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1984 Revisited
Continuing the Re-Appreciation thread begun by Sesh with his excellent review of VAN HALEN II, and following my thread for DIVER DOWN, I have decided to next cover my personal favorite Van Halen album, 1984. Now, many fans think of DIVER DOWN as the joker in the pack...the one that really doesn't fit with everything else. Well, if you look at the entire Van Halen catalogue, maybe that's true. But if you look just at the 6-pack, DIVER DOWN is a rather lazy but typical Van Halen album (w/Roth). It has excellent music and great guitar playing...but it doesn't really make any new statements. It's 1984 that does this...and those statements sure alienated some fans (and made MANY new fans as well).
In time, Eddie Van Halen came to realize that he was rather unhappy with the working methods and final result of the DIVER DOWN album. In fact, it could be argued that following the amazing "Hide Your Sheep Tour" (which, in retrospect, is a very fitting name) and US Festival performance, Eddie realized that he wasn't really happy with the band's working methods on ANY of the five Van Halen albums. Eddie knew he wanted to do something that gave him more control. And the idea of his own recording studio seemed like a godsend. And it allowed him more time to channel his creativity; he could wake up in the middle of the night and go record a guitar track (if he wanted to). In actuality, however, the studio may be the one thing that finally brought the whole party crashing down. Having it there gave him more control...it allowed him to dictate "This is my studio...leave if you don't like my terms." And Ted wasn't comfortable doing his own work. Neither was Dave. What was this? Eddie's solo album with the others as guest musicians and a guest producer? It's easy to see why the tension developed. And working from home sometimes breeds laziness.
Dave has claimed that the band spent a year in the studio recording 1984. Well, that just can't be really that accurate. The band were touring a lot in early 1983 and the band also played US Festival, Dave went to the jungle, and Ed needed to have the studio actually built. The album was actually released at the VERY end of 1983. So, it couldn't have been quite a year. But it can be believed that the band spent a lot of time working on different ideas (with Alex and Eddie working alone for much of the time...probably a first in VH-history but a working-method that would become the norm from now on). It is clear that the band was starting to turn more into four individuals recording together (in fact, it's entirely possible that this is the album on which Ed started doing his own bass tracks). It is unclear if ANY of the tracks on 1984 actually have the entire band playing at once live in the studio. Often, Alex and Eddie would lay down their parts and have Mike and Dave overdub their parts later. Plus, Eddie was overdubbing MOST of his solos on this album (only GIRL GONE BAD and HOT FOR TEACHER have live solos, if I'm not mistaken). Furthermore, Dave and Ted seem to have been rather dissatisfied with some of Eddie's material. Maybe picking covers (for DIVER DOWN) was Dave's way of rejecting Ed's more "out there" material. But here, Ed had more control. Dave apparently had the band record a version of the oldie IN THE MIDNIGHT HOUR during these sessions, but that remains unreleased. Mind you, several originals WERE rejected...Dave probably never even put vocals on some of them. In fact, it's quite clear that the band's working methods were not as efficient as they had once been. Ed was writing tons of music, but Dave was unhappy with the new direction much of the music was taking. And it wasn't just Ed's riffs or chord changes or rhythms...Eddie actually wanted to use keyboard as the primary instrument on several songs! Ed was even pushing for a little keyboard song that had already been rejected by the band (JUMP). Man, what a mess this all sounds like. Was this really the album that was going to turn the band into a household name? Well, they say tension sometimes provides for the greatest creativity. And this is no exception. The band may have been fighting, but 1984 certainly showed each member at his best (well, maybe except Mike...FAIR WARNING was probably his real album to shine, if Mike ever shined). Don't believe what some old school fans will tell you...this is NOT the keyboard album. Ed plays guitar on this album like his life depended on it. His keyboards are still a great tool for good songwriting here (unfortunately, Ed would begin drowning in them by 5150...but by that point, there wasn't a good singer around to throw out the bad music or write good melodies over it). From hits to jam sessions, from stories inspired by suicide to stories of promiscuous schoolteachers, from a song that contains only keyboards to a song that begins with an incredible drum solo...1984 has it all!
