WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST Re-visited

[Rikk]

Continuing the Re-Appreciation thread begun by Sesh with his excellent review of VAN HALEN II, and following my threads for DIVER DOWN and 1984, I have next decided to write a re-appreciation of WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST (surely one of the most under-rated titles in the band's catalog). It's often stated that out of all the VH albums, the debut really has it all. I feel the debut is amazing, and I feel that 1984 really encapsulates all that's best about VH's various sounds (including Eddie's growing love of electronics). But WOMAN AND CHILDREN FIRST is so totally classic because it really is Van Halen's live album (for me). It has the ultimate live band sound, spontaneous solos, back-up vocals that don't sound like they've been overprocessed (as on 5150)...and this is probably Roth's most confident "swaggar album". I mean, listen to his little spontaneous banter in EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!! Listen to his blues crooning at the beginning of FOOLS. Listen to him half-speak the verses of AND THE CRADLE WILL ROCK (very tongue-in-cheek). And yet, after all this swagger and scatting, he sounds as sincere as ever on IN A SIMPLE RHYME. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. It takes you on a million trips and convinced a lot of people that rock 'n' roll could really be dangerous again, but fun at the same time (a lot like APPETTITE FOR DESTRUCTION, which wouldn't appear for another seven years). It's funny that some critics over the years have accused the band of repeating a formula. And the truth is, the 3-piece band IS repeating themselves on this album (although the sound is a bit more bluesy than before). There are still a million brilliant Eddie and Alex moments on this one too. Mikey is...well, he's okay. He's Mikey. But anyway, it's not the band that really steals this one (although they are great)...it's Dave. How does he think up this shit? "I took a mobile light, I'm-a-lookin' for a moonbeam!" (if that's what he even says). This was a new, improved, less-structured Dave. It wasn't until the next album that the band would join in him in actually...evolving.

Coming off of a second platinum seller with VAN HALEN II and getting their name out even more with more big dates as an opening act and also with some headlining gigs, it would be the WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST album that would solidify their position as the new superband. Van Halen could feel pride in the fact that they had a hit single in 1979 (DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY hit the Top 20); and now, in 1980, they would go in and quickly hash out another album and then go on their first big headlining tour (the 1980 "Invasion Tour"). It's incredible that after two years of innovation and revolution, the band still seemed as if it was just getting started. The 1980 tour was going to be legendary. The band even hired a film-camera crew to capture some of the shows, intending to put together a concert film that would "blow THE SONG REMAINS THE SAME away!" If only they had followed up with that promise. A professional film of the 1980 tour would capture the band at their peak...still very young, spontaneous, still a little hungry...a set list not brought down by requirements of "old songs" that needed to still be played...or the hit single. It's a tragedy that the first concert film Van Halen released is the 5150 tour home video LIVE WITHOUT A NET. By the time that video was filmed, the band was already dead. They were safe, homogenized...a lot like other big-time corporate acts. In 1980, they were dangerous...practically a punk band.

One more thing...after WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST, the band took their first steps toward becoming a studio band, with overdubbed guitar solos galore and studio experimentation. WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST was maybe their last declaration of spontaneity. In fact, it may just be the most spontaneous album ever recorded. Hell, the whole thing sounds like a jam session! It's great.

...AND THE CRADLE WILL ROCK
Funny that this is the only song from this album on the band's first (of many, I'm sure) Greatest Hits album. I would say it's actually my least favorite track here. I think it's definitely an experimental moment for the band (on an album without much experimentation). But it also seems to me like Eddie concentrated more on messing around with a new sound than on writing a good tune. I, personally, find the chords a bit boring and the lyrics dull and not up to Roth's usually-high standards (especially his high standards for the time). The song features an electric piano part blasting though Eddie's Marshall amplifiers, with a phaser effect (I think?) on it. And this is the first VH song on which a keyboard appears. It's amazing how many people didn't realize it...it does sound a lot like a guitar. But I never really liked the rhythm sound on this song too much because it sounds basically like a watered-down electric guitar (nothing like Ed's future synth sound). It doesn't have the melody of a keyboard, but it also doesn't have the menace of a Kramer or Fender. As for the song, the chorus is kinda cliched. Even the solo is rather typical (although I like the beginning of it, the way it just buzzes in). Whatever. It's Van Halen experimenting a little and writing a sort of by-the-numbers tune in the process. The fact that the band thinks this is probably the best song to represent this album shows how much they don't get what was brilliant about the early days. (Still, I'd take this song over LOVE WALKS IN any day...:D .)

EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!!
A live favorite, the band pulled this one out on every tour up to and including the 1984 Tour. Of course, it was dumped after Dave left the band (although I believe the band may have revisited it during Gary Cherone's short tenure in the band). Eddie rubs the low-E string during Al's jungle rhythm intro, producing a rather menacing scraping sound (probably something they decided to do minutes before the tape rolled...I bet this is Take 1 or Take 2). The riff is simple, the rhythmic idea very primitive: blues riff over a primal drumbeat, with the vocalist yelling a line after each time the guitarist plays a riff (Chicago blues, basically)...band kicks in for simple singalong chorus, cool guitar solo after the chorus. There's not much more to it than that. But that's the point. It's simple, but extremely inspired and almost angry. It's classic Van Halen. That said, this is also not one of the very best songs in the band's catalog (nor on this album). But I s'pose after the "experimentation" of WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST, the band required a song that truly harks back to the first album. The funny thing is, there's no song on the debut that sounds this spontaneous. It sounds like the band marking time (song-writing-wise), but it's still new to the listener. Dave apparently even ad-libbed all his vocals, listening to the pre-recorded music through his headphones. And they're damn funny: "Where'd you get that...oh!" "No no no no, don't take 'em off...leave 'em on." "I always liked those high heels too." "Look, I'll pay you for it...what the fu..." Great stuff. I can see Alex rolling his eyes, hearing this stuff on playback. But it's classic Dave. If anything, it's just great to hear a recording by Van Halen at their peak that was probably written, recorded and mixed on the spot. Amazing that such quick work on a blues/rock song one evening in a recording studio led to the one song on the album they would play more than any of the others (hundreds of times, actually)!!

FOOLS
Again, this sounds like pure spontaneity (although it's apparently a much older song). My one complaint with the WACF album is that as brilliant as it is, it's brilliant as a whole more than part-by-part. It makes a statement in itself, even though not one of the first three tracks really tells you how amazing the whole album is. But this album really is great! Keep listening...I swear, you'll understand. Of course, FOOLS may not be MEAN STREET. But it's such sloppy blues with Chuck Berry-inspired lyrics that you can't help but tap the steering wheel and thank God the band was in the mood to jam the night they threw this down. My god, man...listen to that opening guitar solo (right after the soft intro and simple guitar announcement). It's nuts. And then Ed suddenly shuts up and softly plays a little lick before he kicks into a riff that sounds like it would have been right at home on LED ZEPPELIN II...so simple, so menacing (DUH DUH DUH DUH DUH DUH-DUH). Dave probably again came up with some of the lyrics right on-the-spot ("Ooo, an' I'm sick an' tired of Golden Rules, ah!"?). But that's again what makes it great. This is another "fuck you corporate rock" kind of song. I'd like to have seen the manager of Styx or Journey listen to HIS band tell them that a track like this was going to go on their new album. He would have had a heart attack. And this again proves that Van Halen really were the hard rock alternative to that kind of sugary gloss pop/metal that was so big at the beginning of the 80's. Is FOOLS Van Halen's greatest moment? Hell, no. Does it have all the elements of what made the band great? Hell, yes!

ROMEO DELIGHT
For me, this is the album's best moment...and among the band's greatest moments ever (if not THE greatest). "I'll take your whiskey to the party tonight and I'm looking for somebody to squeeze!" Oh yeah! Of course, that line is lifted directly out of an older VH song called GET THE SHOW ON THE ROAD (great song, appears on the '77 Demo tape). Dave steals his own line and uses it to even greater effect in this classic song that sounds either like the LP is on 78 or the band embraced speed metal before it actually broke! My god, man...this smokes! The drums are so fast and angry, the riff is super-aggressive...pure heavy metal. The first three songs on the album sound like the band is swaggering and finding a good groove. This song sounds like they've had LOTS of cocaine and can't think of improvising if their lives depend on it. There's simply no room to move around in because the beat is going so fast! (Of course, the middle-part with the chorused hi-hat and Dave singing "ooh baby", with the background vocals, is so amazing...more WACF spontaneity). This was also the song the band used to open shows with on the DIVER DOWN tour (was this the opener on the FAIR WARNING tour?). Dave's infamous "I forgot the fucking words!" declaration in the second verse of this song at the U.S. Fesitval was actually his standard line in performances of this song at the time. Of course, Sammy Hagar has probably never even heard of this song...and he definitely didn't ever sing it during his tenure with the band. Gary Cherone did (he's a big fan of the 6-pack); and although such a performance could never be like the original band, it was nice to know that someone in the VH camp was acknowledging this song's greatness (even if this person wasn't even around during that part of the band's history). How on Earth could any VH fan listen to this track and say, "It's good, but not as good as SUCKA IN A 3-PIECE"? It ain't quite RUNAROUND?:eek: :rolleyes: After this song, rock 'n' roll should have retired. Why bother trying to follow this? It just doesn't get better than ROMEO DELIGHT.

