1984 Turn's 30

[Nickdfresh]

Van Halen's 1984 Turns 30 Today -- How Does It Hold Up?
By Nick Greene Thu., Jan. 9 2014 at 5:00 AM

Today marks the 30th anniversary of Van Halen's 1984. Let's put that in perspective: Twice as much time has passed between today and the release of 1984 than between 1984's release and the moon landing (the 20th century's other crowning achievement). It was Van Halen's most commercially successful album and one of the biggest rock albums of all time, but does it hold up?

Does Diamond Dave's swagger translate in the age of Twitter, YouTube, Jelly, Path, Uber, Seamlessweb, HopStop, Yahoo News Digest, Smarm, Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, Tinder, and Facebook? Does Eddie Van Halen's guitar still blast ear drums the way it did in the age of Reagan and crack cocaine?

The Rest at the Village Voice LINK with song by song takes...

[Mushroom]

=VH= missed another opportunity to release a special anniversary package. Oh we'll, every year I'm alive I have hope. Maybe it will be the 31st anniversary.

[Mushroom]

Mr Nick Greene missed top jimmy

[VHscraps]

Forgive me from being pedaaaaantic about this, but the Village Voice dude is wrong - Dec 28 1983 was the release date of the 1984 album, not January 9th, 1984. I still have the vinyl copy I bought in December '83 and it says pretty cleary on the label and packaging "Warner Bros. Records 1983".

This leads to all kinds of confusions - admittedly they are of no great importance except to trainspotter types like me - but you even hear people say the album was RECORDED in '84, when it was recorded in Spring/Summer '83, and mixed and mastered in October.

So, my point is, despite the title of the album, it is a 1983 album. Period.

[DavidLeeNatra]

...man, I'm an old fart...

[Kristy]

Who cares? I wasn't even hatched yet in 198Fuck. And since EVERY THREAD is about ME in some form or another I'm glad I missed on on all that MTV greed and horribly directed videos. So how does 198Fuck hold up? Compare it to Thriller, any Duran Duran offering or Madonna record of the time and I'd say not all that well. 'Hot For Teacher' is nothing more than a stripper bar anthem these days. 'Panama' and 'Jump' are white trash staples and F A T Sammy destroyed any cred da Halun might have had in the 80's. 198Fuck had its fifteen minutes of airplay that it's true legacy.

[vandeleur]

Who cares? I wasn't even hatched yet in 198Fuck. And since EVERY THREAD is about ME in some form or another I'm glad I missed on on all that MTV greed and horribly directed videos. So how does 198Fuck hold up? Compare it to Thriller, any Duran Duran offering or Madonna record of the time and I'd say not all that well. 'Hot For Teacher' is nothing more than a stripper bar anthem these days. 'Panama' and 'Jump' are white trash staples and F A T Sammy destroyed any cred da Halun might have had in the 80's. 198Fuck had its fifteen minutes of airplay that it's true legacy.

Yeah ,but apart from that I Like it

[VAiN]

I remember being about 11/12 in late 85/early 86 and talking to one of my dad's buddies about VH and if I thought they'd make it with the new guy... even as little VAiN I didn't think it was a good idea.. I remember saying something along the lines of 'he sings like a woman'... I was wise beyond my years.

[Kristy]

Yeah ,but apart from that I Like it

Dude, you like Led Zeppelin.

The defense rest.

[PETE'S BROTHER]

Dude, you like Led Zeppelin.

The defense rest.

promise?

[vandeleur]

[cadaverdog]

promise?

Thanx isn't enough for that gem. They need to install a high five button for that one.

[Nickdfresh]

...'Hot For Teacher' is nothing more than a stripper bar anthem these days....

And? Your point?

[Seshmeister]

...man, I'm an old fart...

Here's a thought - 30 years ago when 1984 came out rock was 29 years old.

If you draw a timeline of the history of rock music, 1984 is now in the early period...

[Seshmeister]

Forgive me from being pedaaaaantic about this, but the Village Voice dude is wrong - Dec 28 1983 was the release date of the 1984 album, not January 9th, 1984. I still have the vinyl copy I bought in December '83 and it says pretty cleary on the label and packaging "Warner Bros. Records 1983".

This leads to all kinds of confusions - admittedly they are of no great importance except to trainspotter types like me - but you even hear people say the album was RECORDED in '84, when it was recorded in Spring/Summer '83, and mixed and mastered in October.

So, my point is, despite the title of the album, it is a 1983 album. Period.

Wikki says January 9th which is probably where they got that from.

My copy said (c)1983 too but I can't remember when we got it - maybe the UK release was a little earlier?

[Kristy]

And? Your point?

Couldn't find any citation on Wiki?