Production-wise, this album is pretty amazing. It does sound like a studio creation. But, being someone that enjoys home-recording, I find the idea of a home-recorded Van Halen album when the original line-up was still around very appealing. You can really hear the many little bursts of late night creativity in amazing moments like Ed's great solo in TOP JIMMY. And Dave sounds better than ever. It sounds like he really had time to fuck around and try new things with his vocal parts...and he sounds more confident here than on many any other album in his career (except maybe EAT 'EM AND SMILE). I fully believe the story that he actually had his assistant drive him around the city blaring the music from the new songs through the car's sound system, with Dave writing the lyrics in the back seat. It only makes sense that PANAMA was actually born in a car. Anyway, maybe I'm biased. JUMP was the first Van Halen I ever heard...and this was the only Van Halen album I owned as a child...it wasn't until a few years later that I picked up the rest. And I loved them all...but this is one special album for me. And while it may seem to pave the way for the Van Hagar sound, it has two things those fucking albums don't have: great lyrics and incredible swaggar. 5150 was to 1984 what a hangover is to a great drunken night.
1984
I know many fans of the six-pack hate this "song". I love it. 45 seconds of musical bliss....a totally dated synthesizer symphony, named by Eddie's wife and apparently taken from a 45-minute recording! (I think I read that this piece was the first thing Ed recorded in his new studio.) Anyway, this really sets the mood perfectly...it's Ed being completely creative, preparing you for JUMP and reminding you of his incredible sense of melodic music-writing. It also reminds the listener that Dave triumphs on this album, but this really is Ed's album (as would be every album that followed). Unfortunately, the very fitting fact that this song begins the album has caused many fans to have the misconception that this is the keyboard album. Well, there are three songs out of nine with keyoards, and this short instrumental is one of them.
JUMP
What needs to be said? This is, by no means, the band's best song. But it's their biggest hit. It apparently changed lives (it changed mine) and was one of the biggest hits of the 1980s. It's a brilliant piece of pop music. And as catchy as that annoying (and now dated) riff is, it's really Dave that makes this song. The hook is in his simple declaration on the chorus ("might as well jump!"), and his melodies on the bridge between the verse and the chorus are pure rock 'n' roll magic ("Can't you see me standing here, I get my back against the record machine!"...Chuck Berry would be very proud). Ed's solo is also excellent (but short), and the (now cheesy) keyboard solo seems declare "Yes, this is a hit...now, buy me!" Alex's drum sound is also new here. This really is the brown sound...funny he's not even playing his whole kit because it wouldn't all fit in the studio. Anyway, it's a great song. But, it's a shame that this song is the best-known Van Halen song since it is one of the songs least-representative of their overall sound. (Oh, and sheep, this IS the only No. 1 hit the band ever had...I thought Hagar was the more popular singer??...I guess the fact that this one album also sold more than half the entire Van Hagar catalogue is also irrelevant, huh?...oh, and Hagar has butchered this song night after night on stage...again, I don't think he gets it...the man couldn't swagger if his life depended on it.)
PANAMA
And the hits just keep on comin'. This is about a car. Dave wrote it realizing that there were no Van Halen songs about cars (writing car songs is an old rock 'n' roll cliche he wanted to live up to). What I love about this one is the melody...but I also love the sound of it. It sounds like a fucking jam-session. I can just see Ed and Al cutting this in 5150, guitar amp on 10...take 3, maybe? I love Ed's little mistake in the middle-eight (although I didn't know it was a mistake until I heard umpteen live versions of the song doing something completely different on that second bar). But just...listen to Dave! Man oh man, the melody leading up to the chorus...the "Ain't no stopping now!" part, the simple one-word chorus. It's an unbelievable hit...and the years have probably been kinder to this one than JUMP. Another quick note: listen to the relentless rhythm on this one. It sounds like AC/DC (the band that apparently inspired Ed to write the music to this). This was a huge hit for the band...probably their second-best-known song ever. And if it weren't for Dave, this would have been another SUCKA IN A 3-PIECE. The music is actually pretty generic...it's what Dave does with it that makes it unbeatable. Sammy Hagar would come in and spend 10 minutes writing about tits and breakfast cereals, and all to some generic rock 'n' roll melody, ruining it completely (as he did so many Van Halen songs). But thank God Dave stayed around long enough to make this masterpiece. It's unbeatable...1000 listens later.