TORA! TORA!
A fun little recording experiment. This is less than a minute long. In fact, it's never been clear to me why this little piece of noise meant anything to the band at all! There must be hours of this kind of noise on tape in the vault...it reminds me of the little guitar feedback noise at the beginning OUTTA LOVE AGAIN (on VAN HALEN II). Anyway, it's also my opinion that the title actually refers to the little noise piece that fades in...not the actual slow riff that follows with the whole band playing, although both CD versions of this album actually place the track mark later...in fact, the track doesn't switch over until the riff introducing...

LOSS OF CONTROL
A lot of fans don't like this one. I love it. This is the greatest highway song ever written. I swear, I want to outrun every cop in the entire planet when listening to the solo in this one. That damn insane chugging sound that jumps from speaker to speaker in the middle part makes my heart speed up more than amazing sex! It's awesome. This may not be quite the song ROMEO DELIGHT is (let's face it, the vocals are insane). But it makes ROMEO DELIGHT sound like a Scorpions ballad. That's how jacked up on coke and steroids this one is. I recently heard a boot of the band playing this on the "Invasion" tour (in fact, I downloaded it here at the wonderful RothArmy)...it was amazing. They got all the little vocal nuances right: "Oh-woah-woah-woah-woah, loss of control, loss of control, loss of control!", and the guitar solo was spot on. The drums were even more insane than on this studio rendition. Anyway, this is garage music at its finest. The band couldn't try to write a track like this nowadays if they tried. This is a song written by people in their twenties, with enough alcohol in them to kill a herd of elephants. (According to classicvanhalen.com, there's an unreleased music video for this song with the band dressed in surgial outfits. I'd kill to see it! Of course, I'm sure their next DVD will instead contain the "other" version of FINISH WHAT YA STARTED...and this will excite me just as much as someone giving me a remastered copy of MARCHING TO MARS.)

TAKE YOUR WHISKEY HOME
Dave has always said he loves ZZ TOP. You can hear it in this one. My god, listen to Eddie's riff. Listen to his tone. So bluesy. So funky. This one is dripping with J.D. and oral sex. The acoustic intro was new for this version, and this older song actually sounds like by-the-numbers Van Halen rock except for the fact that it's brilliant. It completely swaggers, cut live-in-the-studio (although I'm sure the vocals were added later). BTW, another interesting Van Halen phenomenon is again in display on this album (and pretty much all of the Roth-era albums). The band obviously wrote SO MUCH MUSIC in the early days that they could keep digging out riffs, pieces and entire songs for new albums...each time. Fans constantly point out how songs like BIG TROUBLE and SHE'S THE WOMAN should have been on proper VH albums. Yes, they should have. But then again, we could have also been arguing, "They should have put TAKE YOUR WHISKEY HOME on an album." But that one they had time to get to. Hell, if that follow up to 1984 had been finished, they probably WOULD HAVE included BIG TROUBLE. Still, something as jamming and funky as TAKE YOUR WHISKEY HOME would really have fit on no other VH album. The VH albums have songs almost chosen at random to record, but a certain personality comes out with each album. And maybe this really is the jam album. And this song? Well, it's right at home with FOOLS and EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!! Too bad this didn't really become a live favorite.

COULD THIS BE MAGIC?
I've often wondered about the origins of this track. It sounds like a sing-a-long standard. And the lyrics are amazing. I love the rain effect added to the track (song for a rainy day, I guess). And Dave's vocals are so hip on top of the acoustic guitars. I can just picture Van Halen sitting on the back porch, rain dripping off the roof...smokes and beers all around...Mikey serving the other three...Alex convincing himself he's just as important as the other two even though he's not playing an instrument here or anything... I think Dave's playing acoustic on this. Anyway, this is another Van Halen anthem that hardly anybody knows. I know it would never happen, but my ultimate Van Halen reunion show would be not only a set of electric guitar classics but (also included) a short backporch set with this track performed in its entirety after a complete acoustic performance of the LITTLE GUITAR intro from DIVER DOWN. Oh, and another moment in this song that I love? How about when Dave finishes singing the second chorus and then says calmly, "Edward?", before Ed rips into a great acoustic solo. Excellent back-up vocals by Nicolette Larson, BTW. Eddie played guitar on her solo debut in 1978. The poor woman passed away in 1997.

IN A SIMPLE RHYME
This is why I love this band. How could an album that contains a backporch jam like COULD THIS BE MAGIC?, a full-out garage rocker like ROMEO DELIGHT, a keyboard experiment like AND THE CRADLE WILL ROCK and a Chicago blues like TAKE YOUR WHISKEY HOME conclude with a song as rehearsed and accomplished as IN A SIMPLE RHYME? I absolutely love the 12-string electric intro on this...I love how it kicks in and Dave sings his heart out (introducing the "So This Is Love" vocal idea a year before the song of the same name appeared on FAIR WARNING), before the very catchy and simple riff of the chorus. I love how the song is brought down to the soft 12-string electric again (with light drums) and Dave sings some very simple lyrics of love (without sounding ANYTHING like Sammy)..."You coulda heard the angels singin'". I think Dave meant it...don't you? And Eddie's solo after the soft middle-eight is simple and passionate. It's nothing new, but great nevertheless. And when the whole song is finally over, you're gasping for air...blown away by yet another incredible performance. How did they do that? How did they put an song like this together when their fingers were still hurting from playing LOSS OF CONTROL? Well, yes...this was written in 1975. But it sounds like wrote it very recently, inspired by some recent rock 'n' roll heartbreak. To end the album with one more blues jam would have been a mistake. Ending it with this, however, ensured that this was yet another Van Halen that covers everything. (And yes, the little ending jam that the band plays after the last note of SIMPLE RHYME is amusing...and longer on the CD.)

My god. The band always covered everything on every album they cut (with Roth). The debut has both ATOMIC PUNK and LITTLE DREAMER. The second one has WOMEN IN LOVE and LIGHT UP THE SKY. This album has LOSS OF CONTROL and IN A SIMPLE RHYME. This was a perfect band. It would have surprised no one hearing it that the band would go on to cut three more brilliant albums. But this is probably the last Van Halen album to contain their original classic sound. After this album, the echoed guitar panned dead left (or is it dead right?) would be almost history. And that spontaneous creativity would die briefly too...WACF was cut in two weeks. FAIR WARNING would be more labored, or at least it sounded like it. Maybe FAIR WARNING was the bigger accomplishment, but this album really sounds the death knell for the band's early sound. After this, they became a studio band.

One more thing...I know out there, some poor kid has probably missed WACF because the following tragedy has happened to him:

A 12-year-old kid gets into Van Halen after hearing AIN'T TALKIN' 'BOUT LOVE on his classic rock radio station. He goes out and buys the VAN HALEN album and VAN HALEN II. He takes them home and loves them. He is so excited by this band that he has to hear more. He saves up his allowance and lawnmower money and finally earns enough to get one more Van Halen CD. He runs to his local suburban record store and finds just the CD he's looking for...VAN HALEN III!

Ooops...;)

[Rikk]

Oh yes...you all know what this looks like...

[manwiththedogs]

Damn, that was a long post, but I agree 100%
Especially about Romeo Delight.
You got my vote, dude.

[frenchie]

always the same thing to say to you rikk, this is an excellent thing you wrote.thanks!

[Seshmeister]

Great stuff as usual Rikk.

I have to say that Eddie had fucking balls to play Romeo Delight as an opener.

I can see how you could get pissed off, struggling to hit all those tapped harmonics cleanly while running about a stage, and your singer can't even be bothered to remember the words...:)

Cheers!

:gulp:

[Axl VanHagar]

Awesome review on WACF! And I feel pretty much the same way you do. It's funny, that album, I always think I don't like it all that much as I too feel that Cradle Will Rock is a little on the weak side as far as the mighty VH is concerned. But from that second track onward it's balls to the walls. I also love all the little Dave comments sprinkled throughout the record. Damn funny and classic Roth-isms. Well done.

