of it just shredding his guitar, playing some unbelievably fast stuff, but he also slows it down for brief pauses that seem to give the rest of the solo even more oomph. About a minute in he makes everything he's played so far seem like child's play as he really goes off for one awesome solo! For 30 seconds straight he is just wheeling and dealing up and down the guitar and it sounds pretty amazing! He finishes it off with another slowed down drone-y riff and boy that was a good 1:42! This leads right into "You Really Got Me", a cover of The Kinks that would also become a huge hit. It's led by a catchy guitar riff by Eddie and some great singing by Roth. It has simple lyrics about a girl putting a guy under her spell and it's easy to see why this song was so popular. Once again, Eddie sings the name of the song in the chorus while Roth lets out some more high yelps that I think sound pretty great! Eddie also spices up the main riff for the next verse with his great guitar and after another chorus it's time for him to solo! He delivers a fantastic little solo, but it doesn't last too long before things quiet down and we hear some heavy breathing in the background. Roth sings quietly for a couple lines before the band returns and they jam out one last verse and chorus. Eddie plays a little more cool guitar at the end to bring this solid cover to a finish. Track 4 would also become one of their best-known songs, titled "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love". Eddie starts it off with a nice guitar riff that hits high and low as the rhythm section eventually joins him. Roth sings a short verse, as it's all about the catchy chorus in this one. With Eddie echoing Roth in the chorus and keeping pace with some cool guitar they have made a pretty decent main riff. After a second chorus Eddie breaks away for a short little solo that sounds pretty cool, then they bring it right back to the chorus. They quiet it down for the next verse as Eddie switches to a softer guitar riff and lets Roth take center stage. He delivers the verse really well and before long, we're headed right back to the chorus again. Eddie plays the same short solo as earlier, which is cool but also a little un-creative, then they move into a "Hey! Hey! Hey!" chanting ending. After several bars of yelling along with the band Eddie and Alex finish it off with a final cool guitar riff and some solid drumming as well. The final song on the first side is "I'm The One" and Eddie comes out guns a-blazing on this one as he plays some wicked stuff right from the start. Alex plays a great fast drum beat and Anthony keeps the pace as Eddie plays some really amazing guitar. Roth comes in to sing the first verse and he does a good job singing quickly along and inserting his high-pitched yells at all the right moments. The chorus is filled with more amazing guitar and Eddie breaks away for a solo that is also pretty awesome! I love this fast-paced tune and don't mind them repeating this formula at all! After the second "show your love" chorus Eddie goes off for his best solo yet, and that's saying something in this song! He is all over the place but also in perfect harmony as he continues to play some wicked fast and awesome stuff. This shifts into a new part with Roth and Eddie both singing in a doo-wop style. I think it sounds pretty damn catchy as they take an aside and have a little fun. Eddie delivers some more great licks and ties things back into a final chorus. He gives us one last blast of awesome guitar before bringing this excellent first side to an end.

Side two kicks off with the final single, "Jamie's Cryin'" as Eddie opens it with some slow guitar and Anthony plays a decent backing bass line. Roth's singing fits the mood well and it's hard not to sing along to the chorus: "Oh, whoa, whoa, Jamie's cryin'" followed by Eddie's slow guitar. After another verse and chorus they slow it down briefly as Roth reminds us that love is more than just one night stands. The stage is set for a solo, but Eddie just continues to play the slow main riff as they jam out the chorus for the whole final minute as it fades to an end. It has some catchy parts for sure, but ultimately not a whole lot happening. Up next is "Atomic Punk" and Eddie starts it off by himself with an interesting guitar riff. This leads into a more standard main riff that still has Eddie playing some good stuff as Roth sings along quickly to the beat. "Nobody rules these streets at night but me, the atomic punk!" Roth lets out a few nice yelps as well as Eddie continues to lead the way. After the second chorus Anthony sets the stage with some nice bass and Eddie goes off for a pretty sweet solo! He connects it right into the same opening riff as they then repeat what is a pretty good formula. Roth has a really nice yell right at the end as they end this song on a fairly heavy note. Track 8 is "Feel Your Love Tonight" and it's driven by a simple, but pretty catchy guitar riff. Roth sings about getting busy with the ladies and Eddie sings a lot of backing vocals in this song as well. They only briefly visit the chorus before going on to the next verse, but Eddie still squeezes in some great guitar. The second chorus is much longer and has Roth and Eddie trailing off each other so one of them is always singing in this pop-y chorus. Eddie does get a chance to spice things up with a guitar solo and as you'd expect it sounds pretty great. They then jam out the repetitive chorus until the end of the song as these guys continue to show that they blend hard rock with more pop-y vocals to great effect. The next song is called "Little Dreamer" and Eddie leads the way with a cool guitar riff that drives this slow beat. Roth's singing is pretty good and Eddie spices up the chorus with some faster guitar. Following their typical formula, after the second chorus it's time for an Eddie guitar solo, and as usual, it is the best part of the song as he reels off some cool stuff. The rest of the song is more of the same and aside from the solo there really wasn't much happening in this one at all. Track 10 is "Ice Cream Man", a cover of an old blues artist named John Brim. Eddie plays a quiet acoustic guitar riff as Roth delivers the lyrics very well in his blues voice. It's just the two of them for the first minute, but when the rest of the band joins in and Eddie switches to electric guitar, they put the Van Halen spin on this old blues song. The upbeat mood sounds pretty good and when Eddie goes off for his solo it's another superb one! He is just so amazing at hitting so many different notes! After the solo and another chorus, Roth really gets his soul goin' as he slows down the final "guaranteed to satisfy" and it sounds pretty sweet. They tie it all together with a bow as the closing riff sounds perfect and has Eddie going off again briefly.  The record closer is "On Fire" and Eddie and Anthony are both playing some cool stuff to open this one. They settle into a solid main riff led by some sweet guitar as Roth hits plenty of high notes in the verse. The chorus is just the name of the song repeated, but Roth hits some more high notes and Anthony's bass continues to sound great. After a few more Roth yells Eddie goes off for a brief solo that sounds pretty good, but it's back to the main riff too quickly I thought. They play one final verse before repeating the chorus several times over until the song fades to an end. This second side had a mix of good and great songs but I thought it was an uneventful way to close out what was mostly a great album.

That is the end of "Van Halen" and I thought for the most part it was a fantastic debut! "Eruption" is the true Eddie Van Halen showcase, but his amazing guitar is heard throughout this album. I also really liked "I'm The One" and even though the second side had a few valleys, the first side had a ton of great peaks. It's going to be really hard for Van Halen to top this album, bit I look forward to hearing them try for years to come!