Van Halen (album)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Van Halen
The album's cover artwork
Studio album by
Van Halen
ReleasedFebruary 10, 1978 (1978-02-10)
RecordedAugust 30 – September 1977[1]
StudioSunset Sound Recorders, Hollywood[2]
Genre
Length35:34
LabelWarner Bros.
ProducerTed Templeman
Van Halen chronology
Van Halen
(1978) 		Van Halen II
(1979)
Singles from Van Halen
  1. "You Really Got Me"
    Released: January 1978 (US) [5]
  2. "Runnin' with the Devil"
    Released: 13 April 1978 [6]
  3. "Jamie's Cryin'"
    Released: 17 July 1978 (US) [7]
  4. "On Fire"
    Released: September 1978 (Japan)
  5. "Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love"
    Released: 25 October 1978 (US)

Van Halen is the self-titled debut studio album by American rock band Van Halen. Released on February 10, 1978, the album peaked at #19 on the Billboard 200 and sold more than 10 million copies in the United States, receiving Diamond certification.[8]

The album contains some of Van Halen's most well-known songs, including "Runnin' with the Devil", "Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love", "Jamie's Cryin'", and their cover of The Kinks' "You Really Got Me". The 1 minute and 42 second Eddie Van Halen instrumental "Eruption" is considered one of the best electric guitar solos of all time and popularized the technique of two-handed tapping.[9]

Background[]

Van Halen began recording demos in 1976. However, a three-track tape financed by Gene Simmons attracted no interest from record labels. Guitarist Eddie Van Halen was not convinced of the quality of the material because they could not make the recordings with their own equipment.[10] Simmons left to tour with Kiss after recording the demos, but said he would try to secure Van Halen a record deal afterwards.[11]

After recording the demos, the band was offered several concerts. At a sold-out show in their hometown, Pasadena, the group's future manager, Marshall Berle, discovered the band. He and musical entrepreneur Kim Fowley paired them with punk rock band Venus and the Razorblades for a gig at the Whisky a Go Go.[12] After being well received by Berle at the Whisky a Go Go, the band gained the attention of Mo Ostin and Ted Templeman of Warner Bros. Ostin and Templeman were impressed with the band's subsequent performance at the Starwood, and Van Halen proceeded to sign a contract with Warner.[13] The recording of their debut album began in October 1977 and lasted three weeks.[10] With producer Ted Templeman, it was mostly recorded live.[14] "Runnin' with the Devil", "Jamie's Cryin'", "Feel Your Love Tonight" and "Ice Cream Man" contain guitar overdubs.[15] Overall, the album cost approximately $40,000 to produce.[citation needed]

"We didn't have a ton of material," recalled bassist Michael Anthony, "so we basically just took our live show and all the songs we knew and went for it. The whole album only took a couple of weeks. Ted Templeman wanted to make a big, powerful guitar record, and he had all he needed in what Eddie was doing."[16]

The subsequent tour began with the band opening for Journey, along with Montrose, in the United States.[17] They later opened for Black Sabbath in Europe and the United States.[18]

Packaging and artwork[]

The cover photos for Van Halen were taken at the Whisky a Go Go, a Los Angeles club at which Van Halen often performed during the mid-1970s. The guitar pictured on the cover of the album is Eddie Van Halen's Frankenstrat Guitar (before he added the red paint), a highly customized Stratocaster style guitar built out of replacement parts.

Release and reception[]

Retrospective professional reviews
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic5/5 stars[19]
Christgau's Record GuideC[20]
Classic Rock5/5 stars[21]
MusicHound Rock5/5[22]
Q5/5 stars[23]
Rolling Stone5/5 stars[24]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide4/5 stars[25]

In the United States, Van Halen reached number 19 on the Billboard Top 200; their debut single, a cover of The Kinks' "You Really Got Me", spent three weeks on the chart, peaking at number 36.[26]

