Review Summary: One of the most famous, influential and important albums in the history of early heavy rock, and an authoritative first statement from a future staple of the genre.
(In memoriam Edward Lodewijk Van Halen – Jan 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020)
The late 1970s were a good time to be a heavy rock fan. Even though many of the genre's forebears from five or ten years before were either finished or on their way there, their torch had been suitably passed on to a slew of hungry new bands, ready to carry it all the way to world domination. In the United Kingdom, in particular, the genre had been taken over by a gaggle of streetwise working-class punks, who molded it into a movement soon to become known as the New Wave of British Heavy Metal – which, in turn, would shape the way the genre looked and sounded for the next forty years and counting.
The British Isles were, however, not the only place heavy rock was enjoying a resurgence – across the Atlantic Ocean, things were picking up for the genre as well, with any number of young hopefuls springing out of their garages and basements to try and make it to the big time.
Two such hopefuls were the Van Halen brothers – drummer Alex and guitar wonderkid Eddie – Dutch immigrants who wanted nothing more than to be rock'n'roll stars, and who had, in 1972, taken the first step towards achieving that dream, by starting a band named after themselves. Half a decade later, and with the US heavy rock scene booming, the time was ripe for Van Halen, the band, to take their own stab at airwave domination – and, in 1978, that is exactly what they did. With the help of like-minded cohorts David Lee Roth on vocals and Michael Anthony on bass – as well as a hefty celebrity endorsement from KISS mastermind Gene Simmons - the Halen brothers set about recording a few demos, ahead of trying their hand at a full-length release.
Unhappy with the final output from said demo sessions, however, the two brothers chose to scrap the whole thing and start from scratch, this time using their own recording equipment and resources and bringing engineer Ted Templeman on board to help with production. The end result of this second attempt, recorded in a mere three weeks and released in February of 1978, would go on to become one of the most famous, influential and important albums in the history of early heavy rock, as well as an authoritative first statement from a future staple of the genre.
Ten tracks and 35 and half minutes was all the time it took for listeners of the time to realize Van Halen were more than just another average run-of-the-mill bar act. Despite damning reviews from music critics, the group's debut album would go on to reach Gold status a mere three months after its release, and Platinum before the year was out, helping launch the Van Halen brothers and their two accomplices to exactly the sort of recognition they had been hoping for.
And yet, the band were not too confident going into the second batch of recording sessions; rather, they felt they lacked the material to really shine on their own, which might explain why the advance single for the album was an electrified (and electrifying) cover of The Kinks'
You Really Got Me. However, even a cursory spin of
Van Halen – the album – will prove these fears to be all but unfounded; while the album is not quite all-killer-no-filler, it comes commendably close.
Musically, this debut establishes what would become the
'Van Halen sound' - no-frills heavy rock, similar to what artists like Ted Nugent and Alice Cooper were putting our around the same period, but which allowed for a few outside influences to seep in, which might help explain the presence of a blues cover in the tracklist (John Brim's
Ice Cream Man) or the reasoning behind an otherwise straightforward heavy metal track suddenly halting for 15 seconds or so to allow for a doo-wop section (
I'm The One). The main differential is, of course, young Edward's guitar style, which would help revolutionize the genre by innovating one of its most popular techniques – the fast, two-handed fretboard fingering known as
tapping. Just as noteworthy, however, is the performance of one David Lee Roth, a man who can go from a warm, mid-range husk to an inhuman alley-cat yowl in the space of one word. Solidly backed up by the rhythm section of Michael Anthony and the elder Van Halen brother, the duo go about shaping their band's sound for at least the next decade, influencing droves of young musicians in the process.
Good musicians are, however, nothing without good songs – and fortunately, despite their initial fears, Van Halen deliver in this particular, as well. As noted, not all the songs on the album can be construed as timeless heavy metal classics; however, songwriting standards remain uniformly strong throughout, and even the lesser numbers among the set are never anything less than unremarkable – and even then, only by comparison with their peers.
Such peers range from actual timeless classics (
Running With The Devil, Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love, the Kinks cover) to hidden gems (
Jamie's Cryin', Feel Your Love Tonight,
Ice Cream Man) to solid if unspectacular backup tracks (
Little Dreamer). And then, of course, there is
Eruption – one minute and 42 seconds of guitar noodling which are, bafflingly, pretty much all any fan will talk about when they mention this album. To be sure, it is a ground-breaking one minute and 42 seconds, which revolutionized the concept of heavy-rock guitar noodling in a way no one since Jimi Hendrix had managed to – but it is still just one minute and 42 seconds of guitar noodling, puzzlingly positioned as the second track, the better to break up the flow of the album before it even gets going.
Irrespective of poor tracklist choices or a few weaker cuts, however, Van Halen's debut cannot be considered anything short of a stellar first effort from a young band who would prove to have a lot more to offer the music world in decades to come. And while the group's real mainstream breakthrough would not happen for another half a decade (with sixth album and chart juggernaut
1984), their debut would eventually come to be acknowledged as the real game-changer, acquiring a cult status it proudly maintains over half a century later – and likely will maintain for years to come.
Recommended Tracks
Runnin' With The Devil
Jamie's Cryin'
Feel Your Love Tonight
Ice Cream Man