TOP JIMMY
For years, this was one of my least-favorite songs on the album. Now, it's one of my very favorite Van Halen songs. It really is like the band's JOHNNY B. GOODE (as Ed suggested). Dave's little tribute to a local Los Angeles musician is touching, the lyrics are great, Ed's playing is stupendous. This is actually a much more technical guitar song than PANAMA. It's probably the first song on the album that made the rabid Ed fans sit up and listen. The tuning is interesting, the riff is complicated yet catchy...the guitar sound is wacky (with the guitar totally recorded in stereo, a different channel for each string). And I love the speed change for the solo...total rock 'n' roll. This sounds dangerous, and this album is the last time ('til ME WISE MAGIC) that they ever sounded like that. A masterpiece! (I love the "Oh Jimmy!" cry at the end...total Dave!)
DROP DEAD LEGS
Maybe my favorite Van Halen song. Well, definitely one of my favorites. It definitely comes from the same train of thought as PANAMA. In fact, fans buying this album before any other Van Halen album were probably given the misconception that Van Halen enjoyed writing typical fist-in-the-air arena rock. And that really isn't true. The band's first five albums had no songs so blatantly arena-rock as this or PANAMA (well, except for maybe RUNNIN' WITH THE DEVIL). But it's not the simple rhythm that makes this unbeatable...it's the incredibly catchy and in-your-face riff, combined with Dave's screaming-at-the-world vocals. I've had Hagar fans complain to me that the lyrics in this song are retarded. Well, sorry sheep, but I'll put a lot more stock in "nice white teeth, Betty Boop" (love that line!) than "she put the cream in my coffee!" (sounds like a major gay come-on...why is someone putting cream in YOUR coffee???). The song goes on relentlessly for a few minutes (with Ed and Al so clearly playing live together with the bass and vocals overdubbed later). But my favorite bit comes at the end, when Ed overdubs another guitar playing a great blues riff and then an amazing solo comes in (a third track!), leading to a long fade-out (I wish it went on for another five minutes!). Why the hell did Ed lose this amazing guitar tone after this album? He never sounds bluesier than he does here. On 5150, not only were the vocals light, but the guitar (and drums!!!) also sounded too poppy.
HOT FOR TEACHER
A classic, and not even one of my favorites on the album. It's funny that this is another of the band's biggest hits, and they haven't even played it since the 1984 tour. It's swagger is undeniable, it's appeal was unquestioned by millions. Yet, Hagar doesn't get it. So, he doesn't sing it. Well, if he doesn't get it, what's he doing in this band anyway? Well, it is a good thing the idiot never sang this, because he would butcher it. This isn't a song about generic verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, solo, chorus...this is about attitude and spunky lyrics. It's not about having sex with some "bitch" that sure "got the rhythm". It's about "I heard you missed us, we're back!!!" Hagar used to like to say that when he toured with the band in the 90's. "We're back!" But so many in that audience thought, "Who are you again?" Anyway, enough about that idiot. Dave really delivers here...how the fuck did he think of this shit? Listen to his verse melody: "T-t-teacher, stop that screaming, teacher don't you see?" My god, man...from what rock did you crawl? You are amazing! And the lyrics? I was fucking nine-years-old, and I knew what he was talking about. I'm down for some of that. What else does Dave do here? He shuts up for long periods. He lets Al have his incredible opening drum solo. He lets Ed go nuts on the solo...he turns this into a vehicle for intense jamming by a great band...he's not just a searching for a showcase for his vocals (as Ed and Al have accused him of since). And to see this song live (I only saw the 1984 tour through the Montreal bootleg), wow. Dave just basically plays his part and gets the crowd screaming. He sticks his hand in the air when the quiet part begins...and the crowd goes nuts! What more could you ask for?