Soon after its February 1978 release, Van Halen became regarded by fans and critics as one of rock and roll's greatest debut albums; however, its initial critical reception was mostly negative. In 1978, Rolling Stone critic Charles M. Young predicted, "In three years, Van Halen is going to be fat and self-indulgent and disgusting ... follow[ing] Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin right into the toilet. In the meantime, they are likely to be a big deal."[27] But he also wrote that: "Van Halen's secret is not doing anything that's original while having the hormones to do it better than all those bands who have become fat and self-indulgent and disgusting. Edward Van Halen has mastered the art of lead/rhythm guitar in the tradition of Jimmy Page and Joe Walsh; several riffs on this record beat anything Aerosmith has come up with in years. Vocalist Dave Lee Roth manages the rare hard-rock feat of infusing the largely forgettable lyrics with energy and not sounding like a castrato at the same time. Drummer Alex Van Halen and bassist Michael Anthony are competent and properly unobtrusive."[28] Village Voice critic Robert Christgau said, "For some reason Warners wants us to know that this is the biggest bar band in the San Fernando Valley ... The term becomes honorific when the music belongs in a bar. This music belongs on an aircraft carrier."[20]

According to Rolling Stone's Holly George-Warren, with the album's release the mainstream media focused on Roth's "swaggering good looks and extroverted persona", while fans and musicians "were riveted by Eddie Van Halen's guitar mastery", which included "an array of unorthodox techniques."[29] She notes that, even before the band's debut, "Eddie became a legend among local guitarists."[29]

Kerrang! magazine gave the album a very positive review, and considers the album to be an "essential purchase." They wrote, "IT'S DIFFICULT to overstate the effect VH's debut had upon its release. With the music world split between punk, disco and prog rock, Van Halen combined a dazzling live show with a party-hearty motto and, in Eddie Van Halen, a guitarist who redefined what was possible on six strings. His sound on this album—christened 'The Brown Sound'—remains the holy grail of guitar tones."[30]

Commercial performance[]

On August 7, 1996, Van Halen was re-certified by the RIAA for selling ten million copies in the United States alone.[31] One of only six rock bands to release two RIAA Diamond status albums, Van Halen remains one of Van Halen's two best-selling albums, along with 1984.

Van Halen went to Gold status on May 24, 1978, and then went to Platinum status just a few months later, on October 10, 1978. In less than a year the album sold more than one million copies in the US alone, meaning that the album was already a great success. However, on October 22, 1984, the album went to 5× Multi-Platinum status. The album went to 6x Multi-Platinum on February 1, 1989, and then went to 7× Multi-Platinum on September 29, 1993. In less than a year later, on July 11, 1994, the album went to 8x Multi-Platinum, and finally, on August 7, 1996, just two years later, the album went to Diamond status by RIAA.[8]

The Van Halen album, like Van Halen's other David Lee Roth-era albums—excepting Van Halen II, which was re-certified in 2004, to coincide with the promotion of a Warner Bros. Records greatest hits collection—was last brought by Warner Bros. Records to the RIAA for re-certification in 1996, while 1984 was re-certified on February 8, 1999.[8] The band's split with Warner Brothers in 2002, and subsequent agreement with Interscope has eliminated Warner Brothers' incentive for paying the [relatively substantial] fee to promote Van Halen's back-catalog by having its albums re-certified. Despite lack of re-certification, Van Halen's 1978 debut has continued to sell prolifically, re-appearing numerous times on the Billboard 200 and Billboard Top Pop Catalog Albums charts, as recently as 2020.[32]

Legacy[]

AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine described Van Halen as "monumental" and "seismic", while noting that it is typically not viewed as an "epochal generation shift" in the same way as the debut albums of Led Zeppelin, the Ramones, The Rolling Stones, and the Sex Pistols.[33] He explains, "The reason it's never given the same due is that there's no pretension, nothing self-conscious about it."[33] He commented: "The still-amazing thing about Van Halen is how it sounds like it has no fathers ... Like all great originals Van Halen doesn't seem to belong to the past and it still sounds like little else, despite generations of copycats."[33] In Erlewine's opinion, the album "set the template for how rock and roll sounded for the next decade or more."[33] A retrospective review by Q noted, "Hit singles came later, but this dazzling debut remains their trump card."[23]