[Von Halen]

Forgive me from being pedaaaaantic about this, but the Village Voice dude is wrong - Dec 28 1983 was the release date of the 1984 album, not January 9th, 1984.

I disagree.

[Satan]

Well, by process of elimination.......

Jan 9, 1984 - Monday.
December 28, 1983 - Wednesday.

In the US, records are only released on Tuesday. I honestly can't remember if that's always been the case, but if so, it would make both dates wrong.

[Kristy]

Then it would have been released January 3rd, 1984. Which it was.

[Von Halen]

Then it would have been released January 3rd, 1984. Which it was.

You are correct.

[Kristy]

Again, this goes to show Nick can't Wiki for shit.

[VHscraps]

You are correct.

I doubt it very much. I bought a US import of '1984' in Glasgow, Scotland the Friday before New Years - that makes my purchase date Friday December 30th, 1983.

[Nickdfresh]

Couldn't find any citation on Wiki?

[Nickdfresh]

Again, this goes to show Nick can't Wiki for shit.

I didn't write the fucking thing, the date sounded wrong to me as well. But that's not really the point of the article. is it?

[VHscraps]

My copy said (c)1983 too but I can't remember when we got it - maybe the UK release was a little earlier?

Could be that - I think some of the big labels back in the vinyl days used overseas pressing plants (Germany, the UK, or wherever they could find capacity) when there was a new album with anticipated high demand.

Maybe "early" copies made it into shops that stocked imports in the UK.

[Kristy]

I didn't write the fucking thing, the date sounded wrong to me as well. But that's not really the point of the article. is it?

January 3rd, 1984 is the fucking point.

[Nickdfresh]

It's been ages since I've been there, but Van Halen's official site once listed all of their albums and sales figures and I think it included the release dates IIRC. They seemed to have pulled it prior to Diamond Dave coming back into the fold. 1984 was "Diamond", over 10 million copies sold...

[Never was]

If you don't have pictures of the album being released then it never happened

[Terry]

1984 still holds up well to my ears, which is the only barometer worth anything to me.

[CreatureFrmTheC]

You have to understand, back in ancient times, when we folks in our late 40*s +, we had to drive to a place called a record store. When new Van Halen was released, it was a special day, walking into a Rainbow or Tower records, looking at the badass VH displays, then finally getting that fresh piece of shrink-wrapped cardboard in your hand. In line you check out the album art, browse around at other shit, and finally it's your turn to pay for your record. You drive home, put the album on the stereo, and give it a once over. Check out the jacket art, and look at every detail you can. You remember new Van Halen day. I specifically recall buying 1984 the day it was released, on the 9th. The reason this is so clear to me, is that it took about a week or 2 to get the reason why it had to be on the shelves on the 9th.

[Fairwrning]

Ahh yes..the good old days of vinyl...I remember picking up FW/DD and 1984 day of release..I had saved up my mowing cash and counted down the days..went to the Discount Record Mart, then locked myself in my room for an hour..

[VHscraps]

You have to understand, back in ancient times, when we folks in our late 40*s +, we had to drive to a place called a record store. When new Van Halen was released, it was a special day, walking into a Rainbow or Tower records, looking at the badass VH displays, then finally getting that fresh piece of shrink-wrapped cardboard in your hand. In line you check out the album art, browse around at other shit, and finally it's your turn to pay for your record. You drive home, put the album on the stereo, and give it a once over. Check out the jacket art, and look at every detail you can. You remember new Van Halen day. I specifically recall buying 1984 the day it was released, on the 9th. The reason this is so clear to me, is that it took about a week or 2 to get the reason why it had to be on the shelves on the 9th.

So if you were not born, release date 1-3-84
If you have an album with an 83 pressing then it's an 83 release
Mine was released on Monday 1-9-1984, the day it first went on sale was the day I bought it.

30 years ago, that was yesterday!

Exactly - it was an obsession with those details that aren't available any longer in these digital download days. It was part of the whole attraction, because there was nothing else apart from the object itself. In the UK the first time I had seen more than a 10-second clip of Van Halen in action (apart from on nth generation VHS tapes purchased at record fairs) was the fucking 'Jump' video.

As for release dates - well, it might just be that European copies were out a week earlier because they were pressed up here in Europe. I don't have a clue. I've just been checking out my old copy, and it was a German (not a US) import I bought. This was available the weekend of New Year's eve, and I paid an extra few quid for it to get it on import early.

[Zing!]

Ahh yes..the good old days of vinyl...I remember picking up FW/DD and 1984 day of release..I had saved up my mowing cash and counted down the days..went to the Discount Record Mart, then locked myself in my room for an hour..

Still need to get ADKOT on vinyl and give it a spin - then add it to my framed 6-pack in the Garage Majal.