[lms2]

I enjoy entering a thread about the music once in a while. Great post Rikk. I think I will go listen to a little Romeo Delight...

[frenchie]

lms2, can i listen to romeo with you???

[lms2]

Sorry Frenchie, no.

[frenchie]

was a joke, you're so serious sometimes!!

[horty07]

Good stuff, you get my vote.

[rustoffa]

Another masterpiece Rikk!

"Fools" is always in heavy rotation on the good stereo...it's a prime example of The Brownsound's ability to make you think his equipment is probably glowing and ready to just blow the fuck up.

WACF's "live" sound was one of the first things I cued up on the good stereo after I got it set up.

After your stellar review I'm considering upgrading to a digital-to-analog converter that costs way too much.

Thanks alot fucker!
:D

[Lou]

Once you acclimate yourself to WACF it's just a beautiful thing. For the longest time I thought this album sucked. It took me a good two, two and a half years to get used to it. I honestly don't even know why I revisited it because I just didn't like it except for "And The Cradle" and "In A Simple Rhyme." It's not mainstream and not meant for public consumption. But once you get attuned to the strange vibe of the album it's just phenomenal.

[sambo]

WACF is one of the most exciting VH releases to listen to... and Rikk - you have again reminded me of why... now where did I put that CD?

Top shelf review mate..

[Rikk]

Thank you, friends! I love reading your feedback and I hope you're getting excited about listening to this album again, just as I got excited to listen to it just by writing that.

In fact, I got it cranking right now. Keep listening!

[ClubDave]

I like the way the line runs up the back of the stocking man

[sambo]

I've always liked those kind of high heels, too, ya know I...

[Rikk]

No no no no, don't take 'em off...leave 'em on...

[sambo]

Yeah, that's it...a little more to the right :D

[sambo]

You gotta love this album...

[Bill Lumbergh]

I, for one, have always loved this album. When I first heard it my fucking jaw dropped, no bullshit. I rank it second just behind FW. Thanks again Rikk, stellar review man!

[Terry]

The classic lineup was beginning to peak, full throttle, with this album. Continued with Fair Warning (Van Halen's last album that was consistently excellent from start to finish).

And The Cradle Will Rock - Probably the most radio-friendly tune on the album. Some restrained (by Eddie's standards) soloing, but definitely appropo for the song. A relatively low-key way to kick the album off.

Everybody Wants Some!! - A classic. Jungle-vibe intro, patented in your-face chorus. Even with it's consistent play on the radio over the years, hasn't become tiresome for me (unlike, say, Jump).

Fools - The tune drips attitude. The guitar solo has a bluesy feel to it. Most of the solos on this effort are a little slower in tempo than on Van Halen and Van Halen 2, but don't suffer for it. The whole album has a very live feel to it, but you can hear the depth of the production quality....a definite improvement over Van Halen 2 in that respect. Templeman and VH definitely complimented one another.

Romeo Delight - This song is in my top five of all time, probably coming in at a close second to Sinner's Swing! Even the post-solo breakdown (Mmmm baby, feel my heartbeat), which Roth reportedly wasn't all that thrilled with , works. The solo is a monster, and the band is just meshed and flying forward. Great lyrics.

Tora Tora - Effective intro to Loss Of Control. Primarily effective because of it's brevity.

Loss Of Control - Almost punkish in its feel. Off-the-wall solo from Ed. For some reason, this whole album feels like the band just went in, drank beer and let it rip. Definitely didn't suffer from putting too much thought into what they were gonna record, and this results in an immediacy and intensity missing from the overworked tunes that plagued Van Hagar.

Take Your Whiskey Home - An older tune slightly revamped for the album. As far as Ed's claim that Eric Clapton was his primary influence, this albums solos are about the only thing in VH's catalog that make me believe it. Almost simplistic by the standards of the first two albums (Romeo Delight to one side).

Could This Be Magic? - Kinda tones down the proceedings somewhat, but great for what it is. An example of VH's diversity.

In A Simple Rhyme - Very Zeppelinesque. Probably the most overtly Zep influenced VH song short of Secrets.

Guitar technique to one side, this album comes across as more of a Seventies-style album to me than the first two (which were actually released in the Seventies), but bottom line it represents one of the zenith albums of VH's career.

5 out of 5 stars

[tobinentinc]

The More I listen to this album, the more I love it period. It kicks major ass from start to finish. It has soo many different styles from begining to end. Everybody Wants Some . . . to Could this Be Magic? This album has got it all.

[The Knockz]

WACF demonstrated just how obnoxious and arrogant VH were and deserved to be.
When your nearest competition is miles behind you, its ok to gloat and this album was the big F U to all the other posers and wanna-be's who werent yet and may never be.

[Bill Lumbergh]

Originally posted by Terry

Guitar technique to one side, this album comes across as more of a Seventies-style album to me than the first two (which were actually released in the Seventies), but bottom line it represents one of the zenith albums of VH's career.




Great comment here, I totally agree. And by the way (amazingly)this album has never really been at the top of Classic VH fans list of six pack albums. That's unbelievable to me.........FW,WACF, and I are untouchable IMO.

[Rikk]

Bill, my great friend...when are you going to learn? They're all untouchable. Van Halen was an unbeatable band. But you're right. There's a certain feeling of indestructability on this album that no band in rock history has ever really repeated. I love this album so much.

[Mr. G]

Rikk you are the ablosute king of critics. By the way the rain you hear on "could this be magic" is real. I heard Dave say once durring an interview that when they were recording it it was raining outside and he decided to open the doors and get some of it in the mix. Pretty cool.

[Matt White]

I was in 6th grade when WACF was released!!!!!:D HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!
"cough,cough!!" WOW! And, I had a teacher in 6th grade who let us bring in records once a week to listen to. SHE brought in WACF!!! She was the COOLEST!!!!
I remember the RUMORS around this time as well!!! ANYBODY else remember when the national media SPECULATED that VAN HALEN might be KISS without the makeup?!?!?!HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!
WTF!!! I remember my older Bro showing me this article in the DETROIT NEWS that said something to that effect. WOW! Where those simpler times or what???



DAVE OR THE GRAVE MOTHERFUCKERS!!!!!!!!!

[sambo]

I was in 5th Grade when WACF was released. My first album was VHII, a birthday present from my Aunt and WACF was all I wanted for my next birthday. Although I don't remember the makeup rumour making its way Down Under tho' Matt

1981...Ah they were the days... Missile Command, Defender, Donkey Kong, Randy Rhoads, Kiss Unmasked... I could go on....

[Bill Lumbergh]

Originally posted by Rikk
Bill, my great friend...when are you going to learn? They're all untouchable. Van Halen was an unbeatable band. But you're right. There's a certain feeling of indestructability on this album that no band in rock history has ever really repeated. I love this album so much.

Of course they're the top six albums of all fucking time bro! I just meant those are the best of the best out of the six IMO.

[Panamark]

Fookin Excellent Rikk !
I saw it was another huge post, but knew it would be worth the time
reading it. Great job. I love this album too !!

Oh another WACF tidbit (apart from the real rain which has been mentioned)

Also,

Its the only album cover where Ed has a destroyer!

[Andertime]

Another stellar review Rikk! I love WACF. I like to keep it tucked away on my cd shelf and only pull it out on special occasions. Like if I have a long drive ahead of me. It keeps it fresh and exciting, whereas I've listened to FW and 1984 a million times and know every little nuance.

[SoCalChelle]

WACF has been my favorite of the 6 for quite a while

[rob100]

Great review, again. I have to say I always loved ...And the cradle will rock. The first few bars set the mood: "ah yeah...get up...". I love the not too subtle phase effects, the solo, the cool beat, etc. And listen to the way Alex' playing interacts with the words "rock on"... Just love the song, it sounds BIG if you know what I mean.

Great album, it always competes with VH1 as my favorite.

[HELLVIS]

My fave. It's in my cd player right now. Until I heard Romeo Delight, I thought On Fire was as good as it gets.

[DLRdelight!]

Great post man, hilarious what you said about a 12 year old kid you get my vote

[Rikk]

Originally posted by Mr. G
Rikk you are the ablosute king of critics. By the way the rain you hear on "could this be magic" is real. I heard Dave say once durring an interview that when they were recording it it was raining outside and he decided to open the doors and get some of it in the mix. Pretty cool.

Thanks man.

I never realized the rain is real. Man, that makes the song even more special to me!

[Bob_R]

Great post Rikk! IMO Romeo Delight is by far and away their most underrated song.