I'LL WAIT
There is not one moment I dislike on 1984...not even the four-minutes this song takes. In fact, I'll do you one better...I fucking love this song. Yes, I know. It's cheesy. The keyboard is dated. This is "too 80s". Well, you want to know why I love it? My answer is one word. Take a guess. That's right...Dave. Dave fucking rules on this song. Yes, Ed has his cheesy keyboard that reminds me of being a young schoolboy thinking the world always had synthesizers. Alex goes for a typical 4/4 80s drum beat underneath the cheesy synths. The solo is great...the chords are cheesy but cool. BUT DAVE!!! Oh man, "You got me captured, I'm under your spell!" Damn straight. Do the pop routine Dave, because you actually make even that sound cool. Yes, Dave was against doing this, but he obviously got into it enough to come up with an incredible melody and amusing lyrics about a girl in a photograph! Sam would, of course, have a cheesy melody and sing about some town in Mexico in which men eat breakfast burritos on their girlfriend's bellybuttons. Or he would sing about getting kidnapped by aliens while trying to drive 55 through a school zone, killing 5 children. But Dave, he helped make his a big hit. It's the most dated song on the album, but it's another one I really like. (Of course, any cheesier and you're drowning in fondue.)
GIRL GONE BAD
The album's masterpiece. I don't play guitar...just drums and vocals. But I can say with confidence that this song sounds like the most technically-accomplished thing Ed pulls off on the album (if not one of the most accomplished songs of his career). A great, non-typical rock beat, great off-beats and time changes. Amazing guitar sound. In fact, this is one in which Dave is excellent but is overshadowed by the guitar playing. Ed's solo on this is amazing (and listen to the way Al changes beats under the high note in the solo). My favorite moment in the song? Well, my favorite moment in the song is maybe my favorite moment in the entire Van Halen catalogue. Eddie quiets down after his solo and starts picking out the main notes again and Dave fades in with a little mid-range note and then another Dave appears in the right speaker singing some line that after listening for 20 years, I still can't make out. Anyone know what he's actually saying? It sounds to me like "I've heard you like to take me show-oh-ah," etc. (nonsense, but that's all I can hear). Anyway, this is Van Halen at its very best. It's incredible that this album contained this song and the next album contained GOOD ENOUGH.
HOUSE OF PAIN
Yup. Pretty vintage-sounding Van Halen. Of course, even though this was recorded for both the Gene Simmons ZERO demo and the '77 Warner Bros. demos, this version is radically different. And it's excellent...great hard rock. Technically, it's probably the least-accomplished thing on the album. And Dave is so buried in the mix that you can practically not hear a thing he is saying...he definitely has less of a chance to shine here. But I still love this track...I love everything on this album. I love Dave's little "Ah ah, ah ah, ah ah, ah ah ah ah ah ah ah" as Ed plays a soft bluesy lick. It kind of reminds me of Plant singing with Page on NOBODY'S FAULT BUT MINE. But still, overall, this is the only song on the album that I think doesn't really progress the band at all. But on an album where eight songs have already done that, why not just close it off with a vintage barnstormer? And this mother fucker worked so well live (of course, the 1984 was the only tour that saw the band pull this out...I mean think about how much fans have been fucked with Hagar being in the line-up!!!). Funny enough, the excellent BIG TROUBLE (not the Dave solo song) was also tried out during these sessions (also on the ZERO demos and '77 Warner Bros. tapes). And I actually like BIG TROUBLE more (as a song), but it definitely wouldn't have fit as much on this album since one more rocker to close it out was exactly what the doctor ordered (and Alex apparently demanded that the band record this and include it in the final tracklist). Oh, and the fade-out...among the saddest in the history of rock. Could this really be the end?? Nobody expected that the band wouldn't be heard from again (at least for 12 years, and only temporarily).
Well, that's it. I'd love to read any feedback or opinions from anyone else. This is my favorite VH album for every reason I've listed above. But one more quick comment: it's amusing that how inconspicuous Mikey is on this album. He really is hiding under a lot of the mixes, even occasionally replaced with a synth bass. And Al didn't have his full drums. The studio was still rough. Of course, these rough edges added both to the album's severe rawness and it's over-the-top commerciality. 1984 is a masterpiece. Pity we never heard a real follow-up. But maybe that just adds to the album's legend.
