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1984

Van Halen - 1984 Audio CD

A fair review of the Van Halen "1984" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Van Halen reviews here, or go back to the Van Halen tabs.

Band: Van Halen
Title: 1984
Rating:

Release Date: 1990-10-25
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: 1984 2: Jump 3: Panama 4: Top Jimmy 5: Drop Dead Legs 6: Hot for Teacher 7: I'll Wait 8: Girl Gone Bad 9: House of Pain

The Year 1984 Was Good For Van Halen
Still the band delivered one of their best sets! This is the first album that the band recorded at Eddie's own studio "5150" but unfortunately it was the last collaboration between Roth and band mates Eddie Van Halen (guitar), Alex Van Halen (drums) and bassist Michael Anthony. That is artistically speaking of course! The rift between singer David Lee Roth with the rest of the band was coming to a head here. Once again Ted Templeman produced and Donn Landee engineered the recording.
I investigated on the matter and, not surprisingly, found out that the drawing on the album's cover caused some controversy at the time.

A short instrumental "1984" opens the album in an experimental fashion with Eddie playing some melodic notes and chords on a synthesizer. It is a good preview of what follows: "Jump", a monster radio hit with catchy synth work from Eddie. Has the band decided to ditch their trademark guitar-based sound to become a synth-pop group? Of course not, in the middle you'll hear a great guitar solo filled with Eddie's trademark tricks like two-handed tapping, and false harmonics. I like the chord structure underneath since it different from the ones used on the verse/chorus. Afterwards another new section is introduced with a fast pattern played with the synth before going back to the intro melody. Listen carefully before the fade out as the guitar comes in and Eddie plays a staccato riff that the band will later recycle for the song "Top Of The World". Song number three is another radio hit called "Panama" although I really don't know the inspiration behind that title. Finally the band's classic sound is heard! This song could have easily fitted on their debut! I like the part where you can hear a car's engine roaring.
An unexpected turn happens with "Top Jimmy" with Eddie playing in a funkier style and without distortion here. I like the intro too with a cool arpeggio sequence drenched in false harmonics. The solo is quite avant-garde with a lot of tremolo usage. I detected an Uli Jon Roth influence in it. . . For example listen to Uli's solo in the Scorpions song "Virgin Killer" from the album of the same name and you'll hear a resemblance especially the very last note with the pitch bending down.
"Drop Dead Legs" is an underrated composition with an odd time signature riff after its chorus. A great performance from Alex who has a nice powerful sound on his drums here. In the outro solo you can hear the influence of another guitarist: Allan Holdsworth, this time being in those fast and slightly dissonant phrasings. "Hot For Teacher" is another composition featuring the band's classic debut sound with a really cool lead guitar intro with the two-handed tapping technique. The lyrics about school are funny and it comes complete with a fake classroom voice over. "Class dismissed!!" say Roth towards the end. This song always makes me laugh! There's more than one time signature during the solo, another master performance from drummer Alex.
Next comes the unexpected return of the synths: "I'll Wait". A great melody introduces it and the guitar is only featured during its short solo in the middle. Roth gives a fine vocal performance while Alex returns to that powerful drum sound first heard on "Drop Dead Legs".
I've always thought that "Girl Gone Bad" is an overlooked song in the band's catalog. It has a tremendous intro with some dark-sounding arpeggios but the guitar work remains interesting all the way through with a memorable verse/chorus structure as well. The final composition "House Of Pain" actually dates from the band's club days. In 1976 they recorded a demo version but the band decided to alter its original arrangement when they re-recorded it for "1984" with the most remarkable aspect being its mean heavy riff that is used in the chorus. Also notable is the solo in the middle, which is one of Eddie's most avant-garde with a lot of those high pitched notes with the tremolo arm! This is definitely a high key exit and a highlight!

Van Halen is one of my favorite guitarists! His rhythm guitar tone, sometimes referred to as "the brown sound" is one of the best tones I've ever heard while his soloing technique utilizing two-handed tapping, false harmonics, etc. was hugely influential having an impact almost as big as Hendrix! If you are a fan of exotic guitar playing, then check this or any other album from Van Halen!
Thanks for taking the time to read!
Later.

His guitar technique
I have never gotten tired of it, after 25 years. This is such a special album. When I look at the score itself, it looks kind of easy to play. But trying to get my guitar playing to sound like Eddie's is a whole different story. He's a master musician for a reason. Too bad Van Halen didn't produce more albums like this.

terrible service!!!!!!!!!! Cant buy one MP3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is the absolute worst site I have ever seen,. . . I can't believe you cant buy just one song. . . all the songs are unavailable. . . . . . I guess Van Halen has plenty of money and does not need to sell their songs anymore. . . . . . Good for them,. . . . guess I will go and purchase other great 80's bands songs that actually allow their songs to be purchased.