[Rikk]

Originally posted by EVH FANATIC
Great post Rikk! IMO Romeo Delight is by far and away their most underrated song.

Agreed. It's incredible that Sammy Hagar is the singer of Van Halen now (sort of) and he has probably never even heard this song and wouldn't like it if he did.

ROMEO DELIGHT should have had a long live history. It's a classic.

[ALinChainz]

Excellent Rikk.

Couple quick things about this album.

Dave, as always, sounds like he is having one damn good time in the studio. Laughs, etc. Killer.

And the lyric in "In a Simple Rhyme" ...

"Ain't life grand when you finally hit it ..."

Fucking awesome.

Can't wait for the "Fair Warning" review you guys.

[Rikk]

Thank you! I'll get to FAIR WARNING next week. And it'll be a grand one!!

[Andertime]

Fair Warning, sweeeeeet! Can't wait to read it Rikk.

[Terry]

Originally posted by Bill Lumbergh
Great comment here, I totally agree. And by the way (amazingly)this album has never really been at the top of Classic VH fans list of six pack albums. That's unbelievable to me.........FW,WACF, and I are untouchable IMO.

The one item that gets the most play is the double-album cassette I have with Women and Children First on side one and Fair Warning on side two. The fucker is approaching 25 years old, but still plays great. Sure, I got all the stuff on CD, but still dig listening to tapes (I dig the sound all jumbled up/not crystal clear).

Van Halen's first two albums are exceptional as well, but the one-two punch of WACF and FW was Van Halen at it's peak. No skipworthy tracks on either, nor any tracks that have lost their zeal despite either radio overkill or just plain not aging well. Can't quite say the same for Diver Down or 1984.....but it's true there's no such thing as a bad classic album. Not by default of Dave being there, just the way it is.

WACF and FW sold around 4 million each. In fact, those two may have sold the least out of the 6-pack, but they're still the best, even if only by a matter of degrees.

Can't wait for Rikk's Fair Warning review.

[Rikk]

Thanks guys. When I do get to it, it'll be detailed! And that CD will then by in my player (and yours, hopefully) for days!

[Casper]

Yeah I would say that WACF is pretty loose and likeable. Take your whiskey home is truly great. Maybe not as great as For those about to rock we Salute You by AC?DC but definately a nice but nasty brand of heavy metal.


I have a few reservations about this album though: "everybody want's some" seems to be a little light on actual content. Like two chords and four lines of lyric or something?

I wish I had it on Vinyl as the cassette and CD versions steal some of the essential grime.

[chefcraig]

Rikk...I honestly feel it was a stellar review.

You breathed some life into it...and in my opinion your review was superior to the record.

When I got it (day of issue) I was really dissapointed. I liked "Take Your Whiskey" and "Could This Be Magic", yet I thought the rest of the record was crap.

I'd seen them live, and wanted better.

"Everybody Wants Some" is still a "Cheech and Chong" song to me.

Frankly, I'm pleased (historically) that they used this record to shake off the rust..."Fair Warning" would come next...and I have roughly 3500 words for that text!

IMHO...craig

[Bill Lumbergh]

Originally posted by Rikk
Thanks guys. When I do get to it, it'll be detailed! And that CD will then by in my player (and yours, hopefully) for days!

You're not applying yourself dude..........take a couple weeks off from work so you can really nail the FW review. Thanks, Bill..........;)

[Rikk]

Originally posted by Bill Lumbergh
You're not applying yourself dude..........take a couple weeks off from work so you can really nail the FW review. Thanks, Bill..........;)

LOL. "I'd buy that for a dollar!";) :D

[tjvhou812]

wacf....the fucking cd rocks, period.

[Rebel]

Awesome thread here. Romeo Delight is bar none, no doubt, my favorite VH song. That thing smokes. Dave is at his lyrical best on this one, great stuff, and the music is still ahead of it's time. The groove and arrangement is so diffferent than anything to that point, and anything since, just a great, great song.

Also, props to Gary for breaking it out on the "3" tour, very nice version and the band sounded really good on that tour. It really smokes on the Unchained Monsters boot.

As far as Sam singing it, I'd rather he didn't, he couldn't do it to be honest.

[Rebel]

Originally posted by Rikk
Thanks guys. When I do get to it, it'll be detailed! And that CD will then by in my player (and yours, hopefully) for days!

Don't forget to post one for "DLR Band" at some point. I listened to it last night, several awesome tracks on it.

I love that "Black Sands" track, it may be "cheesy", but I don't give a shit, Dave sounds great on it.

[Rikk]

Originally posted by Rebel
Don't forget to post one for "DLR Band" at some point. I listened to it last night, several awesome tracks on it.

I love that "Black Sands" track, it may be "cheesy", but I don't give a shit, Dave sounds great on it.

Yup. DLR BAND is definitely something I want to write. Not enough people appreciate the damn thing. In fact, I may do that first. If enough people on here that don't have it read a long appreciation of it, they may go pick it up!

Probably within a week I'll do one for DLR BAND.

[Lou]

When I first heard "Slam Dunk!" on the radio I immediately thought Van HALEN and not Dave solo. I could totally see that song being on 1984.

[Hecubus]

Dead on Rikk.....

Romeo Delight.

Quite possibly the best =VH= song ever written.

[diamondsgirl]

I finally got comfy with a cup of coffee and read that entire post. It was excellent. Nice job, Rikk.

I was just entering High School when that album came out and I was getting in with "the wrong crowd" , as my folks would call them.

What a great time we had. Whenever we'd smoke anything harsh, and then cough, we'd say "where'd you get that shit...oh yeah.".
Trying to sound like Dave. LOL.

[Kristy]

Some really interesting facts and tid bits about how the songs came together and I'm always astounded when I read one of these "revisited" posts because they seem to be written from the heart instead of the usual glib of some music journal hack. With that being said, I really don't like this record and personally find it to be the weakest link in the original Van Halen 6-pack. I don't know why that is but the many of the riffs seem dated and tired to me. There are some gems on this record though - like 'Take Your Whiskey Home' which, to me, sounds like this is exactly what Muddy Waters would play if he was white and in his late 20's. It's hard to believe a band like Van Halen preaching morals but I don't think that song was anything tongue-in-cheek (just ironic for Eddie) but more of a respect that rock was based on the blues and that short to-the-bone solo Eddie punches out at the end of the tune just takes the wind out of me.

Maybe success came too sudden for them back then and I know they were highly pressured by Warner Bros to put out album after album followed by tour after tour and maybe that's why this one seems so weak to me then the others - even 'Diver Down.' Still, I wouldn't disregard it even though of all the 6-pack albums, I usually turn this one down.

[Wayne L.]

WACF is one of the most underrated classic rock albums Van Halen has ever released for some reason even though it's bluesy, ballsy & raunchy with great tracks like Everybody Wants Some, Romeo Delight & Take Your Whiskey Home showcasing VH at their finest while most of the tracks would make Mick Jagger blush.

[DLRdelight!]

Adore this album , great review

[Rikk]

Thank you!

[secrets]

Great review and a great thread. Love this album. Those who don't keep listening it'll grow on you.

Underrated indeed. Came quite low in the top 100 (guitar) albums of the 80's in Guitar World, though 1984 was voted No 1.

[GAR]

Originally posted by Panamark
Its the only album cover where Ed has a destroyer!

I just saw the new Guitar World magazine has a doublepaged pullout of the destroyer

[guwapo_rocker]

Thursday, September 30, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury

Replay: Van Halen, Women and Children First


It was 1980, and technology was primitive. I had one of those tinny cassette players that lay flat on a table and had a plastic handle on one end. KFM, then an album rock station (an extinct species), announced that it would broadcast Van Halen's new record in its entirety. As a VH fanatic with limited funds, I had only one option: Record the station's broadcast on my tape player. I ordered my little brother to leave me alone for half an hour and closed my bedroom door. At the appointed time, I brought the cassette player's microphone up close to the radio speaker and hit the red record button.

That bootlegged copy of Women and Children First served me well. In fact, I relied on it for several years. The recording wasn't great, but it didn't matter: Eddie Van Halen's guitar pyrotechnics and David Lee Roth's rock god antics came through loud and clear.

Women and Children First was Van Halen's third album and arguably its best. The band's first first two albums are hard rock classics, but on its third disc it exhibits total confidence in its ability to enthrall listeners. The album's nine tracks may represent the best example in rock history of a band reveling in its charisma, talent and the utter coolness of standing atop the rock 'n' roll mountain. Almost everything about the album is gratuitous, yet the performers are so good at what they do that it almost never grates.