If you haven't listened to it in a while, blast it in your stereo and make sure you don't do anything else while listening to it. Play it loud and play it proud, and listen closely to it...listen to all the nuances you may have missed out on the first 1,000 times you heard it. This one is a real winner!
In time, Eddie Van Halen came to realize that he was rather unhappy with the working methods and final result of the DIVER DOWN album. In fact, it could be argued that following the amazing "Hide Your Sheep Tour" (which, in retrospect, is a very fitting name) and US Festival performance, Eddie realized that he wasn't really happy with the band's working methods on ANY of the five Van Halen albums. Eddie knew he wanted to do something that gave him more control. And the idea of his own recording studio seemed like a godsend. And it allowed him more time to channel his creativity; he could wake up in the middle of the night and go record a guitar track (if he wanted to). In actuality, however, the studio may be the one thing that finally brought the whole party crashing down. Having it there gave him more control...it allowed him to dictate "This is my studio...leave if you don't like my terms." And Ted wasn't comfortable doing his own work. Neither was Dave. What was this? Eddie's solo album with the others as guest musicians and a guest producer? It's easy to see why the tension developed. And working from home sometimes breeds laziness.
Dave has claimed that the band spent a year in the studio recording 1984. Well, that just can't be really that accurate. The band were touring a lot in early 1983 and the band also played US Festival, Dave went to the jungle, and Ed needed to have the studio actually built. The album was actually released at the VERY end of 1983. So, it couldn't have been quite a year. But it can be believed that the band spent a lot of time working on different ideas (with Alex and Eddie working alone for much of the time...probably a first in VH-history but a working-method that would become the norm from now on). It is clear that the band was starting to turn more into four individuals recording together (in fact, it's entirely possible that this is the album on which Ed started doing his own bass tracks). It is unclear if ANY of the tracks on 1984 actually have the entire band playing at once live in the studio. Often, Alex and Eddie would lay down their parts and have Mike and Dave overdub their parts later. Plus, Eddie was overdubbing MOST of his solos on this album (only GIRL GONE BAD and HOT FOR TEACHER have live solos, if I'm not mistaken). Furthermore, Dave and Ted seem to have been rather dissatisfied with some of Eddie's material. Maybe picking covers (for DIVER DOWN) was Dave's way of rejecting Ed's more "out there" material. But here, Ed had more control. Dave apparently had the band record a version of the oldie IN THE MIDNIGHT HOUR during these sessions, but that remains unreleased. Mind you, several originals WERE rejected...Dave probably never even put vocals on some of them. In fact, it's quite clear that the band's working methods were not as efficient as they had once been. Ed was writing tons of music, but Dave was unhappy with the new direction much of the music was taking. And it wasn't just Ed's riffs or chord changes or rhythms...Eddie actually wanted to use keyboard as the primary instrument on several songs! Ed was even pushing for a little keyboard song that had already been rejected by the band (JUMP). Man, what a mess this all sounds like. Was this really the album that was going to turn the band into a household name? Well, they say tension sometimes provides for the greatest creativity. And this is no exception. The band may have been fighting, but 1984 certainly showed each member at his best (well, maybe except Mike...FAIR WARNING was probably his real album to shine, if Mike ever shined). Don't believe what some old school fans will tell you...this is NOT the keyboard album. Ed plays guitar on this album like his life depended on it. His keyboards are still a great tool for good songwriting here (unfortunately, Ed would begin drowning in them by 5150...but by that point, there wasn't a good singer around to throw out the bad music or write good melodies over it). From hits to jam sessions, from stories inspired by suicide to stories of promiscuous schoolteachers, from a song that contains only keyboards to a song that begins with an incredible drum solo...1984 has it all!
