April 14, 1982 - Diver Down

Just four days after my last release and a year after "Fair Warning", Van Halen continue their trend of one album a year for the fifth year in a row when they released "Diver Down" on April 14, 1982. Following Van Halen's up-and-down album timeline, this record was another high as it was very successful and had three huge singles. Five of the twelve songs on this album are also covers as we hear a bit of the older music that influenced these guys. Let's give it a listen!

The album kicks off with "Where Have All The Good Times Gone!", Van Halen's second cover of The Kinks after "You Really Got Me" on their debut album. Eddie Van Halen plays a catchy slow guitar riff while brother Alex and Michael Anthony form the simple rhythm section. David Lee Roth begins the verse in his usual vocal style and he still sounds like he's having fun rambling off some quick lyrics. Eddie plays some nice guitar to segue into the chorus where everyone but Alex shouts the name of the song several times. It's a very simple chorus but one that a large audience would love to scream along to. After another catchy verse and chorus it's solo time for Eddie but like the rest of the song he keeps things pretty simple. It's still a fine solo but nothing like Eddie is capable of; just the right pace for this song. They bring it back for a final verse and jam out the chorus a few times.before Eddie brings the song to a close with some fading guitar. Up next is an original titled "Hang 'Em High" and Eddie starts it off with some fast-paced guitar and Anthony and Alex follow suit with some speedy stuff of their own. It's a pretty cool main riff as Eddie's guitar sounds great and Roth sings in his lower voice overtop. This leads right into the fast-paced chorus where Roth switches to his more standard higher vocals and Eddie plays some really sweet guitar at the end to tie things into the next verse. After another chorus the fast pace continues into a new bridge riff and after Roth sings a brief verse it's time for the guitar solo. In some parts of this solo Eddie plays some crazy fast stuff that sounds pretty great; the rest of the time he continues to play some fast guitar but it's just like the main riff. This decent solo leads into another short bridge riff before Eddie resets things and reverts to the original main riff. They play a quick final verse and chorus before Eddie finishes things off with some more excellent guitar, ending this song on a great note. The next song "Cathedral" is a minute-and-a-half instrumental and Eddie used to play this song live all the time before they decided to make a studio recording. It's a true guitar solo with just Eddie the whole time and boy does he show off his talents on this one. He starts it off slow, but quickly moves into some really awesome stuff as he taps his way up and down his guitar. It sounds very epic and is another great Eddie Van Halen showcase! Track 4 is called "Secrets" and it's a slow jam with a nice swing to it as Eddie plays some breezy guitar and Anthony keeps the beat with some nice bass. Roth comes in to sing the first verse and he sounds pretty good and this whole riff sounds very smooth. Roth sings about the perfect woman who seems to have everything and they don't really stray from this main riff until the guitar solo about two minutes in. Eddie plays an electric guitar solo overtop the main riff and he delivers some pretty great stuff as he plays the perfect companion piece to this slow jam. After the solo they play a final verse before ending this song on a soft and peaceful note; it certainly wasn't a headbanger but it was still a good song I thought. The next track is "Intruder" and it is a short introduction that Van Halen wrote specifically to lead into their next cover song. Alex plays a nice drum beat to start it off and it's actually Roth who plays the slow, droning synthesizers we hear. Eddie uses his guitar to make some trippy noises and this is certainly a new-age way of leading into a much older song. Eddie's guitar changes into some slightly more coherent stuff, but it all sounds pretty sweet as he wails overtop of the heavy backdrop. Amazingly they make this lead perfectly into "(Oh) Pretty Woman", a Roy Orbison cover, and Eddie's guitar shifts to lighter tone to signal the start if this side's final song. Roth sings the classic chorus and he does a fine job as the lyrics of this famous song actually sound like something Van Halen might write, which is a little strange! Roth delivers the line "mercy!" very well as if he's starstruck by this beautiful woman and these guys do an excellent job of turning this song into a jammin' modern rock song! Roth also does a really great sexy purr if that's what you want to call it and his vocals are quite excellent throughout this song. It's got a great beat and some smooth guitar and I dare say they improved upon the original easily! They end it really nicely as well to bring this pretty great first side to a close. 

