Band:
Eddie Van Halen - Guitar
Alex Van Halen - Drums
Michael Anthony - Bass
David Lee Roth - Vocals
Review
What is there to really to say about Van Halen? They came out in the late 70's and knocked the world on it's ***. Each member was a craftman. They flowed oddly great, but at the same time played vert technically.
V.H had Eddie Van Halen who opened up many different ways to play the guitar and basically defined Van Halen's sound. They also had Eddie's brother Alex, who was a very talented drummer, who's beats match perfectly with each other instrument playing. He also was very good at rolls, which is shown in various tracks. They had Michael Anthony, who is greatly overshadowed by the other members, but in the long run he was the back-bone, and power of the band.
And of course they had one of the badest frontmen around. David Lee Roth, famous for his on stage antics, but none the less was a great vocalist.
1. Runnin' with the Devil: Probably the most reconizable and loved Van Halen song, though it is not my favorite. The track is very famous for the blaring guitar. And the extremely catchy chorus. The chorus seems to be stacked, which would give an excuse of why it sounds so together and smooth. The solos in this number is basically Eddie attacking the fret board, if you want to approch it that way. 5/5
2. Eruption: This song is easy to describe. Warfare between Eddie's hands and the guitar. It's is just one huge intense and techniqual solo. Most say it is the greatest solo ever, I think differently, but it is beyond amazing 5/5
3. You really got Me A Kinks cover, and a good one. It is very similair, but had a lot more intense and technical playing. The chorus is very smooth, just like The Kinks version. And the solo just comes out of no where. And the backing vocals are so smooth that they sound like they come out of a synthesizer, very odd. 5/5
4. Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love: Definatley my favorite Van Halen song, probably because of how the guitar playing and the bass playing. They flow very nicely, and smooth. This song along with "Life in the Fastlane" by The Eagles have the greatest intros ever, in my opinion of course. The chorus is the strongest part in this song, arguably. 5/5
5. I'm the One: Probably the fastest song on this album, with the exception of "Eruption". The only bad thing about this song is that they rythm love with love in the chorus. I really like the vocals in this song, they match he instrument oddley well. Near the end this song all the members do some skat, which is interesting. 5/5
6. Jamie's Cryin': The opening guitar playing in this song kind of reminds me of a Soundgarden song, which is great, because I love Soundgarden. Of course the strong part of this song is the chorus, like most of song by this band. And this song is a lot more emotional than the others, which shows somthing bands like this occasionally lack. 4/5
7. Atomic Punk: The guitar playing in this song is different from most other V.H songs. It seems very compressed. The guitar solo is also completely insane, just like all the others. This song doesn't stand out from the bunch, but is still a pretty good song. 3/5
8. Feel your Love Tonight: The only part of this song that really stands out for me is the few seconds before each chorus. I do really like the second chorus, how each instrument cuts out except the guitar. 3/5
9. Little Dreamer: This song is more of a Buesy original by V.H. The backing vocals are done very nicely. The drumming and bass playing flow very nicely. 4/5
10. Ice Cream Man: An acoustic Blues cover. The song is written by John Brim. The vocals are what stands out for me in this song. This is a V.H. song,(though not original) so that means it won't stay acoustic. So it breaks out and is more based around the bass playing. The backing vocals are done very well, probably stacked like the rest of them. 4/5
11. On Fire: This song starts off very powerfully, and has some different guitar playing than the usual. This song is a lot heavier than a normal V.H. song. I really like the bass playing in the chorus, it sounds like it's from a Super Mario game. One of the highlights to the song is a high pitch scream Lee Roth gives off near the middle. 5/5
Now, it would be wrong for me to give this album anything other than a 5/5. It is just too amazing.
