Van Halen

Artist: Van Halen
Label: Dcc Compact Classics
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: LP Record
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 010963206616
EAN: 0010963206616
ASIN: B00000DLT5

Release Date: 1998-09-29

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Listmania:

Pick it up on Vinyl!! The way it SHOULD be!

Tracks:

Runnin' With the Devil
Eruption
You Really Got Me
Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
I'm the One
Jamie's Cryin'
Atomic Punk
Feel Your Love Tonight
Little Dreamer
Ice Cream Man
On Fire

Similar Items:

Van Halen II
1984
Women and Children First
Fair Warning
Diver Down

Customer Reviews:

their first and their best.......2007-03-18

The David Lee Roth era of Van Halen was definitely the "classic" era and the best, and this first album I think really sums up what the band was all about. It strikes a balance between party metal, heavy metal, Edward's guitar skill, and a little bit of lighter fare. Something I hadn't realized before becoming a fan of the band was that they were also capable of vocal harmony and I think the instrumentalists sound very good backing up Roth. Well, on with the list:

Runnin' With the Devil--This to me is the theme song of the album. It's got a great march tempo with that incredibly heavy distorted trademark guitar sound, introduced by Michael Anthony's pounding bass at the beginning. I think David Lee Roth's voice sounds best on this song, with a good balance between the jazzy vibrato and his famous overtone screams and yelps. It's a catchy, listener-friendly song but such a great example of Edward's adaptability to poppier songs, in terms of showcasing his playing but containing it within a song that would get played on the radio.

Eruption--An instrumental that is the opposite of what I said above. This is a minute and forty-two seconds of Edward Van Halen unleashed on the guitar with maximum distortion, whammy bar, echo effects, and crazy Baroque-like shredding. I'm so glad that this track is included on this album.

You Really Got Me--I often skip this track when listening as I don't think they did much for it by covering it. It's really just the old Kinks song with Roth's yelps and Edward's distortion kind of dressing it up.

Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love--My favorite song. The opening guitar riff is, I don't know, sexy, and the heavy minor key makes it a classic, ominous heavy metal song. The overdubbed electric sitar adds interest to the refrains and we get to hear some plain clean guitar during the quieter bridge.

I'm the One--Classic speed metal, pretty straightforward without anything really outstanding about it, just more good vocal harmonies and terrific wild guitar playing. I do like the bridge in which they all scat in a capella harmony for a few measures, though.

Jamie's Cryin'--A good poppy, catchy number with a moderate tempo, wailing guitar riff, and a good storyline in the lyrics. I seem to really notice Michael Anthony's high vocal harmony and Alex Van Halen's drumming on this track. The fade-out ending make this one even more radio-friendly.

Atomic Punk--What I like most about this one is the way it makes fun of the punk movement that was trying to stir up trouble at the same time that Van Halen was spawning hair metal. The song has a punk beat but otherwise is all VH in its sound, right down to the tuneless distortion in the introductory guitar riff.

Feel Your Love Tonight--This one reminds me of "Jamie's Cryin'". I don't have much to say about it for that reason but it's a good party-metal song.

Little Dreamer--The only song on the album that I blatantly don't like, it just sounds like filler or an afterthought and I usually skip it.

Ice Cream Man--From what I understand, this is another cover song, though I haven't heard the original. Definitely brands Diamond Dave as a hedonistic ladies' man while we get to hear Edward play an acoustic guitar during the opening blues jam.

On Fire--The band may have made fun of the punk movement in "Atomic Punk" but here, punk's influence is obvious. This song is really too frenetic and screamy for my liking, but the title is appropriate and it's not a bad song.

one of the best Rock albums ever!!.......2007-02-23

Another gem that killed Disco, and soon Rap.

From Gazzari's to the world.......2007-02-11

The first VH and the best most energized raw recording. They managed to capture the 1976 Gazzari's and Whiskey a go-go current stage act here. All Ted Templeman had to do was set up the mikes and we have a monster album by a great band.

Three words changed the music world; Edward Van Halen.......2007-01-10

There's rock music before Edward Van Halen (but I should say modern music) and music after Edward Van Halen just like there's a Jazz before Charlie Parker and all the modern jazz after Bird. Eddie to me is a giant like Bird. And there's just one giant every some generations. A man who completly rewrote the rules everyone accept, the language everyone can speak, the aesthetic everyone follows, the role of the instrument, the musician's figure, the whole concept of music. I'm a musician and I know what I'm saying. His contribution can't be underestimated. His influence in modern rock and modern music in general is immense just like Bird's has been in jazz. Obviously he had his own influences but when he exploded onto the scene with this album he seemed to be coming from nowhere. He seemed an alien landed from another planet! His wild interpretation of every single side of rock music (writing, comping and soloing) completly changed the world in a heartbeat. From that moment on everything that happened before in rock music seemed old of ages, and nothing could be compared anymore (a lot of good things that happened before Eddie however has been rightly rediscovered later). And Eddie's approach and music is modern still today and it will be forever! In 30 years it hasn't get old a bit! Not a single fragment of dust landed on his music and on his innovations that absolutly were not just tapping like someone says! Now that you have hundreds of guitarists that took his lesson word for word like Vai, Satriani, and all the hair metal guys of the eighties, you can make the mistake of taking Eddie for granted. I don't do this. I still consider him, not the most important guitarist pay attention, but the most important OVERALL MUSICIAN of the last 50 years. Noone has been more influent, more copied, more admired. He's Edward Van Halen. Of course this album together with VHII to say the least is the stuff of legend. To me, is one of the 3 most important rock albums ever together with something from the Led Zep ... and who knows whatelse can be put near this thing. And even the Van Halen band as a whole (I'm talking about the sound but Eddie was almost everything in the band) was completly revolutionary. )In saying this I'm expressing another convinction of mine. I find totally futile the discussion if Roth is better than Hagar or vice versa. Because Eddie's star was and still is so bright and shocking that even Mickey Mouse could sing with him. Personally I find interesting both but anyway ... I think that not owning this album is a real crime. Is like having the opportunity to buy a revolutionary masterpiece in art (think Monna Lisa or Andy Warhol's Marilyn) for 10 bucks and decide to pass over it. Crazy.

SOLID from Start to Finish.......2007-01-05

Why would you burn mp3's at 99c each, when you can get a cd with all good songs for $7.50?? Even if you only really like 6 or 7 songs on it, wouldn't you rather have the actual cd, case, booklet, etc, for nearly the same price? This one, Van Halen's ground-breaking debut, is definitely a no-brainer when it comes to buying versus downloading. You remember how good it was. It's still that good. Just buy it.

Music CD:

Music CD

Music CD

Music CD

Het Daghet Inden Oosten: Bagpipes of Low Countries ~ Various Artists

Paradise Lost ~ Paradise Lost

God's Gift ~ Toranaga

Aguadulce ~ Tomatito

Entre Amigos ~ Sergio Vargas & Fernandito Villalona

Live in Japan ~ The Pirates

Shake Around ~ Ray Smith

Mink Willy Deville - Greatest Hits ~ Willy DeVille , and Mink DeVille

Paid Tha Cost/Topp Dog

Grapes from the Estate ~ Oren Ambarchi