Production-wise, this album is pretty amazing. It does sound like a studio creation. But, being someone that enjoys home-recording, I find the idea of a home-recorded Van Halen album when the original line-up was still around very appealing. You can really hear the many little bursts of late night creativity in amazing moments like Ed's great solo in TOP JIMMY. And Dave sounds better than ever. It sounds like he really had time to fuck around and try new things with his vocal parts...and he sounds more confident here than on many any other album in his career (except maybe EAT 'EM AND SMILE). I fully believe the story that he actually had his assistant drive him around the city blaring the music from the new songs through the car's sound system, with Dave writing the lyrics in the back seat. It only makes sense that PANAMA was actually born in a car. Anyway, maybe I'm biased. JUMP was the first Van Halen I ever heard...and this was the only Van Halen album I owned as a child...it wasn't until a few years later that I picked up the rest. And I loved them all...but this is one special album for me. And while it may seem to pave the way for the Van Hagar sound, it has two things those fucking albums don't have: great lyrics and incredible swaggar. 5150 was to 1984 what a hangover is to a great drunken night.
1984
I know many fans of the six-pack hate this "song". I love it. 45 seconds of musical bliss....a totally dated synthesizer symphony, named by Eddie's wife and apparently taken from a 45-minute recording! (I think I read that this piece was the first thing Ed recorded in his new studio.) Anyway, this really sets the mood perfectly...it's Ed being completely creative, preparing you for JUMP and reminding you of his incredible sense of melodic music-writing. It also reminds the listener that Dave triumphs on this album, but this really is Ed's album (as would be every album that followed). Unfortunately, the very fitting fact that this song begins the album has caused many fans to have the misconception that this is the keyboard album. Well, there are three songs out of nine with keyoards, and this short instrumental is one of them.
JUMP
What needs to be said? This is, by no means, the band's best song. But it's their biggest hit. It apparently changed lives (it changed mine) and was one of the biggest hits of the 1980s. It's a brilliant piece of pop music. And as catchy as that annoying (and now dated) riff is, it's really Dave that makes this song. The hook is in his simple declaration on the chorus ("might as well jump!"), and his melodies on the bridge between the verse and the chorus are pure rock 'n' roll magic ("Can't you see me standing here, I get my back against the record machine!"...Chuck Berry would be very proud). Ed's solo is also excellent (but short), and the (now cheesy) keyboard solo seems declare "Yes, this is a hit...now, buy me!" Alex's drum sound is also new here. This really is the brown sound...funny he's not even playing his whole kit because it wouldn't all fit in the studio. Anyway, it's a great song. But, it's a shame that this song is the best-known Van Halen song since it is one of the songs least-representative of their overall sound. (Oh, and sheep, this IS the only No. 1 hit the band ever had...I thought Hagar was the more popular singer??...I guess the fact that this one album also sold more than half the entire Van Hagar catalogue is also irrelevant, huh?...oh, and Hagar has butchered this song night after night on stage...again, I don't think he gets it...the man couldn't swagger if his life depended on it.)
PANAMA
And the hits just keep on comin'. This is about a car. Dave wrote it realizing that there were no Van Halen songs about cars (writing car songs is an old rock 'n' roll cliche he wanted to live up to). What I love about this one is the melody...but I also love the sound of it. It sounds like a fucking jam-session. I can just see Ed and Al cutting this in 5150, guitar amp on 10...take 3, maybe? I love Ed's little mistake in the middle-eight (although I didn't know it was a mistake until I heard umpteen live versions of the song doing something completely different on that second bar). But just...listen to Dave! Man oh man, the melody leading up to the chorus...the "Ain't no stopping now!" part, the simple one-word chorus. It's an unbelievable hit...and the years have probably been kinder to this one than JUMP. Another quick note: listen to the relentless rhythm on this one. It sounds like AC/DC (the band that apparently inspired Ed to write the music to this). This was a huge hit for the band...probably their second-best-known song ever. And if it weren't for Dave, this would have been another SUCKA IN A 3-PIECE. The music is actually pretty generic...it's what Dave does with it that makes it unbeatable. Sammy Hagar would come in and spend 10 minutes writing about tits and breakfast cereals, and all to some generic rock 'n' roll melody, ruining it completely (as he did so many Van Halen songs). But thank God Dave stayed around long enough to make this masterpiece. It's unbeatable...1000 listens later.