"And the Cradle Will Rock" kicks things off with Roth relating a classic tale of a young man at loose ends who finds his calling in rock 'n' roll. It's a theme that runs throughout the album. "Everybody Wants Some" is a jumble of a composition, really, but VH pulls it off, even Roth's play-acting in the middle ("I like the way the line runs up the back of their stockings. ... No, no, no, don't take 'em off. ... Yeah, that's it, a little more to the right.") "Romeo Delight" is a rock 'n' roll buffet, shifting smoothly from rollicking boogie to roller-coaster solo to intricate interlude ("Feel my heartbeat") and building back to a ram-jam conclusion. "Baby, please, I can't take it anymore," DLR pleads, and you believe him. But perhaps the album's highlight is "Fools," during which Eddie Van Halen and Roth basically fool around with their respective instruments for the first third of the song before launching into a midtempo headbang-fest. Roth had an uncanny ability to reach the hearts and minds of his teenage fans: "My teachers all gave up on me/ No matter what they say, I disagree."

The album closes with the folky "Could This Be Magic?" and the earnest, radio-friendly "In a Simple Rhyme," reflecting the band's ability to drop the pose and delve in the finer points of pop. VH could do no wrong there for a while.--Geoff Schumacher

http://www.lasvegasmercury.com/2004/MERC-Sep-30-Thu-2004/24868076.html

[Apollo]

Women and Children First was my first Van Halen album.

I heard Take you Whiskey Home and was so blown away by it.
Strangely I had been listening to Roth for a few years by that time though.

[SNIPER]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Rikk
[B]Continuing the Re-Appreciation thread begun by Sesh with his excellent review of VAN HALEN II, and following my threads for DIVER DOWN and 1984, I have next decided to write a re-appreciation of WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST (surely one of the most under-rated titles in the band's catalog). It's often stated that out of all the VH albums, the debut really has it all. I feel the debut is amazing, and I feel that 1984 really encapsulates all that's best about VH's various sounds (including Eddie's growing love of electronics). But WOMAN AND CHILDREN FIRST is so totally classic because it really is Van Halen's live album (for me). It has the ultimate live band sound, spontaneous solos, back-up vocals that don't sound like they've been overprocessed (as on 5150)...and this is probably Roth's most confident "swaggar album". I mean, listen to his little spontaneous banter in EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!! Listen to his blues crooning at the beginning of FOOLS. Listen to him half-speak the verses of AND THE CRADLE WILL ROCK (very tongue-in-cheek). And yet, after all this swagger and scatting, he sounds as sincere as ever on IN A SIMPLE RHYME. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. It takes you on a million trips and convinced a lot of people that rock 'n' roll could really be dangerous again, but fun at the same time (a lot like APPETTITE FOR DESTRUCTION, which wouldn't appear for another seven years). It's funny that some critics over the years have accused the band of repeating a formula. And the truth is, the 3-piece band IS repeating themselves on this album (although the sound is a bit more bluesy than before). There are still a million brilliant Eddie and Alex moments on this one too. Mikey is...well, he's okay. He's Mikey. But anyway, it's not the band that really steals this one (although they are great)...it's Dave. How does he think up this shit? "I took a mobile light, I'm-a-lookin' for a moonbeam!" (if that's what he even says). This was a new, improved, less-structured Dave. It wasn't until the next album that the band would join in him in actually...evolving.

Coming off of a second platinum seller with VAN HALEN II and getting their name out even more with more big dates as an opening act and also with some headlining gigs, it would be the WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST album that would solidify their position as the new superband. Van Halen could feel pride in the fact that they had a hit single in 1979 (DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY hit the Top 20); and now, in 1980, they would go in and quickly hash out another album and then go on their first big headlining tour (the 1980 "Invasion Tour"). It's incredible that after two years of innovation and revolution, the band still seemed as if it was just getting started. The 1980 tour was going to be legendary. The band even hired a film-camera crew to capture some of the shows, intending to put together a concert film that would "blow THE SONG REMAINS THE SAME away!" If only they had followed up with that promise. A professional film of the 1980 tour would capture the band at their peak...still very young, spontaneous, still a little hungry...a set list not brought down by requirements of "old songs" that needed to still be played...or the hit single. It's a tragedy that the first concert film Van Halen released is the 5150 tour home video LIVE WITHOUT A NET. By the time that video was filmed, the band was already dead. They were safe, homogenized...a lot like other big-time corporate acts. In 1980, they were dangerous...practically a punk band.

One more thing...after WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST, the band took their first steps toward becoming a studio band, with overdubbed guitar solos galore and studio experimentation. WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST was maybe their last declaration of spontaneity. In fact, it may just be the most spontaneous album ever recorded. Hell, the whole thing sounds like a jam session! It's great.

...AND THE CRADLE WILL ROCK
Funny that this is the only song from this album on the band's first (of many, I'm sure) Greatest Hits album. I would say it's actually my least favorite track here. I think it's definitely an experimental moment for the band (on an album without much experimentation). But it also seems to me like Eddie concentrated more on messing around with a new sound than on writing a good tune. I, personally, find the chords a bit boring and the lyrics dull and not up to Roth's usually-high standards (especially his high standards for the time). The song features an electric piano part blasting though Eddie's Marshall amplifiers, with a phaser effect (I think?) on it. And this is the first VH song on which a keyboard appears. It's amazing how many people didn't realize it...it does sound a lot like a guitar. But I never really liked the rhythm sound on this song too much because it sounds basically like a watered-down electric guitar (nothing like Ed's future synth sound). It doesn't have the melody of a keyboard, but it also doesn't have the menace of a Kramer or Fender. As for the song, the chorus is kinda cliched. Even the solo is rather typical (although I like the beginning of it, the way it just buzzes in). Whatever. It's Van Halen experimenting a little and writing a sort of by-the-numbers tune in the process. The fact that the band thinks this is probably the best song to represent this album shows how much they don't get what was brilliant about the early days. (Still, I'd take this song over LOVE WALKS IN any day...:D .)

EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!!
A live favorite, the band pulled this one out on every tour up to and including the 1984 Tour. Of course, it was dumped after Dave left the band (although I believe the band may have revisited it during Gary Cherone's short tenure in the band). Eddie rubs the low-E string during Al's jungle rhythm intro, producing a rather menacing scraping sound (probably something they decided to do minutes before the tape rolled...I bet this is Take 1 or Take 2). The riff is simple, the rhythmic idea very primitive: blues riff over a primal drumbeat, with the vocalist yelling a line after each time the guitarist plays a riff (Chicago blues, basically)...band kicks in for simple singalong chorus, cool guitar solo after the chorus. There's not much more to it than that. But that's the point. It's simple, but extremely inspired and almost angry. It's classic Van Halen. That said, this is also not one of the very best songs in the band's catalog (nor on this album). But I s'pose after the "experimentation" of WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST, the band required a song that truly harks back to the first album. The funny thing is, there's no song on the debut that sounds this spontaneous. It sounds like the band marking time (song-writing-wise), but it's still new to the listener. Dave apparently even ad-libbed all his vocals, listening to the pre-recorded music through his headphones. And they're damn funny: "Where'd you get that...oh!" "No no no no, don't take 'em off...leave 'em on." "I always liked those high heels too." "Look, I'll pay you for it...what the fu..." Great stuff. I can see Alex rolling his eyes, hearing this stuff on playback. But it's classic Dave. If anything, it's just great to hear a recording by Van Halen at their peak that was probably written, recorded and mixed on the spot. Amazing that such quick work on a blues/rock song one evening in a recording studio led to the one song on the album they would play more than any of the others (hundreds of times, actually)!!

FOOLS
Again, this sounds like pure spontaneity (although it's apparently a much older song). My one complaint with the WACF album is that as brilliant as it is, it's brilliant as a whole more than part-by-part. It makes a statement in itself, even though not one of the first three tracks really tells you how amazing the whole album is. But this album really is great! Keep listening...I swear, you'll understand. Of course, FOOLS may not be MEAN STREET. But it's such sloppy blues with Chuck Berry-inspired lyrics that you can't help but tap the steering wheel and thank God the band was in the mood to jam the night they threw this down. My god, man...listen to that opening guitar solo (right after the soft intro and simple guitar announcement). It's nuts. And then Ed suddenly shuts up and softly plays a little lick before he kicks into a riff that sounds like it would have been right at home on LED ZEPPELIN II...so simple, so menacing (DUH DUH DUH DUH DUH DUH-DUH). Dave probably again came up with some of the lyrics right on-the-spot ("Ooo, an' I'm sick an' tired of Golden Rules, ah!"?). But that's again what makes it great. This is another "fuck you corporate rock" kind of song. I'd like to have seen the manager of Styx or Journey listen to HIS band tell them that a track like this was going to go on their new album. He would have had a heart attack. And this again proves that Van Halen really were the hard rock alternative to that kind of sugary gloss pop/metal that was so big at the beginning of the 80's. Is FOOLS Van Halen's greatest moment? Hell, no. Does it have all the elements of what made the band great? Hell, yes!