[sonrisa salvaje]

Who cares? I wasn't even hatched yet in 198Fuck. And since EVERY THREAD is about ME in some form or another I'm glad I missed on on all that MTV greed and horribly directed videos. So how does 198Fuck hold up? Compare it to Thriller, any Duran Duran offering or Madonna record of the time and I'd say not all that well. 'Hot For Teacher' is nothing more than a stripper bar anthem these days. 'Panama' and 'Jump' are white trash staples and F A T Sammy destroyed any cred da Halun might have had in the 80's. 198Fuck had its fifteen minutes of airplay that it's true legacy.

So you think that Duran Duran's 7 and the Ragged Tiger as well as Madonna's Like a Virgin hold up better than 1984? Given you are such an 80's officianado we will trust you on that.

[FORD]

Shit, 7 and the Ragged Tiger didn't even hold up THEN. I wasn't a big fan of Duran Duran, but even I noticed the loss in quality there compared to their first two albums.

[Southpaw]

Has 1984 aged well... everyone has their own opinion. I myself find it hard to listen to this album straight through. Jump and I'll Wait are painful to listen to for me. 1984 thankfully its around a minute. HFT and Panama are too played out in my neck of the woods. That leaves 4 songs, 2 of which IMO are "fillers". My classic 6 pack is really the first 4. Which is still a better run than 98% of any band.

[FORD]

I'd say most of the album is as timeless as the 5 records that preceded it. The synth songs sound just as dated as any other synth pop song from that era.

It is true that Panama is still played to death on the radio, though not so much Hot For Teacher around here. Seems like the corporate owned "classic rock" stations have a hard on for the first album and 1984, but rarely anything in between, and sadly, they ignored ADKOT.

Sadder yet is when they play any Van Hagar at all, let alone the goddamned cheese ballads.

[VAiN]

I'd say most of the album is as timeless as the 5 records that preceded it. The synth songs sound just as dated as any other synth pop song from that era.

It is true that Panama is still played to death on the radio, though not so much Hot For Teacher around here. Seems like the corporate owned "classic rock" stations have a hard on for the first album and 1984, but rarely anything in between, and sadly, they ignored ADKOT.

Sadder yet is when they play any Van Hagar at all, let alone the goddamned cheese ballads.

Same here, we get Panama, YRGM/Eruption, Jump, Runnin with the Devil and Hot For Teacher when they play VH. Once in a blue moon they'll play the hagar shit and it's usually why can't this be cheese, when it's cheese or finish what ya started..

[Terry]

Has 1984 aged well... everyone has their own opinion. I myself find it hard to listen to this album straight through. Jump and I'll Wait are painful to listen to for me. 1984 thankfully its around a minute. HFT and Panama are too played out in my neck of the woods. That leaves 4 songs, 2 of which IMO are "fillers". My classic 6 pack is really the first 4. Which is still a better run than 98% of any band.

Well, for me, how I listen to the album is still very similar to how I listened to it thirty years ago.

I was never all that crazy about the title track intro and Jump. To be fair, Jump was a huge song, and it probably brought new fans onboard who may not have listened to the band otherwise or had perhaps dismissed them prior to Jump as too hard rock for their tastes. Maybe Jump was something that made it easier for more pop-oriented music fans to ease into the band. To rationalize that Jump wasn't part of the reason 1984 was one of Van Halen's best-selling albums would be disingenuous. I think a decent percentage of new fans who came onboard when Jump was released had less of a problem transitioning to the band when Hagar was fronting them. And I'm not saying Jump is necessarily a terrible song, either. It's just not what I really want from Van Halen. Neither was their cover of Dancing In The Streets. When I listened to 1984 back then, I tended to skip Jump (it was overplayed back then on radio and MTV to the point where I didn't even need to play the record in order to hear it multiple times in a day), and I still don't play the song when I listen to it these days.

I like Panama. It was a straight-up rock tune. Catchy, and like Jump was something a little less harder-edged than what Van Halen was known for up to that point. I wouldn't really put it near the top of my favorite Van Halen tracks, but like Jump it's easy to understand why the band still plays it live. It's got a broader appeal than, say, Romeo Delight.

For me, the meat of the album has always been Top Jimmy/Drop Dead Legs/Hot For Teacher/Girl Gone Bad/House of Pain. This was true in 1984 and it still holds true today.

I've never liked I'll Wait.

I do get your point about the first four Van Halen albums being really excellent from start-to-finish whereas the last two CVH albums had tracks that just weren't as compelling. I mean, regarding Diver Down, I never cared for Where Have All The Good Times Gone or Dancing In The Streets, and I have to be in a certain kind of mood to listen to Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now).

[atomicpnk47]

Personally I never get tired of classic VH. Timeless. All six have held up IMO ....