Three lock box
Sammy Hagar, he's straight from the heart, projecting live, restlessly from the Id. David Lee Roth could never sell a love song, it's like he was amoral or maybe malfunctioning. Me, I can't discount the possibility I'm cracking up. I play Van Halen so loud, I'm trying to drown out the sound of me talking to myself. It's not working so well, I keep writing notes to myself. My pockets are full of them. Let's see, this one says "precarious balance," another says "your actions and inactions have consequences," yet another "where's the self-destruction button. " Oh man, I really hope these are not fortunes from a cookie. I talk to myself but what's the point, I never listen. Part of the jazz is my transition from f to m has been scary bumpy. Tumult. Call it the blue fog. I keep falling out of airplanes. You'd think after 10 years of paying dues, I would have hit upon a winner. I haven't been landing on my feet. I say, the only thing she loved about me was how easy I am to hurt. Rollercoaster crazy, I'd rather just be lonely (again). And I turned someone down today, she probably would be nice to me, good for me, but, that's not what I want. It's gotta be HER. And she's using me up. But I still have a strand of will; it's either HIM or ME, it cannot be both, don't try to cross the bottom line. I think it's gonna take more than 12 steps to get away from HER. 'Cause I don't want to! I really painfully adore her. It's about sick riffs, shot out of a canon.

1984
1984 is synthesizer laden though it's not the first time that one had appeared in their recordings. 1984 finds Van Halen changing their direction in music again though not as radical a change as Fair Warning. This was their sixth studio album & the final one with David Lee Roth (not counting his guest appearance on a couple of newly recorded songs). 1984 peaked at #2 on the album charts. There were four singles released from it that made the charts: "Hot for Teacher" (#34 Mainstream Rock, #56 Hot 100), "I'll Wait" (#13 Hot 100), "Jump" (#13 Dance/Club, #1 Hot 100) & "Panama (#13 Hot 100). I know a few people that became totally turned off to the group because Eddie did so much synthesizer work on the album. After all, Eddie is a guitar god, what's he doing playing a synthesizer? Well, it was the eighties & a lot of bands were incorporating synthesizers into their music & drum machines (gasp!) and/or electronic drums. Z Z Top did the same thing in the eighties & sold more records than they had ever sold. It was just a sign of the times. I didn't particularly desire it but it happened. I thought it was good to have an occasional change & an album full of it didn't turn me off. 1984 isn't Van Halen' best album (many will disagree) but it's WAY better than Diver Down! Every band grows & matures, they can't remain stagnant. Look how much the Beatles changed from 1963 to 1970. Van Halen was no different in that regard, sometimes we like the changes, sometimes we don't.

The album opens with "1984", a short synthesizer instrumental that's the intro for the next song, "Jump". "Jump" was written & recorded with MTV in mind. It also gave Diamond Dave a great reason to perform certain stunts on stage while touring. "Jump" is a classic piece of pop blended with Van Halen's rock abilities. "Panama" is a return to form, Eddie playing a driving rhythm on guitar with licks & riffs all over the place. Who doesn't like a song about a fast car? "Top Jimmy" has Eddie playing around with harmonics on guitar but in a league all by himself. It's a fast tempo song that they would do at least one of on most albums. "Drop Dead Legs" has Diamond Dave doing his best male fantasy routine. I love Eddie's lead that closes out the song. "Hot for Teacher" was another song that was written with MTV in mind. Wasn't Waldo a gas in the video? What male couldn't resist the male fantasy of a teacher that hot? "I got my pencil! Give me something to write on!" Diamond Dave's personality is the overwhelming presence in the song. This song, more than almost any other Van Halen song, exudes the party-hearty atmosphere that they were so famous for. It shouldn't have come as a surprise when Diamond Dave departed that he'd be singing about California girls & gigolos. "I don't feel tardy. " "I'll Wait" was co-written with Michael McDonald (Doobie Bros. , mach II). It was one of the more unique songs in their catalog & one of their best. Eddie proved to be more than adequate on keyboards with this song; his guitar solo is one of his most restrained on any song. "Girl Gone Bad" is the closest thing to filler on the album. Most bands would love to be able to say a song of this quality is the weakest song on the album. But Eddie has a way of elevating the listener's interest when he bursts out with a solo like he does on this one. The final song is "House of Pain" which reminds of some of the songs from Fair Warning. It's a dark, dangerous song that would have fit well on Fair Warning.

1984 was a great closing of the David Lee Roth era of Van Halen. I hated to see him go & never have thought that Sammy Hagar was an adequate replacement. Hagar never had the personality of Diamond Dave &, maybe, that was the whole idea, anyway. How do you replace a Diamond Dave? You can't. I did, kind of, anticipate the new Van Halen with Hagar. I thought it would give Eddie more time with keyboards or fleshing out his leads more (like he really needed to do that, huh?). But the new Van Halen didn't quite take the direction that I thought they would take. .

You can see a complete list of all Van Halen discography, or go back to the Van Halen tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.