Van Halen I

December 5, 2005 · Filed Under popmedia

This album rocks. Out loud.

I hadn’t listened to it for quite a while, and for some reason I decided to listen to the whole thing today. I had forgotten just how solid an album it is from start to finish. It’s brimming over with chunks of sonic lusciousness, with a young Eddie Van Halen at his virtuoso best, and David Lee Roth at his caterwauling peak.

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

The only song on that list that doesn’t really grab me is On Fire — and not because it’s all that bad, just that (IMO) it’s not up to the level of the other 10 tracks.

Listening to Eruption is always a sublime experience. For me, it is proof that Eddie is the best rock guitarist that’s ever plugged into an amp. It’s that good, and he’s that good. Jamie’s Cryin’ starts with the iconic drum downbeat that was sampled to such good effect by Tone Loc (in Wild Thing). You Really Got Me is a blazing hot cover of the Kinks’ classic. Runnin’ With the Devil is a classic — somewhat troubling because of the title, but still a classic. The other songs are all tremendous & hold up well under repeated listening - it’s a shame that they didn’t get more widespread play (though some might say that Ain’t Talkin’ ’bout Love did, which would make it the best known of this lot of 6 songs…).

While VH II & 1984 were great albums (and I’m discounting the Van Hagar albums, not because I don’t like them, but merely because I like Van Halen & DLR more than Van Hagar & Sammy…), and Unchained (off of Fair Warning) is certainly on my list of the top 5 VH songs, VH I is still the best effort to date — raw, powerful, melodic, & with a great sense of humor. In terms of metal/hard rock albums, it’s right up there with AC/DC’s Back in Black, and Guns ‘n Roses’ Appetite for Destruction.

-ghp

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Tags: music, pop culture