Van halen - Van halen 1 (1978)

Track Listing:

1. Runnin' With The Devil
2. Eruption
3. You Really Got Me
4. Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
5. I'm The One
6. Jamie's Cryin'
7. Atomic Punk
8. Feel Your Love Tonight
9. Little Dreamer
10. Ice Cream Man
11. On Fire

Lineup:

• David Lee Roth
• Edward Van Halen
• Michael Anthony
• Alex Van Halen

One of the greatest debut albums of all time, and also one of the greatest albums of all time, this is vintage VH.
though it cannot be called 'metal', the guitar playing style of Eddie Van halen influenced each & every metal guitar wannabe out there. the original 'atomic punk', responsible for creating and popularizing the 'air guitar' among fans, am sure if the greatest guitar player of all time Jimi Hendrix was alive to see Eddie Play, he would have gladly relinquished his throne for Eddie.

even though there were more popular metal bands before VH hit the stage, like JUDAS PRIEST, KISS, WHITE SNAKE, DEEP PURPLE, BLACK SABBATH, etc etc, it was Eddie's 2 hand guitar tapping technique that totally revolutionised the way the guitar could be played. & he got inspired from another legendary guitarist JIMMY PAGE(LED ZEPPLIN).

Its safe to say, that this album sounds a bit like a heavy LED ZEPPLIN minus the vocals off course.

and all their songs have this really catchy vibe to it. you just dont get tired even if you keep looping the entire album the whole day.
it all starts with 'eruption', a barrage of notes played at lightning speed by the 2 hand finger tapping technique & ends on a high note with 'on fire'.

the songs are short, catchy, melodic & make a point. even though the production sounds very 1970's, its still way ahead of a lot of other music that was released during that period.

"aint talking 'bout love", is still a crowd favorite with its A minor heavy palm muted intro. 'Runnin' With The Devil' show cases the vocal talents of David Lee Roth, who is such a fantastic vocalist live. 'Feel Your Love Tonight' would impress any teenage girl into going to bed with you, 'You Really Got Me' a cover of the KINKS with a heavy dose of VH guitar harmonics, 'Atomic Punk' with its catchy chorus riff are all classics.

they even cover JOHN BRIM'S 'ice cream man' with its old school rock n roll style, soft blusey intro & then typical VH bravado.

this album should easily fit in the top 5 hard rock albums of all time. it in fact it even reached diamond status, & only 3 other bands in music history have managed to do that. LED ZEPPLIN, PINK FLOYD & DEF LEPPARD.

VAN HALEN F****NG RULES

my rating
9.9/10

review by Pritham 'Metal farmer' D'Souza