TOP JIMMY
For years, this was one of my least-favorite songs on the album. Now, it's one of my very favorite Van Halen songs. It really is like the band's JOHNNY B. GOODE (as Ed suggested). Dave's little tribute to a local Los Angeles musician is touching, the lyrics are great, Ed's playing is stupendous. This is actually a much more technical guitar song than PANAMA. It's probably the first song on the album that made the rabid Ed fans sit up and listen. The tuning is interesting, the riff is complicated yet catchy...the guitar sound is wacky (with the guitar totally recorded in stereo, a different channel for each string). And I love the speed change for the solo...total rock 'n' roll. This sounds dangerous, and this album is the last time ('til ME WISE MAGIC) that they ever sounded like that. A masterpiece! (I love the "Oh Jimmy!" cry at the end...total Dave!)
DROP DEAD LEGS
Maybe my favorite Van Halen song. Well, definitely one of my favorites. It definitely comes from the same train of thought as PANAMA. In fact, fans buying this album before any other Van Halen album were probably given the misconception that Van Halen enjoyed writing typical fist-in-the-air arena rock. And that really isn't true. The band's first five albums had no songs so blatantly arena-rock as this or PANAMA (well, except for maybe RUNNIN' WITH THE DEVIL). But it's not the simple rhythm that makes this unbeatable...it's the incredibly catchy and in-your-face riff, combined with Dave's screaming-at-the-world vocals. I've had Hagar fans complain to me that the lyrics in this song are retarded. Well, sorry sheep, but I'll put a lot more stock in "nice white teeth, Betty Boop" (love that line!) than "she put the cream in my coffee!" (sounds like a major gay come-on...why is someone putting cream in YOUR coffee???). The song goes on relentlessly for a few minutes (with Ed and Al so clearly playing live together with the bass and vocals overdubbed later). But my favorite bit comes at the end, when Ed overdubs another guitar playing a great blues riff and then an amazing solo comes in (a third track!), leading to a long fade-out (I wish it went on for another five minutes!). Why the hell did Ed lose this amazing guitar tone after this album? He never sounds bluesier than he does here. On 5150, not only were the vocals light, but the guitar (and drums!!!) also sounded too poppy.
HOT FOR TEACHER
A classic, and not even one of my favorites on the album. It's funny that this is another of the band's biggest hits, and they haven't even played it since the 1984 tour. It's swagger is undeniable, it's appeal was unquestioned by millions. Yet, Hagar doesn't get it. So, he doesn't sing it. Well, if he doesn't get it, what's he doing in this band anyway? Well, it is a good thing the idiot never sang this, because he would butcher it. This isn't a song about generic verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, solo, chorus...this is about attitude and spunky lyrics. It's not about having sex with some "bitch" that sure "got the rhythm". It's about "I heard you missed us, we're back!!!" Hagar used to like to say that when he toured with the band in the 90's. "We're back!" But so many in that audience thought, "Who are you again?" Anyway, enough about that idiot. Dave really delivers here...how the fuck did he think of this shit? Listen to his verse melody: "T-t-teacher, stop that screaming, teacher don't you see?" My god, man...from what rock did you crawl? You are amazing! And the lyrics? I was fucking nine-years-old, and I knew what he was talking about. I'm down for some of that. What else does Dave do here? He shuts up for long periods. He lets Al have his incredible opening drum solo. He lets Ed go nuts on the solo...he turns this into a vehicle for intense jamming by a great band...he's not just a searching for a showcase for his vocals (as Ed and Al have accused him of since). And to see this song live (I only saw the 1984 tour through the Montreal bootleg), wow. Dave just basically plays his part and gets the crowd screaming. He sticks his hand in the air when the quiet part begins...and the crowd goes nuts! What more could you ask for?
