I'm counting down my the first Dave era Van Halen tracks. Part one is here. Part two is here. If you're all caught up let's not waste anymore time.
40. "Dancing in the Street" from Diver Down. One of the many cracks in the camp of Van Halen. "Dancing in the Street" is a song that Dave wanted to cover, but Eddie won with "(Oh) Pretty Woman" instead. When "(Oh) Pretty Woman" became a hit and a whole album was needed "Dancing in the Street" reentered the picture. Which was fine, except that Ted Templeman took a Mini-Moog piece Eddie had been working on and it's this synth piece that percolates throughout the song which really makes it fresh and takes it to number 40 on my list.
39. "Where Have All the Good Times Gone?" from Diver Down. It's the second time Van Halen plunders the Kinks back catalog (we'll get to "You Really Got Me" later) and I love it. It works well as a mid-tempo album opener and its placing at 39 is more a product of my own nostalgia for the song than musical quality.
38. "House of Pain" from 1984. "House of Pain" was an older track that had never made it on to a proper Van Halen album. A version of it had been recorded with Gene Simmons before Van Halen got their deal with Warner Bros. That version had the car horns that would later be used on "Runnin' with the Devil." It's one of those galloping stompers of a song that fades out leaving you wanting more.
37. "Bottoms Up!" from Van Halen II. This boogie, party anthem extolling the joy of alcohol is fun and the sort of track that showcased the humorous side of Van Halen which really set them apart from most hard rock and metal.
36. "Take Your Whiskey Home" from Women and Children First. This song was a leftover from Van Halen's club days. Eddie wasn't too keen on doing it, but everyone else wanted to do it. The mid-tempo tune fits in well on Women and Children First.
35. "Loss of Control" from Women and Children First. File this was in the bonkers section. The Van Halen News Desk says this one pokes fun at the punk rock scene.
34. "Atomic Punk" from Van Halen. A rarity in the Van Halen catalogue; this song has no backing vocals. It's just sheer adrenaline veering on white noise as Dave relates how he rules the streets in what appears to be either a dystopian sci-fi future world or perhaps some darker fantasy land. Eddie's palm scratching of the strings was yet one of the many interesting sounds he was to share with us over the years.
33. "Beautiful Girls" from Van Halen II. It was originally performed as "Bring on the Girls" during the band's club days as it made for a perfect accompaniment to the wet t-shirt contests that usually part of the night's festivities. The song's title was changed and toned down due to label pressure, but the gleeful decadence still shines through.
32. "Women in Love..." from Van Halen II. The double tracked harmonics at the beginning by Edward are genius. Then comes the slow burn. I really like Alex's understated thuds in this one. Just perfect. Then Dave provides the twist that his woman is leaving him for another woman. Dave is generally all about the braggadocio, so it's neat when he's almost vulnerable.
31. "On Fire" from Van Halen. Dave hangs ten on our sonic wave. Even though it's the last song on Van Halen's debut, it does not come off as an afterthought. The heavy metal clanger with Dave screaming his head off leaves one wanting more. More of whatever it was we just heard.
That's it for this post. I'll be come at some point counting down 30-21. Until then, happy trails.
No comments:
Post a Comment