Side two begins with another successful cover, "Dancing In The Street", originally made famous by Motown group Martha and the Vandellas. Eddie plays synthesizer for the most part on this song and he leads the main riff right from the start with some catchy cool stuff in this toe-tapping beat. Roth's vocals sound like his norm as he sings nicely overtop this music that really does make you wanna get up and dance! Roth sings of different cities in the U.S. where people are dancing and Eddie and Anthony do some of their classic backing vocals and things sound pretty smooth. They stick to this main riff, but it's super catchy and it's easy to see why this worked as a single. I thought that with Eddie not playing guitar things would be disappointing, but his synths sound great and he does find time to add a guitar solo to this song. As usual, Eddie rips off a pretty sweet solo that seems to perfectly match the feel of the song and afterwards they jam out the main verse a few more times before things slowly fade to a close. Similar to "Intruder", this next track is a short prelude that leads into the next song, titled "Little Guitars (Intro)". It's only 42 seconds long, but Eddie still wows us with some really fast acoustic guitar that sounds awesome! This leads into a nice drumbeat by Alex that signals the start of the full song "Little Guitars". Anthony plays a nice slow bassline and Eddie leads the way with a groovy guitar part that sounds pretty great. When Roth comes in to sing the verse, Eddie's guitar speeds up into a new riff that sounds pretty catchy as Roth sings quickly overtop. It's another really catchy main riff and Eddie plays some cool guitar to continue to lead the way. They slow it down briefly in a little bridge riff that seems like it would lead to the inevitable solo, but there is none in this song as they just return to the main riff and Roth "oohs" along in the background. I wish they had done a bit more, but Eddie still ends things on a nice epic note. Track 10 is a cover of an old '20s song called "Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now)" and the clarinet we hear in this song is played by Eddie and Alex's father, Jan Van Halen! The band does a nice job of keeping the pace in the background while the clarinet leads the opening, and I think it sounds pretty good! It's certainly unlike typical Van Halen, but it sounds pretty smooth! Roth does a great job on vocals as he tells us about how Big Bad Bill from Louisville was the scariest man around until "he found himself a wife, now he leads a different life". This is the segue into the chorus where we hear that married life has changed him into Sweet William and Roth does a really great job telling a story while singing. Instead of guitar, it's a clarinet solo in this song and Jan does a fantastic job I think, playing some really cool stuff! I never would've expected to hear this, but ai really like it! They play a final verse and chorus to end it as Roth adds some nice rambling vocals at the finish. The last original song on the album is "The Full Bug" and Roth plays acoustic guitar and harmonica in addition to singing this song. Roth opens it by himself with some nice acoustic and some really low vocals, but after 20 seconds or so things shift nicely into a more standard Van Halen main riff with Eddie playing some fantastic fast electric guitar and Roth returning to his usual high vocals. The guitar sounds great leading this headbanging verse and it leads right into a fast chorus that ends with Roth saying "all I want to give you woman, is the best part of a man". After another nice verse and chorus it's guitar solo time again and Eddie plays a great little solo, followed by a harmonica solo from Roth! It surprisingly fits pretty well with this very fast-paced riff and he does a great job of making it sound like a pretty cool solo! They slow it down nicely before returning for a final verse and playing the chorus a couple times while the song fades away. The final song on the album is "Happy Trails", the theme song from the T.V. show of the same name by Roy Roger's and his wife Dale Evans. It's a one-minute send-off for the album and we hear Roth start a vocal beat of "bum-ba-Dee-da" on repeat as Eddie and Anthony sing the actual lyrics. They shout it as if part of an audience and it sounds like the guys had fun recording this little finale. We hear all of them break out laughing at the end, and that's how they end this very loose and pretty sweet record.

That is the end of "Diver Down" and I thought it was a really great album! Most of the album was very fast-paced and upbeat and it all sounded very loose and fun; exactly what you want from a party rock band like Van Halen. I thought "Cathedral" was another excellent Eddie showcase but he continues to play some of the best guitar around on most of these tracks. I also enjoyed their quirkier options and thought that this was overall a very solid record. I would say it easily surpasses their last album and their second one, and while not so easily, also better than "Women And Children First". I don't think it quite reaches the heights of their debut album, but that is one of the legendary debut albums that would be very tough to beat. Second place is nothing to be ashamed of here, but I hope they can break their up-and-down streak and continue to make some great music next time out!