i remember riding my BMX bike with a buddy of mine to Odyssey Records in San Jose to buy Van Halen's first album on 8 Track tape. It was my freshman year in HS.... and I had heard "You Really Got Me" on the radio and I just had to have that version in my collection...
My buddy was also very excited about this album...we slapped the 8 track on my player... it was one of those what the hell moments that makes a mark in a music listener's life. I had no idea that guitars could make sounds like that.... it was mind blowing... i was hooked.......
I played the hell out of that tape, and to me that 1st Van Halen album contains one of the most perfect and complete rock song ever recorded. "Ain't Talkin Bout Love"..... if MIke Martz wrote that song, it would be his Max Q.
That song has it all: the explosive opening riff, the very cool lyrics with perfect swag on vocals, the subtle mellow part in the middle of the song, the catchy background chorus vocals and background chant of 'HEY HEY HEY' after the final verse........ To this day that IS my favorite song of all-time....
Van Halen's first album made a huge impact on me.... it is the only album that I have on every music medium, I still have the 8-Track, the Cassette, the original vinyl and it's ripped on every digital device that I have ever owned......
I'm not a big concert guy, but I have seen Van Halen 3 times..... each time with David Lee Roth.... not a big fan of the Sammy Hagar era... ........it just wasn't Van Halen without DLR, as noted on this thread, DLR had the showmanship, but he also was the drive behind most of the lyrical content.... Van Halen without DLR couldn't replicate lyrics like that with Hagar......
Van Halen was the last big concert that I attended back in 2015, it was one of the best concerts I ever attended... my wife and I went at the last moment where we bought $20 tickets at the Shoreline in Mt. View.... i had forgotten how great concerts sounded there.. sure they were old, Dave's vocals were rough, but they rocked it, the weather was perfect, the set list rocked, and the sound was the bomb.... each time I saw Van Halen, they rocked the house and entertained the crowd... I remember back in 82 or 83, it was a circus in a good way...... we had decent seats but for their last encore, I made it up to the front row.... they closed with Ain't Talkin' Bout Love ....i was there, front row baby!!!!!
Backing Vocals.......Not only could Eddie Van Halen play guitar, he could sing. Van Halen had some of the best background vocals of any rock n roll band.... Michael Anthony, Alex, Eddie, and Wolfie could sing backing vocals both in the studio and live.......
A quick "Jump" story.... not a fan of that song at all... I remember being at a News Year's Eve Party and MTV was going to release Van Halen's first single from the 1984 album.....we're all waiting for the new material to be released and they come out with Jump.... it was a wet blanket thrown at the party.....it sucked... VH keyboards? what the heck? but the rest of the album is great.
Everyone loves their hits, Mean Street, Running with the Devil, but Van Halen's "B songs": were also great...
Hear About It Later.
Somebody Get Me a Doctor
Little Guitars
Dead or Alive
Sinner's Swing
Jamie's Crying
ON FIRE
Dirty Movies
RIP Eddie,.......huge influence on me personally and musically.
Sad day for rock and roll....