ROMEO DELIGHT
For me, this is the album's best moment...and among the band's greatest moments ever (if not THE greatest). "I'll take your whiskey to the party tonight and I'm looking for somebody to squeeze!" Oh yeah! Of course, that line is lifted directly out of an older VH song called GET THE SHOW ON THE ROAD (great song, appears on the '77 Demo tape). Dave steals his own line and uses it to even greater effect in this classic song that sounds either like the LP is on 78 or the band embraced speed metal before it actually broke! My god, man...this smokes! The drums are so fast and angry, the riff is super-aggressive...pure heavy metal. The first three songs on the album sound like the band is swaggering and finding a good groove. This song sounds like they've had LOTS of cocaine and can't think of improvising if their lives depend on it. There's simply no room to move around in because the beat is going so fast! (Of course, the middle-part with the chorused hi-hat and Dave singing "ooh baby", with the background vocals, is so amazing...more WACF spontaneity). This was also the song the band used to open shows with on the DIVER DOWN tour (was this the opener on the FAIR WARNING tour?). Dave's infamous "I forgot the fucking words!" declaration in the second verse of this song at the U.S. Fesitval was actually his standard line in performances of this song at the time. Of course, Sammy Hagar has probably never even heard of this song...and he definitely didn't ever sing it during his tenure with the band. Gary Cherone did (he's a big fan of the 6-pack); and although such a performance could never be like the original band, it was nice to know that someone in the VH camp was acknowledging this song's greatness (even if this person wasn't even around during that part of the band's history). How on Earth could any VH fan listen to this track and say, "It's good, but not as good as SUCKA IN A 3-PIECE"? It ain't quite RUNAROUND?:eek: :rolleyes: After this song, rock 'n' roll should have retired. Why bother trying to follow this? It just doesn't get better than ROMEO DELIGHT.

TORA! TORA!
A fun little recording experiment. This is less than a minute long. In fact, it's never been clear to me why this little piece of noise meant anything to the band at all! There must be hours of this kind of noise on tape in the vault...it reminds me of the little guitar feedback noise at the beginning OUTTA LOVE AGAIN (on VAN HALEN II). Anyway, it's also my opinion that the title actually refers to the little noise piece that fades in...not the actual slow riff that follows with the whole band playing, although both CD versions of this album actually place the track mark later...in fact, the track doesn't switch over until the riff introducing...

LOSS OF CONTROL
A lot of fans don't like this one. I love it. This is the greatest highway song ever written. I swear, I want to outrun every cop in the entire planet when listening to the solo in this one. That damn insane chugging sound that jumps from speaker to speaker in the middle part makes my heart speed up more than amazing sex! It's awesome. This may not be quite the song ROMEO DELIGHT is (let's face it, the vocals are insane). But it makes ROMEO DELIGHT sound like a Scorpions ballad. That's how jacked up on coke and steroids this one is. I recently heard a boot of the band playing this on the "Invasion" tour (in fact, I downloaded it here at the wonderful RothArmy)...it was amazing. They got all the little vocal nuances right: "Oh-woah-woah-woah-woah, loss of control, loss of control, loss of control!", and the guitar solo was spot on. The drums were even more insane than on this studio rendition. Anyway, this is garage music at its finest. The band couldn't try to write a track like this nowadays if they tried. This is a song written by people in their twenties, with enough alcohol in them to kill a herd of elephants. (According to classicvanhalen.com, there's an unreleased music video for this song with the band dressed in surgial outfits. I'd kill to see it! Of course, I'm sure their next DVD will instead contain the "other" version of FINISH WHAT YA STARTED...and this will excite me just as much as someone giving me a remastered copy of MARCHING TO MARS.)

TAKE YOUR WHISKEY HOME
Dave has always said he loves ZZ TOP. You can hear it in this one. My god, listen to Eddie's riff. Listen to his tone. So bluesy. So funky. This one is dripping with J.D. and oral sex. The acoustic intro was new for this version, and this older song actually sounds like by-the-numbers Van Halen rock except for the fact that it's brilliant. It completely swaggers, cut live-in-the-studio (although I'm sure the vocals were added later). BTW, another interesting Van Halen phenomenon is again in display on this album (and pretty much all of the Roth-era albums). The band obviously wrote SO MUCH MUSIC in the early days that they could keep digging out riffs, pieces and entire songs for new albums...each time. Fans constantly point out how songs like BIG TROUBLE and SHE'S THE WOMAN should have been on proper VH albums. Yes, they should have. But then again, we could have also been arguing, "They should have put TAKE YOUR WHISKEY HOME on an album." But that one they had time to get to. Hell, if that follow up to 1984 had been finished, they probably WOULD HAVE included BIG TROUBLE. Still, something as jamming and funky as TAKE YOUR WHISKEY HOME would really have fit on no other VH album. The VH albums have songs almost chosen at random to record, but a certain personality comes out with each album. And maybe this really is the jam album. And this song? Well, it's right at home with FOOLS and EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!! Too bad this didn't really become a live favorite.

COULD THIS BE MAGIC?
I've often wondered about the origins of this track. It sounds like a sing-a-long standard. And the lyrics are amazing. I love the rain effect added to the track (song for a rainy day, I guess). And Dave's vocals are so hip on top of the acoustic guitars. I can just picture Van Halen sitting on the back porch, rain dripping off the roof...smokes and beers all around...Mikey serving the other three...Alex convincing himself he's just as important as the other two even though he's not playing an instrument here or anything... I think Dave's playing acoustic on this. Anyway, this is another Van Halen anthem that hardly anybody knows. I know it would never happen, but my ultimate Van Halen reunion show would be not only a set of electric guitar classics but (also included) a short backporch set with this track performed in its entirety after a complete acoustic performance of the LITTLE GUITAR intro from DIVER DOWN. Oh, and another moment in this song that I love? How about when Dave finishes singing the second chorus and then says calmly, "Edward?", before Ed rips into a great acoustic solo. Excellent back-up vocals by Nicolette Larson, BTW. Eddie played guitar on her solo debut in 1978. The poor woman passed away in 1997.

IN A SIMPLE RHYME
This is why I love this band. How could an album that contains a backporch jam like COULD THIS BE MAGIC?, a full-out garage rocker like ROMEO DELIGHT, a keyboard experiment like AND THE CRADLE WILL ROCK and a Chicago blues like TAKE YOUR WHISKEY HOME conclude with a song as rehearsed and accomplished as IN A SIMPLE RHYME? I absolutely love the 12-string electric intro on this...I love how it kicks in and Dave sings his heart out (introducing the "So This Is Love" vocal idea a year before the song of the same name appeared on FAIR WARNING), before the very catchy and simple riff of the chorus. I love how the song is brought down to the soft 12-string electric again (with light drums) and Dave sings some very simple lyrics of love (without sounding ANYTHING like Sammy)..."You coulda heard the angels singin'". I think Dave meant it...don't you? And Eddie's solo after the soft middle-eight is simple and passionate. It's nothing new, but great nevertheless. And when the whole song is finally over, you're gasping for air...blown away by yet another incredible performance. How did they do that? How did they put an song like this together when their fingers were still hurting from playing LOSS OF CONTROL? Well, yes...this was written in 1975. But it sounds like wrote it very recently, inspired by some recent rock 'n' roll heartbreak. To end the album with one more blues jam would have been a mistake. Ending it with this, however, ensured that this was yet another Van Halen that covers everything. (And yes, the little ending jam that the band plays after the last note of SIMPLE RHYME is amusing...and longer on the CD.)

My god. The band always covered everything on every album they cut (with Roth). The debut has both ATOMIC PUNK and LITTLE DREAMER. The second one has WOMEN IN LOVE and LIGHT UP THE SKY. This album has LOSS OF CONTROL and IN A SIMPLE RHYME. This was a perfect band. It would have surprised no one hearing it that the band would go on to cut three more brilliant albums. But this is probably the last Van Halen album to contain their original classic sound. After this album, the echoed guitar panned dead left (or is it dead right?) would be almost history. And that spontaneous creativity would die briefly too...WACF was cut in two weeks. FAIR WARNING would be more labored, or at least it sounded like it. Maybe FAIR WARNING was the bigger accomplishment, but this album really sounds the death knell for the band's early sound. After this, they became a studio band.