In 1994, Van Halen was ranked number eight in Colin Larkin's Top 50 Heavy Metal Albums. Larkin described it as "one of the truly great" debut albums of heavy metal.[34] According to authors Gary Graff and Daniel Durchholz, writing in MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide (1999), Van Halen is a "headbanger's paradise"; before its release, "no one had heard or seen anything like it."[22] In 2003, Rolling Stone, listed it among The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, at number 410;[35] the list's 2012 edition had it ranked 415th.[36] The 2020 list placed it at 292. According to Rolling Stone's Joe Levy, the album "gave the world a new guitar hero and charismatic frontman" in Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth, respectively.[35] Levy credits the tracks "Runnin' with the Devil" and "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" with "put[ting] the swagger back in hard rock", praising Eddie Van Halen's "jaw-dropping technique", which "raised the bar for rock guitar."[35] In 2006, Guitar World readers ranked it number 7 on a list of the Greatest Guitar Albums of All Time.[37] In 2013, Rolling Stone listed the album at number 27 of the 100 Best Debut Albums of All Time.[38]

On April 15, 2013, David Lee Roth was interviewed by Jay Mohr for his podcast, where he selected the album as his favorite Van Halen recording.[39]

In 2017, students of the Los Rios Rock School in San Juan Capistrano, California, re-recorded the full Van Halen album in one day with the help of the Produce Like a Pro team. The session was recorded in the same studio Van Halen recorded in, using the same recording equipment that Van Halen originally used. The Van Halen album continues to inspire young musicians 40 years after its creation.[40]

Track listing[]

All tracks are written by Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, David Lee Roth and Michael Anthony, except where noted.

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Runnin' with the Devil" 3:36
2."Eruption" (instrumental) 1:42
3."You Really Got Me"Ray Davies2:38
4."Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love" 3:50
5."I'm the One" 3:47
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Jamie's Cryin'" 3:31
7."Atomic Punk" 3:02
8."Feel Your Love Tonight" 3:43
9."Little Dreamer" 3:23
10."Ice Cream Man"John Brim3:20
11."On Fire" 3:01

Personnel[]

Van Halen

Production

  • Dave Bhang – art direction and design
  • Jodi Cohen – typesetting
  • Elliot Gilbert – photography
  • Logan Jervis – engineer
  • Donn Landee – engineer
  • Peggy McCreary – engineer
  • Jo Motta – project coordinator
  • Kent Nebergall – engineer
  • Ted Templeman – producer

Charts[]

Singles[]

(United States)

Year Single Chart Peak Position
1978 "You Really Got Me" US Billboard Hot 100[52] 36
1978 "Runnin' with the Devil" US Billboard Hot 100[52] 84

