I was born in 1985, a year after this album was released. It’s
\nbeen 18 long years, but now I finally know what I missed.<\/p>\n
I’m embarrassed to admit
\n1984<\/i> is my one and only Van Halen album. It wasn’t until
\nrecently I was able to appreciate how talented Eddie Van Halen
\nwas\/is. So when faced with the decision of what Van Halen album I
\nshould buy, I made the logical choice.
\n1984<\/i> was the album that sent Van Halen into the
\nstratosphere. The band had hit big with their debut, but this disc
\nwas their Back in Black, or their
\nDark Side of the Moon<\/i>. It would eventually sell in excess of
\n10 million copies, and would give the band their first number one
\nsingle “Jump.”<\/p>\n
What made
\n1984<\/i> so incredibly popular? There are various reasons as to
\nwhy, but to me there is one reason that surpasses the others. Eddie
\nVan Halen’s ability to write hooks and riffs is almost
\nunparalleled. Every single song on this disc, with the exception of
\nthe title track, has something anyone can grab onto. On “Jump” it
\nmight be the synthesizers. It could be the outstanding percussion
\nopening on “Hot for Teacher.” Again, with the exception of the
\ntitle track, there is not a dull moment on the album.<\/p>\n
Few records capture the stage energy of a band.
\n1984<\/i> is one those few. The band is hitting on all cylinders
\nhere. The normally average rhythm section turns in some great
\nperformances. “Diamond” David Lee Roth wails away, exuding
\ncharisma. However, it is the guitar work of Eddie Van Halen that
\nmakes this album what it is. Simply put, Eddie Van Halen is one of
\nthe top five guitarists of all time. His ability to play with
\nblistering speed yet keep the melody is something very few
\nguitarists have had the capacity to carry out. Just listen to the
\nsolo on “Hot for Teacher,” and try picturing how fast the man’s
\nfingers must be going. It’s mind-boggling.<\/p>\n
Let’s face it, no one listens to Van Halen for the lyrics. While
\nthe songs aren’t bad, none of them are “In My Life” either.
\nHowever, that doesn’t matter. The lyrics are second in terms of
\nimportance to the band. They simply serve for the purpose of
\nfilling parts of the songs. In fact, songs like ” Track 07″ I
\nbelieve would be more compelling without words. I don’t mean to
\ntake away from Roth, whose magnetic personality was one the keys to
\nthe band’s popularity. However, as a vocalist he is average, and
\nlike the lyrics, is just there to fill in the holes. Luckily for
\nthe band, he had tremendous commercial appeal.<\/p>\n
It was Eddie Van Halen who came to rest of the band with the
\nidea to use synthesizers for
\n1984<\/i>. The result was worth it. The synths flesh out the
\nsongs, without ruining the Van Halen sound. They give more
\nsubstance to the tracks. “Jump’s” synth intro is one of the most
\nfamous intros in rock history. Van Halen certainly proved he could
\ndo more that just play guitar. Some of his synthesizer arrangements
\nare just as memorable as his guitar riffs.<\/p>\n
Listening to
\n1984<\/i> is really a pleasure. This is rock album, nothing more.
\nIt doesn’t discuss society, it’s just a fun album. The band sounds
\nlike they are enjoying every minute of it; I suggest you do the
\nsame.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":24741,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[5673],"rating":[5646],"class_list":["post-37985","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-van-halen","rating-rating-a"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/37985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37985"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/37985\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=37985"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=37985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}