One more thing...I know out there, some poor kid has probably missed WACF because the following tragedy has happened to him:

A 12-year-old kid gets into Van Halen after hearing AIN'T TALKIN' 'BOUT LOVE on his classic rock radio station. He goes out and buys the VAN HALEN album and VAN HALEN II. He takes them home and loves them. He is so excited by this band that he has to hear more. He saves up his allowance and lawnmower money and finally earns enough to get one more Van Halen CD. He runs to his local suburban record store and finds just the CD he's looking for...VAN HALEN III!

too bad your writing reviews didnt work in a paper or mag or something. Must suck being a failed writer like yourself, prob pushing 40 living at moms and paying child support. Why dont you post this shit for someone that has not known this for 24 years.

[HELLVIS]

I still have this one in my ride. I'm rotating between it, Golden Age Of Grotesque, and Facelift.

[Rikk]

Originally posted by SNIPER
too bad your writing reviews didnt work in a paper or mag or something. Must suck being a failed writer like yourself, prob pushing 40 living at moms and paying child support. Why dont you post this shit for someone that has not known this for 24 years.

LOL. You're such a loser.

First off, idiot, I live alone. I don't pay any child support. Third, I'm in my twenties. I've never tried to be a writer. It's just a skill I have (sort of like your skill at being around places in which you're not popular), although I have done some editing. I do these reviews because they don't take me very long (I'm a quick writer) and I have a simple love of writing for the sake of writing.

You are obviously a bitter bitch that doesn't like the fact that you were SHEEP OF THE WEEK. Well, you'll remain a sheep in my Pen as long as you're here, dickbreath.

[Rikk]

Originally posted by HELLVIS
I still have this one in my ride. I'm rotating between it, Golden Age Of Grotesque, and Facelift.

You have great taste, HELLVIS. Which do you prefer? Facelift, Dirt or the self-titled?

[HELLVIS]

Facelift all the way. LOVE HATE LOVE nuff said.
However, I really like their first e.p. Has a really cool song KILLING YOURSELF.

[Rikk]

I don't think I know KILLING YOURSELF. Is it in the box set?

I have to say DIRT is my favorite. I also really love the self-titled. HEAVEN BESIDE YOU is still my favorite AIC song.

It really sucks about Layne! I was hoping for another album.

[HELLVIS]

As far as I know Killin' Yourself is only on the e.p.

[moose]

Originally posted by Rikk
Oh yes...you all know what this looks like...

To me one of the BEST album covers of our time, which may I add compliments the fantastic muzik on this disk. Rikk youz one crazy ass MOFO CANADIAN. Great Read. .

Cheers.

[Bill Lumbergh]

Originally posted by SNIPER



too bad your writing reviews didnt work in a paper or mag or something. Must suck being a failed writer like yourself, prob pushing 40 living at moms and paying child support. Why dont you post this shit for someone that has not known this for 24 years. [/B]

Is somebody speaking from experience here?! SHUT THE FUCK UP, AND GET BACK IN THE MOTHERFUCKING PEN, BOY!

[Rikk]

Originally posted by moose
To me one of the BEST album covers of our time, which may I add compliments the fantastic muzik on this disk. Rikk youz one crazy ass MOFO CANADIAN. Great Read. .

Cheers.

Thanks dude!

[Rikk]

Originally posted by Bill Lumbergh
Is somebody speaking from experience here?! SHUT THE FUCK UP, AND GET BACK IN THE MOTHERFUCKING PEN, BOY!

I know. What a bitter little baby. Funny how he's telling me that I shouldn't be posting this here. LOL. Funny how many people have enjoyed reading it. This is a DLR/VH site. But, of course, this isn't the place for it? LOL. DIAPER is one bitter poopy-pants.

[MAX]

Fuck off Diaper!!!! You illiterate twat. You know that you are only jealous cos you are incapable of posting a complete sentence. Let alone an entire paragraph. Tool!

Why the fuck am I even talking to you anyway?

GET THE FUCK BACK INTO THE PEN!!!!!!

[Lady Cab Driver]

Excellent review! This should be on the official site. Anyone know anything about why there is nothing going down there?


Sorry, I hit the wrong button. I meant to quote and not edit. LOL!

- Max

[spmusicplyr]

i was 4 years away from being shot from my daddies left nut when this album was released, but sadly, this is my least fav of the 6 pack

[MAX]

Originally posted by Lady Cab Driver
Excellent review! This should be on the official site. Anyone know anything about why there is nothing going down there?


Sorry, I hit the wrong button. I meant to quote and not edit. LOL!

- Max


Maybe you should tell us? Hmmmmmm...............

[salsanin]

Hi frds

in Italy is I M P O S S I B L E find this Album on cd

( I have vinyl with poster and cd)

Excellent review.

Ciao a tutti !!!!!!

[teamaa104]

Could this be magic?
Possibly one of the best VH songs, its so different but Dave's voice on it is totally extreme, i love it!

Agree with everything you say

[tydhurst]

I loove Women and Chilldren first. Any album where And the Cradle Will Rock is followed by Everybody Wants Some is just Raldatious in my book!

[Nitro Express]

WACF for me brings back vivid memories of when that album released. We lived in a college town at the time and a friend of mine dug one of those old Schwinn tandem bikes out of his grandmother's garage. We thought it was cool and we fixed the flat tires and oiled up the chain and set out on the wierd bike built for two. We were riding around the university since the sidewalks were great for bike riding, not to mention skateboarding. Anyways we are riding by some dorms and some dudes had put their stereo speakers in the windows and had "And The Cradle Will Rock" cranked while they played catch with a baseball on the lawn below. As we passed these guys they were giving us a hard time and started calling us names. I guess they though people who rode tandem bikes were dorks and failed to realize it was a cool old antique. Well, nowdays it is. Anyways, I remember getting hit in the back of the head with something hard and actually blacking out and seeing stars. When I recovered from the star show, I started hearing those motherfuckers laughing their asses off and realized that they had thrown the baseball at us and hit me in the fucking head. We were just kids and they were college aged big guys and we just peddled like crazy and got the hell out of there. I ended up with a big fuckin lump on my head. To this day, when I hear "And The Cradle Will Rock" I think of getting hit in the head with a fuckin baseball.

A few months later, Van Halen came to our college town on the 1980 Invasion Tour. It was the second rock concert I had ever gone to. The first one was the Doobie Brothers. LOL! Anyways, Van Halen in a way was still a rowdy club band and still had that raw edge to them. They just blew me away. I thought Dave and Eddie were Gods and untouchable.

[Bill Lumbergh]

NOW WHERE'S THE FAIR WARNING REVIEW RIKK, YOU FUCKING SLACKER!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Bill Lumbergh]

Originally posted by Nitro Express
WACF for me brings back vivid memories of when that album released. We lived in a college town at the time and a friend of mine dug one of those old Schwinn tandem bikes out of his grandmother's garage. We thought it was cool and we fixed the flat tires and oiled up the chain and set out on the wierd bike built for two. We were riding around the university since the sidewalks were great for bike riding, not to mention skateboarding. Anyways we are riding by some dorms and some dudes had put their stereo speakers in the windows and had "And The Cradle Will Rock" cranked while they played catch with a baseball on the lawn below. As we passed these guys they were giving us a hard time and started calling us names. I guess they though people who rode tandem bikes were dorks and failed to realize it was a cool old antique. Well, nowdays it is. Anyways, I remember getting hit in the back of the head with something hard and actually blacking out and seeing stars. When I recovered from the star show, I started hearing those motherfuckers laughing their asses off and realized that they had thrown the baseball at us and hit me in the fucking head. We were just kids and they were college aged big guys and we just peddled like crazy and got the hell out of there. I ended up with a big fuckin lump on my head. To this day, when I hear "And The Cradle Will Rock" I think of getting hit in the head with a fuckin baseball.

A few months later, Van Halen came to our college town on the 1980 Invasion Tour. It was the second rock concert I had ever gone to. The first one was the Doobie Brothers. LOL! Anyways, Van Halen in a way was still a rowdy club band and still had that raw edge to them. They just blew me away. I thought Dave and Eddie were Gods and untouchable.

Cool story dude. The album brings back very strong memories for me too. VH 2 was the first album I ever bought on the first day..........as blown away as I was by that, WACF just totally knocked me out. It had it all(and still does) and then some!

[Noodles]

nice, rikk (gotta brush up on yer Rothability, tho ... misquoted lyrics abound. not as bad as that guy from the Vegas Mercury, tho. Whoa... where'dja get that shhhhit... ohmyGOD...).

my fave VH LP. Spring break 1980. i was in Rock-a-Rolla Records before they even opened the box from WB. grabbed the top-copy, ripped it open ... (wtf's this? a poster or sumthin?) ... on the turntable, spin spin ... 'turn it up'. yehhhh.... fucking amazing.