Certifications[]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[53] 4× Platinum 400,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[54] Gold 25,305[54]
France (SNEP)[55] Gold 100,000*
Germany (BVMI)[56] Gold 250,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[57] Platinum 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[58] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[59] Diamond 10,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Renoff 2015, p. 279.
  2. ^ "Sunset Sound" (PDF). sunsetsound.com.
  3. ^ "Van Halen's Top 10 Songs in Honor of Eddie Van Halen". Consequence. October 6, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  4. ^ "How Van Halen's Debut Album Invented Hair Metal". Dig!. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  5. ^ "Van Halen singles".
  6. ^ "Van Halen singles".
  7. ^ "Van Halen singles".
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b c "You searched for van halen - RIAA". RIAA.
  9. ^ "50 greatest guitar solos of all time". NME. November 11, 2017. Archived from the original on November 11, 2017.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b "Volume: Van Halen - Biography and Discography at HardHarderHeavy". hardharderheavy.de (in German). Archived from the original on January 12, 2017. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
  11. ^ Grow, Kory (March 22, 2016). "Gene Simmons Talks Lost Seventies Van Halen Demos". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on March 23, 2016. Retrieved December 30, 2016. I gave the demo back to the band, told them I had a tour to go on and afterward I would try to get them a record deal, but until then, I tore up our contract and set them free. It didn't take them long to get on Warner Bros.
  12. ^ Renoff, Greg. "How punk and new wave resurrected Hollywood's legendary Whisky a Go Go in the 1970s". medium.com/cuepoint. Archived from the original on October 1, 2016. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
  13. ^ Tolinski 2010, p. 38.
  14. ^ Tolinski 2010, p. 116.
  15. ^ Renoff 2015, p. 561.
  16. ^ musicradar.com/news/guitars/michael-anthony-my-6-career-defining-records-249695
  17. ^ "Journey's Past Tour Information". journey-tribute.com. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
  18. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 2, 2009. Retrieved July 10, 2009.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  19. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Van Halen – Van Halen". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved November 22, 2011.
  20. ^ Jump up to: a b Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: V". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 9, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  21. ^ Rock, Classic (February 19, 2018). "Album Of The Week Club: Van Halen - Van Halen". Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  22. ^ Jump up to: a b Graff & Durchholz 1999, p. 1187.
  23. ^ Jump up to: a b Q, August 2000
  24. ^ Edwards, Gavin (November 25, 2004). "Van Halen:Van Halen (2004 review)". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 14, 2008.
  25. ^ "Van Halen: Album Guide | Rolling Stone Music". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 10, 2012.
  26. ^ George-Warren 2001, p. 1028; Whitburn 2010, p. 683
  27. ^ Young, Charles M. (May 4, 1978). "Van Halen:Van Halen". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 27, 2007. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
  28. ^ "Rolling Stone : Van Halen: Van Halen : Music Reviews". April 27, 2007. Archived from the original on April 27, 2007.
  29. ^ Jump up to: a b George-Warren 2001, p. 1028.
  30. ^ "Van Halen - Where to Start with - Kerrang". March 15, 2014. Archived from the original on March 15, 2014.
  31. ^ "Gold & Platinum Searchable Database – February 21, 2014". RIAA. Archived from the original on September 5, 2013. Retrieved February 22, 2014.
  32. ^ "Billboard 200 Charts, Week of October 17, 2020". Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  33. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Stephen Thomas Erlewine (February 10, 1978). "Van Halen - Van Halen | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved February 22, 2014.
  34. ^ Larkin 1994, p. 182.
  35. ^ Jump up to: a b c Levy 2005, p. 203.
  36. ^ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. May 31, 2012. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
  37. ^ "100 Greatest Guitar Albums". Guitar World. October 2006. A copy can be found at "Guitar World's 100 Greatest Guitar Albums of All Time – Rate Your Music". rateyourmusic.com. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
  38. ^ "The 100 Best Debut Albums of All Time: 'Van Halen'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 22, 2014.
  39. ^ "Mohr Stories". Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  40. ^ "Kids record Van Halen 1 Live in One Day at Sunset Sound! - Produce Like A Pro". producelikeapro.com. August 31, 2017.
  41. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 319. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  42. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 3556". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  43. ^ Jump up to: a b "Dutchcharts.nl – Van Halen – Van Halen" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  44. ^ "Charts.nz – Van Halen – Van Halen". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  45. ^ "Van Halen | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  46. ^ "Van Halen Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  47. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Van Halen – Van Halen". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  48. ^ "Van Halen Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  49. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1978". Billboard. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  50. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1979". Billboard. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  51. ^ "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  52. ^ Jump up to: a b "Van Halen Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  53. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Van Halen – Van Halen". Music Canada.
  54. ^ Jump up to: a b "Van Halen" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  55. ^ "French album certifications – Van Halen – Van Halen" (in French). InfoDisc. Select VAN HALEN and click OK. 
  56. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Van Halen; 'Van Halen')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  57. ^ "Dutch album certifications – Van Halen – Van Halen" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved February 27, 2020. Enter Van Halen in the "Artiest of titel" box.
  58. ^ "British album certifications – Van Halen – Van Halen". British Phonographic Industry.Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Van Halen in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  59. ^ "American album certifications – Van Halen – Van Halen". Recording Industry Association of America.

Works cited

  • George-Warren, Holly, ed. (2001). The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock and Roll (2005 ed.). Fireside. ISBN 978-0-7432-9201-6.
  • Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. ISBN 978-1-57859-061-2.
  • Larkin, Colin (1994). Guinness Book of Top 1000 Albums (1st ed.). Gullane Children's Books. ISBN 978-0-85112-786-6.
  • Levy, Joe, ed. (2005). Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (First Paperback ed.). Wenner Books. ISBN 978-1-932958-61-4.
  • Renoff, Greg (2015). Van Halen Rising: How a Southern California Backyard Party Band Saved Heavy Metal. Toronto: ECW Press. ISBN 978-1-77041-263-7. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
  • Tolinski, Brad (April 15, 2010). Guitar World Presents Van Halen. Backbeat Books.
  • Whitburn, Joel (2010). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 1955–2009 (9th ed.). Billboard Books. ISBN 978-0-8230-8554-5.

Further reading[]

  • Van Halen Guitar Anthology. Van Nuys, California: Alfred. 2006. pp. 3–45. ISBN 9780897246729. OCLC 605214049.
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