I'LL WAIT
There is not one moment I dislike on 1984...not even the four-minutes this song takes. In fact, I'll do you one better...I fucking love this song. Yes, I know. It's cheesy. The keyboard is dated. This is "too 80s". Well, you want to know why I love it? My answer is one word. Take a guess. That's right...Dave. Dave fucking rules on this song. Yes, Ed has his cheesy keyboard that reminds me of being a young schoolboy thinking the world always had synthesizers. Alex goes for a typical 4/4 80s drum beat underneath the cheesy synths. The solo is great...the chords are cheesy but cool. BUT DAVE!!! Oh man, "You got me captured, I'm under your spell!" Damn straight. Do the pop routine Dave, because you actually make even that sound cool. Yes, Dave was against doing this, but he obviously got into it enough to come up with an incredible melody and amusing lyrics about a girl in a photograph! Sam would, of course, have a cheesy melody and sing about some town in Mexico in which men eat breakfast burritos on their girlfriend's bellybuttons. Or he would sing about getting kidnapped by aliens while trying to drive 55 through a school zone, killing 5 children. But Dave, he helped make his a big hit. It's the most dated song on the album, but it's another one I really like. (Of course, any cheesier and you're drowning in fondue.)
GIRL GONE BAD
The album's masterpiece. I don't play guitar...just drums and vocals. But I can say with confidence that this song sounds like the most technically-accomplished thing Ed pulls off on the album (if not one of the most accomplished songs of his career). A great, non-typical rock beat, great off-beats and time changes. Amazing guitar sound. In fact, this is one in which Dave is excellent but is overshadowed by the guitar playing. Ed's solo on this is amazing (and listen to the way Al changes beats under the high note in the solo). My favorite moment in the song? Well, my favorite moment in the song is maybe my favorite moment in the entire Van Halen catalogue. Eddie quiets down after his solo and starts picking out the main notes again and Dave fades in with a little mid-range note and then another Dave appears in the right speaker singing some line that after listening for 20 years, I still can't make out. Anyone know what he's actually saying? It sounds to me like "I've heard you like to take me show-oh-ah," etc. (nonsense, but that's all I can hear). Anyway, this is Van Halen at its very best. It's incredible that this album contained this song and the next album contained GOOD ENOUGH.
HOUSE OF PAIN
Yup. Pretty vintage-sounding Van Halen. Of course, even though this was recorded for both the Gene Simmons ZERO demo and the '77 Warner Bros. demos, this version is radically different. And it's excellent...great hard rock. Technically, it's probably the least-accomplished thing on the album. And Dave is so buried in the mix that you can practically not hear a thing he is saying...he definitely has less of a chance to shine here. But I still love this track...I love everything on this album. I love Dave's little "Ah ah, ah ah, ah ah, ah ah ah ah ah ah ah" as Ed plays a soft bluesy lick. It kind of reminds me of Plant singing with Page on NOBODY'S FAULT BUT MINE. But still, overall, this is the only song on the album that I think doesn't really progress the band at all. But on an album where eight songs have already done that, why not just close it off with a vintage barnstormer? And this mother fucker worked so well live (of course, the 1984 was the only tour that saw the band pull this out...I mean think about how much fans have been fucked with Hagar being in the line-up!!!). Funny enough, the excellent BIG TROUBLE (not the Dave solo song) was also tried out during these sessions (also on the ZERO demos and '77 Warner Bros. tapes). And I actually like BIG TROUBLE more (as a song), but it definitely wouldn't have fit as much on this album since one more rocker to close it out was exactly what the doctor ordered (and Alex apparently demanded that the band record this and include it in the final tracklist). Oh, and the fade-out...among the saddest in the history of rock. Could this really be the end?? Nobody expected that the band wouldn't be heard from again (at least for 12 years, and only temporarily).
Well, that's it. I'd love to read any feedback or opinions from anyone else. This is my favorite VH album for every reason I've listed above. But one more quick comment: it's amusing that how inconspicuous Mikey is on this album. He really is hiding under a lot of the mixes, even occasionally replaced with a synth bass. And Al didn't have his full drums. The studio was still rough. Of course, these rough edges added both to the album's severe rawness and it's over-the-top commerciality. 1984 is a masterpiece. Pity we never heard a real follow-up. But maybe that just adds to the album's legend.
If you haven't listened to it in a while, blast it in your stereo and make sure you don't do anything else while listening to it. Play it loud and play it proud, and listen closely to it...listen to all the nuances you may have missed out on the first 1,000 times you heard it. This one is a real winner!
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