Unchained (song)

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"Unchained"
Van Halen - Unchained.jpg
Single by Van Halen
from the album Fair Warning
A-side"Unchained"
B-side"Push Comes to Shove"
Released22 July 1981[1]
RecordedEarly March – early April 1981[2]
GenreHeavy metal[3]
Length3:29
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)Edward Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, Michael Anthony and David Lee Roth
Producer(s)Ted Templeman
Van Halen singles chronology
"So This Is Love?"
(1981) 		"Unchained"
(1981) 		"(Oh) Pretty Woman"
(1982)

"Unchained" is a song from Van Halen's fourth album, Fair Warning. The song was released as a single in various countries, including Germany, Spain and Japan.

Writing and composition[]

Vocalist David Lee Roth's working title for the song was "Hit the Ground Running". The song features prominent use of the MXR M-117 flanger, which became a popular sound and spurred sales of the pedal. A preset for the flanger was also included on the EVH Flanger MXR pedal. It uses a Drop D♭ tuning with suspended fourth chords interspersed. The song is notable for being producer Ted Templeman's only vocal contribution to the band when he says "Come on, Dave, gimme a break!" during the interlude of the song.[4]

Reception[]

Chuck Klosterman of Vulture.com named it the second-best Van Halen song, writing that it "merely feels like insatiable straight-ahead rock, but the lick is freaky, obliquely hovering above the foundation while the drums oscillate between two unrelated performance philosophies."[5]

References[]

  1. ^ "Van Halen singles".
  2. ^ "AesthetiX Choice: Top 20 Van Halen Songs". Listal.com. Listal.com. 10 March 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
  3. ^ September 2016, Matt Stocks 04. "The 10 Best Van Halen Songs according to Steel Panther's Michael Starr". loudersound. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
  4. ^ "Unchained". Van Halen News Desk. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  5. ^ Klosterman, Chuck (October 6, 2020). "All 131 Van Halen Songs, Ranked From Worst to Best A look back at the band's formidable legacy". Vulture.com. Retrieved October 9, 2020.

Further reading[]

  • Van Halen Guitar Anthology. Van Nuys, California: Alfred. 2006. pp. 101–12. ISBN 9780897246729. OCLC 605214049.


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