"top of their powers", exactly, Rikk. there was not even a shadow of disappointment back then when The New Van Halen Record came out. not for a couple more years yet.

Pure Magic. thanks for rollin' this one up for everybody to re-appreciate yet again, man.

** If y'all have the WACF Studio Sessions Remastered boot, it's majorly entertaining & way insightful into how the LP was birthed. checkout the roughs & scratchtracks of Cradle, EWS!! ... quite a lot from these made it into the final versions. + the untitled/unfinished instrumental jam is a F**KING blast ... a rollercoaster taxiride thru dark city just before dawn. and, you ain't got the fare, budro.

[Rikk]

Originally posted by Bill Lumbergh
NOW WHERE'S THE FAIR WARNING REVIEW RIKK, YOU FUCKING SLACKER!!!!!!!!!!!!

LOL!!

You're right...I haven't done one for a while. Gimme a few days and I'll get one going.

[Bill Lumbergh]

Originally posted by Rikk
LOL!!

You're right...I haven't done one for a while. Gimme a few days and I'll get one going.

Cool bro! :cool:

[Rikk]

Been listening to the six-pack a LOT this week. I want to bump these and maybe get some good discussion.:) I'm proud of these write-ups I did.

[NATEDOG001976]

WACF, fucking rocks....might be my favorite VH album.

[fryingdutchman]

Rikk - Great stuff. Thanks for taking the time and putting in the effort to write the review.

Funny...I remember that upon it's initial release, WACF was near the bottom of my list of VH favorites. Then, after repeated listenings, it grew and grew like a monster hell-bent on dominating my home/car stereo.

Definitely an underappreciated album that deserves much more attention. It encompasses such wide-ranging styles that really showed how versatile the band was.

[DLR7884]

I'm loving the COPY function.

DLR7884
Nice.

[Matt White]

I still remember my 7th grade teacher bringing WACF in on fridays for us to listen to!!!

How KEWL????:cool:

[Rikk]

You're fucking lucky. I was sitting and listening to JOY TO THE WORLD in Grade 7 music.

This is a fantastic album. It's almost like listening to a half hour jam session. It gets me really going during a car drive. I still think its weakest track opens the album...ATCWR is really too mid-paced to open such a ferocious album...but it also really grooves.

[Matt White]

I never liked that teacher much.....

She did have good taste in music..........

I remember the poster of DAVE chained to the fence....

I think she forgot to take that out of the LP before bringing it to class........

[Romeo Delight]

I brought Fairwarning to grade 7 music class and palyed Unchained.

Teacher said: "Well, I am not sure if we can call that music?"

For a joke, the next week I brought The Knack and played "good girls Don't" (But I do)

She wasn't impressed...

[Matt White]

I miss LPs...cool art work....

Surprise posters.............

WACF is a CLASSIC package

[Romeo Delight]

Originally posted by Matt White
I miss LPs...cool art work....

Surprise posters.............

WACF is a CLASSIC package

How about Zep's "Physical Graffiti" very cool cover

most underated album(s) as well!

[Diamondjimi]

Check this out !

http://www.rotharmy.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=28947

[diamondsgirl]

WOW.

Rikk is getting some serious mileage out of these re-re-re-visited threads. :D

[Matt White]

CLASSIC THREADS


Always a pleasure to talk about CLASSIC VAN HALEN recordings!!!:cool:

[diamondsgirl]

Originally posted by Matt White
CLASSIC THREADS


Always a pleasure to talk about CLASSIC VAN HALEN recordings!!!:cool:

oh, without a doubt

but funny that they resurfaced right after pojo closed the Menudo thread

LMAO

like Rikk wanted us to remember back when he was cool

[Rikk]

Originally posted by diamondsgirl
oh, without a doubt

but funny that they resurfaced right after pojo closed the Menudo thread

LMAO

like Rikk wanted us to remember back when he was cool

Do you ever quit?

BTW, I didn't resurface any of these threads. MATT did. And I commend him for it.

[Matt White]

Yup....I can talk about CLASSIC VAN HALEN all day long...

Just wanted some of the "kiddies" hangin' around to get the Down-low on the STELLAR work of our Fav band......:rockit2:

And they are KILLER threads......

With a lot of insightful posting by many members..........

[Rikk]

Indeed. These aren't MY threads. These are threads in which to discuss music. I will say that I also think these are some of the best threads in which classic VH is ever discussed. Some great convo.

Thanks for bringing 'em back. I forgot about 'em the last couple of months.

[diamondsgirl]

Originally posted by Rikk
Do you ever quit?



do ever quit being a pussy and closing and moving threads?

[Rikk]

Guess what? People are actually talking about VAN HALEN in this thread. Can we keep the shenanigans and hijinks to other threads?

[diamondsgirl]

Originally posted by Rikk
Guess what? People are actually talking about VAN HALEN in this thread. Can we keep the shenanigans and hijinks to other threads?

maybe if you stop closing them

[Rikk]

I'll close what I want. Suck it up. You start fight threads, they'll be history.

It'll be a cold day in hell before I start listening to anyone other than a Webbie or a friend on what I should or should not close in this forum.

Now, if you have any other problems, start a thread in Feedback. Otherwise, let this be a thread you don't actually pollute. But if you really must continue, don't fret. You're only proving my whole point.

[Romeo Delight]

Doesn't Ed use flying v from Wasp guitarist on this album?

Fucking killer sound!!

Tell me Matt, how does Ed get this particular sound on this album, like on Romeo Delight.

Sounds like a goddamn jet

[diamondsgirl]

Originally posted by Rikk
I'll close what I want. Suck it up. You start fight threads, they'll be history.

It'll be a cold day in hell before I start listening to anyone other than a Webbie or a friend on what I should or should not close in this forum.

Now, if you have any other problems, start a thread in Feedback. Otherwise, let this be a thread you don't actually pollute. But if you really must continue, don't fret. You're only proving my whole point.

I have never started a fight thread. But you and your "friends" have. And then you renamed it "the Menudo Thread". There's some shit to be proud of. :rolleyes:

By closing my threads instead of actually moderating in them ...you have proven my point. Or I should say, one of my points.

you proved another one when you posted a ton of Menudo pics here in "your forum"

you proved another one when you turned Nikk's goodbye thread into a fight thread

you proved another one when you mentioned Max's family just a little bit ago

[Romeo Delight]

Is it really true that Ed used a cheap-ass Casio keyboard plugged through Marshalls to get sound on And the Cradle Will Rock?

[Rikk]

Originally posted by DavidFlamma
Is it really true that Ed used a cheap-ass Casio keyboard plugged through Marshalls to get sound on And the Cradle Will Rock?

I initially thought it was actually a mic'd piano...but you're right, I think. A Casio sounding like a guitar...

[ThrillsNSpills]

If memory serves it was a Wurlitzer electric piano through the Marshalls.

Grate review Rikk.
Cradle isn't one of my favorites either. It seems to me if he was just going to use an electric piano to play power chords he could have just used a guitar.

I'd love to hear the extended into to Simple Rhyme. I remember Ed saying he edited it down to what it is on the record 'cos he thought people would think he was pulling a Jimmy Page.

[Rikk]

Originally posted by ThrillsNSpills
Grate review Rikk.
Cradle isn't one of my favorites either. It seems to me if he was just going to use an electric piano to play power chords he could have just used a guitar.

Thanks, bro.

Yeah, I always thought it was like all cool concept but not a really thought-out song.


Originally posted by ThrillsNSpills
I'd love to hear the extended into to Simple Rhyme. I remember Ed saying he edited it down to what it is on the record 'cos he thought people would think he was pulling a Jimmy Page.

Yeah, and considering how short the album is, it would have been most cool to hear some longer guitar parts and solos, etc. The punky qualities of VH (short solos, short songs) was one reason they stood out from the heavy metal bunch.

[Matt White]

RING THE BELL!!!

SCHOOL'S IN SESSION!!!

[Shaun Ponsonby]

This might just be my favourite VH album these days. Everything is good in my opinion, it's just non-stop greatness, and Dave and Eddie shine throughout.

[binnie]

This is more than an album, it is an event every time you listen to it.

It always sounds fresh, it's like they are in the room with you dishing up a big piece of Saturday night!

It's just so spontaneous.

I fuckin' love every second of this album, and some of Dave's best lyrics IMO

although FW would be up there too

This is a great, great thread.

[Unchainme]

BUMP