So we did a poll on Facebook and the results came out as
https://scontent-lht6-1.xx.fbcdn.net...d4&oe=5ECC52B1
1240 votes...
Do you agree?
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So we did a poll on Facebook and the results came out as
https://scontent-lht6-1.xx.fbcdn.net...d4&oe=5ECC52B1
1240 votes...
Do you agree?
Va did the poll I would have put in an option for earlier.
In commercial terms, I think 1984, the Jump single and the three promo videos kicked Van Halen up a couple of notches in terms of introducing them to audiences who may have heard of the band prior to then, but dismissed them as a hard rock party band. As to if this ultimately was a good thing for the band or not is obviously subjective in terms of opinion. I don't know if the 1984 tour itself was necessarily any more successful than previous tours, because Van Halen were already selling out large arenas in the US prior to that, but the 1984 album and the Jump single certainly broadened their appeal.
For me, they kinda peaked with Fair Warning in a way. Yeah, Diver Down was successful, and they had a successful Hide Your Sheep tour, a successful South American Tour and headlined Heavy Metal Day at The Us Festival on the back of that...but for me Fair Warning was really the last CVH album that was consistently good from start-to-finish in terms of not containing any tracks I tended to skip over, which I can't say was ever true of either Diver Down or 1984.
The 1984 tour was the only tour I got to see CVH live on, but as huge as that was in terms of production...like, come the mid to late 1990s when it became easier to trade for bootlegs of earlier tours, the more I listened/watched gigs from shows previous to 1984, I think the band played better live prior to 1984. Recently, on youtube somebody uploaded an audience shot video boot synched up with audio from one of Van Halen's opening slots when they were touring their first album. It was a 40 minute or so set, the whole show was shot from one camera position, but...I mean, shit, the band were just fucking killing it...and it wasn't sort of as overindulged as the 1984 tour was in terms of the stage production sort of overtaking the musical performance - and the flow wasn't interrupted with 10 minute solo spots for each band member a la 1984 - out of necessity of it being an opening slot.
And if I'm really being critical, I'd have to say that while Fair Warning is my own personal favorite CVH album, I'd probably agree with someone who said CVH's best album was their first. Just in terms of one killer track after another without really a weak one in the bunch, whereas to me Van Halen II had some stuff on it that came off as tunes that were either passed over for the first album or were written on the fly in the studio.
If it were a comprehensive poll... I would have gone with the 1982-83 Hide Your Sheep tour as number 1 and the World Invasion tour of 1980 as number 2. 1984 would have been number 3... they were great, but the toll of their excesses were becoming apparent in 1984. Prior to that they were just fucking in your face, amazing live!!
VA does nice job with the Facebook page... I know he prefers not to post here anymore, but it would be nice if he'd at least include some links to the place he's representing... just sayin...
Fair Warning